Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween Y'all!!! We had a great holiday!  It was so much fun to see Aidan Trick or Treat this year because he actually knew what was going on.   He had a great time.  He practiced saying Trick or Treat for weeks leading up to the big night.  As usual we spent the evening at my parents house.  They get about 600 trick or treaters and their neighbors have some of the greatest decorations.  It's a kids Halloween dream come true and extremely entertaining for the adults.   We actually saw a Winnebago driving around about 30 kids, a man walking a goat dressed up and an entire family dressed up as the characters from Toy Story. Their dog was Woody!!! It was too cute.  I know all you really care about it the pictures so here they are...of our little pumpkin.

He agreed to pose for some pictures.

 I did somehow get him to agree to wear tights tonight. Even though he says they are for "guuuurls".

 Loosing focus.  He was ready to go.

 Headed to Trick or Treat with Daddy.  This was Adam's first Halloween he didn't have to work so he was really anxious to take him. He was thrilled to go with his Daddy but was confused as to why Uncle Bob wasn't with him this year.

 

 Random photo.  If you look really close, this guy is walking a GOAT! Only in Dilworth.

 He quit pretty early. I think he was pumped to get home and eat some candy!

 Banana flavored Tootsie Pop.  I tried it and it was gross.

 Fuzzy self portrait of the hubby and I.

 He helped pass out candy.

 Walking on Nana and Grandpa's terrace wall.

 Daddy let him sit in his lap the last 20 ft of the ride home.  He loves to "drive".   He honked the horn at a guy walking his dog and Adam rolled down his window to apologize.  "Sorry man, I am teaching my three year old how to drive."  You should've seen his face.  Haha!

We hope everyone had a great and safe Halloween! Can't wait to see pics of everyone's costumes in the coming days.   I think I am going to spread my wings and make Aidan's costume next year.  Maybe by then we will have a new baby and I can coordinate their costumes!!! ; )



Sunday Funday

Last week I decided to give up my seat at the Panther's game so Adam could have a day at the game with the guys. My dad was out of town and my mom had already committed to watching Aidan, so I figured instead of being the only female in a group of guys (which no one ever minds), I would just let them have a good ole fashion Football Sunday without a lady tagging along. 

Aidan has been sick the tail end of this week.  We had planned on going to a friend's Halloween party during the day on Saturday but with there being so many small babies in attendance, I didn't want to be the mom to bring the sick kid and upset all those moms.   Aidan was pretty bummed he didn't get to dress up in his ***spoiler alert*** pumpkin costume so my mom and I decided even though he was kind of under the weather, we would try to get him out today to have some fun. 

On our list of things to do:  The Hot Air Balloon Festival in Statesville and watching planes take off and land at the Airport Overlook park. 

What actually happened: We drove almost an hour to the Balloon Festival.  Realized the balloons were only going to be set up right around the time we needed to be at the airport picking up my dad from his trip.  So we let Aidan let loose on all the bounce houses and then we walked around for an hour spending money on things we didn't need for lack of better things to do and to get our the almost 80 degree heat at the tail end of October.    Didn't see a single balloon.   We left Statesville and headed to the airport overlook park and watched airplanes take off and land for an hour and a half.  Aidan was in heaven.

THEN after the Panther's game, we met Adam back at our house and my brother Bobby stopped by with the brilliant idea to take Aidan bowling for the first time.  His attention span lasted one game and he beat me.  It was a great Sunday.

Show Us Your Life Fridays

I am so excited Friday is here. I have been in the biggest blogging rut!  At least I have "Show Us Your Life Fridays" to give me something to get pumped up about!  This week the room we are posting about is our guest room.  Being that we live in an older home and it is relatively small, our guest room is also Aidan's playroom. 

The thing I love most about this room is that I gave it a make over all by myself while Adam was out of town for a few days on business.   I also did it for under $600!   I had an almost new Pottery Barn Sofa sitting in this room with the TV serving almost no purpose. So I posted it on Craig's List for $600 and it sold in two days. 

I needed a room that could serve more than one function for us.  I needed a place for our guests to sleep when they came to visit and a place for Aidan to be able to veg out other than his room.

On this wall we have the entertainment cabinet and the chair I used to use at my desk.  I realize I would have some extra space if I ditched the cabinet but I have had it for so long and kind of love it.  Plus, it's great for storage and I hate to look at TV components.  Any day now Adam will over rule me and buy a flat screen and that thing will be gone! Haha. The paint color is Milk Chocolate by Valspar available at Lowe's. I did make the final decision because it was called Milk Chocolate.

Anyways, the bamboo blinds came with the house.   Every other room has white wood blinds but I love these and I have thought about doing bamboo everywhere. I just love the look.  The sheers I bought at Ikea for $19.99 for the pair. Gotta love Ikea!  That little pig has been with us a long time, this is his new home in front of this window.

My biggest purchase for this room was the Ikea daybed at $99!  Again, gotta love Ikea. The mattress was also $99.   Believe it or not, I had all of those pillows in my attic. I am a pillow-a-holic.  Lamps too.  The ivory and black covers came from Ikea.  The cheetah print bolsters I bought at TJ Maxx when I was in Massachusetts and had no idea where they were going to go. 

 Here is just a view from the doorway leading to our hallway.  The day bed is actually very comfortable.  Ikea mattresses are great! The best part being that they have covers on them that can just be taken off and washed and the mattress itself isn't damaged.  We have had friends comfortably sleep two people on that daybed when all the pillows are removed.

Here is a little updated picture. I have just added some additional pillows and covers.

 I also added this frame from Tarjay and a wedding picture to the wall opposite the windows.

So that's it!! That is our guest room.  In a dream world I would have a nice size room with a big bed and it would be totally shabby chic.  Ahh.  Some day.

Well thanks for stopping by! I can't wait to see everyone else's rooms!!!

White Chocolate Covered Pretzels

For my girlfriend Jill's baby shower, I wanted to make white chocolate covered mini pretzels to put on the candy bar.   I had never done it before but figured I could do it.  It was even easier than I thought!  There may be an even easier way that you know of but I just made this up as I went. Here's a quick tutorial on what I did. Give it a try, they are delicious and they were quite a crowd pleaser {and cute}.


Materials: 
White Chocolate Candy Melts {One package was enough to make 110 mini pretzels}
Pretzel Rods {I chose to do mini ones because at Costco they were $5 for a huge barrel}
Assortment of Sprinkles {If your a sprinkle girl like me}
Wax Paper

Step 1:  Follow the directions on the back of the candy melts.  You can use your double boiler or the microwave.  I think the double boiler option was the way to go EXCEPT I don't have a double boiler so Adam rigged up a stainless steel mixing bowl in a big pot. It served it's purpose.

Step 2.  Once the chocolate is completely melted, just start dipping pretzels.   You only want to dip them half way. I can't really explain my technique but try to twist them a little to create a little end spot.  It's really easy to get the hang of.

Step 3.  Immediately lay flat on a piece of wax paper.  {I put wax paper over one of my cooling racks}.  

 Step 4. Sprinkles!!!!  I have about 25 random containers of sprinkles at my house from various projects.  You  want to use the teeny tiny sugar sprinkles.  {They sell them in packs with different colors around the holidays in the dollar bins at Target.}  I only did about 10 pretzels and then I would stop and add sprinkles. You don't want them to set before you get them on there.

AND THAT'S IT! I told you it was easy!!! They actually sell bags big enough for the long pretzel rods but I bought shorter ones for these and wrapped them in a fun ribbon and Voila!  Perfect for parties, gifts, snacks etc!  Start to finish this only took me about 45 minutes. 

 That does not include placing them in the plastic and tying ribbon on every single one of them. Haha!

I made exactly 110 and by the time it was baby shower time, my dad, brother, husband and small child had eaten about 30 of them.  I am going to make more for the holidays.  I think I might try chocolate flavored with mint for the Christmas. Doesn't that sound so good? 

Let me know if you make some!

Belated Birthday Post

Well I would have had this up DAYS ago but somehow I forgot it was pending.  Bad friend I know.  I could not forget to do a post for my BFF Amanda.  After all, she was the one who told me my life might be interesting enough to blog about. The verdict is still out on that one but she definitely found me something to do.

So Amanda turned 27 on October 22!  We have grown another year older together and I have cherished every moment of it with her. 

A,

Happy Birthday!!! I am sorry this is late. I am sure you have been wondering where your bday post is!  Last year I wrote you a sweet note and I still mean ever bit of it and more this year!  I thought it would be fun to do something a little different this year!! I love you!!!! Thanks for you being you and whew we're getting old!

Love, Ape


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

New Blog Design Reveal!!!

Drum Roll please....So what do you think of the new blog? I am so excited it is finally complete. I am sure it would have been done a lot sooner but I am not the best at making decisions. The picture we used at the top is a little outdated but I should hopefully have a new one soon!!! I used Danielle over at the Design Girl after seeing her work around the blog world.   I am sure she is happy she is done with me (for now ha ha).








Best decision I EVER made. I am thrilled with the result and she was so easy to work with and worth every penny. Not to mention she just moved to Chicago and I am living vicariously through her blog since I've never been there. Oh and she wears sequined skirts and makes smores cupcakes. How could you not love her? Anyways, check her out and if you want you blog to look the best, get on her wait list.

Thanks so much Danielle! I love it!!!

The Parenting Files

Adam and I love being parents. I mean really love it.  So much that every time we talk about it, we up the number of children we would like to have!  Honestly, if my body let me and we could afford it, we could honestly end up with a house full of 5 or 6 kids.  I know that makes my mom a little nauseous but it sounds dreamy to me!!

So, to my story...I bought Aidan some books from the Scholastic Book Club that they started at his school {do you remember those days?}.  I bought him "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" , "Fireman Ted",  one of those "I Spy" books and "Puff The Magic Dragon".  Well, he gets bent out of shape when we read the Caterpillar book because he says no caterpillar could ever eat that much food.  He loves anything Fireman related but I think he thinks Ted is a little blasé.  Who can find anything in those I Spy books anyway?  Puff though, oh that Magic Dragon, he loves him. 

Adam and I fight every night over who has to read "Puff The Magic Dragon" because well Aidan wants it sung not read.  Y'all I can't carry a tune in a bucket.  And Adam is better than me, but still, it's bad.   They make you read {or in our case, sing} the following verse twice and whenever it's Adam's night, I almost pee my pants from laughing.  Give it a try for yourself...{make sure you sing out of tune}.

"Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea, he frolics in the autumn mist, in a land called Honalee."

We're just a mess.  But we laugh and we love it.  And most of all, we make Aidan smile and for that, we'll be the parents that make fools of ourselves until the end of time and enjoy every minute of it.

Jill's Baby Shower

I have some much to catch you all up on around here.  First and fore most, on the baby shower that I hosted for my girlfriend Jill and her baby girl Lilliana. Everything turned out really well.  I stayed up late for a few weeks pumping my heart and soul in to the details and it was worth every minute.  My co host Julia worked equally as hard to help make the afternoon just perfect for our dear friend.  I think Jill and her guests really enjoyed themselves and she was definitely showered with tons of stuff for her new babe.  Baby girl's are just so much fun to shop for!!

Food.  I am wondering why I am even posting this because most of the food wasn't even out at this point! But you get the idea?

Candy bar on the right, gifts starting to pile up on the left!

Candy Bar.  I kept it small this time around.  I put little packs of Sweet Tarts in one of the big jars and Reese's in the other because those are Jill's favorite.  I got a great deal on Jelly Belly jelly beans for the smaller jar on the left and then I had Carmel's on the right.  Chocolate covered almonds in the small jar in the bottom right corner and chocolate covered pretzels on the platter {home made by ME! mini tutorial coming soon}.  There was sooo much candy left over afterwards. Good thing Halloween is right around the corner!

The spice drop topiary I made myself as well. I hit a good sale at Hobby Lobby the day I went to buy supplies and it only cost me about $15 to make. The most expensive thing being the Styrofoam topiary!  I painted the pot turquoise and used that paper you put in gift baskets in brown for a dirt look.  I wrapped the "stem" with pink ribbon and then just hot glued spice drops to the round ball. I did try to use toothpicks so it would be edible but that was way to much work. Besides, spice drops always taste stale.   I put Lilliana's monogram on the pot but no one picked up on that.  Her initials are LDG. So when I glued them on  everyone said it looked like it said dig {because you put the first initial in the middle} .  Stupidest thing I've ever heard. Apparently Jill hasn't shared her whole name with everyone.  Hahahaha!

We used colorful balloon bouquets to bring some more color to the room.

I made these tissue flowers to hang from the fire place and place on the tables.

A different view of the Candy Bar, Diaper Cake {by me}and presents.

Love all the pink.

Julia made the cupcakes.  She was worried the frosting was a disaster but I thought they were cute.   I always have a bakery do my cakes/cupcakes so the fact she did them herself was good enough for me.

Her mom was sweet enough to make us lovely floral arrangements.

Jill, Julia and Jill's girlfriends from law school.

Opening gifts.

Being silly trying on a hat for Lilliana.  So leeetle.

Jill's aunt Dede showing off a handmade quilt just for Lilliana by one of the grandmother's of one of Jill's law school friends.  Did you get all that?

I am so lucky my mom let me throw this shower at her house {and helped me so much getting ready}.  My parent's home is just stunning and there is a lot of space to entertain.  The bottom floor is basically one big room so it's easy for everyone to interact whether you are in the kitchen, dining room or living area.  In this picture we are in the living area and you can see the back wall of the house from here! You almost don't even have to decorate because it is so beautiful.  Especially the dining room that I faux painted to look like a textured wallpaper!  Haha! Thanks again Mum!

Next up...Natalie's shower in a few months! Can't wait!!!



Show Us Your Life Fridays-Kids Rooms/Nursery's

This week at Kelly's Korner we are showcasing our children's rooms.   I am so excited to see these rooms because although I just did Aidan's room about 6 months ago, I am always looking for fun things to add to it!

I started to do something straight out of the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and then I thought I might want use furniture and colors he could grow with. Plus, I've never been much of a "theme" person.

I bought these letters on sale at Hob Lob for like a buck and painted them. I think they turned out so cute.

 Home Goods everything here.

 This is the dresser I was given by a neighbor for our house before we even knew about Aidan. I always hated the natural maple color it was so I bought some turquoise paint and antiqued this dresser. I love it!

I bought these shelves at Ikea.  I think they were around $20. They have been the best for Aidan's books.

These are just some frames and a little car that sits on the shelf on the right side of the window.

So that's it!  I think it turned out really cute.  His bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids and Garnet Hill.  His rug is also PBK and was leftover from his nursery. The throw pillows were made by my MIL out of minky fabric.  I have been meaning to get them monogrammed.



We definitely plan on changing out his boring light fixture soon I just can't find anything I love!

If you have any suggestions send them my way! Can't wait to see all the other rooms!