the thirty-first.

10.31.2011

This year we were the least prepared and had the most events to go to. This year Halloween extended into two weekends. This year we were too busy with work and the new house to give proper time and attention to our costumes. This year everything turned out just fine and we got creative at the last minute. This year we had a great Halloween experience.
My mother worked her hair magic and turned my hair-down-my-back into a short bob for my Grace Kelly persona.
Marcus got lucky and doned PJs to the party for his part as Jimmy Stewart from Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.
Check out the original here
We went to such a great party over at the Brimley's.
Don't they look fantastic?
I don't know why, but whenever I see pomegranates I think of Where The Wild Things Are. 
Do you agree?
My family had a Halloween Dinner for my nieces birthday and I didn't want to do my Grace Kelly hair again, so last minute I had the idea of being Stephanie Tanner (from Full House). That show was the greatest, was it not?
I tried to convince Marcus to be Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), but everything he put on looked too normal, so he happily pulled out his Trachten (bought while he was living in Germany) and went as Captain von Trapp (Sound of Music)
Eye-Ball Chili @ Reachel's
Fall Spread
My nephew wanted to be a "church guy" for Halloween! Haha he thought Marcus was that as well.
 
Perhaps the greatest costume in the history of Halloween was when my sister and her beau showed up as my PARENTS! Hahahah, I'm sure it's not nearly as funny since most of you don't know my parents, but the entire house was in tears when they walked in. My brother actually thought it WAS my mom. So, so good!
We then headed over to Lauren and Ted's house for a delicious second meal of stuffed pumpkin. I had never heard of it, but it sure was tasty (and beautiful). We were laughing the whole night, until we watched the scariest movie ever--When A Stranger Calls, then we weren't laughing anymore. YIKES!
I carved my pumpkin in tribute to our little stray porch kitties. Can't wait to light it up tonight!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 
Be Safe, Have Fun, and pray that the dead roach on our porch does NOT come back to life on this spooky Hallow's Eve!

The Taste of Fall.

10.28.2011

If you recall, I wrote a Restaurant Review for a place called Bandera and I raved about the magical corn bread. My wonderful sister-in-law, whose anniversary we were celebrating in that post found this and now the entire family is addicted. It's really just dessert disguised as corn bread. We'll probably turn into corn bread before Autumn is over. 
I thought I'd share:
Bandera Corn Bread Clone 
from Food.Com
Ingredients: 
(serves 16 or just me and my sister...)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
3/4 cup of whole corn (fresh or frozen)
2 ounces green chili peppers (1/2 small can, roasted syle)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese (shredded)
4 eggs
Directions:
1. Prehead oven & 12 " cast iron skillet to 300 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cornmeal, salt & baking powder and set aside. Melt butter and combine with sugar, creamed corn and chili peppers. Mix to combine. Add eggs one-by one and mix until well blended. Add whole corn and cheese. Fold-in flour mixture until mixed well, clumps are okay.
3. Carefully remove cast iron skillet from oven and evenly coat top and sides with canola/vegetable oil. Pour in cornbread batter (be careful, it may splatter).
4. Bake 30-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
(Err on the side of underdone because the moistness of this is one of it's virtues)

fall is upon us.

10.27.2011

when i walked outside this afternoon, i felt the breeze of a thousand butterfly wings around me and i knew fall was on it's way. 
it's fresh and beautiful and the smile wears freely on my face. turns out this place i live is quite nice.
happy day to you.

{Wardrobe} Wednesday: If...

10.26.2011

It's Wednesday and I worked for almost 10 hours yesterday, so I am VERY glad to have today off.
When I got up this morning to wash my face I started thinking about movies and then the idea,
'If I could play any part in a movie who would it be and why?' 
I had already thought about this question in regards to musicals and it was a three way tie between Eliza Doolittle of My Fair Lady, Millie from Thoroughly Modern Millie, or Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man....I know, I know, the professor's a man, but you guys, I know every word and can sing it just as fast and with (nearly) just as much charisma as can the leading men who have played that part, so please, refrain from stepping my theatrical dreams, okay?
The movie question was harder for me though, I would want to play someone very dramatic. Perhaps Ed in Raising Arizona, Penny in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (I just realized it's the same actress in both of those...I guess I really like Holly Hunter.) Baby from Dirty Dancing would also be pretty fun. I don't know though, I don't think I'm 100% certain on any of my choices yet. I'll think about it some more. 
Afterall, an answer to this question is pretty crucial. Obviously.
What about you? Do you have a dream character?
the breakdown:
denim shirt: j.crew outlet $20
sunnies: H&M sale $2
double belt and necklace: forever21 $5/$7
high-rise denim: madewell sale $79
loafers: anthro sale $40

*ONLY A FEW MORE DAYS TO ENTER!


{Tunes} on Tuesday Featuring: Laura Marling

10.25.2011

As I may have mentioned before, I adore Laura's voice and when I saw this music video I was so in love. 
It's beautiful and shouts Dia de Los Muertos influences. (I adore the traditions of Dia de Los Muertos). I found it rather fitting for the upcoming holiday!

What are your plans for Halloween?

life in the phone.

10.23.2011

This was my first taste of Autumn this year, and it was grand! We named this little tree Golden--for obvious reasons.
The Bluewater Bunkhouse.
Pottery my little nephew found! Marcus thinks it's a frog.
I was just taking a picture of a strong shadow, 
but Jenny said it was a unicorn and  i will never dispute such a claim.
The beams on the ranch don't even mess around. So bright. So good.
Well drilling or Saturn? I'll never tell.
Good ol' fashion fun.
I stopped by my house and I was twins with my niece B,
Then I came to the in-laws and I was twins with my niece M!
Found THE cutest pumkin patch. Don't you just love those lights?
Marcus got a slim fit suit for less than $200 at Kohls! (It's Marc Anthony brand and we love it)
We finally got the keys to our place and we hung these cute numbers! The chili pepper number plate that was there before just wasn't doin' it for us...
Boys and girls...
Apparently my parents have stray kittens in there backyard as well, but theirs are super friendly (and adorable).

What have you been up to lately?

current giveaway right here!

{For Fashion's Sake} Saturday: Men's Fashion

10.22.2011

Can you tell how much Marcus likes to participate in fashion posts? HA!
I couldn't help it though, he looked so cute in his elbow patch sweater.
Don't you agree? I think this outfit is just about the epitome of Fall, and I very much like Marcus in Fall Fashion's.
The Breakdown:
Check Button-up & Elbow Patch Sweater: H&M
Jeans: Target
Citizen Military Watch: Anniversary gift via Amazon
Shoes: Sperry Top-sidersvia Last Chance

Oh and here's a giveaway too!


Candace is a lovely little crafter from Utah and today's she's offering one of my readers one of anything you want from her shop. Lucky day!
Here's how to enter:
1. Visit the shop here and tell me what you'd pick
 Extra Entries:
2. Tweet/Facebook/Blog about the giveaway
3. Follow the Peace Republic Blog
4. Like their Facebook Page or Follow them on twitter

The winner of this cutesy giveaway is Ami Mull! 
email me for details!

don't forget about this 15% off code: giveaway15 

All from a set of keys...

10.21.2011

Yesterday I was laying in bed half way asleep when I was rudely awoken by an extremely loud text chime. With my eyes half way closed I groped around to find my phone. As my eyes slowly peeled open I read the words, "You don't have work today, do you?" It was from Marcus and suddenly I felt panic inside. Why was he asking this? Had he seen my schedule and wondered why I didn't wake up with him, like I do on days I work? 
I quickly reassured myself that I, in fact, did not have work and that is why I had stayed up late last night meticulously scheduling out all the errands I needed to accomplish the next day while he was at work. That is why the last thing I said to Marcus before going to bed was, "Since your parents are out of town, I need you to take your dad's truck so I have a car tomorrow. Otherwise I need to take you to work."

So why then was Marcus texting me this "You don't have work today, do you?" business anyway?
I told him I didn't have work, but I had an appointment and a bunch of important errands. 
Then I asked him "Why?"
"Crap! Uh...well, I took my dad's truck, but I accidentally took our car keys too and I'm working in Sun City today..." The fact that he felt dumb was apparent.
Sun City is an hour away and I was now stranded at home with an undrivable car, an appointment to get to in less than an hour, and countless errands I was looking forward to getting done. 
To say the least I was slightly (very) annoyed. 
My first responses were laced with evidence of that slight annoyance, but as I sat there trying to figure out what could be done, I was about to send another text that would have made it clear that I wasn't slightly annoyed, but rather very, and this time it was more of a personal attack than a situation attack. 
I caught myself before it was completely typed out. 
I thought of the consequences of this text; 
It would accomplish the following things:
1. Allow me to vent, once again, of my already obvious annoyance.
2. Make Marcus feel guilty.
3. Make Marcus feel even more stupid than he clearly already felt.
It would not accomplish the following things:
1. Teleport the keys from his pocket in Sun City to my hand in Mesa.
2. Get me to my fast approaching appointment.
3. Make Marcus and my relationship stronger and happier.

Seeing as that text was going to do absolutely no good, and in fact quite a bit of harm, I erased it. 
I got up, washed my face, came up with a plan and sent Marcus a text that said not to worry and that I'd try and figure something else out. 
He apologized one more time, and then I called my mom. 
She said she could come and get me and let me borrow a car for the morning. 
I got to my appointment just in time and got most of my errands taken care of. 
When Marcus got home that night, he had had an awful day full of unfortunate occurrences, but he was so glad to come home to a wife that he had loving feelings toward, instead of one who had been rude and hurtful. I was so grateful that I took the time to think before I acted. 
I hope that both of us can remember this throughout our marriage and while raising our children. Blaming people for unintentional mistakes and attacks on someone's character will never bring peace into a home. Problems can of course be discussed and annoyances can be addressed, but we must remember to do it gently and thoughtfully.
And we must always remember to not bring two sets of keys to work.

In preparation of an upcoming celebration...

10.19.2011

We've renewed our Netflix membership and intend on getting our moneys worth this month!
Here's a few of my very favorite, very Halloween appropriate movies:

1. The Fantastic Mr. Fox--the color story throughout this truly charming and hilarious movie is oh-so-fall-fantastic!
2. What Lies Beneath--Scariest movie of my life! Harrison Ford, I could never look at him the same again...
3. Hocus Pocus--When I was a kid, my best friend/cousin Bridgie and I would watch this year-round, but I always look forward to this season, because it's always replaying on TV! So, so, so good!
4. Wait Until Dark--so thrilling! You're on the edge of your seat the entire time.
5. The Birds--haven't seen it, but I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of birds, I really have vivid and horrifying nightmares about them dive-bombing me and everyone keeps telling me I must see this, so this is the year I try and face that phobia.
6. The Village--This is one of Marcus' favorites and I think I need to give it another watch, only saw it once in the theater...

Do You Have an Must-Sees in Preparation for All Hallows Eve?!

© i believe in unicorns. Maira Gall.