weekend walk

I hope everyone's having a lovely weekend and getting out and enjoying the sunshine (if they're lucky enough to have some).

all photos taken using the Plastic Bullet app on my iPhone

quotabili-tee :: happy halloween!

Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone! Eat lots of candy, have fun, and don't be afraid to act a little bit like a kid.

urban outfitters

American Apparel costume ideas

American Apparel has some great costume ideas that you can make using their products.

smith manor halloween party

I might have mentioned before that at the Smith Household we are a bit of Halloween enthusiasts. Okay, we're obsessed. We spend months planning and crafting our annual Halloween party—which went off without a hitch last weekend. Well, there was one hitch, my vampire fangs didn't fit my mouth, so I just looked more like a gothic chick, circa 1996. But that's okay, you don't get to wear a massive black curly wig every day!

This year our theme was a haunted mansion. If you want to see a little bit more of the setting go here. Want a more in-depth download of the creative costumes that showed up? go here.

click on image to view larger

craft night :: decoupage pumpkins

A twist on the tradition of decorating and carving pumpkins, this was such an easy and fun Halloween craft. I completely intended to do a tutorial on this one, but remembered to take pictures when I was halfway through my pumpkin! However, I found a similar—maybe even cooler—project here. The three in the pictures below were done by myself and a pair of friends. The one on the left was made using an old medical encyclopedia. The middle one is decorated with magazine clippings, and the last one with tissue paper.

I give this craft night two enthusiastic thumbs up. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

protect the ones you love

Here's an awesome new art print by Kelli Murray being sold over at We Love Creativity. It's called Protect the Ones You Love. I want!

I wonder how it came to be, my friend...

Just found this astonishingly haunting cover of Karen O doing "Diamond Sea" by Sonic Youth. This happens to be one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. I give this beautiful version two thumbs up. Karen O did it right, and also spared us the five minute distortion breakdown that SY originally included at the end of the song.

halloween make-up tips from UO

Oh my gosh, you guys, I love Halloween. I mean I really, really L-O-V-E it. The fact that you haven't yet been inundated with everything ghoulish and ghostly and black and orange for the past month is a testament to my considerable willpower. I must remind myself that not everyone is as strange as I am.

Halloween is hands down, my favorite day/holiday/event to happen all year. My husband and I throw a massive party, we hand out the best candy, and we have the most wicked house decorations in the whole neighborhood. This morning I found these fun make-up tips at Urban Outfitters to help you replicate the looks of famous creepy Hollywood characters.

Just a random note, I have dressed up as Wednesday Addams on no fewer than 3 occasions!

Pretty iPhone Cases

Today is my four year wedding anniversary! Not to be confused with the 10 year dating anniversary that I blogged about back in August. Yes, I'm sort of double-dipping this year.

In celebration, we decided to exchange matching iPhone4's this year! Get it? iPhone4 in observation of our 4 year anniversary? We're too cute for our own good. I might just be doing a small mental happy dance right now.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to give up my existing iPhone3G Paul Frank case, as it will not fit on my spiffy new iPhone. A world of possibilities is open to me, but I zeroed in on the artist series Case-Mate cases. They come in lots of pretty colors and designs, AND I'm a sucker for anything that's labeled "Artist Series". I also like shiny things. I've rounded up a couple of faves.... Or maybe I'll just design my own!

artist :: Anthony Yankovic

artist :: Chuck Anderson

artist :: Cinda B

artist :: Cinda B

artist :: Deanne Cheuck

artist :: Hannah Stouffer

artist :: Karen Richter

artist :: Matt Moore
artist :: Nigel Dennis

Anthropologie fall window displays

I love that Anthropologie shares their window displays on facebook. The closest Anthro to me is about an hour away, so I don't make it out too often to bask in their awesomeness. I'm glad I have the internet to provide such inspiration.

Simply Sublime Gifts

I'm crafty. I love to give thoughtful, homemade gifts. Thus, I think this Simply Sublime Gifts book is for me. It contains lots of fun gift ideas that require minimal sewing. Did I mention I'm not much of a seamstress?

I think I might be ordering this puppy. Check it out here!

I'm back!

I'm settling back into my regular schedule after a busy week and a half of traveling. To start, I was gone two days for an awesome business trip. Then I was home for one day—just long enough to pack and be sleep deprived. Then I was off to Orlando for a week. My husband, two great friends, and I spent a hectic 8 days traversing Universal Studios and all the Disney parks. All this craziness unfortunately left little time for blogging (or sleep for that matter). I hope you'll forgive me!

My favorite part? It had to be the Harry Potter Island of Adventure at Universal. I'm secretly a huge nerd, and this had a lot to do with why we took the trip in the first place. The details were impeccable, the weather amazing, the Butterbeer unimaginably tasty, and the overall experience was pretty magical.

Now I'm back home, energized, and ready to get to work! Maybe I can fit in some of that sleeping thing I mentioned before?

(click on the image to see it larger)