Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween!  I can't believe that this month has come and gone so quickly.  But I have never been more glad to see it pass.  I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas more than ever this year.  I'm ready to decorate.  I'm ready for fires in the fireplace. And I'm ready for the family time that we will spend together enjoying our holiday traditions.

I thought I better share a couple of pictures of my Halloween decor before it disappears.  I basically did the same exact thing I did last year, and G does not like repeats.  She has repeatedly told me that next year we are doing something different!

 The house could really use a good pressure washing, wouldn't you say?

 Friday night was our night to carve the pumpkins that we picked out at Old Baker's Farm.  Big10 stayed home from school Friday with a really bad cold.  He was feeling so under the weather that he did not carve a pumpkin.  It broke my heart!  I hope that he does not think he is getting too old for this sort of thing.  He has another thing coming if that's the case.

 However, G was more than happy to carve both pumpkins.  We used a template from the web for one of them, and then she just free handed the second and had fun with it.  This is what we ended up with. . . .

I hope you all have a wonderfully fun and safe Halloween.

Trick or Treat!!

Halloween Mantle & other random news. . .

I wanted to share my very simple Halloween mantle with you all.

I made a trip to the Dollar Tree on Saturday and after spending about $3, this is what I did with the mantle.  It is very low key, but I like it!!  I am finally starting to believe that less is more.  (Sometimes!!)

I got a new glittery skull. . .

 And a black crow like the ones I used on the front porch.

 I am so pleased that my enthusiasm for decorating has rubbed off on my children.  This little girl in particular.  She had a friend over for the night on Saturday and they were both a big help with the decorations.

In other news. . . .I have been doing laundry and packing all night.  Big10 is leaving early Friday morning for his first trip to the beach without us.  This will be the first time he has been away on a real trip with a friend.  He is going with his best buddy CC, and his family.  I can't say that I am not a little jealous.  I really wanted to be going to the beach this weekend, but it just didn't work out that way for us.  I am a little worried about big10 being away, but I know this family will take good care of him.  He spends so much time with them, that sometimes they may think he is one of their own.  Tomorrow the boys will be playing each other on the baseball field, and then getting in bed early to get rested up for the early departure on Friday morning.

I have two parent/teacher conferences to go to on Friday, and then school will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday for fall break.  So I have a little mini vacation!!  I'm really looking forward to it!

Tomorrow is my Friday, Woo hoo!!!

Halloween Decorations ~ RESULTS!!

Over the weekend I got my outdoor Halloween decorations put up.  It was a beautiful fall weekend with cool temps.  Perfect for a little spooky decorating.

I was even lucky enough to get some help from Big10.  He has great ideas!!

You will see that I took some ideas right out of my inspiration photos from the last post.  I LOVE how the branches turned out!  They look awesome at night, casting a few eerie shadows.

 Trick OR Treat!!  We are ready to greet little ghost and goblins.

 Taking Big10's advice we moved the "bat motel" away from the door and down to the window.  He thought it was a little busy around the front door, and he was right.

 I added a little webbing and some spiders to the wreath.

 And this is how it looks at night under the spot light.  I am really happy with the way it turned out.  It made my day when one of Big10's friends came over to tell me that we did a "really good job on the trees".

I haven't done a lot of decorating inside this time around, but I did add a few things to the mantle.  I'll be back to share those pictures with you tomorrow.

Until then, what do you think??

Halloween Decorating

It's that time again. . .time to bring out all the holiday decor.  I love holiday decorating in a way that seems almost unsafe.  I have been thinking for months what I want to do with the front porch for Halloween this year.  Last year was only the second year that I decorated for Halloween, so I only have a small collection of items to decorate with.  This is what I did last year. . .

I really liked it.  We ended up adding some candy corn lights around the door for some color, and that helped.  But this year I have got to bring some more color into the finished look, and do something with that unfinished wreath on the door.  Below are some of the images I have found that I like.

They will serve as my inspiration this year.

photo from www.allyou.com

I love the orange lanterns in this one.  I bet they would look so pretty at night.

photo from www.goodhousekeeping.com

And this one just looks spooky in such a fun way.  LOVE it!!

photo from www.goodhousekeeping.com

I really like the branches above the door in this last picture.  I think I will definitely take this idea.

Any ideas from blog land?  Feel free to share, I am in need of decorating help!!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

~PS~ This week I am joining the. . .

at NimblerGrove.

Happy Halloween

The Story of Us is sending out a BIG Happy Halloween to all you little goblins out there!

I have a few pictures to share from the end of the week festivities. And can you believe we finally carved our pumpkin?

Friday was costume day for the kids at school. As many of you know, Big10 did not have a costume Friday. He just could not make a decision this year. The two of us went shopping lastnight. We finally found what he was looking for at the Halloween store, and after waiting in a line that was seriously a half mile long, we have his "costume". Stay tuned for the big reveal later in the weekend!! Friday he decided he would just wear his Halloween t-shirt and paint his hair jet black. He looked so weird!! Almost a little too Gothic for my taste, but I'm just glad he decided to join in the festivities. Doesn't he just look thrilled?

BabyG asked me if it was costume day EVERY morning of the week! Here she is all ready to go as Spider girl. Watch out for the web shooting from her fingertips!!
Thursday night we finally decided to carve the pumpkin. This is the first year that daddy was not involved. He opted out this time around. I AM NOT GOOD AT CARVING PUMPKINS!!
I was a little aggravated at first because it was not perfect. Actually it is no where near perfect, but it turned out okay. I have got to stop stressing about things like this!
Big10 and babyG cleaned out all the "guts" of the pumpkin for me.
Big10 really doesn't like my camera, can you tell?
On the other hand, my baby girl is all about a photo opportunity.

Now we are all lit up and ready for the trick or treaters!!
I hope you all have a fun night, be safe!!!

Spiders and Bats are SPOOKY. . .

You can find me linking up here this week:

Halloween Show & Tell with Tip Junkie

It's So Very Cheri

The DIY Show Off

Over the weekend while doing some bloggy reading I found THIS post at Tatertots and Jello. I saw a couple of pictures there that really inspired me. So, I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some black ribbon and stiff felt, and got to work. I liked a couple of different ideas in the post and decided to put them together for my front porch. This is what I came up with. . . . .

Remember that little Bat Motel sign that was in the kitchen? It was perfect for this idea!! I printed of a bat template and cut them out of the stiff felt and just taped them up around the door. This wreath was up in the attic, so I just covered it with a quick coat of glossy black spray paint and hung it on the door. However, it is in serious need of some color. I am going to try to add some of the small pumpkins like the wreath seen in the inspiration photo. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I had this big furry spider from last year, and I LOVE it!! It is one of my favorite Halloween items. It is big enough to be seen really well from the street.
Looking at it all together I really like it. But I definitely need to add some orange, right? I will either try to small pumpkins added to the wreath, or possibly an orange feather boa? I am open to suggestions if anyone has any ideas!!



Tonight we are off to Samantha Fest at the kids school. It is like the Fall festival, but the entire community is encouraged to come. It is one of the big fundraisers for the school. This will be our first time to go and the kids are really excited!! So am I, I can't wait for the cake walk and the hay ride!! Fall is here in full force!!!

Dining at the Killer Cafe

**Edited to link to Show Us Your Life @ Kelly's Korner**
**Joining the Virtual Tour of Homes (Fall) at Tip Junkie**

Were you beginning to wonder if I was ever REALLY going to do any Halloween decorating? I have been talking about it for days. . . . .and I finally have some things to share with you.

I have completed the Halloween decorating in the kitchen and I LOVE it!! For the month of October or kitchen will be referred to as the "Killer Cafe". No, it is not because of my cooking, it is because of my inspiration piece. My Dollar Tree sign from last year.

See. . . . .

I think the skeleton garland adds a nice spooky touch. (Also a Dollar Tree find!!)
For the table I am using some of that spooky netting as a table runner, and my candles are a yummy smelling pumpkin spice surrounded by candy corn.

What do you think? I love the way this looks and am planning to leave these out through Thanksgiving. I'll just change out the ribbon.

I just LOVE Halloween decor, but always have a hard time finding a good balance. I don't want anything too scary. I think the kitchen is just right, the kids love it, and it just looks fun & festive.

I hung this cutie-patootie kitty sign up on the china cabinet. Guess where I got it?

So, y'all let me know what you think!! I have also been working today on my outdoor decorations and I am really pleased so far. I'll be back later this week with more pictures to share!! For now, I am about to go to the cafe for some Monster Munchies!!

**Now if you are interested in seeing more Fall/Halloween homes, go over to Tip Junkie for Teach me Thursday!**