let them eat candy

Halloween is just so much fun. The simple fact that one night out of the year you can knock on just about any door in America and be given candy seems almost magical to me. And dressing up...that's my favorite part.
Cloths have always been important to me ever since I can remember. My Mom said that when I was very little she could name someone we saw that day and I could describe exactly what they were wearing. Halloween, to me, is an excuse to take clothing to the extreme- and I'm all over that. I love to sew, whatever the occasion, but especially when it comes to costumes. My kids know that they can ask for just about anything and I'll give it my best shot to make it happen.
Over the years we've had Elvis (size 18 months), "Bo" in her monster costume from the movie Monsters Inc., matching vikings, and many various and sundry princess/fancy lady types. I don't think it matter much to my girls 'who' you are exactly, but that there enough fabric in the dress so that a hoop may be worn underneath. As you can see, this year was no exception.
My kids are the perfect ages for good old, old fashioned Halloween fun... trick-or-treating until you drop. Getting ready for bed tonight I heard M sigh and say, "I love Halloween, it's my favorite." I agree. It's all about kids, a day when you can get dressed up, wear makeup, parade around and collect candy from adults while they smile at you and compliment your costume is just about a perfect day.
Right before bed I overheard M counting her candy, the number was around 150 pieces. You know what I say, go for it...let nature run it's course. Eat up my friends until it's all gone, but don't forget to brush your teeth really good. And, as your mother I will continue to insist you get your 5 servings of fruits and veggies and balanced meals in between all that candy.


Q as Marie Antoinette. Inspired by her trip to Versaille this summer. And of course, falls into the fancy lady (or royalty) from history who wears a hoop under her dress, that costume prerequisite.


I must admit I begged F to be a fish taco and he eventually agreed. It was very funny and got a lot of laughs. Kids were a little confused, (you eat fish in a taco??) This costume probably won't make them want to try one either, with the image of the head and tail still on when it's served to you burned in their little minds. Oops!


This is the first year any of my kids wanted to be something "scary", she may be a dead bride but she still looks very cute. At school today she said, (about the boy she has a crush on) "I wish he was dressed up as a dead groom". This picture is sans blackened bouquet of flowers, too much to worry about when you're toting 3 lbs.+ of candy around the neighborhood.


This policeman costume is recycled from a few years ago. We got lots of mileage out of the donut clipped to the belt next to the handcuffs and billy club. It took a bit of convincing for C to agree that real police are 'nice' and are there to protect you, not just handcuff anyone for no good reason...

Happy Halloween

cinderella and the frenchman

Halloween parties are always the best, you can step out of the monotony of real life and dress up, get silly, take hundreds of pictures, eat delicious snacks and dance the night away. When you hit middle age- is that where I am- scary?! Wait, let's say middle 30's- the opportunity to cut-the-rug doesn't come up very often. So, when it does... you just have to go for it, no matter what moves or costume you're sportin'. Halloween is a great excuse to wear way too much make-up and splash on generous amounts of glitter.
So, thank you to the Call's for the supergroovin' Halloween spectacular. It's always a pleasure. To take a peek at some of pics I took at the party look here

the less serious side...

This is very funny and absolutely true.

a bit more serious...about tolerance

This is a good message all the parents in the world need to keep in mind.

here kitty, kitty...

Here is a little funky decor, perhaps for Halloween or all year if you like. The frames are the deep box frames from Ikea, about 8 by 11'' The heads were lapel pins I picked up at Dear Lizzie, and took the pin back off. I made the bodies for the kitty and other guy (?) out of felt, the stars with the kitty are covered with glass glitter. The orange head guy is holding some black roses, but you can't really tell from the picture. The pitchfork and little bottle are random things I found in my craft bins or around the house.
I must admit I didn't come up with the idea for these boxes. I saw them in the Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine. The artist I got the idea from is Magda Trzaski. Her boxes are so very fabulous, expensive and mostly sold out. You can see more of her boxes here

halloween dollies

Here are a few little Halloween friends I made a few years ago. These guys are about 18 inches tall and made of wool felt and other random fabrics for their clothes. I was kind of thinking about the trick-or-treater kids from Nightmare Before Christmas when I made them. I haven't made any dollies lately because they are so labor intensive, but maybe someday I'll get back into it. They are very fun to make, I love coming up with wacky faces and clothing for the little fellas. Oooh- looking at that witch now, I think she might need a halter top to complete her outfit.
yes, she has her witchy woman heels on.

many are chosen, but few come when they are called...

After much hounding (no pun intended) on the kids part, and deliberating about breeds and characteristics such as intelligence, barking habits, shedding, tolerance toward being mauled by multiple children- you know...that sort of thing. We threw all caution and research to the wind and adopted a "mutt" into the family. She is the exact sort of dog you might see roaming the street of any third world country, a truly mixed breed. Hopefully, a mix of all the good qualities you might want in a dog.
I began calling her Gloria (a fabulous dog name if you ask me, no offense if this is your name) but was quickly shut down by tears- nearly to the degree of 'weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth'. Wow- OK, I can take a hint. The name The Smalls themselves settled on is Izzy. I guess I can't complain, the name Gloria achieved middle-name credit.
She is very sweet, quiet, and not excited about being in the house, I'm pretty sure she's never been indoors before. By the end of the first day she was wrapped, like a baby, in numerous blankets and splayed out on the toy room futon with every imaginable puppy necessity The Smalls could dream up- surrounding her. Seeing her laying there in the lap of luxury, it occurred to me- Izzy is probably singing in her head "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" from the movie Annie.

Megan's pick

I just finished reading My Sister's Keeper for book group. I really, really liked it. I find myself missing the characters and wondering what they are doing right now...I know, I know- kooky! But, to me that is the sign of a good story. It was thought provoking, and a good discussion starter. Highly recommendable.
Next month it's my turn to pick the book. I tend to want to pick classics (previous picks: Great Expectations, The Hobbit to name a few) This year is no exception, next we read- Lord of the Flies. I have had this book sitting on my night stand for about 6 months- waiting. I read it in high school of course, but I want to reread it with an adult/parents perspective.

calaveras

Here is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. The Hallstatt Austria cemetery is short on space. So, after about 100 years in the ground you get dug up, your family paints your skull, and your skull and other bones that remain go into the bone chapel.

The kids were tired and hungry and getting ready to mutiny when we begged our way into the bone chapel a few minutes after closing time. Jason, tour guide extraordinare and German speaker- knew we couldn't go back to Salzburg without making this one last stop. We were all in awe, utterly amazed- there in a little dark room hundreds of skulls were neatly arranged along three of the walls, big bones filled the shelves underneath. It might seem morbid, but standing there- it didn't feel that way at all. The paintings and designs, the deceased names and dates, sizes and shapes, teeth- I could have stared for hours.

I picked up this paper mache skull on Olvera St. in LA this last weekend. I have never been on that street before, Steve O said he used to go there as a child and buy piggy banks- anyway, for me it was love-at-first-sight. A whole street dedicated to Mexican goods, art, and dia del muerto paraphernalia. If you've been to my house you know that I am way into Mexican art, especially Day of the Death goods, so- some time on Olvera street was quite a treat.
Steve O spent a few weeks in Oaxaca (said: wa-ha-ka, it took me a while to figure that out) Mexico a few years ago working on Nacho Libre. He came back with lots of great pictures, stories, Day of the Dead goods and wrestling masks. This calavera, about real skull size, is adding to my ever growing collection of Mexican art. I would love a trip to Oaxaca someday (maybe next year for 17 wonderful years...)
Looking at this skull reminds me of good times, with good friends in Austria. Maybe, I'll keep it up all year and not just for Halloween.

beach fun

This was the view on Saturday afternoon from Capistrano beach. Dana Point is just barely out of the picture to the right. It looked like perfect sailing weather, not too much wind, just enough to pull out the spinnaker if you like.


16 wonderful years of marriage, set in stones and pebbles.


We took about 200 pictures in 20 minutes- the beauty and downfall of the digital camera. By downfall I mean the trouble of keeping track of hundreds or even thousands of images. Sorting and storing all of those wacky pictures- ('cuz I have to keep them all, even the blurry ones- just in case I need them sometime) is a full time job I'm afraid I've fallen behind on. But, I still can't help myself, I fall further behind, I can't stop snapping.
Super silly stuff- handstands, jumping, spinning, cartwheels etc. This one is pretty funny with Maia pulling off a great handstand in the back there.

some good october reading

I would like to recommend some good October reading. This book is fabulous, one of my favorite picture books by Chris Von Allsburg. (sorry about the bad picture, the book's a little beat up and the photo raw) A wonderful October read with a little mystery, action and adventure.

We are heading to California for our school fall break- to spend some time at the beach with grandma and grandpa. I am really looking forward to spending some time at the beach house, we haven't been since last summer and I think we've all really missed it.
It's our 16th wedding anniversary tomorrow and the spouse and I are going to bust out and leave the kids for a few of the days. THAT I am really looking forward too. Steve O and I haven't been it the same place at the same time without the kids for too long. See ya'll next week.

5 euros well spent

I saw this 'afro' plant in Denmark this summer at a grocery store. I couldn't keep my hands off of it. The plant was perfectly shaped, round and dense, I just wanted to lay my cheek against it or have a bed made out of it.
About a week later I found this planter at a flea market I knew the combination would be perfect. I got back to the US of A and could not find an 'afro' plant anywhere. I couldn't even ask anyone because I had no name for it.
Finally, I tried Cactus and Tropicals- a fabulous greenhouse in Salt Lake with every plant can dream of- and there was my little 'afro' plant, official name- 'baby tears'
I'm so happy to finally have this baby planted, the plant got a little munched during the transfer- it will take a month or so to grow in all full and give this baby a full head of hair.
This is just the sort of decor I love to have in my house, something that reminds you not to take yourself or life so seriously. I think he/she needs a name now.

laughter IS contagious

Fischer, my 9 year old showed me this. You can't help but smile, or all-out belly laugh.

Escalante

We went to Escalante for the weekend to hang out with my family and to get some much needed 'cousin time' for the kids. Here are all the Phoenix/Springville cousins together again and having so much fun. That's Parker in the middle, bustin' a move.


A funky spot I found on a hike- you don't usually see moss growing in the desert, but this spot shaded by the cliffs looked like it belonged in a deep dark forest.

cowboy boots

Here is the cowboy boot quilt top- all pieced together- that I've been working on for my mom and her bed and breakfast Slot Canyons Inn. I've got so many projects started, it feels good to finally have something finished. OK well... once again part-way finished.
It pieced together pretty fast once I had the fabric all picked out and cut to size. I am still trying to decide on fabric for the border, there is a thin strip (2 in.) and a thicker one (3 in.) that go all the way around. I always get antsy at this stage of a quilt, I want to see it all done and quilted. Unfortunately I am on a waiting list at Corn Wagon (a great quilting store just down the street from my house) and they are 8 to 10 weeks out. I should have gotten on the quilting list a little earlier.

scrappy apron

tah daa, I finally got a recycled fabric strips apron made...what do you think? I will probably have some like this one or similar at the Beehive Bazaar in December, maybe I'll get organized and get something going onEtsy one of these days.

racking my brain

I saw this license plate today, it made me laugh. We say this all the time, but, I can't remember...what movie is it from?