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Autumn Is In the Air!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Good afternoon, My Lovelies!  I have missed y'all so very much.  I'm hoping that I can return to blogging soon because I miss it…I miss writing, posting, blog jogging, commenting, and basically enjoying a community of amazing bloggers.  Fingers crossed, I'll return to blogging on a regular basis soon.

Yesterday we celebrated Shanley Belle's 22nd birthday.  I always consider her birthday the start of autumn because the season seems to turn about this time of year.  Before her birth, I endured a very hot pregnancy in Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was summer until I went into labor at a New Orleans Saints v. Cardinals football game.  Two days later when we took Shanley Belle home, autumn had arrived, and we could feel coolness after months of oppressive heat.

Happy Birthday, Shanley!


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I decorated the house in bright pink and green, Shanley Belle's sorority colors.  Not very autumn-like at all!


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I cheated and bought a caramel cake…


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…because I made an apple clafoutis with a whiskey caramel sauce.  I served it with vanilla ice cream and poured the sauce over both.  Please find the recipe here.


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My grandmother, Shanley, and my mom



This morning it made me a little sad to see that all the pink and green decorations had been taken down.  It's time to decorate for autumn!

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The flowers are all that remain from the party…


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…and now it's time to bring in some pretty mums for autumn!


This year we're not decorating for Halloween because it will be fall break for the girls, so we're going to the beach at the end of the month!  We're looking ahead to Thanksgiving, and today we started decorating for it.

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I'm still enjoying the Hot Skwash!  I want to find a few more for our Thanksgiving decor.


Homeschooling is going very well.  I feel so privileged that I'm able to homeschool my sweet second daughter.  We are truly having fun, especially with art classes and field trips to Auburn.  Although I'm not painting as much as usual, I am doing a little bit of art everyday, and I hope to share more later. Lately I've been working on a fun series of unusual doorknobs.  Odd subject, but it has been fun.

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I still have several washes left before I finish this pink one!


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We've been enjoying lots of crafts across the curriculum, and this is a very cute box of goodies from the funkie junkie.  This little box is filled with autumn cuteness!


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Speaking of cuteness….Finlay loves coming to school every morning.  He knows to head to the classroom when I say, "It's time for school, Finlay!"


I have been reading a lot, and I really need to update my Goodreads account. I definitely want to start posting Literary Friday posts soon, maybe after the first of the year.  I am updating what I'm currently reading in my sidebar if you're ever interested!

Also, I'm planning a new blog!  Details coming soon…

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Your emails have meant the world to me, and I hope you can take the time to leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

15 comments

  1. A new blog?!?! Yesterday I thought I was going to have to finally accept that you weren't coming back to this one! I just convinced myself last week that I did not need any of the beautiful glass pumpkins I saw...um...time to scratch that!!!!So pretty!!!

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  2. Hi friend! We all miss you when you don't post but we do understand. I wanted to tell you that we came to Alabama for the Alabama vs. Texas A&M game. Mercy, we heard Roll Tide at least 5,000 times and it worked for them! It wasn't pretty for the Aggies. We had such a great time in Birmingham. We went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, ate out, and were busy the whole time. So much fun!

    I'm really glad that homeschooling is going well for y'all. You are so creative and the neat thing about learning is that it can be accomplished many different ways. I bet you are great at the teaching part.

    Come on back girl!

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  3. Hi Ricki Jill, so glad to hear from you! What a gorgeous family, my sorority has the same colors. Everything looks so pretty. Glad that things are going well for you and you are going to get back to blogging. I'll keep on the look out for your new blog. I reading "Gone Girl", trying to get ahead of the movie! LOL
    Big hugs,
    Patti

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  4. Your pumpkins are adorable. Happy Belated Birthday to Shanley Belle! I am so glad Homeschooling is going well for you. I love the picture of your Grandmother, Mother and daughter. I do miss your post my sweet friend.

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  5. So glad to hear from you...we love it when you post your fabulous creations!

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  6. Hi RJ,
    It's so nice to read your happy post, I've missed you. I'm happy to hear all is going well and I will look forward to seeing your new blog at some future date. :-)
    Karen

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  7. I'm glad everything is going so well...excited to hear about your new blog!

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  8. Hello! So nice to see you again. Happy Birthday to your beautiful daughter. The resemblance to your mother is uncanny.

    Sounds like you have a lot of exciting things coming!

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  9. Happy Birthday to beautiful Shanley Belle. It's fun to see the three generations!
    Glad the Home Schooling is going well. I miss you!

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  10. Happy birthday to Shanley Belle!! Love the picture of her with your mom and grandma, thats super special!! I wish I had more of my kids with my grandma.

    The apple clafoutis looks so delicious I am going to have to make it soon!!!

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  11. Missed you! Happy Birthday Shanley! My your mom and grand sure are young!

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  12. Really miss your face, but glad life is good! A new blog in addition to this one? Or do you feel the need to start over?

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  13. Can't wait to see your new blog, Ricki Jill! I am still at a loss for what to do with mine - but hopefully will have some things ready to go by the first of the year as well.

    Happy belated to Shanley Belle!

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  14. Happy to see you're back. I love the photo of the 3 beautiful women in your family - I just wish you were in there, too!! We had a lovely 5 generation photo taken 4 years ago and I just love it! Sadly we are down to 4 now. AND, you know I just love that table setting! Looking forward to your new blog, too

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  15. Shanley is gorgeous and that picture of your mother and grandmother is so sweet.

    I look forward to reading you on a regular basis again.

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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