Freak Show -OR- All that and a bag of Chips

Happy Halloween! A visitor came to the office today (or should i say solicited the office) visiting with a coworkers husband. just for reference in size...the normal looking guy is 5'11/6' and so we're guessing Trixie is around 7'2" (assuming her heels are 4").

What a frightening sight.


you'll want to click on the image for the full effect

My Haunted House

Usually I go all out for holiday decorations but this year, I just didn't have the energy to do much...although, I'm sure Ryan would say what we have up is more than plenty...

Just a quick pic of my entertainment center. I LOVE these things. Probably my alltime fave halloween find.



The houses I bought (at 50% and 60% off, mind you) and the bats I made the other night out of chipboard, paint, glue, glitter and ribbon.

They look really cool at night when I put my everlasting tealights behind them and they have a spooky orange glow coming from their base.

New Pillows

I've been wanting pillows for a long while for my couch. It's so long and neutral in color and big that the standard ones from the store just don't cut it.

Much to my happiness, (and my eagle-eye for a good deal) I found some hardy pillows in their Final Sale section this striped pretty:
our couch
I got 2 of the one on the left - I ordered a third pillow of a diff pattern but it was out of stock. dang it.

It isn't as turquoise-y blue as it is in the picture and will work in my house quite nicely. The best thing is that they're 'outdoor' pillows, meaning they are made of a duck or canvas and will be easy to clean. With how hard my family is on stuff, and one hairy little dog, this is perfect!

Also, I ordered this and they sent me 2 of them instead of 1:

I already gave the extra one away :)

Cooking for a Cure

Ryan and I ran into Target last night for some quick groceries and I stumbled upon this lovely set of PINK pots and pans! We never got any when we were married and I didn't want to spend $80 on a quasi-decent set, so we've been making due...until last night! These are pink for October's Breast Cancer Awareness/Susan G Komen Foundation and already on clearance. Amidst the other pink items I found a saute pan and then spotted this last set of cookware for $40. Retails for $140. Best part, Bialetti (makers) will donate $10.

I caved

and went to Costco again on Saturday (it's my and Ryan's saturday thing...lunch @ Costco) and I snagged another roll of ribbon. It's too good a deal not to.

I'm terrible.

Why I Love Costco in October

I had THE best lunch today. Costco samples (delicious Pot Roast that I ended up buying for dinner) and a polish dog and drink. $1.50. You can't go wrong! I also love Costco in Sept/Oct because they put out their Christmas ribbon. I can't find a better deal on 50 yds of ribbon...$7...I just wish they had more everyday ribbon choices. I get some in the spring, too, right around easter is when they have the other ribbon display, but seriously, I need some cute stuff for everyday!

Anyways, the deal with costco is that if you see something and you like it but think, i'll wait until next time...DON'T. It probably won't be there next time. They were already sold out of the ribbon I looked through EVERY box for, but scored some really cute ribbon that goes with my Christmas tree colors this year (I like to wrap presents to match - plain brown kraft shipping paper or white butcher paper to wrap everything and then just cute ribbon to make it look supersweet).

In other news, I bought a few Etsy showcase spots for their halloween show and have only good things to say about my experience. I totally got my money's worth and then some. I've had 13 orders this month and it's only the 11th! I'm actually thinking it's time to start crafting and getting some of my christmas ideas out of my head and into projects.

Ryan's been feverishly working on grad school apps - probably getting an ulcer in the midst of the stress - and getting them out to the schools and right now is meeting with his professors of years gone to write recommendations for him.

I don't know if you remember about him not getting accepted into USU in Logan last year, but he was pretty bummed...for about a month. It turns out it was a blessing because they lost the accreditation for their psyche program and Ryan would have been screwed.

As he's filling out applications, I'm looking into the housing market in each area and seeing what our options would be. I found an awesome house in Lincoln, NE (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) that would be amazing to buy and rent out - a 4-plex for $115k. We wouldn't have to contribute anything to the mortgage if we kept it rented! Wherever we end up, it should be a great adventure and exciting to start somewhere new together.

Ahh, the weekend

Last night I took advantage of Priesthood session and hung out with Liz and her beautiful home in Eagle Mountain. Seriously, I want to move now!

I made a few new masks (now in my Etsy Shop) and thought, hmmm, let's see what kids actually think of them! So I took a few to Sydney and Blake and they seemed to be a hit for the few minutes they stayed on.

I finished my Harvest Banner and LOVE it. It's going up in my house by my window. I love fall. Mostly the crisp air and the changing of the leaves, but I think everyone's cheeks are a bit more rosy and everyone looks great in sweaters.



So you may remember our problems with Ryan's car back in January and we finally got it back just 2 months ago. Well, on our drive back from Provo Canyon yesterday we heard a POP and a SNAP and the heater went out instantly and so did the power steering. I was a bit frazzled and kept asking Ryan what this did and that did and what it meant that the power steering was out, etc. Needless to say, a few colorful words were said as we slowly drove to the closest Jiffy Lube (our mechanic isn't open on Saturdays), Ryan called his brother to come and give him a ride to work, and I waited an hour for the serpentine belt and pulley-something-or-other to be fixed. It's just a little frustrating when we just shelled out five grand to get the engine fixed and this is all related. Time for Ryan to head to the mechanic's on Monday to figure out what the deal is. AUGH.

BUT, on our way IN to the canyon, look how absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking the mountains are. I love this time of year (I know I've already said that--but I really do).

Anyways, Conference is on, which means, time to listen and color my hair and clean the house before we leave for the in-laws this afternoon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
me, not too thrilled at the car being broken


pretty mountains in their fall splendor - wouldn't it be AWESOME to live up here?

My First CopyCat!

I found this listing today on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7350066

My instant thought was, what the...she must have the same magazines!...but really, I LOVE to take other people's ideas and make them my own, which this person has done, so really, I'm not upset at all....well, that and mine are made with a much higher quality. And I know she didn't use the pattern from MS Baby, because of the dimensions of her bags and otherwise she would have probably used the same animal patterns.

It's kind of exciting that I have my first copycat from seeing stuff I had. I actually emailed her and told her my experience with pricing (sold my first on Friday - after reducing it 25%) and said she might need to reduce hers as well.

***Update - so the seller emailed me back and actually said she saw it in a shop in FL - how funny. So I offered to tell her which magazine issue the pattern is in for future reference. Really nice lady....good luck to her shop! (I sold my second one today -- hooray!)

I know, I know

I've been posting a lot lately, but I had to share what I whipped up for my Auntie for her birthday yesterday (in about an hour no less!) I love how it turned out and want to make another couple for me self.

A Hint

of a WIP(work-in-progress):

I love the weekends

Mostly because I don't have to go to work and leave a sleeping husband in the bed (where i'd sooo much rather be), but also because I get to craft and do fun things I don't do during the week, even when Ryan IS at work.

Saturday, my sisters Kayleigh, Tara, and I all hung out. Kayleigh is leaving on a mission to the Philipines in 10 days and this was the last Saturday she'd be here to hang out with. I planned on meeting them after they had lunch (at Red Robin - YUM!) to get pedicures and go see a movie, then have dinner and then come to my house to play, but we went to the pedicure place and didn't really want to wait 30 minutes or so, so instead we saw a movie (Sydney White - $1theater movie for sure - don't pay full price) and went to Chinese Gourmet Buffet around 16th North in Orem. It was delicious but I was full after my first plate!

I went shopping, spent WAY too much money (handsoap, wallflower [everyone raves and now I will, too! they smell so gooood], clinique counter) but got some much needed essentials.

Sunday I ended up making these couple of things...and now I'm noticing I need to iron the FALL sign, but dang, it's so cute!

I'm going to make another tonight that says HARVEST. I used to handcut everything and use fusible web/stitch witchery to bind them, but sewing is def. the way to go. Cute, huh? oh, and I'm thinking I brushed too much glitter off the SCARY on my frame....need to fix that!