A (Costumed) Trip Down Memory Lane...

Since it's almost Halloween, I thought I'd share some of the costumes my girls once wore (they're now 19 and 22, but looking at these photos makes it seem like yesterday!)... I know many of you still have little ones, and some of these costume ideas are pretty inexpensive to put together!


(pirates - circa 1993)

I think these two pirates are way cuter than Captain Jack Sparrow, and talk about inexpensive costumes! And all I had to buy were the two eye patches. (The girls already had the black pants and we were able to raid everything else from the days when I worked out side the home … okay, stop laughing… yes, I did actually wear both of those blouses - and the scarves - and the necklaces… okay, you can laugh, I sure am!!)


(witch & cat – circa 1992)

That year, Amanda was a witch (in a very makeshift Halloween dress I made), and Court was her little black cat… The school they went to used to have the cutest Halloween parade, which is where this was taken…


(my little black cats – circa 1988 and 1992)

Amanda, the shy kitty, first had the ears & tail in ’88; then they were passed on to Court, the wild kitty, who used them in ‘92, adding a Halloween cape and some crazy Halloween socks!

(Indian maidens – circa 1991)

The idea for this costume came about when their dad returned from a trip to Colorado with headdresses for the girls… I got some cheap “faux suede” material at Wal Mart and made the simplest of dresses for them. We made "craft kit" bead necklaces and finished up the costumes with belts and moccasins (they both love moccasins to this day – maybe it started back then?)

(Nana & Grampa with girls - circa 1991)

Now here’s where I’m really going to come clean (or should I say dirty? Just look at that kitchen in the background!)… Mom & Dad had just returned from visiting relatives in Florida and they got the girls tom-toms for their costumes... Clearly this photo was never intended for a blog (did blogs even exist back then?) with that mess on the counters (that's what the kitchen looked like years before I took white paint to it!)... Mess or no mess, I love this photo of the girls with mom and dad…

I have one more set of costumes to share, but I’ll do that in another post as I’ve already rambled on too long...

Wishing you and yours the happiest of October memories...

Donna

Books that go bump in the night...

Not literally, of course, but I do love the girls' old spooky and/or Halloween books!

So I pulled them out of the bookcase today, browsed through them, and reminisced a bit...


Some of them were bought through the school (I think I used to get more excited about the Scholastic or Troll order forms coming home than the girls did!)...


Or sometimes we'd find a favorite at the library and then purchase a copy for ourselves. (Exception: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with the incredible Will Moses illustrations was a more recent purchase - for me!)


These all bring back such great memories of reading to the girls, either curled up on the couch or hunkered down under the covers in bed...


And then they grew up and had sleepovers and read stories to each other and their friends from books like these!! Whoooooooo!!!! Anyhow, since it is Halloween month, and since I do love children's books, I thought I'd share some of our favorites with you... I hope you all have a frightfully fun time reading some of your own favorites!

Donna

Vintage Robin's Egg Blue...

This is by far my favorite vintage tablecloth...

It has the softest robin's egg blue background...

...and the most luscious peachy-pink roses...

If you're like me and can't get enough of beautiful blue, be sure to stop by Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday blogposts!!

Donna

October means Halloween...

...and to me, that means:

And now that you've seen what Halloween means to me, click here to see what it means to all the other Halloween Party bloggers! Wishing you all a spook-tacular HALLOWEEN!!!

Donna

Picture Perfect Halloween Decor!

I begged my good friend, Jill, to please send me photos of her home all decorated for Halloween...

Now that I'm somewhat of a minimalist with my inside decorating, I can drool over all of her beautiful Halloween decorations! Her home is so cheerful and colorful that I really wanted to share it with you!

I've been trying to talk her into starting her own blog because she has such a gift for decorating...

...and she's so creative with the way she displays everything...

Jill lives in a beautiful old farmhouse that she and her husband have lovingly restored over the years...

Awwww - look at that guard dog on duty!! Isn't she just too cute??? (Jill, if you had a blog, you could put lots of pictures of Abbey on it!)

Did I mention that Jill loves The Wizard of Oz? Big time!

She's also a huge animal lover like so many of us ... (And here's someone else who would like to appear on your blog, Jill, if only you had one!!! hint -hint)

So thank you for taking the time to send all of these photos for me to post on my blog...

They're all fantastic! I sure wish we lived closer to each other so I could come by in person!

Donna

Which witch is which?

You may remember meeting "Witchy Woman" last week...



I'd like you to meet her cousin, "Worldly Woman"...


My daughter decided Witchy Woman would be perfect for a “store display” project for one of her classes. Luckily she found her own mannequin head, but begged and pleaded to borrow Witchy’s scarf and brooch. She then set to work making her a fashionable woman of the world! (I'd give her an A+!)


And not to worry… Witchy Woman found another scarf & brooch, and she’s as happy as ever overseeing meals in the dining room…

Anyhow, all of this cousin stuff brought to mind the old Patty Duke show… Some of you might not even remember this show, but for those of you who do (and who would like to relive a few minutes of innocence), here’s the You Tube video of The Patty Duke Show theme song:


(click photo to watch theme song)

Lyrics to The Patty Duke Show Theme Song

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,

From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sights

A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --

What a crazy pair!

But they're cousins,

Identical cousins all the way.

One pair of matching bookends,

Different as night and day.

Where Cathy adores a minuet,

The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,

Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A hot dog makes her lose control --

What a wild duet!

Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find,

hey laugh alike, they walk alike,

At times they even talk alike --

ou can lose your mind,

When cousins are two of a kind.

Donna

Autumn in New England...

Welcome to our yard....

Although I've cut back on decorating inside the house for the autumn...


I still enjoy decorating the yard.


I couldn't resist this sweet pumpkin scarecrow from Target several years ago...


A little bit of fall color tucked into the wreath on the garden gate...


Another great Target find, my bunnies...


... who like to welcome everyone from their spot on the front stoop...


This guy has been around since my girls were little ones, so that's a long, long time!!


And I just can't resist a black cat, so when I was looking for a Halloween flag, it didn't take me long to decide on this one!

I took pictures of some of these same decorations the other night... in the dark... under an (almost) full moon...Spoooooky! I'll show those in a future post!

Happy autumn from New England!!

Donna

Vintage Mary Garden Statue

(click on any photos to enlarge)
This is the first time I've participated in Blue Monday...


...and it didn't take me long to decide what to share.


I think this is just about the most beautiful vintage Mary garden statue I've ever seen. The details are amazing, especially if you enlarge the photos...


I was so fortunate to find her at an antique mall this past spring during a 50% off sale. I first posted about her here, back in May.


She currently resides under our cherry tree, watching over our backyard garden and all the little birds and furry creatures who visit us.


I recently fashioned an "autumn leaves" wreath for her head and, as you can see, the sun was creating the most luminous glow when I photographed her.

Be sure to stop by Sally's blog, Smiling Sally, to find a list of all the other Blue Monday postings!

Donna

Shades of pink....

Lampshades of pink that is!


I bought this cute scalloped lampshade at TJ Maxx several years ago for our living room floor lamp... A bit of pink in the living room is a must, right?


This smaller lampshade coordinated with one above and I loved the prism fringe, so it came home with me that same day. It adds a nice touch of pink to the family room.


This little lamp has been around for years! I bought it for Court's nursery (she's now in college!) She eventually outgrew it, so I'm now using it in my office (which is her old nursery... It even sits in the very same spot, next to the window... Just goes to show that sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same!!)


And last, but not least, this pair of "vintage junktique" lamps came with these beautiful pink pleated lampshades. They sit on either side of my office bookcase (there's lots of pink here in the office!).

Now if you want to feast your eyes on pink, pink, and more pink, be sure to stop by Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound, to see her Pink Saturday item as well as a list of all the other participating blogs!

Donna

The colors of autumn...

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." (George Eliot)

I love this original painting that my sister did back in '94. The colors are so bright and cheerful - it truly depicts an autumn day in New England... When I told my sister how much I loved it, she insisted that I keep it for myself! (I have a very kind and generous sister!!)

I think it looks great propped up up on the pie safe! (Anyone who lives in a split level/split entry knows about the lack of wall space to hang things!!) Thank you, AP!!!

Donna