Halloween 2012

Well y’all, Halloween 2012 went of without a hitch! 

We helped out in Pumpkin Centers in the PCP’s class (showing off his veggie monster)…


Sister and Bird came over to play and deliver adorable Halloween treats for the littles…
 

We dined on a delish supper of chili, cornbread, tombstone brownies (thank you Mimi for the pans and such) and witch’s brew…
 

  

 

We donned our costumes (Captain America for Whit and Shadow Ice Wolf Ninja…what on earth is that anyway?…for John)…




And we headed out TrIcK oR tReAtInG with the S family, the R family and the W family!!!  Our host A made the most divine apple cider to keep us warm - I've got to get that recipe!
 

Wonder of all wonders, the littles were way more into getting candy than eating candy.  After just three measley pieces, they are already in bed fast asleep.  Now, I’m about put on my PJs and finish my annual Halloween week marathon of horror movies.  Thus far I have Carrie (great), Carrie 2 (okay), Hand that Rocks the Cradle (great) and American Psycho (awful) under my belt.  I know Honey will be happy tomorrow when he doesn’t have to go to sleep with his pillow wrapped around his head :-)

Hope y’all had a safe and spooky Halloween!
xoxo

Modern home designs front views entrance ideas.

Modern home designs front views Main entrance ideas.

Modern home designs front views entrance ideas.

Modern home designs front views Main entrance ideas.

Open House Party

 

  

Welcome To the Open House

 

 

 

No Tricks Just Treats At This Weeks Party.

 

I am starting the party early so you can spend time with your little ghouls and goblins.

 

Thanks to everyone that joined the Open House party last week. I have chosen

a few entries to feature from the party.  Please take a minute to visit these blogs

and tell them you saw their post at the Open House party.

 

 

 

Claire @ The Rustic Pig  transformed a plain Jane chair into this beauty.

 

 

 

Just look at the beautiful bathroom remodel at A Pinterest Addict that Eliesa and

her husband just finished.

 

 

 

How cute is this antler pillow made by  Aimee @ It's Overflowing ! 

 

 

 

Check out Katie's pretty renovated kitchen at  Lets Add Sprinkles.  

 

I hope you have a fun Halloween and please be safe.
 

   

 

 





Autos and Automne (Happy Halloween!)

Some nights, when we can't get "Suits" to stream properly on the sub-par Parisian Internet or when we feel overfed or just for the hell of it, the talented engineer (who now moonlights as a photographer) and I take walks. Or, on nights where we have to get a blog post up pronto and he really wants to take pics at the Mercedes-Benz showroom, we take the métro and then walk.

Brainiacs

On the eve of Halloween, we sat down to dine on brains, of all things…brains for supper (angel hair pasta with marinara) and brains for dessert (sugar free jello with a few gummy worms).
 
I purchased the brain jello mold last year FREE (plus $2.95 shipping) from the Kraft Store last year and, as luck would have it, they have the same deal going on this year through tomorrow only!

While we were dining on all those brains, Honey was enjoying BBQ, beers and a tour of Georgia Tech’s new McCamish Pavilion at an event hosted by Hunter Technical Resources (a gaggle of our college friends started this great biz, for those of you job hunting in the ATL.) 

Brain pasta and jello versus BBQ, beers, Buzz and besties …yes, I believe I am a tish jealous. :-)

Still praying for all y'all up North...
xoxo

A Little Photo Enhancing Tutorial

I have three projects in the works (two simple crafts and one building project) that I hope turn out okay and if so I plan on doing tutorial for those, but thanks to the girls being sick all last week and Hurricane Sandy none of them are finished or photographed yet. I am hoping I'll have at least one of them ready soon, though! In the meantime, I thought I would share another little Photoshop tutorial. This one will focus on just a few quick things you can do to kind of "clean up" and brighten a shot up a bit without any major changes. This comes in handy for just simple snapshots and for photos that no setup is done beforehand and therefore need a little"pop".

Technically speaking the photo I am using isn't a great shot, but that's the point of this tutorial - taking just a basic snapshot and enhancing it a bit. For this photo I added a slight pop to Lillie's eyes, cloned out a few things, sharpened her face and hair a bit, cropped it, and then ran an action for a pop of color. I'll show you each one:

The first thing I do is open the photo I want to work on in Photoshop CS5 and choose my brush size and then click on Pioneer Woman's "Bring on the Eyes" action.

I zoom in on her eyes and brush over them and then lower the percentage so they aren't too bright.

Once I've very slightly brightened her eyes I flatten my layers.

Then I use the clone tool (5th one down on the toolbar on the left)

Using the clone tool I then get of the little spot where Lillie had bit her lip earlier and lighten the shadows under her eyes. After that I clone out the stop sign behind her.

Now it's time to do a little sharpening. I used the "Sharpen This" action from Pioneer Woman. For this image I chose to just sharpen her face and hair. I chose a larger brush for this and set the opacity at 50% to start with.

And now I just use the crop tool and crop my image just a bit.

And now that I am done with the editing I run Paint the Moon's Rainbow Bright Action from the Sublime Set. It's one of my favorite's!

I heightened the opacity on the "Make it Darker" level so that it wasn't too light.

And there you have it. Nothing fancy, but a nice boost to a simple snapshot!

 I also wanted to introduce one of our newest sponsor:

 Here is a little bit of info about them from their website:

"Aadley & Co. is a small family owned business located in beautiful Pensacola Florida.  All of our products are handmade in small batches with the utmost attention to detail.  We never use premade bases or shortcuts in the making of our products.  We hand package and label all our products and we always strive to produce the best products possible for our customers."

They make beautiful candles. I own one and can say it is a wonderful product!

They also make lovely soaps, lotions and lotion bars!

 I hope you all are having a lovely week!

From Foliage to Fluval Aquariums - Fabulous Fall Time Decorations to Implement

Today's post brought to you by guest Blogger, Sierra....

Fall time is truly an enchanting season to celebrate and with each passing day it's impossible not to cherish the simple elements that make fall time what it is. You may associate fall time with hot apple cider, beautiful tree leaves that fall to the ground, or creating new memories with friends. No matter what fall time means to you, it's also a great time to decorate your home with fall time festive decorations. Here are some ideas that you may want to consider implementing into your home and in the process create a fabulous fall time interior that's ravishing.

Fluval aquariums may be the last thing on your mind to implement into your interior during fall time, but the truth is an aquarium is calming and will remind you of spring and summer days to come, especially after fall and winter fade away. If you're in need of some serenity after a hectic day at work or simply enjoy listening to the sound of water in the backdrop, then a fluval aquarium is just what you need. Enjoy the simplicity of fall time decorations and implement an aquarium to go along with your attractive elements.

Another way to be creative is to use framed silhouettes to spice up your interior. Frame silhouettes of your children or grandchildren and place them on a mantle place. You also could hang them up on the wall depending on your preference. The good news is that they will look nice in your interior all season long and for the fall time will look lovely placed near pumpkins and holiday banners.

Of course there are always beautiful tablescapes to create, which will make your home look inviting and festive at every turn. Try implementing burlap, candles, and other lovely elements that will make your home comforting and beautiful for the holidays.

So this fall time and beyond, allow your imagination to flourish and decorate to your heart's content. There are so many beautiful spaces to revamp and nooks to decorate within your own home. Explore sites to provide you with inspiration and look forward to creating an inviting home that both you and your family will love this holiday season and beyond.

Sierra is a freelance writer and owner of Paige One. She loves fashion, inspiration, and most especially interior design. Learn more about Sierra on her blog Ocean Dreams where she's always an ocean dreamer who loves to make her dreams come true.

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Modern Mediterranean house designs.

Modern Mediterranean house designs.

Modern Mediterranean house designs.

Modern Mediterranean house designs.