Category Archives: Halloween

Halloween In

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Hi!!! Such a quick pop-in to share pictures of what we got going inside for this Halloween season (I shared outside last time). I usually throw all I got, which isn’t a lot, at one spot inside and call it a day when decorating for Halloween. But not this year! I went all out. No I didn’t. But by the abnormal standards I use, this is over-the-top. Apparently putting up fake spider webs has me thinking that I’ve built the Haunted Mansion but whatever…I’m feeling very festive and this is the most clutter I can handle.

So here is me going nuts in the entry! And also my apparent shrine to Target. Everything, down to the extension cord, is from Target except that old Italian wind organ – which has lived in the entry for months, but has never made sense in there until Halloween entered the picture. (Umm did you check out my baseboards? I’m kinda legit!)

And this is me going bananas decorating the family room! That giant pumpkin is real and fantastic (and was only 5.99 at Trader Joe’s?!) My kids made these bats a few years ago and I can’t handle the adorableness.OK, so did I blow your mind with my extravagant decorations or what?? Until next time friends! xoxo

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Halloween Out

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It’s been a rough few weeks for being the most wonderful time of year, huh? I’m a thinking person, like thinking is one of my favorite things to do, but after all my thinking I can’t come up with the right way to live in this world. Even when your life isn’t directly affected by natural disasters, shootings, fires, war, famine, racists, death, etc. should you saturate in the news and the communal human loss? Or do you stick your head in the sand and live happily in a bubble because your children deserve better than a melancholic mother? That option can’t be acceptable when other mothers aren’t afforded that luxury. I find it impossible to live in the middle, though that’s probably the healthy place to be, so I continually loop through those two extremes, often overstaying my welcome in melancholy…where you could probably guess from this paragraph that I am deep in right now. Why, humans?

Anyways, this has very little to do with my Halloween decorations. Or everything. Who knows at this point. Life is absurd and hard and ugly and straight up wrong, and when world events flare up (OR TOM PETTY DIES), I cynically look at creative pursuits and celebrations as a cheap cover up for all the wrong. So maybe here’s me doing my best to cover up our shared ugly human existence by making a pretty house. Or pretty weird house, depending on taste. Wow, what an intro. Sorry to ramble so off. Though this almost turned into an entire post about the impact TP has made on my life, so I actually think I’m letting you off easy :)

Let me bring it back in. Despite my doom and gloom feelings, I had a lot of fun decorating our house for Halloween this year. I usually go pretty minimal (last year’s inside and out) but was surprisingly over-enthusiastic this year. Probably because the front yard is semi-presentable for the first time ever and the possibilities are wide open. It’s really great, I’ll share soon, I just need to plant a few more things. Our outside Halloween decorations are still quite minimal, but in a large scale way that is working for our yard and for me.
We have a simple spider web theme going on. I almost passed on these Mega Spider Webs from Target because they looked like a dumpy hammock in the bag that would blow down in the wind, but I decided to give one a try and liked it so much I bought another. Easy, cheap, fun, big impact (they are 25′ long!) but in a minimal way. They fit my requirements for compact storage and have, so far, withstood some major wind.I painted the wonderfully weird screen white and we’re planning on adding a second! I’m basically in love.I’ll share Halloween inside later this week. And keep the feelings to a minimum. For today, sending love and prayers to my beloved, burning California. xoxo

Halloween Advent Calendar Ideas

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Nerd alert! October 1st and I’m so on it! Halloween calendar hung up and filled, people. Ready to inhale the best time of year. I used to be a lot more crafty than I am now (current level: 0% craftiness) and this calendar is a relic from that era that still gets brought out every year because my, now older, kids still go bonkers for it. I know I’m in the small group of weirdos who has an advent calendar for Halloween, but I’m always curious to see what other weirdos pack into theirs, or at least how other families celebrate/soak up fall, so today I’m sharing exactly what’s in our 2017 calendar. I’ve talked about this before and shared more ideas, and still have the usual sentiments: keep it simple, keep it consumable. Don’t add useless busyness or physical junk to your life :)
In no particular order, October 2017:

  • costume planning
  • skeleton PJs (hidden under the couch for tomorrow)
  • family movie nights (Harry Potter and Spooky Buddies, by request)
  • devour a box of Halloween Jo-Jo’s
  • bike the Bob Jones Trail to the beach
  • take a drive up the coast to Cambria and Ragged Point
  • handprint bats
  • visit everyone’s fall favorite, Avila Barn
  • SLO farmer’s market
  • hiking
  • pumpkin patch
  • My Little Pony movie, hopefully at the drive-in
  • fall drive through the vineyards, hopefully in the Tbird
  • afterschool Starbucks and park date
  • bake pumpkin cookies
  • rent one of those goofy four person bikes in Pismo Beach
  • family game night with junk food (fam favorite: Sorry)
  • weekend camping trip (TBD…but may include a hotel and exclude a tent?)
  • carve pumpkins
  • fluff and fillers (reserved for especially busy days): pencils, erasers, and stickers

Sadly because I fiercely love crisp weather and changing leaves, but totally perfectly OK because I don’t want to live anywhere else, October is actually our hottest month here in San Luis Obispo…hence some regional ways to celebrate the season (our list embarrassingly reads like a Central Coast visitor must-do list). Obviously if you live in a place where there is major fall color, your calendar should revolve around chasing that peak!

You’ll notice an absence of baking and crafting in ours, activities that used to dominate our family’s calendar. A few reasons for that: 1.) again, my kids are older and not super into cutesy crafts these days 2.) one of my kids is back in school (other is still homeschooling with me, hearts) so cramming activities after a long day isn’t fun for anybody 3.) I prefer to bake the usual fall time stuff when we actually have time/want to eat it instead of having our calendar dictate our food and 4.) I’m in a HATE COOKING phase right now that honestly may be the new me, and I’m embracing the new me…If you aren’t that into Halloween (who are you and WHY???) but want to get a head start on Christmas, check out my Christmas Advent post here. Eeek, I’m excited! And such a dork. Too soon to start saying happy Halloween? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!