All things Fall and "Halloween-ish"

With Halloween being tomorrow, 

I wanted to share a few inspiring photos....

I tend to be drawn to white pumpkins these days.

It's nice because they are great decorations for Fall 

and you don't feel the need to toss them right after Halloween.

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I LOVE candy corn and go crazy with it when it's in front of me...

I thought this was a really cute idea...not to mention it would limit me from just eating all of the candy corn straight from the bag.

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Now this hot chocolate with the donut idea isn't really about Halloween or Fall...

but it's so warm and cozy looking! The perfect treat after coming home from a long night of trick or treating??

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I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week

 and a safe and fun Halloween!!

It's Friday!

I am so thrilled it's the weekend.

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Relaxing with tea, 

a candle, 

a good book or movie

 and a blanket sounds like a wonderful plan to me.

Of course I wish I had this sweet little love seat to curl up on...

These Cashmere candles are some of my favorites.

They seem to last pretty long which is rare for me and they all smell great!

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I wanted to also share 4 more "gifts that give back" ideas...

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1. Fotostrap- looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves taking pictures and always has their camera with them? 10% of all sales goes toward their sister company Fotolanthropy. Go to their website and read there mission. It will give you chills and probably make you teary eyed in a good way. So so inspiring!

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2. Potterybarn- who doesn't love walking into Potterybarn especially during the holiday season. Decorations out...Christmas music playing....everyone in cheerful moods! Well this year they have some beautiful candles benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. 50% of the purchase price goes directly to the Research Hospital. The perfect hostess gift or gift to anyone for that matter.

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3. Glassybaby- I know I have talked about glassybaby in past posts but I just cannot get enough of them. Perfect for any time of year and so unique and beautiful. Many, many colors to chose from with 10% going towards different organziations (depending on the color.)

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4. Roma Boots- Looking for cute rain boots for those rainy days? With every pair of boots sold, they donate a pair of rain boots for street children and orphans. In addition to that, they also donate 10% towards the Roma for All Foundation, providing aid and education to these children. 

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I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!

Making Cinnamon Rolls

The other night I was looking at Instagram 

and Pioneer Woman had posted a picture of ooey gooey cinnamon rolls

Mouth watering of course.

So I decided I needed to make cinnamon rolls...and soon!

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Cinnamon rolls bring back memories

I remember on special days before school, my mom would pop the 

Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls in the oven.

I could eat that whole little container of orange frosting if I was allowed to.

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In college-freshman year, my roommate, and still one of my best friends, and I would go into the tiny tiny- I'm talking really tiny kitchen in the dorm and make Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and just sit there waiting to devour them.

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I've made homemade cinnamon rolls one other time and it was for the day after Thanksgiving a few years ago.

They didn't turn out great.

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I'm convinced I can't cook with yeast.

I don't know exactly what they mean by "until it's dissolved after one minute" or "when it starts to foam"

 I re-read the directions probably 25 times before I make any attempt.

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I decided to make homemade Sweet Orange Rolls and used this recipe...

Last night I made the dough and ended up using all 3 yeast packets.

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The first I thought I stirred too much and was too lumpy.. 

Probably didn't give it enough time to dissolve on its own.

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The second I ripped it open too fast (frustrated that I didn't get it right the first time)

 and it burst all over the counter.

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 The 3rd I knew I needed to make work or we wouldn't be having cinnamon rolls this morning. 

I'm still not convinced that it worked. ( when I woke up this morning to look at the rolls which I let rise for the second time in the refrigerator- they didn't look super risen...) they're still in the oven

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Now they're out and they turned out pretty good! 

I think they could have still risen a little more but still tasty and edible!

There wasn't any special occasion today... I just thought it would be fun to so something different and have a cinnamon roll for breakfast. Don't wait for special occasions or for a "reason" to do something different... 

Whether it's starting a new project.. 

Or making cinnamon rolls!

 There's never as good of time as now!

Have a great week!

Small Spaces

I think it is important to make the best of where you are at TODAY.

Easier said than done--I know! 

Trust me, I am completely guilty of doing the complete opposite of this.

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Nonetheless, I do believe (and try to live out) that what you are doing...or where you are at in life... shouldn't be taken for granted and should be enjoyed each and every day.

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There are times when it seems like my projects and work are exploding over our whole living space..

That nothing matches and our "stuff" looks cluttered.

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I look at magazines or other peoples homes on blogs and dream of the day when I can decorate multiple rooms and little nooks.

That everything will flow together cohesively... and will be warm and inviting

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But then I look around....

and though our space is small...it is home

home to me, home to Brian and home to Brandi

its cozy and simple.

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I suppose you don't have to have a huge house for it to be beautiful

And I know that years from now I will miss these days of simplicity

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I thought I would share some pictures of my work space :) I submitted a couple of these photos to Where Women Create {Inspiring Work Spaces} last Spring...

I hope you all enjoy where you are at today and make the most of it!

Happy Monday!

Happy Friday Everyone!!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week.

This is the first weekend in a long time where we will just be home

with absolutely no plans

{Sweet Brandi relaxing like she does best}
though the past weekends we've been gone for all super fun reasons,

its sometimes feels nice to just stay put and to regroup.

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I am so excited to get all caught up on the Creatively Made Home {Home for the Holidays}!

Of course it is already making me want to decorate for Christmas...too early?

I guess so.

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Here is a sneak peek at one of the Christmas cards that will be available soon!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

New Cards!

I have been working on a few more card styles

 and still have many to come!

Looking for the perfect card for your 

brother, father, husband, boyfriend or avid fisher friend??

Look no further!

I would say that the majority of people love dogs..

I found a stat that 83.3 million people in the United States own dogs...

How about sending this card to one of those 83.3 million people..

Nothing says Winter like playing in the snow...

or snowshoeing or skiing or ice skating! 

(note: the Vintage Ice Skates Card is not a new but is great for Winter!)

A sweet card that would go great with a beautiful flower plant..

Stay tuned as my Christmas cards are right around the corner!

I hope you all take a peek at my website!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Gifts that Give Back
Wouldn't it be nice to get all your Christmas shopping done early?

Every October, I always think how great it would be to have

 all my shopping done, wrapped and ready to set out by Thanksgiving Day

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Thanksgiving comes around and I usually don't even know what I'm getting everyone.

I'll be honest..I do enjoy shopping with the crowds around the holidays..but I would rather shop for a few last final touches during that crazy time.

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So I've said it once and I'll say it again..

This year I really, really, really plan on getting an early start!

I want to do something different though..

My goal is to get gifts for people that give back

Gifts that are still useful and enjoyable to the receiver of course, but that also give back in one way or another..

I did a little research and found a few products that do just that!

I will share more as I find them but for now here they are..

Alexandra Taylor 

 scarves, ties, and other accessories donating a portion of the net-profit to the Nothing But Nets Foundation

Baby Teresa 

For each item sold, a portion of the sales go toward purchasing formula for babies in need (mostly in orphanages.)

The Giving Keys

A unique and beautiful company employing those who are looking to transition out of homelessness. 

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Click on each link to read more about each company!

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I am on the search for more gift ideas that will give back

 but I hope this provides some inspiration.

It sure does for me and makes me excited to continue to give back through 

Lindsay P Designs.

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Don't forget to sign up for the Creatively Made Home {Home for the Holidays} e-course.

It starts TOMORROW!

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Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

New Charity!

This is the time of year, home is a little more special

the holidays are approaching and fall is here

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When I think about this time of year,

 I think of pumpkin bread and apple cider and all the other goodies that come with the holidays

and a time to spend quality time with family and friends

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I feel blessed and thankful that these are the memories that have formed throughout my life

and I know that not everyone is as fortunate.

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for the next three months 

10% of all sales will be given to the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

there are 78,000 people in Sonoma County alone who are facing the threat of hunger

my hope is that over the next 3 months Lindsay P Designs will be able to contribute enough to make this holiday season a little more memorable for some of these individuals.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Back from our Trip!

We got back last night from our vacation to Wyoming and Montana.

What a refreshing trip it was!

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It was the first vacation in long time that didn't go by in a blink of the eye...

But not in the sense that it was dragging

We flew into Idaho falls and drove from there to Jackson hole

It was such a beautiful drive.

I was a total tourist the entire trip...

Snapping pictures left and right and being a nerd with my tripod..

Jackson hole was so beautiful and we loved it!

Our friends met us Saturday where we went to Jenny Lake (a must see!) 

We went to this totally fun chuck wagon dinner at the Bar J Ranch where the Bar J Wranglers sing....they were amazing! Another must see if you visit between memorial day and the last weekend in September

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Our next stop after Jackson Hole was Yellowstone.

We made it into Yellowstone just in the knick of time ...before the darn government shut down.

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Old Faithful was beautiful...a great experience and incredible to see.

 We were really looking forward to seeing buffalo, bears, wolves, elk, moose etc.

We drove and drove looking for animals...I almost got dizzy from my eyes trying to scan the woods and hills for any sign of movement.

We were thrilled to see this big guy...

But the excitement dwindled a bit after the 5th or 6th time seeing them..

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Then the government shut down so our trip in Yellowstone would be cut...

We decided to make one more loop hopeful to see something..

We saw a wolf from a ways a way which, of course, was exciting.

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As we headed back to the hotel something caught my eye

It was bigger than a deer so I told Brian to turn around!

All I saw was this animals rear end...

It was a female elk...

It was cool and I snapped some pictures then we carried on...

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Then out of no where..

We see the biggest bull elk ( I believe that's the term) just sauntering down the middle of the road..

We were in shock!

Of course my camera read "card full" so I frantically deleted old pics

It was amazing!

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Since our Yellowstone plans got squandered, we headed to Big Sky, Montana.

Another beautiful spot!

We explored, went on a hike (until I started getting too nervous about bears) and went horseback riding..

Onto Bozeman, Montana...

My parents flew in and met up with us for the last couple days and we stayed at the

 Gallatin River Lodge which was so beautiful...even in the snow!

Such a cool town....flat valley with snow capped mountains surrounding the entire valley

I loved this trip because it was different..

And special that neither Brian or I had ever been to any of these places.

As much as we didn't want to leave...especially Brian....he was convinced he was meant to live in Wyoming or Montana...

it is nice to be home and get back in the swing of things..

To feel rejuvenated and refreshed after seeing more of God's beautiful creation.