Carving Pumpkins & Decorating Goodies

Last weekend, we enjoyed some Halloween Festivities with friends and family! We had a pumpkin carving party in Mission Viejo just like old times. we even took a picture all together - JUST LIKE LAST TIME (hahaha.) we had to point and everything to be true to our previous picture. (if you look my scrapbooking page from my last post, then you can see the picture we were mimicking.)

The gange w/ our pumpkins

My ghostly pumpkin!!

Gabe's AWESOME wolves!! always a work of art when he does it....


all lit up! (chelsea's is the silly face, becky's is the wacky bat!)

cool angle w/ the reflections...

Sunday, we went to Linda's and decorated Halloween goodies (cookies and cupcakes). it was lots of fun and the end product was deliciousness!!

Kiera decorating

Finished goodies!

We will be carving more pumpkins tonight because our other pumpkins won't make it till saturday. plus, it's just so much fun!!

long time, no blog - enjoying fall's goodness!

it's been a while since a new post, but i realize that people aren't as demanding for me to post as they are for say, Janica, to post. i don't hold the key to Emily stories and pictures, so my blog updates aren't in as high demand as hers.

moving on.

you'll notice a new background on the blog. likey? I'm very much into this Fall (or Autumn, if you like) business. I've never given Fall too much credit. you'd think I'd get more excited for fall, considering it hosts my own birthday, but for some reason, I've never gotten excited for it or felt any special connection. The other three seasons have always had a something exciting about them... Christmas in Winter, flowers blooming in Spring, and beach fun in the Summer. I am now discovering that I heart fall in all it's cool breeze-y, Halloween-y, brown leaf-y goodness. to commemorate my new found appreciation for fall, I present this new blog background.

once again, moving on.

Our enjoyment of Fall started back with a visit from BLINK 182. The pictures from to concert did not turn out at all, but the concert was AMAZING. seriously, freakin' AWESOME, people. Taking Back Sunday was a total let down, but WEEZER and BLINK were incredible. The concert was great fun, but it was really hot that night. My only complaint for that night was the whole exiting-the-venue thing. it was as if Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (AKA Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre) had NEVER put on a concert before and had NO idea what to do with foot and car traffic at the end of the night.

BLINK is up there, I promise!! (their visual effects were awesome in addition to their music)


(no, it wasn't raining. and no, my hair wasn't wet when we got there. but I'm so sweaty in the above picture that i look like i just got out of the shower!)

That weekend also involved a nice visit with Elizabeth. I didn't get to visit with her much in June, what with that whole wedding thing. And we very much look forward to having her home for Thanksgiving... YAY!

Another new discovery of Fall-time-FUN is Disneyland! of course, disneyland is fun no matter what season we're in, but i've never noticed how ADORABLE their fall decorations were. they have Mickey jack-o-lanterns, candy-corn stalks, sooooo much cute stuff! Here's just a little for your enjoyment....

(the candy corns spell "Halloween Time")


(mickey jack-o-lantern)

oh yes, and other fantastic Disneyland News - they're bringing back the Lincoln thing! yes!

Last night, I had a scrapbook night. my hope had been to have girlfriends over to scrapbook together. unfortunately, my night did not work out well with other's schedules. Janica, Jasmine, Katie (and babies) came but couldn't scrapbook. Suzy came and she and I scrapbooked to our hearts delight. :)

I haven't done any scrapbooking for my own personal scrapbook since I moved out of my parent's house. catching up, i made a page for Pumpkin Carving 2006 and Labor Day 2007. below are the fruits of my labor.

I'm excited for next week's Pumpkin Carving and will report on that accordingly.

until then, brace yourselves for my Birthday Wishlist (you have less than a month, people!!)

end-o-summer

the tell tale signs...

#1 - the CRUNCH factor. The last time I was at Mike and Janica's, we played with Emily out front. The big tree had cast off many shriveled, dead leaves, causing every footstep to make a fun *CRUNCH!*

#2 - monday night FOOTBALL. We finally get to push aside baseball ("America's Passtime") for FOOTBALL (America's Obsession)!

#3 - the SUN(set). the SUN is already going down way earlier than it was in August. I first noticed this when we had our Labor Day Picnic. Having the SUN go down earlier brings another fall-time feeling... one which I'm not sure I can properly explain. See, the way the afternoon SUN looks in fall is very distinct to me. It shines differently. And the tone of the light always makes me think of Halloween. I keep thinking - "it looks very Halloween-y outside."

#4 - a glorious COOL BREEZE. now is the time we enjoy the COOL BREEZE, because it's a sweet reprieve from unholy heat. this BREEZE is delicious and refreshing. for a time, I will be safe from the dangers of overheating. that is, of course, until the dreaded Santa Ana's arrive...

#5 - the transformation of my HAIR. every year around this time, I get the itch to darken my HAIR. Low-lights usually quench my thirst for darker locks, but there is always a possibility I dye it brown. Never, EVER black though, that I can promise you.

occurring separately, these signs could point to something different. but all together they shout, "le fin d'ete." (end-o-summer)

labor day weekend and such...

Friday 9/4 - we started our Labor Day Weekend with a fun filled evening of babysitting Emily. We went over around 4 pm and it was still pretty hot, so we took her to the pool. it was so nice to cool off and she is just the cutest little water baby!! she was loving it - splashing and playing with her toys, she also liked for us to hold her as we went around the shallow end.



here is a picture after swim time:

What a cutie!!

Saturday 9/5 - typical saturday... cleaning and laundry. Saturday night, we went to Chili's (which was lovely) and we had some scratchers that they gave us. we won $5 off and a free dessert. we were hoping for the grand prize of $50k... After dinner we went shopping and i got 2 new pairs of shoes at DSW. I've never paid much attention to that store before, but now i'm kind of in love with it. they had a great selection, even in the clearance, and i was surprised at the variety of size 10 they had (because most stores pretty much only carry one style in that size and it's usually ugly!) I haven't purchased shoes in over a year (save only flip flops and wedding shoes) so it's kind of a big deal that i got TWO pairs and that they weren't purchased at Target or Payless. i got beautiful shoes - Kenneth Cole wedges for $20, Steve Madden pumps for $14 - total steal!!

Sunday 9/6 - we went to San Pedro to visit mama Linda (gabe's mom). She was in a car accident a couple weeks ago and it messed up her neck/back. She's doing better now and it was nice to visit her. we also went to Mission Viejo to see Judy and visit her 3-legged cat.

Monday 9/7 - We spend LAbor Day in LA! We went to the La Brea Tar Pits (aka the "The Tar" Tar Pits). It was so much fun! i vaguely remember going as a small child, but what i mostly remember is my family complaining about how lame it was. (in fact, upon hearing that gabe and i had visited the tar pits, my mother and my brother laughed and asked if it was lame!) Gabe and I did not find it lame. we enjoyed it. here are some pictures:

oh no! stuck in the tar!!

roar!!!

not all animals there are dead!

after the tar pits, we went to lunch at Roscoe's. mmmmm. Carol C. Special.

after lunch we drove around beverly hills/bel air, admiring the homes of the filthy rich and celebrity hunting. our hunt was unsuccessful.


when we came back to anaheim, we went grocery shopping and picked up some food for a nice picnic in the park. we watched the sunset and enjoyed the cool breeze. it was the perfect end to our labor day fun!

Tuesday 9/8 - after work, i went over to my parent's house to make cards for the RailPros birthdays and Baby Shower. below is the baby shower card i made...

they're having a boy...

Wednesday 9/9 - We had RailPros Angel's Night and gabe and i went to our first ball game this year! the last two years we went to much more baseball games, but with the wedding/honeymoon/moving/etc, we hadn't gone yet. we were glad RailPros gave us an excuse to go! wish we had been invited to RP Dodger Night though...

We had a great time and the Angels won.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!!

a few additions to the house...

here are some additions to the house...


#1 - the kitchen curtain:
it was quite the task finding a curtain that would go on this one little window! it's the only window in the house that doesn't have blinds...


#2 - New table + Chairs:

we bought this set from Target.com to replace the tiny round table. now we actually have room! plus it's pretty.


#3 - the Washer & Dryer:

aren't they BEAUTIFUL!! They're so shiny and new and they make our clothes look that way too! it is so AWESOME to not have to go to the laundromat or walk back and forth to the apartment complex's laundry room. Muchas Gracias, mom & dad!!


#4 - the Guest Room:

don't you want to come stay with us?? you're always welcome to!!

oh. Holy. HOT.

i'd like to talk about the fact that last weekend was insanely hot and humid. saturday, the air was so thick that i could taste it - and it did NOT taste good.

the past week has been so hot and now DRY. here's the thing though - it does not matter to me whether it's a dry heat or a moist heat. once you reach a certain temperature, it's just too damn hot.

i'm particularly sensitive to such intense heat - it makes it so i can barely function. Top 4 most miserable overheating experiences:

Elizabeth - you may recall a summer while i was in highschool and working at RailPros. we went to the Spectrum for lunch and then you wanted to walk around and window shop. i was FREAKING out because of the heat and it barely phased you at all. you kept saying that i was overreacting and being a baby and what not....

mom/dad/mike - remember the summer of '03 in NYC?? holy cow, when i think of that day on the ferry going to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable just to think about. i was so miserable that i started to cry. mom told me that i had to tough it out. true - but i felt much like a baby: helpless and frustrated that no one understood.

gabe - warped tour '08 in pomona! 107 degrees and NO SHADE! the only shade available was filled to capacity with stinky boys, making it as bad as NOT being in the shade. not to mention that the grounds were all dry and dusty, so by the end of the day, my legs were caked in dirt that clung to the sweat. once again, i cried at this event because i was so miserable and so trapped. gabe's the only one who didn't call me a baby, though. he tried to console me and made sure i stayed hydrated. i'm pretty sure we spent $45/each on powerade/water/lemonade that day. i drank so much but never peed....

this past week - the house gets like a little oven, and despite having all the windows and both doors open, it won't cool off if it gets past a certain temperature. the heat makes me so uncomfortable that i can't get a good night's rest and wake up with horrible headaches that barely go away during the day. these side effects make me grumpy and irritable - and forget about cooking.

needless to say, i'm looking forward to when i can say, "i'm cold." and trust me, i'll complain about that one too.

the little green house with the white picket fence

after much waiting and anticipation, please enjoy a virtual tour of our new house!

this is our beautiful new house...

if it had cheeks, I would pinch them, because it's so darn cute!!!

View as you come in the front door. This is our TV room:

Here is a look back at the TV room from the dining room:

Here is our bedroom:

and my color-coded closet (obsess much??):

Gabe's side is color-coded too, but it's kinda all one color! :)

Here is the dining room (that round table has been replaced by a newer/bigger rectangular one):

Here we have the kitchen:

and the bathroom:

and here's the computer room:

this is also where the washer/dryer will be set up

we LOVE our new house! it's so much better than the apartment. it's beautiful and big and perfect!

There is a guest room that is not included in the tour because it is not yet put together. Once we get the bed and everything in there, we I will take pictures.

Fun Facts about the house:

• ORIGINALLY BUILT - 1912!! I'd like to declare it a historical landmark! :)
• 2 Bedrooms
• 1 Den (computer room)
• 1 Bath
• Marble Countertops in Kitchen
• Separate Dining Room
• Front Yard
• Back Yard
• Garage
• It used to have a fireplace, but someone - somewhere along the way, it got enclosed
• The ORIGINAL HOUSE may or may not have had a bathroom - the owner thinks there might have been an outhouse! sure glad they fixed that one!!