If I had a Halloween party....

I must be bored. I am planning a fictitious Halloween party.
 Or maybe I am hoping that someone will invite me to their really awesome party.
And I can partake in all that wonderful Halloween decorated food!

I remember when I used to unfurl those paper decorations and hang them up in my parents home.
Yeah, I did the decorating.
 It began at an early age. Explains a lot.
My mom worked full time and never had the time to do it. Secretly, I was happy because I didn't think she had it in her. Just sayin.
But there were never any recipes for fun food like there are now!

No  shortbread finger cookies...

No mozzerella eyeballs......

No mummie wraps!

No hand in the punch bowl....

and.sigh, surely no

jello brains!

Not to mention all the cool costumes! I would definitively want to go as a minion. Whaaaaaat?

Or maybe Agnes. If you've ever seen "Dispicable Me"...I need go no further.

Probably Agnes. That means I would need a unicorn. A FLUFFY unicorn.

So there you have it. Hope you had a wonderful time at my fictitious party.

I am exhausted. 

Ahhh, Fall......

I often forget just how much I love Fall.

Maybe that's because I am clinging to the little sun we may have been blessed with, here in the Pacific Northwest. Oh, and all you naysayers out there , don't be negating what I say, you KNOW we barely get any sun here~

So it goes without saying that I cling to the last sunny days we have.

Until Fall tiptoes towards me. Then I realize, it's not so bad. Heck, it's kinda nice.

The signs Fall is upon you?

1.Webs everywhere. Which means spiders EVERYWHERE. And I always seem to walk smack dab into a web. Then the "get- it-offame" dance begins. Know which one I'm talking about? Where you're all grossed out because you just got a heckofa sticky web filiment on your person and you're CERTAIN the spider MUST be clinging to you as well? Yeah, that one.

2. Leaves are abandoning those beautiful green trees....and congregating in your driveway. All at once. Almost like walking through snow. Almost.

3. State Fair time! Never mind that I don't go anymore. Not that I don't want to. Just that no one will go with/or take me. I promise not to buy more than 3 bags of cotton candy and no more than 2 corndogs. Really. Unless you loose me. Then all bets are off.

4. The weather could be horrible in the morning. Cold, wet, and or both. You dress in boots and sweaters.  Only to have to peel them all off by noon. Because the sun is trying to take hold for just a little while longer. And it knows you dressed warmly.
 What? Oh yeah, like YOU don't have a cape?
 Riiiight.


So, as I sit here , with the doors flung open,I so enjoy the sun while I still can.
 But without a doubt, when 5 o'clock rolls around, the sun will start to disappear and that warm air will turn chilly. In about, 5 minutes.
And that is when I will be in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on some home made dressing for salads, stirring the soup and getting the blankets unrolled from their baskets ,for their designated spots on the couches.
 Getting all cozy.
 Because I realize, I really DO love Fall.
And the Boots. And the Sweaters. 

Neighbors....

Ah, a Sunday morning, waking up slowly with a cup of coffee.

I am watching the 9/11 dedication on tv and remembering , with clarity, when it all happened.

And in this vein, I am trying to be honorable. Why, you ask?

One word.

Neighbors.

Oh, the joys of having a neighbor who is cheerful, pleasant and an all around joy.

I wouldn't know.

As I watch the names of those who died on 9/11, I am aware of something. What is that noise?

What the? Oh, it's my neighbor. Who, apparently,is filled with the fervent desire to vacuum out his car at 8 am. Oh wait. he stopped. Annnnnd started again. This has gone on for the last hour.

Seriously? What has happened to the inside of your vehicle where you must clean it as if a forensic team will arriving any minute now?!?!? And why do you stop and start every 10 seconds? Do you drive with a lurch as well?

For those of you who are blissfully in the dark about my neighbors, they are, well, not your ( or my, for that matter) ideals.

The first time I had experience with them was when they marched over to my driveway, as my tree cutters were dismembering a dead oak directly over my pool. "If you didn't WANT the trees, why did you buy the home?".

Welcome to the neighborhood Colleen.

I looked at her, took a lonnnnng glance around me, threw my hands in the air in a circular motion and responded : "oh, I don't know, there seems to be quite a few left if you ask me!". Visualize about eleven oaks just in front of me and a ka-jillion ( that IS an actual number) trees on my half acre property. Not to mention all the flora in the empty lot next door.

Oh heck , I live across from the Lakewood Town Centre and you would never know it because of the buffer all the trees offer!

That was my first encounter.

The next was her notes about my dogs barking.

For the next 5 years.( they do not excessively bark, they are just normal dogs living next to a not so normal neighbor)

Then, there is the story about her feeding dog food to raccoons every night, thus ending in the death of two of my beloved cats. Don't get me started there.

Did I mention the day she saw me working at my Loreal display in Fred Meyer and came up to me to berate me because me cats walk over to her property and sit on her fence?

(I am thinking of installing a gate that zaps you if you approach too closely.)

Or, when we had a grad party and someone partially parked on their triple wide driveway and they demanded the vehicle be moved?

No? Ok, then I close with the one where they resented the fact that we had people over to swim and we had ( gasp!) music playing. Never mind the fact that in the eleven years we have lived here, I have NEVER seen anyone , EVER, get into their pool. EVER. ( is that normal?)

So, now, we barely tolerate each other.

More like, I barely tolerate them.

Even on this Sunday of the anniversary of 9/11.

But, I AM honoring this day and choose to ignore.

I merely placed my frustration on my blog.

That's healthier , isn't it?

Welcome to the neighborhood.

All I made for the wedding

Hard to see but I had this hanger made: Mrs. LeBlanc....nice keepsake!
Was very happy with how these all turned out. Labors of love they were!
Saw this cake in stumbleupon.com and asked Cortney to replicate it. She did a fantastic job!
I bought this ampersand and painted it black. Thought it would be great for pictures!


I made Danny's boutonniere from a silk petal and added a small brooch to make his brides. I made all the men's this way.








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Map hearts to sprinkle coming down the aisle, scrabble tile holders painted black at each place setting, hand cut, sealed roses :45 made, to put on tables, necklace for myself, programs with maps cut out and glued on sticks for fanning, ribbon wreath for front door of club, talk bubbles out of foam board and sprayed painted, throw away bouquet, bridesmaids bouquet and brides bouquet . Breanne's bouquet consisted of heirloom brooches from her grandmothers, vintage pieces and pins I picked up along the way. I finished it with black ostrich feathers.