Q&A with Genuinely Lauren

Today I have this pleasure of introducing you to Lauren, the blogger behind Genuinely Lauren! She has an adorable blog where she shares her craft projects, some delicious recipes, and the books she's been reading this year! Today, she's dishing on how she started blogging, the blogs she loves to read, and how she would spend an extra hour each day! 

In a nutshell, what is your blog Genuinely Lauren about?

If you're new to my neck of the woods, you can find around here my DIY crafting skills to make our new apartment look pretty, my attempts at making homemade meals, and our adventures as newlyweds in Florida. 

Why did you start blogging and what inspires you to keep at it?

Originally I started my junior year of college. And then I only posted so often then I didn't feel like I was really into it and ended up listening to everyone's judgments. Then I started back up again, with a new name, when I moved to Florida to be with my husband. And honestly what keeps me going at it is that I've enjoyed writing so much and I like having a space that is my own. Plus being far away from home helps with it too. 

Describe yourself in three words.

Friendly, creative, and honest.

List your five favorite blogs to read.

College Prepster. 

She was the first blog I ever started reading, even when I wasn't blogging yet and I still love her!

Venus Trapped In Mars

Life with Lolo. 

I just guest blogged over there recently! Check it out here.

Helene In Between

Eat Drink and Be Mary

List links to your three favorite blog posts that you have written and tell us why they are your favorite.

Surprise I'm Engaged!: When I told everyone my engagement story :) Still my favorite story to tell to this date, next to how we met

Alabama Slammer: When we went to our first Alabama home game! It was just a great memory for us.

DIY Alabama Burlap Wreath: My first attempt at making a burlap wreath! I was super excited to make it and then help out others who had the same questions I did that Pinterest failed to answer.

If you could pick any career, with money being no object, what would your dream career be?

My absolute dream is to work in public relations for an MLB team. More specifically for the Chicago Cubs :)

If you had an extra hour of free time everyday without any distractions, how would you spend it?

Oh my, ha. I would probably push myself more to get started on my half marathon training. It's not until April but I don't want to be falling too far behind on it!

Find Lauren here:

Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin

I hope you'll take the time to swing by Lauren's blog and check out some of the posts she mentioned above! I think you'll really like them, especially her burlap wreath!

Fall Mason Jars

I am hoping I'm not the only one still trying to finish up my Fall decorating. 

Now that it's well into October, and I still have a little over a month, it's time to get my butt in gear. 

Today I am sharing a very simple and inexpensive way to add a little extra decoration to your home this fall. So if you are like me and still don't have your decor together, this project is for you, and will only take you 5 minutes to complete!

what you'll need:

mason jars, burlap ribbon, marble vase filler (preferably fall colors), and a glue gun. 

I simply wrapped some burlap and pearl ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby around some mason jars, glued both sides of the ribbon together with hot glue, and threw in these pretty gems and leaves that I bought at Pier1 a few years back.

And just like that, you have yourself some pretty fall mason jars!

Have a relaxing Sunday!

Ad Space Giveaway!

Melanie Gets Married has reached 100 likes on Facebook over the weekend! Woo hoo! In honor of this triple digit milestone, I am giving away free ad space AND a chance for one blogger to take over the blog for the day! This is a great opportunity for you to gain some exposure for your blog or business!
So what are you waiting for?
Enter via the rafflecopter below for you chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck  and have a marvelous Monday!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Schemes

It seems as though each time I hop on Pinterest, I find myself wanting to redecorate every room in my home! There are so many color combinations that I am loving, I just want them all in my house right now. Unfortunately, that just doesn't seem realistic. Maybe I just need a bigger house? 

For now, I'll just be over here admiring these rooms from my computer screen! 

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Black, White, and Gold

My gosh, this is my absolute favorite color scheme right now! Black and white alone is amazing, but throw in that gold and I'm swooning! If only my house had just one more room to decorate. I guess I can always use it for some New Year's decor!

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Yellow, Grey, Blue

I have been dying to decorate a room like this since we moved in to our home, actually, before we moved into our home. I have big dreams to have an entire finished basement using these colors, but until then I'm redecorating my guest room with these colors. Wouldn't they also look great with a beachy theme?!

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Turquoise, Coral, and White

I've been seeing these colors more and more and think they'd be great for a girl's room. What I didn't realize is that I already have these colors in my living room, just mixed with navy and yellow as well. 

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Mint and Gold

Mint and gold are probably my two favorite colors right now, so naturally I would love the two combined! The only reason these colors aren't going in the guest room is because of the difficulty of finding decor in just the right mint color. If you can pull that off, you deserve some sort of reward.

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Dark Purple and Grey
After my dark purple wedding two years ago, you would think I'd be sick of it, but that is definitely not the case. Currently, my master bedroom is dark purple and grey, and I absolutely love it.
Isn't this bathroom dreamy, though?


So now I must ask, if you were to redecorate a room in your home, what color scheme would you use?

Have a fun-filled, fall-filled weekend!

"Fall In Love" Printable

It is mid-October already, and I am still adding to/changing up my Fall decor every other day. I feel like no matter what I do, I just can't seem to get everything just right. This is really getting to me since Fall is my favorite season, and throwing a bunch of pumpkins around the house should be a piece of cake. 

While searching for a printable to put in my frame for the season, I kept coming up short. Once again, I couldn't find that one that was just right. So, I did what any other DIYer would do and decided to make my own. 

If you're interested, just click on the picture, then right click and save to your desktop to print.   

I promise a Fall Home Tour as soon as I get my decorating act together!

Also, if you have not yet liked Melanie Gets Married on Facebook, please do! I am only 2 likes away from 100!! Once I hit 100 likes, you'll have a chance to win free ad space and a guest blog post :)

Halloween Camping: A Tradition Seven Years In The Making

This past weekend, we headed to Metamora, Michigan for the annual Halloween Camping Trip. It is by far my favorite camping trip every single year. Every year, we seem to recruit more campers and we always have day visitors on Saturday as well. They have trick-or-treating on Saturday night, and all the campsites are usually decked out in Halloween decor.

Our theme this year was a haunted tailgate/football game. 

It was the ghosts(Eastern) versus the skeletons (Central), and since Adam was in charge of making the score board, CMU won. We were all decked out in our CMU gear. Adam's mom had bought their dog a "rufferee" costume, and we searched everywhere for a CMU jersey for Lucy to wear but had no success. Finally on Tuesday night, I thought to myself, "why can't I just crochet her a sweater?" So that is what I did. 

Didn't it turn out great!? The whole time I was making it, I had my  doubts that I could actually pull it off. When I finished it Thursday night, I was so excited that it actually fit her!

As I said before, Halloween camping is something we do every year. Adam has grown up going on this camping trip every year, and when we started dating seven years ago, I joined in on the fun. We have had gorgeous fall weather, hot summer weather, and cold rainy weather (this year). You just never know what to expect when you camp in October. 

Now for your viewing pleasure, I have pulled together some pictures from past Halloween Camping trips. We looked so young all the way back in 2007!

2013:

2012:

2011:

2010:

2007:

Well, there ya have it, our fun October tradition!

Do you have any nontraditional traditions that you would never think to miss out on? I'd love to hear about them!

Five Favorite Things About Fall!

Well, hello Friday! I always love to see you at the end of each week! Today I am sharing my favorite things about fall. I absolutely love fall! Come September, I am always ready for the cooler weather, fall scents, and pretty colors. By October though, I am really ready for it.

I feel as though every year, I find more things to love about Fall, so here is what I'm loving this year:

1. Pretty Colors: The leaves are starting to change around here and that makes me oh so happy!

2. Fall Scents: Currently, I loving all the B&BW, Applewood Bonfire being my absolute favorite! I would also love to get my hands on a buy 2 get two free coupon from Yankee Candle.  

 3. Apple Everything: I love all the apple foods associated with fall. Apple pie, applesauce, apple cider, caramel apples. Check out some of my favorite recipes that I've posted about in the past: Apple Cider Sangria, Homemade Apple Pie, Chunky Applesauce.

4. Pumpkin Spice Lattes: I know, I know. Everyone loves the PSL's from Starbucks. My favorite? Getting them frappuccino style.

5. Football Games: I must admit, I have never been a huge football fan. But as I have gotten older, I have realized how much fun it is dressing up in your favorite teams gear and cheering them on. Bonus points if you can go to a game and be a part of the atmosphere! 

What are your favorite things about Fall?
I thought it was hard to pick just five!