A Super Hero, a Glittery Fairy, and a Dogg!!!

Well, it's over, and I have to say I am glad!! To be honest, all my Halloween decor was really getting on my nerves. All that orange and black and extra clutter was jarring my senses! I have gotten used to pale, soothing colours, and I find Halloween just doesn't sit that well in my house. All the extra stuff, combined with the fact that I always put everything up a tad bit too early, means I swoop in on my broom and clear everything out by the end of the night!! Now, if I could only do that with the candy...!!

Here are my kids in their Halloween finery. My eldest was Superman (for the humour effect, of course...my youngest son was Dogg the Bounty Hunter (he looked ridiculously hilarious!), and my daughter was Tinker Bell. She was like a little glitter fairy because I loaded her up with glitter cream and put actual glitter in her hair (too bad she didn't have time for a tub before going to bed...too busy eating candy!!). Oh well, I always say things can only get better with a little glitter added!!

This is my goofball hubby. He just returned from a business trip and decided he needed to go for a run to get the cobwebs out. We thought it would be too funny if he went wearing my son's Dogg costume ( I still can't believe he did it!), and especially funny because my 13 yr old son was walking home with his friends from school and he would pass right by them!! Cruel father!! Luckily my son and his friends saw the humour in it and no cool reputations were blown (well, except hubby's...although cool is the last thing my son would call his Dad...).

Doesn't he look greasy {{shudder}} ?? I made him promise me that I'd never have to see him with a hairdo (or clothes) like that again!! Kinda like a deranged mullet!!! Turns out quite a few women gave him a wide berth as he ran past...!!

And THAT is officially the end of Halloween for me!!

Cheers!

A Seasonal Porch...and Happy Halloween!!!!

I love my front porch. I know it is not a big, fancy wrap-around one that has been rocked on for generations; but it is mine, and I have wanted one for as long as I can remember. When we first moved to our town, we built a home we were very happy with, but its one drawback was that we didn't have a porch. We realized that first summer that we are porch sitters. We spent every fine evening sitting on our front step, sipping tea, and watching the boys ride their bikes and scooters. We'd chat with whoever peeked their head out their door, and often they'd join us on our step, and we'd remark that if only we had a proper porch to host them in comfort! When Sophie came along, we'd put her in her exersaucer on the step and she'd shout out baby squeals as her brothers played road hockey and jumped faster when she saw a cat or dog in the distance. That step served us very well, considering...

When I finally got my first front porch (see photo above), the house wasn't even finished before I had hubby hanging a porch swing from the rafters. I remember sitting on it, covered in paint, chatting about how tired we were of the building process. People going by would do a bit of a double-take at us swinging there, as we didn't even have the siding finished! From that point on, I have been a grateful porch owner. I decorate my porch for the seasons, sweep it regularily, and enjoy sipping our tea while swinging on our swing. It is not quite finished... as the porch floor is not yet painted, I still want hubby to build some low planters resembling window boxes (with pretty moulding trim), and we want a trellis on the side to allow for privacy from the neighbouring home. I have big plans for the planters this Christmas, and I look forward to decking my porch all out for the holiday season. Speaking of holidays and sticking to the present, here is my front porch in its Halloween finery...and this my friends, is the end of my Halloween decorating posts!!

***Oh, I forgot to mention that the best thing about a front porch is the opportunity it provides for taking great annual photos of your kids! The picture below is the yearly photo my sister and I take of our kids on her summer trip down to my house. We have been taking this photo since my eldest son was two, and I love looking back on how they have all changed over the years. We have seen new girly additions by the name of Sophie and Ella, and the photo below is the first time Wendy's eldest son, Ben, was not in the picture (he decided to stay at home and relax with his Dad).

This photo is from last year's Christmas card photo shoot. It didn't make the cut for the actual card, but it did get framed and placed in my living room. Speaking of which, I had better get going on this year's shoot...but that's a whole other post! Let's just say, it's never a stress-free scene...!!!

Cheers!

Something to crow about...

It is fair to say that I have a bit of an obsession with crows. Not necessarily the real kind, but the perfect faux variety lurking in shops at this wonderful time of year. I remember about five years ago, when I was on a desperate search for crows...after having seen them in Country Living (or Home...I buy both...), I had everyone on the hunt for me. My mum and sister scoured shops in my girlhood hometown, friends travelling to the U.S. were giving the assignment, and me...well of course I checked out every spot locally, to no avail. I was first able to get my hands on one a few years back in Walmart, and I was a very happy girl.

My collection has now grown to the point that I need no more. I have the perfect flock to adorn my house and add sinister charm, as only a crow can. Growing up, my mother always warned me that crows "pick the eyes out of little lambs" and therefore had no use for them at all. However, even she seems to now appreciate their presence as a Halloween decorating theme.

So, without further adieu, here is a peek at my proud crow collection...taking up temporary shelter in and around my home.

BOO TO YOU!!!

BOO!!!

A couple of weeks ago, my kids and I arrived home to see a rather enticing Halloween-themed bag hanging on our front door. Inside was a paper ghost marked BOO!!, some treats, and a clever little poem telling us why we received the bag, and how to spread the fun that it brought. My kids have no idea who brought it to them, and were very excited indeed! A few squabbles over who got what candy, and then they set out to return the favour to friends of their choice. The idea is to fill a bag with treats of some kind, photocopy the poem (which gives the instructions), make two BOO ghosts (one for each bag), and then secretly deliver the bags to people who have not already been BOO'ed. How do you know they haven't already been BOO'ed? Well, those that get BOO'ed must hang the paper ghost marked BOO on their front door, so that others will not re-BOO them. The kids had a great time doing it, and I sooo would have loved to have BOO'ed my sister's house, as she is so not into that sort of thing!! I would have gotten a good chuckle out of it, as she would have had to do it...my niece would have insisted!!


If you want more detailed instructions, pop on over to Heather's blog...you'll be glad you did...she does a much better job explaining it than I do. But hurry, as you really only have one or two more days to do so!!!

Here is a similar poem you can use, and also a picture of the bag we put together to BOO our friends...


Since this is the time for goblins and bats
Halloween spirits and ghosts and cats
Happenings are weird and witches make brew
The following are the things I wish for you.
May the only spirit you chance to meet
Be thee spirit of love and friends that are sweet.
May the only goblin that comes your way
Be the neighborhood phantom, the breeze takes away.
So by tomorrow, pick a friend down the street
And give to them a Halloween treat.
Fill this cone with goodies galore,
Then hang it on their front door.
You only have one day to do this, so hurry
Leave treats on their door and run in a flurry
As this cone moves along from friend to friend,
All good wishes go on and never end
HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Carving out traditions...

On Saturday night, I threw a somewhat impromptu pumpkin carving party. I say somewhat impromptu because I was hemming and hah-ing as to whether I should continue what has become a tradition for my children each Halloween. As you know, I am a bit of a holiday nut, and Halloween is one of my favourites. I have thrown such a party for quite a few years now, and my kids have come to rather expect it. My hesitation stemmed to my fighting the feeling of "Can I be bothered?" and has it just become a habit... that now that the boys are getting older, is really worth the effort? Well, in a word, YES!! You see, I still have a happy-go-lucky little girl who has not experienced as many of these parties as her now somewhat disinterested brothers have. How fair is it to her to let their jaded-ness deprive her of some good, Halloween fun? Besides, making memories is always worth the effort!! How many times have we resisted entertaining, only to discover that once we are in the midst of it, we actually have a lot of fun ourselves??!! Well, Saturday night was just one of those nights as I hosted the friends I know to be easy, fun guests...ones who are always up for some of my cornball ideas, and who make me feel that hosting them is well worth the effort!!

So, herein lies the formula for hosting a pumpkin carving party of your own. Although some will definitely take a more creative and elaborate stroke to pulling one off, my formula is low-key, relatively easy, and won't drain your entertaining budget!! I have spoken before of my need to keep entertaining simple and fun. While I certainly have the capabilities to throw a dinner party where I provide each and every course, that is just not my thing at this stage of my life. My entertaining usually includes our own children, and those of our friends. We do not have family anywhere nearby, so to pawn our kids off on doting grandparents for a night is just not a reality for us. So therefore, I entertain in a way that is as stress-free as possible and in a way that even I can relax and have fun. So far, no complaints!!!

First off, for my carving party, I stocked up on enough pumpkins for my kids, hubby and me. I always get my guests to bring their own, and most importantly, I have them clean out their pumpkins beforehand to cut down on the mess in my house, and so that we can get to the fun part of carving our masterpieces right away! I am also a big invitation girl. I absolutely love stationery of all kinds, so a great invitation to any event I host is very important to me. In this case, I used the finger invitations that I bought as a kit (see above) from Martha Stewart's collection at Michael's . I have always wanted these, and I figured they would be a great decoration for my guests to keep for years to come. On this occasion though, because I decided rather late in the game to have the party. Thus, I simply called my guests with the invite, and gave them the fingers as a souvenir of sorts...

Of course, any good party has to have food, so I decided to make my brother's famous Mulligatawny soup, which is the most delicious soup I have ever eaten. I also made Taco soup, which is Tina's recipe that I nabbed from her wonderful blog. It made a ton of soup, thus I have some leftovers frozen in my freezer for some busy week-night. I unabashedly accepted offers of food contributions from my guests; so one brought a delicious cajun dip for nachos and pretzels... along with drinks for the kids. Another guest brought rolls and an amazing gooey, buttery pumpkin cake with whipped cream (which we inhaled like vultures), and another friend brought a party-sized pizza for the kids. I simply (well, not that simply) prepared my soups the same day, and also managed to make the kids each their own white-chocolate ghosts on a stick (with some help from my two youngest) that I make each year from a Martha Stewart recipe....soooo easy and yummy!!! Add to that some roasted pumpkin seeds I made, and we all were left with full stomachs, ready to begin the "arduous" task of carving some fancy pumpkins.

The kids threw themselves into the task, as did a couple of the parents...while the rest of us ended up talking too much to even get started carving. My friend Krissy, was a little tired from her busy week, and decided to sit the carving out ...she was looking really tired!!!

Of course, I dragged out all my remaining Halloween decorations and even decorated the back deck in case the older kids wanted to hang out there...unpestered by the little ones. I decided we needed some Halloween lighting on the deck, so I removed the umbrella from the center of the table, and sunk a discarded birch tree into the hole and the kids and I decorated it. It was quite a feat to make it fit...Krissy helped me saw off the excess branches the night before, and while trying to break them off, she actually fell backwards onto her behind!! Of course, I could barely help her up for laughing, but luckily she is a good sport who recognizes the importance of sacrificing for great decor!!!! I am actually quite proud of this idea...I thought of doing it this summer, but never got around to it till now...

Here is the annual picture I take of the results of our carving efforts. I love looking back at the pictures from year to year to see how the kids have grown. They were quite proud to stand behind their works of art, and even happier when Krissy pulled out some sparklers to cap off the night!!! A good time was had by all, and even my friend Janet's baby tried to stay awake as long as he could...carving his own pumpkin earler in the evening tuckered him out!!!

All in all, it was a great evening, and we can all scratch carving pumpkins off our to-do list for the week!! Happy Halloween!!!!!

Baby, It's Cold....Out...Side!!!!

Well, it's officially fall, speaking from a weather perspective! When I went to bed Monday night, my room was positively freezing. You see, hubby and I like to keep the window over our bed cracked every night, as neither of us are fans of a stuffy, warm room. Well, there was no fear of that last night. I leapt into bed, hoping to plant my cold toes on him and steal some of his warmth, when thud, up hops our favourite kitty with precisely the same idea. He sandwiched himself in between us, and foiled my plans of cozying up to my built in furnace/husband. Luckily for him (the cat), he is too cute to fire off the bed!! So I snaked myself as close to the little furball as I could, so close that his incessant purring kept me awake!!

The next morning was still nippy, despite the rain, so after I bundled the kids off to school, I boiled the kettle for a cup of tea and lit my fireplace for the first time this season. I never thought I'd get as much enjoyment out of a fireplace, but the heat it gives off is heavenly...

It was one of those damp, cold days so I figured I'd make my famous (I'm kidding) chili which I make mostly because it's easy and I'm trying to cut back on my grocery budget by following a meal plan. Hubby's on a kick that we're at the grocery store too much (which we are), so he's all gung-ho about the idea of planning ahead. Me...not so much. Sure the money saved is nice, but what he doesn't realize is that the real money saved will come from my not getting to buy so many magazines!!! Oh well, I have quite a number I can look at here. I did manage to sneak a couple in the other night when we popped in for our well-planned grocery shopping trip. I slipped the new House and Home holiday edition and the Country Home November issue in under a large box of cereal. I'm a sneaky wife I know....but really, who's gonna pass those ones up??!!

As promised, below are a few more Fall decorating shots from my home. I took them while I was waiting for everyone to get home for my chili supper. My ego ended up taking a bruising, though. My eldest son "doesn't like all the stuff I put in it" (like kidney beans and green peppers), and my little girl informed me she HATES chili!! On the bright side, my other son... my favourite child for the moment... loved it and hubby said it was good, too. They all had no problem scarfing down the chocolate cake hubby brought home. He gets to be the supper hero. Oh well, I stuck him with the dishes, while I worked on a decorating plan for an upcoming job! All in all, it was a great, cold day, and after the kids went to bed, I enjoyed flipping through the pages of my new magazines in front of the fire. No more cold toes for me...!!!!

** the cute little bucket holds Sophie's sidewalk chalk. I change it with the seasons...The orange tin jack o'lantern thing-a-ma-jig is one of my favourite Halloween pieces. I like putting my popcorn in it on Grey's Anatomy night!!

Losing the wood, blue pumpkins, and "scary" crows...

Well, I have been continuing my home improvement frenzy. Fall cleaning, touching up (or completing in some cases) paint jobs, and decorating for Thanksgiving have all added up to a busy two weeks, albeit a very satisfying period. I love to spruce things up, wash my windows (well, I don't actually love doing that...) and declutter drawers and cupboards. Soon, I will be able to pack up all the summer clothes, and pull out the cozy sweaters, blankets and flannel sheets. While I don't love winter and all that comes with it, I do like the coziness of it...the Sunday dinners, lighting my fireplace and sitting there staring at it until I doze off and wake at 2 a.m. (wondering where am I and why is the t.v. still blaring??), even the odd flannel nightie (aka "granny gown"...I know, I know, but sooo cozy!!).
Speaking of fireplaces, I redecorated my mantel for Fall. Not Hallowe'en, but Fall (Hallowe'en comes a bit later). Goodbye seashells and sand dollars and hello candles, crows and blue pumpkin. Yep, blue pumpkin!! I know it sounds crazy, but when I plunked the real (orange) McCoy down on the mantel, it just didn't quite fit with the rest of my decor. Now, I'm not one of those decorating-obsessed mothers who forgets that holidays are really for the little ones, honestly. I have plenty of traditional pumpkins and such for Halloween; but, I like to mix things up, and rarely keep things the same from year to year, decoratively speaking. I love to try a new twist on things, while still respecting the tradition of the holiday. In fact, every Christmas, I alter my "theme" to include a new collection, but more on that later in the season...

So, I stared at that poor pumpkin and decided to spray paint it blue, and while I was at it, why not add a bit of white glitter to it? Why not indeed?? You may think I'm crazy, but I like it!! In fact, it makes me smile every time I enter the room. Isn't that what seasonal decorating is all about? Oh, and it was just screaming out to have a crow adorn it. A big, squawking crow! I also added the little orange pumpkin perched atop the pedestal...both the pumpkin and pedestal I got at the Dollar Store a few years back. They were very generic, so I glittered them up this weekend and I think they look rather fine. The silver dollars I got at the flea market, placed them in a vase, and used Dollar Store orange beads to hide the stems. I like the result...a nice change from the typical mantel arrangement. I like the unexpected...and I search for new ways to introduce it into my home. Let me know what you think!

I thought I'd show you my completed dining table. It was brought to my attention that I never showed a picture of its completed state. I wrote about the table before (if you recall, My Dreaded Project), and although it is not the table and chairs of my dreams, it will likely be with me for awhile and it is greatly improved from its "ugly colour wood" previous state. I also am showing the new Pottery Barn runner my friend, Krissy (a transplanted Bostonian) picked up for me this past weekend. I adore crows (the silent type) and I had to have this beauty when I spotted it in my new catalogue (thanks Chris!!). The runner is cotton and the crows are "velvet" and it is creepy enough to be a great Halloween addition to the room. I am like the Americans after their Thanksgiving, with one exception: while you all (or y'all) are dragging out the Christmas decorations, I am hauling out the witches and ghosts and gearing up for the spookiest time of year. I can't (insert cackling witch laughter) wait!!

Silhouettes...and Skippy!

I have long been a fan of silhouettes. I remember seeing them as a little girl and wondering who those lovely ladies were and what did they really look like. Fast forward a couple of decades and I finally found one of my very own. About a year ago, I was at our local fleamarket and finding very little I liked, was starting to head home. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted it!! A lone little silhouette of a small boy and, inscribed in black ink, the name "Skippy". Skippy...I felt my breath catch...I have a "Skippy". Well, not actually a Skippy, but a "Skipper"!!

My eldest son was nicknamed "Skipper" by my husband when he was still an infant. Why, you might ask? I have no idea, but that is the name that he was dubbed at such a tender age. He is the only one to call him that, and he continues to call him Skipper when the mood strikes. Well... back at the flea market, I had to have that picture. I knew that silhouettes are very hard to come by in this neck of the woods, so I was prepared for the lady to quote me some over-inflated price. As prepared as I was to hear a ludicrous price, I was ill-prepared to buy it, as only a five-dollar bill was crumpled in my pocket. I held my breath as she replied, "Just give me a dollar." "A dollar", I repeated, trying to be nonchalant and sure she could see my hand tremble as I turned over the money. Finally I was having one of those treasure finding moments and it was only costing me a dollar!!!!!

This little silhouette of "Skippy" inspired me to start making my own silhouette pictures. My first creations were halloween related silhouettes- a witch on her broom, an owl, a black bird, etc. I am hooked! If I can't find any more vintage silhouettes, I am determined to make my own.

I have created some for client's spaces and for family and friends (I made a humble interpretation of my friend, pregnant). It just goes to show: if you can't find or afford what you want, try to make or recreate it yourself. You just might be surprised at your own talents!!!