Happy Halloween Pumpkins! I hope that you all enjoy a beautiful fall day and a wonderful night making memories with your families and remembering old ones as well.

Have you been to the pumpkin patch yet? We went on Sunday and had a great family day outside enjoying the beautiful weather.
We also went to our church harvest festival. Seconds after this photo was taken, Taylor flipped off this ladder and landed upside down. It was hysterically funny! We left home and 10 am and arrived back at 7 pm. It was a long, but fun day.

Happy Halloween From My Kitchen To Yours!
I've been collecting all of these black and orange items for a few years now. I like how my table looks. Wish it could look this festive everyday. We are off now to church, then to our church carnival and then to the pumpkin patch. Have a great day!

Bunco is such a fun game. We have a neighborhood group that meets once a month to chat, nibble and giggle while we play this mindless dice game. This week was Loretta's turn to play hostess. Her beautiful home was festively decorated. She even served us pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Just as we were leaving she brought out this enormous basket filled with these darling party favors for each of us with treats inside for our children. What a fun night. Thanks Loretta!

Here in Phoenix, we really don't get much of a fall. We are excited about fall because the temperature usually doesn't reach 100. Recently a local newspaper reporter suggested that unlike New England where they only have to open their windows to experience fall colors, we Phoenicians should really decorate our homes to reflect the fall season. However, upon my recent trip to New England, I noticed that every little store, boutique or restaurant had the most wonderful fall displays even though they had the natural beauty of the season.
This beautiful lifesize cornucopia was outside of the Orvis store in Manchester, Vermont.
It was difficult to find a
restaurant to stop and have
lunch while driving through
rural Vermont. We happened
upon this little cafe that
served organic food and sold
fresh produce. I would have
loved to have brought home one
of these urns.
After hearing so much about the
Vermont Country Store, we made
a quick stop there and were not
disappointed. There were items
from yesteryear everywhere.

Happy Thanksgiving!
I know it's a little early but Macy's is celebrating their parade's 80th anniversary by traveling across the country for the first time. They stopped yesterday in Chandler. I took Taylor and a friend and they had a ball. They were chosen to be "balloon handlers" for a parade walk. It was a fun day and not over crowded as events tend to be in our ever-growing Phoenix population.

Rhode Island was amazing to say the least. These resort-sized homes were summer homes built during the gilded age. The tour guide for The Breakers, which was the Vanderbilt's summer home, said that there were no taxes at the time. Can you imagine getting to keep all of the money you made and not pay taxes on your home or anything that you bought?? The architecture was incredible. We weren't allowed to take any photos inside the house or I would be able to show you the mosaic tile work on their floors and ceilings.

We spent two days in Cape Cod. The weather was beautiful. We drove along the Cape Cod National Seashore and stopped at four beaches. We chose a wonderful time of year for our trip just missing the tourist season. We celebrated our anniversary at Captain Linnell's, a former sea captain's estate which is now a special occassion restaurant. It was also peak season for cranberry bogs to show their color. I must admit that our innkeepers at our bed and breakfast did a wonderful job spoiling us. If you're ever in Chatham, Cape Cod, I highly recommend The Carriage House Inn.

My husband, Mark and I just returned an adventure. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with a trip to Vermont, Cape Cod and Rhode Island. The weather was absolutely perfect. Neither of us had ever been to Vermont and were so surprised by the beauty of the country and country it was. No malls, no freeways, no billboards. We could have been living in a postcard with rolling hills, winding roads and vivid red, orange and yellow leaves. It was so beautiful. We visited a maple sugar house, Hildene (Ancestrial Lincoln Family Home), and two covered bridges. It was a perfect, romantic fall trip.

We walked for the cure this morning at the Susan G. Komen walk in downtown Phoenix. Nine members of our extended family along with 41,000 others. The two women wearing pink are survivors. We walked for them. We spotted our Governor, Janet Napolitano, walking in the crowded streets along with us. How cool is that?? Enough all ready. Do the math for 41,000 walkers x the $25.00 entrance fee in umpteen cities across America. Find a cure! Please find a cure.

I've made so many friends through the world of scrapbooking. One of my friends that I am so thankful for is my friend, Teresa. I remember exactly how I came to meet her. It was about 4-5 years ago, we were living in Tucson and getting ready to go back to the Omaha area to visit my family. I decided to look in the directory of one of my scrapbook magazines to see if there were any new scrapbook stores in Omaha. I remember reading the name Foof-a-la, calling them and asking "What is Foof-a-la? Are you a store or a product line?" The answer was "both". I visited the store and talk about a rush. There was eye candy and inspiration everywhere! In walked Teresa and she was so unbelievably kind. When she heard that I was visiting from Arizona, she quickly put together a make and take for my sister and I. We've kept in touch ever since. Her latest act of kindness was to surprise me with a few of Karen Russell's new goodies after hearing me say how much I loved her new narratives line. How blessed am I?? Thanks Teresa!

I have a message for all of my fellow "Club Little House" members and others with dollhouses. Make sure not to overlook shadowboxes. This is the second one that I have found full of little treasures. If you can open the box without damaging the glass, you end up with an intact shadowbox too. My daughter and I stopped at an estate sale a few days ago. We bought all of this for $3.50. We were so excited. Two daughters were selling their mother's collectibles. The mother was downsizing and she had everything you could imagine. My favorite item is the chippy white baby cup.

Beep, Beep - Roadrunner

In all of my 22 years of living in Arizona, I have never seen a roadrunner stop long enough for me to take its picture. When we lived in the Tucson area, it was quite common to see roadrunners, coyotes, quail, javalina, hawks, deer, rattlesnakes, jackrabbits and once in awhile, bobcats. However, now that we are back in Phoenix, it's rare that we see much wildlife. I am always reminded of the beep, beep, roadrunner cartoon that I watched growing up. I think that he was chasing down the candle aroma too. There was at least 2 acres of open land in front of the Gold Canyon building. When we pulled into their parking lot, he ran across the road in front of us. That's what they always do, they never stop. I kept chasing him to try to get a better photo, one without the truck in the background, but to no avail. He won. Beep, beep.

Taylor and I walked out of her piano instructor's home and we both immediately started sniffing the air. The most wonderful aroma was filling our senses. I can't even describe to you how delicious the scent in the air was. We both said at the same time "It smells like a candle." We jumped in the car and drove to the Gold Canyon Candle Factory which was less than a mile away. Sure enough, it was quite evident that they were filling jars for vanilla or sugar cookie candles. I don't think either of us have ever had our senses come alive like that. I'll be keeping my window rolled down next time I drive by.