Just do it #19: Win a costume contest!

Well, win a small costume contest of about 30 people.

But still... it counts! Right?

Can you guess what Dan and I dressed as for Halloween?

You would have had to seen a certain movie involving an old man and his floating house that is guaranteed to make you cry during the montage about marriage, that is, provided you are not dead inside. Kidding. But seriously, when Dan and I saw Up in the theater that scene got both of us a little sentimental.

Anyway, when my sister Bethany invited us to her Halloween party and told us that everyone would vote for their favorite costume, it tapped into Dan and my competitive sides. We were in it to win it.

After much brainstorming, we decided to pay homage to Up. Dan dressed as Mr. Frederickson by buying the big glasses and a bow tie, sprayed his hair white, and wore his grandfather's tweed jacket (complete the grape soda pin on the lapel.) We ordered the cane for $12 online, which we're going to donate to a nursing home later, and added the tennis balls. My costume only cost $12 for the helium balloons, as I simply used my glue gun, construction paper from home, and two old boxes to create my house.

Confession: I spent way too long on that damn house and burned two of my fingers on my glue gun, but this nerdy, arts and craft project was kind of fun. And, of course, I loved showing the final product.
Of course, no one can out-Halloween my sister, who looked freakin' perfect as the Black Swan:


Somber ballerina close-up:


You can't really tell from this picture, but she had the movie Black Swan playing in the background as guests arrived, and I just had to snap a side by side:

There was too much cuteness at the party to recap, from pumpkin beer, spooky punches, and jello shots, to themed foods, to flip cup and a costume contest. She did a great job!



My mom and dad dressed up for the first time as a couple and stopped by for a little Halloween fun. Aren't they cute as a bee and beekeeper?





Getting scary:

Bethy received the most votes for best costume, and we were pumped to take home a "best couple costume" ribbon, especially considering some of the cute competitors, like Stay Puff and a ghostbuster, look-alikes from Sons of Anarchy, and...
Sue Sylvester and Puck from Glee:


Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter


and the-taking-one-for-the-team award that should have gone to this guy, whose wife convinced him to don matching adult leopard print onesies. Notice how he's drinking heavily to bear the shame:

You might this this costume was my idea, but it wasn't. Dan was all about it. He likes to win at everything, costume contests included. In fact, after he won, he fist pumped and made the most random comment to me...

"You know, Christen, I thought our best costume days were behind us. But we're like the Beatles! You know...when everyone thought they were fading out, they suddenly make Abbey Road and the album is a huge hit!"

Uhh... sure, babe. That's an accurate comparison.

Halloween Decor

I love a good Halloween mantlescape, so thought I would quickly share what I have going on this year. :)

Here was last year's mantle with framed printed photos from The Birds movie and a DIY chalkboard pumpkin:

I like to switch it up, so this year I spent about fifteen bucks on a few new details to deck out the mantle. Then, I created a bit of an Arachnophobia moment by cutting plastic spiders off those cheap Halloween rings they sell at Target.

I bought some black plumes from Hobby Lobby and stuffed an apothecary jar full of Spanish moss (loved that during our trip to Savannah). Then, I put out stuff I already had like the magnifying glass, white ceramic branch, and candles. I guess Dan is right... I do buy way too much random decorative stuff throughout the year, but at least I'm using it this season. :)


Here is a close up of the spiders crawling up the wall:











I am loving this apothecary jar, which I bought in September. I stuffed one of the rings under the cover to look like it is trying to break in to meet his friends. The jar is also filled with black stones and more plastic spiders, althought it's hard to see in the picture.



You'll have to trust me that the below rather blurry, dark picture looked sooo much better in person with the candles all glowing. You can also see the mice silhouettes on the stairs which I break out every year.

In the other room, I set up my Halloween tree again and hung the treat boxes to keep with the spider theme:

This bottle of wine is from last year, but I thought it fit in with the colors:

I still used the ravens and had them peck on my new picture display (later blog post coming on those photos!)

Lastly, I wrote a spooky quote on my chalkboard door in the kitchen (sorry for the blurry picture quality):




I had to bring a little Halloween flair into the kitchen since I'm trying some new pumpkin recipes this week which I'll be bringing to my sister's Halloween party. I promise to post if they come out good. :)

Encyclopedia La Vida Lista: Volume F

I'm back with the rest of my fall vacay. There's not much to see here, so I thought I'd break it down by sharing pictures brought to by the letter "F":

Dan and I went to the oh-so-charming town of Leesburg on our way home from the mountains. We saw...

Fun signs:





Ate fall food (like this pumpkin cupcake):


snapped pictures in front of this shop run by Redskin's tight-end Chris Cooley. He actually owns this pottery shop, and Dan is such a fan, he wore his favorite shirt:



And wonder of all wonders, the football player himself showed up! I guess Chris (we're on a first name basis now- ha ha) shows up to occasionally see how the store is doing and sign autographs. Dan could not have been more elated!

In the words of Dan, "Efffff yeahhhhhh!!!!"

Fall Vacay: Part One

It may be surprising to some people that these two teachers' favorite season is fall, but it is. Summer may mean time off and beach trips and sleeping in until noon and general debauchery, but there is something about pumpkin desserts, and that cold snap, and Halloween, and football (that's Dan only) that we can't get enough of.

For Christmas last year, Dan's sister Emily gave us a gift certificate to go to Big Meadows, a huge lodge with individual cabins in Appalacian Mountains. Thought I'd share some pictures from our overnight trip. What up, fall??

We snapped this on the drive up:

During our drive up, we stopped at this adorable place called The Apple House and indulged in cider, barbeque, and apple and pumpkin doughnuts. And samples of apple cake, too. And then may have licked the extra icing out of the bag.








Big Meadows was really rustic and pretty, with great views and those view finders that you can pay 25 cents to see landscapes better:


And this guy. Dan is looking elsewhere to make sure no one is watching him pose.

The view:


I guess blackberries grow wild up there because Big Meadows boasted four different blackberry desserts. Their cobbler was freakin' awesome.

Dan and I did two hikes, the first being a rather rocky trail to this gorgeous waterfall:

The other trail was four miles, but felt more like forty with the steep inclines and having to scamper up boulders. There was a lot of talk about "Why don't we go to the gym more??" Then, we stopped talking because we were gasping for air which made us tease each other mercilessly. Still, it was a pretty walk.

We were completely alone on this trail, except for these deer that we spotted:

I think this guy was as curious about us as we were about him because he walked right up to me. Sorry for the blurriness but I didn't want to use the flash for fear of scaring him away. He just blinked a couple times, casually munched on a few leaves, and then walked right in front of us down the path.

View from the top:

Another waterfall:

Last short walk to the summit:



Words can't even describe...

Be back with part 2 of our fall vacation soon! You know I can't get enough...