No Bones about it, this Halloween Costume is Easy and CUTE!

AHHH, Fall. My very favorite time of year. Although in Florida Fall can still feel like summer I wholeheartedly embrace even the smallest drop in temperature. A low in the 60's can even prompt me to break out the boots!! But I digress....

Fall is home to my most favorite holiday.... HALLOWEEN! I loved it when my kids were small and still do to this day. When my boys were younger choosing the right costume was always a production. The focus was always finding a costume that was comfortable, which wasn't always easy. And neither of my boys liked wearing masks. They would complain about being hot and not able to see anything. That's how the skeleton costume came to be. It was easy, cheap and best of all could be used long after Halloween was over.

My little skeleton

 All you need is:
a cheap black sweatsuit
white contact paper
gloves (optional) I picked mine up at the dollar store :)
face paint (optional) He wore face paint trick or treating but NOT to parties

Spread out your contact paper and draw out a variety of bones. I looked at a picture of a skeleton to kind of guide me. Cut out bones, lay out on sweatsuit. When you are happy with the way it looks peel and stick. Add gloves if you want and face paint. You could even buy a skeleton mask if your child will wear it. After Halloween peel off bones and now you have some warm and comfy play clothes :)

BOO!!!

HAPPY FALL YA'LL 

~XOXO jules

Tim's Awesome Summer Sangria (who are we kidding it's good anytime of the year!)

Tim's Awesome Summer Sangria

Although "officially" summer time is over with the passing of Labor Day, I live in Florida so we are still wearing our flip flops and shorts and will be for some time to come. In fact, I have some old photos from Christmases past where I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt! It's a rough life....

Anyway, I love Sangria and am pretty picky about it. I'm an either LOVE it or HATE it kind of girl. One summer day as my husband and I were chilling poolside he came up with the BRILLIANT idea to mix up and make up a sangria recipe. He disappeared into the kitchen and came out with the tastiest, most delicious sangria EVER. It's also super easy to make. He gets requests for his secret recipe all of the time so I thought I'd share it with you.

Here's what you need:

1.5 liter bottle of Wine - totally your choice of brand. We've used both red and white.

1 cup of Orange juice 

2-3 oz. of Brandy or Triple Sec

1/2 to 1 cup of Sugar depending on how sweet your wine is. Start low and add to taste.

1 cup of Ginger ale
Sprinkle of cinnamon (this is what I think makes it so delicious!)

Fruit of your choice to garnish.. blueberry, raspberry, orange, strawberry, apple (choose 1 or more) The fruit is absolutely yummy to eat after it's soaked in the sangria :)

Here's what you do:

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher except for the Ginger ale and stir. Refrigerate at least an hour or so to allow flavors to blend. Add Ginger ale right before serving. Then add garnish and serve over ice. 

I promise you will LOVE it! Cheers!! 

~XOXO jules

You may not like this Blog

So here I sit in front of the computer, head exploding with ideas for this blog. Yet, I can't write one... ya want to know why?? Because my son absconded to college with the computer I had been using and ALL OF MY PICTURES ARE ON IT! I truly believe a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am left somewhat speechless. I'm sure my husband would really like that to be the case....

Since I can't really share a recipe or home decor idea or really anything creative without my pictures let's just discuss life: kids, pets, marriage, parents, siblings.  Well I guess we can't really discuss either.... this is typically just a one way conversation. How about if I just share some things with you and if you are inclined to do so you comment with your thoughts and opinions?

Let's start with raising kids. I will be the first to admit that I adore my sons. I am thankful for them everyday and if there is ever a choice between them and ANYTHING else I will choose them. They come first along with my hubs. Recently I've seen a "deep quote" circulating on Facebook that basically says I'm not your friend I'm your parent... blah blah blah. I hate it. I really do.... first of all I'm not really a fan of quotes on Facebook. I mean if I'm looking for inspiration I can use my Google machine to find my own source. To me quotes belong more on Pinterest, but hey that's just my opinion. My problem with the quote is I wholeheartedly disagree. Why do you have to be one or the other? You can be both a parent and a friend. I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You can raise an awesome person without raising your fist or your voice. And yes I said "person". Sometimes I feel like parent's don't really see their children as people. That's just sad.

I believe that cultivating a relationship that is mutually respectful builds a strong foundation  that will stand the test of time. Not only that, but it teaches your children that they are worthy of respect. Yes, all children need guidance and boundaries but they don't need threats, belittling, and physical violence. And if you take the time to really get to know your kids you'll find just the right way to reach them when problems arise. A method that works with one child won't necessarily work with the other. Take the time to start a real conversation and listen to what they have to say, you may be surprised.

~XOXO jules