The Rest of the Story

As I write this, the house is eerily quiet for the first time in 3 days and as peaceful as it is to my ears, it causes an ache in my heart. Halloween weekend at Nana and Papa's is over for another year and I am always sad to see it end. Am I exhausted? You bet!! Do I get a bit frazzled over the course of a few days? Of course!! Would I do it all over again in a flash? Without a doubt!!!!


I am a bit sleep deprived so I thought I would show you the rest of the livingroom and call it a day. No witty repertoires today - just a few thoughts as I look at the room again myself. I will say that the changes this year ellicited a wave of approval - and my grandchildren can be pretty harsh critics when necessary so I am happy with the changes I made - and they scoped out every one of them! We had every light and motion generated sound thing turned on all weekend and it made for a very fun and spooky time for all. We love our grandchildren so much and are so flattered that they still enjoy spending time with their old grandparents. We have so many traditions and every one seems to be someone else's favorite, so we work hard to fit them all in. I think we did a good job this year and I am already looking forward to our next one! Of course, we still have lots of Halloween celebrating to do this year, but our time at Nana and Papa's is sadly over for now!
Here are some of the vintage cones we made as gifts last year. They are hanging on my Pottery Barn branches from several years ago.
I love this guy. In fact, I loved him so much, I bought 2. I got them at Bombay Company - which I miss so much! I always seem to make friends with store managers. They catch on how "holiday crazy" I am and somehow let me in on all of the bargains. The store manager actually called me on this one and told me there were 2 left going on sale from $100 to $25. Of course I jumped at them and he held them for me. They travel around the house and serve lots of different purposes. Of course my oldest grandson reminded me that last year the one in the sunroom served as a treat holder which I forgot to fill this year.
This is my witch hat rack. The kids just love it as they each pick a hat and we take lots of pictures. Most of the fancy ones I got when my daughters and I used to go to a wonderful witch's tea in Tampa. It became one of those traditions that we could no longer fit in with the Florida Georgia game always on the same day as well as our big costume party. I understand, but I still miss it! The Nana's Lair sign was made for me by Caitlin and Olivia and gets a place of honor every year.
I do love my family pictures - just can't get enough. You will see them all through the house. I also was drawn to this witch a few years ago. I found her in a little shop in Alachua. Alachua is the cutest little town We head there every year for their pumpkin patch as well as "Scarecrow Row'. Every store puts out a scarecrow that is within that year's theme and it is so much fun walking through them all as we enjoy the cool autumn evening air.


That gets you through the livingroom. Tomorrow we will head to the family room. Stay tuned!!!