Halloween decorating outside....started....

Estimated Reading Time.....3 minutes, 6 seconds

First things first- replenish the planters on the front patio and the guest room patio.  Summer is brutal here in Arizona.  I am lucky that anything survived.  I have kept about 80% alive but they all look a little sickly.  So Home Depot here I come.

Front window banner

The second thing I do is string a banner up across my front window.  The Halloween sign has been around for a couple of years and each year I add a few new embellishments.  I added the fabric banner and then the lights on the sides with more fabric ties.  It just seems to brighten things up a bit.

I have a couple of fake Jack O Lanterns that will be lit to welcome the trick or treaters.

I need a few mums from Home Depot and I really need a couple of new pots.  I was about to move one of the super, old terra cotta pots and it crumbled as I was trying to lift it up.  So it was in pieces- time to let it go.

Front window with Halloween fans hanging below the banner

I used to do the hay bales but they seem to attract insects or maybe they bring them along.  It never gets cold enough to kill flying things or crawling things until November or even December so I am not even going to give hay bales a try this year.

The biggest job outdoors are the lights.  I have a neighbor who puts up thousands of lights for Halloween.  I am directly across the street from her so I started doing a few lights myself.  Last year the only time it rained the entire year was when I had the lights strung and they kept blowing out.  So I am going to be uber careful this year and not plug them in until nighttime and then unplug them in the morning.  I am not sure if my new strategy will work but it is worth a try.  Last year we had hundreds of trick or treaters.  My neighbors house is a big draw and then they just land over here because I am across the street and I did have a few hundred lights strung.

My favorite cart filled with fake pumpkins, cart made by Marty

Oh my- since I started roughing out this posting my neighbor has started doing her lights.  I walked out to get the paper this morning really early and her house was all lit up for Halloween.  Marty said she must have done it yesterday--- really- my lights were on the dining room table and this morning I decided that I can't get to it until after we go to the Desert Trip so our house is a little desolate and will be that way for at least another week.

Projects in Motion:

1. Advent Food Project-continue to accumulate food for the food boxes to be delivered to food bank by Dec 24.  Encourage all friends and family to start their own boxes
2. Christmas Book Project- All books are ordered, need to gift wrap, ribbon and tag when they are all at the house.  Some of the books I ordered will not arrive until October, on their release date.  I know a couple of friends who also do the Christmas Book Project- Get those books ordered- I tried to do a few a day and just got it finished.  
3. Burlap Book Project- In process, watch for photos
4. Gratitude Book- On my desk upstairs...I want to have it ready before Thanksgiving this year
5. Birthday Book for one of the G kids- in process- need to finish
6. Halloween cards- Need to get the photos in the new costumes, then order and mail
7. Kitchen reno-  finalize tile orders, hire painter, end of October empty kitchen---this will be the awful part.  We finalized the appliance order today.  Lucky I took Marty to see the appliances because he did not like the range hood I selected.  So we changed range hoods and all other appliances were a go--- Paid for and ordered...

Ya-Ya's Book shelf: Please note Ya-Ya likes to read beachy books in the spring and summer and then after Halloween I like to read Christmas fiction--- all happy stuff- nothing heavy....

Robyn Carr- The Life She Wants

Jill Shalvis- The Trouble With Mistletoe

RaeAnn Thayne-Snowfall On Haven Point

Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul Mc Cartney- appearing at The Desert Trip next week on Saturday night---- Yahoo- just a few more days!!!

"Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you
Maybe I'm amazed at the the way you pulled me out of time
And hung me on a line
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you"

Coming Soon:

• Tribute to Papou
• The Desert Trip Realized
• Neighbors Craft A Thon
• Burlap Book Project
• The Kitchen Reno
• Friend Decorate for Halloween too and they let me take pictures
• Garage Makeover

Love, Ya-Ya

Fall Behind......

Reading time......3 minutes, 28 seconds

I thought that this post should be appropriately named Fall Behind because that is what I seem to be doing these days.  I take a few steps forward and then something breaks and I am further behind than I was when I started.

Update on the kitchen reno project:

• Cabinets are selected- waiting for the final price.....scary
• Floors- I know what I want and I went to one tile store but they had the Scottsdale markup so I need to go to a few more tile stores....
• Appliances- Need to choose- I have been looking online but I need to see the stuff in the flesh.
• Backsplash--I know what I want but I need to find it at another tile store.

Kitchen before reno

Kitchen before reno

Kitchen before reno

I have included a couple of pics of my "before" kitchen pictures.  I know it is bad news,  so don't judge me.  When they do the demo it is supposed to take about three weeks from the start date to completion- so I guess I should double that and say it will be six weeks.  Maybe there will not be any Thanksgiving at our house this year???

Kitchen before reno

Re: Fall Decorating- I am the Grandmother (Ya-Ya) to a seven year old, a six year old, a five year old and a four year old. My house is focused on fun from a 7,6,5 and 4 years olds' view.  They get sooo excited about Halloween and I want them to be excited to come into Ya-Ya's house and experience the fun atmosphere.....so this is not your typical color coordinated, magazine ready home.  This is a real Ya-Ya's house where we mess it up and play games and decorate gingerbread houses for Halloween  (thanks to Trader Joes).  The entire focus of Ya-Ya's house is the G kids and having fun and getting excited......not a decorators dream.  You can see that on many other blogs.....

This is true

I have been working diligently on getting all of my fall decorating completed.  I am still not finished. But I did achieve a major goal today.  My car is back in the garage.  It was only out of the garage for a couple of days so I am not feeling that bad about it.  Marty says garages are for cars not junk (he actually calls my stuff by a different name)....So I know I always need to get the cars back into the garage as soon as I can.  The garage is such a great dumping ground for moving stuff in and out of the house..... We do not have basements here,  so it is pretty nightmarish....Trying to redo everything.

Kitchen table- I am anxious to do a table setting but have not had time yet

Marty has been to storage numerous times and I hate to break it to him but I am still missing a few things.  You know how you have a few favorite things and you look for them when you open each bin?? I am still missing a couple of pumpkins that I got at Grandinroad and the pumpkin stands that go with them.  I guess I need to bite the bullet and go to storage by myself and try to find the missing treasures.....I am 95% finished with the decorating but I still want that Grandinroad stuff.

Great room- you can put your feet up

I must have been really tired when I packed away bins last year- you know how you just start throwing stuff in bins so that you can get the stuff out of the way for Christmas?  At our house,  we celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Halloween comes out whenever I can get it finished in Sept.  It stays up until Nov 1.  On Nov 1 all of the Halloweeny Jackolanterns and pure Halloweeny things get packed away and the turkey stuff comes out.  The day after Thanksgiving the Christmas stuff starts to be put out.  I shoot for having it all done by the end of the first week after Thanksgiving.  I change out my garlands from Halloween crazy to subtle, Thanksgiving pretty.  I pulled the garlands from the bins and put them up.  I kept looking at them and knew something was wrong.  The ribbon was the burlap stuff that I use at Thanksgiving.  I know it is no biggie but it is to me.  So I climbed the ladder about a zillion more times to take out the wrong ribbon and then climbed it again about a zillion more times to put in the right stuff......I told you I was a little crazy.  Now it is confirmed.

Top of the entertainment center

So here are a few pics of our great room and it is kind of finished, I still have a long list of details....

Top of the entertainment center

Foyer plant shelf done- Marty did it, so not too bad.  I fell from the top of the ladder a few years ago and broke a bone in my foot.  Now I am afraid to climb to the very top and at 5 foot, one inch I can't reach...so thanks to Marty.

Plant shelf- really high- chandelier in the way----

The foyer is mostly finished.....

Foyer cabinet- top decorated with garland and Halloweeny stuff

I still need to finish the dining room and the guest room- There are a few missing items so I am not going to take photos of those rooms yet, stay tuned for the finish line.

Foyer

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends...The Beatles
"What would you think if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song and I'll try not to sing out of key,
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends"..................

Coming Soon:

• The Desert Trip- three weeks til the concert--
• Fall- the rest of the story
• The kitchen reno continues
• The Christmas Book project Update
• Tribute to Papou- A Trip to Greece

I hope all is well in your world.

Love, Ya-Ya

Fall from years past

I have been watching the blogging world talk about Fall decorating, pumpkin spices and the colors of fall for all of August.  There are no color changes in AZ and it is still HOT. California is still in summer mode so I need to get geared up to redo my house to at least look like fall.  We can pretend,  right?

Things to Do in September:

• Decorate for Fall Inside and Outside
• Update gardens with fall flowers
• Make sure Halloween costumes for the G kids are ordered for the Halloween pictures
• Continue to gather Christmas books for the Book project
• Annual Physical- Scheduled
• Teeth cleaned-Scheduled
• Window cleaning- Need to Schedule
• Dog Grooming-Need to schedule
• Photography class-Scheduled
• Cooking Class- Need to schedule
• Calligraphy Class- Scheduled for November
• Research Blog Conferences- I need to learn more!!!
• Order December Daily Kit- If you have never done December Daily it is really fun.  You take photos everyday and then you make a book with all of the photos and ephemera from the month of December.  If you have G kids like I do and they have Holiday programs it is a great way to document everything.  When you look back at previous years it is a blast to see how much they have grown.  The kit makes it easy- Buy the binder and the kit contents and write your story.  Orders can be placed today at Ali Edwards website,

The great room has the most decorating opportunities with the mantle and the entertainment center.  It is different every year and I never really know what I am going to do until I start the decorating.

My guest room gets a little touch of Halloween

The front wagon is always filled with fake pumpkins and hay bales.  The wagon was made by my husband many years ago and it is a great seasonal landing spot.

Last year the front doors were simple with the cotton ball wreaths

A view of the entertainment center with the spooky trees on the top.

A view of the corner of the mantle

The cart again in another year.

Lots of mums-thanks to Costco.

A glance at the dining room tablescape.

Front window decoration a few years back.  I bought this very cool Happy Halloween sign but it was a little boring so I did the torn fabric banner behind it and it looked so much better.

Kitchen window banner

Harvest Moon-Neil Young...........................

"Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away.

But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night."

Pretending the shark is a guitar??? Cool kid.

Coming Soon:

• Wicked or Phantom
• Garage Before and After
• The Desert Trip- Just a few weeks until the big concert
• Internet shopping on the cheap
• Fall Decorating 2016 Style

Love, Ya-Ya