Sentimental Sunday

I am feeling quite sentimental today. Our house is fully decorated for Halloween (sans the Ghastlies quit). Tomorrow we will be greeted by hundreds of children dressed up in costumes knocking on dozens of doors for candy. And today I am listening to Halloween Radio on Pandora, writing papers and not wanting this holiday to end.

Seven years ago today, I met my husband. He was dressed as a male nurse, myself as a Mardi Gras girl caught on Girls Gone Wild. We met at a mutual friend's Halloween party, and we hit it off that night. Ever since I was a little girl I have loved Halloween, it is the one day out of the year you are allowed to play make believe. My mom would always help us put our costumes together, either by visiting Goodwill or making a completely homemade costume. This year, Lee and I didn't have a party to go to, instead we have spent our evenings watching Halloween movies, and tonight we will carve our pumpkins.

Here I am with friends at that party seven years ago. There are several great friends that are not pictured here, in particular the ones that came dressed as Husker fans....after a game, you know who you are.

Right now I am finishing up some homework, and maybe I'll get to quilting this guy. I've decided to leave the decorations up a few more days. We'll be the crazy people in the neighborhood with tombstones in our yard in November. I swear it isn't that I am too busy to put them away, or lazy, I just want to keep Halloween going a few more days.

Here is a look at my table runner I made last year for Halloween. I did this in one evening, using orange thread for the quilting, and the quilt as you go method. I love the contrast of the orange stitches on the white fabric, plus the black and white fabric I used for the binding is perfect.

Happy Halloween to you! I hope you have made some wonderful memories this Halloween season. I'd love to hear about them!

3 Years Ago

Three years ago, I married my best friend. I often joke with him that someday this will be my future husband. But in reality, Hugh Jackman has nothing on Lee! Lee supports everything that I do. He encourages me to be the best I can be, and pushes me when he knows I can do better. He helps me make sure my head is attached to my shoulders, as well as finding other important things....car keys, shoes, cell phone....  He makes me laugh always, even if his jokes are not funny (which sometimes they really aren't, I shouldn't fuel his ego!).

It has been a wonderful three years, filled with many memories for the two of us to reflect back on and share with our children one day. We have known each other, and been together, for almost 7 years, and I don't want to imagine what a life without him would be like.

So here is to my wonderful husband Lee, and our first three years of marriage. And here is to all of your other halves, may they compliment you and spoil you as much as my husband does me.

Tomorrow we plan to spend the day together: pumpkin patch, lunch, a walk with Penny at the spot we were married and some movies. Then in two weeks we will be seeing Beauty and the Beast at the Lied Center, which mirrors our honeymoon of Disney World three years ago.

And for an update on my Ghastlies, they are still waiting to be quilted. With mid-terms next week, and a few papers due, I will be lucky if they are finished before my Halloween decorations are put back in their totes.

The Most Wonderful Time...

...of the year! I love fall, or autumn; October to be exact. It has always been my favorite time of the year. When I was a kid I planned for months in advance what I wanted to be for Halloween. I loved helping my mom decorate at the beginning of October, helping my aunt rake leaves (we didn't have any big trees in my neighborhood when I was growing up), and crunching in leaves that had fallen onto the sidewalk. I love the cooler weather which means my new (or digging out old) clothes, and jackets and scarves. I love how it gets darker faster, and comfort foods, especially my mom's apple pie!
I met my husband in October too, at a Halloween party to be exact. And, we were married in October, on a beautiful fall day, with gorgeous autumn colors and wonderful family and friends. This is the best month!

To go along with my favorite month, my whole house gets a makeover. Every inch of our home is decorated in spooky, creepy, macabre and fun Halloween decor. Most of our decorations are homemade, or very cheap since I have decorated the whole house. To go along with my decorations, this year I added little bits of the Ghastlies. I used the scraps from making my Ghastlies quilt to make decorative balls for our candle holder on our coffee table. This coffee table item was a gift from a food friend when we moved into our home, and it gets a new look every month or so. So here is a glimpse at my Halloween balls, for lack of a better name, made with some glue, fabric scraps and Styrofoam balls.

And hopefully soon, I will finish quilting my Ghastlies and you will get to meet them, along with other shots of our decorations, which may take a long time. :)