Over the weekend......

 

Fall means the beginning of our busy season here in the Homan household,

Weekends are filled with pumpkin picking, long fall walks, fall festivals, trips to Amish Country

and lighting every cinnamon and pumpkin scented candle known to man kind.

I really love all the family time opportunities that the fall season lends.

 

the little man and I donned our handmade fox hats
and headed out with daddy to the Berea Fall Harvest Festival.
The little man got his share of candy, and seeing his little girlfriend Olivia.

Later that evening we had a dinner for my husbands hot rod club,
it was an annual fall dinner type of thing, the little man got to spend a good part
of the evening canoodling with his lady friend :)

Sunday nights are reserved for bowling.....here is the little man in his professional
bowling approach :) Just like his daddy, bowling is SERIOUS business in these parts!

Of course you can't have bowling without, fries, and the chance to use a hot pink ball
(they gave him a green one but he loves the pink ones.,......oh jeese don't tell his father)

A weekend full of spending time with my two favorite peoples :)
How was yours?
XOXOXOX
Heather

10 ways to have a great day

We have all been there, you either wake up in a funk or a few things over the course of the day send your day into a downward spiral of gloom and doom and before you know it, your sitting around wallowing in your own self pity. It happens,but fear not my dear, for I have ten ways to turn that frown upside down in no time! Try one, or if your day is REEEAALLY bad, try all of them and soon you'll be on your way to blissfulness in no time flat!

 

 

(photo courtesy of Tumblr)
 

1. Listen to good music:

I love music, it is a big big part of my life. Grab your Ipod and make a "pump it up" play list, fill it specifically with songs that put you in a great mood, if Im angry I like to put on some good girl angst like Neko Case or some of Tori Amos harder stuff, and scream it out at the top of my lungs.

or if I'm depressed I like inspiring music from Mary J Blige or Fiest. the options are endless!

 

2.  Force yourself to do things that need to be done:

I know this may sound counter intuitive, but hear me out. Say your at work and you have a bunch of papers to file or data to enter, or say your at home and the dishes need to be done or you need to start the laundry, clean the fridge ect. You obviously do not have the motivation to do things like this when your depressed. But that is exactly what you NEED to do. Get up and walk, Drag, FORCE yourself to get that stuff done asap. Why? because once it's done or once you at least start on it, the sooner you can do other things that would be more fun, an you will also feel LOADS better after getting tedious stuff off your to do list first, you'll feel like you at least accomplished SOMETHING, and that's bound to make anyone feel a little bit better.

 

(Tmblr)

 

3. Take a coffee break ( or two or three):

Coffee has this profound way of making me almost giddy, the worse my mood, the stronger stuff I drink. If you can't or don't drink coffee, I recommend any other hot beverage that you enjoy, I know some people REALLY love tea, I prefer hot cocoa as a good second option. Add all the fixings you love, Milk,Sugar,marshmallows, honey, whatever gives you that lift, this is NO TIME for boring plain old beverages, unless of course you like them that way.

 

 

(Tmblr)

4. Get up and move:

This is especially important if you work in an office environment. Sitting around sulking in your own self pity isn't going to get you very far on this journey my friend, get up go talk to a coworker, walk around the building, to the bathroom the candy machine ( HEY! Chocolate!) outside whatever just MOVE IT!!...Which brings me to number five....

 

5. Get Some Sun or Air:

OK I do realize that for some of us this is Darn near impossible

(Cleveland September through may anyone???)

But getting some outside air will also help, if the sun IS OUT where you are at, then all the better!

 

6. Eat Good Food: In the winter, when I feel less than awesome, I love a good hot bowl of soup. Especially Broccoli cheese soup, beer cheese soup, cheese melted down to form a soup....I'm not picky. In the summer I like a good frozen yogurt with some gummy bears. Point is to eat something that makes you feel good. try to keep it mostly notoriously sound though, eating a quarter pounder with cheese fries and a shake could just make your mood worse.

 

Add caption

 

 

 

7. Take a time out and read some inspiring blogs:

I know that some days when I am feeling down I love to read Kandee Johnson or Rockstar Diaries for a midday pick me up. They're outlook on life is so beautiful and their personalities so down to earth that they make you instantly feel like you've had a virtual hug. :) So seek out whatever sparks your interest, Family, make-up, nail polish, art ect, there are endless good blogs out there written by wonderful people, Dig in and feel inspired!

 

8. Clean:

Studies show mess and clutter can make you feel anxious, so clean it up baby! You don't have to go all out and dust scrubs floors, just tidy up and declutter.

 

 

9. Put on a little lipstick:

Personal fave right here! Lipstick brightens up your whole face and makes you FEEL and LOOK fantastic! if you're more of a gloss girl, then use gloss! You would be surprised at how much it lifts a bad frame of mind.

 

10. If all else fails, fake it!

Yup, just suck it up, slap a smile on your face and look happy, sometimes this can actually physcosematically work out. Your brain thinks "ok i'm smiling, must be for a good reason" and releases good feelings. Don;t belive me? Give it a try!

 

Here is hoping your bad day is a temporary one, remember tomorrow is a new day and that the sun will always shine again (unless you live in Cleveland)

 

See you Monday!

 

xoxoxoxo

Heather

 

 

 



Lip Love

Nothing can brighten up your face like a great lipstick in a poppy color,

During the colder months, when my skin tends to get a little duller,

I like to use a good highly pigmented color to really give my face some "pop"

The color below is one of my favorites by AVON,

I really love thier lipsticks,because they stay on your lips and don't end up all over your teeth.

They also happen to smell like fruit punch.....thats a bonus I think :)

 

Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick
in
"Pretty"
This is a nice pinky red.

Pucker up!

See how it really "pops" up a complexion?
( for some reason it looks like my lips are lined in black, but rest assured they are not lined at all lo)l

Have a great day!


xoxoxoxoxo
Heather



....Most bloggers

When I started this blog, some years ago, I didn't really know what direction I wanted to take it in,
my cousin Ashley had started a blog and I  loved the idea of journal writing,and sharing happy moments of my existence has they happen.

Over the years, I have experimented with different things, different directions that I wanted to take this blog in, fashion, make-up,family ect.

But the fact is, as a busy mom,  I Just don't have the mental energy to devote to any one topic.
Heck, most of my thoughts are scattered anyhow, I can have an attention span of a fruit fly!

Sometimes I get down on myself, I see all these other blogs, all buttoned up and beautiful with gorgeous photos and perfectly posed bloggers.

Some of them are so stylish and trendy , frankly I wonder how some can even manage to breathe!

I love reading these blogs though, I consider them the "glossy magazines" of the blogging world.

But I don't have a fancy camera, I have an iPhone, an older one, that I usually have to clean some sort of unidentifiable kid smudge off of.

I don't have the latest and greatest clothes, I do alot of my shopping at Target.

I am crafty but don't have as much time as I would like to craft.

Then I read blogs like Kandeej.com and realize that it's ok that I don't have the latest and greatest things, that i cannot portray this wonderful domestic life that I have, as super uber trendy bowl of cherries, complete with perfect outfits and stellar craft ideas.

I don't set out to make money off of this blog, I 'm just a girl who enjoys writing, fashion, makeup ,art music, food and doting on my awesome family.

I may write about these from time to time, I may one day develop weekly themed posts, but the fact is, there is so much more to me than that. I want  people to read my blog and feel good , I want to be
that little source of inspiration. I want people to know that it's ok to have a little blog about family and the things that you love, in case you don't know, this blog name is (joy of life)

And these are the little joys in my life, that I would like to share with you.I hope you enjoy :)

Also please do check out the blogs in my "good reads". They are all terrific pages "some glossy some not" by terrific women, some who work very hard at it, all the blogs I put on that list, are ones that I find a daily source of inspiration.

BTW
My name is Heather
It's nice to meet you!
Welcome to my life!
xoxo

Fox hats and glitter!

So I didn't get enough sleep last night (not unusual)

and I spilled coffee on my shirt this morning, thus leaving me with a coffee smelling left boob.

But hey all is not lost on this cold dreary Monday!

Because I have a fox hat from Julian Bean.

WHO is Julian Bean you may ask?

Julian Bean is a crochet shop run by my friend Erin, she is super talented in her craft and can make practically any animal hat that you desire.
 I thought this fox hat was SO cute,

 I bought one for me and my little guy!

Check her out here!

 

I also am sporting this super cool glitter nail polish, and hey who DOESN'T love glitter!?

 

 

I used 2 coats of Wet'N'Wild Wild Shine glitter polish over

Wet'N'Wild Speed Dry Polish in Black

and topped it off with Sally Hansen "Dries Instantly Topcoat"

 

All in all this manicure took me 10 minutes from start to finish, no kidding!

Wich is perfect for this busy momma!

 

Hope your Monday is spectacular! XOXOXOXO

 



5 Things I love, Fall edition

Fall is here time for warm apple cider and cool evening by the bonfire!

 

Below are a few things I get really excited about this time of year:

 

Pumpkin Anything:

 

We can start off with the starbucks pumpkin spice latte, but honestly, I love ANYTHING Pumpkin

Creamer, coffee,smoothies, little pumpkin pies ect. I even have pumpkin lipbalm

......I think I have a problem.

 

Warm Drinks:

 

Whether it is my mothers Hot Toddy recipe, or homemade hot cocoa and occasionally even hot tea, im all over it in the fall months, there is nothing quite as comforting int he morning as a hot cup of something tasty.

I wish I could say that I liked hot cider, but I can't drink it, hav eyou ever scene Dumb and Dumber? The part where Jeff Daniels is in the bathroom? Yeah.......now you know too much.

 

Glittery Decorations:

 

It starts up this time of year and continues through christmas, I love sparkly things, including glitter.

A couple of years ago my mother and I glittered a bunch of plastic gourds, I have been throwing glitter on things ever since, I have HUGE plans Christmas Glittery Reindeers, i will show you shen I start that project.

 

Nature Walks with my family:

 

We are very lucky to live aorund a massive parks system, Cleveland has a wealth of gorgeous streams and trails, and the fall is ther perfect time to take a brisk walk, put all the phones and computers away and just enjoy life.

 

Halloween!!:

 

Since I am going on my third year of being a mom,halloween has become one of my favorite holidays, I just love seeing my son get so excited MONTHS IN ADVANCE. This year he cam eup with his own costume. he loves blues clues and this year he wants to be a "Clue" like as in the blue paw print! He said "momma, ok, paint a blue  clue on a blue shirt, and I wear blue pants and i knock on the door and say "Hi I am a clue , give me candy please"

LOL hey for three years old to have figured that out on his own astounds me, so i will definitley be making him a "clue" costume this year lol......and he better share his candy lol

 



I could literally go on for days on why I love fall so much, but I said five reasons, and I will keep it at that, what are your favorite things to do in the fall?

 

XOXOXO

 

Heather

 

 



Wow september....you SUCKED!

Hello again , here I am back from the land of sick.

It started with a stuffy nose....the little man then had a sore throat.

Then a full blown cold.....

Then I got the cold of course.....

Then we were on our way to getting better....

For like a half a week....

Then the little man got Re-SICK with a bigger badder cold.....

and then to top off all the fun....just as my son was getting better.....

I come down with.......a bladder infection...a bad one a REAL bad one that required two weeks

of strong antibiotics and a whole other host of side effects.

Phew.....I mean really????

 

So now, here we are, finally feeling among the living...and let me tell you, it's fabulous!!!

 

And look at that....It's Fall!

 

One of my favorite times of the year!

 

So hang in there, I have plenty to share and s few fun things lined up as well.:)