Make mine a large please.......

The other day Dean stopped in at the 'good' mall in Metarie to check out new glass frames. He called me and asked if I needed anything. (he knows I HATE THE MALL.)

I ask him to pick up some Herbs De Province from William Sonoma. It is my all time favorite store....but since we don't have one close by, I never go anymore.

Here is the size I buy:


Here is what he bought me:


Lets look at them together:

I about fell over laughing...the jar is as big as my head! He looked up with a smile and said....I knew you'd like that jar.....when it is empty, it'll look great on the counter.....with homemade cookies in it.

Yes, he loves me, he really does.

Sunny strawberry swap.........

Thursday was a great mail day! I had been sick all week and Thursday was the first day I felt better. I worked half day and then when I got home, I had 2 packages on the doorstep. Now that made me feel MUCH better!

The first was the Artsy Autumn package from Elaine which I blogged about already. The second came from my good friend Jill (Nature Girl's mom)!

Look at all the wonderful goodies she packed for us!!!! She really spoiled us!

She sent Curly Girl a sketch pad to continue practicing her art in.....along with this wonderful polka dotted stripey tote!

And some yummy Twizzlers and these CUTE hedgehogs and strawberries she made....

Under the hedgehogs is a clipboard and some games, ideas and personalized notes for me to use in the classrooms when I sub this year......they even have a strawberry border :-)


My own gorgeous strawberry tote with a big fat bow! Some homemade zucchini relish and some extra strawberry fabric for me to use in my own sewing adventures!

Here is what she painted on the clipboard for me :-)
Thank you again Jill!

On another note, Nadine saw where Curly Girl fell in love with the apron she made me. So....she surprised Curly Girl with some little goodies just her size!


She was so excited to get them.........and has already used them! Thank you Nadine!

A trip to the pumpkin patch...!

We found a pumpkin patch to take the kids to get a few pumpkins for the yard.
We got an ENORMOUS one this year. We don't put them out yet.
Too many pumpkin smashers out now a days. *sigh*


Here are Ripstick Boy and Curly Girl in the 'photo opp' booth.....Ripstick Boy is getting to the age where this part isn't his favorite! "Do I HAVE to sit in the stupid booth mom?"

Here we are on the way to the car.....Dean took the wagon with the others...the ones we are holding wouldn't fit!

Here are some photos of the inside decorations...I LOVE this little guy:

and this little tree.....with the witchy hat on top!

here is the entry with my banner......I need to make a fabric swag but it would be REALLY long!



Here are some photos of the outside of the house....I still have some finishing touches to add but its looking pretty good!

Closeup of one of the crows....


Here is our tree and headless horseman. I put a ton of spider web on it so by the time the 31st rolls around, it will be all straggly from being rained on....perfect!
I forgot to put the big giant spiders on Mr. Headless......oops.......I'll do that tomorrow!



I made these ghosties back when the kids were babies and I didn't want to scare them. Now I need to 'up' the creep value!

BOO!

A booing we go.......

Last night we went 'booing.' It was soooooo much fun. Unlike some folks, we place the gift and then ring the doorbell and run. We almost got caught last year! This year we didn't.....we were ready and knew which way to run.
Yes, I'm 48 and still giggle as I bolt through people's yards and avoid sprinker heads while running. All the while, hearing my husband say "look kids, mom runs like Timmy Turner's mom!" HAH! Of course, I had to hear that 3 times....once for each house we 'booed.'

Since I felt MUCH better, I got much of my decorating done.

Meet Frankie.

We've had him for something like 8 years! We also had a witch but she died....I don't remember how.

Here are the Halloween place mats the kids made in Pre-k. They are my favorite Halloween decoration.... The kids get excited each year when we bring them out.

These next two pictures are window peepers Curly Girl made when she was 7 or8.
She did them without a picture and I think they are so good.
I remember asking her why she made them 'peeping', and she just thought they would' look neat.'
They are faded and hard to see now, but still one of my favorite decorations.


Boo! I see you!

A cornucopia of artsy autumnal goodness....

Yeah....how about that title? HAH!

Okay, seriously. I got the BEST, most fan-ta-bu-lous artsy autumn swap I could have asked for!

I mean, just look at this gorgeous cornucopia. I had to put it on my dining room chair so you could see how well it matches my fabric.


Closeup of the basket trim....gorgeous.



I have always wanted a cornucopia.......but they are hard to find....unless they are pre-filled with fruit and nuts....

And look what came inside.....all tumbling out for me to unwrap!
Sipping chocolate in a lovely brown and aqua tin, scented ornaments, a lavender sachet, paper napkins, a cute Halloween cookbook, scrap book papers, a tiny journal, a lovely little card she embellished with shells and music and lavender.....


Here is a closeup of a little book she bought me to 'cut up' for bookmarks, NEVER!
I will use it just as it is!


Look at the trim on this tea towel.........

Oh my goodness Elaine, you truly outdid yourself. I sincerely love and appreciate everything!

October..........

In our home, October heralds in the holiday season, full of family, good food and fun things to do and share!

Each October, we have traditionally gone to Pumpkin Patches or farms to pick out several large pumpkins to use for displays.

While living in Texas, we were blessed to be able to go to Henrietta's Apple Orchard. We would pick and eat apples, run from the psychotic roosters and play with the baby bunnies.
We would walk the grounds and marvel at all the plants that were grown around the orchard....some I still don't know the names of!

Before leaving for the day, we would go into the little shop and watch as they would clean and sort apples and prep them for sale and for canning goods.
The tiny shop had hand embroidered tea towels and an assortment of little sundries for sale.
It was always a good day and we really enjoyed it.

Now that we are in Louisiana, we need to find a new tradition....one that fits with living here.
There aren't any apple orchards around here but with all the festivals, I feel certain we will find SOMETHING to do!

Do any of you have a tradition to herald in the Fall?

Morning Glorious-er

I love Morning Glories and I've posted some photos we have taken of them....here are the ones we planted from seed to climb up our pergola we built in the Spring:



Well, last Fall, we were walking along the nature trail in the woods and noticed that some people had planted morning glories along their fence. They were so beautiful, I wanted to ask them if I could take a planting. But our kids noticed that the same plant was in the trees on the nature trail, it had either jumped or sent shoots underground or self sowed. Either way, it saved me the embarrassment of having to knock on some stranger's door.
I just pulled some of that vine out of the tree.

I planted about 5 shoots of it in some water. 4 out of the 5 shoots died. When the 1 shoot rooted, I planted it.
Now, I have a thing about outdoor plants. I don't baby them. They've got to make it on their own. Belief it or not that, teensy thing survived the winter AND the heat of the summer. It was bedraggled and ugly but I could never bring myself to just kill it. Well, it grew and grew and grew....and NEVER bloomed. I decided we had a male plant and we were going to yank it up.
So, right before Hurricane Gustav my husband tried to uproot it so we could bring the birdhouse into the garage. The vine was so strong that my husband was going to have to cut it. We decided to leave it and remove it once it died back. (I have a hard time purposely killing a plant...)

Well, lo and behold....look what BLOOMED and look how BIG and GORGEOUS it is!!!!! I guess all that wind brought in some much needed pollination and we have lift off! YEAH!

Here are the photos:
and a bit closer still........


You can't tell from the photos but these 'wild' morning glories are about twice the size of the ones I planted from seed. They are also a different color (which you CAN tell)......the thing that is so beautiful is that before they bloom, when they are curled up, they are this pretty pink color like you see in the throat of this bloom. Then they bloom into this gorgeous cornflower blue!

I was so excited! The best part is that there are several blooms getting ready to open!