DIY :: chalkboard candles

I have a deep love for candles and am a true believer that adding candle light to any space instantly creates a warm + cozy atmosphere. With Thanksgiving literally right around the corner, I thought a quick little DIY was necessary. As you all know by now, I am obsessed with anything chalkboard related!! As I was taking down my Halloween decorations I noticed these pillar candles that I grabbed from the dollar store. I thought to myself, hey why not turn those into rad little chalkboard candles!?!?! Duh!?!?!? All you need is glass pillar candles, chalkboard contact paper {a craft closet staple} a chalk pen, and 20 minutes!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

so happy together

When I heard the news that my cousin was getting hitched, I jumped at the chance to help out with the decor for their big day!! I absolutely love weddings. . .  true love, endless drinking, dirty dancing, and complete happiness all wrapped up in one night!! With all of that aside, decorating and styling a wedding honestly warms my heart and tickles my fancy. Along with my aunt Alice from Moss to Moon, we created a little magic and had a blast doing it. . .

Floral Design :: Moss to Moon

Chalk Art :: Mystics + Mint

Design and Styling :: Alice + Laura

happy halloween!!

 {angry bird}

 {skeletons + chandeliers}

{skulls + bell jars}

{dia de los muertos pumpkins}

shiny happy pumpkins

Instead of the normal carving + decorating routine, this year we chose to spray paint our pumpkins! It is super quick + easy and gives those plain old halloween staples a bit of a facelift. . . We painted ours in metallics and neon, what color will you paint yours?

happy halloween!!

halloween {part 1}

Halloween is 3 days away, I just finished decorating for Christmas at work, and my husband just got home from being on the road for 7 weeks, so I figured that I would do a quick Halloween crafting post! I love creating tiny spooky moments in my house and so does my little one.  I had these vintage salt + pepper shakers laying around and decided to make a halloween version of a snow globe! This is like a 10 minute project people, about the same amount of time that it takes to inhale a pound of halloween candy. . . and yes, this has happened to me multiple times this week!

 {gather your supplies}

 {have a little helper fill your shakers}

{create your spooky scene. . . I went with vintage bottles, skulls, and candles}

Happy Halloween!! Stay tuned for part 2!!

guest post :: the gift

 {Our aunt Sandy with her gorgeous family. . . here is her story!}

About 8 years ago, while lathering up in the shower, I felt a small lump under my armpit, about the size of a pea. I did not think much of it, but it definitely was something I had never felt before. I watched it for a few months and when it did not go away I went to the doctor. She felt it and realized it was an enlarged lymph node. To be safe she sent me to get a mammogram and breast ultra sound. I was 39 years old at the time.

Both the mammogram and breast ultrasound came back fine. The doctor just told me I must have had a cold and that the lymph node was enlarged. They never told me to come back if it did not go away. I had no family history of breast cancer or any cancer for that matter. I was not worried at all.  Life went on and about 4 months later I realized the pea sized lump was still there. I right away made another appointment at the breast center. They decided at this time to do a needle biopsy of the lymph node. As the doctor was doing the needle biopsy, he was telling me that out of every 1000 of these he does, only maybe one comes back as cancer. He made me feel like I was over-reacting by doing the procedure. Again I was not worried.

Three days later I went back for the results. I went alone because I was so sure there would be no cancer. When the doctor came in and told me the results............BREAST CANCER...........I was shocked. I was also scared because it had already gone to my lymph nodes which made my diagnoses less favorable.

My children at the time were 9 and 10 years old. All the crazy thoughts were going through my mind, “would I see them graduate high school, get married , have children of their own?” The next month was crazy with doctors appointments and decisions to be made on treatment options. I cried a lot , but I was fortunate to be surrounded by a loving husband and family and a large group of supportive friends. This support  group helped me get through the next two years which involved 5 surgeries, 6 months of chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments.  I lost my hair, my breasts and my belief that I would live to a ripe old age with my husband and children by my side.

People kept talking to me about the gifts of cancer, “huh?”  I could see no gifts in this nightmare I was living. What good could possibly come out of this?  I often asked “why me?”  I had always lived a healthy lifestyle, ate well, exercised my entire life, was not overweight, didn't drink much alcohol and never smoked. No family history, “why me?”

Now, almost 8 years later, looking back on that very difficult time of my life, I can see some gifts. Through my suffering I gained more compassion for others that suffer. There were days I could not walk around the block or empty the dishwasher. When I see others with disabilities or battling disease, I have a little better understanding of what they are going through. I understand the meaning of enjoying each day, because every day is truly a gift. I cherish each moment with family and friends even more, because none of us truly knows what tomorrow will bring. And now when I ask myself, “why me,” I have a sense of that understanding as well.  I know everyone must suffer in some way. But we don't know how or when. Some lose a parent, some get a divorce, others are born with disabilities or other physical or mental challenges. We all get our challenges, but we can't pick what they are or when they will happen. We can only move through them as strongly as we can, learning along the way the gifts of life. Gaining the wisdom that will make us stronger, better human beings, that can share our life experiences with others in order to hopefully make their journey a little easier.

Love, Sandy

guest post :: that little pink ribbon

This is a picture of our Aunt Alice and her 4 girls during her chemo treatment. She chose to share this image because despite of everything, they were happy and having a good time!

That little pink ribbon we all see during the month of October saved my life. I know this sounds like a strong statement but it is true. My story begins in early summer, in the shower, one of the brief moments a mother of 4 young children gets to herself. As I ran my soapy hands across my body I felt it. Yes...it! A small, marble sized lump in my breast. “Huh, I never noticed that before.” I was sure it was nothing, an enlarged milk duct from nursing, a cyst or whatever, but surely it would disappear as quickly as it showed up. Life went on for the next while and I didn't obsess over it, I would occasionally check in on my little discovery and make a mental note to mention it to my doctor on my next routine visit due in December. I can only describe it as an occasional nagging inspiration for the 'what if?' type of scenario we all run through our minds on different occasions. This went on for a couple of months. My girls were ages 5,7,9 and 11 – life was busy! Still, I would check on this little nuisance with more frequency. Then the month of October came and everywhere I went I was bombarded with little pink ribbons...at the market check out line, in department stores, every time I opened a magazine, everywhere, it was omnipresent. It was as if angels were speaking, rather screaming at me to go get answers. So I did. Initially my regular doctor thought it was surely nothing to worry about but thought I should see a specialist just to be sure. I did. He did an ultra-sound, mammogram, and needle biopsy. He reassured me that I was too young (under 40), too healthy and I had done all of the things they like you to do to avoid breast cancer. I was scared and started to listen to my body. The next day the results of the biopsy were in – negative! I should have been ecstatic but for some reason I was not. Now I was obsessing over this extra lump I was toting around and I was not the hypochondriac type but, for some reason I could not accept the results. The next week I found a surgeon, I wanted this lump out of my body. The surgeon was very hesitant to remove it but I insisted. December 5, 2001 at 8am....I woke up from that surgery to find my surgeon at the foot of my bed with tears welling up in his eyes, apologizing for being the bearer of bad news. The doctors had been wrong and I had a malignancy -  stage 2 breast cancer. This is the beginning of a very long journey that began with the powerful message attached to that little pink ribbon.

Take time to take care of yourself.

xoxo

Alice