Getting Ready for Halloween

The end of September is near and I’m getting ready for Halloween. Avery was just a little lump of a tiger {she was Aubie} last year for Halloween at 3 months old. But this year she can walk around and is a little more aware of what’s going on which means I’m excited to see her reaction to it all! When it comes to holidays, there’s something about having a kid that gives me back the kind of excitement I had when I was a kid. We have plans for a trip to the Pumpkin Patch and I’m researching costume ideas. I also decided to locate our Halloween decorations…and had no luck! I was in a slight panic last week thinking that the tub of Halloween stuff was donated with the last trip to Salvation Army. If the plastic skeletons that hang from our front tree didn’t make it, then I’ll be okay. But the actual home decor that’s a little more chic {and expensive} is what I’m worried about. Not to mention I’ve been collecting it since before Chris and I ever started dating so it would take me a long time to build back up to what I had before!

Should the old stuff be truly gone forever, I need a backup plan. So I started thinking ahead to how I can quickly and cheaply add some new decorations this year and I came up with a few ideas. I was inspired by this picture I found on Houzz.

See the skeleton picture reflected in the mirror? I saw that and thought – that would be great to hang on the wall for Halloween! I began searching Etsy for a skull print and there are tons of options. This one seems to have similar qualities to the inspiration photo with it’s sketched look and antiqued paper.

It’s a really reasonably priced little print which makes me happy. And I’m sure I have an empty frame I could use. But I’ve got the DIY bug and I don’t want to just buy an aged-looking crisp piece of art. I want something that looks and feels like a page from an antique book, or was hanging on the wall of creepy haunted mansion. Maybe it was salvaged from an abandoned asylum? It’s Halloween afterall! So…I decided I’m going to DIY it. For FREE! I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out but at least I know I’ve got etsy as a backup plan!

And because I love a good happy ending, I found the box of missing decorations when I cleaned out the entire garage this past weekend. {There was definitely an embarrassing happy dance in the driveway for all the neighbors to see.} I can’t wait to start putting them up!

So when do you put up your Halloween decorations? Comment below, and stay tuned to see how my creepy skull print turns out!

 

 

UPDATE: My artwork is complete! To see the tutorial for my DIY Project, click here!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Beannacht Día Lá Féile Pádraig | May God’s Blessings be with you on St. Patrick’s Feast Day!

{a loosely translated version of the Gaelic phrase}

Today’s is St. Patrick’s Day, so I hope you wore green! If you live anywhere near me, it might be hard to see your green under all the warm layers you have on since it snowed AGAIN last night! {and I thought I was over the snow last time!}

Oh well, I did get out and enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. Makes me wish there was a lot more GREEN on the trees outside. Rather than post on all the green things you can wear or decorate your home with, I’m just going to share a few favorite green spaces from my outdoor Pinterest board.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

I leave you with wonderful, warm, green thoughts and this Irish blessing:

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. And may trouble avoid you wherever you go!

Be Mine, Valentine

Happy Friday! Happy Snow Day!! We got somewhere in the 14″ to 18″ range {and it’s snowing again}. Craziness.

… oh and Happy Valentine’s Day!

The hubs and I have never gone out of our way to celebrate V-Day. We’ll do dinner and give cards but we never go over the top. He likes to think that I’m just “testing” him every year but I’m for-serious. It’s just not my thing, sorry. {Wahn-Wahn}. But this year is different. This year is the first Valentine’s Day for our Little Miss A! Now, at just shy of 7 months old, she couldn’t care less. But…I’m all about tradition and being able to tell her things like “we’ve been doing this since you were born” and actually meaning it. So enter a new tradition of Daddy-Daughter Valentine’s. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with for her! Still nothing over-the-top. I am of the opinion that one is never too young for diamonds, but that does seem a bit extreme for the occasion! A cute book, some baby-safe baubles, a new headband in just the right shades of Valentine pink and red…just a sweet token of love. And a card. The card is a must.

That being said, I do love me some black/white/gold, I can’t get enough sparkle and glitter, and who doesn’t love a free download?! I have just the thing for you! Well, I don’t have it…but Christi over at Love From The Oven has a few Valentine’s printables for you. This one just happens to be my favorite. And in non-“Valentine” colors it’s a perfect little pretty to keep around all year. Hey, wait a minute…it matches my new-office inspiration perfectly! Don’t you think?

If you’d like to download this for FREE please visit Love From The Oven

So how does everyone else feel about Valentine’s Day? Comment Below!

ciao for now!