happy halloween - goodbye october

today was a very unconventional Halloween for me

first off, I wasn't in the classroom, obviously, so that was new for me

secondly, I am kind of in that mode where baby could come any day

and I realize that putting things off isn't a good idea

so yesterday was a major clean out of some closets with the mr.

and today, well today was for taking down Halloween decorations

the only catch

when I take down Halloween decorations, I put Christmas ones up

now to try to balance things out I did have on Edward Scissor Hands 

in the background while decorating

and yes, you have pictured it correctly

I am sitting here Halloween evening

completely surrounded by my own winter wonderland

it is even sprinkling outside a bit

and since we did our celebrating last weekend for Halloween

and I watched my obligatory October movie - Hocus Pocus

I am very ready to welcome in November

but for now I wish everyone a happy Halloween

no matter what the day may have brought you, I hope you made the best of it

display via Scout Living

ocean filigree pyrex - a little gift to myself

today the mr. and I had some errands to run

and we figured we would swing by one of our local antique malls

we were looking for vintage christmas finds

but had no luck there

instead, I did have some pretty awesome pyrex luck

my collection is large and I am extremely picky these days

but when I spied this casserole I knew I had to look closer

so yes, I am now very excited to own this very rare piece

I have found very little information on it

but it seems to go by the name Ocean Filigree

and yes, even though it may seem strange, it came with this awesome 

green plastic hugger cradle

so different than the typical pyrex cradle made of wood and metal

and green does happen to be my favorite color

so when I found it for a fraction of the online pricing

I knew it was time to get myself a little present

especially since it will most likely be the last piece of pyrex I buy for a while

because as many of you can probably tell by now

everly mae is going to be here oh so soon

so I'll be out of the thrifting scene for a bit

because I am going to be too busy snuggling with my little baby girl

we keep things low key

last night we enjoyed a very simple halloween celebration

this year we kept things very last minute and simple

mostly because we had no real way of knowing if we were going to be up for celebrating

or at the hospital in labor

and since Everly is still hanging in there for me as of the moment

we had the opportunity to do some celebrating

I loved our night of pumpkin carving and decorating

of playing games and enjoying sweet treats

and above all

spending the time with friends who also loved this kind of night

and as we get closer to the little lady's due date

it is amazing to know we have people around us who are so excited for her arrival

and where our little group is heading

and in case it wasn't clear, we took advantage of me being 

9 months pregnant for halloween

and dressed up as Juno and Paulie Bleeker

37 weeks is officially in the books

maternity leave is for...

many things getting checked off the to-do list

and I've been off for a week now and I am amazed how I got anything done before

when working full time

because man, I've been busy, everyday

so here's what maternity leave has been for lately:

-catching up on masters homework

-spending time with Luna who now apparently likes me a lot more

 now that I'm not working

-decorating treat cups for our little halloween get-together tomorrow

-watching Everly move around like crazy

-learning that taking laundry out of the dryer is an art form when 

we are talking baby clothes

[my first attempt left a pretty crazy trail of little things through the house]

-having time to realize that your friends are obsessed with Skittles 

[and actually remembering to stock up for the weekend]

-picking out the perfect pumpkins

-realizing that lunch is now my main meal because by dinner 

there just doesn't seem to be any more room for a "real meal"

-taking mini road trips to see some important people before E arrives

-getting used to people saying "this is the last time I'll see you before baby time"

[which is crazy to me for some reason]

-learning that I am really picky when it comes to buying clothes for Everly

[like super picky]

there has been some resting

there has been a LOT of good sleeping

and a ton of enjoying fall

and getting so excited that our little one is coming during my favorite time of year

a disney halloween good time

a little over a week ago the mr. and I took our last little road trip

as just mr. and mrs.

and we took advantage of our annual passes to disneyland

we finally got to see the park decorated for halloween

so since I had a lot of time in the park to take pictures

due to the fact that most of my favorite "big rides" 

aren't exactly friendly to pregnant women

here is what I did

 and to celebrate the fact that we were in disneyland exactly

 one month before my due date

we bought one of these AMAZING carmel apples

we split the one on the bottom right hand corner

apple, carmel, oreo crumbles, white chocolate drizzle and gummy worms

we took it back to the hotel, chilled it for a bit [my preference]

and then enjoyed every last bite, yum, I now want another one

pumpkin baking and rain is falling

today is a perfect fall day to stay inside

my house currently smells just how it should for the end of october

pumpkin baked goods and fresh rain falling, yes please

last year I shared the easiest pumpkin muffin recipe ever

and I finally got the chance to make them again yesterday morning

and I've been enjoying them ever since, I've shared a few

but I think baby and I have had the most

the best part in making these muffins is that they only take two ingredients

15 oz. can of pumpkin

yellow cake mix

that's it

however, if you like spicier pumpkin baked goods

which I do

I suggest getting into the spice cabinet and just going for it

I used my pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg

and I might have even thrown in some allspice after I snapped this picture

and because there is no raw egg in the batter

this pregnant lady had no problems testing the batter until it tasted just how I wanted

make sure to fill the cupcake liners up pretty high because they will not rise a ton

bake for 20 minutes at 350 and call it a day

36 weeks

hitting nine months officially this week

and Everly is letting us know that she will be here soon

she has been a very active baby for some time

especially during our evening t.v. time

but now the movement is so visible it is just simply crazy

thankfully she is still hanging out in the head down position

but is still pretty high up, so I'm thinking I still have a little time before she arrives

besides trying to get up off the sofa in the evenings

and the complete inability to bend at the waist

I've still been feeling pretty good

rings are fitting

ankles are still visible

so no complaints here

and the best part, maternity leave is my new happy place

oh, and fall is officially here for us in northern california

and that makes me one happy lady

there may even be a little rain in the future

good, awesome, lovely

maternity leave has officially begun

and it is already rockin'

getting to sleep in

having time to tidy things up around the house

and starting to run some baby errands felt pretty great

however, leaving my classroom yesterday was a very odd feeling

knowing the room is still mine, and has all my stuff

but knowing there will be another teacher there for six months was kind of giving

this control freak some mixed emotions

with that being said

I left gladly

this year has been a challenge for me

and I quickly realized that my focus now was outside the classroom

I never got planned in for more than a couple of days at a time

something that has never happened before

so now I am very glad to spend this year becoming a mom

and knowing that I will get my passion back for the classroom

it is just not going to happen right at this moment

instead, it's baby time folks

it's halloween time at disneyland

and the mr. and I got to experience it this past weekend

for years now we have talked about going to Disneyland for Halloween

but it just never seemed to happen

so when October rolled around this year we figured we had two really great reasons to 

make sure the trip happened this year:

#1 we have a season pass, so the weekend was pretty inexpensive for us

#2 it was going to be our last weekend away before Everly arrives

here is just a quick glance at our trip according to my phone

and I look forward to sharing some "real photos" later this week

now the weekend didn't go off without a few little hitches

like when I cut the top of my two toes pretty bad while walking into a Taco Bell

and let me just say, bleeding in the middle of a fast food joint

 is something I could have done without

not to mention, real shoes were no longer an option for the rest of the trip

but thankfully the flip flops did the trick

the other big issue - the park was PACKED

the husband and I just tied to take it all in

and realize that we will go back in February when the experience is a little calmer

and lastly, I've developed this fun little inner leg cramp/twitch thing

that comes out of nowhere, and lasts just a few seconds

but I look like a spaz when it hits me, and yes, I think many people around me

probably thought I was going into labor

but oh well

all in all, considering I was nine months pregnant on this little trip

I would say we did pretty well!

on another note, tomorrow is my last day of work before maternity leave

and yes, I am SO ready for it!

Last weekend away as a family of two and a bump

The Mr. and I are headed out for a couple of days to visit The Happiest Place on Earth while it is still technically still just the two of us. Here's to some time in Disneyland nine months pregnant and while it's decorated for my favorite time of year - Halloween! And yes, we did rent a Prius - yeah for good mileage for this little trip across the state, just never thought I would see the husband next to one.

ten on ten [october]

today was a challenging ten on ten for me

at 35 weeks pregnant - a work day is hard enough to get through

without trying to capture the beauty in that day

but hey, that's the point of the project after all

but still, it was a hard one

hopefully I'll be going out on maternity leave next week

because folks, I'm done

1. yes, it's wednesday, and I'm wearing flip-flops at work [I told you I was done]

2. post-its & polka dots

3. Spooky Stories done and hung up [and almost all graded]

4. writing options & giant eraser happiness

5. doctor office - trying to get written out earlier [now just paperwork logistics & I'm free]

6. trying to be productive - did find some new fall sweaters - now if it would get even cooler

7. homeward bound

8. new toy for Everly, figured E would need an Elephant, and it is SO soft

9. washing my latest Pyrex find from the weekend

10. time to put my feet up at last

33 weeks

last minute baby prepping is keeping the mr. and I pretty busy

we've now finished our classes

and the last thing on our list is the hospital tour

I have three weeks left of work

and hopefully that will give me a few days before Everly gets here

it seems like all the first time moms I know lately have been having their babies

at least two weeks early

so I might need a few extra days off - we'll see

they're back!

in the past I have posted about my love for the Etsy Shop Retro Menagerie

yes, part of my love is due to the fact that I'm great friends with the shop owner

but the second part of my love comes from the awesomeness of the prints

I have several hanging in E's nursery

but I must admit, some of my favorite prints from the shop

are the holiday designs created by Jaymee Srp

and today I noticed that the Halloween prints are back and ready for order

here are a few of my favorite designs

Mid Century Haunted House [I have this one in my house!]

Ghost in a Pirate Costume  & Ghost Print

Retro Black Cat Eye Print

So if you are feeling like you could use a new addition to your Halloween decor
check out Retro Menagerie for all her holiday prints
you will not be disappointed by the quality of prints
and the speediness in which they are delivered to you!

feeling a tad under the weather

the last couple of days I've been battling a head cold

and let me tell you, I haven't really complained this pregnancy

until this week

so here is what helped make my day today

we got the canvas I ordered of one of my favorite maternity photos

and I'm loving it in E's nursery right now

and while we are in the nursery

the bookshelf is getting pretty awesome

and I cannot wait to start reading to the little lady

time to get back to relaxing

and drinking my body weight in water & vitamin C

welcoming my favorite month

October is simply an amazing month

however, this year I haven't quite taken full advantage of it's awesomeness yet

today, it was 100 degrees here in northern california

and pretty much the worst way to welcome in this month that is supposed to be filled

with all things fall

by next week we should be in the 80's, but still, not quite tights & scarves weather

besides the weather, something else shocking has happened this October first

I am still not decorated for Halloween

for many years now, I have taken advantage of the mr. 

working all of labor day weekend to decorate for Halloween

however, pregnancy has a silly way of making you find other things to do

so hopefully this weekend I will get a few things put up

just to feel a little more like myself

[recycled image from last year, again - kind of the theme this fall, until it starts feeling like fall[
so here are a few of my goals for this month:

#1 keep miss everly mae happy enough in my tummy to not make her appearance until at least November 1st

#2 go to a pumpkin patch

#3 bake any type of pumpkin goodies I can come up with

#4 visit apple hill again this year, maybe this time during the week 

while I'm on maternity leave and the place isn't crazy

#5 get costumes - just in case we can still have a minor halloween shindig

#6 wear a scarf

#7 wear shoes that are closed-toe & have a back for that fact

#8 visit my sister meg in her new oakland apartment

#9 carve jack-o-lanterns again this year

#10 try to wrap my head around the fact that this will be the last month that the mr. & I are

"just the two of us"