Trick or Treat

This was my first 'proper' Halloween since I was a kid and I had fun dressing my girl up, buying Halloween treats to give out and attending Halloweeny events. Sometimes I love it how here in America, celebrations are so over-commercialized. This year I enjoyed it through my toddler.
For the past few years, I've always associated Halloween with Unicef's Orange Boxes, used for collecting change while trick or treating and then sending it off as a donation to Unicef.

This year I ordered a box (they send them to you for free) and was happy to see my friends emptying their change into it. Unicef really makes fundraising like this so easy. They send you a package with so much information (along with goodies like Halloween greeting cards and stickers to share around) and once you are done collecting your change, simply empty your coins into a Coinstar machine, pick the Unicef donation option on it and then send them off your receipt. How simple is that? I'm looking forward to emptying my orange box out this weekend!

Note to self: get a head start on this next year, and give out a few boxes to friends to fill up or ask them to order their own kits from Unicef...

weekend wrap

After an emotionally draining week, I couldn't be happier to kick back and relax a little this weekend, both my mind and my body. The weather was a bit chilly but all the better for snuggling up on the couch with a blanket and catching up on some reading while the little one slept. It was also perfect weather to cook up this hearty cream of tomato soup.

I also caught up with my design inspiration blogs - namely Apartment Therapy, which I waste too much time on but do leave with some lovely images every now and then. Check these out:

- What a happy, happy kitchen. I would love waking up to breakfast in this every morning. If I could, I would paint my kitchen yellow.
- AT Nursery featured some gorgeous images from Fit Pregnancy's website. Here's one:

image via fitpregnancy.com

- I also enjoyed going through IKEA's 2008 catalogue, which I ordered only recently because I wanted to get it after we'd moved. There's so much stuff that I would really get in there (loved some of the fabrics and plates) but - the tragedy - there's no IKEA in NC....yet!

Here's a real time waster: Celebrity Moms: Whose Star Style is Your Perfect Match?

Apparently my style guru is Angelina Jolie...

[october mornings]

Crafty goods

Last weekend I was at the Cary Park Holiday Fair. It was a cute little arts and crafts fair - although smaller than I expected. Ever since I moved to Cary a few months ago, I've noticed quite a few art and craft festivals around the area and have managed to attend a couple. I'm looking forward to more during the holiday season. I picked up some pretty pillow covers, sachets of lavender that smell lovely and some greeting cards that were 'stamped'. I got to take a closer look at 'stamping' as a hobby, courtesy of a very friendly lady who was selling her stamped goods and taught stamping classes. Looked like fun!

I also came across these handmade recycled CD clocks. This one was my favorite:

It's listed on the crafter's Etsy store, along with some really cute soaps she makes as well.

The Mom Song

This video is a must see for all mommies...hilarious lyrics that every mom can relate to. Link via The Happiness Project.

The world's top 10 most liveable cities

The International Herald Tribune has a slide show of the world's top 10 most liveable cities. 7 of these are in Europe.

New beginnings

This week marks a couple of new beginnings for me, which I am excited about. New apartment, new month, a mostly empty calendar for October which I am looking forward to filling up with play dates, selected work assignments & picnic lunches in this gorgeous fall weather.

This month I am looking forward to:

• unpacking boxes, setting up a new home, simplifying everything around me
• decorating my little girl's room with patterns and colors
• walks during the chilly October mornings
• Sunday breakfasts with something new to try out
• taking more photos
  
• finishing the first one's album & scrapbook before the second one arrives
• finding a halloween costume for the girl and making little treats for the toddlers (and grown ups)
  
• doing more creative activities with my little girl - painting, crafting - for the very first time
• setting up my own little home office/space where I can escape to when mommy just needs some time out