21 Ways to Decorate Real Halloween Pumpkins

Husband suggested I bump up my Halloween décor for Lacey since it is her first Halloween with us.

ALL of these are for me to eat?!

That’s right. He said for Lacey.

It’s not like the guy likes Halloween or pumpkins or manipulating me into doing something he wants for Lacey (and I certainly do not do this on him because it works 100% of the time on both of us.)

I usually keep the pumpkins plain because I bake, puree, and freeze our pumpkins after Halloween. Cute but not as festive.

How to Make Outdoor Flying Bat Halloween Decorations #HalloweenMP

Husband and I are decorating the house for Lacey’s first Halloween.

I asked Lacey what type of  Halloween decorations she wante on the front porch she asked for a swarm of 3D flying bats she can chase. Typical spaniel. Lacey loves to “hunt” anything that flies.





I knew how I wanted Lacey's bats to look but I wasn't sure what materials I could make them from. I can shape paper but it won't hold up outdoors in damp weather (is was drizzling when I took the outdoor photos for this post.)

Hm…think, think, thinkidy, think.

How to Fake Crown Molding with Paint

This post brought to you by FrogTape brand painter’s tape. All opinions are 100% mine.

I knew I picked the right wall color in my guest room/craft room the minute I moved my antique black and white table into the room. It it popped against the yellow wall. I am smitten with color scheme!

However, I'm not smitten with the closet.

I never liked the doors or oak stain on the molding at the top. I know I'm supposed to like wood molding but the oak stain makes it look cheap. I tried to hide the molding by painting it the same color as the wall. It is not as awful but it still use a little something while I'm thinking about what to do with the closet doors.

One Eco Dress, Three Looks, and a $75 Giveaway!

Happy news! I met my weight loss goal! I am now back into what is considered the healthy range of my Body Mass Index (BMI.) I realize BMI measurements and numbers aren’t a perfect indication of health because there are other factors in play such as muscle mass that can skew BMI numbers to the overweight range of a perfectly healthy and fit person.

I’m using BMI as a healthier target range for my height instead of  picking an arbitrary weight or saying that I want be a size 2 like I was in high school. Not realistic and probably unhealthy skinny for my only slightly older than high school body. (I may not lie about my weight but age is fair game!)

Eating a whole foods, no trans fat, no hydrogenated oil, no processed food from a box diet to lose the weight wasn’t difficult. In fact, I’m following the same no bad stuff diet that made me gain the extra 25 pounds I had to lose. I’m proof that if you eat too much of anything, even very good for you things, and get little to no exercise you will gain weight.

Thanks to my trainer and high energy exercise buddy Lacey, I lost the last of those 25 extra pounds. I feel better (especially now that my waist is no longer larger than Husband’s.) I also have a new problem. My clothes don’t fit! I need new duds.

How to Make Halloween Zombie Skull Bath Bombs

Fall brings corn mazes, jumping in leaf piles, hay rides, and other good dirty fall fun.

Why not extend it into bath time and give your little monsters an incentive to scrub a dub dub in the tub with a Halloween bath bomb?

Don't worry, your tub won't really explode after you plunk them in water. We are making Halloween bath fizzies!

How to Make Exploding Skull Bath Bombs for Halloween

Tank Girl and Captain Hammer Costumes

My inner costumer came out to play last year when Husband and I went to a comic convention. I took a ton of pictures of the cosplayers (the people who dress up in comic book character costumes) while Husband met and talked to some of the comic book artists he collected as a kid.

I'll admit it. I'm a costume geek. I have a Pinterest costume board to prove it. Give me a follow, won't you?

This year, Husband wanted to go to the Ohio Comic Con because his childhood hero, Stan Lee, was going to be there. For those of you who did not spend all of your paper route money on comic books, Stan Lee created Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and most of The Avengers. I had to learn this to stay married.

Since Husband took the opportunity to do something he's wanted to do since we was a kid, I took the opportunity to do something I wanted to do too. I gingerly dipped my toe into the cosplay water.

I pulled last year's Halloween costume out and went as Tank Girl!

Apparently good poses are part of the cosplay gig.