Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  We went to our neighborhood Halloween party Sunday and took a couple snapshots of Ward in his lion costume (in case we have rain tonight, fingers crossed the weather holds out!)  

At first, he wasn't so sure

 

But then he got into character, so he was cool with it

This evening we're going to try some trick-or-treating and go to our in-laws neighborhood parade, which is what we did last year...except I have a feeling Ward will be a little more interested this time (last year he just wanted to eat leaves) :)

We've come a long way from then!  

Hard to believe this is probably the last year I will choose his costume, I'm sure he'll have an opinion next Halloween!

Have a great day!

Planting a Fiddle Leaf Fig (or any plant, really)

Editor's Note:

I have received many, many comments and links to this post in the past year (thanks, Pinterest!).  Just and FYI, the technique shared below is my own experience with my FLF.  I am in NO WAY an expert on FLF's or any plants in general as I mention below.  There are many other recommended ways to pot indoor plants.  So...on that note, plant at your own risk and make sure to do thorough research depending on your climate and plant's needs.  Good luck and thanks for visiting!  :)

I am one of those people who can't keep any plants alive (unless it's a cactus and requires basically no watering).  BUT- I have been eyeing the Fiddle Leaf figs since I spotted the 5-footers for only $35 at Home Depot a couple months ago.  Despite my terrible watering tendencies, I decided to give it a try and see if I can keep this one alive.   Here is a quick summary of what I did:

I already had a glazed turquoise planter that my Mom didn't want anymore and it was just begging to finally be used!  I started by adding some felt sticky pads to the bottom of the planter to prevent scratching the hardwood floor.  There was a small hole in the bottom, so I cut down a wine cork to plug the hole and added a line of gorilla glue to the perimeter of the cork to seal.  

Next, I added a plastic liner cut down to fit the bottom of the planter (just in case to prevent any leaks!).  After the liner, I put in a layer of pea gravel (about 1") to ensure the plant will have good drainage and won't ever be sitting in over-watered soil.  

After the pea gravel I popped the plant back in the pot with some potting soil and covered the dirt with (dollar tree) floral moss.

My fingers are crossed that it will live!  The room is pretty bright so hopefully it should do well here.  I am loving how it brightens up the little corner in our dining room.  

PS- Anyone notice the toy car?  I can't seem to snap a photo in our house without one hiding somewhere.


Disclosure- My FLF has been in the pot for 2 weeks now and is still alive...hooray! BUT that obviously makes me no kind of expert in caring for plants- so please use your green thumb at your own risk :)

Family Photos- Ward 19 months

We have this problem in our house where I don't exist in our family photo album.  We have pages and pages of adorable pictures of Ward and Ward with Trey, but almost zero of me...Can any other mom's sympathize with this?  
The other day I was looking for a picture of myself and couldn't find one since last year when we had Ward's 8 months photos taken!   Anyways, I figured it was time for another family photo shoot.

We met my friend Sarah with Fresh Design Group at the park where she got some great shots if you'd like to see....

DIY Painted Chalkboard Pumpkin

Even though it's only officially been fall for a couple weeks, I feel like I'm at least month behind everyone else when it comes to Pinterest.  Since this summer, I've seen lots of pins having to do with pumpkin recipes, pumpkin decor, and all things fall-ish...(you know who you are early pinners).

Well, now it's early October and the only reason I have completed a fall craft is because I volunteered to paint a pumpkin for Ward's preschool fundraiser.  Each class donates a decorated pumpkin for an auction at their fall festival next weekend.

I went to Michael's and bought one of their pumpkins (on sale 50% off).  Although I love fall, orange has to be one of my least favorite colors....maybe it's because I went to UGA and almost every opponent has orange in their uniform??  Anyways, I wanted the pumpkin to be white and gold, not orange.  (Didn't take a before picture, whoops!)

I had heard good things about Design Masters gold spray paints, so thought I would give it a try.  I used the color "gold medal".  After taping off the stem, I sprayed the entire pumpkin.  

Then, using painters tape, I cut 30-45 degree cuts in the tape and applied to the pumpkin.  This by far took up most of the time.  Here is a shot of the first couple of lines with the tape.

Once all the tape was secured in place, I went back over the pumpkin with Rustoleum white matte spray paint.  I highly recommend using a white matte spray paint instead of a gloss because in the end it really makes the bright gold paint stick out...almost giving it a gold leaf stamped effect.  After I removed all the tape, here is what it looked like:

I would have been fine with leaving the pumpkin with the overall pattern if it was for me, but I felt I needed a little something extra since it was for Ward's school auction.  I painted an oval in chalkboard paint on the front of the pumpkin and then using chalkboard pens (if you haven't tried them, they are amazing!) wrote "trick or treat" on top.

Here is the final result!

The cool thing is, whoever ends up taking it home can write whatever message they wish, so the pumpkin can last through Thanksgiving and not just for Halloween.

Now I just wish I had made an extra for myself....

What did you do this weekend?