Hey FALL !!! Triple threat! 3 ways to welcome Fall into your life. D.I.Y., Food and Fashion!

Fall or Autumn is my favoritest (nope that's not a word but in my family of 3 young children it is, lol)!  There is something about Fall that I absolutely love.  From the brisk air in the morning to the smell of a crock pot meal cooking to the cute scarves and boots Fall just has my heart. This week I decided to share a Fall triple threat.  I'll start with how to bring the season (in this case Fall) into your home with a little D.I.Y.  Next I'll share one of my crock pot staples that will be sure to warm you inside just reading about it and finally I'll share a few ways I layer my clothes during this beautiful weather (of course it will be thrifted).  So enjoy!

Bringing a little bit of Fall into your home...

I'm really big into bringing the seasons into my home. I like being in the moment.  There are many ways I do this.  You don't have to go out and break the bank buying everything the stores offer but there are some small wallet-friendly things you can do.  Here are 3!

1. Switch your pillows up. Key word 'SWITCH meaning just change the pillow cases.  You can either go to the thrift store and find some or a place like Ikea that will sale them at a very reasonable price.  Another option, if you have neutral pillows, is to just add to the ones you have.  My living room furniture is neutral on purpose.  I know me and I know I like to change my decor with the seasons so with my pillows I can do something as simple as taking a thin throw and tying it in a cutesy way around my pillow like I did here.

Any size pillow works. For the one below I folded my pillow in half to get the long, wide look.

So if you have a few thin throws, one to represent each season, than you are sitting on a pillow gold mine!

2.  Make a homemade air freshener.  I found this on Pinterest and could not wait to make it!  I used this as a project for my 4 year old to assist me.  The "recipe" was initially posted in a Women's Day magazine.  In the article it mentioned that the reason the lady makes her own is because artificial perfumes can be hard on people with allergies and asthma (my son and hubby have both).  She had about 4 or 5 different combinations to choose from.  I decided to go with the one that reminded me most of Fall.  It includes an orange, cloves, cinnamon sticks and vanilla extract...THAT'S IT!! I basically boiled it all in water for like 10-15 minutes, poured it in a mason jar and BOOM I had a cinnamon fragrant filled bathroom!

You can find the entire article here 

3. Add to already existing accessories. Yep, just add on.  You can always walk in my bathroom and see the season reflected.  This time I took a quick trip to the dollar store (you can always count on the Dollar Store to be up on the seasons when it comes to inexpensive decor) and purchased two leaf vines.  I simply added them to my already existing glass bowl thing (lol) and made is look as though it was crawling up my wall (used a tack).  And just like that my bathroom is season appropriate!

Here is a pic with both projects!

Cooking for the weather...

Now is the time when my crock pot really gets some attention!  I am huge on warm meals in the cooler seasons.  Last year I tried a chicken and dumpling recipe that I got from (you guessed it...) Pinterest and it was a hit with the hubs and kids which meant it was here to stay!  The best thing about a crock pot meal is that you throw it in the pot and leave it alone.  What's even better is when you have less than ten ingredients to work with.  For this meal all you need is boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used tenders because they are easier to cut), an onion, canned biscuits, salt, pepper, cream of chicken and garlic powder. You can always add veggies!

Here are the cliff notes on how to make it (you can find the recipe I used here)

• Throw everything EXCEPT THE BISCUITS in the crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours
• Take chicken out and shred (i just used 2 forks)
• Remove biscuits from can and cut into 8 sections (I used the honey biscuits because anything with honey is BETTER, lol)
• Add the chicken back in the crock pot 
• Add biscuit pieces on top of chicken
• Cook on high for another hour (or until done, i wanted my biscuits a tad more firm so I went about a half hour longer)

This is a good recipe.  The fun thing about finding new recipes is that you can always add to and take from them.  If you want a veggie recipe just remove the meat.  If you want more meat go for it!  

Fall Fashion means LAYERS LAYERS LAYERS!

I'm an accessory fanatic! I can take a plain tee and accessorize the heck out of the rest of the outfit. Fall is the perfect time to do it.  I have a collection of scarves that I rotate between along with vests, cardigans and button-ups.  Here are a few simple ways I like to layer. 

 Alright folks so there you have it!  There are a few ways you can welcome Fall into your life!  In the end the most important thing is to have fun doing it!!! HAPPY FALL!!