Weekend Recap + Happy Halloween!

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What a whirlwind weekend!  It was a good one, that went by in the blink of an eye.  A lot of fun was had and I'm sad to see it over so quickly.  Some highlights include ::

• Paranormal Activity 3 - I know you're probably all tired of hearing me talk about seeing this movie, but I must say it was pretty amazing.  Not only was it terrifying, but it had humorous parts that are making me laugh still.  
• Pizza!
• It was a Z-bar kind of night, full of birthday celebrations (happy birthday again, Ann), a John Lennon cover band, a Velvet Underground cover band, and all of our Louisville friends in the same place with 2 Chicago friends to boot.  'Twas good times, my friends.  Good.  Times.
• On Saturday morning we had visitors, two of which were little and adorable.  It was nice to meet you, Maggie's family!
• We managed to fill the bed of our S-10 up entirely with firewood from a man in our neighborhood.  We immediately went home and stacked it up nicely for aesthetics reasons, of course.  And later on that night we had totally had a delightful fire.
• We finally bottled our homemade brew.  Fingers crossed...
• Mexican Chili Pie - mmm
• Apples to Apples - it was epic and hilarious.
• Family birthday dinner + ice cream cake + Balderdash.  Certainly a lovely ending to a lovely weekend.

The weather was beautifully sunny and warm for a late October weekend.  My favorite :)

How were your weekends? Wonderful, I hope!  Here's to a great week ahead!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Going to a Sock Hop + Have a Spooktacular Weekend!

Skirt / Blouse / Oxfords / Glasses / Socks / Lipstick / Bag 

I can't believe today is already Friday! This week pretty much flew by for me - which is great, because I've been looking forward to today for good reasons.  Not only is it my sister-in-law's birthday but we have Chicago friends visiting this weekend!  This afternoon I am going to see Paranormal Activity 3, which I am slightly nervous about because I had a scary dream last night.  Our friends arrive just in time for dinner and after, we're all celebrating the birthday with good live music and drinks!  

This week's Friday's Fancies is a little different than normal (is it obvious?!).  Today we're all creating a budget-less Halloween costume fit for the holiday on Monday - can you believe it's only a few days away? Are you sick of me talking about Halloween yet?!  I have never gone as a Sock Hop girl - is that even the correct term?  Something about this costume is appealing to me this year though.  I love the skirt + it looks very warm, as does the blouse.  They both look soft and comfy, too.  Usually, if I were to dress up as something traditional, I would spice it up in my own way.  For instance, when I was 21, I dressed up as a flapper girl (for like the fifth time in my life) but this time I was shot in the head, i.e., a zombie flapper girl.  The year before I was a fallen angel, complete with my own handmade wings (my 2 best friends were fallen angels as well, it was awesome) and we really amped up the dead factor.  So if I were to really wear this sock hop/poodle girl costume, I'd likely wear some zombie makeup just to make it feel a little more like me.  

What are your plans this weekend?  I'm not entirely sure what our weekend is looking like but I hope we get the chance to see lots of costumes and have a few laughs over my husband dressed up as Abe Lincoln.  He seriously fits the part so well.

Whatever you get up to this weekend, have a fantastic time!  Be safe and enjoy the festivities!  Also, be sure to check out all the other amazing FF costumes over at {long distance loving}!

Thursday's Randoms :: Halloween Edition

Something about this image is so beautiful to me - I think it's just the pretty red barn in the background, honestly, but I do love the staggered tombstones immensely.  We have 2 tombstones in our front yard, along with a skeleton poking through the ground.  Did I get carried away? Maybe.  Am I ashamed? Not in the slightest.  Via

This has to be one of my favorite Halloween costumes I've seen.  How creative does it get, you know? Via 

I love this Whoo-Hoo Hooty!  He's made out of cheese, apple slices, nuts and capers.  Via 

I love this monsters print! I would love to stare at it while listening to Monster Mash all the time.  Via

You could really get away with leaving this skeleton flamingo print up all year round.  Via

This beautiful and very expensive ring is the perfect touch of creepy meets elegant.

PS - check out these three makeup tutorials for Halloween from Refinery 29.  Happy Thursday, friends!

Weekend Recap

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This print couldn't be more apt for me .  The weekend was a good one, but it was one of those where I really proved that I'm not perfect.  But don't worry, I'm still pretty awesome.  You like how vague I am?  Some highlights of the weekend include ::

• A night out with friends
• Scoring a sweet mattress at an even sweeter price (thank you, liquidation) for our guest bedroom 
• Clean windows so we can stare at the snow this winter
• Paranormal Activity 2 - we're going to see the 3rd one this Friday!
• Homemade biscuits + veggie gravy
• Painted kitchen! 
• Catching up on Project Runway (I can't believe some of the things that have happened and I'm so excited for the finale next week)
• Chillaxin'

I'm looking forward to the week ahead.  I have tons of apples to use for baking (yay!), Paranormal Activity 3 to see with a birthday girl and Chicago visitors next weekend!  What are you up to this weekend? And how were your weekends?

Be sure to check back in tomorrow for a very special post.  Here's a hint - look to the top of my sponsors :)

Weekend Recap

{my mom's haunted living room, and this picture does not do it any justice...}

Being home means two different things to me.  The obvious is being home, where I live, in my house. The other is being home in Kansas with my entire family.  I enjoy both and can honestly say it's amazing to "be home".  I am so tired and exhausted and thankful for a safe journey, and I am also so overjoyed and full of love from being home.  Not to mention I already miss them all terribly.  It was a great trip all in all.  Some highlights include ::

• Coffee talk with my mom
• Play time with the kids
• Family dinner with homemade lasagna and cupcakes that the girls and I made/frosted
• Family game time
• Family bowling
• Dinner out with my cousins (one of who just got engaged!)
• Drinks with my stepbrother & stepsister-in-law
• Watching 9-year-olds play football (my nephew looked great out there, even though they lost)
• More Aunt Mimi time - the littlest one and I got a lot of hang time in and it was pretty much awesome.  
• Halloween party! Our whole family came over, the kids dressed up and my mom created tons of game stations for them all to win tickets.  She put out a ton of prizes like an arcade and they went nuts.  It was hilarious!
• On our drive home we listened to The Great Gatsby in its entirety.  
• Bears win!

How were your weekends? Heart warming, I hope.  Even though I'm not nearly ready enough for it to start, here's to a great week! 

Have a Heart Warming Weekend!

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I can't get enough of this hipster kitty.  Ain't he adorable?!?  Meow.

You may notice my lack of a Friday's Fancies post this week, but there's good reason for that.  Also, there's a good reason for my radio silence.  You see, we're several states away.  Hanging out with family and enjoying every last second.  It's rare.  I dig it.

I promise I'll be back in full swing next week.  Pinky swear.  But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the laughter of my nieces and nephew.  We're going to go bowling.  There's a football game Saturday morning.  And a Halloween party Saturday night.  Life is pretty grand, so I'm bidding you farewell for the weekend to thoroughly enjoy my always-too-little time here.

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Weekend Recap

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What a beautiful fall weekend.  The weather was absolute perfection and my days were filled with wonderful fall things.  Some highlights include ::

• Wrong turn turning out to be a beautiful tree-lined drive through a new-to-me part of town, windows down and music up.  Love.
• Pizza + movie date.  We ordered in and watched An American Werewolf in London.
• More beautiful fall weather enjoyment
• Fox Hollow Farms fall festival - the drive down Sleepy Hollow was totally worth it.  What a gorgeous strip of land a few miles away.  
• Pumpkin gelato.  Much to our surprise, we were able to treat ourselves to a few scoops of the best use of pumpkin I have ever tasted.  Here's how to make your own.
• Roadside pumpkins!
• We now have a cemetery in our front yard, full of spiderwebs and a skeleton poking through!
• Fish tacos for dinner followed by pecan waffles for brunch
• Patio beers
• Long walks
• Quiet Sunday nights at home :)

How were your weekends? Most excellent, I hope.  This week is a short one for us because Wednesday afternoon we're hitting the road for a ridiculously long journey to see my family.  I'm so excited to see them all, to enjoy Halloween a bit early and to see my favorite 9-year-old play some football. 

Here's to a great week ahead!

Thursday's Randoms

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I've totally got Halloween spirit this year, thanks to the ability to really decorate.  I've already hung decorations  on the mantle and I can't wait to start scouring my options for the front porch.  I just need an endless supply of pumpkins so I can make these fanged guys.  They're too funny to not!

My goodness, I love this.

This coat rack is nothing short of awesome.  Isn't it amazing how something so abundant (or maybe not so these days) and natural could be transformed into something so extraordinary?  

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Sigh.  I want to go to there.  And stay.  For like, ever.  How do I make this happen?  It's so beautiful.

Well, it's official.  I've found a new coat to lust after this year.

Nan Lawson's mountain man has me in stitches.  I love every last bit of it - including that patch of chest hair peeking through!  So detailed!  I love her stuff, and every time I lay in bed I look over and see our portrait and smile.  She is too good, that Nan.

What's got you inspired today?

Thursday's Randoms

Thanks to Martha, I have some new party inspiration.  It's time to start working on improving my presentation with these things ;)

These flamingos from Blik would make such a great addition to any space of any kind.

I LOVE this terrarium from Etsy shop Captain Cat and I love the description ::

"its like a nature TV. you can just sit down and go to your own special little forest." 

This is awesome.  That's all.

The parents of this child need to be awarded with something because this is really freaking incredible.

{Sofia Coppola and Kim Gordon}

Have you ever heard of X-girl? In the 90s, Kim Gordon and Daisy Von Furth started an indie fashion label and I had no idea until now!  It pretty much sums up the way I felt in my teens/early twenties and I wish it had been around a little longer! Go read about it now! Via Tomboy Style

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I am so excited for fashion week!  And chunky scarves!

The little booger

Yesterday, Gus dressed up as a chicken.  Insert great pun about scaredy cats/chickens here.  We took about a million pictures of him wearing said chicken costume, however,  he knew he was being slightly humiliated and thus moved every chance he got with the camera in his face.

Pan to camera 2, this afternoon.  The little sassy thing couldn't get enough of the camera, obviously.

Weekend recap

What a weekend!  Did you all have as much fun as we did?!  As you can tell from above, I went as a gnome this year and I enjoyed almost every last bit of it.  That pesky beard kept going in my mouth or up my nose so I didn't thoroughly enjoy that part, but it sure kept us laughing!  The mister went as Luigi and he did a pretty swell job portraying him and 'woo hoo' ing just like him.  The overalls and shoes cracked me up all night long.  

My nieces and nephews were dressed up quite well too.  The oldest went as The Red Queen from the new Alice in Wonderland.  My nephew was a toy soldier and my youngest niece was Yoda!  I loved their creativity and their costumes were pretty phenomenal.  I just love this time of year!  The only thing I  feel I missed out on was trick-o-treaters.  Since we live in an apartment building our chances of greeting any kiddos are at 0% so I'm longing even more to be in a house by this time next year.  I spied a grim reaper and a ghost pass by through the window last night but since we didn't even leave the house yesterday that was all I was treated to.  Oh well.

Happy Halloween Weekend!

Happy Halloween weekend everyone!  I found these gems that my mom sent me last year and thought I'd share.  Halloween was a big deal to us growing up, which is why I still love it so much to this day.  Every year, my mom made our costumes.  We would tell her what we wanted to be and she would whip something up for us in no time.  She really did enjoy it and there's no changing that now.  She still does the same for my nephew and nieces!  She even decorates her house to the nines with stuff and it's getting more and more outrageous every year.  Those kids are lucky to have such a crafty, cool grandma, right?  I think so.  Anyway, hope you have a wonderful and spooky weekend, full of tricks and treats!

My first Halloween, 1983

My brother circa 1981

My brother's first Halloween, 1979.  The back of the picture says, "darn thing!"

My favorite Halloween, 1988.  

My brother and I plus our cousins.  I obviously loved that flapper girl costume! But isn't my brother's Dracula one great?!

Punk rockers, 1985?

America's Scariest Trails

Backpacker Magazine has compiled a fantastic list of the scariest trails that America has to offer.  With Halloween approaching this weekend, I thought it would be fun to share them and hear what you have to say.  

My favorite read of this article was the section, "Really, I saw it myself".  The readers comments about their individual happenings got my heart racing and my imagination running wild!  Now, I have the uncontrollable urge to go hiking in one of these haunted places, with a group of smart and strong men of course, with weapons and things.  Who's with me?

Has anything scary ever happened to you while in the woods?  I was camping in Yellowstone with my brother and his friends 10 freaking years ago, and a bear came through our campsite.  Nothing happened but the thought of a brown bear roaming free in Yellowstone being inches away from me while I slept was pretty unnerving.  And awesome.

* Thanks for sharing this, Anna!

The Pumpkin King

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I just couldn't resist sharing these awesome and cute pumpkins with you on this chilly fall morning.  We have yet to carve ours from our visit to the pumpkin patch but once we return from our weekend getaway I'm going to insist we get right to carving.  I might have to draw my inspiration from one of these.  Isn't Yoda awesome?  Cute fact - my 5-year-old niece is dressing up as Yoda for Halloween.  That's right, I said NIECE.  Enough with the princess costumes and what not.  She's the perfect size and has the perfect voice for perfecting Yoda.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!


* The title of this post has me longing to watch one of my all-time favorite movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas.  My dad took my brother and I to see it in the theaters, it was the last time I had that pleasure with him and I still hold it near and dear to my heart.

Martha, Martha, Martha!

How come (almost*) everything Martha Stewart touches turns to gold?  Every vegetable, flower, pumpkin, etc. she picks up somehow turns into the most beautiful or delicious thing on the face of the earth?  I may not have ever actually tasted anything she's made but all of her recipes, whether cooking or baking, look and sound absolutely amazing. 

As usual, I've spent a long time browsing around her website and also flipping through the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.  Not long ago, I would have been totally and utterly embarrassed at doing such a thing.  However, me being a domesticated wife and all has seriously changed that.  When I was wedding planning, I was always so excited to find the newest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings, and I was always anxious to check out the latest DIY projects available online.  My mom graciously created the "just married" banner for the reception entry and it turned out absolutely adorable.  It just amazes me.  And don't even get me started on her cupcakes.  I once bought a February issue of the magazine because it had a heart on the cover made of different colored cupcakes.  That, my friends, is when I fell in love.  I've been making cupcakes ever since, all thanks to her.  You can blame her or you can praise her, but either way there's no stopping me. 

Now that it's Halloween, naturally, one might turn to Martha for tips and ideas on what to make with in-season produce, how to decorate your house, a pattern for carving your pumpkin, etc.  Let me tell you, she has certainly not let me down this year.

Another reason I love her is because she has some great guests on her show.  Case in point - Seth Meyers.  I love Seth Meyers.  This clip on the website is really funny and I love that she gets some people like Seth to do and make things he probably doesn't do too often. 

Martha Stewart's Halloween Central is truly where it's at.  Just look at those cakes! The scary stairs! The cool carving patterns! Great costume ideas for little ones! The creativity just never ends. 

Yes, I admit it.  My name is Meagan and I'm a Marthaholic.  But I'm pretty sure it's not a bad thing and if I know you, it will likely benefit you (if it hasn't already) in some way or another.

* I say almost because we can't forget about this now can we?