10.31.12

the magic of beacon hill on halloween…

believe what you see – those are christmas tree lights in the background of our halloween dinner…

when hurricane sandy was en route to our state, and we were on day two of sitting in the house i told the kids maybe we’ll put the christmas tree up if we get really bored… and when you even mention christmas tree to a six year old girl. she doesn’t let you forget. ::smiles::

first things first — husband made it home safely and in time for halloween! {booyah!} AND! he brought us all cafe rio for dinner the night he flew home to boston from utah. bless his little black soul – he is the best man ever!

and now — our second year trick or treating at beacon hill and all the spooky magic it offers:

it is tradition now, {since last year, ha!} to start and end our halloween night with cocoa, and tea at the beacon hill/boston common starbucks. my little mime was truly a sad mime. sela did not want the evening to end. none of us did. were you happy with your haunted evening???

see last year at beacon hill here, and previous halloweens herehere {one of my finest momma-design-halloween video moments ever: kJ’s transforming costume!}, here and here!

{photos via me, and thank you {!!!} to my friends rachel and lindsey for sharing pictures. xo.}

10.31.12

easy, last-minute halloween ideas…

a few last-minute ideas for halloween today if you are hosting a party, or want to feel festive at home!

1 – we call it “boo-ing” some call it “ghost-ing” this year we boo’ed with boo-books & treats! if you want to do this in your neighborhood, i used this free printable.
2 – using fruit cups and clementines, a fun idea via caroline.
3 – we kept our pumpkin decorating very simple this year with stickers.
4 – my kids had a small party at school, but everything needed to be healthy & store bought. i put together this vegetable skeleton via kraft recipes.

happy halloween! xo.

{photos via @see_jane on instagram}

10.31.12

trunk-or-treat

do you attend a trunk-or-treat where you live??? have you ever heard of it? it’s a favorite tradition for my kids, they love helping me decorate our trunk just as much as the candy. this year we took supplies from home that we already had to trick out our car… the only new item was some blinking safety lights i found at our local grocery store for $1/each. we taped them on the back of the car, and it was a really fun extra.

IKEA striped fabric | paper landterns collected from here, and here, | i took our door mat & pumpkins right off our porch | huge basket from home {usually holds sports gear!}

however you trick-trunk-or-treat… {or give out candy, or skip all of the above} have fun tonight! and be safe. xo.

{photos by me.}

10.25.12

our spooky home…

i am going to keep this post quick but passionate. because i feel like as i look through my posts lately, i’ve been wordy.

this is: CONCENTRATED.

think midnight caffeine-induced-spooky-home-tour ramble.

ready? go…

{i handcut bandnit masks for our cherubs out of black construction paper. naughty little babes.}

{these haunted houses – make me smile.}

{that giraffe?! darling, right???}

from now till the end of the year, it’s blessed madness… starting with sunlight that fades around 5:30pm. i started stocking apple cider (for my myla – she loves it & the first gallon of the season is in the fridge.) pumpkins are sprinkled life confetti and new wallflower scents that promise to bring the smells of everything i love about this time of year…

{our quirky cherub fireplace. a special focal point of our home, fo sure.}

and then – next week!!! we end the month with trick-or treating… we will be visiting beacon hill again.

would you believe i ordered our Christmas cards?!? very soon i will be asking the post office clerk if they have any prettier stamps for the holidays.

a homey-cozy-season lies ahead… we are giving out little goodie bags filled with a festive craft + treat, so bring your little pumpkins and goblins on by, we will not be home on halloween, so stop by soon for a treat!

are you decorating your homes for halloween? if you are – and you blogged about it – leave a link in the comments, i’d love to see! xo.

***

spooky details:

halloween houses | giraffe | chandelier, garland{s}, cake stands, pillows, wood pumpkin | spider pumpkin stand | stripey straws | pumpkin soap | treat bags

***

i am happy to announce that seejaneblog has new sponsors & affiliates — you will start noticing the buttons pop-up on the sidebar. i am planning lots of incredible giveaways through the holiday season, starting tomorrow! so, check back often – the giveaways could start and end at anytime – it’s going to be crazy & fun just like this time of year! cheers!

{all photos by me, jane beckoner rhodes}

10.24.12

partners in mime costume

let me begin by saying – sela went through a ‘hula’ stage earlier this year, and then became obsessed with mime’s.  i have no idea why. she would ask me to find videos online for her to watch, and then i’d catch her practicing her mime moves around the house. it just killed me with cuteness.

so, sometime in august when i asked her if she had any idea what she wanted to be for halloween, it was totally appropriate when she said, a mime! {a better choice than hula girl for the weather this time of year!}

she loved acting like a mime + my girl has a serious fetish for black and white stripes!

as i started planning the costume, kiana heard what was going on, and didn’t want to be left out! for years now i have found it interesting that my oldest and my youngest daughters {who have nine years between them} have a really close relationship and my middle two kiddos are practically hooked at the hip. this natural sibling connection is what divided our two choices of costumes this year.

introducing our second homemade costume: partners in mime!

my recommendations: ONE | TWO | THREE (i purchased knit fabric on ebay, and made the shirts) | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | {NOT SHOWN: face makeup}

this costume is also a simple, last-minute choice if you already own black shoes, black pants, and a striped top! you can add suspenders, a hat, and possibly white gloves! even the makeup is optional – just wear red lipstick, or go all out with the face paint. it’s your choice.

…this is going to be a very quiet halloween for these two girls!

p.s. if you are interested – here are two of sela’s favorite mime videos: one, two. maybe they can inspire you too!

{all photos by me, Jane Rhodes}

10.23.12

candy bandits costume

Are you ready for halloween? Are you dressing-up this year? Have you chosen a costume? you have eight days to decide!!! this year our kids are divided 2:2 in costumes.  however, our color scheme coordinates with both costume ideas which i think turned out pretty rad.  {i’ll show you our second homemade costume idea tomorrow.}

If you are dressing up and need last minute ideas, both of these costumes could easily be thrown together with items you may already have in your closet! or, if you need to purchase a few items – they are all items (black jeans, black hoodie, black chuck tailors} you can adapt into your wardrobe after the holiday. {bonus!}

since my kids are getting older — both of these homemade costume ideas adapt well to all ages. younger kiddos, older kids, teenagers, and adults!

without further delay, introducing: candy bandits!

my recommendations: ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE {NOT SHOWN: BLACK JEANS – for boys, for girls, AND black face makeup.}

we used old pillowcases, and added the $ sign with black sharpie marker. first, I sketched the $ sign in pencil, then went over the lines with black sharpie market and filled in the rest. {easy peazy!}

so… what do you think? the only detail i think could make this costume more rad is if they cruised around on their skateboards for trick or treating! ::smiles:: come back tomorrow to see jane’s second homemade costume idea!

{all photos by me, Jane Beckner Rhodes}

11.16.11

halloween * beacon hill

our halloween was charm-on-steroids. have you heard of beacon hill? no? well, it’s the nicest-{expensive}-upper-end-neighborhood-with-federal-style-rowhouses in the city of boston. known for its narrow, gas-lit streets and brick sidewalks. and, did you know there is a list of the top 20 places to trick-or-treat in the USA? {this was news to me!} combine these thoughts: and yes, beacon hill rates #2 in the nation!

first, a few glimpses of our home for the spooky holiday -

…since we’re living in a home that is 150 years old, i’m taking advantage of the colonial-charm whenever possible. i don’t consider this “my style,” but i enjoy the creative process of utilizing what the home has to offer for each holiday!

our built-in china cabinet is our game cupboard/dish display -
you gotta compromise a little with space when a family of six is squeezing in a home!

for the first time ever i tried to outfit our entire family with one-costume/theme. in theory, it worked. in reality, it didn’t. everyone was willing to put on their ghost costumes for the annual family photo op, then sela quickly changed in to her vampire-witch attire of choice, and kj became tron…

our costumes are from here. carmen merie is an incredible seamstress, and i’ve worked with her for two years in a row now. she also made myla’s owl dress/costume last year, seen here.

i didn’t realize i was following an extra theme this year, but obviously i have ghosts on the mind. ghost s’mores, here. ghost costumes, and a ghost towel for inspiration!

we were very lucky that the weather really warmed-up for halloween because we had our first snow storm just days before. regardless, a mandatory pit stop at starbucks to warm-up was required before starting our evening…

sela loved the fact that her RED lipstick was on her cocoa cup. she told us, this is the color of lipstick she wants to wear on her wedding day. love little girls. ::smiles::

so, many of these photos are blurry – i was shooting manually to try and catch the best light i could before nightfall. however, i couldn’t ask my kids to stand still during such an event, so with a s-l-o-w shutter speed, they are real ghosts in a few of these. :)

{go red sox!!!}

check out these hanging-jack-o-lanterns! they were so cool.

at the end of our trick or treating. we went to the beacon hill neighborhood starbucks, again. and do you know what? someone cool was there. john henry. and do you know what my husband did. he got starstruck. i said, “go talk to him! i’ll take your picture!!!” and husband was motionless. he couldn’t think a clear thought. and 2 minutes later, his driver/car showed up and he left. just like that. husband was still happy. even though he just got a close-up look.

{john henry owns the red sox.}

we made it home early so kiana could still hang-out with some of her “teenage” friends. i’m so happy she didn’t put-up a fight about going with us, i know one of these years, probably 2012, she’s not going to want to spend any of her halloween evening with us. {sniff. sniff.} sad thought. she’s my little matching-costume-hang-out-with-me-buddy-extra-set-of-eyes-so-i-don’t-lose-my-little-ones-while-trick-or-treating-buddy, and what will i do when i only get to celebrate with half my kiddos?!? ok, time to stop thinking about this.

all sum’d up: beacon hill rocks.

© 2013 jane rhodes.