Archive for October 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Perfect Timing


Today was the one year anniversary of us getting an offer on our house.


We received the offer while on our way to a Halloween party - where the above picture of Vaughn came from. I love how disheveled and hopped up on candy she looks, by the way.     

We never thought it would sell so when it did we had to quick find a house. One of the top requirements? I specifically wanted a neighborhood that Boo'd during Halloween. 

To me it was a sure sign of a family-friendly neighborhood. It worked out pretty nice because we power house hunted on October 30th so we were able to gauge the "kid activity" by what kind of Halloween decorations that were displayed. Just for the record I never saw any Boo signs on front doors. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we got Boo'd tonight.

I've been too busy to even know that people in the neighborhood were doing it. Excitement was the first emotion but annoyance followed quickly as I was sure I had made my final Target trip last week for Halloween. Boo.

Still! I love it and will happily Boo two more neighbors tomorrow to keep it going while there's still time. 

How about you? Do you Boo?    




Friday, October 26, 2012

Friday 5: Celebrating Simplicity

5 noteworthy and toast worthy happenings from the week. 

Learning to love where you live. 
(It's our first fall here and it's beautiful.)


Being still with the kids and resist the urge to pick up a device while watching a kid's movie. (Here Vaughn puts the ol' leg clamp on my arm, keeping it device-free.)


Seeing how little things like Cooking Class can bring so much happiness. (This week they made a Pumpkin Trifle.)


Resisting the urge to fix the things the kids make. (Here Vaughn is helping with a decoration that might end up on a Halloween shirt. I had different ideas in mind for those eyes, she loved them right there.)


A little alone time is good. For everyone.


This has been a long week for us. 

One of my yoga instructors shared a quote this week that stuck with me and lucky you - I'll pass it on.

If you are depressed you are living in the past. 
If you are anxious you are living in the future. 
If you are at peace you are living in the present.

I had never heard that one before and I like it. It has made me think a little differently this week.  

So glad the weekend is here!

Cheers! 
What are you toasting to tonight?

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Winner, Winner, Cake Pop Maker

I've never made or eaten a Cake Ball before and truth be told they scare me a little bit. 

Why? Two reasons. One, when they're not rolled into perfect little balls they just look like misshapen globs on a stick. Two, I have a hard time eating any food that has been rolled in between hands other than mine.

(Hold on to this information. It will be important in a moment.) 

Last Saturday night I took the kids to Vance's school's Fall Festival. Amongst carnival rides, bouncy houses, mechanical bull riding, there were also games and instead of cheap plastic toys as prizes you entered your name for a chance to win a bigger prize. (By the way, I'm sure all of the parents appreciated this! It was so nice not coming home with bags of junky toys!)

Lo and behold, Vance won himself a Cake Pop maker.    
CP-12
Photo: Baby Cake Shop

Now only minutes stand between us and non-handrolled perfect shaped little balls of cake. Hot Dog!

Guess it's no secret what we'll be making this weekend. The prize also came along with two mixes so we're all set. The kids are excited!

Have a great Thursday! 



Monday, October 22, 2012

Fish Gotta Swim, Kids Gotta Eat

Recently, one of my Party Sardy's glue loosened and fell, crashing into tiny pieces. Ironically enough he dove straight into the toilet which is where most household fish end up. 


(What we have here is a Magic Bullet sort of thing. The ceramic sardine in question was glued above the one you see pictured. One would think that when the glue gave way the fish would have fallen straight down, knocking off the other Party Sardy's hat, maybe even getting stuck on top. Or even possibly landing on the window sill. But no, this fish jumped, then went out about a foot and landed silently in the toilet bowl. All kids have alibis.)

Even while ready for a party he looks so lonely up there.

...............

In other non-remarkable news, Vaughn now takes cooking classes as offered through her school as an enrichment class. (Which is code for Not Free.) If you've read this blog before you may have noticed that I tend to do stuff with the kids. Stuff just like this. That I don't have to pay for. 

Ahem. 

Because I love her dearly and felt sorry for the Enrichment Teacher having to explain to her every week why she couldn't come to cooking class I signed her up. And she was so excited about her first class. 

What we have here is a 7 eyed Halloween Monster made from homemade chocolate chip cookies and about 2 pounds of frosting, marshmallows, and candy. She loved every minute of class! The monster was super cute and giant enough to split with Vance.


Hope Monday treats you well!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Little Witch Hats!

We're just about 2 weeks away from Halloween. If you haven't Spookified your Space yet, here's a quick way to add some Scare.

 I found these small felt witch hats at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 and immediately bought 7 of them, even not knowing what I'd do with them.

I thought about stringing them to make garland. I thought they'd be adorable place card holders for a dinner party. Endless possibilities.  


Since there are no dinner parties in the works, I ended up wrapping ribbon around the brim and setting them on anything that would sit still. Like this owl... 


...and this little dog who is hanging on the wall. To keep his hat on I bent the rim of the hat up and used a couple of stitches to tack it to the hat. 


I love little touches like these. 

Happy Wednesday Everyone!


Monday, October 15, 2012

Finding an Intention.

The kids are one day older today. In fact, so are all of us.

The plumber will come today, Vaughn will miss her swim class because of it.

Vaughn and I will read a ton of books today and also finish the Halloween wreath that we've been working on together.

We might run to the grocery store today depending on what time the plumber finishes. Maybe the playground too. 

Today when Vance gets home from school we'll play outside. He won't want to come in and study for his math test tomorrow.

We'll eat dinner, do homework, take baths. Read more books, go to bed, and do it all over again tomorrow. 

...............

I recently read about Ben Franklin and how he would start his day by determining "What good shall I do this day?" 

I like that.

We all ask ourselves, "Where has the day gone?" Maybe setting an intention for the day will help keep our days from slipping by unknowingly. Keep us focused.

...............    

Tomorrow we'll wake up another day older. 

So I guess what I'm asking is what good will you do today? How will you make the most of your day? 






   

Friday, October 12, 2012

Friday 5: Celebrating Simplicity


5 noteworthy and toast worthy happenings from the week. 

A trip to the pumpkin farm with beautiful fall weather. Was it last year or the year before that we picked pumpkins while wearing shorts and tank tops. Didn't seem right.

Spooky movie nights with candles galore. I hope the kids never outgrow wanting to do this.


A pretty painless DMV trip to update our licenses with our new address. (For such a stern and lifeless place I love that they decorated with streamers. Shows that there's a little joy there.) It's been almost a year since we've moved in and this was our last tie to the old place. Double cheers to that!


Vance will learn to write in cursive next year, but he's curious about it now. He'll ask me to write letters and words so he can see how it's done then try it himself. I never write in cursive so I feel as if I'm starting all over again too. 


Roasted cauliflower. So good it deserves a post of its own but I'll leave it at this. Wash it, break it apart, mix it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. (Spinderella Cut It Up One Time!)(Salt & Peppa reference - sorry couldn't resist!) 

Ahem...Pour it onto a baking sheet and roast at 375 for 30 or so minutes. Mix it around at the halfway point. This is Vaughn's favorite.   


It's been a good week - hope you've had a good one too! 

What are you toasting to? 

Cheers!



Monday, October 08, 2012

Spooky Halloween Lampshades. Again.



Today I wanted to share a previous Halloween post that I did last year. It's a quick and easy way to add some Spook to your Space!

...............



I have seen themed chandelier lamp shades in many magazines and am always blown away by the price. I decided to try making some of my own and discovered that felt sticks to the material of the lamp shades. As in no gluing and no sewing! A craft-iracle! Let's go!

I first start by doodling. Once the idea is drawn, cut it out so that you're able to make a stencil. Trace it onto the felt and cut your design out.


Here's a tip for tracing onto a dark color: Trace the outer edge with chalk.



Once the pieces are cut simply press them onto the lamp shades.

(Quick Question of the Day: What's Spookier: the ghost or the hot-glued gold trim on the lampshades that the previous homeowner left that I've never changed out? It's a toss up!)


For the ghost's eyes, I used a paper punch to punch 3 circles and used a glue stick to adhere them.


Think of all the possibilities for! Such a simple idea that makes quite the impact.




Thanks for stopping by!

...............

I know some of you are still weekending and I'm jealous. For some reason we do not get off for Columbus Day. If you do, enjoy and make the most of it!

Happy Monday!

Friday, October 05, 2012

Friday 5: Celebrating Simplicity


5 noteworthy and toast worthy happenings from the week.

Justin's name got pulled from the office baseball ticket pool, so we went. The man who sat next to us brought seaweed to snack on and the lady who sat above us brought an entire German Chocolate cake to share for her husband's birthday.    


On Tuesday, Vaughn and I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They're from Joy the Baker and are fantastic. 


On Wednesday I waited over 30 minutes in my car for yoga class to start. I had gotten a previous errand done sooner than expected and didn't have enough time to run another errand or to run home - so I waited. And waited. And contemplated leaving, but stayed. Glad I did.


 On Thursday the weather was glorious so Vaughn and I crushed up all the sidewalk chalk nubs, added water, and made chalk paint. I love that our driveway always looks like a rainbow exploded.
Leftover butternut squash pasta is always a good thing. The recipe is over to the right on the sidebar and I promise you won't be disappointed. Plus, there's goat cheese in it. Chèvre...Go Team!


A lot of my Friday 5 pictures come from Instagram. (I'm @charisadee - check it out, it's so much fun!) My tween niece is on there too and she leaves comments for me like how her and Vaughn are like sisters from anutha mutha. These are the highlights of my day.

It's been a good week around here - hope you've had a good one too!

Tell me, what are you toasting to? 

Cheers!

Thursday, October 04, 2012

The thoughts in my head have been very tornado-like lately. 

Stuff flying around all willy nilly.

To-do lists. Life questions. Projects in the works. Which kid has what activity tonight. Just everyday life sort of stuff. 

This is not how Things Get Done.

Including blog posts.

Apologies for being absent around here lately. 

Quality. Not Quantity. At least that's what I'm going for. 

What do you guys do when your head gets messy? Make a list? Prioritize? Yoga? Make and eat cookies?

(I did the last two yesterday and I do know this: Pumpkin and chocolate chip cookies make your arms and abs feel better after being sore from planking.)

Here's the recipe just in case: Joy the Baker's Super Soft Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

Have a great Thursday!


 

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