I love these little spiders, they make me happy inside. I don’t typically do Halloween decor. I’m lucky to get fall stuff up and blogged. Cause every year it’s the same craziness: you have fall décor that goes up when it’s still hot out. Then you put up some Halloween, and BAM, BIG HOLIDAY! Then you take it down and put up some more fall, then BAM, another BIG HOLIDAY! Then it’s Christmas. BAM BAM BAM, BIGGEST OF HOLIDAYS! That’s a lot of holidays and decorating for me, I’m … [Read more...]
Yesterday we headed out to Goebbert’s Farm in nearby Hampshire, IL. It was last minute, Doug took out the garbage and realized how nice it was and suggested a trip out there. There was plenty for the kids to do, from hay mazes and pig races, to the ride out to the pumpkin patch and petting a giraffe. My kids were most excited (and when I say excited, I mean really, really excited) about the large painted characters like Little Einsteins, Curious George, or Beauty and the Beast. If … [Read more...]
My kids love a certain monster movie and their favorite character is this silly green guy named Mike. My dad made this game for a Halloween party. When my kids saw it in their garage, they sounded a lot like the little girl Boo from the movie. “Mike Wazowski! Mike Wazowski!” First, take a 4 foot by 4 foot board and paint your monster on there. This is probably the toughest part, but think of the monster in parts. An egg with triangles, a circle, another circle, etc, and it should go a bit … [Read more...]
Now that it is not 100+ degrees out on a everyday basis, I find myself craving bits of fall. Jeans, boots, apple crisp, fallish décor. I know it’s only the end of August, but the weather we’ve been having feels like October and I kinda sorta love it. I’m a summer fiend. But this hot hot summer has me ready for fall. My sister just returned from an internship in Tennessee, where she was on an archeological dig. (How cool is that? I feel hip just saying that last sentence.) She came … [Read more...]
Thought it’d be a good idea to slap this pic up before we take it down for Christmas! I challenged myself to make a mantle entirely out of stuff that was either from my yard or from my basement and not being used. This is how it started out for part of the summer. I took some clippings from our planters, a few different backgrounds, and stacked some bulbs of garlic on the sides. HA! It’s amazing how different lighting can make a spot look… my apologies for the dark night … [Read more...]
I love the idea of decorating with cornstalk bundles. My mom does it every year, I bought some last year at a local farm, but this year I wanted to make my own from the stalks in our garden! It was so easy, here’s how you do it. Cut down cornstalks and remove from garden (or ask your husband nicely) Arrange the stalks until they’re staggered to your liking. I prefer to arrange them at different heights, with a couple of tassels sticking up higher than the rest. You’ll see that the … [Read more...]
(or Decor Pumpkin Soup, as I like to call it) I told myself that once the fall decor was put away, I could start decorating for Christmas. I want to start decorating. Like NOW. Buh bye fall… Most of my pumpkins are real, so instead of putting them away, I’m going to put them to work! Cut open the squash/pumpkins (the green and striped ones are acorn squash) and de-seed them. Pop them into your 350 degree oven for about an hour? Just until the pumpkins are soft when poked … [Read more...]
After demolishing his bowl, my husband said “this is one of the best soups I’ve ever had.” Me: “EVER?” Doug: “Ever.” I had a taste for some soup and decided to combine my three favorite fall flavors: sweet potato, butternut squash, and half-eaten Lily apples. It was like eating a spoonful of fall, this is DEFINITELY going in our meal rotation. Sweet Butternut Apple Soup Ingredients: 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed half of a butternut … [Read more...]
I wanted a letter-y fall garland for over my sink, but did not want to cut it freehand or waste time (and paper) making and printing it out! Lazy? No. I have Dollar Tree! I found this very halloween-y garland that would perfect for a party, but was a little too much for my house or style. I hung and spray-painted the garland black After it dried, I carefully cut the letters out of the garland, giving the letters a more simple look. I poked two holes in each letter with a … [Read more...]
Hello, pumpkins! Sorry for disappearing, we’ve been enjoying a few unseasonably warm days! At the zoo with cousins, at the pumpkin patch with friends, replacing morning blogging with wagon rides, and night blogging with bonfires. :) Sweaters and jeans one day, short sleeves and skirts the next… that’s fall in Chicago for ya. I’m not really doing Halloween this year, just decorating for fall this way I can leave it all up until November! ;) Since we were … [Read more...]
