fall wreath 2010

like any good DIY-er,

i can't just simply buy holiday decor.

it has to be original! it has to be crafty!

let's be real: it has to be cheap :)

i was happy with last year's 

but wanted to go in a different direction this year.

anyway, here is this year's wreath:

to make it, i simply wrapped different colors 

of burlap & fabric around a wreath form.

next, i cut strips of fabric and bunched them 

into the form of flowers

and topped them off with shiny tacks.

the final touches were acorn bells 

which wrapped around the wreath with twine.

of course, all fall crafts must be done

with a pumpkin spice candle 

warming the apartment with it's familiar

autumn smell wafting through the air. 

can it be thanksgiving forever?

still basking in the warmth of our amazing thanksgiving week, and devouring the images we captured.  when i'm in a particularly beautiful place or happy moment, i try and hold onto it tight & store it up... like a squirrel with acorns (did i just compare myself to a squirrel?). whenever work gets monotonous or college station is gray, these mental snapshots & videoclips get me through.  and having actual photographs doesn't hurt either. seriously- how beautiful is northern california? 

my family moved to a gorgeous city named, of all city names, pleasanton.  bless her heart, this cheerful name only fed the cynical fire that was stirring up in my 17 year old sister's soul.  who would want to move for their junior & senior year of high school? understandably, she even briefly changed the title of her blog {gasp} from life in technicolor to life in exile. but honestly, the city really is beautiful.  drastically rolling hills straight out of a dr. seuss book & gorgeous vineyards line every road and neighborhood.  my dad's taken to pointing out all of his 'vistas' and the 'real ducks' in the pond at the entrance to their neighborhood.  {not pretend ducks?}

these past several months, every member of my family jokingly adopted a new motto: no sympathy.  moved to a new city? have to make all new friends? miss your old home? "join the club," we say to one another. "oh, you didn't want to move? guess what: you get zero sympathy from me."  it may sound harsh, but it helps us laugh about the inevitable struggles that come with change & transition. the "zero sympathy" attitude is also a great reminder of how lame self-pity is. 

anyway, i'm happy to report that my family is taking all the challenges in stride. my sister already has a great group of friends. even though she would rather be back in kingwood with her beautiful community, she's in pleasanton for a reason and i think she knows that. hopefully she'll be back in texas as a proud new baylor bear in just a couple of years.  but until then, i hope she knows that i don't feel sorry for her in the least. but i am mega proud of her.

trick or treat!

happy halloween!

from my hands, to yours. 

haha

take me out to the ballgame

ross & i drove to houston yesterday to enjoy the astros game with some of our married friends, jordan & krystal. star dogs, peanuts, drinks, and great company made for a great night, despite a disappointing performance by my beloved team.  hunter pence did make me proud with a home run though. he's such a cutie. 

for 20 years my family and i lived in a suburb just north of houston.  i remember the first time i watched the astros as a tiny girl at the astrodome, and how happy i was with the night because i scored a teddy bear, complete with a baseball cap.  

in seventh grade, my dad started getting free tickets through his job- and we took advantage of the sights & sounds of enron field (now minute maid park) as often as we could.  around this time my best friend stephanie parent's became best friends with my parents, and the strong relationships were set in stone over cotton candy and home runs.

 our little middle school hearts were set on making it on the big screen, and we did at least three times with the help of homemade "let's-go-astros!" signs. and every night at the end of the game we would beg our parents to let us have a sleepover.  

it's hard to believe that the little seventh grade katie, all decked out in abercrombie, doc martins, and incredibly frizzy hair, is making road trips with her husband & hanging out with married friends.  somehow i seemed to stumble into the near grownup phase of life. 

and even thought the don't win sometimes and my dad wont get any more fabulous tickets to the games, the 'stros will always have a special place in my heart, and i am truly grateful for all the tickets my dad shared with us through out the years. 

 and for everything else he's ever done ever, for that matter.

and we couldn't leave the city without a brief & silly 

walk through of whole foods this morning. 

so begins our quest for out first married jack-o-lantern. 

he's even cuter than hunter pence.  

ya, i said it.

hello fall

hellofall by katieplu