I was all set to take pictures of some Halloween stuff around my house when my camera battery died...oh well.  So, I am stealing borrowing a picture from one of my favorite blogs, Show and Tell.  And, all I can say is, "Wow!"  She is one creative lady!!

I rarely win a thing, so I had to share the fact that I won our neighborhood Chili Cook-off last night!  Pretty exciting, eh?  I thought so.  And, as a result, I won the "traveling apron" that will get my name embroidered on it with the year as well as a whopping $30 jackpot!  Woo hoo!  Of course, I got the bragging rights too, so here I am...bragging!



Actually, I thought it would be fun to share the recipe that I literally made yesterday for the very first time!  Last year was our neighborhood's first Chili Cook-off and I made a turkey chili, so this year I decided to try something different.  I did a little Internet search and found Al Roker's Chili recipe right here.  However, I made a few changes -- some intentional and some because I didn't have a grocery list with me when I went shopping for the ingredients...duh.

Here's what I changed:

• Instead of cubed chuck steak I used ground Angus beef.
• In place of hot Italian sausage I used the hot version of Jimmy Dean Sausage. 
• I tripled the amounts of Chili Powder, Cumin and Paprika.
• I added roughly 1 1/2 tablespoons of chopped jalepeno peppers from a jar and poured in a little of the juice as well.

The flavor of the chili as written on the recipe is good, however, I live in Texas and the folks around here like spicy, so I had to pump it up a little.  Guess it worked!

It's great chili-cookin' weather right now...what's for dinner at your house?

I found a few more pictures to add to my Inspiration Board.  This is almost more fun than shopping because it doesn't cost anything! (Oh, and I do realize I have a bed in this living room inspiration, but what I'm really inspired by is the beautiful red and white quilt on the bed.  Wouldn't it make a nice, cozy throw or a pillow?)

I am desperately researching the web for ideas as to how to decorate my living room.  As I mentioned in one of my very first posts, I recently had my living room painted a bluish color.  The actual name of the paint escapes me at the moment, but it does not look blue AT ALL on the chip from Home Depot.  And, it's called "Green Valley" or something like that. 

I was inspired to paint the room this color for a few reasons: 1) My husband has a decorating opinion and he has very masculine taste 2) The room has a daunting 20-foot ceiling that always makes us feel like we're sitting in a museum so we wanted to feel a little cozier and 3) I love this photo from Pottery Barn:

The Show and Tell blog has some VERY cool stuff and this idea really stood out since I have a tiny laundry room and front loading machines.  Don't you just love the pedestal her machines are sitting on?  They're so practical -- and I LOVE practical -- and pretty --  ideas! Here's a link to such a smart idea and how to do it yourself...

...with decorating blogs, that is.  I have found a bazillion things to love in blogland! There are a lot of talented DIY decorators and I am totally jazzed about all the inspiration I have found recently.  Why didn't I discover decorating blogs a few years ago?  Guess I'm just slow that way. 

Anyway...I love all the resources and I'm going to post a few of the pictures that have totally inspired me recently. Forgive me if I don't attribute all these pictures.  Some I saved and can't remember where I nabbed them from.
 I love this bright, airy, yet cozy reading corner from The Lettered Cottage. 


Doesn't Thrifty Decor Chick know how to throw out the welcome mat?  Absolutely lovely for fall!

There are so many more beautiful pictures out there in blogland that I can't possibly post them all.  But those are just a tiny few of the things I've been drooling over this fall. 

Happy Fall Y'all!