Are You Ready for Halloween?

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Wade's preschool class has apparently been discussing the number of days left until Halloween, so I've had my four year old's persistent reminders to keep me on my toes :)  However, seeing as how we have been in this temporary place for the past two months (!), we haven't done much at all in the way of festive decorating.  It's really a bummer too, because I love to see how excited my kids get by even the simplest decorations.  

Here are a few Halloween ideas to maybe spark a last-minute plan or simply to get you in the spirit of the day :)

I recently made this pumpkin soup, and it was really easy and tasty!  I used coconut milk to keep it dairy free, but I'm sure it'd be great with some good 'ol whipping cream!  

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I'm a sucker for most things involving candy corn.

again with the candy corn, this time involving popcorn!

I spotted these at a local coffee shop and thought the witch's fingers were too perfect!

Our new Halloween treat bags came in just in time!  I'm obsessed with them.  They are personalized on the other side, and they were a steal!  I know these two are very excited to fill them with candy!

Our House: Let the Fun Begin!

The past week has been a whirlwind, but I am SO pleased to report that we did in fact close on our house last Friday!  It was down to the wire, and we were so relieved everything came together and we got the keys!

Since then, quite a bit has happened.  Our contractor arrived bright and early (bless him) Saturday morning and got to work pulling out the carpets.  When Holland and I left the house at 8:20 am, it looked like this:

An hour later, we returned and we had this:

You can see the edges of the boxes of flooring which will go down soon!!

The guys working also got the fireplace removed.

We decided to have it removed for a couple reasons.  First, a {hot} wood stove like this poses a major safety concern for us and our life with small children.  I am not interested in fencing off the area with some sort of plastic baby gate.  Second, there are burn restrictions in Davis (for environmental reasons, I would assume) where I'm told, there are literally like, five days out of the year when you can use your stove.  Some people convert their wood stoves to gas stoves.  We aren't interested in doing this because we don't love the look of this type of stove in the first place.  

The kitchen has also been gutted!

Here was our thought process on that:  We are all about working with what you have.  Especially when what you have are solid wood cabinets.  With some paint and some new hardware, they could have definitely worked for us.  Problem is, we really felt the kitchen would serve us best if we reconfigured the location of the appliances (allowing for more countertop space) and utilized the wall opposite the window for additional cabinetry (where the boxes of new flooring are currently sitting).  By the time we did all of that, we would have chopped up the original cabinets so much it hardly seemed worth saving them.  Not to mention the fact that the new cabinets wouldn't match the old ones...

The last change to report on so far was the fastest to implement and probably my favorite so far!

BEFORE

AFTER {no more awning!}

I'm also quite proud to tell you that I was so anxious to get this baby down, I got the wrench all set, scooched a bench over in lieu of a ladder, and unscrewed this bad boy all by my pregnant self!  Philip ripped it off, and thanks to the adhesive that pulled some of the paint off the house, I now have the perfect justification for painting the exterior :)

Woohoo for progress!!

Our New House in Davis!

This is looking to be a big week!  The long-awaited closing day for our house is set for this coming Friday, and I could not be more excited.  It was actually supposed to happen last Thursday, so to say I am chomping at the bit may be a slight understatement.

I'm excited to share some pictures of our new place with you all!  We definitely have our work cut out for us (including a good bit of work before we even move in--more on that later), but we are really looking forward to making this place our own.

So, without further adieu, here are some pictures of our California home!

How fun is the palm tree in the back?!

The previous owner did a beautiful job with much of the landscaping.  

view from the living room, looking back at the front door.

living room

another view of living room, from standing near front door

looking from living room, past kitchen, to what will become our dining room.

kitchen

kitchen, looking to living room

Future dining room, sunroom is through the doors on the left

Sunroom

backyard

backyard

Tiny Bedroom #1

Hall Bath

Tiny Bedroom #2

Tiny Bedroom #3 (aka the Master)

Master Bath

Finally, here is a big part of what sold us on the house--we are two houses down from this:

I'll be back to share lots more--starting with our plans for some of the work on the house, which we hope to start this coming weekend!!

Banff!

A couple weeks ago, Philip and I were privileged to be able to join my family on a business trip with my dad's company, New York Life, to Banff, Canada.  It is an absolutely gorgeous place; we only wish we'd had more time to explore all the area had to offer.  And as you can probably gather from my pictures, it was cold!  Really cold!  Apparently, the high tourist season is July/August, and I can imagine why.  There's hiking, climbing, backpacking, and water sports to be enjoyed--how much more desirable when it's not 30 degrees :)  Though don't get me wrong--the chilly Fall area was really lovely too.  With the exception of the second night there when I started having regular contractions and ended up in a hospital an hour away, we had a wonderful time.  (It was as scary as it sounds, but don't worry--all is well and baby is staying put!)  We stayed at the amazing Fairmont Banff Springs Resort, and trust me when I say it did not disappoint!

Of course, I also had to take note of the pretty details in the hotel...

How gorgeous was our bathroom?  I thought the pairing of the marble, the dark soapstone (I think?) counters, and the warm wood console (love the open shelving) made for a great combination.

Grasscloth walls brought in yet another texture to the space.

And who can argue with black and white basketweave floors in the elevator?  Not me.

Of course, this wonderful getaway could not have been possible without the generosity of Philip's mom who flew all the way from VA to CA to stay with Wade and Holland, after just having returned from a trip to China (!!) a mere five days earlier.  We are very much indebted to her!!