Halloween

The temps are dropping in the valley.   In the past couple of weeks we've gone from the lower 100's to a high of 76 today and it's glorious!    It is starting to feel a lot like fall!  I heard it will warm up some in the next weeks and then linger in the 80's.    But that's okay as long as it's not 100 plus, I'm good.

I was so ready for fall to come this year; it seemed especially hot this summer.   And I also couldn't wait to start decorating with my Halloween/fall stuff!   I purged most of the holiday decor when we moved to our new house at the suggestion of Miguel.   He said that most of it was old and he said he knew that with a brand new home I would want to buy brand new everything.   Who was I to argue?

I did keep a few things like the "Happy Halloween" banner:



But these guys are new.  I found them at Walmart for 98 cents each and I should have bought a third solid orange because then I could have switched the black one out for a solid orange and viola an easy fall transition.   Live and learn.




p.s.  there is still SO much decorating to do.  My bare walls stress me out a little.....
But notice that fish tank in the corner?  We just got it this past weekend.  It's still in the
setting up phase.   Maybe by next weekend we will have water and fish!




How cute are the white pumpkins?  I picked those up from the Target dollar spot.  One of my favorite places by the way.



I'm sure I'll hang on to these for quite some time....so adorable!






And the black and white chevron from last year made it into the "keep" pile, of course!   The colors make me giddy.




I could sit and look at this  a l l   d a y   l o n g!


That coffin is was filled with candy.  It mysteriously keeps disappearing.....


The kitchen gets some Halloween/fall love too:







I ran into Ross looking for pillows and came out with these:

I


And there's another set of the white pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!!

🎃

Updates

Just a quick update so I can keep track of progress.  I had forgotten just how much work moving into a new home is.   We moved in just two short months ago on July 25th.   Getting all the furniture and the boxes in the house was actually the easy part since the movers did all the work.   The tedious task started as soon as the first box was opened.   

There is still SO much more work to do.  I still have boxes in the garage, in my office, in Miguel's office, in the linen and hall closets.   Oh and in the master closet.   Yep.   Still.   

But on the bright side, the master bedroom is looking pretty put together:

The kitchen is completely unpacked and is also looking pretty:

Have you ever bought furniture at Costco?  We bought our bed (and mattress) and nightstands, the stools for the kitchen counter and the couches in the living room from Costco.   I don't know if that is unusual or not, but we find that Costco has great quality furniture at great prices.

My office in its current state:

It's a process...

On Saturday, we will be in our new home one full month!  It's hard to believe that it's been only 4 short weeks while at the same time it seems like it has taken forever, and I do mean forever, to get some type of organization going.   This morning, I walked out of our bedroom and realized that for the first time in weeks, there weren't boxes piled up everywhere or items laying around that didn't belong.   We are making progress!

Once I have everything in it's place, I can start the fun part:  accessorizing.    For now, I'm happy that we have a place to sit and watch TV!   Little wins! 

The move

Well, we did it!  After years of looking for a new home that had everything we wanted, we finally found a home that was pretty close to perfect for both of us.   It was such a whirlwind too because we closed on the sale of our (old) home on Monday and then closed on the purchase of our (new) home on Wednesday and then the movers came in on Thursday to move us to the new house. 

We had all the boxes stacked in the garage:

Sweetheart had his priorities straight; this was front and center and the first thing to get settled: 

This is how it looked when we got there:

Then the movers started bringing in the furniture:

Now the fun part:  getting everything in its place!

 Meanwhile, I'm starting to form cardboard box walls everywhere!

 p.s.  Look at this master bath.  It has a walk in shower that is the length of the entire bathroom!  It has the standard shower head and a rain showerhead feature that is so amazingly relaxing it's insane!

We're Moving!

We found a new home.   It took like forever and a day to find it.   We weren't in a hurry to move so we were terribly particular.  We almost pulled the trigger on two houses but we found fault with both of them.  Then we found the one we wanted:



It has a three car garage which was very important to Miguel.  



It will have this beautiful tile floor that has the wood floor look - which was very important to me.



It is going to have this beautiful walk-in shower with an overhead rain shower feature - which we both wanted.






The kitchen will be bright and open to the family room.   It's coming along.   It will be ready at the end of July so right now it's a mad rush to get our current home packed up.  We sold it so we will be out by the end of July and in the new home!

Getting vacay ready

Sweetheart and I are Hawaii bound and I couldn't be more excited.  I've been planning my wardrobe for close to five months now!  Nearly everything new that I bought for this trip I ordered online.   For a while it seemed like every week I was getting a package.   Of course everything I ordered was on sale.  Like 40% off --  yep, that's my jam.   I like to document my outfits so that I can remember what I planned to wear and so that I don't forget anything.    

Day one:  Travel day.   Phoenix to Oahu -- we are flying into Honolulu so we can spend a day visiting Pearl Harbor.   I'm not solid on the shoes or bag yet.   But I'm sure this will be my travel outfit.   I may need shoes without straps because airport security lines can get hairy.   Also, I may just take a tote with me -- I feel like I'll need the structure of a tote so I feel organized.   

 

Day two:  Pearl Harbor tour & museums  

 

Day three:  Travel day.   Oahu to Maui.  We are staying at the Sheraton Resort so we'll check in and hopefully just relax and maybe lay poolside this day. 

Poolside:  Everything here is on repeat except the hat.   It's new and it's cool. 

And for our dinner plans later that night:

Day Four:   we booked a snorkeling trip for the morning.  My one piece swimsuit, swim shorts and a lightweight top.  Of course I have water shoes and a hat to go with it.

And then in the evening we have a luau scheduled for the evening.  A dress is appropriate for a luau right?  

Day five:  Exploring.  Our favorite thing to do.  Comfy shoes, a hat and a denim jacket just in case.   I realize we will be in a tropical paradise but I am always cold.  

And for our dinner plans that evening.   We tried not to over plan but we do have reservations at a couple of restaurants.  This dress is so cute.   It's a rich navy which is not at all how it looks in this picture. 

This is what it looks like sans the accessories.  I love the the feminine ruffles and the cold shoulder makes it fun and sexy.   I may take a pair of heels with me in case I find the need to get fancy. 

Day six:  more relaxing at the beach and/or exploring: 

Day seven:  Travel day.  Maui to Phoenix.  I ordered this cute swing dress from the Gap and I wore it to my Dad's birthday party last weekend.  It so cute and it has a cold shoulder cut out on the sleeve!  I got one in red too.   

And in case you are wondering, Sweetheart gets in on the action too.   But he doesn't care what he wears from day to day as long as he is comfortable.  So I typically get his approval on what he wants to wear then I match it up with what I'm wearing.

His comfy consists of cargo shorts and shirts:

His swimwear:

And his dinner clothes:   All restaurants are 'resort casual' so for him it's a button up shirt and flat -front chino shorts

and travel day:

And remember I said I wasn't thrilled with the bag and shoes in travel day one picture?   Well that caused me to change two outfits. 

Travel day one:  Phoenix to Oahu.  I really need a tote to carry everything I need and I decided the rose colored cold shoulder from LC's Kohl's line is lovely with the tote and the shoes will be easier to work with through security at the airport.    Excuse the no makeup and bed head hair; it's work from home day.  

And in my quest to find a good travel outfit I created this.  I like it so  I'm taking it with me just in case I need another outfit.   

We are all set!