Halloween Grinch

I am a total Halloween Grinch...maybe that is what I should have dressed as for the party we went to on Saturday.  I love to blame it on my 6th grade Halloween when my friends and I had our candy stolen from some 'bullies'...one friend was even flipped to the ground.  Most of the girls just laughed it off...I was a little more shocked by the whole thing.  What?  Halloween bullies in Glen Ellyn?  How could that be?

That is an easy excuse, so I stick with it.  I am hoping that kids will make Halloween more fun again.  Or...maybe if Sean and I could ever come up with a good costume??  We try to think of good ideas, but come up short.  We were going to have one of us be a Chilean miner, and we would just have one of us stay in the basement all night with a pipe running downstairs.  Okay, not the most practical idea.

All that being said, we were invited to our neighbors for a party the other night.  I knew 'A' & 'B' would be all over the details, and 'A' blew every little detail out of the water.  She claims she copied everything (which is all I seem to do!), but just pulling together all these details in one party was definitely all 'A'.

They have these very detailed cut outs in their windows and the perfect lighting behind them...'B' did the cut outs himself, and he even incorporated a rat being dropped into a cauldron as a 'shout out' to our little rat issue.

So, 'A' is clearly the champion of themed parties...check out all the food and the perfectly coordinating names!

This 'spooky punch' was super tasty, and it had an ice skull floating in it!  I wish I would have gotten a better picture of that...

Mummy Marshmallow Treats...

Boo-tiful Brownies...

Spiderweb Eggs...a Martha idea...

Marinated Moons...little buffalo mozz balls marinated in yummy spices...

Guacamoldy with Jack-o-Lantern dippers ('A' cut out all those pumpkins from tortillas and then baked them...so yummy!)

Pina Ghouladas...notice the corn syrup/red food coloring mixture that mimics blood running down the glass...nice...

On the walls, they even blew up pictures of all the families that were at the party where they had 'photo-shopped' our pictures and placed us in front of haunted houses...adorable!

There were even more perfect details, but I didn't get great pictures, so I will stop here.  Thanks for the great time, 'A' & 'B'!

Paddy's World...

A long time ago, I blogged about wanting to place a big map in Paddy's room.  I ordered it from Amazon, got it before we moved in, matched a light blue to the map for the other three walls, and then was ready to move in.  Krissy came to the rescue and pointed out that I would probably want to hang the map before our goods were delivered so I wouldn't have to move furniture around, etc. to do it later.  So, Krissy, her daughter and I had a fun night hanging wallpaper.  This was my first adventure in wallpapering.  I was pretty clueless, so thankfully, Krissy is a patient and helpful teacher!

Before:

During:

The surprising thing about the map was that it was supposed to be 13 feet long, which would have been too long for the wall we put it on, so I figured we would just trim it...well, it came up about a foot and half short of covering the whole wall.  This drives the 'neurotic me' a little nuts, but I think we placed the map in the right place so that your eye isn't immediately drawn to the piece of wall without map!

The other bummer for us is that Iraq and Afghanistan had to be cut out as they fell where the window is...

I am very pleased with how the map turned out...and I think Paddy likes it too...

come on in and check it out...

 After:

 and here is the 'keeping it real' photo...notice where we ran out of map...

And here are a few shots of the rest of Paddy's room...almost all of this is from his nursery in Boston...

Most of these pictures on the 'gallery wall' were in his Boston room; however, I added the painting of hot air balloons that our sweet friend, Catherine, gave to Paddy.  We also added the very old Army pennant that Sean and I got at Scott's in ATL...

Changing table...since we have 're-purposed' the Brimfield cart in this house, my only other decent option was this buffet we bought in Michigan several years ago.  In Columbus, this was outside in our entertaining area.  In Boston, I did a horrible job refinishing it, and then, I didn't fix it :), but went ahead and used it in our dining room to shove as many pieces of entertaining gear in here that I could.  Don't you love multi-purpose furniture?

Reading corner...with Ari's "Let Go" picture...

The coat rack that my dad made is getting lots of good use...

Thankfully this closet could fit his little dresser (that was completely scuffed up in the move!)

The closet is helping store the 'nicer' books...

Some fun trinkets and books on top of the dresser in the closet...

The beautiful growth chart that Michelle made...I smile every time I see this because I just think about how much time and love went into making this...

That's all we've got :)

Why can't I be a consistent blogger?

I don't think it could be said any better than AnNicole at Suburban Cottage...

Check out her post, and I just love the quote she uses...

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.

from The Life and Work of Martha Graham

Can't get enough of the fall!  Picture from a trip to Lawrence Farms...

Clipboard Stairwell

So, the clipboard stairwell...we ended up deciding to go for it, and we couldn't be happier about that decision.  A cheap and fun way to fill up a big space.  I ended up ordering the clipboards from a different source as my first source charged for shipping on EACH clipboard...forget that.

Putting these up was pretty funny.  It was my not-so-brilliant idea to have Sean and I do this together...I would stand back with the laser level to ensure that the angle of the clipboards would follow the angle of the banister, and Sean could take a pencil and follow the laser line.  Then, I could just nail along that line.  Horrible idea.  I consider myself to have a decently steady hand, and even with what you think is a steady hand, you still are moving, even if a little bit.  Sean was beyond frustrated with my ridiculous method, but I was as stubborn as usual, so I made him attempt the line.  It pretty much looked like one of those monitors in the hospital when you have a contraction.  Wasn't going to work.  Sean again explained his method of measuring up from the stair and then over, the same distance, every time...I was still skeptical.

I finally caved and tried his method.  It was a little time consuming, but he was right.  I definitely had to eat my words.

Before...

After...

I still need to find some better treasures for many of the clipboards, but I just tried to get something up before the Baptism...

I adore this photo of my mom hugging her grandmother on my parent's wedding day...

I purchased this old book years ago on eBay, it was written for West Point girlfriends with tips for when you visit...too funny.

Places we have lived...

I love the idea of having some art to commemorate the places we have lived.  When I saw Jenna's state prints, I fell in love.  I like the modern vibe, fun pops of color, and just a little something different.  I love the work Jenna did for me when she re-designed my blog, so I was thrilled to order from her!

I have had these prints since we were in Boston, and I had been dying to put them up.  I got them into frames while we were staying with the Crows because I just wanted to see them again.

I am not sure that the bold red desk is going to stay red as it doesn't really go with our current color scheme, but for now, I love how it looks with all the bright colors.

Jenna was extra sweet and was willing to create Iraq for us, as I thought it would be fun to see how long people try to figure out which state is on the bottom right...

Illinois, New York, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Iraq...

Guest Room

We painted our guest room upstairs a tan color (Behr - Distant Tan).  I was excited to get to use my imperial trellis look-alike duvet that I bought ages ago at Home Goods.  That was the only 'new' piece that went into this room...the rest is stuff that we had used in other rooms before...

Before...

After...

Watercolor by Suta Lee over the Urban Outfitter's upholstered headboard...

Love that donkey tail succulent...

I am really digging the gallery walls lately...I need to update this picture because I finally located the white porcelain keys that belong in the black frame...

A great tailgating idea...

So, the Crows and some friends put on the best tailgate this past weekend.  Picture perfect weather, just the right amount of food for 75+ adults and 40+ kids, great company, cocktails, etc. 

Krissy is such an effortless gourmet cook, so she had this idea to do a waffle bar.  At first, I thought...oh my.  That's going to require a lot of work, manning of the irons, not fun.  But, Krissy, in all her infinite wisdom, figured out that we could just pour the mix into plastic cups and let everyone do their own.  PERFECT.  We knew that some batter would be wasted this way, but we think this was the only way to successfully pull this off.  They had bought two huge boxes of Pancake mix at BJ's, we just had to add water, mix and get into the cups.  Krissy made some yummy sauces to top the waffles, and the lines never slowed down for people waiting to make a delicious waffle.

Sorry I was a doubter, Krissy - GREAT idea.  If any of you are planning breakfast tailgates, you should give this a try.  A couple of tips...


1.  Keep a trash can right next to the station as the cups are a little messy after pouring the mix onto the irons.
2.  Be prepared for spillage...just make sure to plan accordingly with your tablecloth/table, etc.
3.  We had four irons to begin with, but they were blowing fuses, even though they were on a power strip.  So, you may want to have them running from a couple of different outlets.

The station, complete with irons, batter, whipped cream, syrup, non-stick spray for irons, and fruit sauces...

A tray like this one was PERFECT for transporting batch after batch outside...

The tasty sauces...with Army labels ;)

Guest Bath

Most of the colors I selected for our house are pretty neutral, so I really wanted to go bold with at least one room.  I have been wanting a really dark room for a while, so I decided to go for navy (Behr Peaceful Night).  I am so thrilled with how it turned out...it definitely makes me want to try a larger dark room next time.
I had won a Syroco Federal mirror on eBay, and I wasn't sure where I was going to put it yet.  While I was chatting with Sommer, she said, you know, a gold sunburst mirror would look really cool against the navy.  BINGO!  Perfect place for my eBay find...thanks, Sommer!

It is a long and narrow bathroom...hard to get good pics...

I also spent way too much time seeking out perfect shower curtains.  I wanted something for this bathroom that was just sort of fun/whimsical for Paddy, and not too themed.  I bought a $10 white curtain from Target, tiny bits of fabric from WalMart, and I made this one...

In between the towel rods, I needed something for the wall.  I stumbled across these 2 pages of scrapbook paper that I had purchased a while back, and I threw them into some Ikea frames.

Finally, oak cabinets are a theme in all the rooms, so I have just stuck with using white accessories in all locations...

Our House, Take One.

Hello out there...I have fallen off the face of the blogging world again...I seem to do this from time to time.  We are moving in and feeling pretty settled...having visitors right away and Paddy's big Baptism to plan for were wonderful motivation to get done.  There are still lots of ongoing projects and dreams that I have, so I guess I will document those along the way.

We are loving being here at West Point...it is such a breathtaking, peaceful, Mayberry-like place.  One of my new friends is really into photography, so I am hoping she can help me improve while we are here.  I would love to capture some of the beauty of this place.

I have started taking a few pictures of what we have done to the house so far, so I will share as we go. 

I just risked my life to get this picture of our outdoor light - we have an obscene amount of acorns falling - we are all just waiting to get pummeled in the head or realize that we have dents in our cars.  Back to the light...it is one of my favorite parts of the house...isn't it charming?

Toy Storage, Part Two...

I blogged about laundry cart bins awhile ago, and they have been creeping back into my mind lately....perhaps good toy storage?

RH Version...

Cheaper version...they have elevated versions, too!