What to BEEEEEE for HALLOWEEEEN

I love Halloween...I don't know what made me all of a sudden get into it and love the idea of dressing up...but I do, I love it!

This was one of the first years that we dressed up...no picture of Jacob...but...he was the devil...I was the angel...cliche for sure...rookies! (Amanda was a witch...obviously you can tell by the picture)

I think the next year we were....well, I don't really know...the "fire" couple perhaps?

 

 

I don't know if we took a hiatus for a year or two but then we were this...this was just a day after we got engaged...(yes, after his costume, I still married him...ha)

 

He was the "automic wedgie nerd" and I was a bumble bee...

and I have to put this picture in there...Just because they crack me up

 

 

 

One year I was a geisha girl ... Jacob was a "flasher" no pictures of that for some reason...but it was a really funny costume!  

 

 

Now...THIS is where I started to get creative and was tired of buying costumes from the store...THIS is where I really started having so much fun with Halloween! 

 

 

We were Amish...I bought my outfit on ebay and and it was an authentic Amish outfit and bonnet...Jacob's costume was super easy and he looked hilarious!

 

 



The next year...we were a square dancing couple...this again, authentic and off of ebay...fun costume!

 

Then...Goths....talk about one extreme to the other...square dancers to goths...

 

 

Then, came Snooki and "The Situation"...I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to wear a skin tight dress 4 months after having Charlie...EEEK!

Then, last year, we were the Kennedy's....I bought my suit on ebay...when it came in the mail, the skirt was way too long...I improvised and cut the top off of it and then used that material to make the hat so that it matched the suit perfectly...Just like Jackie O's ;)

 

 

This year....well...this year I had a difficult time deciding what to be...I didn't want to spend a ton of money and I couldn't figure out what we should be...I was ALMOST going to commit Halloween Sin and re-use a costume...then...it came to me...I decided we would be......WAIT...I can't tell you yet that's the funnest part...check back after Halloween to see what I decided we should be...

 

I really enjoy getting creative with our costumes and going all out!  I look forward to it every year and now, that I have our costumes figured out for this year...I am ready!!!! 

 

So, this year...what will you BEEEEE for HALLOWEEEEEEN!

 

 







Re-vamp

I know it's been awhile...I've been busy re-decorating  here and there..I started with my entertainment center....

 

Here is what it used to look like:

 

 

This had our wedding cake topper (which actually was my sister Sarah and Paul's), my favorite wedding picture, our unity candle and a copper tree that I made...

 

I wanted to "revamp" the colors and such so i tried a few different things:

 

 

 

Didn't quite like either of them, then I came up with this:

I love the little owl...it was only like $8-10 from Big lots!  Super cute!

Then I decided I wanted to do my bookshelf in the living room...it used to look like this:

 

That is pretty much how it has looked for the last 6 years or so....time for a change!

 

I found this to be VERY challenging...the middle shelf in the bookcase doesn't move...so it was just at an awkward height...I was super frustrated and tried about 75 different ways of decorating....Which I tend to do all the time!  I move pieces, take pieces from other places try them out...it's quite the process....one of the ways I cam up with was this:

I didn't love it...there was just something about it i didn't dig...it bothered the crap out of me for an entire day...I went to savers and I found this:

It was a nice blue, very much the same as the other blues that I had here and there...but I thought I needed a little "pop" of color...so, naturally, I painted it...I really think it made a huge difference in the balancing of the bookshelf!  Here is the final product....I can dig it!

 

Then, I was at Target and I saw these lampshades and they were on sale!  So, I had to get them :)

 

 

Yes, I took the plastic off of them...Jacob said they looked 70's which I kind of agree, but then again I don't...I can't decide...whatever...I like them and they look good!

 

 

I noticed that before, you could hardly even tell that I had lamps on the table, way to pick a lampshade that is the EXACT same color as your wall Melissa!  Wow...Oh and the lamps themselves, I got those for Christmas YEARS ago, they were brass and white...you know...super cute???  Well I thought hey, spray paint changes anything!  So, I spray painted them and they looked like completely different lamps!  Love it! 

 

I really like to decorate and see how little changes make a huge difference!  Love it! However, I am glad my living room is finished and my OCD can rest for a bit...hopefully!

 

Our house...On Rena Belle Street

It's been awhile...but I've been working on this blog here and there when I get time at home (which isn't often)...I will try to blog more often so they aren't THIS long...

When we bought our house in 2003 it is what one would consider a fixer upper….and by that….I mean a complete and nasty disgusting house.  Our house was built in the 70's and I am pretty sure everything in it was still original…I’m talking carpet (picture orange shag), paneled walls, gold refrigerator and stove…the works!

I like to think that I am an ambitious person and I knew that with the help of our families and friends we could make this place what I had imagined….When we first moved in we did the basics, kilz and painted the smoke stained walls -you could literally see where all the pictures on the walls hung by the stains from smoke that outlined them, kilzed the cat pee areas on the sub flooring, replaced the carpet….the basics but he necessities!  It was a fun and challenging experience. 

Then about 5 years ago we decided that we should do more to the house…so we invested a little more money and sheet rocked the walls, new laminate flooring, carpet, trim, painted the kitchen cabinets, new doors, furniture….it was SOOOOO much work, but SOOOOO worth it! I don’t know why…but for some reason I didn’t get any before pictures…oh yeah…I remember, I think I was at my parent's house for the day and came home and Jacob and one of his friends had started tearing down the paneling (insert panic attack here…it was REALLY going to happen?!?!)

 

 

2 years later we decided to re-do the basement….we got new carpet, sheet rocked the bottom part of the wall, got new doors , trim, furniture ($300 couch off of Craigslist - score!)…It turned out nice (and hardly gets used….oops!)

I started to notice that before I have a baby, I get the itch to do some sort of big project around the house…since we aren't planning on having a baby this year….I still wanted to do some sort of project around the house….I had seen all these pretty kitchens on pinterest and I just loved them and longed to have a nice big open kitchen….I knew that wasn’t going to happen so I improvised…

I went from cupboards like this:

 

To the before when we re-did the house in 2009 (I think that's when it was?), to the after which is the current state of our kitchen!  

 

I know it isn’t something that is going to add value to the house or anything, but it was a super quick and easy fix and it has helped me like my kitchen just a LITTLE bit more...oh...and last week I found these super cute old green wood salt and pepper shakers at savers for $3....love them!

 

Oh yeah..and while I was doing my kitchen re-do, I also decided to re-do my chairs and table...(ps...I hate to admit this, but I searched for probably 15 minutes for pictures of my table and chairs and the realized I was about 15 feet away from them and could probably just take a new picture of them...)

Chair - They used to be white and cream striped...good, cute decision BF (before children), not so much after children...now the fabric is a brighter green (can't tell from the pictures)...really fresh...and yes, I put plastic over them...with two small children, best decision I have ever made (ok, maybe not EVER but, it was a pretty good decision - especially after Paityn and/or Charlie colored on them with a permanent marker...wiped right off)

 

Table - I got this table from my parents as a hand me down when we moved in...it was pretty beat up after a couple years of playing drinking games on it wear and tear, so I painted it black and distressed it like the cupboards...

I realize that our house still could use a lot of work and isn't perfect by any means...but it has really come a long way!  I often wonder what the old owners would think walking in!  It isn't perfect, but it's ours (in about 13 years when we get it paid off!)