Seasonal Nesting: AND a Thirty-One GIVEAWAY!!!

 Seasonal nesting...

Do you know what that is? It's the urge to purge, clean, tidy, organize, and make your home "homey", only instead of being triggered by the upcoming birth of a child, it's brought on by the shift in the seasons. Happening now... FALL nesting.

 Yes, in order to start the season off just right... I must light a Pumpkin Spice candle, hang a cinnamon broom, and place an arrangement of fresh cut fall flowers on my table.

Once these things are in place... the rest just happens. The combination of fresh cut flowers, cinnamon, and spiced pumpkin does something to me... it gets my insides stirring. Suddenly, corners that have accumulated piles of misfit items for weeks, just can't wait another day to be sorted. Jobs that have evaded completion for months are now screaming, FINISH ME. Donation bags are filled up and are dropped off. Drawers are organized and closets are cleaned out. Loaves of pumpkin bread beg to be baked, and visions of fall flavored craftiness start to dance in my head. It's such a magical time, the shift from summer to fall... so full of potential. While I have to admit that I still long for the more obvious shift in the seasons that an Indiana autumn brings, I'm learning to make the best of a Florida fall. It's true... I miss the crisp, cool air of late September evenings. I miss the enchanting performance of the leaves each October, as they fade from summer greens to hues of orange, yellow, and red. I miss sweatshirts, and blue jeans, and hot cocoa at football games. And sometimes, as I trudge through the 90 degree heat and feel the sweat that is rolling down my back, I slip up and let it show. I resentfully mutter things underneath my breath. Things like, "October was never meant to be this hot!" Here's the thing though... I want my girls to know how special this season is, regardless of what the outdoor thermometer says. Anyway, lucky for them... they don't even know what they're missing. Okay, and in Florida's defense I should at least add that it pretty much has the whole,"winter weather", thing down.  So for now... we will light candles, and decorate. We will craft and bake. We will make fall flavored memories the best way we know how.

Beau and I laughed over how accurately this picture and the next represent our girls' personalities. Here you see our little perfectionist. Below you see...

...our little free spirit. (Free spirit sounds a lot sweeter than "our little mess.") She was sloppin' pumpkin bread batter all around. :)

The first batch of the season is always the best. Soooooo yummy!!

Don't feel too sorry for me, the cooler evenings will start making an entrance soon enough. And when they do, we'll be ready. We'll celebrate with sunset trips to the park, and late night runs for hot chocolate. What about you? Are you celebrating the shift in seasons? I want to hear about your favorite "Fall Nesting" ritual. Do you do anything special that gets you in the mood for fall? What about a favorite fall memory from seasons gone by?

I've been chatting with fabulous Thirty-One consultant, Laura Coles. We thought it would be fun to do a GIVEAWAY!! Need a new wallet? Well we're going to give you a chance to win one. This is a BRAND NEW item from Thirty-One.

Retro Metro Wallet

If you win you will have your choice of three great patterns. Want to be entered to win? Then follow these 3 simple steps!! Leave a comment here on this blog post. Tell me about your favorite fall ritual, tradition, or memory. (Comments left on Facebook are welcomed, but WILL NOT be entered in the drawing.) After you leave your comment, click on the Facebook icon below and share this post with the caption, THIRTY-ONE GIVEAWAY, CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS!!!. Last step, click here or type "Sit Down And Take A Brake" in the search box on Facebook, and "like" the page. After these three things are done, sit back and relax... you're in the running for this great new Thirty-One Wallet!!! Contest will be closed at 1:00 pm on October 6th. One comment will be randomly chosen via random.org and the winner will be announced on the same day. Don't go yet, there's more!!! LOVE Thirty-One products?! Laura is offering YOU a 10% discount off of your ENTIRE order, now through October 10th. If you want to take advantage of this great discount then click here, and then click "Place An Order". You will see a party that is named "Sit Down and Take a Brake", beside it there will be an option to "shop now." One thing to remember... you order will not be processed until Laura closes the party out on the 10th. Your 10% discount will be applied at that time. Happy shopping everyone, and HAPPY FALL!!!

Click HERE to LIKE Sit Down And Take A Brake on Facebook!!!