Have wonderful cavity-inducing Halloween!

Jim's got this great little habit of surprising me with completed house projects when I get back from trips. A couple years ago it was The Wall Fabric Organizer I had dreamed up, last year he moved The Badly Placed Cabinets to another wall and this year....The Perfect Side Table!

We had been talking about getting some nice side tables for a while now but nice just wasn't enough for us, they had to be functional as well. Not always but sometimes one or the other of us will play or watch a movie on the laptop (since we refuse to put a tv in the bedroom!) while laying in bed. Sitting in bed with your legs out and laptop in, well, your lap is definitely not the most comfortable position. So we started talking about small side tables that would rotate under the bed and still be long enough to hold the weight of a laptop but tall enough for our legs to fit under. Eventually we realized there was nooooo way we were going to find the exact measurements premade.

Luckily for me, my husband and his father work great together and love working on a project! When I got back from Chicago I was super surprised to see the two side tables by our bed. Jim did a great job with the simple lines and beautiful wood.

And I even like the color.
____________________________

Have you all carved your pumpkins already? We have two waiting for us to cut into. I'm pretty sure one of them is going to be the ever faithful Puking Pumpkin. I have a friend who is going to make a Dia de los Muertos alter for Steve Irwin so I thought maybe I might make this pumpkin for her!
____________________________

After rushing home from a day out with my Mom, I was pleasantly surprised to find a package from On A Friday waiting for me! It's so sweet and simple, love love love it. AND...as an extra plus...it reminds me of Harry Potter everytime. (Psst, did you hear Harry Potter's going to be bearing all?)
______________________

On a related note, I figured out why I don't make jewelry. It's such a bloody pain to take pictures of! Kudos to those of you who do it everyday. You're a better woman than I am...or at least better photographer!
______________________

Last night we had our first lesson on the climbing wall! We spent the first 30 min. going over the safety techniques, how to put on your harness, tying a figure 8 knot and belay mechanics (basically, spotting your partner). For the hour and a half after that, Jim and I got to split off from the rest of the (much younger) group and work on our own, with the instructor supervising of course.

I actually did much better than I thought I would! I've always had weak upper body strength so I was a bit worried going into the class but it wasn't too bad. I even felt confident enough to give a route a try. Granted, I fell off while trying but luckily I had a pretty good partner!

At some point, after I had fallen, he told us that if you don't fall at some point in the night, you aren't pushing yourself hard enough. I thought that was pretty good advice to use throughout your life.

I love my new addition to my Wee Lil' Cute Things collection: a donut from My Paper Crane. I ripped through those tiny packages as if they had real donuts inside! I loved how this donut was fuzzy. Welcome home sweet little donut!
_______________________

My computer has a nasty little virus and is seriously infringing on my internet time. I think I need a cupcake. :(

Please welcome the newest addition to the Gerbera family, the big sister to our other messenger bag: The XL Messenger! With 5 pockets to lose your keys in and an extra long strap that can be adjusted from 24 to 48 inches, this bag is definitely large enough for any busy mom or student on the go!

Stop by now to take advantage of our introductory special: FREE SHIPPING!
___________________________

Just got the super exciting news that we will be making the fun trek out to LA for Felt Club's XL Holiday Edition. It'll be nice to see some of the people I met at Renegade and meet new ones! I wonder if I should tell Jim now or later that after seeing the vendor list, I'm really not expecting to come back with much money?
___________________________

Super excited about the Nintendo Wii!

I'm sure most of you know how to make a sock monkey (if not, check out these instructions) but what about making him a bit more Halloween-y? Our latest Craft Project gives you instructions necessary for making your very own Ghoulish Monkey!

Pay attention to the last instruction...just like in the Gremlins, it's the most important!

And if you're into sock monkeys, check out the book Sock Monkey Dreams! Full of important insight into the complicated world of sock monkeys. I can't decide which diorama is my favorite: the one with the monkey getting his back hair shaved by a fuzzbuster or the sock monkeys brake dancing on the last page.

Yay for Sock Monkeys!

I was fortunate enough to be able to do a wonderful trade with Earthenwood Studios a few weeks ago. I got a few Scent Cookies (I'm keeping the apple for myself!) as well as some beads. I wish I had taken a picture of the Bliss Necklace I gave to my sister for her wedding. Very simple but sweet. The cookies come in nice packaging with a little bottle of fragrance. They would be great little gifts by themselves or thrown in a themed package.

Highly recommend checking them out!

I'm back from my sister's wedding reception in Chicago. Tons of fun and hard work! Got to sneak in an Architectural Tour of Downtown Chicago. Very interesting, highly recommend it.
________________________

I'll hopefully be updating the Craft section later this week.
________________________

I'm having a really hard time trying to decide between the The Felt Club and Renegade's Holiday Craft Fairs. Or maybe I should do neither and just stay home? Here are some points:
- The Felt Club is within driving distance (kinda) and Renegade we'd have to fly.
- Jim would have to take 3 days off to drive to LA for FC and only 2 days for Renegade.
- FC is only one day (not necessarily a bad thing) and Rengade is two.
- We *might* be able to stay with Jim's cousin in LA and we'd definitely be able to crash at my sister's in Chicago.

They're both right around my "Crazy Last Minute Shoppers" time...maybe I shouldn't try to do too much.

Oh I just don't know.