A Halloween Walk Down Memory Lane

I stumbled across some old pictures on my computer recently.  Many of them were Seth when he was a toddler.  I sat there and just grinned at the silly pictures I found.  I really wanted to cry! He is just growing up so fast!  It really breaks my heart!  

I found his first Halloween picture and just cracked up!  I remember being SO excited as fall approached! I had never really gotten into Halloween before I had Seth.  I did activities with my students when I taught school, but I had never purchased a costume.  I had no idea what I had been missing!!! Naturally, I thought his first costume had to be perfect.  After searching stores and websites I found this adorable Hershey's Kiss!!  Too sweet!!  

Seth's first Halloween ~ 2003 ~ Our very own Hershey's Kiss! 

Halloween 2004 ~ Seth the Jester! 

Halloween 2005 - Seth the Cowboy

Halloween 2006 - Seth the Football Player

Halloween 2007 ~ Seth the Biker Dude! 

Halloween 2008 ~ Seth the Pirate! Arghhh!!!

I am missing 2009! UGH!! Do you hate it when you can't find something??  It drives me nuts!!  Just know that this year he was a Special Forces Officer... and I WILL find the picture!!  

Seth the "Army Man" ~ 2010

2011 ~ We were not very creative this year.  He said he wanted to be a baseball player.  It sounded good (i.e We didn't have purchase a thing!!) to me!!

2012 ~ Hmmm... Not sure what to say about this one ~ Seth as Al Capone?

Thank you for joining me as I walk down Memory Lane - Halloween style!!  I am sure you can determine when Seth began to have a say in his Halloween costumes.  "Cute" costumes gave way to "all boy" costumes!!!  And that gave way to AL Capone!  Ha!! My baby is growing up! This year will probably be his last year to go Trick or Treating. But I am not going to dwell on that right now.  At this point, he says he wants to be a Marine or Army Man.  And I am okay with that choice!  

Hope your Halloween is super sweet!!! Ours will certainly be sweet... sugary sweet!  We have TONS of candy ready and waiting for princesses, ghosts, goblins, Army men, Power Rangers, clowns, and any other little characters that stop by our house!  

Natural Fall Mantel

I am finally going to share my fall mantel. I wish I could say that I just threw some things together and called it a day. I wish I could say I just worked with what I had (that is partially true) and a few minutes later voilà - A beautiful mantel was ready for the fall.  But..... I could not get this one to come together.  I have wished and wished for a mantel to decorate for the seasons.  We have typically had a huge television over our mantel, and that REALLY limits what you do to make the fireplace look festive.  However, we moved recently and we now have a "den" and a small living/sitting room. (To tell the truth, I am not sure what to call this room). The den is where we hang out and watch tv.  The "sitting room" is where we - hmmm, we don't do anything in here!! Well, we walk through it on the way to the kitchen and den!!  But, I digress!  Back to the story - I was finally able to decorate the mantel and it threw me for a loop.  I started, stopped, tweaked it,  tried again and finally decided it was complete.  What do you think?

I have had the picture for several years. It used to hang in our foyer.  I thought it was perfect now over the fireplace.  Prior to decorating for fall I had it

 propped up on the mantel. I asked Jon to hang it for me so I could place items 

underneath it without appearing too crowded. 

I love the little squirrels that I purchased at a florist near where I work in Mississippi.  

Their faces are precious!  I scattered around some of my tiny plush

 pumpkins, acorns and mushrooms.  

I pulled out some of the pumpkins that I have purchased over the last few years.  These were purchased at Hallmark and Hobby Lobby.  While I do collect Ironstone, this pitcher is inexpensive.  It is from Target and cost less than fifteen dollars.  I believe the burlap flowers are actually poinsettias.  I am sure they are meant for Christmas, but I fell in love with them.  I decided not to wait until December to use them.  

My friend, Lynda, made the burlap bow for me.  She is always willing to help me 

because I can not make a bow!!  

I picked up an oval grapevine wreath from Michael's.  

I added the sweet owl that also came from the florist 

in Hurley, MS. It is an ornament - I snipped off the hanger. 

 I plan on getting more of these for my Christmas tree! 

  I picked up the small burlap rosettes at Antiques at the Loop in Mobile. 

 It is the BEST antique store around!! 

An apothecary jar is filled with pine cones to add more natural elements. 

The antique wire basket on the right was also a recent 

purchase from Antiques at the Loop.  I am not sure what it was originally used for but I am picturing someone collecting eggs in this little gem. 

 Don't tell me if that is not what it was 

used for - I have such a sweet picture in my mind!!  

So there you have it: my fall mantel.   Now, I am off to watch my little one play football!! I am so thankful that the weather in Alabama has finally cooled off just a bit.  It was actually below 80 degrees this week.  Yippee!!  As always, thank you for visiting Buttercup Bliss! 

I am joining the following parties:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Tweak It Tuesday @ Cozy Little House

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Come join the fun! 

Happy Fall from Buttercup Bliss

I hope everyone is enjoying the first few days of Fall.  We are eagerly

 anticipating the arrival of cooler temps in south Alabama. 

Mosaic Monday ~ Patriotic Style

My friend and fellow blogger, Lynda, introduced me to Mosaic Monday at the Little Red House recently.  I had very limited experience with Pic Monkey, but decided to give it a try.  This summer I assembled a patriotic tablescape for Memorial Day and The 4th of July.  There is just something so cheerful about the colors red, white and blue.  Even though I wasn't blogging then, I did take pictures of the table, because you know.... you never know when you might want to share. :-)  Mosaic Monday seemed like to perfect opportunity to improve my skills on Pic Monkey and share the tablescape! 

 So... there it is!  I realize I have a lot to learn about creating mosaics, but I think the first one turned out pretty well! I have created several red, white and blue tablescapes  over the years ~ I think they are perfect any time of year!  Denim, bandannas  grosgrain ribbons, gingham checks, daisies, and white ironstone are a winning combination!  

Happy Monday!! 

Lisa 

I am joining the following: 

Mosaic Monday @ Little Red House

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Amaze Me Monday

Catching Up, Again....

Jon, Seth and me at my sister's wedding in December

So... it's been a while since I have last posted.  I didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging.  I looked up and eight or nine months have rushed by without one blog post!  I have been reading my favorite blogs all along so I haven't totally been out of the loop. Over the last few weeks and months though,  I realized that I have truly missed blogging! We are approaching my absolute favorite time of year - FALL! I am ready to make something... not sure exactly what yet, but my creative juices are flowing!!  Here is a little bit of what we have been up to the last few (well, quite a few) months:

My sister got remarried in December.  This is the happy couple: Anita and Barry 

The three grandkids: Paige, Spencer and Seth

Seth turned 10!!!  As you can tell, my cake/cookie decorating skills have not improved since last year.  I must take a class!!! On the plus side, they always taste delicious!!

Seth always chooses Carrabbas for his birthday lunch.  Yummy! 

Of course, we have been playing a lot of baseball! 

During spring break we went to see the Blue Angels practice in Pensacola.  It was amazing!! 

We also toured the Naval Aviation Museum.  

Seth's latest obsession is the military so he really enjoyed this day! 

We ended the day touring the Pensacola Lighthouse.  Seth and Jon climbed to the top!!  

Not me - I am terrified of heights! 

There were MANY steps to the top!! 

The view from the top! 

In May my oldest stepson, Matt, graduated from high school.  We are very proud of him. 

Jon and all of his boys:  Matt, Drew and Seth.  

Along the way, I did some pretty sweet (if I do say so myself) tablescapes.  I won't share them now since they are not "in season" at this time.  Even if I wasn't blogging, the house was looking nice - a pretty table is a must!!! 

I turned the big 5-0!! Jon went to my office the night before and placed a LOT of pigs and cows in the lawn surrounding the building -along with a sign that said "Holy Cow! Somebody Squealed!"  It was hilarious!!!! (Try to ignore the fact that I was overdue for a cut/color!!)  Getting older is not easy :-)

I had been really dreading this day, but Jon made it really special and fun! He also sent roses and cupcakes for my friends at work! 

We also spent a wonderful weekend at The Grand Hotel, Pointe Clear, AL.  It is just beautiful - the perfect place for a sweet birthday weekend! 

So now you are up to date.  School has started and Seth is playing football this fall.  It feels great to be back!!  I am ready to share some recipes, maybe a project or two and some other small updates we've been doing.  Life is good!!  

See you soon!!  

Lisa