Tower of Terror...

or There's a Vampire Dog in My Living Room... (red eye correct actually made her even more ghoulish!)
I began with a balancing act in my little kiln to get a last minute firing in this weekend... picked up an interesting CSA box (brought to you by...the letter "P"!) including persimmons, pomegranates and pattypan squash...and then waited for the cuteness to ensue. Oh, and it did... Hope your Halloween was a spooktacular one!

Halloween with the Colwells!

Last night me and Danny dressed in our finest and headed to a Halloween party at Jennifer and Dustin's house. Jennifer 110% outdid herself. She made an amazing Apple Pie in a Jar, Halloween bars, pumpkin cheesecake, mummy-dogs, and a taco dip.

Jennifer even had a costume contest. And can you imagine I won for sexiest costume? And Danny swears he didn't vote for me. It makes sense though, voting took place after tequila and everclear shots. Jesus won for best costume, funniest costume went to the Mexican, and scariest costume went to the "gay guy." And I'm pretty sure he wasn't in a costume!

Costume parties with couples are always fun. I love seeing what everyone comes up with! Here are the costumed-couples!

The Mexican (aka Mike) came prepared with tequila...and shot glasses. When that was gone, the everclear came out. Let's just say...boys will be boys! By the end of the night Jesus turned the Roman into a devote follower, plans for poker nights were being made, and they were begging to go to the Waffle House.

The party was over when the boys started bargaining with us..."If you don't bring us to the Waffle House we're going to do MORE shots." Carmen and Mike brought me and Danny home, and my night was over when Danny passed out on the couch...and I claimed the bed for myself...complete with no dog!

We had such a fun night with friends and can't wait for the next time we all get together. Jennifer and Dustin, thanks so much for having us over!

Reviews: H&M Shell sz 2 & LOFT Sculpted Sheath Dress sz 00P

Please see the video at the bottom for my review : ) I can't wait for my flip cam to arrive...no more cell phone vids and barely audible volume (gotta turn your sound wayy up to hear)!

Top: H&M sz 2 - Style # 068031  Necklace: J.Crew

Skirt: Ann Taylor Tropical Wool Pencil Skirt sz 00P (taken in) - buy here

Shoes: Mossimo Palani Gladiator Sandals sz 5.5 - buy here - loove these

And here is the top with my Gap jeans that I am absolutely obsessed with:

Jeans: Gap Legging Jeans sz 00P in "faded dark" - buy here

And the LOFT Sculpted Sheath Dress is now on sale for the crazy price of $24.50. Unfortunately I got it for $45 (with a sunken cost of $7.50 for shipping), and I'm on the fence about returning vs. keeping and paying for alterations. Click here to see it on Vicky in 00P, here to see it on Diane in 0P, and here to see Hanna's review on a 0P vs 00P. Photo below was taken after I clipped back about 2 inches:

Dress: LOFT Sculpted Sheath Dress in 00P - sold out online, but not in stores. Click here for item #

Shoes: Aldo peep toes 5.5   Akoya pearls: eBay

Click here if the video player does not work.

Readers - have any of you tried on the top or dress above?

Veterans Day Discounts

Veterans Day is not about discounts. It is a day to remember our fallen and thank our heroes. And it just so happens that many places thank veterans by having discounts and deals. So, remember...while you are taking advantage of these great deals on November 11, make sure you thank a veteran.

If you know of any other discounts, please leave them in the comments. I'll update the list as I find more!

Restaurants
Applebee's Restaurant - Free dinners to veterans throughout the day.

Outback Steakhouse - Free Blooming Onion and beverage. One non-alcoholic drink or one draft Anheuser Busch beer except where prohibited by law

Golden Corral - Free buffet dinner from 5-9 p.m. on Nov. 16 to anyone who has ever served in the U.S. military

McCormick & Schmick's Complimentary Lunch or Dinner -The McCormick & Schmick's Veterans Appreciation Event on Sunday, November 7, 2010 is offered at participating restaurants to veterans defined as a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

Krispy Kreme - One free doughnut of any variety.

UNO Chicago Grill - Free entree or individual pizza with an entree or pizza purchase of equal or greater value.

Market Place Grill & Express - Veterans and active-duty military receive free entrees.

Masala Wok - The Northern Virginian restaurant is offering a free entree to veterans.

Hy-Vee supermarkets - The mid-western supermarket chain is offering a free breakfast to veterans.

Abuelo's Mexican Food Restaurants - All veterans and active-duty military receive a free entree.

Carolina Burgers & BBQ - In Matthews, NC is offering a free meal to all service members and veterans.

Retail
Brides Across America - Provides free wedding gowns to qualified military brides.

Lowe's & Home Depot - Extra 10% off to active-duty military members, National Guard and reserve members, retirees, honorably discharged veterans and immediate family members.

Sam's Club -Over 25,000 Hugo canes will be given away to U.S. veterans in need of mobility assistance. Membership is not required, but supplies are limited, so check with your local store.

Amazon.com  - Free "Veterans Day Honor" MP3 album download. The album includes 12 songs by The Bands and Ensembles of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Cabela's Outdoor Store - Offers their employee discount to all veterans, active-duty military and reserves, law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel Nov. 11-12. Discounts vary from 5% to 50%, depending on the item.

Build-a-Bear Workshop - Members of the armed services including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Reserve Officer Training Corps, will receive a 20% discount Nov. 11-15 on any one transaction at Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Dollar General - 10% discount for all veterans, active-duty military, National Guard and reserve and their immediate  families.

Fashion Bug - 20% off all plus-size and misses clothing purchases with a copy of military ID or spouse's military ID.

Entertainment
National parks, forests and monuments - Admission is free to everyone on Veterans Day.

Colonial Williamsburg - Free admission Nov. 6-11 for active-duty military, guard and reservists, retirees, veterans and their dependents.

Historic Jamestown - Free admission to veterans, current Armed Forces members and their family members.

Natural Elements Spa & Salon - In Chesapeake, Virginia, will provide free services from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to both active duty and retired  military.

Anheuser-Busch Parks Free Admission - Complimentary admission for active duty military representing all five service branches, active members of a reserve or National Guard unit, and/or up to three direct dependents. Valid for one complimentary single-day admission per person, per year.

Knott's Berry Farm Free Admission - Knott's annual tribute to our Military, past and present, starts November 1st. FREE admission for Veterans or current serving military personnel and one guest with proper I.D. presented at turnstile

Mohegan Sun Hotel Discount Rates - Enjoy special discount hotel rates on select dates from October 2010 through February 2011. On available dates you can lock in an exclusive $99.00 per night rate for a standard room, and can upgrade to a one-bedroom suite at an additional $100 per night.

Love vs. Hate

It's better to love than hate, right? But sometimes it's just so much easier to hate things. Hating takes no effort, you just write things off. But loving you need to put time, energy and commitment into it.

Well, like any relationship...I have a love/hate relationship with being a member of the big ol' happy military family.

Let's start with the obvious. I love that my husband has a job. I love that we have food in our bellies and a roof over our heads. I love that my husband loves his job, most of the time. I love that he is guaranteed to have that job for atleast three more years.

I love that I started this blog because of the military. I love that I have met so many amazing girls through my blog. I have amazing real life friends because of this blog. Actually, all but one of my Jacksonville friends is a blogger. Is that weird?

I love that my husband defends our country and that he is a hero in the eyes of so many people.

I love that the USMC offers classes to help me learn. My husband might be the Marine, but I love knowing what's going on. These classes are offered for a reason, don't be left in the dark!

I love (wait for it...) that we are stationed in Jacksonville. What? Yes, I said it. I love it here. If you think Jacksonville is the worst place ever....you are looking in the wrong places to find things to do. Oh, and Jacksonville is two hours from Danny's Mom, 10 hours from the rest of his family, and 13 hours from my family. Drivable...and I love that.

I love my military ID. I no longer carry around my passport for identification (I was welcomed to the country once....I was in Salem, MA!) I also love it because if you look in the right places...you can get deals and discounts.

Speaking of deals and discounts. Commissary. No tax. I don't use it...but I could. And I love that.

My husband has a job that can take him anywhere. Including places that I have nightmares about, places with guns, bombs, and people who don't like dogs. Places that people never come home from...

EAS and orders. They are good for the people who are getting them, but being left behind feels awful. I have helped two people move out, know of one friend who is going out west, and I got news today that two friends will be leaving soon-ish.

I hate jargon and acronyms. Seriously, throw some random letters together and I'm sure it means something to a Marine. The letters don't even have to match the first letter in the words they are describing. Talk about confusing! By the way, a head is on the top of my body...not exactly the place I want to pee!

I hate that we could someday be stationed on the west coast...or even out of the continental United States. Those places are far from home and plane tickets are so expensive!

I don't like that Danny's social security number is on my ID. Has the military never heard of identity theft?

Weekly haircuts.

Danny can't wear shorts without pockets, flip flops from Old Navy, and has to know the list of "unacceptable places to go in Jacksonville."


But I'll be honest, even looking at my "hate" list I can see good things in all of those. Need an example? Danny always looks nice because he's not allowed to look like a bum. Although I have seen my fair share of bum-ish Marines. I could possibly see the world because of Danny's job. And even though I have friends leaving...it's a chance to meet new people.

So ladies, even though its easy to "hate" parts of the military life, always try to find the bright side. Life is so much better when you have a smile on your face and have positive thoughts. And while it might seem tough, there are plenty of other girls who are feeling the same way.

And always remember...

Rachel Zoe's Moto Jacket - Petite Fashion Challenge # 3

Petite Fashion Challenge #3 is hosted this week by Petite Little Girl! Be sure to visit her blog to see all the entries by fellow petites.

 

The Challenge: "Pick an outfit from your favorite celeb and show us how to recreate that look for less. Your style icon doesn't have to be petite."

I don't really know celebs—my friends poke fun at me for being completely devoid of pop culture knowledge. It was truly a challenge for me to find an outfit to recreate. I first looked up pics of famous petites, but nothing really resonated with the stuff in my wardrobe. Some considerations below: the Olsen twins (too homeless), then Rachel Bilson (too tomboy), then Hayden Panettiere (no style at all).

As the clock was ticking down yesterday, I stumbled upon this image of Rachel Zoe, celeb stylist. I thought, hey now, finally something I can do. Gray moto jacket: check. Patterned scarf: check. Fab over-the-knee boots and oversized Chanel tote...le sigh. Will have to be substituted by kiddie leggings and invisible designer handbag.

Lace Top: H&M Trend sz 2 - $32

Cardigan: LOFT sz XXSP - $20

Moto Jacket: Topshop Petites sz 0 - $115 (gift from bf)

Leggings: H&M kids sz 11/12 - $8 Linen Scarf: H&M - $8

 Booties: Calvin Klein "Hadrian" sz 6 from eBay - $40 Gradient Sunnies: Chanel

Not sure where Rachel's stuff is from but I think one (1) of her boots may have cost more than my entire outfit. So hopefully this satisfies the "look for less" portion of the challenge!

To make up for the boring bottom half, I tucked an H&M lace trimmed blouse under the cardigan. This is the flowy blouse version of a dress I reviewed back in this post.

Work has consumed me lately so posts here will definitely be more sporadic. I wanted to say "Hi!" to new readers and "thank you" to all past readers for continuing to visit and being patient with my responses : ) Since I'm so behind on blogging, I just ordered a flip cam in hopes of recording short "v-log" reviews of recent purchases while they are still in stores. Stay tuned, and I hope you guys have a wonderful Halloween weekend!

Thursday Five

It's Thursday,

almost the weekend!

And starting this weekend I am a busy girl!

Halloween party, Birthday Ball, Boston, Thanksgiving,

and then my birthday!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In the past week these are the five things that have made me

Giggly

Snuggly

Thankful

Excited

GLEE!

 

1. Miley is no longer a puppy! She is officially eating Dog Chow and can be left out of the cage when we leave the house. Three mile walks everyday has changed my puppy into a dog!

2. My bridal shower was well over 6 months ago, but I'll never forget my favorite gift: a panty bouquet. I just had to get one made for Katie's bridal shower!

 3. Halloween is this weekend! We have our costumes, have a party to go to...and we are so excited! I think I might have make these cuties to bring to the party!

4. I love our dishwasher, but I'm awful at loading it...nothing ever gets clean. Luckily, hubby is a great dishwash-loader. So, we have a deal...I cook, he loads the dishwasher. Love it!

5. I know the Xbox and Netflix are old news. But I love watching foreign films on the Xbox.....it translates into English automatically! Oh, and I plan to spend today watching Law and Order: SVU season 11.  

CSN Stores

I know you have all heard of CSN Stores.

But have you visited the website? Done any shopping?

Well, I have!

They have great end tables,

shoes,

baby stuff, pet stuff,

and so much more!

Here, have a look at my favorites!

If money grew on trees..this would be mine!

If you're obsessed with your kitchen and cooking, like I am...you need this!

If you need something fast, 

you need to get your butt over to CSN Stores!

On Fire For Handmade Feature Artist: Lottie's Trinkets

This weeks Featured Shop is Lottie's Trinkets! Beautiful Handmade creations to Jazz up your wardrobe with.

You can find Lottie's Trinkets at:

Website

Artfire

Madeitmyself

Blog

Facebook

You Inspire Me: Showtimes and Dog Tags

Anna from Showtimes and Dog Tags is my inspiration for this week. Anna loves movies and she loves to bowl! And, in my opinion, can pull off being a brunette or a blonde. I wish I had that talent! Head over to her blog to check out all of her stories!

Her movie recommendation is actually one of my favorite movies, When Harry Met Sally. I was so excited when me and Danny were having a lazy day and had time to watch the movie. To my surprise...it was missing out of my collection! My bubble burst and I had to wait for someone to swap with me!

I remember the first time I saw this movie: psychology class, senior year of high school. I loved it. I just had to own it. So, as you can imagine...I'm pretty upset that I lost it/someone stole it from our collection!

If you haven't seen this movie, you need to. Right now. The story follows Harry and Sally from the time they meet just before sharing a cross-country drive, through twelve years of chance encounters. The film raises the question "Can men and women ever just be friends?"

My answer to the question is, if you had a friend of the opposite sex before you met your partner, then yes. However, I would think it was a little strange if Danny spent his free time with a girl best friend, who wasn't dating/married. Also, I have plenty of guy friends. But they are married to my girl friends. So! I think overall, my answer is no. Which seems like an awful answer. But I'm being honest! Where do you stand on this?

And, of course, there's that famous Restaurant Scene!

Anna's book recommendation was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Anna gave the book a lot of praise, so I was really excited when it came in the mail! (Have I mentioned lately that I love swap.com?)

The book was not very long, so I knew it would be a quick read. The book is like being inside someones brain and knowing all of their thoughts. It was a fast, easy read...but I almost felt like this would be a book assigned in school and I would have to do an essay on symbolism (that would be based mostly on a Wikipedia article, but hey...use the sources and you're good to go!)

Speak is about a high school freshman who goes to a summer party and calls the cops. Her friends drop her, she doesn't talk, she's failing all of her classes, and she talks to Maya Angelou in the janitor closet at school. But why? You pick up on "hints" when she refers Andy Evans as IT or Andy Beast. But being in her head and hearing the truth from her is the turning point in the book.

I liked it, I do wish it ended a little different though. While she is a social outcast throughout the whole book, she is suddenly a hero...and has friends again. I feel like in real-life high school is not that simple...even if you do "speak."

The book has been made into a movie. I'm curious...I kinda want to see it!

Her favorite food recommendation was gnocchi paesano. Anna said that paesano sauce is a light tomato sauce with garlic and oil with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzerella cheese on top. Um, delish! Only thing is..the one and only time I had gnocchi I didn't like it. So this was an adventure for us! I had a hard time finding a recipe, so I improvise; packaged gnocchi and I made a tomato sauce with lots of garlic, onion, and peas (paesano reminds me of peas...)

I'm still not a fan of gnocchi. It's a texture thing. Danny said "I feel like I'm eating mushy potatoes." Well babe...you are!

Thanks so much for the recommendations! Great book and even better movie!

Fall Colors...

just not the fall colors you would expect...like leaves and pumpkins... Instead I bring you a peek at some new glazes, two that I love, one that I'm ok with and one that's totally not what I was hoping for. Can you guess which are which? The first is on porcelain, the middle two are on buff stoneware and the last is on porcelain as well. Thanks to everyone for stopping by for the Beads of Clay Open House event! If you didn't make it during the afternoon, I'm still offering a 30% discount on my website until midnight tonight when you enter the code fallopenhouse.

Vintage Halloween

Are you going to the party?

Amber and Melissa are throwing a Halloween bash!

All you have to do is share some vintage Halloween pictures, link up,

and you could win!

In 1991 I was a clown.

That's awful...because I hate clowns!

But I think it might have something to do with this Halloween.

My only memory of it is my cousin stealing my wig..and making me cry!

Another year I was a cat.

Actually, a fat cat.

It must have been cold that year, because under my costume is a winter jacket!

But my favorite part of this picture is the mullet on my Uncle Mike...which is not a Halloween costume!

What are you waiting for?

Go grab some old pictures and join the party over at Goodnight Moon!

I'm a World Traveler!

Okay, not really...but this weekend I did hangout with people from all over the United States. In one weekend there was Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, and more places that we never discussed. Back in the day, before I married into the Marine Corps family, I never thought I would spend a weekend with people from all over the country. Call me a nerd, but I think that's pretty cool!

Friday night I gave my house to the guys for a poker night (Miley supervised!) and I headed out for a girls night. First, never under estimate how much pizza a bunch of girls can eat. Second, Apples to Apples is a great way to really get to know someone. Let me just tell you, my friends all have a sick sense of humor...and I love it! And I also I had my one-and-only s'more of the year. It was heavenly!

Saturday morning I did some early morning baking and headed to Katie's bridal shower brunch. If you know me, you know I love brunch, so I was thrilled when her sister said that's what we were going to do! We had delicious chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, yummy cookies, and my special strata. And we drank a lot of coffee. I was so excited to give her my gift, I had a panty bouquet made for her...and a lingerie cupcake. Seriously, the cutest things EVER! I can't wait for her sister to post the pictures..my camera apparently didn't like to take early morning pictures!

After the shower me and Danny made a brief appearance at Oktoberfest. It was a bust. (Rachel, I should have listened to you.....) But that's only because Danny left his ID at home. Um, Oktoberfest with no ID? Not gonna happen! I took a picture to prove we were there, ran home to get his ID...and ended up having a sushi date night. When we got home there was a little concert going on in our neighborhood, we went up for a little bit but Miley didn't really like the crowd (can't blame her...there were some creeps!)

We had a family day today, went for a walk, cleaned the house, did the Sunday-haircut-routine, and watched a movie.Now I'm sipping on a pumpkin spiced latte and ready to enjoy the evening with my little family! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Fall Traditions

This post is going to wrap up the BOC Open House event for this fall. Don't forget, the super special 30% off open house discount will continue to be in effect for all purchases on my website through tomorrow, Monday the 25th when you use the code fallopenhouse in the coupon code box at checkout.

So since I love to cook and bake I thought I'd share my ultimate cookie recipe with all of you... Mmm, cookies... (espresso cinnamon chocolate chip to be precise). This is essentially Alton Brown's "The Chewy" chocolate chip cookie recipe but I've thrown in a couple of twists that I think make this cookie perfection:

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:

• Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheets
• Mixer

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk, espresso powder, cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

If you make them I'd love to hear what you think!

Now if you're not a baker, these


might need to become a tradition... I do own a tequila collection though so I suppose I'm partial to the third skull combination!

What are your fall traditions? Please share!