This is Halloween...

Well, almost. Here at the Pony household I am ramping it up in preparation for my favorite holiday. A big plus is that my best friend is coming to visit me- guess what her favorite holiday is:)? So tricks will ensue (though not the kind that get you put in jail). I think we'll start with a round of these.

*photo by Hungry Cravings

Then we'll move on to these.

*from Martha Stewart

We'll probably get all liquored up with these.

*photo from Sofakingdrunk.com

We'll throw on our holiday appropriate t-shirts.

*photo from Woot Shirts

And we'll carve our grinning front-door guardians.

*photo from boxercab's flickr photostream

Not that I'm excited or anything;).


When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

The Joys of Fall

Flaming colors in every tree.

Crunchy leaves underfoot.

Warm apple cider and sugary donuts.

Crisp morning air and frisky pony gallops.

Scowling jack-o-lanterns with flickering eyes.

Tall boots and cozy tights.

Firepits or bonfires with copious amounts of s'mores.

Haunted hayrack rides and nervously giggling nights.

Skittering leaves following me in the wind.

Ghostly visions and wicked hi-jinks.

Fair Isle sweaters and fleece blankets.

Rake leaves, jump in the pile. Repeat. Giggle.

Long evenings in with lamplight and good books.

Fuzzy slippers and woolen mittens.

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. - Carol Bishop Hipps

*photo by me- taken at Blarney Castle

New fave

I'm not trendy. Just isn't my thing. That makes shopping for clothes at the local mall somewhat depressing- most of the stores cater to trend whore teen-to-twenties who follow all the fashions and who don't bat an eye at throwing away 1/2 of last year's clothing because it's so last year. *blink* Nope, can't do it. So I'm constantly looking for pieces of clothing that I can adore for multiple seasons. It can be frustrating, this search for actual wearable clothing, and it can be frustrating. And then I received a catalog from Garnet Hill. I'm now in love! Not only do they have wonderful clothing, but they've got great stuff for the home as well. I <3 them!

Here are a few of my favorite things. Crap- now that song will be stuck in my head all day.







Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. ~Epictetus

*all photos from Garnet Hill

Blog Action Day 2009

We've only got one Earth, and it seems like every year some horrible new thing crops up (or old thing disappears). This year, Blog Action Day is devoted to raising awareness about Global Climate Change. We've all heard about this issue, and like many of you, I used to think 'But I'm one person, what can changing my habits matter?'. But thinking like that doesn't take into account that the average American produces 1460 pounds of garbage and 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. A few small adjustments to your lifestyle can drastically decrease those numbers, and if even 100 people did that, think of how much we could improve the environment.

Mr. Pony and I are trying to take a few steps towards being more 'green', like biking to work/school, decreasing use of paper household goods and participating in our city's recycling program, and even those small steps can make a big difference. What steps have you taken to reduce your carbon footprint? I love ideas- we're always looking for more ways to help the planet out!

Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison

Domestication?

I don't really cook {Mr. Pony does}. I'm not much of a cleaner {Mr. Pony hates it}. I'm exceedingly clumsy {always good for a laugh}. I often start things without reading all the directions {fantastic way to create chaos}.

But in my on wayward manner, I've decided to pick up at least one 'domestic' ability that may end up in a mass of knotted thread and twisted fabric. You see, I've purchased one of these babies.Why, you ask? Well, it all started with napkins. Someone in this family is a messy eater and that individual {me} shall remain {me} unnamed {me}. To combat the innate messiness of this person, we spend some $$ each year on paper napkins, and we've recently decided that it seems silly to keep using and throwing away countless bits of paper when we could simply wash and reuse fabric napkins. Good for the planet, good for our wallets.

Or so we thought. I found some pretty napkins at Kohl's and started to grab handfuls of them (we wanted 14- 2 for each day of the week). But then I noticed the price. After the ever present Kohl's discount, they were still a whopping $2.50 each. $40 on squares of cloth? Methinks no. But a yard of fabric and some thread for less than $10? Methinks yes!

This led to me wanting to make a table runner, a skirt (to replace one I bought 4 years ago in Barcelona and can not find the equal of in the U.S.), various stuffed creatures and some pillows.

So I perused craigslist and came up with a barely used sewing machine (a Brother LS 2125, if you are interested or know what that means {I certainly don't}). Now I just need to learn how to use the darn thing. Hopefully I'll figure it out and begin showering my home with adorable gifts.

Inpiration {largely provided by Etsy}- Go!

yystudio

montessoribyhand

maidenlove

lollyland

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path. ~Mason Cooley

Spook-tacular Halloween Tree

The internet is a great place for inspiration {obsession}, and last month I decided I HAD to have a Halloween tree for this year's holiday decor. Inspired by the DIY Show-Off's version {here} and Martha Stewart's version {here}, I made my own version of the Halloween tree. The most difficult part? Finding a stupid branch that would actually work for the project!


Ok, once the branch was procured from a nearby park, I got some glossy black spray paint and away we went. While the branch dried, I assembled the other items I needed- a vessel to hold the branch, some floral foam, felt (to cover the foam) and decorations. Hobby Lobby had lots of great decorations on sale right now, so the whole project cost less than $10!


I cut the floral foam to fit into my black cat container and wedged it in tightly to help balance the branch out, and then I cut a piece of orange felt to cover the felt (with an 'X' in the middle to push the branch through). Once it was in place, I made sure to tuck the edges of the felt in well and the base was finished.


My decorations were pretty simple- a string of screaming skulls, some black & orange globe ornaments and some bat, skeleton and black cat felt shapes. Oh yes, and a black crow, but who could do a Halloween tree without one?


I used a clear filament string to hang them from the branches.


That was Pepsi's favorite part- she was dreadfully (emphasis on dreadful) helpful at this point. stringstringstringstringSTRING!!!!!! This may have resulted in some tangles, but I can neither confirm nor deny such an occurrence.


It was fairly simple, and other than having to wait for the rain to stop long enough to spray paint (and battling my feline assistant), the entire project really only took me about 30 minutes. This is a great project for kids, or for kids at heart, and Mr. Pony laughed with {at?} me because I was so pleased with the results! I hope you enjoy!


For other awesome DIY fall decor, stop over at the DIY Show-Off!



'Tis the night - the night Of the grave's delight, And the warlocks are at their play; Ye think that without The wild winds shout, But no, it is they - it is they. ~Arthur Cleveland Coxe

*all photos by me:)

Simply Monday

Mr. Pony and I had an impromptu dessert of gummy worms and Sour Patch Kids. Yum!

Pepsi adored the rain... as long as it stayed outside {water... it burnssss uss....}


We geeked out and watched a few episodes of SG Atlantis online. Its a fantastic show (as was the first Star Gate series)- you should check them out!

And I spent the evening doing absolutely nothing useful- one of the best feelings in the world!

Simple things
We take pleasure in the simple things
We take pride in little victories
And we wear our simple crowns
- Amy Kuney from Simple Things

*kitty pic by me

Celebrate!

Its Friday!!!

Centsational Girl is having an awesome giveaway!

There are only 29 days until Halloween!

This is a one-stop shop to find some awesome blogs (crafty, non-crafty, random and fun)!

Hollywood has been making some interesting films again! My top picks to go to {eventually}: Zombieland, 9 and Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.

Blue Bell Coffee Ice Cream with chocolate ganache on top tastes likes a dreamy mocha!

Its officially slipper weather!

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. - Oprah Winfrey