Trunk-Or-Treat!

I have no idea how Halloween is already here, but it is, and with that being said,

BRING ON THE ELSA ARMY! 

If there's one universal American truth this week, it's that at the very least, 1 of 3 little girls has either requested to be, or is going to be... Elsa for Halloween. Thank you Disney, for another year of rampant internet and storefront sales on everything Frozen. I still vote pity for poor Princess Anna; it seems like although that movie was mostly about her, we'll still only see a slight fraction of Anna-clad darlings hitting the 2014 candy-tours in comparison to her magically-empowered-and-simultaneously-cursed older sis. [Welcome to the inevitable and inescapable limelight of younger siblinghood, amiright?] 

Anyway, Sydni found herself in the ideal position for being in a not-so-ideal situation of living between mom & dad's houses. The ideal part is that she now has two Elsa costumes to don this year. She will be trick-or-treating twice, and will likely continue into the winter holiday season in this exact pattern: doubling everything. The only real perks [from a kid's POV, at least] of split households, I'm convinced.

Rob and I rallied together in a tornado fashion after work: change our clothes, change her clothes, and get moving on up to West Chester for one of the few Thursday night trick-or-treats that I could find. It was held at an old stomping ground that I claimed for a very brief time years and years ago: Midwest Cheer Elite. [Clarification: I was a tumbler and a contemporary dance student here, not a competitive cheerleader. I don't want any of you to think I've been withholding a secret life from you!]

It was a trunk-or-treat, which meant an added vote of confidence for all the parents, knowing their little ghosts and goblins [or in this case, their little Elsa's and Marvel superheroes] wouldn't dash away into any line of traffic or otherwise hazardous situation. Keep it contained.... ;)

Sydni had a blast.

[& i spy an olaf back there! ;) ] 

A few of the many, many fun, decorated trunks! 

fun! :) 

And an added bonus of a hayride!

my family. love love love them. 

After trunk-or-treat, we had a last minute vote for Mexican food, so we spent another hour or so in West Chester to eat. We were halfway through dinner when Sydni decided to deliver some insight far beyond her years:

Hahahah. I freakin' love that girl.

Tomorrow is finally Friday, and that being said, I'm pretty excited for the grown-up Halloween festivities that will be taking place. I'll give you one hint:

Villains. 

That's all for now. Tomorrow's the real deal ;) 

Happy [Pre-] Halloween! 

xo | cmd

Sunday Shelfies ;)

In preparation for our pre-meditated Ikea trip, we voted a big yes to church first. Haha. That of course is not the reason we went; church is always first on the list for Sunday mornings, including an excellent message from Pastor Jeff, as always.

And then, post-church meant the trip north to West Chester. We primed ourselves for the adventure with a pitstop at Panera before that last deep breath you take when you consciously decide to enter the Ikea parking lot on a weekend.

[insert episodic music here...**]

Yes, the parking lot itself is a jungle. To compound the frustration of parking Rob's truck [which we brought just in case] amongst the crammed rows of other cars, we were really there for one thing:

shelf. little... black... shelf.

I dragged Rob to Ikea today because I wanted shelves. Just add this to the list of awesome-boyfriend moments: he agreed to navigate through the crowds in one of the biggest superstores in Cincinnati because I had my eye on an 11x10" slab of particle&fiber board. He's awesome.

To the surprise of both of us, it was a relatively painless experience. Aside from the usual bottleneck at the check-out, this may have been the easiest trip to Ikea I've had yet. It of course helps when you know exactly why you're there, put on your blinders and ignore the other 343,500 sq.ft of stuff you want to take home. We were in and out in an hour, which included a quick peruse over the dining room chair section. Again, at least we need those.

So with six shelves and two wall-mounted lights, we escaped Ikea and headed home. In the 40ish minute drive back, we encountered rain, sleet, snow and warm sunshine. A quick reminder that the midwest is just as confused as we are with this weather thing.

I lent whatever assistance I could to be useful in hanging the shelves and lights in the bedroom. After he figured out a good system to do it, I dismissed myself to get dinner ready while he finished up in the bedroom.

His final product?


before & after

yay, bedstand shelves!
no curtain yet, but that's coming as well!

And... my finished product:

garlic lime chicken, pierogies, zucchini

I'll say that his was way better than mine. We may have over-marinated the chicken, which came out much too sour for my liking, at least. He didn't seem to mind, or he is just great at pretending I'm not trying to poison us both. Less lime, more cilantro next time. Noted (:

Anyway, I think that's a wrap on the weekend. Monday's gonna be here before we know it, whether we want it or not... and we're spent.

G'Nite (:

xo | cmd