Gettin' Festive!

Happy Halloween! I love Halloween, more now than when I was a kid. When you're young it's all about the candy. When you get older it's all about the costumes, the movies, the decor, the food, the crafts--the good stuff. To get in the proper spirit this year I made cupcakes, meticulously planned my costume, and will carve a pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds with my hubby, and watch a few horror flicks or some spooky cinema (The Corpse Bride is not horror, just fun) this evening. First, the cupcakes. I bought regular boxed yellow cake mix and white icing and added coloring to match the traditional Halloween colors: green, purple, and orange. I also used fun cupcake wrappers purchased on a shopping trip to Joann Fabrics with Kelly weeks and week ago. The cake color is perfect but the frosting looks a bit odd. The purple is more grey than I'd like.

The food coloring gel also made the icing really shiny but they taste just fine. I tried to swirl the two colors but it just looks strange. At least you can see all 3 colors. On to my costume. I've already professed my love and adoration for Duck Dynasty and Jase and Phil in particular. So...

I dressed up as Jase Robertson this year. Other than the two-toned hair I've hit it pretty on the mark. Students have said, "You've got to be Jase." I already had the boots but I did purchase the rest. The beard is held in place with hair clips (there a band that goes around my head) and spirit gum. Spirit gum is a very sticky, nasty smelling glue for costumes. I was able to find some at Walmart on Sunday. This costume is really fun but good Lord the beard itches like crazy. I don't know how men can stand this mess. Jeff and I really didn't do much of anything for any holiday last year so we're trying to make a better effort this year. We were a little late but we still bought two pumpkins Monday night, one to carve and one for extra seeds, to get in the Halloween spirit. We're carving and roasting tonight while we watch Insidious. 

I watched The Amityville Horror Ryan Reynolds version on Tuesday. 

The only good thing I can say about that movie is Ryan's shirt is off for a good portion. I also watched The Corpse Bride earlier in the week. I really love that movie. I bought some Halloween themed Cadbury chocolate eggs last week. I haven't tried one yet but I might need to give it a go this evening. I also need to catch up on some episodes of American Horror Story. I hope everyone has a delightfully ghoulish Halloween!

Pinterest Pledge {craft}

I'm continuing with my Pinterest Pledge. I pinned this several weeks ago.

I think the saying is funny and I actually live on a lake so that's funny too. It's an item available for purchase on Etsy. So I got some supplies together, played around with fonts on Word, and created this in about an hour on Sunday.

It will be placed on the wall using 3M products. We have a spot saved but it's not up yet. I'll try to remember to do follow-up pic. The canvas is very flat and skinny so unless I frame it or get it framed there's nothing to let it hang so the 3M stuff will have to work for now.

I used a different brush for the word GO so those letters look more rustic which is what I wanted. The other letters look a little wonky. However, I am not an artist and I posses no painting skills. Jeff and I both like it so that's all that matters to me. That and fulfilling my pledge for the month of October!

Looking back I realize there are a few techniques I could have tried to make it look even more rustic and similar to the original. Lesson learned. I still had fun.

Boo at the Zoo!

For my birthday I asked Jeff to take me to the zoo. September is horribly unpleasant for me as far as work is concerned so I wanted to wait until October. Plus, the weather is cooler in October. This Saturday we made the visit. I was able to get free tickets thanks to some information from Whitney and a DVD from the public library. It's also Boo at the Zoo right now which was awesome. I've never been to the zoo near Halloween. All kids (and adults) are encouraged to dress-up and they give out candy. Several of the habitats were decorated in the Halloween spirit; a pumpkin here, orange and black streamers there. We did not hit any traffic on the way up and the weather could not have been better. We were there for a couple hours and saw everything there was to see. It's been about 4 years since I've been to Zoo Atlanta and much longer for Jeff. The word of the day was 'powerful'. Jeff kept saying, "God, you know that guy (animal) is powerful." Or, "Look how powerful he is!" It was hilarious. I took as many pictures as I could stand and tried not to hog the viewing space. There were a lot of people there but it wasn't overwhelming. All the kids were very well behaved too. First we saw the flamingos but I didn't take a picture. This lovely elephant was my first photo of the day. We only saw one but I've seen as many as three there before.

Then it was on to the warthog but I couldn't get a good picture. The only things Jeff really wanted to see were the warthog and the rhino. The rhino got the first 'powerful' comment of the day.

Near the rhino lived giraffes, zebras, and ostriches. 

The giraffes were cute as can be while they frolicked around their habitat. 

I think we visited the parakeet house next. They were so, so pretty and very cute. I wanted to take some great pictures to frame later but it was difficult with so many visitors. It was hard to take a photo quickly before a hand or head popped in the shot. 

We also saw this pretty blue feathered bird later in the day.

Next was the gorilla exhibit. This was the main attraction for many years with the famous Willie B. I would say the pandas are probably the main draw for attendance these days but the gorillas were very fun to watch. We stayed there for a good while. The largest gorilla also received the famous 'powerful' comment. 

And there was a precious baby gorilla!!

I took so many pictures of that baby. It was just so cute. After about 10 minutes we were hit with this horrible smell. It was truly awful. Jeff said we needed to move on and he looked like he was about to throw-up. I didn't need any convincing so off we went. We saw a sun bear after that and a glimpse of some tigers. I never did get any good pictures of the tigers. 

I don't remember when exactly we saw the lions but it was a treat. The lion and lioness weren't really doing much until the lion got up and started walking around and bearing his teeth. I'm sure there was a 'powerful' comment thrown in there but I was trying to take as many pictures as I could so I don't remember. 

Then the lion sprayed the bush to the right. It was hilarious. 

You should have heard some of the explanations from parents to their kids. Nature calls! On to the pandas! First was the adorable red panda.

Then we saw the main attraction. Well, not the MAIN attraction. The newly named baby pandas were not out for viewing which was a real shame. The last time I went to the zoo was with mom and we got to see a baby panda playing with it's mother. We must have stayed there for 20 minutes with huge smiles on our faces. Oh, well. I was still nice to see my childhood favorite. My favorite stuffed animal when I was a kid was a panda bear from the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina. I named it Jeffrey.

The pandas were pretty much the last exciting thing before we made our way back to the car. We swung by his sister's house for an impromptu birthday party for his nephew Austin. Then we grabbed a quick dinner at Zaxby's and headed home. I became extremely dizzy around 10pm and got sicker into the next day; nausea, sneezing, fever, major dizziness. Then around 5pm on Sunday it just stopped. I feel great now. I kind of thought it might have the flu (which I have not had since middle school) but it was just some weird bug. Other than the strange illness we had a really fun trip. I'd like to visit the Riverbanks Zoo next time.

Remy's Bed

Remy's bed is our bed. He sleeps on our king sized bed near our feet in the middle. Then he moves his way onto my side and sometimes he kicks me or scratches for a full minute or generally does whatever he can to make me uncomfortable. He's also about 5000 degrees. I've been tired of it for years but Jeff doesn't see what the big deal is. The big deal is I'm an extremely light and sensitive sleeper. I like it to be dark, quiet (except for my loud fans), and cool. I've complained about my plight for years to anyone who will listen and Jeff's mother did something very sweet and bought Remy a little bed which is actually meant for cats.

Remy is small and likes to be covered and a bed like this might work. She also made an adorable blanket for him. The idea is to start him off on our bed and then move his new bed to the floor where he will snooze the night away thus allowing me to sleep uninterrupted. It hasn't really been working out so far. He likes to sit on top of the new bed during the day and sleep in front of the new bed under the new blanket at night. So now he's closer to me. Argh! We'll figure this out eventually but Remy really does like his new stuff.

Pinterest Pledge

We all know Pinterest is awesome and fun. Many of us are also guilty of pinning, and pinning, and pinning, and never doing. I haven't really attempted any pinned projects since the wedding. I'm taking a pledge to keep pinning (addictions are hard to break) but to also start doing. I'll do my very, very best to try at least two recipes and one craft each month. My current boards are shown below.

The categories circled in red are the most likely candidates to fulfill my pledge. It's hard to tell in this tiny picture but recipes, for the home, wall art, craft ideas, garden, and holiday decor/crafts are the circled boards. I already got a jump start this Monday (we were off for the holiday!) and made risotto and chicken enchilada soup. The risotto was good.

It has a cup of wine so the wine flavor was a little strong to me. I will say that the risotto has gotten better in the fridge over the past few days and the wine is not so noticeable now. The measurements were different than standard US measurements so I had to Google some conversion stuff. I would like to make it again but with less wine and maybe add some Fontina cheese or Gruyere.

My version looks pretty dang close to the Pinterest original. Jeff really liked it which was shocking. It makes a lot of risotto. The recipe says is makes 2 portions maybe 3 but it makes plenty more than that.

I ate it with steak as a side dish and then as my dinner the next night. And there's still about 3 cups left in the fridge. Next up is the chicken enchilada soup. I actually cooked this first because it goes in the crock pot and then cooked the risotto for dinner later that night.

I've been eating the soup everyday for lunch. This recipe is EASY. So super easy. I used chicken thighs instead of breast (I don't like white meat) and I had some left over baby yellow, red, and orange peppers to get rid of rather than buy a green pepper. I think I would have preferred the green pepper for color plus I love the taste of green peppers in soups/stews. This soup is a little sweet.

I bought frozen sweet corn so I guess that's the reason. Some avocado slices would be a nice addition and I add way more Monterey Jack cheese than what is shown in the Pinterest picture. This soup is very filling and Jeff approved of this one as well. I would make them both again with some slight tweaks. As a side note, I do not enjoy cooking while looking at a recipe on my iPad. Next time I will print the recipe rather than having to turn my iPad on every few minutes because it has gone to sleep. Anyone else want to make a Pinterest pledge? I knocked out my two recipes so I just need to work on a craft project next. I think with the holidays approaching it will be easier. There are tons of recipes and holiday specific crafts to attempt. Happy pinning!!

Dinner Theater

My mother-in-law's birthday is approaching. It's a big one but I won't share the number in case she doesn't want my two readers to know. She and Barbara are currently on vacation and will continue to be gone during her actual birthday and this coming weekend. We realized it would be best to celebrate her birthday the weekend before if we could. A 6pm dinner at O'Charley's was planned so Jeff and I left Milledgeville Saturday evening to meet the crowd in Snellville. Nine of us were there including Jeff's sister Lindsay and her two boys Austin and Cody. Let me just say that O'Charley's has got to be THE loudest restaurant on the planet. Barbara and I had to shout across the table to have a conversation. We were in the back along with about 30 high schoolers dressed in their finest (Homecoming weekend maybe?). We quickly put in our orders before the taffeta kids could put in theirs causing an hour delay in getting our meals. About 5 minutes into eating I see my mother-in-law slowly start to stand up. She does not look good. She motions to Lindsay that she is choking and turns around while Lindsay wraps her arms around her waist and starts doing the Heimlich manuever. I motion for Jeff to hurry and help. Lindsay tried a few times and then handed her mother over to Jeff. I stood by Austin and tried to casually answer his questions about what was happening to Nana. I don't know who actually helped my mother-in-law get the food out of her throat but she was finally able to breathe. I was impressed with how quickly (and calmly) she, Lindsay, and Jeff were able to handle the situation. The boys had no idea what really happened because no drama ensued and no one outside of our party knew what was happening. This may have something to do with the extreme noise level. So, the moral of the story is, take CPR training. They teach you the Heimlich maneuver and you never know when you might need to help a family member or a stranger. I am CPR certified and I would not have been able to react as quickly and correctly as they did. My mother-in-law is a nurse so that probably helped and Lindsay is CPR certified as well. Jeff apparently had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a stranger years back. Nothing beats actual experience. I'm hoping for a more low key birthday celebration next year.

Must Share

I stumbled upon a fun article this morning about what to dress up as for Halloween. I'm a big fan of Halloween so this time of year is full of fun articles, pictures, and movies and I read/view them all with relish.

Here's what the article had to say about Virgos...

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)

This perfectionistic, word-loving sign can express its erotic earthiness as a sexy librarian. Virgo is also associated with Demeter, the grain goddess ... so a chaff of wheat may be right up your alley. Virgo is a great pet lover, so you could dress up as an animal -- a cat or dog or even a fox costume, which are selling out this year. Or go as a classic Virgo good-girl, like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz -- and don't forget her pet, Toto!

Funny, right? Sexy Librarian--I'm one of those every day!! Just kidding, I'm only the librarian part every day. I'm not sure about the grain goddess, maybe that's why I love pasta and baked goods so much. I agree with everything else though, wholeheartedly. My grandpa would get a kick out of the Dorothy suggestion. According to him, I watched Wizard of Oz about 100 times. Click on the article title above to see your sign's costume suggestions. I will be dressing up this year and I hope it gets a few laughs.

Fun Website

Have you ever watched a TV show and when a character is wearing a cute top or bag wondered where you could buy the same thing? It happens to me all the time. I think I tried to find a bag from Modern Family (season 2 maybe) that Claire had. I still haven't been able to find it--so sad. The new season of Parks and Rec started last week (finally!) and Leslie had on the cutest top EVER.

Isn't it just adorable?!?!? It can be dressy or casual. I love the colors and the arm length (arm length is important to short, chubby people). So I Googled "Leslie Knope season 5 top". I had to try a few variations with different keywords but I finally stumbled upon the awesome website worn on tv.

It has dozens of TV shows listed by episode for you to search (I've circled a few of my favorites). There are more shows that the list below.

You simply pick an episode to find out where to get it and how much it costs. I have to warn you that almost everything seems to be from top designers and design stores no where near my area and the cost is in the low hundreds. At least the mystery of where to find it is solved.

The cheapest option here is $154 at Saks. I've actually been to Saks in New York on a trip after I graduated high school. We looked at the "sale" rack and the dresses were over $2000. As far as the Leslie top is concerned I guess I have expensive taste. Anyway, I thought this was a very fun and organized website and I wanted to share. Happy shopping!