Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

Bryan and I keep seeing pictures of our family and friends kids all dressed up for Halloween so I thought I would share a picture of our "baby" all dressed up in his Halloween shirt. We have had this shirt for years and rarely put him in anything (sometimes jackets/sweaters in the winter if he'll be outside a ton because he gets cold).

Not many trick or treaters come by, but we are hoping since four families with toddlers/babies moved on our street this year that someone will come by. 

Have a spooky night!

Seasonal Produce Guide

Recently I was talking to a couple of people / clients about various produce that is in season because it is getting hard to find some produce in the grocery stores. I love this seasonal produce guide from Style Me Pretty. I often frequent various farmers markets in the Houston area and love trying new places. Last week I mentioned about pick your own fruit farms. I am still hoping to go to one in Tomball within the next couple of weeks. Froberg's in Alvin has awesome selection of produce.

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BooksApp

I read somewhere about the BooksApp on some blog (I can't remember which one). I love it. You can inventory your books by entering the ISBN number or scanning the barcode. When you do that with most of the books a picture and info about the book is automatically put into the app.You can put notes into the app regarding each book, who has borrowed the book (s), etc. You can export a csv file to your computer and have it for your files. I have a ton of books and love this app. Although, it does take a little time to enter all the books if you have a lot. 

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Pick Your Own Fruit Farms in Houston

Lately, I have been seeing a ton of pictures from people on the east and west coasts that are going apple picking. It looks fun so I decided to research if there was anything like that in Houston. I found out that apples just don't grow well in Houston, but many of other fruits grow well like berries, persimmons, peaches, etc. There are many farms in and around Houston where you can go pick your own fruit. Many of those farms right now also have pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hay rides, etc. I am hoping that Bryan and I can go check out one of these farms sometime soon. 

Here are some local farms where you can pick your own fruit: 

Blackberries of Houston
19531 Cypress Church Road
Cypress, TX 77433
http://www.BlackberriesOfHouston.com
281-373-5357

Chmielewski's Blueberry Farm
23810 Bauer Hockley Rd.
Hockley, TX 77447
281-304-0554
http://www.chmielewski-blueberry.com

Matt Family Orchard
21110 Bauer Hockley Road
Tomball, Texas 77377-5767
281-351-7676 
http://www.mattfamilyorchard.com


Dewberry Farm

7705 FM 362 Brookshire, TX 77423 281-934-3276 http://www.dewberryfarm.com Froberg's Farm (I LOVE this one) 3601 Hwy 6 Alvin, TX 77511 281-585-3531 http://www.frobergsfarm.com

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Ways to "Green" Your Halloween

Below are some tips for a newsletter I wrote a while back for ways to green your Halloween. There are so many big and small things you can do, but here are a few of them.

•       Make your own costume by using material you already have. Put twist on an outfit you may already have.  Buy one from a resale shop
•       Even though it may cost more, buy organic make – up from places like Whole Foods it is so much better for your skin
•       Buy biodegradable house decorations at your local farmers markets
•       Buy fair trade and organic candy like chocolate, lollipops, and jellybeans
•       Use soy candles
•       Choose to carry a reusable bag instead of the plastic pumpkins. I love FEED Projects Halloween burlap bag

Websites to get organic and fair trade candy:

www.yummyearth.com

www.chocolatebar.com

www.bettylousinc.com

www.jellybelly.com

Sources:www.planetgreen.discovery.com; www.greenhalloween.com

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DIY Skeleton Wreath

Once again I saw something on Pinterest and wanted to create it. So I tried this skeleton wreath. This project went much better than the pumpkin project. I got the skeleton already glittered up at the dollar store and the wreath and ribbon can be found at your local craft store. I had the gold spray paint, so I painted the wreath. This project was done for less than $5.

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DIY Chevron Pumpkin

Last year I saw this post on Pinterest on how to make chevron pumpkins. Needless to say mine didn't turn out nearly as good as I wanted it to, but I still displayed it on the porch anyways. The taping off of the pumpkin was such a bitch to deal with. By the time it was time to do the second pumpkin I said screw it and returned the pumpkin back to Michaels. I really do love the look of these pumpkins and possibly I will try again in the future. Maybe you will have better luck with the pumpkin. 

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