Happy Halloween

There are three little people over here very excited today is Halloween.
They have been busy making costumes,

carving pumpkins,

and watching Halloween specials on the Disney channel.

Even Charlie has gotten into the Halloween activities! 

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Las Vegas Shenanigans

We marked off another fall bucket list item. Vegas. Woot woot. We took a quick weekend trip with the kids and our good friend, Helen and her kids. We stayed off the strip at a great family hotel, South Point. Our weekend was filled with arcades, bowling, swimming, and a trip to the M&M store. The kids had a blast! My husband and I were seriously beat when we got home. I think it took us three days to catch up on sleep. Isn't it funny how vacations tend to do that? Here are some random pictures from the weekend.

I think I should have mentioned there was food. Lots of food on this trip.

My husband is not good at sharing his ice cream.

Marine Corps Ball Dress Shopping

It's that time of year again! Military Balls. Dress shopping. This year I made up my mind to rent a dress. I have always bought in the past and the dress hangs in my closet only to be worn once again, if at all. It seems like such a waste. About a year ago, I came across a few posts from Jen at The Adventures of Our Army Life. I noticed she always posted such beautiful and unique dresses she wore to her husband's military events. I asked about where she found all these great dresses and she mentioned Rent the Runway. Right then I made up my mind to use Rent the Runway for our next Marine Corps Ball.

I kept to my word. I started searching for my dress in August. I found several styles on the website but just couldn't commit. I honestly honestly have such a complex with making decisions. Finally, the spies over at Rent The Runway stepped up and offered a Try At Home option. I said 'yes'. They sent me 5 dresses to try on at home. It was just the push I needed. After trying the dresses, I picked a style and booked it for the Marine Corps Ball. The bonus is being able to book a completely different style for only $25. Which is sent to you in the same shipment. How cool is that? The whole process was seamless and I would highly recommend using Rent the Runway for any event you need a special dress. And this is solely my opinion. No one has provided me with any incentive to say otherwise. I just think this little secret needs to be shared with the world!

I photographed the whole Rent the Runway Try at Home process. The dresses were all individually wrapped inside the garment bag.  

#1 Nicole Miller 

#2 Badgley Mischka

#3 ML Monique Lhuillier

#4 Nicole Miller

#5 Carlos Miele

I had a lot of fun with the Try At Home option. It made decision making much easier. I picked Dress #3. I didn't initially choose a second dress but am reconsidering adding a less fitted option. Like this:

Source

Or this:

Source

All I need is shoes and I'm ready to celebrate!

Ooh-rah!

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Tales From The New Home {Week 16}

After a few weeks off, I can report we are back in business. We have a few in progress projects. We were at a stand still for a while because of so many factors. The weather was unbearably hot. Our schedule was crazy. And we were living on one income. Now everything is coming together. The weather is amazing lately. The next few weeks are (partly) unbooked. And I'm back to work. We very fortunately are expecting company at the end of November. Company always tends to light a little fire under ya! The office which has been my catch all needs to become a guest bedroom by Thanksgiving. Which means deciding paint color and buying furniture. Exciting, yet nerve wrecking! I have to make decisions... by next Sunday. 

Our main focus has been re-seeding the back yard. And by our focus, I mean my husband's focus. I've been pumpkin patch-ing and Las Vegas-ing while he has been Home Depot-ing and well heck, he went to Vegas too! But he did all the hard labor when it came to the back yard. I give him credit. He tilled the whole space and planted grass seed. Everyone warned him to cover the seed or the birds would eat it. But he is hard headed and wouldn't hear it. He didn't cover his grass seed for about a week. Sure enough, we had new birds coming to visit us the entire week and inviting all their friends. I even caught our resident hummingbird feeding off the ground. Yes, they were right again. Cover the grass seed! The birds will eat it.

Here is a break down of what has been happening. Husband took out the pavers to expand the backyard another two feet. The palm tree in the corner still remains but needs to go. Our friends are taking them but we have to coordinate the when of it all. Two men in charge equals a year of humming and haa-ing. You all know it does! Women just have a way. They really do!

We put the boys to work picking up the broken pavers. They hate it but I like it. I just don't think kids get taught the responsibility of house work anymore. And I'm as much to blame as anyone. It really has to be a conscious decision for me. I tend to let my kids be kids but the philosophy doesn't help them much. Honestly. High demand, High reward. It gives you the best results. I promise.

We added a little yard over there and lost some here. The old pavers which could be saved went to the opposite side of the yard. We have a row to add but it's coming together. Not a finished project but soon.

Someone loved that my husband didn't cover the new grass seed right away. He was lounging in that nasty pile of dead grass for a week. Dogs are weird!

We also took a day and organized the garage. "Nicole" style. We took everything out and put it all back in. Greatest feeling ev-vah! We bought a great industrial shelving unit from Costco and it made a huge difference. I wish I had taken a picture after. 

I know you are all digging that deer head. It's great when I get to explain it to young children who randomly pass by. In some states, the dead deer head hanging in my garage wouldn't catch much attention. In California, it is a different story. You will never know how much I tolerate over here with this guy! 

Even his precious baby had to get out of the garage.

 We finally got grass. I hope the HOA is happy. Our wonderful neighbor loves to fill us in on all the gory details of the HOA police. I guess the citation lady is pretty active in our community. Which makes me giggle a little. Have you all seen the Over The Hedge movie? I'm picturing the crazy HOA lady in my mind. My neighbor tells us as long as you write your apology letter (we did) then you won't have to pay (we didn't). However, when you skip the letter you will pay the fine. Noted. Gotta love a neighbor who has the dirt!

I should be back next week with all the details of what has happened after this weekend. We are in need of a major house clean. I'm not sure it needs it. I think it's more my preference. The older I get the more obsessed I am with having a clean organized house. Sadly, it doesn't happen easily. Other than that, I have plans to hang with my family and get ready for Halloween. Which probably means a trip to Target for Trick or Treat candy. Yippee!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

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My Work Space

A full week at the new job. I'm definitely feeling very positive about the position and the opportunity. I've spent the past week trying to arrange and clean the new space. The building hasn't been occupied in a few years so there was cleaning to be done. I am the only person to complete those tasks. Lucky me! It took me a few days to realize I was climbing an uphill battle. I was recognizing there were spider webs in places I thought I had cleaned. It was really puzzling me! I would move a piece of furniture to an area and see a bunch of cobwebs. I would knock the cobwebs down. A couple days later when I was working in the same area I would have to clean the corners and ceilings again. I was thinking..."I swear I just cleaned this a few days ago. Did I?" After having these conversations with myself nearly all day it dawned on me, the spiders had probably just came back and built new spider webs. It only took me three days to figure it out! So, I sadly had to put in the work order to kill all those little critters in the building. I feel bad because I know it's the food chain and they help keep other bugs out. However, I'm sick of them jumping on my head and getting caught in webs. It grosses me out.

Besides the spider infestation, things have been going well. Here is what things looked like a week ago when I walked into the space for the first time.

All the leads from the sites in the district came to unpack and arrange my space. I wasn't present for the unpacking; however, I was really thankful it was done. I kept most things the same.

 Puzzles/ Transportation

My favorite space. The library.

Homework Room/Writing Center

Manipulatives/Games

Classroom

As you can see, I've been blessed with a very large space. 

I have lots of furniture but the shelves are empty.

Not quite sure how we are going to fill them.

I will be adding signs, posters, and bulletin boards from here on. Pinterest is a great resource for those creative things. I try to put my own creative twist when I swipe ideas. 

Now that the bare bones have been established, I will be switching gears to marketing and training. All this diversity within the job keeps things interesting. But I do miss the kids. Just a couple months of adult time, then I will be back to having my main focus be the kids.

That is work. All of this is what keeps me distracted from blogging. 

It's a good distraction.

But I still miss having the extra time to keep up with you all!

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WIWW... 33

What I Wore Wednesday for week 33. Yikes! In all honesty, I have been posting outfits for well over 33 weeks. However, I take long breaks here and there, which means 33 total outfits on this blog. Some have been deleted because I continue to have this love-hate relationship with What I Wore posts. I'm getting better but well... you know.

33 always stands out for me. My husband, who I have know since childhood, had a minor major obsession in junior high with Scottie Pippen. For all the young'uns, he was a basketball player for the Chicago Bulls back in their glory days. I think my husband had every 33 basketball jersey made. Believe me, knowing those things and having an actual visual about your husband is kind of funny. And strange all at the same time. I think he even swiped the number 33 for his own basketball jersey. I should really try to pull that thing out. Maybe I could have a WIWW feature one of these days? Well, maybe after a couple Fitness Fridays.

Short and sweet this week. 

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