As Autumn nears, so the days grow shorter

Yesterday was the longest day of the year. From here on, each day will begin to grow shorter and shorter as Fall slowly creeps closer. I couldn't help but feel a little bit excited when someone reminded me of this yesterday. I love it when I can really start to notice it, when the leaves start turning red and orange, there's a chill in the air, and darkness descends before the clock strikes five. It's around this time that the autumn mood really takes hold of me. Signs of Halloween start popping up everywhere. Store fronts are lined with an assortment of pumpkins, and Halloween decorations and candy have their own aisle. I always buy a few pumpkins early just to have them around. I think I will carve a few extra this year. Maybe I'll do something totally different like paint one black on the outside so it looks extra creepy. I also plan to put up orange and purple lights all around the deck just like we do for Christmas. There are 130 days left until Halloween. I wish I could speed up time.

Halloween ideas at Michael's

Before you get too excited and think I'm saying that Michael's already has Halloween out, no, unfortunately, they do not. They did, however, have quite a few Fall-colored plants and flower bouquets out, which immediately brought a big smile to my face! I decided to check out their website just to see if there was a date that said exactly when Halloween would be put out on the shelves. I didn't see a date, but there was a link to 'Seasons', and from there I clicked on 'Halloween'. This led me to a page with a bunch of cute Halloween project ideas (over 20 pages worth!). One of my favorites was this ghost TOT table centerpiece. I also thought this cupcake holder would be fun to have out on display for a Halloween party. I don't normally do a lot of craft projects, but in looking at some of these, it might be pretty fun. I always loved gingerbread houses at Christmas, and I thought the haunted gingerbread house was a pretty clever idea. It would also make a great centerpiece, and who doesn't love the sweet smell of freshly baked gingerbread?? Maybe working on a few Halloween projects will get me even more in the Halloween spirit (as if I needed any help already)!

Source: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectlist?categoryid=54

Autumn is coming early at Michael's

Ok, I just had to share this because I couldn't believe it! I walked into a Michael's yesterday, and to my complete surprise, I saw Fall-colored flowers and bouquets already stacked on the shelves. It was the last thing I was expecting to see considering that it is only early June, but nonetheless, they were there! I recalled that last year in July I was shocked to discover that not only were Fall flowers already out, but Halloween decorations were out as well. The same aisle that houses the Halloween stuff every year had at least half the decorations out, such as the 'Spooky Town' collection of musical haunted houses. Funny that I find Fall already showing up in one of my favorite stores when the weather is so Fall-like. In about a month from now, I will expect to probably find Halloween already showing up on my favorite aisle there. I wonder what cool, new things I will find there this year. I hope I find a bunch of new stuff to bring home and decorate with! I am *so* looking forward to it!

Fall-like weather

Is it really June?! We had major thunder and lightning last night as we were driving home, as well as some rain. It is still completely over cast and pretty chilly today. While many people are probably upset that the weather is like this in early summer, I am actually quite enjoying it. It feels, looks and smells like Fall. Unbelievable. The sky looked so awesome last night! I wish I had pictures. Most of the sky was dark and stormy looking, but there was an area of it I could see far off in the distance that was lit up. It was so strange. Every ten seconds or so, lightning would flash across the whole sky, and heavy raindrops would come pounding down on the windshield, followed by an occasional boom of thunder. It was truly a sight to see and hear. It would have made for a wicked Halloween night. I could see myself, on a night like this on All Hallow's Eve, perhaps sitting in front of a warm fireplace surrounded by friends, telling tales of horror to each other. The soft glow of jack-0-lanterns all around the room would cast spooky shadows on the walls, and creepy music would play in a corner of the room. We'd be enjoying all sorts of Halloween candies and treats, as is tradition on Halloween night. Our faces, hidden behind masks and make-up, would look ghoulish as we stare wide-eyed at each other in the glow of the firelight. My kind of Halloween, indeed!