All Hallows Eve - Get Yer Fright On!!

When we lived in our former house it was more in the country.  The driveways were very long and when the kids were little they would get winded.  I thought of the idea to bring the candy to the end of the driveway to make things easier.  From that came a few decorations and after that a full on haunted house.

Some years are more involved than others.  The heavy lifters are in college but the 7th grader still gets a kick out of it.  So we keep a collection of creepy crawly things and my husband leads the charge to scare the crap of out of the little kids. 

Yup, that's kinda scary if you are five years old.

Ewww.  Who's hand is that?

Nasty rat with his snack.

And here's Mr. Innocent with a perfectly non-scary corn stalk.  But I guarantee he'll tie it to somethin' creepy.  We've got lots of great candy at the end of the brick walkway if you d-a-r-e to walk to through the haunts!

King Richard's Faire - Fashion Edition

My sons have always loved the fair for the music, leather hats, jousting knights and food.  I love this very cool Rennaisance faire for the clothes.  Whether or not you ever thought of playing dress up, I dare you not to peek in the shops selling corsets, capes, crowns and the like.

Costumes are not only worn by the "cast members", nay!  Many come in delightful outfits they have put together just for this day.  And why can't you wear a baseball t-shirt with butterfly wings and sparkle sneaker boots? 

This lass took things more seriously with her weaponry showing!

Sweet little princess in all of her velvet finery.

Get yer kilt on.  Yeah, his other friends just sport their modern day jeans and sneakers.  But who's the cool one?  Whos' the guy you want to talk to?  That's right.  The kilt guy.

Here's one of the costume shops.  The thing is that http://kingrichardsfaire.net/ does such a good job of creating a world inside this wooded glen full of music and food and merriment that you actually do get transported, which I guess is the whole idea!  And you think, I feel good here!  I feel happy here!  I need a swirly dress like the Merida in the movie "Brave" and I shall shoot bow and arrow!

Luckily for this guy, it wasn't too hot outside!

And the sweet Tinkerbell perched right on the tree stump watching the show.

This couple had just exchanged pewter handmade rings bought in the little store I was in.  I noticed the incredible quilted cape, but caught this sweet picture after they kissed.  I have to say it again...SWEET.

A handsomer Knight does not exist in the land for he makes a yearly appearance in the jousting tournament much to the delight of all of the fair young maidens.  And not so young maidens, too ; )

My Street

Most of the day the street looks like this.  Serene and quiet.  But down where that red tree is in the distance is right near the back entry way to the elementary school.  So twice a day, at drop off (8:00 a.m.) and pick up (2:45 p.m.) all heck breaks loose.  The street is filled with cars and kids.  Cars used to park on either side of  the street...with cars trying to drive both ways through the middle! if you can imagine...
until finally the town put up signs saying NO PARKING on left side of street during pick up and drop off.

Although my youngest is in middle school now, I always felt in buying this house that I was giving him a little boost, a little slice of small town life, just rolling out of bed and down the sidewalk to school. 

The Vintage Bazaar

Ok, think of the most beautiful day.  It was warm but not hot.  It had rained in the morning, but by noon it was all sunny skies and for the next five hours we were outside enjoying every second of it.  This was "The Vintage Bazaar", held both in the Spring and Fall on the grounds of beautiful Pettengill Farm in Salisbury, Massachusetts.

Every kind of shabby chic, vintage-y, repurposed, repainted, alternatively used thing you could think of was there.  

My friend Donna fell head over heels for this little trailer.  It was sold by the time we got to it so she didn't have to call home and convince the folks there why it had to be in her backyard.  It was the most charming littlest space in the world. 

Her daughter, Shea, has her own sense of style and was thinking about buying these 70's shades.

Great letters.  EAT for the kitchen?  Perfect.

Row upon row upon row of wonderful things and the crafty people who made them.  So very inspiring.

This country girl (well in my heart, anyway) was going mad for this bench with the back of a rusty Chevy truck in it.  I mean...not everyday you see that.

If heaven exists, it has to look like this place, on this day.  Beauty in every direction.
www.pettengillfarm.com

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it might take a stretch for this to be your attraction, but certainly some might like it in their home.  Not me, but some ; )

check 'em out!  www.mybazaarlife.com

Autumn Crafts

Wheeling my cart down the aisle at Joann's Sewing/Craft store, I was actually looking for a plastic tablecloth material when I came upon this printed burlap!  Wow, such are the happy surprises in a fabric store. So I thought..."hmmm maybe that would look cute wrapped around my trellis"...

It turned out to be an easy way to get a different look.  I just bought two yards and
wrapped it around the trellis.  In the back I cut small holes with scissors on either side of fabric and pulled ribbon through and tied together. 

I put a few staples along the top and sides just to hold it secure.

Here's a picture of the "trussed up" trellis.  

And tah dah.  Cute and easy way to make a seasonal change.
I just tucked any leftover fabric underneath and used some
boxes and mums as props which covered it up anyway.

My son helped me decorate last night, it all came together very quickly.  Just use what you have for your own front door. Whether or not you feel like gettin' crafty with the printed burlap, the bright mums and pumpkins will cheer up your entryway on their own.

It's the little things

Is it reverse OCD to just get excited about something very tiny that is an organizing tool? 
When the rest of the house has let out an exhaustive sigh after being left to fend for itself all summer?
When the "beach and pool towels" are still stacked high in the dining room, once used daily now waiting to be put away?
When there is still a tray with tequila, rum, wine and grenadine on the kitchen table left over from a girlfriends' party three weeks ago? 

I'm going to say it for you.  Yes.  It's a little wonky.  But when a little problem gets solved that you didn't know you had...when the nice, neat solution was presented, it just made me happy.  I found this at a craft fair in Maine and it actually was sold as an authentic bathroom cup holder!

So if you come over, pour yourself a drink and head to the bathroom and gaze upon my new dixie-cup holder.  He he.  I have shamed myself into putting the booze away today.  This is good therapy.

Lights! Camera! Action!

There is a little seaside town nearby called Salisbury and they filmed a Denzel Washington movie last Friday called "The Equalizer".  We had planned to go up anyway to hear some great music and breath some nice fresh beach air after a long week.

It was such a major treat to feel like we were smack dab in the middle of things!  When movies are filmed in Boston, it's hard to get close to the action, but we arrived a couple of hours before actual filming took place and really -- no one was around!

These are "props"...even the ferris wheel.

Here's Rich walking by equipment truck.  It was cleaner than my house!  Shiny brass, impeccable ramp.  Must be good money in the movie biz.

The arcade in the background is real...action is heating up with big vans delivering people.

Here's the real reason we went up.  The band called "Don't Call Me Shirley" playing at Surfside 5, this awesome beachfront bar.

Here are good friends standing deckside with a front row view of the action.

The band had to stay inside the club and could not use the huge deck, but we were welcome to go out on it and watch the action at the edge of the sand.  The big square light hung way above the filming, illuminating the scene.  They filmed it over and over again.  Crowd walking left, crowd walking right..

And this...I believe...is Denzel Washington!  I only got really close with my zoom lens and it was night time so a little hard to see.  A fun and quite unexpected way to spend a Friday night.