Dog Tired ... Halloween Night

Well the big day is here! 

Are your costumes ready?  Is the candy at the front door?

I've been reading a lot of yummy blogs about Halloween treats some of you are making.

My question is ... do you actually give that out to your trick or treaters?

And if you do ... can you email me your address so I can drop by tonight?

We're ready on this end ... the pumpkins are carved ...

and the goodies are waiting in the bowl by the door.

To be honest ... since I'll just be handing out candy, I probably won't  dress up...

but Blake is definitely going to be in costume.  He's trying to decide between

... a fireman ...

or a Werewolf in Training for Team Jacob.

His cousin Greta sent Blake a picture of her costume ...

She's going as ... what else ... a Princess ... again.

Come on Greta ... that's like the third year in a row.

So even though the new Twilight is coming out in a couple of weeks ...

and he knows I am a Twilight-a-holic ...

Blake's decided to go with fireman.

Well ... it appears as if trying on clothes can be exhausting. I guess

Blake is getting a nap so he'll be ready for his night chasing black cats.

Well hope your evening is truly spooktacular!

and you have an Extraordinary Halloween ...

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Kids and their Costumes ...

Sometimes I think kids love Halloween almost as much as Christmas.

I say almost ... Christmas pretty much still rocks for kids ... but they do love to dress up.

Halloween often times gets a bad rap for its dubious beginnings ...

maybe that's why they called it the Dark Ages ... but things are what you make them.

Kids LOVE to dress up!

Here are some of my Halloween memories ... 

Boy ... sewing the fur on this costume was a nightmare!

Always ready for a Kodak moment ...

Notice a family resemblance between father and daughter?

Little boys love Superman!  Daddies can be little boys too!  

I'm noticing a theme here... maybe little kids just want to copy the big kids ...

 But ... time passes far too quickly.  The little kids grow up into marvelous adults!

When you have little ones sometimes you feel so overwhelmed and stressed with
all the demands and activities.  Let me tell you ... from someone who is now
on the other side of the motherhood journey ...

I would give anything to have that time with them again!

I miss the hugs ... the smiles ... the silliness ... and yes ... even the craziness and exhaustion.
Time passes much too quickly.

Enjoy every moment ... give your little ghosts and goblins and extra hug from me.
You can pretend it's from you ... but we'll know.

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Halloween and Glitter ... Halloween Wreath

Since my daughter ... Complicated Kai ... featured the Halloween Wreath I made for her

on her holiday blog today ... I thought I'd give you a "quickie" on

what's underneath all the glitter.

This is the lollapalooza wreath she ordered ... well ... sort of.  She actually chose a

little different tie at the top when it was all said and done,

I took a suggestion from Pintererst and tried using a

 insulation foam tube from the plumbing section of my hardware store.

I think I bought this one at Lowe's.  They're inexpensive.  I don't know  how much a 

normal wreath form would have been ... but I wanted to try this method out. The tube 

tended to kink a bit so I think next time I'll try a long pool floaty ... they seem more dense.

I bent it into a round shape ... and secured it with duct tape.

Don't worry if it's not perfectly round at first ... that will even out later.

By the way ... have you seen the different colors they make duct tape in lately ... wild leopard ... neons ... not your mother's old grey duct tape.

(I originally wrote that sentence:  your old mother's grey duct tape ... and decided to move the
word OLD to a more appropriate location in the sentence  :)

Next I wrapped it in 2" strips of white fabric ... to give it a little padding.

(sorry about the fuzzy picture ... I must have been on medication)

I then took black and white stripe fabric ... which I again cut in 2" strips ...

and re-wrapped the wreath.

Then it was just me and the glue gun ...  and every type of

 glittery Halloween doodad I had in my doodad bag.

I bought these glittery gems on my trip to the Garment District in L.A.  You can

see how that turned out from my earlier post ...  L.A. Trippin  What a trip!

I don't like things to be identical all the way around ... just balanced.

I  used the spider web as the center focal point ... and worked up each side from there

... hot gluing as I went.

The final step was to wrap a piece of fabric around the top for hanging ... and knot it. 

Here is the finished wreath Kai decided to hang. 

 She originally wanted the orange glitter netting as her hanging piece ...

 but in the end decided on the stripe.  

None of my fabric was hemmed. The black and white was a stretchy knit 

and the orange fabric was a netting ... so they probably won't ravel. 

I don't think that would take away from the look even if it did...

and it won't be going through the washing machine anyway... right Kai.

 I had originally planned a very simple wreath ... one wrapped in the striped fabric 

... maybe one spider or a "BOO" ... but I fell under the temporary influence 

of my More-is-More-Sister-Sara.   She kept throwing item after gittery item into

 my basket.  We finally had to have an 

Overdecorators Anonymous counselor come and do an on-site Intervention.

Well ... again ... sorry for some of these fuzzy pictures.  I will be asking Santa for a new camera 

... and some photography classes.  Hope you're all getting ramped up for the

Big Day on Monday.....especially all you guys with little ones.

Have an EXTRAORDINARY Halloween weekend!

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Tails from the Pumpkin Patch

No ... you read that right:    T - A - I - L - S.

One of my concerns about starting a blog was that I was ... well 
... somewhat older than the average blogger.  
My babies had all grown up.  I was a working mom,
 a soccer mom ... well actually just years and years of tennis lessons ...
 and a renovation mom like many of you are.  

So what do you do to fill the void of ... pictures with Santa ... 
Easter egg hunts ... and visits to Disneyland
... after your kids are gone?

You have more children!

Meet my youngest son ... Blake ... my Yorkie
... on the way to the Pumpkin Patch!
Blake, of course,  is adopted.  I call him my empty nest child 
and we go everywhere together.

We had to purchase pumpkins for an event my parents
 were attending at their church.
  They needed 25 small ones to be used as centerpieces ... so 
off to the pumpkin patch we went.

Don't you love pictures of the little ones riding in wagons?  That's Blake's dad pulling the wagon in the lovely purple shirt ... otherwise known as my husband Julio.  

No kid likes to go to the Pumpkin Patch alone, so Blake invited his cousin, Greta.  They're great friends and spend hours chatting online.  Greta's was a bit camera shy ... or maybe Blake was just being a camera hog.

Well our wagon was filled quickly ... luckily Blake agreed to stay put and guard the pumpkins we selected. 


A good time was had by all.  Until next year.


On Monday ... maybe I'll dig into the vault and 
dig up some pictures of ...
Halloween's Past.  
I might even conjure up some pictures of me.


Till then ... I'll be dressing up as a Crazed Blogger this year ... what are you guys wearing?

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Tuesday Love...Peanut Butter & Diet Coke

Today I'm starting a new feature on Reinventing the Ordinary ...

Tuesday Love

To be honest,  though,  since this blog is only 2 months old ...  
every feature is new.
  Nonetheless, in an effort to let you know a little bit more about me ...
I've decided to let you in on some of the things I love ... my secret obsessions.  
Have you conjured up visions of  ..."Desperate Housewives" ?  Well ... I think my obsessions may be more along the line of   ...

 "I Love Lucy" ... rather than the girls from Wisteria Lane.

Food is always a good place to start.  When it comes to food ... for me ...

there isn't anything better than ...

Peanut Butter and Diet Coke!

Yes ... I confess ........... I am a

 Diet Coke Diva. 

 For me there is no other.  I have to say,  however ... that years ago,  I wouldn't touch anything diet.  I think you have to acquire a taste for diet drinks.  But,  once you've succumbed ...
 you're hooked.

I hate to admit to you how many of these bad boys I consume in one day. 
 Yes,  yes, I know ...

they're not all that good for you.  Believe me,  I get the lecture from my kids ... 

(that's a role reversal, huh?)

I do try to intersperse some water and juices into the mix occasionally ... but I just can't stay away from a nice,  ice-cold Diet Coke.  I guess my justification is that I don't drink coffee ... 
smoke ... or any other similar vices ... can't I have this one?

Oh ... and it has to be really,  really cold.  Cans are the only way to go ... 
they get much colder than bottles.  Occasionally ... and only if 
absolutely necessary ... a glass and some ice.  As a

Diet Coke connoisseur,  not a big fan of the ice ... when it melts
 it dilutes the pure goodness.

I told you I was a Diet Coke Diva.

And in the flow of ... you can't have one without the other ... my other obsession: 

Peanut Butter.

I'm going to be honest with you here ... and I know I can trust you not to pass this on ... I eat Peanut Butter every single day ... and sometimes twice a day.  
I won't go into the whys ... you've all tasted the smooth perfection that is Peanut Butter.  
My modus operandi is either Peanut Butter 
and Crackers ... the little 6 pact that comes all neatly packaged ... 
or Peanut Butter on a slice of fresh French bread ... heaven.   
True, there are other ways ... when the first two methods are unavailable
... but never with jelly.

Have I got you wondering what kind of cracker is writing this blog?  
Well,  if you think I'm a bit off,  let me add this ... I once lost 75 pounds
eating ...  almost entirely ...

  Peanut Butter and Diet Coke. 

 I kid you not.  There were a few veggies in there too ... 
(don't roll your eyes mom!)

Do you think this is enough for the weekend?

Well I think that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about my dietary obsession.  I've read your blogs ... I know you all advocate healthy diets and amazing recipes ... maybe some day I will actually cook one of them.  Unfortunately .... I can be a creature of habit 

... so for now I'm sticking to my

Out of the Ordinary Meals ... 


What are your food obsessions?  Come on we all have them.  
Time for your true confessions...

www.forblogs.blogspot.com

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Wo-men at Work...A New Workshop

I love this sign ... sorry for any "gentlemen" that may be reading ...  but ... it rocks!

Okay ... time to come down off the soap box and finally show the progress on my
 WORKROOM ...  STUDIO.

I think I'll start by showing you a few  details  of the space before I reveal the finished photos of the whole room.  Let me say ... however ... there are still things I'd like to do ... which I'll mention later.   So ... without further ado ... here we go.

I decided to create a dedicated area to  photographing  all my future 
... REINVENTIONS 

There are 2  different colored drapes hanging at the present time ... one behind the other.  The drapes are hung on separate curtain rods ... the fabric is wrapped around cardboard tubes.  It should be easy to change out the drapes for other colors ... if the need arises.  I keep my tripod set up permanently now.  

Okay ... don't worry ... a photography class is in the works ... cuz ... I have a lot to learn in that department.  It's okay ... my photos are definitely  sub-ordinary.  

I can't wait to be a pro ... like most of you veterans.

Just a few pix of some of my  VINTAGE FINDS.     The  candy machine  was given to me by my father ... luckily ...  it was already  RED ...  my favorite color.


 On the right is a little purchase from the local Goodwill Shop ... a  lazy susan.   Of course 
... I had to paint it   RED.


 The  glass jars  were also from Goodwill ... they make a good home for nails, hooks, screws and all sorts of small hardware ... it's nice to be able to see through them.

In the middle,  another  gift ... acquisition ...  okay ...  I kind of slipped these vintage suitcases  in my car while visiting my parents.  Come on ... you've done that ... right?
Well ... I shopped at  my  parents house ... and now ...

my  daughter now  shops at mine.  I guess it's a family tradition.

And in this corner I needed a space to house my rolled fabric and butcher paper ... 

but that doesn't mean I can't   embellish   just a little. ... right?

I just hate a   naked wall.   So   "badaboom. ... badabing"
 HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

All I used was a pencil ... to rough it in ... and then a brush and paint.  I'm not really crazy
how this turned out ... I may redo it at some future date.

I am my harshest critic and I give myself a  C  on this mural ....

The wheels are already turning on another piece of  graffiti.

So it's time to show you the   STUDIO REINVENTION

BEFORE .......................  AFTER

I'm sooo loving it already.  Now that it's set up I've already started a few projects ...

which I hope to show you in future blogs.  Oh ... one of my future makeovers will be recovering
the lovely little pink chair in the corner ... can't wait.
There will probably be more additions to my room as I go ... but for now ... it's   heaven!

Having a huge (high) table is unbelievably convenient ... as is having all my tools in one location.

So ... here's to lots of

REINVENTING THE ORDINARY!!

www.forblogs.blogspot.com

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NEW DIGS PART 2...A New Workshop

Okey Dokey... time for  "NEW DIGS...The Sequel"...

and YES....that is a picture of me!

Come on ... that's me ... really!

Okay ... we'll just agree to disagree.

So the next step in my Pool Room Reno (that's what we in "the biz" call renovation)

is hiding my husband's huge, ginormous, UGlee (that's ugly with a capital UG).

Ugly ... right?

Okay ... so for some unknown reason, I can't trash ...  I mean donate these beauties, so my plan is to repurpose them ... hide them ... and then some time in the future ... when no one is looking ... donate them to some underprivileged music lover in a land far, far away!

So here's the long and short of it ... I decided to use these eyesores ... er ... lovelies as bases for another table ...

cuz these guys could hold up Dumbo!

This time ... I didn't even bother to run a gathering stitch.  In my on-going desire to take shortcuts ... excuse me ... streamline, I just hand gathered the material right around the speakers ... hot gluing as I went.  I didn't worry about damaging the speakers with the hot glue ... cuz,  well could they look any worse?

I topped them with a nice thick piece of plywood ... this time plain plywood was enough.  

But ... as my daughter ... Complicated Kai always said ... I never seem to know when to quit.

I just had to add a little more spice ... some more stripes.    Spray paint and tape ... easy peasy!

A few accessories ... a blue chair ... and the ugly speakers were a thing of the past.

We're half way there ... next time a little Writing on the Wall.  
Till then ... let me know what you wear when you're renovating.

I know you're all jealous of how good I look in my work wear ... 




It is me.......honest!

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NEW DIGS ... A New Workshop

In an earlier post I mentioned I am beginning a new creative phase, a 

Creative Bucket List

if you will, fueled my latest obsession:

Pinterest!

So my head jam-packed with creative projects...I set out in search of a place to "create".  After all... the creative process can and should get Messy... so my living room was out of the question.  I pondered some pre-fab sheds from the "Depot" or perhaps adding on a room to the house... but these options were not too budget friendly... and I didn't think I could sneak an entire studio past my husband in an extra-large Home Depot bag...like I have been known to do a few times

(By the way...blogger-bloggee privilege applies to that previous info!)

Then it hit me......I already have an entire Pool Room that rarely gets used.  It's already equipped with a full, remodeled bathroom...fireplace... air conditioning... and cable.  What was I thinking?

...so the Pool Room Makeover went into full swing.

As you can see sometimes extra rooms...no matter how nice... can become a bit of a storage place.  In this case, we did have a brand new pool table...well, actually it's probably 5 years old...but we've probably only used it 3 or 4 times...go figure.  It had also become the archive for my husband's album collection.  By the way, I can't believe we have a Beatles album we haven't even opened...but I digress. In this photo, however,  I had just moved all 500 albums out......OMG, what a job!!

 Hey, does that count as exercise?

I still wanted to be able to use the pool table should friends or family ever come by...which isn't often...

no...I'm not crying... I'm translating all my feelings into my Art... I hope I don't have to cut off my ear....

I first laid down thick pieces of  foam... didn't want to scratch up the pool table (even though the pool table installer dropped it... trying to run up my driveway... and broke it.)  It was just a little amusing seeing him kind of stuck under the humongous box... what was he thinking?

On top of the table,  I placed an 8 foot by 4 foot piece of thick plywood covered with a melamine 

veneer.  I opted for the melamine because it was super smooth, super hard and durable.

This was a pretty good start... but I couldn't just stop at the practical...I needed a little decorative touch as well.

I bought several yards of material... gathered it up loosely on the sewing machine... and staple-gunned it to the edge of the plywood.  I even left the selvage edge  to show at the top.

Still a bit naked... (not me the table)... I added some cording in a contrasting striped pattern.  I know,  I know, a true seamstress would have cut the cording material on the bias... then sewed the cording up nice and neat... but hey... it's a workroom... studio... hot-gluing was fine.  So I hot-glued
the cording to the top edge of the skirt... also adding a big, loose bow at the end.

"Voila!   Pool Table Re-invented."

Step One completed.... whew.... I think it's time for a Diet Coke.... tomorrow Step Two

.... my husband's ugleeee ginormous speakers!

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