Happy Halloween!

 how lucky am i that this is my family? if only i could somehow get the kitties in the picture too.  i was trying to get a cute picture of travis and priscilla in their matching costumes. but she was being such a sad sack! usually she loves getting her picture taken!  phyllis is the cutest little thing in the whole world. just look at that face!  i love her so much. and my new glasses. and haircut.  look how pretty my dogwood tree is! i don't remember it being this awesome last year.  and of course the tree and the end of our driveway is blowing me away. seriously, i love it. i'm such a huge nerd.  so we hope you are having a perfect halloween! hopefully right now im dressed as a witch in downtown gatlinburg, stuffing myself with free candy. perfection. 

Kitty Party!

The kitties are very excited about having the house to themselves while we are on vacation. let's hope they don't get up to too much mischief while we are gone. (of course we have someone to cat sit, they won't really be on their own) we dropped the pugs off at my parent's house. it is always sad to come home when they aren't here. look how pathetic phyllis looks sitting on my mom's back porch. i wish they were coming with us!

Little Bitty Halloween Party

I decided that i wanted to host a little Rocky Horror screening party last weekend because we are going to be out of town for the midnight showings at the belcourt this year. i only invited a few people over since it was so last minute, and only a few of those came. so here is the saddest little party spread i've ever made:

 we had pizza too. and brittany brought the famous cheeseball and homemade crackers. and we still had too much food. as usual. the spiced cider was pretty perfect if i do say so myself.  i made this halloween candy corn cookie bark. i wish we could have found the halloween oreos. but it was still good. it is SO sweet you can only eat one little piece at a time.    i also attempted these candy corn cupcakes.  my colors didn't turn out as pretty but they tasted really good. it was just a doctored up boxed mix. delicious.  we gorged ourselves and then gave ourselves over to absolute pleasure. i love that movie so so SO much. i hope they will do it at midnight on new years. i've been singing the songs all week. i can't wait for halloween!

Collection 5: Milk Glass Mugs

It is nice to have a collection that you can get some use out of (other than decorating of course). I love mugs, but obviously with just the two of us, we don't need THAT many. So i made my mug criterion pretty strict. they have to be milk glass. they have to be blue or red. and they have to be cheap. most of these are from the goodwill outlet so they were probably about 25 cents. i think this collection started with the weird flower one, or maybe the blue hazel atlas glass. i love the look of milk glass. my friend crystal actually found this little devil. but she tries to not buy much, so she said "please buy this so i don't have too." i was happy to comply. this universal studios is another favorite. i guess everything on there used to be rides at the park? do they still have a parting of the red sea ride? sounds thrilling. of course, i haven't always stuck to my mug rules. i have some with deer handles and one that is shaped like e.t. but for the most part i am able to resist.

One of my favorite things about fall is getting these pumpkin donuts from krispy kreme. the jack o'lantern ones are just fun for the shape, they are just plain donuts. but the pumpkin spice are delicious. i'll have to get a few more before they stop making them. it seems like i've been doing nothing by laundry and cleaning lately. we're leaving for our vacation on sunday and i'm trying to get everything ready. we're going to stay in a cabin in the smokey mountains with our best friends for a whole week. i can't wait! if you have any suggestions on what to do near gatlinburg i would love to hear them!

Halloween Thrifting

The other day i went with some friends on a Halloween costume searching adventure. i'm just going to wear one of my old costumes (cuz i'm boring) but my friend ryan is doing something awesome. look what he got off of etsy!!!

  audrey 2! i love it so much! i want to steal it from his house.   little shop of horrors is my favorite movie of all time. and seymour krelborn is my dream date. so i was excited to help him find a sweater to wear.     this creeped me out a little. "mommy hug me dry!"  i found this amazing vintage halloween costume. for 2 dollars!! i was so excited. because that is the only vintage i found on the halloween racks even though blogs all over the place and talking about how their local thrifts are busting with vintage dresses. i was bummed.
i found this cute vintage jamaica tray as well. and another plastic santa. i have a problem. i have three of the SAME ONE and would probably buy any more that i see.
  we finally found ryan a sweater. and a granny costume for a dog. it was a pretty good trip.

Decorating the Dining Room

I finally finished putting up my halloween decorations! i actually ended up throwing out a ton of what i had because it was mostly cheap ugly junk i picked up in college. i'm on the lookout for cuter things to use. but here is what i used to decorate our dining room.


 top of my china cabinet.  silly little lanterns hanging from the light.  dining room table.  little bitty skeleton my bff brought me back from oaxaca, mexico.  kind of halloweenish? i saw another kitty exactly like this at the flea market! shoulda got it.   of course i have to get this picture in whenever i can. oh stephen.  and a perfect little halloween kitty to complete the look.

Flea Market Finds

Yesterday was the biggest Nashville Flea Market of the year! And somehow I came away with just a few things. I think i should have eaten a good breakfast. I went with two friends and after a few hours we were starving and thirsty and had to just leave. but here is what i ended up with..


i was VERY excited to find the daisy afgan! I've been really wanting one for a few months. then there is the sweet little frame (the silver is a mirror) and picture, a chippy cute deer, and an adorable set of animal rummy cards.



and kind of a huge stack of vintage photos! i've been trying to be more picky about the vintage i buy (because my house is already pretty full) so i have been really enjoying collecting vintage pictures. they are cheap and small and I can fit them all in a vintage photo album i bought. i try to stick with pictures of dogs (sometimes other animals if i really love it), christmas, and silly vacation photos.  here are a few of my favorite from yesterday:

 
a cute saucy addition to the dog collection. the back says "with lady boats simon. oct. 13, 1952"

i love these little old ladies showing off a cat and a calendar.

"butch and ross. oceanside california. 1938"

"Herman Bennett" i love little wodden scenes that you can put your head in for a picture so this really delights me!

it was really all about travis at the flea market! he wasn't even with me and i kept finding stuff for his vintage medical collection.

the booth that had this had a TON of purple medicine bottles that were awesome, but they were expensive. and i am cheap. maybe i'll get him one for christmas.

our friend thomas bought him this awesome wooden first aid kit as an early christmas present.

he loved it! i'm still on the lookout for a mid-century hutch for our living room so he can display his collection. we also have some vintage red cross books, a cute eye chart, and a teeny little red cross pin.  linking up as usual: 

Pumpkin Patch

my mom and i went to a local pumpkin patch on sunday. it was a beautiful day. i don't know if we usually go later in the year or what, but the leaves in the patch were so high! your really had to search to find pumpkins! and the pumpkins were still green! i kind of wish mine would stay that way instead of turning orange. i think they are pretty that nice dark green.  after we picked a few pumpkins we walked back to the tent to get a few more. i love that pumpkin tower. they didn't have many interesting pumpkin varieties. it was kind of a bummer. here is our little pumpkin haul! i think i'll look for a new patch to go to next year though. you can't really tell in the pictures but it was REALLY crowded and you had to park so far away. mom and i had lunch at McCreary's in downtown franklin as well. I got a fish sandwich and it was incredible. mmmm. it was fun to do something with just my mom. we haven't done anything just the two of us in a long time. I put my pumpkins by my side door just like last year. I love seeing them when i get home from work every day.