this is halloween, this is halloween...

to infinity & beyond...

images courtesy of ana brandt photography

make your own glow lantern

how cool is this? these jars glow just like glow sticks. if we have a little extra time on our hands today i'm definitely going to try & "throw this together". all that is required is a lidded jar, a box of matches, some hydrogen peroxide & a little household bleach. i'm almost positive i have that all sitting around someplace. already i'm imagining a walkway lined with lots of little glowing jars...

Glow Lantern How To! - The funniest bloopers are right here

mod podged halloween frames

i was looking through pictures this morning when i realized i had never posted pictures of this years mod podged halloween frames. i love the fact that $1 frames from michael's, some halloween-inspired scrapbook paper, a little wood stain & alot of mod podge can create such a fun little addition to my halloween decor. & i love being able to display each & every one of our halloween pictures from past years. i have to admit... i'm going to be a little sad, when it comes time to take it all down & pack it away for another year.

impromptu halloween party.

i love get-togethers, gatherings & parties. but i'm no martha stewart. my soirees rarely proper invitations, or even decorations. they're usually spur of the moment events, that just sort of happen. today is an example of such an event. on monday i realized i had wednesday afternoon free. emails were sent & suddenly we had a party on our hands. at this exact moment of life, we are still deciding on menus & activities, but the following are definitely in the running:

veggie skeleton dip
creep crawly drinks
mummy dogs
lollipop cookies
spider pops
mini pumpkins
apple bites
horr-edible hands
pipe cleaner spiders
oragami bats

what is it about glitter?

i love anything that is bright, shiny, glitters or sparkles. it's one of my more "girly" attributes. from a very young age my mother tried to instill a no glitter policy. not so much in things that were pre-glittered, she just tried to steer me away from art & craft projects that involved me actually applying glitter. (it all goes back to a certain t-shirt painting birthday party i had one year. after all the presents had been opened, the guests were gone & the clean up commenced, we were left with glitter remnants that lasted for years... seriously.)

so, i must admit that while i think THESE beautiful glittery lovelies would be "oh so pretty" & probably very easy to make, i don't know if i'll be able to get my mother's nagging voice out of my head. but, just because my mom told me i can't make them, doesn't mean you can't!

an angel among us.

i was a junior in high school, and life was busy... i was junior class president. i was playing varsity tennis. i had a boyfriend, who had just swept me off my feet, & taken me to disneyland for the day. i had recently turned 16, gotten my drivers license & a car. my hair was finally growing out from an especially unattractive & short haircut. what can i say? life was nearly perfect. my biggest worries in life revolved around AP exams, term papers & deciding on the prom theme.

one evening that november, my parents called a family meeting. usually these meetings revolved around our then-flourishing tennis careers... determining tournament schedules, setting up practice matches, discussing "strategy". however, this family discussion was much more serious than my brothers, sister & i could ever have been prepared for. words like cancer & chemotherapy were involved. tears were shed, people were angry, and lots of questions were asked. over the next several weeks, months & (luckily) years, we had several more family meetings. & unfortunately, those words that had brought so much sadness to our lives that fateful day, had quickly become part our daily vocabulary.

after many, many treatments, several surgeries & five and half years later, my father passed away after a long & hard battle with melanoma cancer. for my mother, however, her battle has continued on. over the last several years, she has organized an annual golf tournament, which has raised over $600,000 to support melanoma research at the john wayne cancer institute. my mom often says "i've always felt like they (jwci) kept him alive for five extra years. when he was diagnosed, they gave him six months to live. kerry, our daughter, was only four years old, so five extra years wan a lifetime to her. this is my way of giving back."

last week, my mom was honored by the jwci's auxiliary. they bestowed upon her their most prestigious honor, the "angel award". congratulations mom! we've always known, but now the world knows as well... you definitely are an "angel among us."

halloween night.

our favorite new read is marjorie dennis murray's halloween night....

'twas halloween night, & all through the house
every creature was stirring, including the mouse;
the wall were aflutter with little brown bats,
while hordes of black spiders crept out of the cracks.
by the fire in the kitchen, the witch stirred her brew;
to make it more smelly, she threw in a shoe.

reminiscent of the well-known "night before christmas", this book details the goings-ons
& halloween preparations of a haunted house & it's inhabitants. my boys love the incredible illustrations & get a kick out ogre & olaf, the twin ogre brothers. halloween night will definitely put in the halloween spirit. & if your family is anything like ours, you too will be reading it night after night after night.

lov'n my lips.

if you know me at all, you know that i'm a simple girl... especially when it comes to make-up. i like my make-up to have that natural, almost nothing there look (mostly because i'm always scared i've picked the wrong colors... i wouldn't want to be wearing winter colors if i'm really more of a spring.) i like to ensure that it's quick & easy to apply, & it definitely has to be idiot-proof. because when it comes to applying "my face" i'm all thumbs. smashbox's o-gloss definitely fits the bill. it goes on as a clear gloss & "reacts with your personal skin chemistry to transform from clear into your own custom shade of pink". never again will i have to worry that i have the wrong shade of pink on, because it's my very own.

now that i have the lips right, i have to find something fabulous to do with the rest of my face.

here comes the bride.

the day was perfect. the mountains & hills were alive with color... reds, oranges, yellow & green. the air was crisp, the lights twinkled, the bride was stunning & the groom handsome. you could definitely feel love in the air.

congratulations whitney & jason, i can't wait to watch you live out your "happily ever after". i know that your love will last " 'till the sun grows cold & the stars grow old".

creepy crawler halloween treats

THESE look like a perfect afternoon craft & treat to make with my boys.... you can't go wrong with cookies & frosting! if these creepy crawlers don't interest you, you'll find plenty more ideas HERE.

family tree.

while wandering aimlessly through ikea a while back, i stumbled across this idea using a "family tree" to decorate a blank wall. (click on picture to enlarge). the ikea instructions read "create a family tree using STATTHULT wall stickers and NYTTJA frames. start by applying the stickers to the wall and arranging them any way you wany. then with family pictures inside, attach the frames to the wall interwining them in the tree."

at ikea they showed the idea in a baby nursery, but it would be perfect for a living room, a hallway, or anywhere you have a little bit of blank wall space.

bling bling.

picked up these iron-on transfers on a recent shopping trip to LA. they were the perfect thing to jazz up some old shirts. (click on picture to enlarge.)

twofer.

here's a sneak peak at a custom apron i just sent out. besides being one of absolutely favorite apron patterns, i love that it's reversible... a twofer. hope she enjoys.

please excuse any mess...

i'm in the process of having a little work done... a nip here & a tuck there, a minor little face lift. you know - just some sprucing up. please bare with me while the changes are being made! things should be back to normal in no time.

image via here.

bright & shiny.

lately all my plates & bowls have been cracking & chipping. as much as i love my current dinnerware, i'm thinking it might be time to start thinking about getting something new. THIS
set of recycled glass dinnerware caught my eye. i love all the bright & shiny colors!

it's beginning to look a bit like christmas.

slowly but surely i'm recovering from my disease. i'm catching up on all that i've let slide in the last couple of weeks, which includes lots of emails & blog reading (there's is sooo much i've missed!) i just recently came across laurie's "mom-prenuers shop-a-thon". what a fabulous idea! i'm all for supporting the handmade movement. check out the incredible & talented group of mom-prenuers that laurie has gathered together, all in one convenient spot. i'm sure you'll find a thing or two for someone special on your shopping list, maybe even a little something for you. have fun shopping!

happy columbus day.

there's just something about a "holiday" that makes me lazy. yes, i realize that it's basically only a holiday for schools, banks & the post office, & yet i'm totally willing to extend my lazy weekend by one additional day. so we will do just that. we don't have much planned, in fact it's pretty much your typical manic monday... cleaning the house, making everything spit-spot, cooking up waffles, listening to the howling of the santa ana winds, & catching up with jeffy (i can't wait to hear all about his big race). but after all our "work" is done the boys & i will be busy making & racing paper boats, while wearing our newspaper sailor hats. happy columbus day to you & yours.

image via flickr.

vintage rulers.

one day i'll have entire room dedicated completely to sewing (as opposed the kitchen table that is currently completely dedicated to sewing). when this day comes, i also have an unlimited budget with which to furnish said room. what's on top of my must-have list (besides a vintage sewing machine or two?), THIS vintage ruler table &/or THIS stool. how cute are they? i love 'em.

any spook-tacular ideas out there?

yesterday i signed up to help with gavin's preschool halloween party. all the easy stuff was taken, so i'm bringing the main dish/ sandwiches. i've been doing some "research" & thinking up some ideas. i may just end up going with basic sandwiches cut into fun halloween shapes using cookies cutters, but i was looking for some new & exciting ideas. here's what i've come up with so far.

bologna pumpkin head
ritz spiders
coffin sandwiches
spooky eyeball tacos
mummy dogs
breadstick bones
witches finger sandwiches
meatball creepy crawlers

anyone out there have any brilliant thoughts or spooky ideas out there? i'm sure i'm not the only one bringing halloween themed sandwiches to school this year! i'd love to hear your ideas.

image via kraft foods.

eye ball soup

i can't wait until the weather cools down enough for soup. THIS quick & easy recipe is perfect for the halloween season. thanks martha!

fast asleep.

little o has recently realized that he can climb out of his crib. almost every night, when i check in on him, prior to going to sleep myself, i find him fast asleep on the floor.... although he makes sure to bring his favorite blanket & stuffed animal with him.

paper pumpkins

over the past couple of days ghosts, witches, a few pirates & lots of pumpkins have taken over the house. last year we had so much making these paper pumpkins, that we decided to do them again. you & your kiddos want to make a some too? grab some paper, a paper punch, some floral wire, & a few fake leaves and you'll be making pumpkins in no time. (click on the pictures on the right to enlarge them.)

1. start with a piece of paper. i prefer card stock, but really, any paper will do. & the size really isn't important. different sizes of paper will create different sized pumpkins, so have fun with it & be creative.
2. cut your paper into strips. i usually make the strips 1" wide, but again, be creative. experiment with different widths, or even a mixture. there is no right or wrong way to do this.
3. after you've cut your strips punch a hole in each end of your strip, resulting in two holes per strip, one at each end.
4. stack all the strips on top of each other, line up the holes, & thread a piece of floral wire (about 5" long) through all of the holes. make sure to kink or coil one of the ends of the floral wire to "anchor" it.
5. after you've threaded the floral wire through one set of the holes, fold the paper in a u-shape & thread the wire through the other set of stacked holes. make sense? when you've done it correctly the paper will make a tear drop shape.
6. now, kink or coil this end of the floral wire, once again "anchoring" it. how much space or wire you leave between the two ends of paper is up to you. again experiment with the length of wire you leave. the more wire, the taller the pumpkin will sit. just play with the shape.
7. using some excess floral wire attach a couple of leaves, fan out your pumpkin, & ta da! you are all finished.

this is a quick & easy project, & my kids love to help. they get a kick out of punching holes & helping "thread" the pumpkins. try different colors & paper textures... it's fun seeing what you can create.

i spy: an alphabet in art

art history was one of my favorite college courses of all time. i was lucky enough to take it the semester before "backpacking europe" with a few cousins & some friends. years later, i still get a thrill out of recognizing a work of art, or particular artist.

a couple of summers ago we traveled back to paris. we had some wonderful meals, saw the sights, made a trip to the second happiest place on earth, visited a museum or two, & picked up THIS awesome children's book. i love watching my boys thumb through it's pages, gazing at the beautiful paintings, pointing out the things they "spy". maybe the next time we go to the museum, they'll be the ones recognizing a painting or two.