Trick or Treat!

               I am so excited this year for Halloween! I get to dress up Baby P for the first time and there is nothing cuter than a little baby in a costume! I've been shopping for a while and have it ruled down to a few.

Here are the finalists:

Monkey and cow...I know, aren't you just dying over the cuteness?!?

Fruit and vegetables? What could be better? I'm a little obsessed with the peas in a pod.

I know, I know! Irridescent wings, but still boyish! Too much cuteness to go around, help me and vote!

WEG

             So, this weekend, I went to watch the cross country event at the World Equestrian Games with my Mom and some friends. The weather was gorgeous, really chilly in the morning but sunny and 70's with a cool breeze in the afternoon. I love the fall! There are about 25 jumps and they were all spread out across the Horse Park. We didn't see all of them, but it was neat to be in an area where there were 2 or 3 in a row. Like this:

            I always forget how amazing and beautiful and huge horses are, even though we had them and rode all growing up. Made me miss it! Although not the mucking stalls or breaking ice on water buckets on frigid winter mornings...

and he's gone...

              You can't even imagine how impressive these horses are, and they have to be really tall and in amazing shape because the course is soo long and challenging. Some of the jumps were like 4-5 feet wide. Like this one...

Craziness... this one was taken by a friend that came with us.

 Here's the same jump and horse taken by me, can you even imagine?

What if he didn't have enough momentum?!?

                 The jumps were all named after Kentucky places or things you might find on a farm or in nature. The long series of pics at the top is Fort Boonesborough, the one above is Hayfeeders and the one below....I don't know the name, but I'd definately expect to find it in nature.

I think that might have been the squirrel that destroyed our beautiful pumpkins. (more on that later!)

                  It was really interesting to see all the horse people from different countries and the wide array of clothing. There were people in athletic gear (like running tops, shoes and stretch pants--probably Americans). There were people like us in jeans and medium dressy shirts and comfy shoes for walking. There were serious horse people in riding clothes, vests, boots, etc... and then there were the dressed up people--jeans with blazers (probably foreign or own a big horsefarm). It wasn 't what I expected after going to Keeneland and seeing the Derby and all that, but very fun! There was a really neat shopping area with fancy horse stuff, Kentucky crafts, food (not great) and other things. I'm totally amazed at what the organizers had to do to get ready for an event with this many spectators and competitors (horses, horse accomodations, riders, handlers, owners, trainers...). I know some people who've been planning for the past 3 or 4 years for this, they're having a party and planning a long vacation after this week!

           We had a good time watching the events and visiting with our friends. Overall a really different and fun way to enjoy the lovely fall weather!

 

 

The Kindle...

So, I already posted about my birthday, but the rest of my gift from my sweet husband came two days ago. It was a Kindle!! Ok, so I've always said I didn't want any sort of electronic reader. I'm a book purist, I love the way they feel and smell and I love reading books more than once. I love all different sizes, I feel that I should have a large copy for home reading and a tiny copy for travel reading of the things I really love-Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre are two examples. I love a good bookstore and shopping for new books is sort of like a treasure hunt to me. I would be horribly sad if one day there were no bookstores, only virtual books, or real books that you have to special order and that cost a fortune. I also don't like looking at a glowing computer or phone screen for long periods of time, it makes my eyes and head ache.

However, there are times when I wish I could travel more easily with a week's worth of reading (you can't find tiny copies of everything). I had to take 5 books with me to the beach a few weeks ago and several were hardbacks. I felt no resentment, because I heartily enjoyed them all, but it would have been trouble if we were flying. Also, I don't often use the library, which would be a smart thing, because I like to own books. This becomes a problem with limited space and when you buy things that you realize later you will never read again. I will never read the Stieg Larsson books again. They were exciting, but way too much for a second go. Now, I have two cheapo paperbacks in weird fluorescent colors (can't use them on a mantel) and one hardback, which I actually am going to return to Target, because it's in perfect shape. Don't mention it to Target, please. Those would have been great books to read on the Kindle. I'm also reading Shopaholic on the Kindle-I do not want to own those books, I probably will not want to re-read them, but they're funny, light stories that I am enjoying for now at a very discounted price.

Furthermore, the Kindle is super light (only the width of a pencil)! I can hold it in one hand while feeding the baby and not get tired (it weighs less than an ounce), not fuss with page turning, and not drop the hardback on my foot binding down, for the third time (all hypothetical of course). You can turn pages from either side, forwards and backwards, with just your thumb. This is great for me because I like to read in bed lying on one side, and I'm constantly having to flip the book back and forth to see the pages and flip my reading light as well. With a Kindle you can buy a new book anywhere there's wi-fi access. You can highlight or make notes if you're reading something for a book club or study, like I'm going to be doing with Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods. (A book that costs $19.99 in real life, but only costs $9.99 on the Kindle).  Also, the Kindle screen looks like a printed page. It's doesn't glow or light up in the dark (so you do still need a light) and it doesn't hurt your eyes--although reading anything for 9 hours straight will strain them a bit. I've never done that...except for Harry Potter 5, 6 and 7 and maybe all the Hunger Games...ok, never mind... Also, the makers of the Kindle seem to be kind of reading purists themselves. They are not going to make the Kindle in color, or with games, or any function other than for reading. (Update: Obviously I wrote this before the newest Kindle tablet came out, color, touchscreen, games, etc...) Ok, that's all good, but...Amazon sold more books on Kindle last year than real books. I'm still not sure about the repercussions of that.

In conclusion, the Kindle has it's place. I'd rather people be reading good books than watching a billion hours of TV or Facebook stalking and looking at pictures of total strangers for hours on end. Also, there are millions of free books on Kindle, anything in public domain and written before 1923 is free. That means most of the classics and all of Jane Austen. Last time I checked, bookstores were still making you buy them. So now I can have my big copies, tiny copies, Kindle copies, and audio copies (on my phone for when I'm cleaning or driving, not a joke). I will never be without Jane Austen again!! Thank you, husband!

P.S. It stays charged for a month!

Mini Mantel Makeover

             I got the idea in my head last week to 'mini makeover' my mantel, so I finally finished yesterday. After I painted last year, I just chunked a bunch of photos up there without really thinking about it, got busy with baby stuff and never fixed it. So after looking at some inspiration photos online and of course referring to my fav home decor blog-younghouselove.com- I realized again how much I needed to do this little re-vamp. Here are a couple of befores:

No real order, too much red, even worse... boring.

So I started rounding up things from around the house: pictures, stacks of books, etc... and finished this mini-makeover for just $1.99. I bought one little thing that I couldn't resist on clearance at Cato. Let's see if you can spot it.

Those biological prints (they're actually framed pages from a neat calendar) in black frames I used to have in our bedroom until it became a nursery. The glass urn things came from TJ Max super cheap (like $5 each sometime last year when I wanted more green in our house). The frames I've had for years, they were already on the mantel (the sweet pewter one was a bridesmaid gift from Sarah!), the wooden candle holder was also a wedding gift, and there's no shortage of books in my house. I robbed the piano for that houseplant on the left--I love a fresh, green houseplant.

Oh yeah, the metal circle deal was something I got years ago on clearance at Pier 1. It's been all over the house, on the wall, propped against things, etc...

It's not perfect, but it's definately an improvement! Any guesses on what I added for $1.99? It's probably obvious since I already mentioned everything else. It's that cute, little ceramic bird. I'm not one for knick-knacks, but it's so green and was so cheap I couldn't resist.