chalkboard.

Okay, so do you remember when I mentioned I started another special project a couple of weeks ago? Well, I finally finished it on Saturday. I'm not really sure what inspired this project. It was a simple random thought that seemed easy and attainable, so why not give it a go?

With the white walls and white doors throughout the condo, we decided to spice it up a bit by adding a chalkboard to the laundry closet door in the kitchen. Instead of buying a chalkboard, we opted to paint a panel of the door with chalkboard paint, make a frame out of scrap wood, and paint it the color of the door to blend in. Two weekends ago, John applied the chalkboard paint and put the frame up, but we were sans door paint. Last week I finally went to Sherwin Williams to pick up the paint to finish up the chalkboard. If anyone is interested in the trim color, it is actually Benjamin Moore's Grand Teton White (semi-gloss) and the walls throughout the condo are Grand Teton White, as well, in a flat. Not really sure why Hallman Hill directed me to Sherwin Williams, but they knew exactly what I was talking about!

John went to the hunting club on Saturday so I figured it was an opportune time to paint the frame. Three coats later, mission accomplished.

BEFORE

FIRST COAT OF CHALKBOARD PAINT

Hubby hard at work. Goose in awe.

Goose now wanting in on the action.

FRAME COMPLETE

In dire need of some paint.

FIRST COAT OF PAINT

SECOND COAT OF PAINT

THIRD COAT OF PAINT

and...VOILA! 

THE FINISHED RESULT

I used a tin from the wedding to house the chalk.

I am so happy with how the chalkboard turned out. It adds a lot of warmth to the space and is so convenient when making grocery lists, jotting down quick notes, and personalizing the space. I don't mind one bit that it's permanent! 

autumn's arrival.

Hello blog friends! Happy first day of FALL! Although autumn isn't in the air quite yet, it's definitely on my mind. I have been counting down the days until it is considered permissible to put out my fall decor. Today is my lucky day!

Yesterday John came home with a fall surprise—pumpkins! These beauts were the perfect final touch to our back porch.

I bought a few pumpkins for the indoors, as well. Smaller in size, of course. They are placed here and there throughout the condo.

Entryway table.

Tiger stripe pumpkin. Pretty apropos. War Eagle!

I went to HomeGoods today to pick up a few items for my fall centerpiece. I came home with a few balls and what-nots and two bundles of wheat. Here is the finish product:

Let's hope Coco and Goose aren't fond of wheat.

Some more touches of autumn:

And lastly, I had the urge to bake a little something this afternoon. Something, fall-ish, that is. To keep with the pumpkin theme today, I conjured up some pumpkin spice bread. MMMM. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:


3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer). Add pumpkin and mix well.
2. Combine dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water.
3. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until bread tests done.
4. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack; cool completely.

P.S. The bread smells AMAZING while it's baking. I highly recommend this recipe.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Welcome, Autumn. 

the big easy.

We’ve had a lot going on lately in the Bryant household. From a family vacation and condo projects to a baby and a trip to New Orleans, it’s been one eventful month. For now, I am just going to post about our weekend trip to NOLA. Last Friday, the Branches, Morrows, and Bryants headed down south to the Big Easy to spend the weekend with our dear friends Ashley and Will Herring. Will recently got drafted by the Saints and therefore, their little family of three (I can’t leave out their puppy dog, Turner) had to relocate from Seattle to the town of Metairie. We could not be more thrilled to have them only 5 hours away. Of course, we had to jump on our first opportunity to visit!

Upon arrival late Friday night we went to this lively local restaurant by the river called River Shack Tavern. There, we dined on buffalo shrimp, fried mushrooms and alligator sausage (yes, alligator sausage) and listened to a great local band. It was quite the happenin’ place. 

I will apologize ahead of time for the photo quality of all of the pictures from our trip.

Afterwards, we ventured back home and had some girl time. If we hadn't had a long day ahead of us, I promise I could have stayed up all night and gabbed with my girls. I always love my time with them.

Saturday morning we hung out at the house and ate the most amazing homemade breakfast. We waited for Will to get home to watch the Auburn game and, of course, ate some more. After the game, the boys stayed at the house to relax and the four girls went shopping at a few cute boutiques in the area and then drove around looking at all the beautiful houses in Old Metairie. When we got back to the house it was time to get ready for our fun night out. 

So much going on in this pic...I love it.

We dropped Will off at his hotel and headed to Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street for dinner. It was amazing. After dinner we wandered the street of Bourbon and made sure to stop in at Pat O'Brien's among a few other favorites. 

Mr. and Mrs. Best Looking.

Do you see a trend?!

One to add to the Ash and Lor Lor album.

I don't know...

On Sunday, we woke up early and attempted to make it to a neat spot for breakfast. Unfortunately, what we thought was early, wasn't early enough. So, we skipped breakfast and headed straight to the Superdome to cheer on the Saints!!! It was a great game—the Saints beat the Bears 30-13. WHO DAT?! Note: I still have that entire chant in my head. Afterwards, we went to a reception for the team's families and close friends. There I ate fried chicken and stared in awe at the players, coaches, etc. La-hoo-sa-her. 

Not so good pic, but all we took.

It was a long drive back home that night, but TOTALLY worth it. John and I had so much fun and cherished every second with our friends. Thanks again Ash and Will! 'Til next time...