BOO! Happy Halloween

K's outfit selection this year....I mean, could she BE any cuter as Alice in Wonderland?!! I think not.

It's freakin adorable....and see those cute black & white checkered leggings that it came with - super stylish.

She'd tried on a few butterfly outfits at Party City... then kept pointing to this dress. As soon as she tried it on I was so happy - it was perfect! I was thinking it'd be funny for me to dress up as the white rabbit (almost did, bought the ears and tail!) and have James be the Mad Hatter - but that didn't happen (she carried a brown rabbit instead, ha!)... maybe next year we'll plan better and find coordinating costumes!

Halloween morning we took K to school, where we got to see all the other adorableness of kids dressed up. That night we went to downtown Encinitas and had a super early dinner...and after we cruised along Hwy 101 - where a ton of the businesses were open and handing out candy. LOT of adults dressed up too...which was a nice change of pace form our standard trick-or-treating around our pretty quiet community. Definitely a better vibe!

Even the place I work out daily on my lunch breaks got into it.... Totally Rad 80's Fitness! The owner, Danny, I had told he should come dressed up as Richard Simmons....he totally did and rocked those mini shorts & wig, hahaha!

I scored the hot pink shorts ($6) and shoes ($20) at ROSS, and the teal leg warmers ($10) at Target....the grey shirt I had made months ago, from a men's XL and created a sort-of 'dolman' style tee from it. It was the most comfortable costume EVER!

Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit 2013

I love the Pumpkin Patch we go to...it's in Del Mar called the Pumpkin Station. We go every year, with the exception of 4 years ago when K was just 5 months old, and we went to Bates - which was hell. Parking was hell. It was packed as hell. And it was HOT as hell.  So we kinda decided right then & there that we'd find something else, closer to home.

And we did!

Each year there's a Groupon deal they offer as well for rides. And now that K & the other kiddos we typically go with are bigger and love to go on more rides - it's a great deal!




Of course what Pumpkin Patch visit would be complete without first stopping at Starbucks for some hot chocolate & Pumpkin Spice Lattes?? mmmmmm

And seriously...the grey chevron infinity scarf of mine that she has on....too damn cute!



And here's are finished carved/decorated pumpkins! Can't go wrong with glitter & glue in the eyes of a 4yr old!

Halloween 2012

Halloween is getting more & more fun the older Kapri gets. This year, she's obviously more into princesses more than ever and I love it. I love how girly she is...after my own heart (though I was a bit of a tomboy just before I hit my teens). 

About a week before we went to a family Halloween party which we all dressed up for. Kapri was the 'bride' Rapunzel... and I had an old Greek Goddess dress from 2008 when I was 2 months pregnant that I figure I could wear again. Then I stumbled upon a Greek God outfit which was perfect for James... I think we made a cute little group! 

With the Cinderella movie "re-released" & everywhere this year, it was only natural for her to want to be her this Halloween....her and I'm sure 43,000 other little girls ;-)

Though I didn't want her to ruin or dirty it at school on Wednesday, so she wore a little pumpkin shirt... then James picked her up & brought her to my work for our annual I-SCREAM Social & Trick-or-Treating around the office. I quickly changed her in my cube, put her hair in a sock bun and away we went getting yummy treats in her pumpkin!

After that was ice cream... where she was able to see her good friend Arden and a bunch of other kids. Then we came home, rested for an hour, had a snack...then headed out to GramMo's to say 'hi'...(grammy had to see Miss Kapri all prettied up)...then we spent about 2 hours Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood with some friends.

Too much candy...I had to put it in a bag & hide it in the back of the pantry on the top shelf where K can't see... or me for that matter so I'm not tempted! 

3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Night

Love our pumpkin carving night - 3rd year now and it gets better & better! This year in addition to our usual guests of Manda & Feve, we also had Aunt Sisi, Nic and baby Jack over...the more the 'spookier' right?

I also got out some of last year's 'fall' nick-nacks to put up around the house like my framed burlap button pumpkin, my fall silk plant centerpiece, a little 'boo' sign, my 'fall' subway art, and my burlap wreath - which I updated this year, by adding some cream lace & a little "Autumn" bunting across it:

The boys watched football, while the kids played and the ladies chit chatted, drank some champagne & cooked in the kitchen...typical, haha! We had a fab menu of crock pot pulled pork sammies, cole slaw, mini corn dog muffins, 'skinny' spinach artichoke dip, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cheesecake and of course...pumpkin beer - wow!

It was my first time making pulled pork myself (crazy I know)! I just used a bottle of Phil's BBQ sauce, a pumpkin beer & water to cover a 3.5 lb pork shoulder. After 8 hours, that bad boy feel apart perfectly and inside Hawaiian roll 'buns' - it was melt-in-your-mouth amazing!!

The skinny dip is from HERE - and also turned out fab...so delish and less guilt than the regular spin/artichoke dips... yum yum.

Of course I wanted to add a little craft to the day...and did so with four insanely adorable mini witch hat headbands for us girls.

I used a super thick, somewhat stiff type of felt that I found at Michael's, however hot glue would NOT stick - I think because of the texture of the felt and/or the felt constantly wanting to un-fold itself out of the cone shape. So I ended up stapling it at the base, then covering the space left up to the tip with regular felt... it doesn't look so great up close in the back. However the front was so fab with green & purple ribbon and a scrappy orange, jeweled fabric flower...that no one noticed the crappy back!

Silly James!!

Once it started to get dark, we started our pumpkins - never will I EVER get one of the 'warty' pumpkins again. They are crazy hard to cut through. I was literally panting, sweating, and my hand was cramping up... not good. These pumpkins had some type of super strong protective layer just under the outside skin that made it nearly impossible to cut through, I had to use my kitchen knives! The inside meat was normal & very easy to carve though...so strange!!

Anyway, they all came out great...and luckily we have a nice 'shelf' outside our house to put them all on!

Patch-o-Pumpkins 2012

Ah fall. The older I get, the more I love fall and all the fun it brings. 

Here in San Diego, October is typically very warm...and breezy with dry, hot 'Santa Ana' winds - which in turn is our fire season. However, somehow we decided to plan a weekend pumpkin patch visit with our friends, the Ritchison's, on a crisp cool afternoon...yay! It actually rained hours before we arrived, but cleared up and was a beautiful evening.

We've been loving the Pumpkin Station in Del Mar the past 3 years now! 2010 & 2011

We started the short trip with a stop at Starbucks for a yum Pumpkin Spice Latte for us, and a mini hot chocolate for K - of course.

The kids were so excited to see each other...and to go on rides together. So we bought a bunch of tickets and let em at it. I was so proud of K for going UP and DOWN the big inflatable slide all by herself this year... such a feat!

Then before we left we picked out our pumpkins...and of course persuaded the kids to take some final pics together - love!

It's crazy to look back a few years when we all visited this same pumpkin patch together...they've grown so much! And I just love creating these fun family traditions...something Kapri will be able to fondly look back on when she thinks about her childhood. I guess that means so much to me, because I really don't have any memories of my childhood - I'm not sure why...I always just blame it on a bad memory. Anyway, I hope that doesn't happen to her...I hope she'll remember all these fun memories, and if not, at least we'll have the blog! haha

Pumpkin Patch 2011

It's pumpkin time! Kapri was soooo excited to go to the pumpkin patch this year...well, she actually knew what it was this year, haha. She'd see a smaller one on the way to/from preschool, but I kept telling her we'd be going to a different one that was a little bigger, with more rides. So she was anxious everyday!

Finally we went on Friday after work, which I think was an amazing idea, because most people we're probably still sitting in icky rush hour traffic (I'm off by 3) - so the place was nearly empty when we arrived! We took a quick family pic, bought some ride tickets & were on our way.

The place we go to is called the Pumpkin Station - the Del Mar location. We discovered it last year and I'm hooked. 2 years ago when Kapri was just 5 months old, we went to Bates Nut Farm - but that place was a. too crowded, b. far, c. had longest line to get into parking, and d. was about 100 degrees. No thanks.

We did the typical rides as last year - the train she was able to do by herself this time, yay big girl! Dad still took her on the carousel, and she also went down a big inflatable slide by herself after some coaching from us below! She loves the petting area...this time we went with Auntie Sisi, who actually caught & held a chicken to let K pet it - so crazy!

Then Sisi took Kapri on the spinning cups - O...M...G....the most hilarious thing to watch. ever. Kapri kept putting her head back and making a funny/dizzy face...and the faster Sisi would spin the wheel, the faster it spun, and K just had a huge grin on her face.

Finally we picked out a few pumpkins & were on our way - love the pumpkin patch!

Finally feels like fall

When I was younger...like, still in school younger - I LOVED summer...what kid wouldn't?? No school, no homework, no tests, no teachers....summer was THE best time of year for any age school kid.

Things have shifted a bit for me, as those dreaded school years have slipped into a distant memory. Fall has quickly become my new fav time of year. The weather is starting to cool off, but not as chilly as winter....perfect for fuzzy scarves, thick socks & tall boots...hot chocolate & warm apple pies....crackling fires & cozy blankets.

all pics courtesy of Pinterest

Also of course, Halloween, Thanksgiving......and my birthday ;-)



I've gotten some fall-ish touches up around the house...can't wait to add more fun decor, as we get closer to Thanksgiving, when we'll be hosting a yummy traditional turkey dinner for the very first time...hope we don't burn the main dish, eek!

Anyway - in addition to my burlap wreath, button pumpkin & mod podged frame...I have added:

• a fabric pumpkin that I made from an old linen tie bag, stuffing, a stick from outside and fake fall colored leaves. 
• a centerpiece that I created for about $5.... $1 glass container from Walmart, $1 bag of mini cinnamon-scented pine cones, $1 bag of mini plastic pumpkins, $1 cream/brown/green fake flowers, & $1 bunch of greenery....all from Michael's!! 
• a "Spooky" sign hanging on our screen door and a "BOO!" porcelain pumpkin with fall leaves on our outdoor shelf, both from the dollar store (sometimes buying it pre-made is cheaper than DIY!)
• and a scrapbook paper bunting banner, that I hung up around my little cube at work. 

I now lovvvve fall/autumn!!! Within a month, my house will be totally decked out for turkey day, yippee!! Thank you Pinterest for never, ever failing to give me so many inspiring ideas!

OH...and really quick...on that note of being inspired, I created my very first 'subway-style' art for this time of year using Picnic...cannot wait to frame this & put it up somewhere! Download your own copy here!

Button Crafting

Not sure what's behind my latest 'button' craze - wait....actually, I blame credit Pinterest!! I definitely got a few cute crafts out of it! These are pretty easy, but definitely a bit time consuming if you're a slight perfectionist like moi. For me it was the length of one of K's naps. Done & done.

My neighbor's daughter is having a 'butterfly-themed' 2nd birthday party outside on our perfect little greenbelt this afternoon. About a week ago I decided to make a framed pink & green button butterfly with her name on it, to go along with the theme. It's adorbs. Thinkin I could add these to my CfC site?! Butterflies, flowers, ladybugs...the possibilities are endless!!

Then after that was completed, I realized I had a good amount of orange buttons - so I made a burlap button pumpkin, on an old dollar store frame I had laying around. I love burlap! Gives any project a slight rustic, charming look. What made these projects a bit time consuming is arranging all the different sized buttons in a good layout. Then once you've achieved your desired look, you just pick one up at a time, glue the button then lay it back down. Of course, a circle is much easier than the butterfly shape!

It sits atop our dining room hutch, along with some complimenting orange poppies and my handmade, scrapbook paper & mod podged frame, with pic of our little fam from last year's pumpkin patch trip ;-)

gahhh, cannot believe how small K was just a year ago!!

I have another cheapy frame that needs some love...thinkin I'll make a button "K" for Kapri's room - would be so cute on the outside of her door...hung with some pretty sheer ribbon! Now...to burlap or not to burlap...Stay tuned...thinkin it's time to make a special 'burlap' crafts Pin board now! haha

Halloween Festivities

On Friday afternoon my work hosted their annual Halloween Ice Cream Social. All the employees invite their spouses/significant others and kids, they all get dressed up & trick-or-treat around the office, then all join in our atrium for some yummy ice cream. It’s so fun to see everyone and those adorable kids in their costumes! Here are  a few pics from that…and Kitty Kapri friggin lovvvvved that ice cream:

Then on Sunday we met up with James’ fam for some dinner & trick-or-treating around his mom’s neighborhood. This year was wayyyy more fun for us (& Kapri) than last year, since she’s walking now, and can grab a piece of candy & drop it into her pumpkin bucket. Too cute. I’m pretty sure she was even attempting to say “trick-or-treat”…though it came out more like “tttshssshtttssh”, hahaha! She did great saying ‘peas’ (please) when each person opened their door, 'bye' when we said thanks and ‘mo’ (more) when we left each house. Early on she was literally pullllling me down the sidewalk as she ran – I could not stop laughing.

She did great, walked pretty much the entire time…even held her bucket though it was seriously so heavy (for her) from all the candy. Such a little trooper! Everyone loved her costume, but next year I really want to plan in advance and make one for her :)

Pumpkin fun!

The other night we had Steve & Amanda over for pumpkin carving/decorating. I attempted to make this cute box set of sugar cookies, that had pumpkin cookie cutters, orange frosting mix, black & green icing and cute little candy eye balls…fun right?! NO. Project pumpkin sugar cookie = fail. I’m not sure if it was ‘user’ error or if it was just this cheap box mix…but either way – the dough was MEGA gooey! How the hell are you supposed to ‘cut’ out cookies if it’s oozing? Ugh. Anyway…our pumpkins turned out cute!

We had fun and Kapri sat quietly in her high chair coloring away…I can’t wait for next year when she can gut & semi-carve her own little pumpkin.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

 On Saturday night, we met up with the Ritchison fam to take the kiddos to a pumpkin patch in Del Mar. This one to be exact. I'd never heard of it before, not sure if they've set up in that location before, but since it's only 2 exits south from our house, we thought it was perrrrfect! Much better than driving 45 minutes-ish up to Bates Nut Farm in 100 degree weather + sitting in a 30 minute line just to get in...like we did last year. Ugh.

Anyway...it was overcast, slightly misty and not crowded at. all. It was perfect!! After about 2 seconds in the stroller, Kapri started doing that typical toddler "ehhhhhh" noise and stretching her whole body out. Hum... do you think she wants OUT? haha...so we let her run all around and basically followed her around.

First she went on the carousel with dadda...she kept shaking her head "no" and I really think she was super excited when it ended! haha

Then we let her explore all the pumpkins...she was so fascinated. I got her to sit down on a pumpkin for a quick pic, then ran behind her the rest of the time.

Okay seriously how ugly are all those white 'price' stickers?!!!

I'm not sure how we even managed to pull this family pic off. Literally seconds before she was squirming...just dying to get out of our arms & be 'free'!! She is so independent...I love it & hate it at the same time :-(  What's funny now that we're parents, is that we just smile forEVER, while whoever has the camera just snaps away, trying desperately to get Kapri to just look in their direction (much less smile, sheesh)...while we just keep smilllllling til our cheeks hurt.

 

Then we managed to get both kids to sit next to each other for another lil photo opp...SO cute right?!! 

 Then I went on the 'cho cho' with her...she did NOT want to get off...and kept pointing to it after it was over - silly me, I had a 'free train ride' coupon in my wallet that I forgot about & just found today...ugh. Anyway...it was so cute, I was laughing hysterically because she just kept saying "weeee.....weeee" in this really quiet, but high pitched voice. Love her!

 She rode the lil car...another fav. I couldn't take her out. Ultimately I gave her a snack while she just sat there for a bit!!

Lastly...the petting 'zoo'...which really consisted of like, 6 goats, 5 kinda scary white/albino bunnies, 1 black sheep and 1 caged up chicken. Wow. Nothing special for us, but SO much fun for her! Then, she had a major freak out session when I took her out. I know she loved it...but damnit, those friggin animals started peeing & poo'ing all over the place - I had to run to save Kapri from a stream of pee on goat felt necessary to release just 5 feet away from us...man she runs fast...and omg, can you imagine if she ran towards a lil poo pellet thinking it was chocolate or something?!!! k, that was really gross to even type, but seriously. It was TIME to go. So she screamed. She cried. Yes, I have that kid.

Ahhh well...I still love her regardless of those lil fits.