The Little Mermaid

Jeff and I can often hear faint noises from our neighbors or the street outside when we're quiet in our house.  However, about 3 or 4 months ago we started hearing a strange thumping on a regular basis.  It took us several days to realize it was Sophia pounding her legs in her crib.  When she first wakes up she get really excited and thumps both legs simultaneously.  That is why she is a mermaid this year for Halloween!

I found a crochet pattern on Etsy for a mermaid tail and figured since I'd crocheted hats and scarves in the past, I could probably do a mermaid tail.  Well, it was much more difficult than I anticipated, but it turned out insanely cute if I do say so myself!

Of course, it's much cuter with Sophia in it!

Happy Birthday and Anniversary Month!

It seems most of the birthdays and anniversaries in my family are in July and October so we do a lot of celebrating in those months.  This October Jeff and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary!  My mom celebrated her XXth birthday.  My bro-in-law celebrated his 32nd birthday, I think.  And my sister celebrated her 30th birthday.

Since it was my sister's big 3-0 bday, I wanted to do something really different to celebrate.  She lives in Indiana so it had to be something mail-able.  I decided to send 30 of my favorite memories of the two of us to her, but I sent each memory in a separate envelope so that she got 30 pieces of mail that day.  It was so fun to think back across the years and see the growth of our friendship.  I numbered each envelope on the back with huge numbers and in envelope #30 I put the following picture: 

 A few years ago I found the most random and hilarious birthday card for my dad's birthday.  On the front was a picture like that above, only it was a dad and two little girls holding the signs.  The inside of the card said, "Happy Birthday - please disregard Stephanie".  

I'm not sure why, but I thought it was so funny!  When I called my dad on his birthday he said that my sister, Cielle, had given him the exact same card.  This, of course, only made the card funnier to me and it has since become my go-to homemade bday card.  I made it previously with two of my roommates, but I don't have a digital copy of that one. 

Happy Birthday to all the October-ites! 

Happy Halloween!

I've always been a random decorator.  I just buy little pieces of decor one piece at a time as I find it  and then put all of the accumulated mis-matching pieces up when the holiday rolls around.  I've always known that my decorating process was flawed, but never had the time or energy to come up with a new process...until now.

The biggest challenge in decorating my house is my mantel.  It's very thin meaning your typical mantel decor won't work on mine.  It also has a large black pipe right in the middle of it meaning I have to divide my mantel decor into 2 sections.  I finally decided to have my mantle decor be permanent and put my seasonal decor elsewhere as to avoid dealing with the above mentioned stumbling blocks.  The mirrors are from Marshalls.  The 2 small paintings I bought from Paris and Barcelona street painters.  The large hanging painting I had custom made in China.

I got the inspiration for my Halloween decor from Pinterest.  I joined Pinterest this summer and I swear my life will never be the same!  Here's a before and after of my entry "table".

BEFORE

AFTER

I think it turned out really well considering it was my first attempt at organized decorating!  The pumpkin in the lower right corner is from Marshall's (a few years ago) and the candle is something I got at the Puyallup fair a couple years ago.  The painted pumpkins are fake from the dollar store and painted with spray paint.  The number "31" are just wood blocks painted and stenciled then glued on top of cheap candlesticks from Goodwill which I painted with metallic spray paint.  The pitcher is part of my regular dish set from Marshall's.  Black flowers and crow from dollar store. And a cute little pumpkin from Carpinito's pumpkin patch in Kent.   I couldn't talk Jeff into letting me throw out the Halloween count down that's hanging on the closet door!  

Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something cute for Thanksgiving and Christmas without my brain exploding - craftiness is not my forte!

Family photos

While in Reno this summer we had a photographer come take family photos.  With one sister in Indiana, the other in Shanghai and a brother applying for med school it might be a while before we're all together again.  Unfortunately for Jeff and I, Sophia is the least photogenic kid in the world!  The second anyone whips out a camera she stares dumbfounded either at the camera or in the opposite direction.  My biased opinion is that she's the cutest in the world, but when she's older no one will believe what a cutie she was because she's such a dud in her pictures!  Equally as unfortunate is the way Jeff and I look in these pictures...alas, here are the family photos with Sophia the Dud, Jeff needing a haircut and we're-not-sure-why-she-looks-so-bad Janelle: