artful outfit: cave paintings.

It amazes me that from the beginning humans had a desire to create. For some reason we wanted to express ourselves in anyway we could. The proof of this desire can be found in the Lascaux, France cave paintings dating back to 15,000 B.C. They really are amazing pieces of art if you think about it. They didn't have the tools we have today or someone teaching them how to do it, they just did it. Maybe we should take some ideas from them, don't think so much, just do it.

Cave Paintings

{shirt - old navy}{pants - target}{barclet - ruche}{capelete - DollfaceDeville}{shoes -blowfish}{bag - 86vintage86}

foto friday: sedona, az

When my parents were visiting we went to all the different places in Arizona that we love. We took them to the zoo, the desert botanical gardens, the lake, all over. I'm really glad we got to take them to Sedona. It's so beautiful there, it's almost not real. You feel like someone is going to pull the background down and say "Ha Ha! Fooled you!"



Wow, I'm just domdarding you with photos this week! Anyone have good plans for the weekend? Marc's dad is visiting and we're going to another pumpkin patch! Yay!

fall memories: creating new memories.

It isn't fall without a trip to the pumpkin path. I have to say it is a lot different going to a pumpkin patch in Arizona. In Pennsylvania there is usually a chill in the air, leaves changing, and the smell of autumn. If you stay near the city of Phoenix it’s still pretty hot and you don’t really have leaves, just a lot of cacti. It’s still a lot of fun to go pick pumpkins. It didn’t really matter to Aurora that there were no leaves or trees, all she cared about was having a good time and picking her perfect pumpkin.



If you're wondering who the old dude is in the blue shirt, that's my dad. My parents came in for the first time since we moved here. They've been here for three weeks. It's been a really nice visit but I'm exhausted! They'll be here till Tuesday and we'll get to see them again for Thanksgiving when we fly back to Pittsburgh. It's strange being this far from "home" but absents makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Have you made a trip to a pumpkin patch yet? Any other fall plans in the works?

what i {honestly} wore wednesday: baby gear

Today I'm working on Aurora's Halloween costume. It's been rough work to say the least. As many of you know I used to be afraid of my sewing machine. Even though it's been a challenge today I love sewing. I have a long way to go before I'm good but I'm getting there. I was paying so much attention to my sewing that Aurora managed to destroy the entire apartment as well as cover herself in marker. So I strapped the baby on and got to cleaning.


May I introduce the hottest fall accessory that everyone it talking about: the baby!



Happy Wednesday!!

round up: halloween head wear.

I used to dress up every year for Halloween. It was always a big deal for me. I don't like scary things but I liked the idea of getting dressed up in a costume and for Halloween I could do it without getting strange looks. I think my favorite costume to date was when I was Zero the ghost dog from the Nightmare Before Christmas. Now that I have kids its more about them then me of course. I don't get dressed up any more but I like to sport some Halloween garb, head wear is a great way to add a little spice to Trick or Treating.

Here are some of my favorites:

{delia creates}
{talk2thetrees}
{shimrita}
{punkprojects}
{JanineBasil}
{crochetclouds}


I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. Are you getting dressed up this year? What or who are you going to be?

Interested in sponsoring?

My little blog is starting to grow and grow and I have lots of plans for it in the future. If you're looking for an nurturing place to start sponsoring well, look not further! Check out my sponsor page or e-mail me at withachanceof[at]gmail[dot]com for more information. I'm sad to see October go but November is going to be wonderful.

October Sponsor Highlights.

I'm so grateful for my first two official sponsors. This ladies are so awesome, I'm happy that they are hanging out on my side bar.

Two is better than OneThis lovely young lady is Nora. She's a sassy newlywed who is always sharing interesting finds. I've really been interested in getting to know her through the blog challenges she takes part in. I always like to get to know new bloggers.

shannon*bearblog ~ shop ~ twitterI'm not going to lie, Shannon's blog is a daily stop for me. It's one of my favorite blogs out there right now. Her photography is wonderful and everything she shares is just perfect to me. If I need a little pick me up I know where to head. Shannon is a dose of awesome in every blog post.

Thanks again ladies! You're wonderful.

Don't forget, if you're interested in sponsoring 'with a chance of' next month jump on over to my sponsor page for more information.

baby steps: tattooed barbie

I thought I would weigh in on this tattoo Barbie issue. I know a ton of parents out there are up in arms about the company that created a Barbie with pink hair and tattoos, I can semi understand what they are concerned about. No one wants their 8 year old to run out and get a tattoo but how about we don’t let it get to that point, huh?

Tokidoki Barbie

There is no hiding the fact that my husband has tattoos. I have one also but it’s a little more under wraps. I don’t plan on hiding our “body art” from our girls. They are going to see people all over with tattoos, piercings and rainbow colored hair I don’t hide it from them. I want my girls to understand the permanence of that sort of thing.

I think everyone knows someone who regrets a tattoo or piercing. If I would have known my belly button was going to look this gross after having two kids I probably wouldn’t have gotten it pierced. However I don’t plan on showing of my belly anytime soon so it’s not that big of a deal.

I really believe that if you have a very open and honest communication with your kids they will respect your wishes. I want my girls to understand a few things about tattoos. First, they aren’t allowed to get any tattoos until they are 18. That’s the law and that’s my law also. Second, they have to really think about what they are getting done. Thirdly, they have to discuss it with their dad and I. Lastly, Make sure whoever is doing the work is clean and an experienced artist.

Just like how I don’t want them going around drinking and partying behind my back, I don’t want them to permanently mark their bodies either. My parents made it very clear to me that tattoos were a HUGE “no no” in our house. I think my mom would skin me if she knew I had a tattoo. They were okay with some others things though. They didn’t mind that I wanted to dye my hair blue. My mom actually encouraged me to get my belly button pierced. I think those little things made me okay with not getting a tattoo until I was out of their house. When I got it I was fully able to understand what I was doing and I’ll never regret it.

Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m not a parent of a teenager yet so maybe all of this is going to blow up in my face. I just know that getting upset over a Barbie with tattoos seems silly. People all over the world have tattoos. How are you going to explain them to your kids? Just because someone has tattoos and pink hair doesn’t make them a bad person. If you an honestly tell your kids what you really believe I think they will listen to you. Well, at least I hope so.

artful outfit: dynamism of a dog on a leash

Futurism may not be a well known art form but it's very interesting. The art form focused on the study of movement. Speed and motion were key points of the piece created in the period. Giacomo Balla's Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash is a great example of Futurism and is my outfit inspiration today.

Giacomo Balla - Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash 1912

{shoes - modcloth}{dress - dorothy perkins}{earrings - modcloth}{bag - curious crow vintage}

Have a great Saturday!!

foto friday: one year ago.

One year ago we went to our first Arizona pumpkin patch. It was a lot different from the one we went to back in Pittsburgh but it was still so much fun.



Happy Friday!

guest post: fall memories chapter two by jen from the cozy project

This is a very special edition to my fall memories series. Not only is it a great guest post but it's also Jen's Birthday! So stop my her blog and send her some warm wishes after you read all about her fabulously fall birthdays! Happy Birthday Jen!



I live and grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I have a fall birthday. As a child I was always jealous of the kids who got to have their birthday parties outside. Sprinklers and water balloons were never on the table for me. In fact any sort of outside activity was usually off limits. Even if we were having decent weather at the beginning of October... you never could tell what the weather was actually going to be like in five minutes, let alone tomorrow, the next day, or the end of the month. So how to plan what I wanted for a birthday party?

One of my favorite birthdays I can remember was my 7th or 8th birthday. We had a scavenger hunt for peanuts my parents had hidden all over our house. I thought it was super fun. Almost like being outside. My mom made me a Halloween themed cake! Isn't that witch the coolest? Here is a picture right before I blew out my candles:



Fall is actually one of my favorite times of year now and as an adult I am happy to have my birthday in October. Now that I am grown up and can play outside even if its raining I don't mind so much. And Halloween is a fun time of year to have a birthday party and stay inside and eat things that are warm and made from pumpkin.

Have a lovely fall and a lovely Halloween!

inspiration: blogging 101 e-course.

Back in July I was lucky enough to win a spot for Ashley from after nine to five’s first e-course, Blogging 101. I was so excited to start. With family and the baby it took me a while to push my way through the course but I am so glad I did. She really put everything she could into a one month course. It’s geared towards people who have already started blogging and want to give their blog a push towards success. Success is really what you make it. Ashley has great ideas for making your blog just the way you want it to be. She also includes weekend projects to help you incorporate the ideas from the course directly into your blog. I really thought I knew what I was doing when it came to blogging but I learned that I have a lot of learning to do.



Sometimes you need a little push from someone else to really get your great ideas started. Ashley’s Blogging 101 e-course is perfect for that. It’s so reasonably priced too, for all the information you get it’s a STEAL! She also has started another e-course on time management as well as offering “pay what you can” consulting. I’m seriously considering the consulting myself.

Ashley is an extremely intelligent kind hearted person; you can see that in her blog. She has wonderful ideas to help you and your blog or business. Check her out at after nine to five blog and shop. You won’t be sorry, I promise!

what i {honestly} wore wednesday: spooky hoot.

Maryam from Pamplmousse! and Caitlin from To Make Love Stay have been doing a series of posts titled "What I {Honestly} Wore Wednesday" and I love it! I'm not very fashionable myself and spend most of my days dumming around the house with the girls, today is no different.



Today's to do list:*Tackling our Mountain of Laundry**Dishes**Cleaning the Floors**Dusting** Organizing the disaster that is Aurora's room**Playing with my girls*


What are your plans?

round up: adorable illustrations.

Lately, for whatever reason, I've had the uncontrollable desire to draw. The biggest problem I'm facing is that I'm horrible at it. I was actually improving quite a bit while I was taking a drawing class for school but it's been a little while and I'm rusty. One thing I've always struggled with is drawing people.

There are so many artists on Etsy that I'm truly inspired by. I'm hoping with a lot of practice and some imagination I can somehow get even a little bit close to their abilities.

{pop pop portraits}
{nan lawson}
{katep}
{honeycup}
dazeychic
ashleyg

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

guest post: fall memories. chapter two by shannon*bear

Hiya With a Chance of Readers! I'm Shannon from shannon*bear and I'm loving Kat's fall feature! So when she asked me to play along I was pumped! Fall has been my favorite season since before I can remember. And that is a very long time. I feel like I wait eagerly all year long for it's arrival and once it's here every day is like a party. I love to gaze at the colors, take hikes, and go camping in it. You really can't escape the magic where I live, it just surrounds you like your favorite relative.

At my parent's house when I was growing up we would celebrate fall by sledding down the hill and into a pile of leaves. Yes, you read that right. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. My parent's house is situated below our road so our yard has a huge hill at the top before it levels out. There are several trees in our neighborhood and it seemed like all of the leaves ended up in our yard. Rather than rake them and get rid of them we decided to play in them. Each year my cousin David would come over and we would create a huge pile of leaves. Oaks, maples, locust, poplar, etc. After admiring our pile we'd hop on a round sled and go for a run down the hill and into the leaves. It looked a little something like this...

It has been a LONG time since I've enjoyed this delight but I plan to rectify that this year. Only I'll be doing it with my Mr. and David will just have to hear about it. He's out west and just got engaged! And even though we're in totally different parts of the country and in different places in our lives I know we both look back on these memories with fond hearts. Thanks for sharing this with me! I hope where you are Fall is just as magical as it was when you were a little.

xo Shannon