Hot Topic

I am obsessed with Halloween. Usually for this holiday I dress up at least 2 or 3 times. Unfortunately we are in Michigan, away from our friends in Georgia and our family in Utah so Shaun said many times "who are we even dressing up for?" I was still determined to have a good Halloween and it ended up being one of my top favorite years. Shaun is usually over the top with his costumes because he is trying to win a contest of some sort so we went much simpler this year since it was just the two of us. So we decided on:

Goths 

{unless your definition for a goth is a viking or a warrior like my G'pa}

It ended up being a human experiment. We went and walked around the mall because I wanted to show off our look a little bit and maybe find a few of "our kind" because that is usually where they hang out. It was so entertaining to have people look at us and then quickly turn away when we make eye contact with them. They were never really sure if we were in costume or just going on with our everyday lives. I LOVED the attention, I felt like a celebrity {yes andrea & kristine, I am still in it for the glory}. However, sometimes I did feel like I was being looked up and down from a few judgmental people---especially the elderly people or parents. It almost looked like they were appalled that we were even out in public. 

We then went to dinner and asked our host as he was sitting us if he thought we were in costume or not. He got super awkward and stumbled on his words not wanting to say the wrong thing or offend us. 

"no..um, you two look fine! we get a lot of people like you around here."

We told him we were in costume and showed him a picture of what we really looked like. He was laughing and was so relieved. We ate dinner and came home to watch Ghostbusters on TV. I had never seen that movie and I guess you just had to be alive during that time to enjoy it because I thought it was the dumbest movie.  Overall it was such an awesome Halloween and a very fun memory. Hope everybody's Halloween was fantastic!!

homemade canvas

When I was in Utah, my sister in-law and I wanted to do a little crafternoon session. I saw a tutorial for a homemade canvas that I was really wanting to try. Margaret had some wood laying around in her garage so that was perfect (you can easily pick up wood from Home Depot or Lowes). She chose a skinnier piece of wood that was the exact measurement for her picture and I had a thicker piece that could stand up more like a picture block.

1. Paint your block the color that you want the background to be. 

(In Margaret's case, only the sides would show the color)

2. Once the paint drys, cover your wood with GLOSS-LUSTRE mod podge so the
wood has a shiny look to it.

3. Once you place your picture where you want it, cover the whole thing 

with mod podge evenly.

*if it's not even, you may see lines after it dries* 

the white color is normal when you first put the podge on

-----

We loved how they turned out and I am currently making a few more that I can hang on the walls! 

The backyard.

My blog peeps will probably be sick of this view in no time. I can't stop taking pictures of it. Every time we go on a walk we pass this. Every time I look out my window I look out to this. I love this. This being: bridges, water, and tall buildings...I guess. So you have now seen it in fall, I shall keep you posted on what it looks like with some snow! Which supposedly is coming soon. 

The update on us is, basically we are loving our lives. Conference just ended which was much needed as always. SJ's work schedule is so awesome and he is usually home late afternoon so we have time to explore. Artprize has been happening the past two weeks so I have been very entertained. Shaun has a company car so the beautiful Elantra is in my hands. We have been very blessed with frequent trips back home, which is happening again soon here and that will be awesome. 

But Georgia is on our minds. . .

it surprised us too.

The GR

 Well Friday morning we packed our bags and headed to Michigan! On my to-do list before we left, I needed to send my letter to Celine that Shaun wrote. We explained our three cancellation-heart-breaks that we have experienced and included pictures of each event with a big fat sad face. I am sure nothing will come of it but we just wanted to write her to say that we wrote her! It was fun.

Even though we packed for only three months, I felt like we brought a ton. There was some talented tetris action going on trying to make everything fit. I'm obsessed with road trips so it was definitely a party. Shaun and I are listening to Enders Game before the movie comes out. Love me some Harrison Ford!

There is an art festival called The ArtPrize that is in Grand Rapids every year and it is the biggest one in the country supposedly. When we pulled up last weekend, downtown was a madhouse! It has been so fun for me though because I can just wake up, walk downstairs, and explore until I'm sick of walking. Everything is walking distance and there are seriously thousands of people everywhere. I love it. My favorite's have been the pieces that were made completely out of junk (like this dragon). These pandas were made entirely of tires.

And here is our nice little apartment. It has more of a hotel vibe than I thought it would but I still love it (even if I hate the wood look). To calm this germ freak's mind, we went out and got a sofa cover. The place has also been scoured with clorox wipes. Those things are my best friends. That carmel spice fall candle does the trick as well! We are loving this temporary adventure in a different place. It seriously is like a mini vacation (at least for Nicole :) 

Ps. ...Can you believe that little corner called the kitchen? I can't believe I was complaining about my minimal counter space back at home. I am going to go back to Georgia so excited to see that little counter of mine!

Mr. Poff

Wellllllllll we're off to Grand Rapids, Michigan next weekend! We know nothing about Michigan, which is exciting I guess because we knew nothing about Georgia before our adventure to the south and we ended up loving that. Some strangers who hear we are leaving try to act like they know something about Michigan saying "oh wow, you'll be freezing up there" or "I heard the fall is beautiful." Shaun pointed out that wherever there is snow for the winter, you'll be freezing. Also, everywhere you go, the fall season is pretty. But we don't blame them because google was the first place we went. At least 9th grade Geography with Mr. Poff taught me that Michigan is a winter state because it looks like a mitten!

Procrastination is pretty much what I have majored in my whole life and it's not getting any better. (although I would like to say some of my best school work has been done the night before..)I think it actually hit me when Shaun said the other day "well get that done before next week because it'll be a busy one." What the. Next week! Fortunately Shaun's company puts us up in a furnished place in Michigan since it is temporary so we are keeping our apartment here in Georgia. That saves Nicole's sanity! I would die if I would have to pack up everything and get out of here in that short of notice. That stress will come next year! I will miss my king-sized-bliss called a bed and SJ will be missing his big screen TV. However, our Michigan apartment is right in downtown so I'm excited about the exploring I will get to do.

Now I got to go dig deep for some winter clothes. I think those clothes still do exist in my wardrobe.

By the way, these songs have almost cured my procrastination moods: