Happy Halloween!

I love dressing up and decorating so it makes sense that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.   One of the first things I thought when we moved into our house was that we could finally have a Halloween party!  We had about 20 people over last night for the festivities and I wanted to share a few of the decorations that have made our house extra-spooky this weekend!

Front porch graveyard

glad he's hanging outside now!

Food!

owl cupcakes

pumpkin cupcakes

 We had a great time decorating and making treats.  The party was a ton of fun and I'm loving answering the door for all the cute neighborhood kids tonight!  Hope you are all having a very Happy Halloween!

Heart Attacks

I've had about twenty of them today due to a our temporary house guest.  Every time I walk by the room I scream.  Hubs thinks it's hysterical.  I'm counting down to Saturday when we can stick him outside!!!

houseguest

Weekend at Bubba's... Part 3

Sunday we woke up to a delicious homemade breakfast which included the biggest pancakes I'd ever seen.  We spent the morning and early afternoon in Helen, Georgia.  The first stop was at Anna Ruby Falls.  It was a quick hike with lots of pretty views. We decided to save the "10-mile rigorous trail" for next time. 

Afterward, we walked around downtown Helen (described on their site as "a re-creation of an alpine village complete with cobblestone alleys and old-world towers").  It was such a cute place and every shop and restaurant fit the theme.

 

After our time in Helen, we got back in the car for our return drive to Nashville.  Thanks again to our wonderful host and hostess for such a fun weekend!

Halloween Jars

When my mom told me about a cheap and easy Halloween project, I couldn't wait to try it.  All you need: clean glass jars, tissue paper, black paper, Mod Podge, and a sponge brush. After emptying out a few jars in our fridge and telling the Mr. he now had two bowls of pickles to eat, I cleaned and dried them completely. 

Next, I cut up pieces of tissue paper into strips. For two of the jars, I used strips long enough to go around the circumference of the jars.  I started at the bottom, applied a thin layer of Mod Podge, and smoothed on one strip of tissue paper. Then I added another layer of Mod Podge where I wanted to put the next piece of tissue paper and smoothed it on.  Overlapping them is key because once the candles are inside it's more see-through than you might expect.  Continue adding tissue paper until the whole jar is covered being sure to put some paper on the inside rim of the jar.  If you touch the paper while it is too wet you might leave little finger size holes in it so if it gets hard to hold the glass part, wait a few minutes before continuing.

For the other two jars, I cut strips a little longer than the height of the jars and applied the strips vertically.  This is perfect for making it look like a pumpkin! 

Once the jars are completely covered with tissue paper, coat the entire thing with another thin layer of Mod Podge. 

Next, you'll want to cut your design out of black paper.  To do the more complicated ones, I googled  pumpkin carving patterns for the designs I wanted and put a white piece of computer paper on the screen and traced it (gently!) with a highlighter.  I overlayed this on the black paper and cut it out. 

To apply it to the jar, add small amounts of the glue, apply the cutouts and cover with a final layer of glue.

Put a tealight inside when the jars have dried for a cool, homemade decoration!

{I don't know how to use a lighter so these aren't lit}

Weekend at Bubba's... Part 2

Saturday we all woke up early and put on bathing suits despite temperatures in the upper 30s!

self timed. oh yeah.

We hopped in the car and drove through some crazy mountain roads to our white water rafting destination.  I'd only rafted once in Canada a few years ago and T had never been.  It was quite the experience!  Our guide was awesome and had our boat doing some ridiculous maneuvers.  We surprisingly only had one "man overboard" but it felt like we were in danger of all falling in many times!  It was great fun though and we experienced some incredible views when we had the chance to look around.  I can't wait to go again!

it was SO cold!

"you must be from Florida, you're wearing shorts"

Action shots "borrowed" from the website.  Notice how Mike manages to pose for each one the same way!  Maybe he's hoping they'll put him in their ads. 

After the vigorous white water rafting we were ready  for some food!  Luckily, Alex and T had the best place ever for a hungry crowd picked out.  We arrived at the Dillard House and were quickly seated by a window overlooking the gorgeous mountains.  As we were curiously looking around for menus, our hosts informed us that there are no menus... what??  Then, the food started arriving... and it just kept coming...

It was sooooo good.  And unlimited.  Yumm.

today's menu: you get it all

grub.

anyone know what kind of flower this is? so pretty!

When we got back home, we played with the furkids for a bit.  They are adorable.  It didn't help my intense desire for a dog...

Puddles.

Charlie- he's such a teddy bear!

They call them Chuddles because they can't stand to be apart.

We finished up the day on a sad note by watching the gators lose. at home. on homecoming. to mississippi state.  ugh.

I did a lot of this.

and a little of this.

One day left!

New do!

6 inches gone! ah!

Weekend at Bubba's... Part 1

haha... okay, not really.  T and I joked several times over the weekend about our men's "redneck" hobbies.  We laughed about it quite a bit so I thought the title was only fitting.

Truthfully though, it was an awesome weekend filled with tons of fun!  Friday morning the boys headed  out to a shooting range to enjoy some "fun" with their "toys" while I skipped out on the ear plugs and stayed home to get some homework done.  Don't say I didn't warn you...

Hillbilly husband

Backwoods brother

hawt.

After they made it back in one piece, we took a quick drive to Tallulah Gorge State Park where we hiked a 2-mile, 1,000 foot trail from the top to the bottom (and back to the top!) of the gorge.  It was so gorgeous and a pretty good workout.

scary suspension bridge- it moved A LOT

soooo many stairs

Post hike, we stopped by a famous north Georgia landmark- Goats on the Roof!  We'd been hearing Alex talk about this place since he moved there a few months ago but really didn't understand it till we pulled in.  Pretty hysterical!

goat. on the roof.

riding the bike to bring the food to the roof.  12 years old and under 100 pounds... not quite.  But the goat didn't seem to mind.

bear. on my head.

Later that night, T made it home from work and we all went to a restaurant in downtown Clarkesville called The Copper Pot.  It was a really cute place and everyone's food was delicious.

 

After dinner, we headed home for a few rounds of Wii Tetris and Mario Kart before heading to bed early to get ready for Saturday's adventures.  Stay tuned...