eighteen25 party.

today, i thought i would join the linky party with the ladies over at eighteen25. the party consists of sharing favorite fall or halloween ideas.

so... here is one of my favorite halloween party favor ideas.

last year, i made pumpkin spice play dough for my elle's preschool halloween class party. i packaged the play dough individually, and it was ready to give when the party came quickly to an end.

if you have never made play dough, it is extremely easy. i love making this pumpkin spice play dough recipe for my children. It smells wonderfully like fall!

after making the play dough, i gathered the dough and formed a large ball and then rolled it into a log shape. I cut the log in huge slices and placed each slice in a round plastic container.

luckily, i found inexpensive containers with orange lids.

and then, with twine i tied on a small wooden rolling pin, a halloween cookie cutter and a simple handmade tag. how simple and easy is that??

it was the perfect alternative to giving out candy and sweets. and, i must say, all of the kids loved their halloween treat!

all other fall and halloween ideas of the other linky party goers can be found here. hope you enjoy and find some creative inspiration!

happy monday.

happy monday.

how was your weekend? finally, i feel like fall has arrived.
it was the perfect weather for playing baseball and being outside.

how did you spend your weekend?

(photograph taken by my dear friend Simone)

happy weekend + some things.

do you have any weekend plans? we have had a busy week, so i am happy it's finally friday. we'll start our weekend tonight with our usual pizza night. baseball games, a birthday party and perhaps attending a local music fest will fill the rest of the weekend. i do know that the weather is suppose to be absolutely beautiful (and cooler)... finally it is beginning to feel like fall.

hope your weekend is happy and here are some things you might enjoy:

DIY... chalkboard globe

need a gift? i like these

and, these bottles too

love story inspiration (it's one of my favorite movies)

she wants this, and i do too

cute monkey cake

apple cider doughnuts to enjoy this fall

shop weekends only at jcrew factory online

my current obsession: pumpkins!!

dinner under the golden gate bridge.

how magical. a dinner party on the beach under the golden gate bridge. i can't even imagine how wonderful it must have been. read about it the whole party here at oh happy day.

(photos by paul ferney for oh happy day)

inspiring.

found it here.

hamster ball.

have you ever seen a human hamster ball? i don't think it's something i would ever want to do, but my inquisitive son was anxious to try. so, we paid 10 dollars for him to run (and sit and lay) inside a huge inflatable ball that floated in a pool of water.

actually, a little wierd.
here they are inflating the ball as slade stands inside.

he's all sealed up & ready to go.
(and all i could think of was... suffocation and germs... ugghh!)

although slade said it was fun, i thought he looked a bit bored. perhaps if a group were doing it all together it might be a bit more fun. however, i really am not a big fan of the human hamster ball!

monday morning sweetness.

wishing i woke up this morning to the sweetness of these pumpkin cinnamon rolls... they look absolutely delicious and the perfect treat with my morning latte.

i just had to share...
i will be making these very soon!