By the Pricking of my Thumbs...

...Something Wicked this way Comes!

Happy Halloween!

PGFD Halloween Party

Last night was the Halloween Party at PGFD and it was a complete blast! Everyone really gets into it and sports the greatest costumes. It was a little hectic - I help decorate for the party each year and since the Dept. doesn't have any spooky decor, me and Tami (another fire wife that helps out) have to bring our own stuff. We pretty much un-decorate our houses so we can decorate for the fire party. Aren't we noble?

This year we had a Chili Cook Off and Cody's crew was determined to win. Chase and Jake came over in the afternoon to work their magic over a pot full of sweet, spicy goodness. They were very serious when it came to tasting, "Mmm, almost perfect. It has the sweet but not enough kick. There's no 'BAM!' at the end...". All their hard work paid off, their chili won first prize! Way to go, boys!

Cody and I decided only a few days before the party what we were going to be, so here you go - Bret Michaels and his Rock of Love

Cody looked pretty great, I must admit. Eye liner and lip gloss? Isn't he a sport? I should probably keep my 'Rock of Love' backstage pass...and that pink hair.

Here are some other great costumes! Drew and Dana...

Tad and Tami

Jason and Aubrey

The Department

Yeah, the guy dressed like Tinkerbell? Chief Sanderson. The City's in good hands, wouldn't you say?

Showing thigh was really popular that night, so the ladies obliged.

Great party! Now I just have to put all my decorations back...

This morning I woke up all kinds of excited! Halloween weekend!! I got Cache dressed in his costume and he was super excited for his Halloween Party at Pre School. Sir Cache complete with slain dragon.

Doesn't he look great? Cache could never make up his mind about what he wanted to dress up as this year. He would go back and forth between a scary spider, a mummy, a monster, a transformer and a pop tart. Yes, friends, a breakfast pastry. I nearly died when he told me that, I was laughing so hard. And who am I to wreck his dream? Cody and I planned out how to make it and I was actually excited to see it all put together... then he changed his mind. Ah, well. There's always next year!

I have certainly spread myself pretty thin this month, but saturating yourself in any Holiday is always fun. Tomorrow I am hosting a Halloween Party for some of Cache's friends and I'm so excited! Then it's time for Trick-or-Treating...and a week off.

One in Amelia

Happy Birthday Amelia! This afternoon a big group of us got together in honor of our marvelous friend. It was so nice to sit and chat and catch up with all these hilarious ladies. Presents are always fun and the Birthday girl made out like a bandit! I adore these girls, I laughed so hard...

Sue and Hailey showing off their impressive soda collection. "It's free refills!" yelled Sue, "Bring more limes!".

Sue, Amelia, Hailey and me.

Lisa, Me, Amelia, Jenny, Jen and Mama Sue.

What a glorious afternoon! Amelia is tops and deserves the best, we should probably celebrate her Birthday every week.

The Hosts!

How could I forget to post pictures of the Grand Jolley's! Here we are in our attire...

The Mad Hatter and The Queen of Hearts.

Allow me to tell you tale about the costume I'm wearing. A few weeks ago I bought ample amounts of red and white tulle to create a flowy, puffy skirt. In my mind, you see, it was going to be ever-so-simple to create. "Just gather the top", I said, "and cover it with glittery hearts and playing cards...". I even planned to tie large, red ribbon bows on my shoes. "Brilliant!" I told myself. As the days drew nearer to my festive event, I reassured myself that my costume could be made in an hour or two, no big deal. After all, I had already planned on just gluing frills to a t-shirt, how hard could the skirt be?

Ridiculously hard. Make no mistake! Your creative mind will lure into a tender trap and then rip you to shreds! My procrastination got the best of me (when does it not?) and an hour before the party, I had a frothy mess of tulle and net - not to mention wet hair and no make up. I told Cody that I had to do something else, dress up as something totally different - I had no choice! Just then I remembered I had a flowy skirt in my costume closet that just might work...I threw it on and it actually paired well with my glue-project t-shirt. Some extra red net and ribbons were added to the back and it seemed to work. I asked Cody to find my Marie Antoinette wig and since it was way up in the attic, he brought back his George Washington wig. "Really?" I stated. "I look like a total dude". Ah, not so! For I simply swung the back ponytail to the side and voila! I finished my make up, added black gloves, made a crown out of red glittery pipe cleaners...and my costume was complete. 5 minutes before the party, I was dressed.

What happened to the tulle skirt mess?

And I take back what I said before, tulle will not always save you.

Spook Central

The 7th Annual Jolley Halloween Party was a smashing success! Our first Halloween in our new house was done with style, I must say. The costumes were fantastic! How great are our friends for dressing to the 9's each year? First, here are some photos of our spooky surroundings...

I think my living room is one of my favorite spaces. The sheet music to 'There's No Such Thing as a Witch' is on my piano - my family sang that growing up. My 'Happy Halloween' banner is backed by black netting. A little decorating tip from me to you? Netting/tulle will save you - I use it all the time.

My red chandy! Doesn't she look smart? Her with her fancy flicker bulbs...this gave just the right amount of light and I think I may just have to leave this up for Christmas.

Some ravens kept an eye on things. In the background I hung a banner my sister made for me - it reads, "What Hump", one of our favorite quotes from 'Young Frankenstein'.

I am particularly proud of this set up. I covered my chairs with white sheets and I've had that black frame forever. Skeleton cut out and bats on a string? Brilliant.

All my movie posters looked right at home on our new walls. I still need frames for most of them, but my goodness...they look awesome. I should probably get some more.

And finally, some of the costumes!

Cecily and Jake. They ran to Macey's just before the party - pretty sure they got some stares.

Tom and Tanya - Speed Racer and Suzy Homemaker. Tom's helmet still had a faint smell of spray paint, but he looked great!

Brigham and Karmel - a Priest and knocked-up Nun? Shameful.

Chase and Natalie. I totally underestimated the creepiness of this costume when Natalie told me about it. But seriously? How great are these costumes?

Kevin and Mindi - Richard Simmons! Could you die? Impressive gams, if I do say so myself. They took home our 'Best Costume' award.

Thanks to everyone who made it, it was such a fantastic night. I'm a little relieved to have the party over - now I get to enjoy the week before Halloween! Well, I do have two more parties to throw this weekend and we're super busy with spooky frivolity. Looks like we're going out with a bang! Boo to you!

Embellish

This week has been crazy. Our party is tomorrow and I still have so much to do! There never seems to be enough time to get everything done, but I'll not be defeated! Last night I was up late creating the 'Best Costume' awards. I must say, I think they turned out rather well.

I found these fantastic cardboard skull masks and had to have them. I sprayed them white and then shaded them with gray paint. Taking a cue from my genius Mother, I covered the surface with Mica Flakes. Have you heard of this? It's used on vintage Christmas village houses and ornaments and the like. It's like big, flake glitter and it gave the skulls the perfect touch! I found this cute little box at 'Planted Earth' in Orem. If you have not been there yet, GO. It's fantastic. I need to go back and stock up!

A little ribbon and voila! Best Costume Award! Not going to lie...I wish I didn't have to give them away.

The weather has been so ideal and I have been taking so many pictures of the fall leaves! It's just so beautiful right now. Today is especially fallish...it's all cloudy and a bit windy out. Perfect! I will be posting more pics tomorrow of my house all bedecked and spooked out ready for the party. Cody and I have a long list of things to get done before then - including making our costumes. Yeah, no big deal. I'm sure mine will be held together with glue and a bribe.

Fall Porch

Last weekend we took Cole over to Grandma Doreen's (who grows the famous vegetable garden) to pick some pumpkins and round up some corn stalks. Cole is always so excited to see the horses and throw them apples, he even tried to get one to eat a pumpkin. No dice.

Cole kept running back and forth from the pumpkin patch to the car with gourd after gourd.

Which one, which one...

After much deliberation, he finally picked the perfect pumpkin.

Our car was so full of Fall goodness - and we didn't even get any hay bales this time! See that little white pumpkin? That's my favorite, it's the perfect shape - akin to a teapot.

My seasonal porch! Once Halloween gets closer it will be littered with Jack-O-Lanterns...

I love these pumpkins. I have no idea what kind they are, but I fell in love with the faded color. They seem kind of...vintage, I guess. I'll be planting some of those seeds to grow my own next year.

On Wednesday I met up with Tanya to go see our friend Hailey star in 'Little Shop of Horrors' at the Hale in Orem. It was such a fun show! Hailey was fabulous, as usual. I grew up watching this movie, that music is so great.

Tanya and I before the show...

The ladies! Tanya, Me, Kacy, Lisa and Shawn (Hailey's glamorous Mum).

If you get a chance to see the play, take it! It won't disappoint - an excellent touch to the Halloween season!

Happy Birthday Rich!

My little brother is 29 today. How dapper is he??

Rich, I love you so very much. You are top notch and rad to the bone. Our family has snap because of you - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!