I'm kind of excited about this. We used to have something similar at the University, but last year it never happened. Very sad. But! This year is our first ever Crafty Mart. I'm hoping this will be an annual thing. If you live anywhere near Akron, Ohio, please come visit!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! This Halloween was perhaps the most fun yet. I bonfired and traipsed about Kent (which was absolutely flooded with elaborately appointed costumes and fabulous creatures) with my friends, and once again didn't shut my eyes until 6 a.m. Halloweens here are epic.
(Phil took these photos before we went out.)
Part of the fun was that every one of the 30,000 people we passed in the streets seemed terribly excited to see me. They would call out after me (like I was a friend from their past, which I guess I kinda was...), take pictures with me, and ask me to sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It was seriously fun and I felt like I was a real life character at Disney world.
When I told my brother I was going to be Mary Poppins for Halloween, he said, "Oh? What are you going to do, just wear what you normally wear?" And actually, the costume was created with items from my own wardrobe, save the hat, which was a straw hat found at a vintage clothing shop (that I decorated with silk flowers and pop dots). I know I'm missing my umbrella and carpet bag, but I would have had to go out and buy them, and so I decided it would be a waste of money to buy something that would be a burden to lug around the entire night. It's okay, because I still managed to snag a best costume trophy at one of the parties. No joke. There is a five inch plastic trophy sitting on my mantle right now. Ha!
So did you dress up as anything for Halloween? Do you have any pictures? I'd love to see them! I was seriously inspired by everyone's costumes that I saw- I'm already planning next year's character!
I mean really, it' more like a mess of laundry, purses, shoes, and jackets all over my house. I feel bad. But not bad enough to clean it all up before my weekend of parties. I have more important things to do! Such as finish my Halloween costume, attend the Disney Princess party tonight with my "adult" friends (ha!), sleep in tomorrow morning, kill time on the internet, and of course attend all of the Halloween festivities on Saturday. The cleaning will just have to wait until the fun is over.
What are you doing (or not doing!) this weekend?
In celebration of the season, Phil and I went on a pumpkin picking outing at a local farm/winery. It was divinely chilly and wonderfully orange that day. I sort of wish I had bought some mums, even though I'm not particularly found of mums. But now that I think about it, they would look lovely on the front porch as we pass out sugar to the visiting trick or treaters.
After we left the farm, I asked every so nicely if Phil would stop to take some photos with me. He laughed and agreed. You see, I've been dying to take some photos at this old abandoned Italianate home that I often see on my driving route. This time of year seemed like the perfect chance to take photos at the old haunted house.
I know, the pictures don't exactly look scary (and the house isn't really haunted...). But to be honest, I'm not much into spooks. My family never really did anything dark for Halloween, so I never dressed up as a witch or a ghost. It was more like a puppy one year and a little mouse the next. I have this year's costume all together in my mind, but I hate to jinx it by telling you, because I haven't exactly found everything I need just yet! (I know, I know... but you really ought to know that I'm the queen of procrastination.) What are you going to do for Halloween?
For those of you who are newer to the blog, I thought I'd share a little bit of what I do during the day. I'm a full time interior design student at The University of Akron, and during the day I work in groups coming up with design solutions and drawing out contract documents. Most of the time it's less than thrilling, but right now I'm working on a solo project for one of my studio classes. I'm designing a restaurant into an existing structure, and currently I'm deep into the planning phase of the project. This is the best part of the semester. And it keeps my quite busy!
Right now, all of my drawings are schematic floor plans or exploratory sketches. I love this part of work, before it all becomes electronic. I think there's something about an open piece of paper that inspires my creativity much more than a blank computer screen.
We laid in the streets which were covered in leaves and never shut our eyes until 6 am.
We have soup, pizelles, and rosettes. And those are really the only recipes that made the trip across the Atlantic to be passed down to me from my French great-grandparents. My dad is the rosette making king, and so we let him make them, and I sugar them. Someday I will learn how to make rosettes on my own, but for now, I will just enjoy the light and tasty crunch and the bonding experience with Pops. Oh, and the pleasant choking sensation that occurs when attempting laughing whilst eating the powdered sugar covered deliciousness.
Last week, Becky asked me if I would like to come to the Dr. Sketchy event going on at the Akron Art Museum to take some photographs. The event was really inspiring! The place was filled with interesting strangers, there was a great band performing, and the Dr. Sketchy event was well attended.
Here's Becky! (She's the one wearing the hat below.)
As much as I talk about moving to Chicago, I really do love Akron and could be very happy staying here. In the past 10 years, the city has changed for the better. There's an acclectic mix of people, a love of the arts, a great music scene, fun nightlife, and beautiful homes. Not to mention killer thrift stores.
Sometimes I can be terribly shy when I'm the only person I know in a room full of strangers, but I would love to go to the next Dr. Sketchy event, and this time I'll bring my sketch pad.
So, we finally got the quilt on the bed and last week I bought a space heater. I think we're all set for the cold nights ahead! I'm actually looking forward to snuggling up with husband on evenings when darkness comes earlier than we remembered.
I think we all know the worst part of the whole coziness thing is getting out of bed in the morning. That's what the space heater is for, I guess. But golly, sometimes I think I could just stay in bed forever.
