Happy Halloween!

Hello ghosts and ghouls.

It is my favorite time of year.  Not only is it the kick off of the marathon holiday season, it is also the time to test your craftiness.

This year I have some plans.  I love to plan.  

Halloween.is on a Monday this year.  A school night.  However this holiday has become a weekend long event.
We Trunk-or-Treated on Saturday, have a party at school on Monday and Trick-or-Treating through our neighborhood.  We are loading up on crappy candy that none of us have any power against.  I love tootsie rolls.  I love Almond Mounds.  I never eat them except for this time of year, and it is probably because we eat way too much of it over the three day celebration of All Hallow's Eve that we can not stomach it but once a year.  My teeth and tummy ache as I type this.

This year I decided to go a bit more on the traditional side.  I am going as a witch.  I made a hat...well I bought a hat and decorated it. I would have made this one from Living with Punks with more time.  I greened up my face and wore lots of black. Witches were lots of black you know.
B decided she would be the Princess from the Princess and the Pea story.  Hummmm? How would we pull this one off?  I am not carrying around a mattress for her to sit on top of.  So we have planned a wagon bed for her to be pulled in with blankets for mattresses.  I suspect she will walk most of the route and only point to me pulling a wagon full of blankets at the end of the driveways.  What was that earlier comment about not carrying a mattress?
It should be fun.. Here are some preliminary pictures from the Trunk-or-Treat event.  J went too.  He went costume crazy and dressed as a chef.

 Scary make-up...?

 Happiest kid ever...

She will be embarrassed by us some day soon...

Hopefully  this stays together through the weekend...

Other great news is I have finished three big projects (well mostly).
The bookcase is complete and in use.  It took 2 months but I did it.  I used a great novel from V.C. Andrews and one of my favorite books as a youth (11 years old) and movie as well...

Now to the bookcase...

 Grandmother is sooooo mean.

The second project I finished was our nightstands.  These are not quite done only because my knobs are en route and  due to arrive this week some time.  I thought I would  include it in this weeks post because it will take 2.5 seconds to put the knobs on...might as well be done now.

This is what they looked like before...

Here is the nearly finished product sans the knobs...

I modge podged the insides of the drawers with the prettiest papers.  I stole this idea from my good friend F, and I have to say I love how they came out.

The third project I finished was refinishing an old wooden frame.
It was covered in layers of paint and I think mold.  I used turpentine to cut through several layers that eventually peeled off to leave a white and goldish color. I rewired it for a new picture and voila!   I think it will get a new home over my bed to balance out the room.

I feel like I have gotten so much done this week!


Things I Love


Halloween Scary movies~
Some of my all time favorites are the Halloween series with white faced Jason and blue overalls and a very young Jamie Lee Curtis (who has the best scream ever). Then I would have to throw in a little Nightmare On Elm Street, but only the first two. Nancy gets a white streak! For some serious scarring The Exorcist is at the top of my list.  I would not be able to close my eyes for a good two days after this one.  The Shinning also falls into this really scary category too.  I get creeped out by identical twin girls because of this movie. I could go on but I am afraid now and need to change the subject...

And I have to include...

Well Carved Pumpkins~

I love how great these look.  

A Good Theme Song~

Nothing sets a mood like music. Movies have taught me this much.  I try to apply what I have learned to everyday life.  Most days I keep it light and happy.  Some days mellow and funky. Yet other days I like it dark and a bit sinister and kinda loud.  Here's where I have been this week...

Crime and the City Solution, "The Adversary"

and ...

Have a safe and happy Halloween...

Thank you for reading

J

It has been a long time...

Well hello there.  I know it has been an awful long time.  No excuses other than distraction.  We have been distracted.
What has been going on in our happy lives these last few weeks has been lots of fun.  To start, the seasons have changed and it is cool enough for a jacket.  The air is crisp, and the leaves have changed to crimsons. The days are no longer broiling and sweaty but perfectly tepid and mild.  Our beach time has eased down too. Hard to say that out loud as I never thought it would happen.  It is now apparent to me why snow birds flock here.

On the craft front we have made over shoes, decoupaged a book shelf (nearly finished) and knitted.
On the cooking front we have made breads, pies, pizzas, sweat breads, cookies, and cakes.

Lets start will the shoes.  I am in love with this blog a pair & a spare. The gal has really great ideas for DIY enthusiast like myself.   She had redone an pair of heals that inspired me to rethink a pair of shoes that B had demolished in a couple of wears.  So per Geneva's instructions I set about to salvage B's beloved pink flats.

Mix glue (elmers) and glitter...

Sand the shoes first with a fine paper then paint with glue/glitter mixture. 

Cover with more glitter and place on parchment paper/news papers to dry.  

I let them dry for a day.  Then spray with an acrylic spray to seal it.  Once that is dry they are ready to wear. 

...and she did.

We had family come and visit recently too.  Of course we took them to the historical sites and around or lovely home.  I now have my tour guides licence and know all the cool spots to go.  It is great to just spend time together. We moved 2 years ago and struggled with the decision fearing the impact on B.  B has known her Grandparents since the day she was born.  She adores them.  I love that she has such a close relationship with them. So does her dad...   

J learned to cook from his mom...go figure.

 A week just in not long enough.


Since we had guests we cooked a lot together.  Grandma is a catalog of recipes and has a natural gift for cooking.  Popa likes to eat.  It's perfect...

 Apple walnut cake

 Grandma's M recipe for Pound cake

Sourdough bread

 Fresh pizza

 Falalfal Salad

 Cinnamon Rolls. with candied pecans

This week we are living off the leftovers...





Things I Love~


Halloween

When else can you dress up and act foolish and not be institutionalized or arrested for it.  It is a perfect blend of pagen and christian holidays. Act like a heathen to keep the evil spirits away.   At one time maybe.  These days I still love to dress up but now we do activities with other neighbors and it has to be kid friendly. This year we took the kids on a parade through the local veterans home and gave out cookies to the residents.  The kids get to do community service and the grandma's and grandpa's get their kid fix.
B who has and arsenal of dress up clothes put this little gem together...

She informed everyone that this is not her real Halloween costume.  It is just for today.  I know she would wear this any day of the week. Reminds me of...

Her costume will be much more glamorous...of course.


Dishwasher
Now I know it is silly to love inanimate objects. I know it is materialistic and not good for the water shed and all that.  I tend to value these ideologies but not when it comes to doing dishes.  I hate washing by hand. It was a chore when I was a kid and I did not enjoy it then.  Laundry I do not mind but dishes...I have been known to eat off tea saucers and measuring spoons rather than wash dishes.  Our dishwasher works but our water softner did not.  We decided to save money to buy a new one and we'd wash by hand till then(Well "we" is an interesting term.  I have come to know it to be code for me.). So for 2 months "we" have been washing dishes by hand.  Till last week when the replacement arrived.  The dishes get done and not by "we". No more spots except if you count the tears I shed for the love of modern amenities. Thank you god of dishwashers.


Chocolate
Is it not funny that every holiday has an element of chocolate to it.  Easter we get chocolate eggs and bunnies. Christmas is chocolate santas, and hot chocolate. Halloween we get and give candy.  Saint Patrick's day chocolate beer?  Valentine's Day..duh!  Forth of July has brownies and picnic goodies.  It is the universal sign for friendship, comfort and love (mover over pineapple). It comes in milk, dark, bitter sweet and white(which has no chocolate but milk fat). Interestingly it has health benefits(antioxidants and magnesium) and can cause cavities. We love it so much we even named a town after a beloved brand. You can put it on bugs and people will eat them.  Honestly is there anything more perfect then chocolate?

 Thank you Mr. Waits...

Thank you for reading,

J