Lily Jane

Have a Lovely Halloween Weekend

Well, my dears, this is bound to be a fun weekend for all.  I hope you feel the same way!  The husband is finally back in town to stay (after nearly 3 weeks of traveling) and we're kicking off our celebrations with some pumpkin carving and hot chocolate.  Followed by trick-or-treating with our own little pumpkin tomorrow night (yes, in Utah it happens on Saturday this year - is it the same in your neighborhood?).  What are your plans for the weekend?

{image via here}

Here's a little link love to help you start your spooky weekend:

• I can't get over how much I love the architecture of so-called "haunted houses."  Think it would creep me out to go inside?  
• Candy corn nails
• Chalkboard paint + Pumpkins = Awesome
• A gorgeous Halloween photo shoot.  Love.
• Dark and fabulous interiors

Have a happy Halloween, my dears!  Here's wishing you all the best types of candy in your cupboards come Monday.

The Great Pumpkin

I have a soft spot in my heart for the movie, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"  Do you?  It's such a classic and usually the only Halloween-themed movie we watch this time of year (I'm such a wimp when it comes to scary flicks).  Inspired by this, I thought I'd do a roundup of some of my favorite carved pumpkins for my final Halloween post.  I'm amazed by the talent some people have.

{starstruck pumpkin, don't eat me! pumpkin, exploding headache, stack-o-lanterns}

{graveyard pumpkin, monster pumpkin, pirate ship pumpkin, evil pumpkin}

We'll be carving our pumpkins later tonight.  We always wait until the few days before trick-or-treating to carve ours so they won't wilt before the big night.  But next year we may just be able to do it early thanks to a pumpkin-preserving tip I found here: submerge the carved pumpkin in 5 parts water, 1 part bleach and it will slow its decay.  Have you ever done this?  Has it worked for you?

How have you decorated your pumpkins this year?  I'd love to see your photos!  Be sure to leave a link if you've blogged about your carving adventures.

Halloween Dinner

Yesterday was all about the sweet and sticky treats we love to eat on Halloween.  But what do you fuel your family with before they go out trick-or-treating?  I like to know that my boy at least had a good meal before he topped it all off with loads of sugar.  And it's one of those nights when I can really get creative with dinner, guaranteeing that everyone will like the looks of what's on their plate.  Here are a few of my favorites:

{carrot rice ball jack-o-lanterns, root vegetable soup, black spaghetti, eye of newt}

{mummy dogs, cauldron curry, black bat wings, green gruel with eyeballs}

{braised short ribs, apple bites}

Two years ago we did ghost grilled cheese with tomato soup, followed by mummy meatloaf last year.  This year we'll be doing some black spaghetti (which I found at Target).  What are you feeding your family this year?  Do you have a party you'll be heading to on Halloween night or will you be sitting down at the kitchen table as the sky starts to darken?

Halloween Treats

Halloween is the beginning of the treat season.  And although it happens to revolve around plastic wrapped taffies and bags of Skittles, there's no reason why it can't also have a homemade take, as well.  Here are a few of my favorite spooky treats from around the web:

{from top: halloween candy bark, mini pumpkin whoopie pies, spooky candy apples, ghost cake pops, candy corn macarons}

{from top: bootiful ghost cake, peanutbutter bats and cats, mini pumpkin bundts, owl cupcakes}

Isn't that owl cupcake the best thing ever?  I love him.  And, lest we only eat treats for the next few days and forget to eat healthy food, too, tomorrow I'll have a little roundup of some meal ideas for Halloween night. 

What are your favorite treats for Halloween?  Is there a certain candy you're antsy to fish from the little one's bag (they can't possibly eat all that candy themselves, can they?)?

Halloween Costumes

Hello, my dears!  How was your weekend?  Did you do anything fun?  We had such a good time seeing friends, eating spooky treats and dressing up.  It was pretty much the Halloween pre-party.  And Friday night's costumes were 100% homemade.  Remember how we were dressing up as a tight rope walker and a circus bear?  Well, here they are. 

I should have taken the sweater off for the photo but it was cold and we were literally running out the door so I forgot.  My circus bear is pretty adorable, though, isn't he?  The slippers he's wearing are from Gap and we are both in love with them.  Such a great find.

I'm also loving these two Halloween get-ups centered around braids. I might be saving the Medusa idea for next year...

Are you dressing up for Halloween?  What costumes will you be wearing?

{images by me and martha stewart}

Have a Lovely Weekend

Can you believe it's Friday already?  Today starts the beginning of a crazy weekend for us with multiple Halloween parties (and costumes), a church activity Saturday morning and a big event at church on Sunday (I'm leading the kids in singing...in front of everyone).  Every one of the things we have planned is so fun - I'm really excited to get started.  The first event to do is a party tonight where I'll be dressing up as a tightrope walker and my little boy will be my circus bear.  Wish me luck in pulling it together! 

It'd be great if it were as easy as putting together this pretty little bunting.

Too bad the washi tape I have on hand won't make little bear ears very easily. 

This week's links are Halloween inspired, to get you in the mood for the holiday just in time.  There are some fabulous ideas in here:

• Tentacle pot pie may have to be on our menu this year.  Or maybe meat hand...
• A glittery little pumpkin DIY
• A card just for Halloween...and it's free...and it's darling
• Creative kids' costumes using things you have in your house
• I want to play dougnuts on a string at a party

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!  See you on Monday!

{image via city cradle design}

 

Bleu de Toi

Bleu de Toi means "crazy for you" in French and also happens to describe how I feel about the lovely things this little business makes.  Look at this fabulous idea and the beautiful creations that have come of it.  Fingerprint trees to be used as wedding guest books.  But wouldn't they also make a fabulous family tree for an anniversary gift?  I love the idea. 

They also have a sweet little house with balloons coming out the chimney for birthdays and such.  Personally, I think it would be lovely to have right when a baby is born to remember all the people who come to visit in those first few days.  It'd be a pretty little keepsake to hang in the infant's nursery.

{via bleu de toi via the inspired bride }

Neither Snow

Did I tell you that a few weekends ago I took a calligraphy class?  It was one of Nicole's classes and it was so fun.  And a happy little reunion because I happened to know the teacher, Melissa, from college!  It's a small world.  Anyhow, wouldn't it be lovely if after all my practicing my calligraphy came out to look something like this gorgeousness from Neither Snow?

I've got a ways to go, but practice makes perfect, right?  What skills do you dream of being able to do?  Have you taken any steps toward making it happen?

{images via neither snow}

Decorating with Kilim Rugs

My house is...one of a kind.  I love it, and it's true.  Because it's 110 years old and was made without modern tools some of its proportions and measurements are a little off.  Which makes it difficult to buy things for certain areas of the house.  Case in point: a rug for the entryway.  I learned (the hard way) that I'm going to need a super-thin rug for that room because the doors (which are not quite straight across the bottom) will catch on a typical pile rug.  Happily, there are quite a few options for thin rugs, one of my favorites being kilim rugs.

{images via: canadian house and home, attic mag, style made simple, dose of design,  decorology, the style files, home bug, style made simple}

Kilim rugs are flatwoven, made by interweaving the different strands, almost like a braid, as opposed to a pile rug or carpet which is made by knotting strands so that they stand up.  The advantages to having a flatwoven rug are two-fold: 1. It's thin so it's more likely to silde under doors and 2. it's reversible because the pattern is woven throughout.  Their designs originate from many different cultures (North Africa, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Asia to name a few) so the variety of patterns is pretty much endless. Here are just a few of my favorites:

{rugs: antique senneh kilim, $138; shirvan kilim, $190; kelardasht kilim, $1,950; indo kilim, $200; kite kilim, $39-$649; surya kilim, $1,090}

Do you have any areas in your home that are hard to "dress?"  Have you come up with any good solutions?

For the Children: Minimooh

Happy Monday, my dears!  How was your weekend?  Our trip to do apple picking was a blast.  The orchard we went to is called Paradise Valley Orchard, and Paradise Valley did not receive its name undeservedly.  It was beautiful!  Perfectly picturesque down to a happy black sheepdog running around with his tongue lolling out and a darling old man offering to help me put my bushel in the car and waving us off.  Plus, the apples taste amazing.

Another amazing thing that I'm excited to share with you today are these sweet outfits by Minimooh.  Aren't they adorable?  And they're completely affordable, too.

How ridiculously cute is this little boy and his appliqued onesie?  I just want to eat him up.  It would be a precious Thanksgiving outfit.  Minimooh even has a matching dress for the little ladies.

{images via minimooh}