Gatsby-Themed Halloween

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Today's the day the foundation work begins on our house! Super nervous! We're hoping all goes well. In the mean time though...Saturday we went to a wedding where the guests dressed up in costumes. Trent and I 's costumes were Gatsby-inspired! Has anyone else seen the movie? I loved it, especially the 1920's fashion. And it was really fun dressing up. So I thought I'd share a little Gatsby-themed costume inspiration for you all.

(Original image from here)

It was fun dressing up, although I think I was the only one out of the two of us who really had to put together a legit costume. Trent just had to look nice. Haha. Here we are at the wedding in our costumes:

I had been gathering ideas on Pinterest for a while and it was fun putting together an authentic twenties, flapper-style look. So without further ado, here are some ideas if anyone else is planning a similar costume for Halloween, or any twenties, Gatsby-themed party!

First things first, accessories are what make this outfit! I'm not normally an accessory girl, so it was crazy for me having so many things to keep track of in my outfit...but there's certain things that are essential to making the "flapper" look:

(Original image from here)

• Hair - Curls, or short hair. Both looks were popular for that time. I went for the more wavy look, but remember that short hair was really in then, and also the really tightly curled locks.
• Headband - Gotta have the flapper headband. Preferably with feathers and sequins! You can get these at costume shops or online. I got most of my accessories at Halloween costume stores.
• Makeup - Smoky eyes and red lips. I wore my red lipstick and fake eyelashes. Gotta glam it up!
• Feather boa - Or a fur stole. But the feather boa really completes the outfit and adds to the glam factor. I went for classic black.
• Other accessories - Cigarette holder, sequin clutch, fishnet stockings, long pearl necklace, silk gloves, and glam jewelry. You can find most of this stuff at costume stores. Although the jewelry you can get almost anywhere, of course.

Another important, obvious part of this costume is the dress! I was excited to wear a flapper-style dress, and wanted one that wasn't really "costumey" but found that those are really hard to find! I didn't find much in the stores, and those I found online were either not available or more than I wanted to spend. I ended up just buying a fringy, flapper dress from a Halloween store. It was cute and didn't look too cheap like a lot of store-bought costumes do.

Here are a few dresses I found on Pinterest that inspired me - I'm not sure where they're all from, but I believe the last one is from ModCloth:

Aren't these dresses gorg? The sequins, the bling... All of the embellishments, etc. are all very Art deco. As for the shoes, I didn't put much effort into finding vintage-looking heels; I just wore some generic black strappy heels that weren't too tall. I felt like I had a lot going on with the whole outfit, so I didn't want to overdo it with crazy heels or shoes that stood out too much.

I loved this theme, and it was really fun going as a couple and actually having a theme this year! We even had a little fun in the photo booth at the wedding....

Good times! For more ideas and inspiration for a Gatsby-themed costume, feel free to check out my Pinterest board here. There's video tutorials for twenties hair and make-up, and lots more!

Easy Burlap Frame Mat

Thought I would share an easy little crafty project I did this week. I picked up some burlap from JoAnn's to make some fun fall projects. I've been wanting to use it as kind of a mat in my little frame gallery. So the other night, I finally did it. And was actually really surprised how quick I whipped it together.

I've seen lots of different ways to add burlap to frames, but mine just might be the easiest. (Don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Ha!) 

Here's how I did it. I just started with a roll of the burlap fabric, and opened up my Ribba IKEA frame. Then I set the frame on top of the fabric and cut around it. I knew it wouldn't have to be perfect, because the edges would be covered by that small edge inside of the frame anyway. So I did ZERO measurements!

Then once I had a piece that would fit into the frame (see those imperfect edges? Doesn't matter!), I just took a black and white 5x7 photo I had taken and literally just taped the back of it onto the center of the burlap with a couple of pieces of scotch tape rolled up on the back. It's just enough to make it stay in the center. You can even use Scotch mounting photo squares or double-sided tape if you have it.

Then voila! Close up the frame, and there's your burlap mat. It only took me about 10-15 minutes. Now that's the kind of project I like!

I love it for fall and winter. It adds a nice bit of warmth to the frame wall.

Here's some wider shots of how it looks in the living room:

Pardon the glare. There was way too much light coming in from the windows to take a glare-free picture of these frames! But you get the idea.



I love burlap crafts. It's so easy to form and cut, and it has great texture. Super versatile! Can't wait to make more crafty things with it. :)

Linked up to:  Tatertots and Jello, The Pin Junkie, Suburbs Mama, Liz Marie Blog, Domestic Superhero.

More Foundation Prep Work

In preparation for our foundation getting fixed on Monday, the utility people stopped by again today and did some more marking of utilities in the yard. Not going to lie...our front yard kind of looks like an obstacle course now. It's getting real, people!

It's also making us a little more nervous. Who knew we had so many utilities around? These make for more obstacles to hit. I've seen HGTV and the DIY Network where they hit a line and it sets them back a day. Scary! We're hoping for the best, though! (10 points if you can spot Saleen in this picture).

Apparently the blue line is a water line, and the green line is some kind of sewer thing? I have no idea.

Trent talked to the guy again today briefly and found out that he will have to be home when they start Monday morning. We're planning on doing some prep work, like taking down my beloved dishes in the kitchen, and other breakable stuff. More to come this week!

Preparing for the Foundation Work

The day is fast approaching...Monday is when we are scheduled for the foundation work to start on our house. Today while Trent and I were at work, the utility people came and marked where the utility lines are in the yard. 

Please excuse our dead grass. We had a legit drought this summer.

Here are some "Before" pictures of the foundation. This side of the house is the side that we're getting fixed. You can see where it looks like it's crumbling and falling in.

It's kind of a mess, to say the least.

This picture really shows where it's cracked and falling apart, and how the insulation is seeping through:

But you might say this one looks even worse....



I can't believe the day is almost here! I'm both excited and nervous for it to be done. And I have so many questions before they start. Like what we need to do to prepare, etc. I will keep updating throughout the whole process. It should hopefully only take a few days. After it's done, if all goes well, we should have a much safer and more level house! And we'll be able to finish the hallway and redo all the rooms on that side of the house - the kitchen, back room, and laundry room...not all at once, though. :)

Our Fall Porch 2013

Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend. Today I'm sharing our front porch all decorated for fall! All the summer flower pots are gone, and it's time for pumpkins and fall mums!

I've really been trying to water the mums as much as I can but they seem to be having a tough time. Not sure why! They've been looking really "wilty" for the past couple of weeks but are still hanging in there!

Almost all of the paint has peeled off of the porch floor, which I think we first painted a few years ago - maybe the fall that I moved in? It's in need of a new coat of paint, or something different like stain or tile maybe...but we might have to wait until next year since it's getting colder now. Another thing I can't wait for is to get a new front door. Once the foundation is fixed, I'm sure we'll have many little projects like this to complete...

On to other topics, though....Do you think we have enough pumpkins? :) We got them all from the pumpkin patch at my grandparents' house. They are huge this year! Although there are a couple of fake "imposter" ones in the midst - That white ghost pumpkin and my "welcome" pumpkin in the wooden crate. You can see how I painted it here. A really simple little project!



You can really see how bad the cement floor looks here....makes me want to redo it pronto. Anyone have any tips? I'd hate to redo it or paint it right before winter though..and then it peels off again!

Here's evidence we have been watering these things....

I like to have him do the work for me sometimes. Just easier that way. :)

Oh, and see those stone pavers in front of the flower bed there? We just laid them down temporarily to see what it would look like. I kinda love them, even though they will be set into the ground a little more once they're installed. It does make me excited to make a path that goes to the driveway. It will be a lot of work though and will take a lot more pavers! I think that's another project we might have to wait until spring for.

I really am liking our fall porch decor this year (despite that ugly cement floor of course!). You can see some past fall decor here. Oh yeah, and I'm kind of upset we missed the local Scenic Drive this year (a collection of tons of craft fairs, yard sales, and flea market-type of stuff). It usually takes place the first two weekends in October, and Trent and I were busy both weekends this year. Go figure. Maybe next year we'll make it back again!

Landscaping the Side Yard is Complete!

If you've been following our progress on landscaping the side yard, well, you'll be happy to know that I am calling this project complete! If not, you can visit the posts here, here, here, here, and here to see where we first started to where we are now.

Of course, we plan to do even more here in the future, like create a walking path to the driveway, and plant some more bushes and flowers in the plant bed. But the main part of the job is officially finished!

For a quick recap, here was what we started with back in the beginning of August:

The grass was a lot greener then, but it was not much to look at. We hadn't given this area of the yard much attention since we've been here, but since we park on this side of the house now (you can see my temporary garage-tent in the photo below - the big ol' gray thing behind the house), we walked past this space everyday and started envisioning some nice landscaping here.

I'm so glad we're finally done with the brunt of the work. The next big project (the walkway) might have to wait until next year, considering it took a couple of months for us to finish the plant bed.

Here are the final steps we made to complete the project:

First - We finished filling the end of the bed and leveling it out with dirt. I really helped with this step! Trent tilled up some dirt in the backyard and we both shoveled it into the lawn trailer.

Then emptied it into the plant bed to level it out. Trent also made a slight slope right in front of the house for rain to run off.

Next we just covered the remaining section with landscaping fabric like we did on the other side to prevent weeds from seeping through. This is a two-person job in my opinion, especially if you have a large area to cover and a few plants to go around. It helps if one person unrolls the fabric while the other person is on the opposite end to cut it. I have to say, it was much easier to do it in the daylight! The first section we covered at night, which was a bit difficult even with a spotlight. ;)

Then all we had left was to cover the remaining area with mulch and rock. We used maybe 10 bags of mulch on this side and five bags of rock.

Our final step was pressure-washing the house. I couldn't wait for this step! The grime on the siding was really bugging me. Just look at this photo from earlier - see that green mildewy type of stuff on the house?

I couldn't wait for it to be gone. I watched Trent wash the siding off, and as always, this part is always the coolest part to watch. I seriously love pressure-washers. They work miracles.

Here's the side of the house all clean and shiny!

And that was just the house. Next was cleaning the basement door. This old thing will have to be replaced next year. The temporary bricks stacked on the foundation just ain't workin'! But we're making due with what we have this year.

It's amazing what this thing can do. The dirt washed right off and it was looking brand spankin' new again.....almost. Ignore the shabby bricks on the side. :)

Look at our shiny like-new door now! Washing all the dirt away was really what made the project look "finished."

Here's the finished project. Lots of work and bricks..and more materials. But worth it. It will only get better as we add our walkway and additional plants and flowers. And as the grass greens up a bit. :)

Here's the Total Project Cost Breakdown:

Materials and Costs for landscaping the west side of the house - Summer/Fall 2013:

• Mulch - (had 4-5 bags already on hand) Purchased 10 more bags at approx. $3.67 each ($36.76) then four more bags at $2.99 each (11.96) = $48.72
• Nylon rope 215' = $3.04
• Potting mix/fertilizer (1 bag) = $7.99
• Top soil - 2 bags at $1.19 each = $2.38
• Leveling sand - 5 bags at $2.97 each = $14.85
• 116 Total Landscaping bricks (Most were approx. $1.69 each - we got some on sale for .99 cents) = $162.96
• Weed fabric (1 4x80' roll) = $9.99
• River pebble - 10 bags at approx. $2.73 each = $27.30
• Hydrangea plant = $27.98
• Hostas - 4 at $5.98 each = $23.92

Taxes: $23.96
Total before Rebates: $353.09
11% Mail-in Rebates = - $20.21
Project Total:  $332.88

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All materials were purchased at Menards but the plants, which were from Lowe's. The bulk of the money spent went toward the landscaping bricks. We made several trips back over the course of the two months for more materials. There was an 11% Rebate sale going on for some of the time, so we saved a little there. We also caught a sale on the landscaping bricks where we got them for only 99 cents. Wish we would have been able to purchase all of them at that time! We got to send in 3 Rebate receipts, so we received store credit for those amounts (totaling $20.21), which we were able to use to buy the remaining materials we needed.

Starting out we never really had a budget. We just always try to get the materials little by little as we go. It's always interesting to see the breakdown of costs, though! Doing it ourselves probably saved a little chunk of change, too. We just ended up with a couple of unused bricks and a bag of sand that we didn't use, but it will come in handy when we start on the walkway.

I can't wait to plant more plants and really fill the bed out next year. It will be a challenge, since this is a mostly shaded area. For now though, I'd say a successful outdoor project is complete! I can sleep better at night. :)