Favorite Halloween memories...

Halloween has always been a favorite time of year for us...

  ... so needless to say, there's been a lot of tweaking going on around the yard
so we'll be ready when all the little trick-or-treaters come calling!

It seems like just yesterday that we were taking our own girls trick-or-treating, but in reality

it's been many, many years as they're now in their twenties!

(I'm still not sure where those years went!)

Part of the Halloween fun was making the girls' costumes each year.

Back in the early 90's they were little Dutch girls. The costumes were pretty easy to make;
little calico skirts with elastic waistbands, cafe curtain aprons (which I then then stenciled with windmills), cardigans and tights that they already had. The tricky part was the little Dutch girl hats, but with the help of some florist wire I was able to get the side flaps to bend upwards!

Another year they were little Indian maidens after their dad brought these headdresses back
from a trip to Colorado. Again, very simple homemade "over the head" faux suede dresses
(i.e. no zippers or buttons for this bumbling seamstress).

These were the easiest costumes ever! Black pants that they already had, some of my old blouses, scarves, and necklaces from the 80's, an inexpensive eye patch and voila - instant pirates!



A footed sleeper, headband ears, and heart on her nose
transformed Amanda into a Care Bear one year...

...while a homemade cape, crazy socks, painted whiskers and cat ears

transformed Court into the snazziest Halloween cat ever.

Most of the yard decorations that I put out a couple of weeks ago are the same ones we've had since the girls were little, like the pumpkin windsock in the first photo and this ghost windsock. Both have seen better days, but I still hang them year after year.

I still have the blue & yellow "black cat" flag the girls are standing next to in their pirate costume photo, but I've been hanging this one for many years now.

This pumpkin scarecrow came along when the girls were a little older. He gets 

tied to the maple tree so he can greet all the trick-or-treaters coming up the walkway.

The whiskey barrel in the front yard always gets a 'bouquet' of
faux fall leaves at this time of year...

...as do the flower pots on the front stoop.

Another scarecrow stands guard at the back gate.
The ivy growing up the fireplace is brilliant orange right now.

Mr. Hairy Tarantula hopes that you and yours have a very fun and safe Halloween!!
And you moms & dads who have little ones - enjoy these years because, trust me,
they fly by all too quickly!

Thank you PicMonkey for helping me alter these regular photos into

spook-tacular Halloween photos!!

I'm joining Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for Favorite Thing Saturday
and Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday.

Be sure to pop over and share one of your favorite things/people/pets/holidays/recipes, or things you've been tweaking around your home or yard!

Happy Halloween, everyone!!!!

Donna

P.S. To all my east coast friends who have mentioned Sandy in their comments, I hear you! If we have electricity, I plan to share a "one year anniversary" post with some photos of our yard after last year's freak snowstorm. We lost so many trees and branches. I'm definitely not looking forward to a repeat performance exactly one year later!