Happy Autumn!

I love the fall.  I love the leaves, the weather, planting chrysanthemums, and the holidays.  But mostly, I love decorating for fall.  I put autumn leaf garlands and orange lights all over my front porch.  I hang wreaths on every door in and outside my house, and I always decorate my fireplace for Halloween/Thanksgiving.

This year I decided to make a little project inspired by Pinterest.  I saw a pin where someone had filled a vase with layers of Halloween candy, and then put chrysanthemums in the middle.  I took that idea, and made a Halloween candy trifle instead.  Here it is, making my kitchen table a much happier and more Halloweeny place to sit:

I didn't really like the combination of flowers and candy that I saw on Pinterest, so I decided to use candy corn taffy as the top layer.  I think it's a win for two reasons.  First, and most importantly, I LOVE candy corn taffy.  But second, I'm pretty sure that my cat Henry spends a lot of time on counters and tables when I'm not around, and I really didn't want him licking all the unwrapped candy in the trifle.  I love my cat, just not enough to share food with him.

This is the second project that I've finished that was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.  I love that site so much that it's almost an addiction.  To see some of my inspirations, you can follow me on Pinterest...it's definitely worth joining if you're looking for recipes or cute crafty ideas.  Have fun!

Henry's New Chair

Henry seems to approve of my new living room furniture...

 

...he has taken over the chair and made it into his throne/napping/grooming space.

Did you miss us?

So it's been kind of a long time since I last blogged. Almost two months. 53 days, according to TimeandDate.com. Or 4,579,200 seconds. In other words, I totally suck! But on the bright side, really not much has happened here since November. But to catch you up, here goes:

In early November, not one, but BOTH of my computers crashed. Now, my desktop is over 3 years old, so I wasn't too upset about that, besides being highly annoyed that someone smart enough to create a virus that could ruin my computer was actually wasting their time creating a virus instead of doing something productive like finding a cure for cancer. But whatever. People are time wasters (I'll admit to it!) and I wanted a new desktop anyway.

It was the strange downfall of my six-month-old Dell laptop that was mildly confusing. You see, I was merely watching The Hills Aftershow online because my DVR for some reason didn't record, and right as I was about to hear what Heidi's sister really thought of Heidi and Spencer's faux elopement in Mexico, my computer just died. I almost cried. I also almost threw the computer against the wall. I mean, Heidi and Spencer had ELOPED and my computer couldn't even wait until the end of the show to crash? WTF?

But I persevered, and fixed my laptop and found an awesome new desktop! Yay!!!

It's just so beautiful...*tear*...

My other notable November event was hosting Thanksgiving at my house. By hosting I mean that my mother came and cleaned my house the week before, and then she and my grandmother came down the night before, cooked everything, and then I set the table. It was exhausting.

December involved decorating my house for Christmas and shoveling a lot of snow. Fortunately my mother helped with the decorating. I couldn't find anyone willing to help with the snow. Of course, I didn't offer to pay. That usually brings Ross and Luke to my house in a matter of minutes!

My Christmas Pharmacy Village...I'm such a nerd!

Henry spent a great deal of the month batting at low-hanging Christmas ornaments...

Note the absence of Christmas lights...this photo was taken after Emma ingested a 6 foot extension cord...and yes, it was plugged in at the time...

Sadly, I have no pictures of Ruthie to share. She refused to sit by the Christmas tree, and although caught on more than one occasion sleeping in the Christmas Pharmacy Village Square, I was unable to find my camera to preserve those precious moments. Maybe next year...

Autumn Decor Is Up!!!!

The Mothership decided to come to town today because Walgreens was apparently having a killer sale, and she had a 50% coupon for ACMoore, so she decided while she was here to help me out putting up the rest of my fall decorations. I have to say, my house is absolutely gorgeous! Of course, I had to take pictures. (I really like to document my various achievements!)

I think, considering my awesome fall decorations, I am totally going to have a beautiful house come Christmas. That is, if I can convince poor Luke to get up on my roof to attach my new icicle lights. We'll see! (And post photos, too!)

Aldi's Deck Furniture

I have to say, I am a very recent Aldi's convert. Before the Grandmother came to stay with me, I was strictly a Tops and Wegmans shopper, but she has broadened my horizons to the sterile and inexpensive yet amazing and environmentally friendly grocery experience of Aldis. While on one of our shopping sprees, I found some deck furniture that I decided I had to have. However, once I saw the flat box, I was a little dismayed. Yes, it was only $99, but I was required to assemble it all. I was undaunted, however, being reminded by the Mothership that I have built entertainment centers, bookshelves, dressers, and have even mastered that which still befuddles my other family members: the collapsible dog crate. Because the weather was unseasonably warm we (me, the Mothership, the Grandmother, Woody, Izzy, and Emma) all repaired to the shady front porch, and I commenced assembling the lawn furniture. About 5 minutes in, I realized that I was a little over my head. Not because the directions were too hard to understand, or because I am a complete idiot. Oh no, it was because the fabric pieces that the seats were made out of were too small. As in so small that I was required to stretch the fabric about 3 inches wider for it to attach to each side of the frame. I would just like to note that this step was nowhere in the directions, so I'm not sure how other Aldi's shoppers less...creative...than myself fared. But I persevered, and lo and behold, two hours later, I was able to sit on my deck, enjoying a nice cool lemonade made by the Grandmother to celebrate this grand occasion!

You'll have to decide for yourself whether this particular lawn set is worth $99 and (quite) a bit of your time. Looking back, with the memory of my mental anguish fading, the possibility of future gatherings with a margarita in hand seem to outweigh the pain I experienced putting this together:)

Easter

Easter was much fun this year. Grandma and Woody were there of course, as well as all the babies, my parents, brother, and Grandma Lola and Grandpa Ned. Izzy and Emma got all dressed up in their new Easter collars and leashes, which made up for the fact that I didn't have a new Easter dress or bonnet this year!

We had yummy cupcakes and a beautiful cake (if I say so myself), and a lovely dinner, complete with cheese potatoes, which everyone knows are my absolute favorite food in the whole world.

Woody, Emma, and Izzy went on a very long walk today, and then promptly passed out shortly thereafter.

Henry spent much time in the kitchen, wishing he could help eat the cheese potatoes, and managed a bite of cake before being escorted upstairs.

The only sad part of the day was remembering the decorations have to come down tomorrow! I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!!