Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!! I hope that you are surrounded with wonderful people, great food, and that you can take a moment to be thankful for all you are blessed with. Mel xo

Fridays Favorite - The Hubs

Today's Friday Favorite is my hubs, it is his birthday weekend so I had to do a little blog birthday post just for him, I think he is very deserving.

 Image via Maria Lang

 Our boys are so lucky to have such a loving, attentive, and encouraging father. You are the most amazing dad and we all love you more for that.

Image via Joanna Kleine

You make me laugh, you make me smile, and you still make me blush, and even after 8 years together you still give me butterflies.

Image via Maria Lang

I look forward to our future together. In fact sitting on a picnic table watching the ocean with you will be a dream come true.

Image my own

Love you babe. Your wife xo

Happy Birthday Mom xo

Today is my mamma's birthday, yep, she is a Ground Hog girl!! She has always been supportive of every adventure I have done, but she has also never forgotten to say 'Missi, act like a lady!'.

She has been blessed with 12 grandchildren, all of whom she showers with love and affection.

She has also been married to an amazing man, my father, for 51 years...yes, that is right, it will be 52 years this summer!

And of course her girls. 4 daughters, 2 granddaughters, and 3 daughter in-laws. All amazing women and I know she has a lot to do with that! 

Thank you again for being my mom and yes, I will act like a lady. Your favorite daughter, Missi xo

Fridays Favorite - Funny Holiday Pics

So last year, this was what we got after paying $19.95 to go see Santa...

Image my own

Needless to say the boys want absolutely nothing to do with Santa, with the exception of the gift he will leave. I think it will always be one of those images that will make me laugh and I know it will come in handy in 13 or so years.

Even Buddy the Elf has an odd effect on W...oh well, we try. For a good laugh be sure to check out Holiday section on Awkward Family Photos site, there are some beauties there, here is a sample...

Image via Awkward Family Photos

And on that note, enjoy your weekend!! Mel xo

Tis the season!!

Usually by this time of the year our house is covered from head to to, or roof to foundation with Christmas decor. This year since we are in the rental while the new home is under construction I dolled up a tree and that is it, everything else is in boxes packed away waiting to go home. Since that is the case here are some images of what I did last year...

 All Image my own

I will admit looking at the images while writing this post make me a tad sad that I no longer live there, but I know the next home will blow this one out of the water so to say...I am thinking that I may be needing new decor for the holidays though. What will end up in the garage sale, hummm? Mel xo

Giving thanks...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my loved American readers and family!! This is our first time in 10 years that we are not in Dallas with family. We will be there in spirit and as I told my sister, inject the turkey with love (that is my job every year). I hope that you are able to spend time with those that you love on this wonderful day of thanks. Look at the life you live and think of 3 things that you are thankful for, I would love for you to share them with me!

Image via Country Living

For myself I am thankful for my family who support me, love me, and encourages me to always be the best person I can be. I am also thankful for being able to give, the joy that comes with bringing happiness to others is wonderful and something that the Hubs & I hope to instill in our boys. Finally I am  thankful for you. This blog inspires me in so many ways, whether it is other bloggers post or your comments, it makes me want to do better, and I love that! Oh, and one more thing, I am thankful for the warmer weather and the fact that we are finally getting our foundation poured later today! Mel xo

Fridays Favorite - Spookies

Halloween is one of our favorite times around here. The boys asking non-stop when the 'spookies' are coming, the decorations slowly going up, all of the adorable neighborhood children screaming 'TRICK OR TREAT' at the top of their lungs, and the endless amount of candy that I can sneak from that the boys bring home (come on, you know you do too). 

We are getting started on the pumpkins and exterior decorating today, not sure who is more excited, Rob or the boys. Here is a glimpse of what we did last year, there are a few strobe lights, a few smoke machines, and of course loud scary music blaring from the garage.

This Sunday I will have one Superman and one penguin in the house, a big change from the frog-man I had last year seen below. We will also be spending time with some wonderful friends and their little ones who's costumes I am looking forward to gushing over.

The night also deserves a special drink, so nothing better than Spiked Hot Apple Cider to keep us big kids on our toes throughout the evening. Here is the recipe...

 

Spiked Hot Apple Cider

6 oz Hot Apple Cider

1 oz Sourpuss Apple

1 oz Butterscotch Ripple Schnapps

Cinnamon Stick to garnish

Trust me it is great...and it will keep you warm.

Have a safe and wonderful time trick or treating, passing out the goods, or just enjoying the excitement that the little ones will have this weekend. Happy Halloween!!! Mel xo

Haunted House, how to...

I posted last week about the start of our Halloween decor and my favorite item...the haunted house I made. Once it is up in the foyer they boys know that trick or treating is just around the corner.

Since I made this a few years ago before a blog was even a concept for me I didn't take progress images, but I will try to give you all the details so you can create your own as well. The first thing that you will need to decide on is what doll house kit to use, 

for my project I used the Arthur Dollhouse Kit. 

I had Rob cut a piece of MDF that was 4" bigger than the size of the dollhouse so I had room to decorate. Once you have that you can start off by building the house and getting it all set up. When it is dry start to get it all ready for the Halloween season by painting it. I used an orange base paint and then used diluted black paint on top to give it a 'dirty' look.

When placing the shutters around the windows put them on crooked, make it look dilapidated and worn. That is what would scare you away from a home, isn't it? For the shingled I stained them with the diluted black paint as well for a weathered look. Add a bit of moss to the corners with a glue gun and let the scary factor grow.

For the base of the house use a glue gun to place more moss around for the ground. Along with moss I added twigs to the roof and the sides of the home. A place like Michale's has some small Halloween items that are perfect for this project where they keep the Halloween villages, I managed to pick up the little trees and a few skeletons from there.

Check out THIS site for some fun Halloween items to add to the surroundings. Pumpkins, headstones, spooky skeletons. This is where you can really make it your own!

So that is the low down on the haunted house that graces our foyer every year, I hope that you take on the challenge of making one yourself. It is sure to be a crown pleasure and something children will look forward to seeing year after year.

Some readers left comments last week asking about some of the items that I had sprinkled throughout our home. HERE is a link to the crows; they are great heavy card stock and can be used year after year.

The bats that are on all of our mirrors, most of our windows, and even the lights above our island can be purchased HERE. And I have searched on-line for the vintage looking tin posters, but I am not finding any. I did pick them up a few years ago at HomeSense, similar to Home Goods in the States.

And then the fun two black glittered chandeliers that I have above our kitchen sink can be found HERE. I hope that this gets you ready to get your home all spookified!!!

We really do embrace Halloween here, it will be hard to let go and I know the boys are going to miss it next year. Since we are moving from a suburban neighborhood to an acreage there will be no trick or treaters, or 'spookies' as W calls them. We will still do it up and have fun, but I will admit this is the one thing I will miss...all of the neighbor kids coming up to the door and screeching 'TRICK OR TREAT!'. 

I hope the new owners of our home embrace the fun that can be had. It doesn't take much, just a few spider webs, a fog machine, strobe lights, scary music,
lots of pumpkins, and tons of candy.

And of course some fun and festive characters that make themselves
at home during the season.

 
All Images via Veranda Interiors

OK, I will stop being all sentimental...for now. Have a great day and get the decor ready!! Mel xo

It's that time of the year!

Since it is official that this Fall / Halloween will be our last holiday in our current home I decided to get everything up early so we (mostly the boys) could really enjoy it. Here are a few images of what has been completed. W is still asking for 'lots of those fiery pumpins' but they are not out yet, soon enough W, soon enough.

Here is our front door, the crow actually scared my neighbor when she came over earlier today. This is one feature that I am going to miss, it is so much fun to dress up with the seasons.

This is one of my favorite items for this time of the year, mostly because I made it. Look for a feature on it HERE. I made it way before my blogging time so the post will not have any progress imaged, but there will be tons of info.

A la Martha, lots of bats and crows are scattered around the house. The boys love the 'spooky' factor that they add to our home.

A few little details to the powder room. Some more silhouettes and I added in some black twigs to the urn I have in there year round.

I still have quiet a bit to put up, but my time for things like this is quiet limited right now. I am off to make the interior selections for our Wexford Spec home, I will be sure to fill all of you in on the carpet, tile, stain, and paint colors that will be covering that home. Have a fab day! Mel xo

Seen on Frou Frou Decor, A Few of My Favorite Things, Just A Girl, Shabby Next & Chic on a Shoestring