Halloween Mantle

I think I finally finished my Halloween mantle. Still playing around with some odds and ends but it will do for now! :) Funny thing is half the stuff up there is handmade! The one thing that bothers me is the painting back there....we have it there year round but it doesnt quite fit the theme for now! Pondering...maybe a nice big mirror?

My Halloween Ribbon Wreath....I used Jen's tutorial over at Tatertots and Jello! LOVE IT!

A little halloween candy for decor....

My little "Haunted House". I found this house as unfinished wood at goodwill for $2 and covered with some scrapbook paper and a little mod podge and voila!

The pumpkin and the kitty were bought, but I made the pumpkin topiary with three $ store pumpkins and $ store candle stick. Not satisfied with the white one, that may end up re done but I like the other two!!

And these last little pumpkins I found in the target dollar section today like this...

I pulled off the plaid and added some halloween ribbon, and voila! Love it!

So there you have it, I am having fun decorating for Halloween and looking forward to having the house all gussied up for Mark's 1st birthday party on Saturday! How is your decorating going? Are you decorating for Halloween or skipping straight to fall?

And just a little cuteness....this guy has not wanted to take his costume off since Grammy brought it over on Sunday!!

Birthday Presents?

Baby boy is turning 1 in a week...I am still in disbelief but we aren't talking about that part yet! ;-) Several good friends have asked what to get the little man for his party....and truthfully, I have no idea? With 2 kids of the same gender and pretty close in age, what do you ask for that you do not already have? I am sure there are some new things out there, but I am not really sure what. Now I know that Mark is getting to the age to where he wants to play with Z and will get mad when you take toys away, but not quite sure we need/want 2 of everything? Especially because I think Z doesn't necessarily wants what Mark has...he just doesn't want Mark to have it...little stinker!

ANYWAY.....if any of you mommas out there with same gender kiddos have any advice on gifts, let me know! OR, if you have a 1 year old or close to it and know of some toys your kiddo loves, let me know that too! :)

Shabby Chic Pumpkins

I found this frame at goodwill for a few dollars...originally it was gold and housed some lovely little floral prints ;-) Originally my plan was just to paint the frame and put pictures of the boys in it since it had such a nice mat, but then I decided why not pumpkins for the fall?

So after "shabbying" up the frame with paint and sandpaper, I cut out some pumpkins, added a little distressed ink and some more paper for the background....and here ya go, some original shabby chic pumpkin art for our guest bedroom! :)

Go Check out More cool crafts!:

christmas shopping

I have not even finished decorating for Halloween and I am already thinknig about Christmas...I blame the stores since they are inudated with Christmas goodies already!

Anyway, every year I vow to be finished shopping early and not to overspend. I usually overspend because I am shopping late and haven't really taken good time to think about what I want to buy and therefore end up buying more than I need to. Anyone else do this?

So yeah, I am going to start shopping sooner and also plan to buy LESS. This week I bought 2 things for Zach, one of which will be his "big" present. Its called an Early Rider and I researched it a bit online before we purchased. It was featured on zulily this week and was almost half off. Basically it's a beginner bike and pedaless....encourages your kid to learn to balance and when they are ready for a bike, won't need training wheels! EVERY post and review about it, the kids LOVED it! If you have ever been to our house and seen Zachary WHIZZING around the house on his motorcyle that the Simonds gave him for his 2nd birthday, you will know how much he loves riding things and I think this will be perfect for him. The other purchase I made was for rain gear....I have been wanting some adorable rain gear forever and never wanted to spend the money. But this week in Berings, they had a great deal where if you purchased 3 items, you would get 10% off cheapest, %15 off 2nd, and 25% off most expensive item. I ended up getting him the most adorable fireman set....coat, boats, and umbrella! How cute is that? It's even cuter in person....I only wish they came in sizes small enough for Markey too!

And of course I have started my own shopping list too...I want a sewing machine and a 50mm lense for my camera. That's it for me! :)

What about you? Have you started your shopping list for your family or friends? Do you have anything on your wish list??

Gap's new Logo

What do you think?

I think it is kinda silly. The classic navy and white logo is so well known, why mess with a good thing, especially to something that doesn't look all that cool....I have to agree with the masses, go back to the old logo!

It's a Man's Job...

My tire pressure light has been on all week...glaring at me and reminding me that the left front tire needs air. But alas, I have no clue how to air up my tires!! Anyone else have this problem? I leave all things car and mechanic related to my husband or my dad! I think I seriously need a lesson on airing up tires, changing tires, mowing the lawn, etc....or maybe not? ;-)

Thank goodness for hubbies and pops!

Another New Recipe

Been a couple weeks since I tried something new again, but we did last night and it definitely passed the test! I found the recipe on the Pilsbury website and its called Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole. It was easy, I used all lite or reduced fat ingredients and it was still very tasty!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. lean ground beef (I used 93/7)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls (I used reduced fat)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.
2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream; mix well.
3. Pour hot beef mixture into ungreased 9 1/2 or 10-inch glass deep-dish pie pan or 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture over beef mixture. (I used a rectangle 11x7 and it was perfect!)
4. Unroll dough over cheese mixture. (If using pie pan, separate dough into 8 triangles; arrange points toward center over cheese mixture, crimping outside edges if necessary.) In small bowl, mix Parmesan cheese and butter. Spread evenly over dough.
5. Bake at 375°F. for 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown. (Mine was cooked about 20ish minutes)

More Pictures

Got my cd in the mail of all the pictures from our Chubbyfoot session last week....my oh my how cute are these boys! Of course I am partial to them, but Mackenzie did such a good job! Here are a few of my favorite ones!

Ivory, black, lavender, navy, maroon, sky blue, brown, black, and blue!!

Those were the colors of all the bridesmaid dresses I have from the last 8 years!! Ginny, Roxanne, Jenny, Kari, Amy, Susan, Allison, Rachel, and now Kelly! :)

It was a busy weekend and I am still tired.....but it was a lovely wedding weekend for my oldest friend. The bride looked beautiful, the party was great, and most importantly, these 2 people who are so in love are now happily married!!!

Here are a couple pics from the weekend, the rest I am uploading onto smugmug! Enjoy!

Going to the chapel

no no, not me...my sweet oldest friend, Kelly! She is getting hitched on Saturday and I am just so happy for her! I have spent the last couple hours working on my Matron of Honor speech and hope that it sounds okay!

It is going to be a whirlwind 2 days starting tomorrow at noon. My parents are watching the boys tomorrow night while we are at the rehearsal and dinner and then my very kind co-workers/friends are watching the boys on Saturday. What life savers they are! My parents will be at the wedding on Saturday too so we were sitterless. What great friends, they actually volunteered! :)

I had the boys pictures taken on Monday in honor of M's all too quickly approaching 1st birthday and they turned out SO good! Cant wait to get the cd files so I can upload them all, but man, they are some handsome boys! What do you think of their shirts? ;-) I made them! And my little flower on my cardigan too...go me! LOL!

Better get to bed, its late and I have a long, but fun, weekend ahead of me!!!