{ happy halloween! }

Whew!  October has been a bumpy month for us, so I'm pretty happy to see it go!  But I also LOVE Halloween and Halloween parties.  I soooo wanted to host a fun little party this year, but with all the busyness going on, I had zero energy to do it.  That makes me feel a bit sad,  but I thought I'd do a little flashback of the little get-together we had with our friends last year.

These funny-faced, pumpkin lanterns still make me smile a year later.

There was no shortage of sweets.

We had some of the cutest, costumed guests around.  I spy a witch, Boots, and a fairy.

And Tigger too.

How adorable is this itty-bitty ballerina?

I just love our attempts to get these kiddos all lined up for a photo!  Too funny :)

Here's 7-month-old Grant as a wee banana.

Curious Georgia is  2 1/2 years old here.

Mama banana and The Man with the Yellow Hat couldn't resist joining in the fun too.

 *photos via Tammy Dean Photography 

Isn't Halloween the best?!! 
I hope everyone has a wonderfully spooky, fright-filled Halloween day and evening!

Be safe everybody! 

{ i spy a diy - easy felt garland }

I finally got around to sprucing up our mantel a bit for the season.  I was determined to do it for very little money.  I shopped around our house for objects that would work, and also went the crafty route with some things too. I only spent 5 bucks total!  Yay!

 My favorite part is this orange, ruffled felt garland.  Isn't it magical how something quite ordinary like felt can be used to make something so whimsical and fun?  There's a great, simple tutorial on how to make this over at My Blessed Life.

I also just adore how Jack's burlap leaf art project looks up there.  We made several of these during a crafty afternoon.  It's just burlap wrapped around a cardboard square with a pressed leaf glued on. 

And lastly, I made this wreath out of foldered and layered, tea-stained coffee filters.  Couldn't be easier!

Have you made an effort to dress up your home for Autumn too?

h a p p y   h a l l o w e e n   w e e k e n d!

{ wednesday wish list - come true! }

Sometimes you have a week so wretchedly bad that you just need some good ol' retail therapy. That was just the case for me recently.

  I kinda have a thing for stalking vintage Anthropologie goodies on ebay.  And I love browsing trimmings, embellishments, and such on etsy.  I scored myself a few new goodies to help chase away the blues.

I'm obsessed with my new plaid shirtdress. OBSESSED.

*anthropologie reed shirtdress

I'm positively giddy waiting for the postman to bring me my lovely sampler of divine twine.  Imagine the gift wrapping possibilities with all these colors!

 * london tierny

 This sweater coat has me daydreaming of freshly fallen snow, Christmas lights, ice-skating, and hot cocoa.

 * anthropologie alice in autumn sweatercoat

I hope YOU are having a great week :)

{ i spy a diy - help for mr. cranky pants }

I'm blessed to have a three-and-a-half year old who still voluntary takes a daily nap.  Most days Happy Jack wakes up from naps, well, happy.  But some days he wakes up an irritable mess.  It's no fun. No fun at all.  To help deal with this fussiness, and keep the tears to a minimum, I brainstormed and came up with a "quiet jar" full of special post-nap activities.  It has really worked wonders!  I've crafted up a couple of fun new favorites in the last few days.

My friend, Julie, in all of her children's librarian awesomeness, came up with this great "decorate an Autumn tree" flannel board idea. 
So simple and cute.
Felt shapes + kiddo + imagination = FUN.

It was a real hit with Jack.  I couldn't believe how his case of the grumpies faded away after just a few minutes of playing with it.

He loved this one too.  I think I saw it on Pinterest originally.  It's a super-easy-to-make color matching activity.  All you need is paint chips (you'll need duplicates of the same cards), small clothespins, glue and scissors for this one.
 The how-to is pretty self-explanatory, I think.  This activity can be a bit tricky, so Jack is always completely elated with himself when he successfully matches all the pins to the appropriate shades of color.

Our quiet jar has been a real lifesaver for us.  If you're interested in more ideas like these, you can find several more quiet activities here.

Happy Monday, everybody!

{ staircase style }

I just love fun, quirky staircases. 

 This graphic chevron runner gives a modern touch to an otherwise traditional staircase.

Painted treads are so fun.  I'm digging the shocking pink here.

Stenciling several different patterns in the same colors on the risers. 

Very cool idea.

Kate Spade never shys away from color. These stunning, rainbow-striped stairs were featured in her London shop.

Ooooh, how about an ombre paint treatment to the spindles?  This looks fantastic against all that crisp white.

I think I love this family.  What a awesome sense of humor they must have to have made this happen.  I'm betting this is a basement family/play space.

 And the idea of painting numbers on risers is really nothing new, but this staircase by Sarah Richardson is a real favorite of mine lately.  I love that she used three-dimensional house numbers in different materials and finishes, as opposed to painting on uniform numbers. LOVE this times a million.



*all via pinterest

I wonder if we're brave enough to do something like this in our home?  Are you???

{ making me smile... }

The look on this happy boy's face. That blissful grin is all because a very special preschool classmate has been sleeping over at our house this past weekend.

It seems Fluffy, the guinea pig, is in heaven too-and who wouldn't be with the endless amounts of carrots sticks and apple slices she's enjoyed the last few days :)

I hope you have lots to smile about today too!

{ i spy a diy - 5 flower necklace }

My super stylish mama friend, Kristy, was wearing the most darling, yellow flower necklace one day a few weeks back.  She's a crafty kinda gal, so I suspected she'd made it herself, and it turns out, I was right.  Hers turned out so dang adorable, that I wanted to make my own- and pronto! Kristy turned me on to the cuteness that is Little Miss Momma, and her adorable flower necklace tutorial.     

Kristy had the awesome idea to have a get together at her place with a bunch of us gals so that we could each whip up one of these beauties.  Check out the beautiful, delicious spread that was waiting at her house when we all arrived.  Those are pumpkin cannolis, people.  Yowza.  Delish!

We had a lovely evening chatting, sipping, petal-pinching, snacking, and gluing the night away.  About a gazillion fabric circle cut-outs and a few burned fingers later, we all had these pretties to take home.
Impossible to pick a favorite!

And here we are modeling our projects {that's Kristy, the hostess with the mostess, in the middle}.  It was such a fun time, and I can't wait until our next crafty girls' night!

Do you do gals have crafty get togethers like these?  What kind of fun projects have you made?

{ way up high in the apple tree }

We had a wonderful time visiting a local apple orchard with friends this past week.  I bet you're familiar with how these outings go.  There's a whole lot of this:

 and this:

And not enough of this:

That's just fine though, because we still managed to enjoy a splendid Autumn morning just taking in the lovely scenery.

catching up with our little friends,

and goofing around for the mommies with cameras ;)

Our crisp Autumn morning quickly became a very hot afternoon, however, and some of our pickers deemed this attire more appropriate for the change in weather.

Jack tells me this is what a REAL apple farmer wears. ;)

I love my silly blondies.

Hope your week is off to a happy start!

{ friday focus - indoor sweater weather }

If you're anything like me,  Autumn gets you in the mood to add a few cozy accessories to your home.  Nothing says cozy, like a soft, chunky sweater- which is why I love the idea of adding some warmth to living spaces with these recycled sweater project ideas.

Not-so-stylish grandpa cardigans can be transformed into beautiful throw pillows.

* cococozy

Oh, and how swoonworthy are these ruffley ladies?! 



* eisman design

Sweater sleeves are the perfect size and shape for easily whipping up some style for glass vases or candleholders.

* by stephanie lynn

I'd like to cozy up with a hot cup of apple cider and this
 patchwork knit throw.

* craft gossip

Wouldn't these look perfect hung by the mantel with care?

* martha stewart

 Anyone else itchin' to make a trip to the nearest thrift store? ;)

h a p p y  w e e k e n d !

{ i am loving... }

These clever, DIY painted lids for craft supplies. 

They are just so playful and fun.


* house to home

{ designer crush - sarah jane studios }

I've been a fan of illustrator and designer, Sarah Jane, since discovering her etsy shop, full of darling art prints, a few years ago.  She's recently enjoyed phenomenal success, thanks to a new line of fabrics, and a children's book.  I'm pretty sure that I could spend a gazillion dollars on her art and fabrics. Here are a few of my faves.

This quartet of postcard prints hangs in Happy Jack's room.

She's recently added these sweet paper doll kits to her shop.

And embroidery patterns too.

And then there are the ridiculously adorable fabrics.

There are endless possibilties for cute projects with this collection of whimsical prints.

Oh, my.  A "just stay little" party inspired by her fabrics.  LOVE!

If you're craving more Sarah Jane cuteness, check out her shop and blog.