This is Halloween

It was a good week full of crafts and Halloween. I decorated our apartment while listening to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie pretty much on replay... I might have watched/listened to it like 5 times. I lost count.

I am really excited with how things turned out. I decided that because I am going home Dec. 4th, and won't be here to enjoy Christmas Decorations (though I might set some up for Alex to enjoy while he's here finishing the semester), I wanted to have fun with Halloween. I'm most proud of how much I was able to do on such a tight budget. It was fun, now its over, and I can sit back and enjoy. Next on my Halloween list... Pumpkin bread!

Spiders cut out of black cardstock and taped on the inside of the lamp shade

I heart free sticks, left over fabric, old vase, and a shred of muslin tied in a bow

My spider webs.

How I made them:

That's right. Hot glue gun. I used silicone baking mats. Because they're so flexible, it's easy to get the glue off without it breaking. I know the rubbery/plasticy cutting boards are supposed to work also. I originally saw the idea on this favorite craft blog. It's also where I found my book of spells

The "glowing pumpkins" are Alex's contribution. Metal pumpkins wrapped around our Scentsy. Good job hun.


Ta-Da!

Probably my favorite thing. I'm considering leaving the "tree" by the "Drake" all year round, but take away the tombstones and moss, and in winter add icicles or christmas ornaments, then in the spring add felt flowers. Summer, not sure yet... But isn't it the perfect twig?! I love how it reaches over.


Ok. This is my other favorite. I think you'll recognize some...

I took some of Alex's colognes (because they are cooler colors than my perfumes) and turned them into potions! I used dafont.com and downloaded free fonts. HarryPotter is here. The Alice in Wonderland Drink Me I used Circus found here.
I am obsessed with free fonts!

And if you can't tell there's a little key hanging on the bottle. Lucky me, leftover JoLee's scrapbooking thing! Alex didn't get it, but he hasn't seen Alice.

So here is the expense breakdown. Oh and, I do not count stuff I already had. That money was long gone and already "counted" in another project.

Dollar store. Allowed my self 5 things for the $5 bill in my wallet. I got:

1. a bag of critters seen here
And will probably use them to make "fossil cookies" by pressing the plastic centipedes and beetles into dough before baking to make imprints. Could be cool.

2. Bag of moss. Seen here
and around my potions.

3. Sparkly skull
4. Skull coasters (bag of 8)
The "art" is ripped cardstock and coasters. The other 4 coasters are on my coffee table

and
5. bag of plastic skulls. Haven't decided what I want to do with them yet. Maybe hang them from the "tree" next to the entertainment center?


Next purchase was a glittery pumpkin. I have had my eye on it for a while and when all my other decor was up, there was an empty square in the entertainment center that screamed "reserved for glittery goodness." $6 later, it was in its rightful place.

Last but opposite of least, my kind of book of spells. The glue gun cobwebs originally came from this beautiful piece of literature. It has the brilliant craftiness of Martha's magazines without the silly articles and ads. It includes decoration, costumes, recipes, and all of the templates needed for the crafts. At $10, this is my most expensive purchase. But it's also the best/favorite/coolest investment because I know, for a fact, I will use this every year.

Yep. That puts me at a grand total of $21. Not bad huh? I would like to take a moment to thank the trees of my neighborhood for their unwanted branches. I love how they are free, and how they do a good job of filling space. Now, how to make them work for Christmas.....? :)

Dean is 5 months!

At 5 months Dean is:
Drooling more
Sleeping less
Standing better
Blowing spit bubbles
Talking more
Laughing more
Teething more
Eating more
Weighing more
Hates getting dressed more
Loves tubs more (and kicks with
excitement when he knows
he's getting ready for one)
Loved by his parents even more!!!!

I love this wrinkled forehead face. This is what I see when he looks up at me while I'm holding him.


What Dean used to do in his seat: watch.

What he does now: grabs.

Haven't seen this pose since he was a newborn! Loved seeing it again.

One of my favorites. Oh how I wish it wasn't blurry!!!!

First night playing with his new toy!

Weekend Adventure #'s 5, 6, &7

The last weeks of September flew by as we finished setting up house, Alex finished Anatomy, and Dean started teething.

Alex's school is done in block-classes. So for the first 7 weeks he studied Anatomy, took a final this last Tuesday, and is now on to BioChem and Genetics.

Dean's teething. The things I'm ok with: drooling, chewing, spit bubbles on his lips, wanting to be held and cuddled. Things I'm not ok with: crying (the painful kind), irritability and boredom, loss of appetite, and waking up every 30-45 minutes at night. I wish the little white thing would just make an appearance already and give me my Dean back. (I do have to say though, that even under the worst conditions Dean is a trooper. Still pretty laid back, smiley, happy, and a joy to have as my little tag-a-long buddy)

So... We have made our weekend adventures a little more low key these last few weeks.

Weekend Adventure #5: Date Group

September 17th marked our first night in our new Date Group. Here's how it works; We have 6 families in our group (9 kids including Dean, that range from I think 4 yrs to 5 months) and we rotate babysitting Friday nights from 5:30-8:30. And guess who got to start the year out with a bang! We got to be the first babysitters! It went great! We ended up with 4 boys + Dean. We played outside with tennis balls, colored, had snacks, watched Cars, and played with toys. This is going to be great! We are so lucky to be included!

Weekend Adventure #6: Date Group

September 24th marked our first night leaving Dean with a babysitter other than family! Yes, this is an adventure for us. I was worried because I think it's easier to take care of toddlers and kids that can play, entertain, and even feed themselves where Dean, is a little more high maintenance. But things have seemed to be going well! We've had 2 nights of dropping him off, and as long as the nice couples that babysat weren't lying, he did great! I think it's lucky he is entertained by watching other kids and by rolling around. He usually does great with commotion and likes having people to stimulate and entertain him. It probably also helped that both nights he napped till 6:30, ate, and then went over ready to play. So here's hoping things continue to go well and he continues to cooperate!

Weekend Adventure #7: The Pierogi Kitchen

We tried this little restaurant/shop down the street that makes Pierogi's. I had never heard of them before and Alex surprised me and took me. They are like potstickers but filled with stuff like mashed potatoes, cheese, onions, etc. Pretty good. Especially with sour cream.

Weekend Adventure #4: Reading Terminal

Down in Center City there is an old-train-terminal-turned-market. It's pronounced Red-ing terminal, something you learn quick as a Philadelphian. It's full of various vendors including, but not limited to, produce, books, honey, fresh seafood, meat, fancy cheeses, bakeries, chocolate, and my favorite, food-court-like restaurants. We went with our new friends Jeff and Annalisa. Here are just a few shots. This place just can't be experienced through pictures.

The Amish are all over the place selling candy, produce, dolls...just about everything.

Where I ate lunch. Yum!!! Still dreaming of my Chicken Gyro.

Where Alex ate lunch. Chicken quesadilla.
Mom- the chicken tasted like it was seasoned with the same stuff as your spicy beef sandwiches.

Jeff and Annalisa were troopers. Dean cried the whole way there. Then fell asleep when we were walking around... the part he would actually enjoy. Stinker.

Just one of the many building murals of Philadelphia.This was in our parking lot.

Get ready family and friends. When you come to visit, we might just have to take you! Chicken Gyro, we'll be back!

Sunday Dean

In his Sunday best.

Weekend Adventure #3: Our house.

Boxes are unpacked, furniture is in it's place, and we're starting to feel settled. This weekend we cleaned, organized, and started putting homey touches up. There are plenty of projects I still want to do, but we're getting closer!

Take a look.

Front Room:

This:

To This:

To Finally THIS:

future project, recover rocking chair

We found out that we were allowed to paint! But I am so non-committal when it comes to paint colors. I stress about getting it up and painted then not liking it. Yes, it's paint, it's easy to change or fix. But these days, that $25 for a can of mistake-paint can be put to better use. Plus, with a plan to incorporate more color in accents around the room, I got used to the idea of white walls. So we spiced up the white by using clear gloss paint (usually used to protect faux finishes) to create subtle horizontal stripes.


Alex made these wood valences with a $5 plank of wood from Lowe's, left over stain, and some old nails. Love them almost as much as I love Alex for making them.

I had wanted colorful, printed fabric for our front room curtains, but when Spool proved expensive, and fabric row proved fruitless, I turned to my #1 go-to: Ikea.

A light and soft look with just enough color to tie in colorful frames.

My other #1 go-to...Spray paint! I've been collecting (ok, more like accumulating) frames since the beginning of college. I have a lot. With trusty spray paint I can keep changing their color to fit different rooms or styles.
The latest style: color!

future project, making fabric covers for squares with ugly speakers.

future project, fill gold frame and paint lamp light blue

Dean's Room:

This:

To This:

Future project, rearrange/decorate this thing

Future Project, cover pillows. Already have felt from JoAnn's sale to cover them! Maybe felt pillows sound weird, but I'm really excited about it!

Completed project! Art for Dean!
Click to make bigger.

Bedroom:

This:

To This:

Future Project, still need to hang pictures and decorate this room

Future Project, organize and make pretty my accessories shelves in the corner

I love the closet doors for their height and handles. They are the same throughout the whole place.

It feels so nice to have gotten so much accomplished in one weekend. Stay tuned for those future projects. Hopefully they won't stay "future" for long!