My Current Obsession

Ok, so I've become a bit decorating obsessed...with my porch. I know, it probably seems totally weird. The thing is, I have dreamed of having a porch area since I was a little girl. (My family always teases me that I was the most practical kid ever...bet you didn't know a kid could dream of having a porch.) So now that I'm in my new house and it has a great porch, I've become obsessed with decorating it for the holidays. I found the perfect witch themed decor for Halloween. I also have the perfect fall wreath, pumpkins, and corn stalks that are there right now.

Now that it's coming time decorate for Christmas, I've been on a mad hunt for just the right inspiration. Here are some of my favorite pics I've found.

My porch isn't this big, but I like the lighted trees.

Love the homey feel of this one.

Do you think it would be too obsessive paint my door red? I just love this one!!!

Totally classy idea that could be slightly changed and used year-round.

How cute is this? So simple and yet so great.

I think this one would be fairly cheap and simple to pull off, especially if you already have the pots.

Ok, I don't have the money for these, but aren't they gorgeous?

Fun substitution for a wreath.

So I also got some good ideas at Tai Pan, but I don't have any pictures. I promise to post pictures of my fabulous porch once it's done. I hope these inspired you too.

Mom's Birthday

So I'm really slow about posting. We had mom's birthday last Saturday and I'm just posting about it now. Oh well, life gets busy.

We planned mom's party more like a 6th birthday instead of a 60th. We sent out invitations and planned games and activities around that theme. We decided to make it a princess themed party. Since Michelle and I were in charge of invitations, we decided to add the line "Prince and Princess costumes optional." This was a bit of a joke and more of a way to get the point across that it was a child themed party. We had no idea anyone would actually dress up. I was chastised because I actually have at least 3 princess costumes, but like I said, I didn't know that was part of the plan.


When mom arrived she got a wand, tiara, and cape. We played musical chairs (one kids version and one adult version) and pin the tail on the donkey and had a pinata. We also had a craft table so that guests could make their own princess wands. We ate pizza, breadsticks and salad and we had a cupcake tower. Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. Although we forgot a few things, I think it all went pretty well. Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Musical chairs--the kids version

Adult version (they were more competitive than you might think)

Mom took a few swats at the pinata before the kids took over

Barbie Girls

A couple of Saturdays ago, Michelle brought her girls to my house for a visit. I've always wanted my nieces and nephews to visit often so I made sure I had toys to play with and things for them to do. I pulled out my old box of Barbies and let Abby and Ellie play with them. They loved it! Abby became fascinated with a wind up mixer and Ellie loved the Heart Family bike (you know the one with two seats for the Mom and Dad and two seat for the twins). I noticed how pathetic my old homemade (the ones I made) Barbie clothes were, but I have some great accessories. I also have the entire Heart Family (even if Ken's head keeps falling off). I loved those Barbies and had a very difficult time giving them up when I was younger. Now, it's so much fun to watch them being enjoyed by another generation. And every time they come over, that's the first thing Abby asks about. Good thing I saved them. :)

Why would you knit that?

Many of you will remember the email I sent several months ago with that horrible boob scarf that someone knitted. (If not here's the link). I hope you got a good laugh from that. For more horrible, tacky and gross things that people knit please visit http://whywouldyouknitthat.blogspot.com/. Just be careful of who's looking at it with you (some things are not appropriate for children). I promise a good laugh and you will definitely wonder, "Why would you knit that?"