What I'm Loving Wednesday

What am I loving? Too many fashion wants...

Yes - we are back to shallow, worldly wants for this installment of WILW. But I ask you, is anything better than Fall fashion? Layering, boots, sweater, scarves...love it all. Then there's the gloriousness of a 'holiday' line. Like we all need something sparkly and shiny to wear to the myriad of holiday parties we attend, right? I get sucked into that every time.

This mustard coat is so super cute...the ruffles? The seams? And that high neck? Me wanty.

I don't know what it is about these boots that makes me covet them so. The two-tone leather, perhaps? Or the faux laces? What is it!? Who cares, they have my heart.

Ok, and on to the Holiday wants. I was thinking how great it would be to have a Christmas dress. Like 4 year-old's have. Yes, a special dress you wear to Church on Christmas. And....oh my this just fits the bill.

With a matching shrug?? It's reversible, did I mention? So if I'm not feeling the black velvet side, I can flip it over to reveal a lovely green satin side that matches the dress. Win.

Oooh, friends. I have been digging booties lately. I also love gold. And glitter. And ruffles. I have no idea where I would wear these, but with some opaque tights I'm pretty sure I would wear them everywhere. Man...so lovely.

Something a bit more practical (perhaps), these metallic flats. SO cute with skinny jeans! And I love that mauvy/gray color.

So there you have it! Some fashion wants that my closet would love to have. Sigh...I must find a way to make them mine.

Halloweekend

Phew, what a crazy weekend! Halloween is always so much fun around here...while it was jam-packed this year, I always feel like I missed some things. There's always next year, right?

Saturday evening we got the boys all ready to go trick-or-treating! They were SO very excited, even though it was freezing and raining they could not be stopped.

My wee dragons...

Cody donned his normal attire, for some reason people thought he purposely dressed up as a cowboy. Huh. Albeit a very cute cowboy.

We didn't have too many trick-or-treaters, so I gave out handfuls of candy. Those poor kids! It was so cold and wet! I should have been handing out hot chocolate and snuggies. Again, there's always next year.

Once Cody got back with the boys I headed over to a neighborhood Halloween bash to say hello to some dear friends, then I was off to my parents house. My sister came up from Vegas and we teamed up with my Mom to go see 'Dracula' at the Castle Theater. It was SO fun! We parked at the bottom of a huge hill and walked up to the theater...it was a perfect Fall evening! The rain had stopped and it didn't feel as cold.
The show was like a live radio broadcast...each character had their own microphone and the did sound effects and music and everything...so very cool.

On Halloween night I took the boys back over to my parents house for a yummy dinner. Check out the gorgeous sunset! All the kids ended up playing downstairs...but not before we had a dance party. Andrea brought 'Just Dance', a game for her wii. Have you played this? If not, may I ask why?? It's a party, people! We had an absolute blast. You just mimic the dancer you see on the screen and rock out to some fantastic tunes ('Rasputin' by Boney M...catchy to the max).
We had planned on watching a Halloween movie with treats and such..but we couldn't stop playing the game! We were all laughing hysterically and dancing until we got overheated. I must get me one! "Dear Santa..."

I must address how utterly fantastic my Mother's home looks at this time of year...and she didn't even go all out like she normally does! Yeah, her version and my version of "I only decorated a little" are totally different. Pardon the blurriness of the pictures...

Her chandy looked AMAZING. Covered in garlands and vintage postcards and a banner that read 'Happy Halloween'...only my Mother can pull that off.

Mmm, that gorgeous stacked stone will be in my house one day.

She even read the grandkids "The Spider and the Fly" before we left...if you do not have this book yet, you must. It's a Halloween staple.

A marvelous Halloween holiday, if you ask me. It's always over too soon, but at least I don't have that many decorations to take down! Next year my house will be decked to the max....there's always next year.

PGFD Halloween Party

This year I was in charge of throwing the 3rd Annual PGFD Halloween Party. Normally, myself and some of the other wives would un-decorate our homes to help decorate the department party. This was less than ideal. So! I approached the Chief a few months ago and offered to throw the party in style. Little did I know at the time that the month of October would be crazy-busy and I would be stressed to the max. I wanted the party to be festive and fun and look great and I wanted everyone to have a great time. Miraculously - I pulled it off!

We held it in the bay at the station (the huge garage area where they park all the trucks) and I think we'll have it there from now on. We borrowed some lights from the City...don't they look great?

Dessert Table

Water bottles with custom labels

Costume Prize table! A glorious gift for Best, Funniest, Scariest and Least Effort.

Ok. Not my finest hour. We decided on this like 3 hours before the party.

Not. One. Word.

The Chief and his sassy wife. Doesn't he make a great Edward? Red eyes and all! He was covered in sparkles...

Jake and Cecily - Woody and Jesse

The Girls! Melanie, Cecily, Me and my legs, Mindi and AnnaLee

There was a chili cook off which the most delicious contest! We took loads of pictures and ate and laughed...it was so fun. Afterwards we had our First Annual Pumpkin Drop. Such a blast! Each shift gets their own pumpkin and someone gets on the top of the truck ladder and drops their pumpkin from 100 ft up. We tied a balloon to the target pumpkin - let the games begin!

B shift came soooo close!

So, so very high.

We wrapped up the evening with the prizes and I even got a round of applause - aww. It was so much fun and I hope they let me do it again next year. I should probably wear pants. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Parade

Friday morning we got up early to get Cache all ready in his costume for his Halloween Parade at school. I love that schools do this, it's so fun to see all the little kiddies in their costumes. Cache changed his mind quite a bit when it came to deciding on a costume. At first he wanted to be Iron Man...then a Halloweenie. Yes. A Halloweenie. A Halloween hot dog, and naturally I refused. He finally settled on Toothless from 'How to Train Your Dragon', so I found a great dragon costume and made it black. Doesn't he look great?

I have no idea who these other boys are...but they were good sports and agreed to pose for the camera.

Oh goodness, could you die?? I love it - all the little costumes...

Costumes on parade!

The halls were lined with many a mommy armed with a camera.

Cache came home with loads of treats from his Halloween party at school and is already talking about his costume for next year. That's my boy!

Dinner in Noir

Even though we didn't host a Halloween Party this year, Cody and I thought it might be fun to go to dinner with our friends. Ahhh, but how to make it spooky? We decided to dine at 'Communal' in Provo and wear our darkest attire..."Dinner In Noir" was a smash! Like our invite?

Jim, Heather, Jon and Brittany joined Cody and I and we had a marvelous time. It was SO good to see them and catch up, it's been forever (Adam and Ann - we missed you!). The food was super yummy, we even got our own private room. Because that's how we roll.

Jim and Heather

Jon and Britt

The girls!

We talked about everything from First Aid (which also touched on a hilarious scenario of shocking someone with a toaster) to prison visits. Yes, prison visits. I love these people - we don't see them enough! We We're planning on getting together again in December, can't wait. Thanks for the pictures, Heather!

"And Then There Were None"

My play closed last night...a tremendous experience, BC fans. Tremendous! And may I say, very unexpected. You see, I wasn't even planning on auditioning. I read the script and found it interesting and thought it might be fun, I thought about it and thought about it and just couldn't make up my mind whether to do it or not. When would I have time? What about our house remodel?

I attended the auditions purely to watch and help out if needed...then I got sucked in. I thought, "Man...I could do this part, I bet." Once I got cast I was really excited to get to work. We had our first read through and I felt really good about the people in the show (I only knew 2 out of the 11 cast members!). During that first night, I remember thinking how much my sweet Grandmother would love this show...I came home and returned a call to my Mom. My Grandmother had passed away that very evening. I wanted the show to be great, and I dedicated my performance to her.

The rehearsals were SO much fun, I looked forward to them every night. Sometimes we would all bust up laughing on stage...good times. I came to know and love Heidi who played 'Mrs. Rogers'. We are kindreds! Ahh, I will miss our backstage shenanigans (she told me that I reminded her of Vera Ellen in 'White Christmas', how could I NOT love her?). I also feel very fortunate to have acted opposite my leading man, Jeff. This guy was stellar beyond belief - so completely talented and a solid guy through and through. I just adore him. Howard and Kathryn were amazing and the show they created will forever be one of my favorites.

This show was good for me, who would have thought? And I almost didn't audition! Just think what I would have missed out on. Meeting such great people and playing such a fun, wonderful part. Most of our performances were sold out! During the last show I found myself enjoying every moment. In the last scene Jeff and I hug and I may have hugged him a bit too tight. I came off stage and started to tear up (not that you're surprised since I cry at everything). Man, a huge experience. I loved every minute and I miss it so.

And dare I say it, my Grandmother would have been proud.

Halloweek!

It's upon us, friends! Halloween is this week and naturally I have way too much going on. The weather has finally turned Fallish with rain and wind, I'm sort of loving it!

My play closes tonight, which is more bitter than sweet. I have LOVED doing this show, and have I mentioned that it's really, REALLY good? One of my best, I'd say. We had some rough spots at the beginning, but it's turned into a stellar production. I'm not ready for it to end, such great people. (Not to mention my costumes? Oh. my. word. So fantastic.)

This week is filled with craziness and back to back plans. I'm in charge of the PGFD Halloween Party (me and my big mouth), so I have loads of shopping and planning to do for that. What should Cody and I be this year? We also have to make a music video for the party...we'll see how that goes. Wednesday night we're having a spooky dinner with friends that I'm really looking forward to! Friday Cache has his costume parade and Halloween party at school...man, remember costume parades? He and Cole are going to be the Night Fury from 'How to Train Your Dragon'. I have an idea for their costumes...I hope it works! Saturday we'll take the kids trick or treating and that night I'm hoping to see a friend's production of 'Dracula'. My sister and her kids are coming into town and we're having a big party and dinner on Halloween night! I'm so excited...it's a full week, but a good and spooky one.

To get you ready for the Holiday, here are some spooky tunes you should add to your Halloween playlist (you have one, right?):

"What's a Girl To Do?" - Bat for Lashes. This song is so spooky and haunted sounding...perfect!

"Bali Ha'l" - Tak Shindo. I know, I know. It's doesn't seem like it would be a scary song, but trust me...this one is good for Halloween.

"Carnival of Souls" - Combustible Edison.

"Harry Potter/Hedwig's Theme" - The Scary Gang. A great cover...

"Discombobulate" - Hans Zimmer. From 'Sherlock Holmes'...actually, most of the songs off that album would be great!

Hope you're all ready for Halloween!