Nags Head Photo Round Up

We got back from Nags Head last night and it was an awesome birthday trip filled with thrift store shopping, seafood eating, walking on the beach, and sitting on the porch...lots of much needed relaxation.  Here are some photos I took while we were on our trip.  Enjoy!

I hope everyone is enjoying your day off if you are fortunate enough to have one!  Briana and I want to say thank you to all the veterans who have served both past and present.  We appreciate all you have done for our country!

Outer Banks Trip

Yay for Friday!  Mr. 3 is taking me to the Outer Banks to celebrate my birthday for a long weekend.  I'm looking forward to thrifting, sitting on the beach, and enjoying fresh seafood.  We have another couple joining us, so I know Mr. 3 will have fun going for a long ride on his bike and I'll enjoy some girl time with a good friend.  Make sure you are following me on Instagram for some North Carolina fun!  I'll be back next week to share our trip and my pics.  Until then, here is my birthday cupcake from last year...underneath all the fiery flames...which happened to be trick candles.

Have a great weekend everyone!

This is the Last Halloween Post, Promise!

Enjoy the final stages of Mother's Halloween decor!

Here is the foyer decor. As you can see, she added a lot to it. I could not manage to take a picture where the lights didn't appear pink so imagine the glow to be more purple and spooky. 

Mom hosts a chili and tostada party for the family and added friends. She decorate the dining room quite a bit since some of the adults eat in there. The room very easily adopts a spooky vibe, making it even more fun.

She made eyeball cupcakes for the kids. The baby swiped the package of eyeballs a week earlier and had a hissy because we wouldn't open it for her. She had lost interest by Halloween.

This ghost is hanging in front of my parents' bedroom in the family room. This room is too big and dark for most decorations to have an impact, so Mother went big for this corner. The family baby would not look at it! Very amusing.

 Mom wrapped two vases in our old trick-or-treat bags. The wiry thing is a giant marshmallow roaster that I gave as her birthday present a few years back. This is the first time she has actually used them, and clearly it isn't for their intended purposes. She found some strange decorations on clearance at Pier One that she ripped apart and wired onto the marshmallow roaster. Don't worry, you don't typically cook marshmallows with Made in China glittery bits flailing about.

Alright, I promise no more Halloween. Mom's party was great fun and the kids loved all the decorations. They also love cleaning out Mom's candy supply when they get back from trick-or-treating. And now onto the rest of the holiday season!

The Trick or Treater Let Down

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!  I shared my fall luxe decor and inspiration board last week and Mr. 3 and I were really excited to have some trick or treaters show up last Friday night.

Based on the screaming, yelling, and occasional band practice (which usually involves off-key recorder recitals only) that happens on the playground behind our apartment, I thought we would be overrun with all manner of spooky and cute costumes...especially since Halloween was on a Friday night.  Mr. 3 was even convinced we weren't going to have enough candy and we ran out for reinforcements at 5:30.

There were a couple of grinches in our particular part of the building that had put signs on their doors that said "not at home" or "no candy here."  I didn't want the little ones to be put off, so I slapped a sign on the entryway that said "Candy Available in Apartment X...No Costume, No Candy" and also put one on the door to our apartment so we could be found.

Right at 6:15, the kids in the apartment downstairs ran up and knocked on the door.  I gave them two lollipops each...but I really should have given them an entire bag of candy a piece because they were our only visitors!

Mr. 3 was also put out and seems a bit concerned about America's future - what with their lack of get up and go hunt for free candy and I have a bowl of calories tempting me on our dining room table.  Trick or treat fail.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Who's hit the candy bag before the kiddies even show up?  I hope you checked out fall table inspiration on Wednesday for our take on Fall Luxe.  Here's how I've put Fall Luxe into my apartment (which has limited storage space).  First up, here is my $15 Happiness pumpkin that I still love love love!

Please ignore the side of Xbox controller.

I set it on my coffee table and paired it with another mercury glass pumpkin from Sur la Table, which is on sale for $11.96!  My gold glass coasters are from World Market, but they sit out all year.

For my dining table, I kept my Target tablecloth because it didn't seem to clash with all the other decorations.  I used another mercury pumpkin from Sur la Table (purchased last year), two brass pumpkin tiny taper holders from Williams-Sonoma (bought on super clearance for $2.95 each this past summer).  I also mixed in a real pumpkins from the grocery store and put these beautiful peachy roses in a vase I already owned (the flowers were a Halloween present from Mr. 3...sweet man).

We also are lucky enough to have big beautiful windows in our dining room, so I set up a little festive display using a mix of succulents which I already owned and more tiny taper holders, grocery store pumpkins, and another mercury glass pumpkin from Sur la Table.

I also love to light a candle this time of year, but I can't stand the fragrance of most candles - they always smell too chemically or sweet.  The higher end candles (i.e. Jo Malone and  Diptyque) are wonderful, but I have a policy against shelling out $50+ for something I'm going to light on fire.

This soy candle is Green Tea and Ginger which means I get a bit of yummy fallness from the ginger without going overboard.  I find this brand at Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's for $6.99-$7.99 aaaaaall the time and it's pretty much the only candle I will buy these days.  All of their fragrances are light and wonderful.

Like my inspiration board, I'm mixing different textures with metallic and natural finishes for a Fall Luxe look, but I'm also being budget and space conscious.  I decorated in mid-September so I feel like I'm getting a lot of use out of my fall decorations.  Because I didn't carve the pumpkins, I should be able to use them all the way to Thanksgiving.  Also, by mixing in grocery store items like the peach roses and grocery store pumpkins, I'm not having to store a large supply of decorations in a small apartment space when it's time to start decorating for Christmas.

Aaaand just to keep it real with y'all...here is my mum that a guest at my ice cream social gave to me.  I'm not sure what happened, but I should probably go as a planter murderer for Halloween.

    

Mr. 3 and I are planning to have a festive fall meal tomorrow for Halloween and hand out candy to the children in our apartment complex.  What plans do y'all have in the works for Halloween?  Whatever you do, stay warm and safe!