Happy Thanksgiving

Sorry I've been away. I have been so focused on Christmas plans that I didn't have time to post. I just wanted to wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

I am spending the day with family. This year another relative offered to host so I and my mom are very happy about that. I was asked to bring a dish - crab stuffing and dinner rolls. I also made a carrot cake to take with me. I'm sitting here right now waiting for my boyfriend to wake up. He worked last night and didn't get to my house until 7 am. I was in bed early last night and woke up at 5 this morning. I want to do some decorating but I don't want to disturb him. Its hard being quiet. Haha.

Well I hope everyone enjoy their day.

See you next fall.

P.S. If you want to know what I'm doing for the holidays, just check me out over at my other blog, "Love of Christmas."

Don't Forget

Change your clocks back One Hour.

Happy Halloween!

 

Have a Boooo-ti-ful Day!

Fall Tour of Homes 2009

Cathymac has started the Fall Tour of Homes on her blog, Haunted Hamlet.  Please be sure to check it out. You will get a tour of her home as well as other homes from members of MHH.

Freaky Friday!

It's the day before Halloween.  For those of you who will celebrate,  you're probably finishing the last details for parties or putting the final touches on your costumes.

Today has become a bit crazy for me as I still have to find the remaining accessories for my costume (Closet, here I come).  Then there's the cookies to bake for tomorrow's party. I also want to do something with my hair.  I don't know if I want to go curly which will require sitting under the hair dryer for a couple of hours or wear it straight. Not to mention my nails need to be done.

I'm sitting in my office all alone. Noone is here today. I like days like this because usually I can get a lot done.  Earlier when I arrived it was pitch black and I was a little freaked out. See last weekend my best friend and her husband were telling me about the movie they went to see called "Paranormal Activity".  Supposedly it's based on a true story.  Anyway, I have a vivid imagination so when they were telling me the story, I was able to picture the scenes and that got me a little scared.  I'm not a big fan of scary movies (Always been that way).  Later that night I was scared to close my eyes in bed and I was sleepy as H---.  My boyfriend laughs at me. Give me something like "A Charlie Brown Halloween" to watch and I'm good. Hahaha!

OMG!  My boss just came in.  He was supposed to be out in a meeting all day today.  Oh well there goes my peace.

Squirrels

I have a funny story to share.

Yesterday I had plans to spend the evening in with my boyfriend watching movies and snacking on popcorn and maybe drink a beer or two.  I finally made it home after stoping for the movies, popcorn and icecream (Icecream was a last minute decision).  I was sitting in the diningroom when all of a sudden I heard a noise coming from my kitchen. At first I thought is was a mouse but then I though the noise was louder than normal and a mouse doesn't make that much of a fuss. I got scared and jumped up. As I did I saw a large. gray object jump down from my stove. It was a freakin squirrel. I was petrified. I ran downstairs to my neighbors and asked to use her phone to call maintenance. Lucikly my neighbors son was home and he went to check out what was in my apartment. Sure enough, a squirrel. My neighbor's son said when he entered my apartment, the squirrel was sitting by the patio door but ran when it saw him. So he opened the patio door and moments later the squirrel ran out. Now let me just say that I live on the third (top) level of my apartment building. So how he left my balcony is anyone's guess.


I was still downstairs with my neighbor when her son came back. He told me that the squirrel was gone but left a message that it would be back. All I could do was laugh. The messed up part is maintenance never showed up. First thing this morning I called the renatl office. The manager said that it would be done today.  I had asked them to close up that hole behind my stove  weeks ago and they had yet to comply.

I can laugh now but I was scared to death because I know that when squirrels feel they are in danger, they can bite. I could have been in bed sleep with a freakin squirrel roaming about. Needless to say I was no longer in the mood for watching movies.  I told my boyfriend about it when he got there and all he could do was laugh.  He said it's because it's getting chilly, they are looking for a warm place.  My question is how in the H--- the squirel got into the walls of the building in the first place?

HGP Week 9 - The Pantry

This week OC and MHH focuses on the pantry. This is a free week for me as my pantry consists of only a couple of kitchen cabinets. While cleaning out the kitchen last week I took care of my canned and other dry goods.

Saturday is Halloween and  I've been asked to make some cookies for the party my best friend and her husband are having.  I will make sugar cookie cutouts and Oreo Balls.  Today after work I need to stop at the grocery store to pick up a couple packs of oreo sandwich cookies and cream cheese.  I already have plenty of chocolate for dipping the oreos.

HGP Week 8 - Kitchen

This week is Kitchen Week at OC and MHH. I pulled everything from my cabinets. First I threw out all expired ingredients then added them to my shopping list.  Had a lot of mis-matched dishes and  dish sets that I was no longer using so I gave them either to a family member or out in the trash they went. Now I have plenty of space which is great because my kitchen is small and space is limited.

I took all the summer kitchen towels, potholders and dishcloths, washed and put them away.  Then I removed the kitchen rugs and threw them out. I had them for quite a while. They were old and a little raggedy. Will have to buy new ones next spring. Next I gave the floor a good cleaning. 

The fridge and freezer had been cleaned out months ago. Each week when I cook Sunday dinner I make a large amount then take half and put into the freezer to have during the month of December.  It will get extremely busy and I will not have time to prepare any meals.

This weekend I will wipe down the walls. I'd really like to get my kitchen painted again.

Fun Pumpkin Project!

A few years ago I joined BHG.com's email list.   Starting sometime in the fall, I get an email everyday from BHG  about their "100 Days of Holidays" countdown.  There's all kinds of neat ideas for puting together parties, gifts ideas, handmade crafts, and food recipes.  There is this one project that I think anyone who truly loves animals would enjoy doing - pumpking carving patterns for dogs.  Click here to see.

Holiday Magical Homes - Fall Tour Of Homes 2009

Welcome to my little home!

Come on in! I love when people come to visit.

Step into my foyer/hall. Can I hang up your jacket?

Make yourself cozy. Come on in to the livingroom.

Would you like to watch the Ravens game with me while I get lunch ready?

    (The tv is hidding in the armoire.)

See these candle holders?

I bought them from Dollar Tree several years ago and I kid you not when i say that I just noticed that they have Halloween figures on them. Heehee.

Would you like to freshen up before lunch.

Lunch is ready. Shall we move to the dining room? Today's menu, "Surf & Turf Burgers w/spicy caramelized mayo and onion rings". Yumm, yumm

(Please have a seat)

I love these little salad plates. I bought them from Walmart several years ago (set of 4). Each plate is a different color (cream, green, burgundy, brown).   The dinner plates are also from Walmart.

(Each plate is sitting on gold chargers which I embellished by hotgluing silk leaves around the border. I also embellished the napkin holders by gluing pieces of faux berries to it.)

Like the little tealight holders.  I found them at Target in the $1 Spot section about two or three years ago.  These are so cute.

I am so glad you came to visit me. We should do this again. Maybe at your place next time. 

I had so much fun today. Boy I'm pooped. I think I'll get ready for bed.

(I love my little mantle)

I hope you enjoyed visiting with me today.  Bye Bye.

P.S.  Click here to see my balcony.

HGP Week Seven - Guest Room

I have been having a time with this room (Been working on this room for weeks).

 

I am telling you the truth when I say it is a complete disaster. When I first moved into my apartment (10 yrs ago) I only had 2 nephews (ages 7 & 8) and 1 niece (age 11) with 2nd niece on the way (There's a total of 6 now). I had the room done so nicely for them. They had bunk beds (twin with full on bottom) with matching bedding, and everything a child could have in there. I had even stenciled a nice border around the room. That's how much time they spent with me (every weekend and vacation).

 

Then I got rid of the bunkbeds when they became teens and just had a full size bed in there. They weren't visiting as much (You know how teens get LOL) and the room was still pretty nice. Then I sold the bed last year and that's when my problem began.

(Mind you this closet only house my summer attire.

My winter closets look way better)

 

I have managed to get some cleaning done so the room does look a little better. (Will post pics when room is completely finished)

• Cleaned windows
• Replaced summer curtains with winter curtains
• Hung fall wreaths in windows with electric candles
• Organized closet (went through summer wardrobe and shoes)
• Donated old printer and barely used scanner to Salvation Army
• Started washing large bags of laundry
• Sorted through and shredded paper piles

 Still to do:

 

Finish laundry
Finish laundry
Finish laundry

 

I have way too many pieces of clothing. Then there's bedding, bath and kitchen linens...

 

After the holidays I want to get rid of the mismatch furniture and make the room into a kind of lounge/guest room.

 

HGP Week Six - Kid's Rooms

Week six brings us to the kids rooms. For me this is a free week as I am kid-free. Then again it's not really free. There are things that I can do like tackle the laundry. You would not believe the bags of laundry I have accumulated - and it's just me, no one else.  I have way too many clothes! Not only are there clothes, but bed sheets, bath and kitchen linens. Then I recently took the summer chair covers off my dining chairs and removed the summer curtains from the windows.  With that being said I have made it a goal to get every last bit of laundry done by the end of this week.

This week I plan to take more pictures of my fall decorations for the Fall Tour of Homes. The tour starts next week (the 16th).  I have a bit a fall everywhere - before you enter my home, all the way to the balcony area.

26 Days To Halloween. Will You Be Ready?

This past weekend I attended a surprise birthday party. My bestfriend's daughter had Casino night for her boyfriend to celebrate his 22nd birthday.  It was a nice turnout.

My bestfriend and her husband love Halloween. They host a party every year and each year gets better and better.  About two weeks ago my best friend told me that they had started putting up their deocrations. Here's what they did outside:

I can't wait for the Halloween party. I wanted to dress up as a swamp lady but never got around to making my costume.  So I will have to purchase one.

Extra, Extra!

For the second year, Magical Holiday Home will do another "Virtual Fall Tour of Homes", hosted by the lovely Cathymac.   Here we show off our beautiful Fall and Halloween decorations.  For more information check here. The showing starts October 16th so you have plenty of time.

You don't have to be a member of MHH to participate (though you're always welcome to join our forum). So come on! Show us your best decor or stop by and take a peak at what others have done for the season. You may find some wonderful ideas you would like to try yourself.

As Promised....

A few pictures of my balcony.

BEFORE

AFTER

My little bistro set.

(If you look closely you can see my neighbors house through the trees)

A closer look.

(Oh ignore the bucket under the table Hahaha)

I like to keep a cooler out here for when guests come over and we're sitting on the balcony. Easy access to beverages. Got the cushions last year at WalMart. The wreath hanging above is a grapevine wreath that I wrapped with fall print ribbon and added a large floral pick (all items from Dollar Tree).

I draped faux leaf garland and orange lights across the railing and hanging above are my candle chandaliers.  There's also a pair of smaller grapevine wreaths hanging on the outside of the railing.

My best friend found these potted arrangements at a yard sale last year and gave me two after much begging. For 8 she paid $2.00.  Also in this corner is where my floor lamp stands but I broke it cleaning so I have to purchase a new one. Clumsy me!

Let me tell you I spent several hours on this balcony.  It was so dirty (yuck). I swept the outdoor rug what seemed like for days. Plus there was what looked like the start of a behive above the window that I had to knock down. In the ten years I've lived here, I have never seen a behive on my balcony. Then there were these brown and green beetle looking bugs crawling on the wall.  I tell you I can't wait for it to get cool.

Anyways, after all is said and done my balcony looks great. I'm thinking about dressing up the balcony with some outdoor curtains. Maybe, just on the far ends.