Fall ... Winter?

I can't believe we are half way through November, and looking Thanksgiving in the eye!  And we all know what happens after that -- as if it hasn't already started -- the slippery slope to full blown holiday madness.  I like to think that I have managed to scale back on the madness.  Over the last many years I have drastically reduced gift receiving and giving, and now I try to relax and enjoy the season rather than clutter it up with lists of things that must be accomplished... it's so liberating... And, since I am trying to rid my tiny house of "stuff," it's great to reduce the intake.

October flew with Halloween preparations, followed by preparation for company, followed by the company, followed by..... a really bad cold.  Or something.  After a week+ of being sick I finally gave in and went to the doctor and now I am slowly improving.  Ack. 

In my mind (okay, on Pinterest*) I am still actively saving project ideas; for Christmas decorating, for inside my house and for my outside spaces.  And in my I-have-zero-energy-down-time I've been trying to teach myself to knit.  Because, well, so many cute knit (knitted?) items around now!  And let's be honest:  I'm too cheap to buy them.  (Plus -- having something to keep my hands busy during family gatherings will keep my hands out of the snack bowl...)

I so want this for Winter dog walking -- every single time I look at it I just laugh!

You can order it online, with interchangeable mustaches -- I kid you not.

So, not many posts lately, but I hope to have some for you soon; thanks for hanging with me.  This weekend I am going to start building a little something for my holiday decor; and maybe some photos will come out of those projects.  I did get my alley mulch spread out, but neglected to snap a photo... it's looking much better! I'll try to remember to snap one this weekend. But the leaves! Oh, the leaves! Knee deep in my yard... front and back.

I'm also going to help a friend paint something fun on the risers on her stairs (before her Thanksgiving company descends upon her!) don my elf costume and be a Santa's helper, dig up flower bulbs at a friend's house, and help another friend with some Thanksgiving preparations.  A quiet weekend has become full of fun things.  I hope to get good sleep in between that stuff, and continue to recover.

Have a great weekend!

* Let me know in the comments if you want an invitation!

Elfin Magic

The elf costumes are evolving... these are for the neighborhood party.  Our goal (well not mine, but someone had a great idea) was to imitate the style from the movie Elf:

So a very talented neighbor loaded a bunch of us in her car and off we went to JoAnn fabrics.  Fabrics were selected, measurements were taken, and jackets were sewn.  Here is my jacket:

I struggled with the fabric selection -- and in the end chose a color similar to the movie poster.  (Sometimes I lack imagination.  The fabric store seemed so overwhelming that day!)  Note the embroidered name on the lapel... you can't see it very well, but my assigned elf name is Crackers...

Tights color became a major issue.  I tried on my jacket and felt like I needed more red.  I wanted some candy cane swirl tights (not the Wicked Witch of the West horizontal stripe -- who needs horizonal stripes on their thighs??) but couldn't find them to buy anywhere.  I ordered gold tights as a fall back.  Then I got the bright idea (was it really bright?  You decide...) to paint white tights with a candy cane swirl.  The process was  q u i t e   memorable... but here's the end result:

Yes, I know -- the white socks and shoes -- not to mention the men's boxers -- REALLY make the tights.

So then... elf shoes.  Because if you are an elf, your toes MUST curl.  We had fabric left over from the jackets, so I decided to craft some shoes:

I still need to add a bell, bow, or pom-pom to the tip of the curve... and if I have time I may add a fun border around the ankle.

And then there's the hat selection.  I don't have photos of these, but I have a traditional Santa hat.  I have a gold lame' hat with white fur.  I have a 4' long Santa stocking cap, and I have a traditional Santa hat with a spiral around it that dangles a piece of mistletoe over my head.

I have a black belt, but I can't decide if it looks good or not...

Someone recently asked me if I have elf ears!  I DON'T!!  I hadn't even thought about them!  That's on my must do list... and at this late date I suspect it will be a challenging purchase.

I'll have to have a fashion show for Red to decide on all my options...