'Tis the season to be spooky!

They say that Halloween has become one of the most celebrated holidays, right behind Christmas which makes sense since it is just so darn fun! This weekend, Halloween festivities officially began at our house when Rachel and Kristy came into town on Saturday. We started the evening out with some seasonal bites to eat and drinks...Halloween Pasta Salad, Spider's Nest Dip, Spiked Coffee, Black Cat Cosmos, etc...Then the night really got started when we hit the deck for some pumpkin carving! We carved up spiders, ghosts, cats, bats, and even the ol' traditional pumpkin faces! What a great night that was topped off with many rounds of Catch Phrase - Sometimes a night in with the girls just can't be beat.


Here's our Halloween spread...

Our pumpkin masterpieces...

Tonight we had another visitor - The Halloween Phantom Ghost! Neighbors deliver treats in the dark and ring your door bell and run, which means you've been hit by the Phantom Ghost. Now Frank and I have to pick two victims who we want to visit tomorrow evening...How fun! Our new 'hood is so fabulous!

Here a clique, there a clique, everywhere a clique...

This past Saturday was my 10-year High School reunion, which I was really looking forward to. After 10 years, I was excited to see people that I hadn’t seen or spoken to since graduation. I’m not sure what disillusioned world I was living in though – Pretty much everyone that I want to talk to, I do still keep in touch with. The reunion reminded me of one of our high school dances – one group of people at one table, another clique hanging out in the front of the room, etc. We were as segregated as ever! Don’t get me wrong, it was great to see everyone and I really enjoyed catching up with the few people that I did talk to, but sometimes I really wish there was a way to break through the cliques that we formed in high school to all unite as one class…

Here’s a picture of our ‘usual’ crowd – Pretty much same crew as high school, reunited 10 years later…

PS - Check out my new 'do which I am a fan of! :)

Adventurous

Ok, I’ve decided it’s been way too long since my last hair cut - I’m embarrassed to admit that it’s been over 3 months! I am the worst at remembering (and making time) to get my hair cut. Well, I am officially getting tired of my long ‘do and feeling a bit adventurous…So, I made a hair appointment for tomorrow evening and am thinking something along the Katie Holmes line…Let’s see exactly how adventurous I’m feeling tomorrow when I sit in that chair…I’ll keep you posted – Either cheers or tears tomorrow night! (It better be cheers since my 10 year reunion is on Saturday!!)

A Three Hour Tour

Frank and I were up bright and early on Saturday for our big furniture shopping adventure to Farmville, VA – We had many people recommend that we go to Green Front Furniture to check out their many warehouses of great furniture. So, we left the house at 7:30am on Saturday for southern Virginia. Three hours later, we arrived in the small town of Farmville and entered the first of about 10 furniture warehouses. The warehouses are converted tobacco buildings, each about 3-4 stories. After searching through almost every floor of every building we came up with NADA, ZIP, ZILCH! Needless to say, we were very disappointed – The furniture was just not what we expected nor even close to our taste. After stopping at a few furniture stores in Woodbridge on our way home, we still found nothing! Over the past few weeks, we have scoured numerous furniture stores looking for a bedroom set and desk to no avail. Where on earth do people go shopping for good furniture?

On a more positive note, our Saturday was not a total disappointment…Frank was able to fix the leaking faucet in our downstairs bathroom! His first home fix-it project…a success! :)

Weekend with the Fam

This past weekend, Frank's family came to visit us and help us continue to settle into the new house. We had a great time with everyone - Mom, Danielle, Tony, Kate, JoAnn, and even the dogs! Hopefully they enjoyed their trip despite Frank & I putting them to work. :) By the end of the visit, we had installed our new 'DeMarco' door knocker, installed a new ceiling fan with dimmer switch in the master bedroom, removed the awning from the upstairs window, demolished two old wardrobe/closet things that were left in our basement, and cleaned out the unfinished portion of the basement - Quite an accomplished weekend! We even managed to find time for Falls Church's Farm Day, eat lunch at Chic-fil-a and enjoy some DQ ice cream (per JoAnn's cravings). Overall a great visit - They better come back soon to visit! Here's a picture of Frank with his Goddaughter (somehow we always manage to only get pictures of our little Kate!):

R.I.P.

George the Beta
November 2004-October 2007

Sadly, George left us yesterday for a better place. He was a great fish, pet, and friend over the past almost three years. He'll be missed dearly.

Channeling My Inner Martha Stewart

I love decorating for the holidays and seasons!!! Now with a whole house to decorate, I am in heaven! Both my mom and Martha Stewart would be quite proud of my mantle which is now fall-themed. I have to say – I’m very happy with how it turned out! The mantle, coupled with my cauldron table center piece, Halloween placements, few fake cobwebs on some windows, and the pumpkins and mums on the outside steps, I’d say I’m ready for fall and Halloween!!! Now I just have to sit back and wait for 10/31 and those little rugrats to come trick-or-treating at our door!!! I can hardly wait!

New York Minute

Frank and I made a very quick trip to New York this past weekend - We were there for a whooping 26 hours although it really only felt like a quick minute! We made the trip for my cousin's wedding on Friday, so we arrived early Friday morning at 2:30am and then left early Saturday morning at 4:30am! Despite the short trip, we managed to enjoy ourselves - We got to spend all day on Friday with our neice, Kate, who is growing up so fast! We decided to skip Gary & Maggie's wedding ceremony to spend a little more time with Frank's family, but made it to the reception right on time at 7:30pm. After dinner, dancing, dessert, and a few drinks, we managed to get in a few hours of sleep before hitting the road back to Maryland - Yes, Maryland - The reason behind our early departure was a 10am soccer game in Frederick, MD.

Uncle Frank & Aunt Regina babysitting Kate on Friday...














Congratulations Gary & Maggie - We had a great time at the reception. I especially enjoyed the bag pipers and the chocolate fondue fountain! We are so happy for you two!