Halloween treat tags...in real life!

The candy corn countdown is on...but who am I kidding?  I've been eating candy corn since September 1 when the first delicious bag hit the shelves.  Let's be real.

Speaking of real, I {heart}/love/adore receiving word about the use of my DIY printables, especially this Halloween.  Check out these great little gifts using the free printable DIY Halloween Gift Tags:

These cookies are to DIE for (get it? Ha ha!).  From Sandy's Baking Memories.

From the uber-talented Pam at Party Starters.

And this super-cute mustache crayon set from Jack D. and his mom Jenny.


Our town mandates trick-or-treating on Saturday.  Don't get me started on the absurdity of a town-determined Halloween which never seems to be on October 31, no matter what day it lands on.  Oh, New England...

Dolls + my ethnic genetics = scary

My sister just returned from a trip to Vietnam (we're half-Vietnamese) and gleefully snapped these photos especially for me while shopping in the marketplaces, well aware of my creep-out toward dolls in general.

This one below especially cracks me up because: A) the arm/body proportions are off, and B) am I to believe that this represents the average Vietnamese child's attire?

Oh, wait a second...

And so it begins...

The first painted coat of the Slim Goodbody costume started this past weekend, but need to go over it again in a few days to enhance each organ and start on the extremeties. I won't lie: the ladies'-sized unitard on my husband is, well, a bit *revealing* (nearly forcing me to paint a strategic fig leaf), so he'll sport bike shorts to maintain some level of dignity. 

I think it's coming together nicely despite my lack of professional unitard painting skills.  And by popular demand, the full pictorial scope coming up soon.

Smitten with buttons

I wasn't aware that I was smitten by buttons until I ran across this little number by The Joys of Jess:

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This custom hand embroidered family tree would make a fantastic holiday gift, too:

Speaking of the holidays: YES, I will be posting some holiday goodness (address labels, gift tags, holiday cards and more!) into the shop veerrry soon.

Right now, I have to plan on stuffing my husband into a women's sized nude-colored unitard and painting a costume.  I'm certain hilarious photos will soon follow.

Big eyes, little head

I attended Wavey's parent-teacher night at her kindergarten yesterday and they shared with us the latest arts and crafts. 

And I love this self-portrait.  At least she's showcasing all her teeth.

"Books for baby" shower invitation

I want to share this cute little party suite I helped a friend with for a "books for baby" baby shower she's throwing:

It's complete with a sticker bookplate for guests to write a note to the baby, a bookmark party favor and an invitation with matching bookplate return address label.  Personal information has been modified for privacy.

In other news, the responses to yesterday's post about the idea for the Mr. Slim Goodbody costume sent me over the edge with major motivation to see this project through. You'll be pleased to know that I have ordered an XL unitard in NUDE to get this party started.

Why we never go anywhere

My husband and I were foolishly invited to a no-kids-allowed Halloween party.  If you're wondering why it was so foolish of our gracious hosts to extend an invitation to us, it's because this is the costume my husband is considering I make him:

Dog days

Call me crazy, but I want another dog.  At least a dog for Jack to be pals with, so we took at trip to our local shelter when we heard there was a "docile" dog available.

"Docile" hardly describes this dog.  I'm all for a quiet and docile personality like Jack's, but where Jack will greet us at the door with a smile and a "hey, you're back and I love you" expression, this other dog was completely inattentive and gave us the impression he'd say, "Oh, geez.  Not you again."  So, we passed on this cute little guy.

The Gravy Kids were somewhat upset with the decision, but as they are peas in a pod, we want the dogs to be, too.

GloBalls (make up your own quip here)

Say what you want about the insane amount of preservatives and junk associated with this little vice of mine.  Just know that this is the result of a woman with the dietary habits of a preschooler paired with the purchasing power of a 33-year-old.

PS: Despite the french-fries-meet-car-seat incident several days ago, this little snack will not be shared with the Gravy Kids.  Only one poor food choice per week allowed.

Return without receipt?

My friend Melissa shared her theory that the "half-years" are the most challenging, and at 2.5 years old, my little buddy boy here is making sure she's soooo right.

Here's the short list of Griffin's terrible-twos offenses:

1. We experienced a complete meltdown at the grocery store which led him to empty an entire bag of M&Ms at the cash register, gaining some serious bounce-and-spread off the linoleum floor.

2. We got kicked out of (as in seriously asked to leave) a popular child photography studio in the mall during yet another meltdown.  And it was already a mall of questionable social patronage, so if we were being classified as "the worst," know that I was dying slowly on the inside from mortification.

3. He's so familiar with time-outs, he'll commit an offense and will march himself into time-out before being told.

We joke that Griffin is lucky he's cute because lately I've been threatening to send him back to the hospital gift shop where we told Wavey he came from.

Mmmmacaroni and cheese

If there's one recipe you try this fall, please let it be The Pioneer Woman's macaroni and cheese.  You will not (not, not, not) be sorry.

Chubby hands need not apply

Dear car seat manufacturer,

I appreciate that your design is top-notch in safety and comfort.  However, the next time my 2.5 year old vomits possibly from french fry overload (mother of the year) all over your seat and I have to disassemble it to wash/scrub/burn all straps, hooks and upholstery, I would like you to please issue your standard rocket scientist to my home (preferably with tiny, tiny hands and fingers to manuever through the impossible nooks and crannies) to put it back together again.

Fondly remembering the most gruesome 10 mile drive of my weekend,

Ribbon wreath and my 0.125% progress

There's no way I could possibly get my act in gear to make a Halloween wreath like this stunning one by The Picky Apple:

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But, I can start working my way toward a very glittery winter wreath, and my progress so far of creating a big box full of trimmed pieces:

Yeah, that's right: I've formed one, single loop.  Just 10 kabillion more to go.

Uphill in the snow, both ways

Say hello to my kindergarten photo, circa 1982.  That's me wearing homemade purple overalls:

Wavey took her *official* kindergarten photo this week.  Check out this side-by-side of her and my husband at the same ages...I consider her more of his 'mini-me' than she'll ever be mine:

And since we're on the subject of kid photos, I present to you a really hilarious one of my husband:

Keep the cat-calls to yourselves, ladies.

DIY personalized gift glasses

I'll be the first to admit: I'm perpetually behind on the holiday gift-giving eight ball.  But check out the great holiday gift idea one of my fun friends asked me to help her with: personalized bathroom drinking glasses.

Is this not a super ridiculously cute idea (for children who can handle glass cups, obviously)?  Put in a few dental accoutrements, tie a bow, and you're in the gift-giving business.  You can find my quick tutorial here and other gift idea here.

Of course, then comes the real feat of getting your kids to quit faking and move to real brushing:

Drinking in the glitter aisle

I ran across this homemade sign on Saturday night as I was leaving the craft store:

While the message is well-intentioned, I laughed that it's apparently targeting sauced-up craft store patrons.  To that, I say: Spot on, messenger.  Spot on.

Done! DIY chair refinishing

What's this?  The gray/yellow chair project that has been dragging on for months is just about complete?  And all that's left to do is to tack down the new seat?!  Check it out!



My handy husband cut out the board to cover the seat:

Then, with some quilt batting and a staple gun, I went to work:

It's pretty obvious that the upholstered board is just floating on top of the chair and needs to be permanently affixed to the seat, but at least it's 99% there! 

I really liked this project, but refinishing furniture is now effectively out of my system.  Onto repainting the guest room...