Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Reuse and Recycle


Last day of the PLB Halloween series! Today is all about reusing and recycling things that you used for Halloween for Thanksgiving!

Luckily both of these holidays are in the same season, so if you choose a general decoration palette that is fall themed, you wont have a hard time swapping the Jack-O-Lanterns for Cornucopias.

For example, if you make a wreath for your door, you could make it more general "Fall" so that it can stay up longer. You can also reuse a lot of the fake pumpkins and such as decor for thanksgiving (because I am pretty sure pumpkins were allowed at the first thanksgiving)

I love to save money, and by doubling up some of my decor, I can do just that.

To see all of the PLB Halloween series posts in one place, mosey on over to the Blog Series section over ------> there and click on the logo you see above :)

Thanks for joining me! Come back closer to Thanksgiving for the Pretty Little Bloggers Thanksgiving series!

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!



Its the day we all have been waiting for! HALLOWEEN!!! :) Time to lace up our costumes, and solicit our children's cuteness for candy!! :) (you know its true ;) )

So in the spirit of Halloween, I give you 7 tips for a safe and enjoyable trick-or-treating experience!


1. Plan a route ahead of time! Sure, it always seems fun to go all nilly willy and wander around the neighborhood, but its dark, and most likely cold, and kids get tired fast. For the most bang for your buck, make a plan!

2. Wear comfy shoes! This goes for both you and your kiddos! Trick-or-treating is a lot of walking, and you don't want to be grouchy because your feet hurt. Plan ahead and choose comfier shoes. Princesses can still wear ballet flats, not dress up plastic heels, so be smart. Cute vs Comfy, comfy should win.

3. Stay well lit. It's dark, and the mood is right for shenangans. Be safe and put glow sticks or reflective tape on your kids, as well as carry a flashlight. Staying well lit will ensure you know where your kiddos are at all times, and no one gets lost in the dark.

4. Alter your costumes. If shortness runs in your family, like mine, you will want to tailor your costumes to fit your kids. Too long costumes can cause tripping, especially in the dark, so be proactive and hem.

5. Avoid masks. I know, I know. They're fun, scary, exciting, whatever. But they impair your senses and make it harder to tell which kid is which when they all are spiderman. Explore face paint so your kids don't feel left out :)

6. Choose weapons wisely. I get it, some boy costumes require a weapon. Opt for obviously fake ones, and flexible plastic ones. Everyones having a great time until someone pokes their eye out.

7. Check your kids candy. This one seems obvious. Make sure you check that all candy is in their original wrapper and doesn't appear to be opened. Also, sadly, toss home-made goodies. Too risky. Its also a good idea to have your kids pick out 10 pieces that they can't live without and let them keep that, then save the rest to be rationed out over the next few months. Moderation is key.

So there you go! Enjoy trick-or-treating, be safe and HAVE FUN!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Pinterest Challenge Reveal- Chalkboard table



So as I posted vaguely on Facebook, a few weeks ago we scored another awesome Ikea "As-Is" deal on the Ikea Liatorp dining table that we had been eyeing. It was marked down to $139, down from $279, which is a great savings! It had a tiny little scratch in the top, which is why it was so cheap. We obviously snatched that baby right up and brought her home.

Now don't get me wrong, I loved this little table as she was, but with our new white dishes, it was a whole lotta white on white going on. Booooooring!

So I had the idea to paint the top of it with chalboard paint! Last year, we made a Chalkboard paint Parson Desk (that didn't make it through the move, RIP) and we loved it! We loved writing cute notes on it, kids loved playing on it, it was just a barrel of fun. I also loved the charcoal grey almost black color the paint takes on dry. So I decided to take a leap of faith on our little table and paint her top chalboardy.

This table extends to seat 6, so we fully extended it to paint it. We didn't want the Oreo look when we went to extend it. lol


So first I wiped it down clean, to make sure it would go on nice and smooth. 


Then I taped around the edges. Excuse the gap-toothed-ness. There is a piece that goes there, but we didn't put it on for the painting process. 


 The key to success is thin and even coats. This is after the first coat (it looked sketchy), but after 3 thin and even coats with a foam roller, this is what we got.


Look at that baby! Isnt that 1,000 times better than the white on white?!?!


So much better! So there you have it! We hadn't tried out the chalk yet when I took these photos, but we have since and we LOVE it!



So what did you do for the Pinterest Challenge? Also check out the Homemade Ginger Link party going on!




Fall Drinks


MMMMmmm one of my favorite parts of fall is all the yummy things to drink! Fall is notorious for Carmel Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate, and OBVIOUSLY Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Why drive all the way to a coffee shop to get these goodies when you can make them right at home!



Pumpkin Spice Latte



Halloween Wreaths





I love wreaths. I only have a christmas one right now, but I love all the new fun yard wreaths that are out there now a days! I really wanna try and make one (it might be too late for Halloween... maybe for Thanksgiving) but here are some really cool ones I love!


1. I love the pumpkin shape of this wreath! Found here
2. I love the colors and flair! Found here
3. I love the rolled burlap look, and the tutorial is pretty awesome! Found here
4. I love the simple lines and colors. Very festive and classy. Found here

Friday, October 26, 2012

Halloween Decor - Target



It is no secret that I am obsessed with Target. I could buy all.the.things! Fun fact, if you want to get me a gift, Rhinos or Target gift cards are always appropriate.

The tricky thing about Target is only some things are found at certain stores. Kind of a pain :/ And also I was having a hard time finding the cool things I found in the store online, so sorry there wont be links. And as always, PLEASE excuse the shitty iphone photo quality.


These black topiaries are really cool. They are about 3 feet tall and would look great on a front porch!


I love anything that sparkles, especially pumpkins :) This is so pretty, it made me smile :)


These black glittery candelabras were also very cool. I think the thing I love the most about these three items is that they are pretty and classy and not gaudy or cheesy. 


These were really cool, and I am actually kind bummed we didn't pick them up. They are actual metal, in an ORB (oil rubbed bronze) finish. Very cool! (In case you can't tell, they are salad servers)


This black skull is the right amount of creepy, without losing the class. And look at that smile :)


I just thought these tumblers were ADORABLE! How cute are these!!


I fell in love with the array of decorative pumpkins they had! I love the gold one on the left, the white one next to it (of course) and also the shimmery ones on the bottom :)


They also had some bigger ones :)


I liked the simplicity of this wreath. The colors and sparkle appeal to me. 


More cool pumpkins. These are the cool kind you can lazer carve. 

I liked these big ones too. The smiley one is cute :)


This was a really cool decorative urn. I thought it would be neat to have with candy or cookies in it. 

So there you have it! Go to Target. They have awesome Halloween stuff!!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Halloween Eats and Treats


So over on the heathy side of things, I am blogging today about healthy Halloween treats that don't make you feel deprived! Check it out :)


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Pumpkin pumpkin! Tis the season!




I love pumpkin! I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin everything! I had this brilliant idea to link up to all the pumpkin recipes I love, but then I found that  Whipperberry did this about a month ago and she linked up 61 (!!!) recipes with PUMPKIN!! How could I even compete??

So I thought I would share a link to this post, and introduce you to an awesome blog, and the most comprehensive pumpkin list I have ever seen!!


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Ehrmagherd Prrntrst Chrrrlernge

Wow this one snuck up on me for sure! Pinterest Challenge time!


As I have yet to blog about (sorry!!) we got a new table! It is an awesome white table from Ikea (that I got a really awesome deal on that I really wanna blog about but haven't) and I Love it! Yes, Capital L love :) 

As much as I love it, it is kinda plain. Just a plain white circle table sitting there all plain and white. Well I have plans for that beauty :)

1. Awesome white and chalkboard table that I love, found here! I love the clean contrast!
2. Here is another fun one, I love the colored chalk! Found here!
3. I love everything about this table. the rusticy-ness, the white and grey and those amazing blue school chairs! Come to momma! Found here!

So there you have it! My Pinterest Challenge Plan! Come back Tuesday 10/30 to see how it turns out!

Halloween Decor- Framed Scrapbook Paper


Day two! I love decorating my apartment, especially for holidays! I think the right mix of subtle decorations says "It's Halloween, yay :) " but doesn't scream "THIS IS A HALLOWEEN HOUSE!!!!!" So for me, something subtle is key :)

We have 4 Ikea Ribba frames above our couch. You might be thinking "whaat?? I had no idea!" That is because you probably still think our living room looks like this:


Thankfully it doesn't. I have wanted to do an apartment update post, but I have been a little busy with the 31 days thing. But I swear its coming :)

/tangent. Back to the frames. They are nice because I can change them with my mood or the seasons or for any reason at all :) For the halloween season, they look like this (please excuse the crappy iphone photos.


Wow you can see nothing in that picture :/ Here are photos of the individually:


This one is a creepy house (these photos are horrible!)


Pumpkins...


haha that one is spider webs... you cant tell tho :/


And this one is also a scary house :/ It looks like I sneezed while taking the picture or something. I must dig out my nice camera! 

So we just went to Joann's and picked out 4 scrapbook pages that we thought would look cool, and we framed them. Easiest art ever! 

So there ya have it! Holiday art :)


Monday, October 22, 2012

It's a very Pretty Little Bloggers Halloween, Charlie Brown



That's right! It's Day 1 of our Halloween series! Every week day leading up to Halloween, I will be blogging about something Halloween related!

I have always thought it would be fun to host a Halloween theme party! I am not this year, but I have so many fun ideas!

First you need an awesome invite to set the mood. Whether you are going for cute and fun, spooky, or downright creepy, an invite can set the mood and inform people how to dress accordingly.

These, from an Biplane Press, are creepy, but simple.



Where these are cute (from SundayGirls Designs


So once you tell people when to come to your house, its important to set the mood with outside decorations. Pumpkins are always a good start, but here are a few other ideas. 

Bloody windows are a good start (tutorial on Muselodge blog)


And dead bodies in the windows are a nice touch. (Thanks Martha!)



All you need now is some spooky food and there you have it! These Witches Fingers cookies from Domestic Sugar are really creepy! 


These bloody cupcakes from Cakehead Loves Evil  are pretty awesome too!


There you have it! The frame works of a great Halloween party! 

Check out what Alex at Good Girl Gone Wife is blogging about today!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A Call to Arms

Alright friends, family, fans and lurkers (I know you're out there, I don't have 100+ family members) I need your help!

As I mentioned before, I am a nerd. A big one. And I have recently become fairly obsessed with Dr. Who. My dear dear friends at Not Literally have decided to make a Dr. Who parody video next! They are even going to fly out Matt Elliot who is a real live Dr. impersonator in the UK!! I am super excited!

So here is where you come in! Making awesome videos isn't free, especially not flying out a Dr. Impersonator from the UK, so they are raising money using Indiegogo! I need you to go to this website and donate $5, $10, $25 even $100 if you can to make this video happen! There are lots of great perks to being a donator, all outlined on the site!

So go, share, please please please donate! I know you have at least $5. That is a Pumpkin Spice Latte. The joy you will feel from this video will certainly outweigh the momentary joy of a Pumpkin Spice Latte (and far less calories ;)  )

And if you really don't have $5, share the link. Please. I am sure there is someone you know that does!


Thank you for your help!!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Halloween, Halloween! It's almost Halloween!

The leaves are changing, the weathers cooling, and pumpkin delicacies are never in short supply! It's almost Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and to celebrate, Pretty Little Bloggers is hosting a Halloween series!

What's Pretty Little Bloggers you say? Check out my post a few posts back for the skinny. Wanna join in on the fun? Shoot us an email and you can blog about Halloween stuff too!

Let the festivities begin!

Monday, October 15, 2012

31 Days- Half Way Through!

Well, I made it half way through the 31 days series! Man this has certainly been harder than I expected. I.am.exhausted! I picked a really really really hard topic, and it is really a struggle every day to think of something else to write. I hope they aren't coming across that way :/

So in the future, if I ever decide to do this again, I will plan ahead and blog ahead. I decided on Sept 30 to do this so there was no planning. Bad choice.

So I apologize the non healthy side of this blog is suffering, but I am doing my best to write a post every day (and two on Monday because of weigh in) so check those out. I will be sharing the story of our Ikea "As Is" find this weekend later this week, so be sure to come back for that!

And coming up next monday is the start of our Pretty Little Bloggers Halloween special called "It's The Pretty Little Blogger's Halloween, Charlie Brown" Where for every week day leading up to Halloween, I will be posting a blog relating to halloween! And one for 31 days..... and in other news, on November 1st, I am going to die haha.

Just Kidding! October will be the busiest blogging month yet! So lots of fun ahead, please please PLEASE stay tuned!! :)

Monday, October 8, 2012

Pretty Little Bloggers

Guess what readers?!?! The time has come to finally reveal the awesomeness that Alex from Good Girl Gone Wife and I have been cooking up! As you can probably tell by the title it's called:



(isn't it pretty :) )

So what is the Pretty Little Bloggers Network you ask? Well, Alex and I were talking, as we do, and we came up with this great idea to create a blogging network for bloggers that are looking to connect to other bloggers! Alex and I have been very connected for a while and we love having that connection to bounce ideas off, do guest posts, and even promote each other in our posts to widen our reach. It seemed kinda selfish to hog all this awesome blogger to blogger networking, so we came up with a way to share the love!

PLB is a blogging network FOR bloggers, BY bloggers :) It is a place for bloggers to share ideas, ask questions, get advise, get promotion, and just network!

SO, we decided to bring this little brain baby to life and share it with all of you! There are a few bloggers that we love that we sent personal email invites to, giving them a sneak peak at the awesomeness, and now we are opening it to you, our readers!

If you want more info on what's involved, and how to join, check out our Pretty Little Bloggers blog :)

Feel free to email me, or Alex, or the PLB email, or leave a comment, or send an owl, or Facebook message, or tweet, or any other form of communication to let us know if you have any questions, or are interested in joining us!

We are definitely looking forward to connecting with you :)

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Freezer Paper Screen Printing

Only 1 more day until we are filming the Gryffindors video with Not Literally! I am so excited!!

For our wardrobe, Andy and I decided to screen print shirts using one of the easiest methods ever, Freezer Paper! What is freezer paper? Well, it is a one sided wax paper used to wrap meat in the freezer, that you can pick up by the foil and wax paper.

Next you find a design you want on your shirt. Note- this method works best with simple, large designs or text that will be a single color. You can layer colors, but it gets tricky :) Print off your design and trace it onto the freezer paper. Next, cut it out using an xacto-knife and decide which side you want to use. You can use the outside to create the exact shape you cut out, or use the middle to create a burn out look. I will show you both :)

Place your freezer paper stencil on your shirt (or other cloth) and iron it (on high) onto your shirt until it's stuck. If there are parts that peal up, hold the iron down for a few seconds. 



Once its down paint on the shirt using a paint and color of your choice. I recommend fabric paint, but if you can't find it in the color you want, acrylic paint works fine. 





Let it dry for a few minutes, and peel up before its completely dry (being careful not to get paint where you don't want it.) It comes up easier before its dry. 



Stand back and admire how awesome it looks :)

Let it dry and put it on to model it!


Please excuse the crappy quality and our weird looking faces. 


So there you have it. The easiest way to make a custom shirt :)