The Creepy Old House

When I was growing up, there was a house in the neighborhood that looked somewhat spooky, and when a new family moved into the house, they appeared to be a strange, but nice one.  I eventually made friends with the girl who lived in the house.  They let us use their back garage, and my brother and his friend, Kenny, made us a haunted house.  All the kids came to see the spooky haunted house when it was ready.  I'll never forget the fun we had growing up in that neighborhood.  I had about five friends and four cousins who lived up the street, and one of the friends just passed away (love you, Linda).  That was one of the most memorable Halloweens of my childhood, spending time at the creepy old house.

My mom sewed all of my Halloween costumes, but when I got older they were store bought.  Not all of my costumes were scary though.  ; )

It was a time when us kids used our imagination, staying outside as long as we could, building dirt forts, doing theatre plays for our parents, and putting together haunted houses.  When I'm in the area, I sometimes drive by that old house, and for a short moment I hear the sound of the kids running about, grins on their faces, whispering, "it's Halloween!"

 

~Sheri

The World Is Spinning Too Fast

Does the world seem to be moving too fast for you sometimes?  When that happens, I always retreat to the country roads, where living is simple and time stands still.  On the way there, I always stop at the antique shop and browse through the treasures. 

 

 

 

I thought these would be cool to hang from the trees in a back yard.

 

 

When I see this open field, I have to take pictures of it to see the difference that each season brings.  Now that Autumn has arrived, it's looking very dry.  Speaking of dry, you may have heard of the wildfires going on in California.  They are about three hours away from us, but still concerns me.  I love how the reflection of the bright sun made a cross at the bottom of the pic.

 

A stop to the pastry shop is a must.  I came across it one day while I was exploring the town.  There were mini pumpkin pies that looked Yummy, but today I got a cherry Danish. 

 

 

 

   Do you think cobwebs are beautiful like I do?

 

 

 

 

Thought of my friend Holly when I saw this sign, my other gypsy blogging sister.

 

 

Yes, a drive in the country was just what I needed.

 

 

Driving home

 

 

When I got home, I enjoyed my cherry Danish with a hot cup of coffee.  ; )

(I found the cup while shopping with Nel at Anthropologie if you like it.  It looks just like Autumn to me).

  

~Sheri


Recipe for Halloween

Fall is here! Time to put on some jazzy autumn music and get to decorating. 

A few crafty witches...

a couple bottles of potion ...

a hungry ghost...

and we have a recipe for Halloween!

These are just a few of my favorite seasonal decorations. More to come!

~ Nel

Baby Shower For Jess

The baby shower turned out lovely.  It was at Jess' mother-in-law's house, and we all worked together to make it a special day for Jess.   The desserts were scrumptious.  She bought several different kinds of desserts at a new bakery in town.

 

 

 

Lots of tulle around the house,

 

 

and a cute hanging banner.

 

 

In the front room was a big vase of red roses.  They were beautiful, and a perfect shade of red.

 

 

We served tea sandwiches, 6 different salads, and champagne cider. 

 

 

Nel doing last minute touches.

 

 

Jess' mother-in-law found the most darling Alice in Wonderland items at an antique shop, and later told Jess she could take them home with her.

 

 

 

In the back yard, some tables were set up, and there were two large pots of Mums gracing the doorway.

 

 

The tables outside were decorated with roses and children's books.

 

 

 

One of the games we played was so much fun.  We gave each guest three clumps of play dough, and they had to make a baby out of it.  After, Jess looked at them all, deciding on which one she liked the best, and that person received a gift.  My 90 year-old aunt even made one!

 

 

Prizes for the games, which I picked out myself.

 

 

Jess spent some time before the shower making the cutest favors.  She put a cupcake in each tea cup for all her guests.

 

 

 

 

She made these sweet tags and attached them to the tea cup with a tea bag and ribbon.

 

 

Me and Nel both wanted this tea cup.  We thought it was gorgeous.  I told Nel to take it.  ; )

 

 

Jess got so many special gifts. 

A mount from mama.

 

 

There were tea cups everywhere!  Most of them were treasures that belonged to Jess' mother-in-law, and some of them belonged to a friend of the family who let us use them for the shower.

 

 

 

When the guests were leaving, we asked them to write a special message on a diaper, so Jess could read them later...maybe during the late night feedings when she's tired and needs encouragement the most.

 

 

 

And each guest got to pick a favor to take home.

 

 

It was such a nice shower, and I want to thank Nel for all her amazing ideas and hard work that went into making this day a memorable one for her sister.

~Sheri