Pumpkin Glitter and Sweat pants!

After my initial purchase of far too much pumpkin decorating materials I asked some of my girlfriends if they'd want to come over and use up the remains.  They were all super excited for a craft night - as was I, and a potluck - pumpkin extravaganza was planned. The menu was a little mixed, warm bread with butter and Strawberry vodka drinks to start, salad, dips, and crackers for an appetizer, and personal pizzas, cheesy macaroni, and green bean casserole for the main meal. Chocolate cake with sprinkles for dessert, and we were all very full!

Spray Paint Everywhere!

Our first plan of attack was to spray paint the pumpkins black.  Little did I know a spray painting lesson would follow because I guess some people have never painted pumpkins before :). Then I had to include a photo op with my new partner in crime : Monte!

Next we took our mess inside and with a few black fingers later, had our pumpkins on the table and ready to be decorated! A few more lessons were learned about push pins and ribbons, glue guns and furry boas but we all had our own ideas and the pumpkins were coming together perfectly!

Working Away.

I took a little break to let my paint dry and get Monte to try on his new Halloween Costume.  He decided at Pet Smart that he wanted to be a blue metallic alien, and so it was! He really hates wearing it, however I managed to keep it on him long enough to capture one good pic!

SpoooooooooMonte!

After all the food had been consumed and we were all begging for a pair of sweatpants we posed for one final picture with our beautifully spooky pumpkins! Plans are in the works for a Christmas crafting party...now just what to make!

So cute!

My finished mirror ball pumpkin!

After I told my parents about my pumpkin decorating party my Dad was very interested in getting some help on a work contest. He'd signed up to compete against his fellow coworkers in a challenge to design a mini pumpkin.  Each employee was given a name and something that person liked to do, and they were supposed to design the pumpkin around that word.  My Dad got a guy and his word was "running".  So inspiring...I know.  My Father passed it off to me and Mom to take over the reigns and win the competition.

He looks like he's frowning!

A trip to the dollar store produced a wonderful find, one month old sized Red tennis shoes. Perfect! A sweat band, towel, dumbbell, coat hanger legs and arms, googly eyes, knee socks and Red tenni's later, we had a Runner that would make any employee proud.

Why so serious? :)

I think I'm pumpkin'd out. However I'll be doing some work on my 1950's Halloween costume tonight and working on my perfecting my 50's hairdo for Saturday....so I'm sure some fun photos will follow!

Steal my heart with Wine and Happy Trees

This is a vintage "Spumante" Poster from the 1800's

Many of you who know me, could attest to the fact that I'm not a very good drinker. A few sips of this or a glass of that, and I'll tell you my life story...who are we kidding, I'd tell anyone my life story any time given the chance :)! Bottom Line, I don't venture past my comfort zone of a few glasses of wine every now and again. My first, and favorite wine of choice, Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante, is the perfect mix of fruit, fizz and flavor. Not that any of this really matters or has relevance to my blog, but I felt as though it was needed as a little back story. The word "Spumante" in Italian means, foaming, bubbling, or with fizz.

Thank you PBS for this Image it's a beaut!

Secondly, growing up I had a secret obsession, that obsession I'm embarrassed to admit, was the one and only BOB ROSS. I'm not sure if my attraction was to his ill fitting high waisted pants, his perfectly picked out white man's Afro, or possibly the way he ever so sweetly would whisper the words, "happy little tree" while he painted, but I was IN LOVE! Every afternoon my sis and I would find a seat, flip on PBS and relax to the sound of Bob's voice and the whistle of his brush as it kissed the canvas. To this day I have a warm place in my heart for that furry haired man and often find myself searching the landscape for "Happy little Trees".

You may be asking yourself at this point, "What in the heck is she getting at here?" Well, here's the deal. I'm picking up my new puppy today, and have spent much time agonizing over the perfect name for such a cute little pooch.  As of last night I would have bet money on Finnegan, because I was bound and determined to make this dog Irish...At 9AM I had my heart set on Bologna or Linguini because both were just goofy and fun...and now with only an hour to spare I'd narrowed it down to my top 3. Atticus Finch or "Atti" for short finished a close 3rd because "To kill a Mockingbird" is my all time favorite book. However I would like to introduce to you the newest addition to my family:

 

SPUMANTE B. ROSSI

"Monte" for short!

I love the name Spumante. But absolutely adore the shorter version Monte...and the dog just looks like a Monte. Not having the heart to let B. Rossi (Bob Ross) suffer from total name rejection, I decided it made a perfect middle name. VERY Italian sounding! So in conclusion, Irish was the goal but Italian was the outcome...and in the word's of the one and only Bob Ross, 

"We're gonna make some big decisions in our little world."

And getting Spumante B. Rossi is one of them! :) More pics to follow, trust me I've already purchased a ton of unnecessarily cute stuff including a metallic blue alien Halloween Costume!! 

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Update: this is after I picked him up! :) He's been such a great boy!

No Cable or Internet Monday night Madness!

It's funny how often I rely on TV for entertainment.  I wouldn't consider myself a big TV watcher but their are certain nights I usually find myself curled up watching the usual crafting show, or the food or remodeling network...and yes my guilty pleasure Jersey Shore, or the Buried life on MTV.

After arriving home last night and making dinner, I flipped on the tube and to my dismay the cable was out. After placing a "very pleasant" call to mediacom I looked around the place to see what else I could possibly do with my evening.

First things first. I cleaned the kitchen. This is a terrible habit I have learned from my Mom, and nothing eats at me more then a dirty kitchen or eeek a filthy sink! After that was done I took the remaining bench outside from the dining room table I had yet to paint and put a few coats on that.

While it dried and the cable still remained out, I began to think...what else can I do! And of course the dying flowers from my 3 week old bouquets called out to me. I love making flower arrangements so off to the kitchen I went to re-arrange the old to make new!

 

Love the colors! So Bright!

After these were complete I still felt the need to make more things...and my paint was still drying. Onto the hideous smoke detector that has been bugging me in my dining room for months. I have no central light in that room, so the ceiling is a cavernous void of white. Solution : Tissue paper pom pom chandelier....sounds like a great idea! :)

About an hour later I had 10 pom poms together and strung from the smoke detector. I'm pretty happy with the results, and think I'll change it to fall colors here in the next few weeks! Check it out below!

View from the floor!

View standing on a chair :)

Doorway view!

Eating at the Table View!

One final shot! So happy the ceiling has color!