Halloween Tag | lambchops & chocolate

I normally never do these, but I was tagged by my real-life friend Val from Making It Sparkle, so I had to say yes.

If you're not into these types of things, come back next week for a Fall favorites post inspired by my friend Jamie's YouTube channel. I'm hoping to share some of my well-loved items for Fall. Some food, some clothes, some home comforts. Oh, and don't worry there will be no mention of pumpkin spiced lattes! Promise.

THE HALLOWEEN TAG 

 

1. What is your favorite Halloween movie?

Hmm, well considering I can't handle scary movies at all... probably something more suspensful. Maybe Black Magic, although I haven't seen that one in years. I'm more into Christmas movies. I think it's still too early to watch Elf though. I have strict rules about these things.

 

2.  What was your favorite costume?

Ah, so many to choose from! I'm one of those annoying people who gets overly excited about dressing up in costume. I was a dance and theatre kid back in grade school. That should explain some of it.

Here's my favorite costume I've thrown together:

I got to become my beloved childhood best friend, my stuffed animal Lambchops. Every little girl's dream.

Please ignore how scary I look in the top right photo. I know it's Halloween and I was cold, but still.

3.  Do you like haunted houses?

No. Not even a little bit.

One year I succumbed to peer pressure and went to to a haunted walk at a zoo with friends. This was a terrible idea. The thought of going through these enclosed spaces while people jumped out at me with blood all over themselves and holding weapons was too much for me. I got about one or two steps into one of the exhibits and darted back out. So, I waited outside after each one. All night. While seven year olds went through without batting an eye.

4.  What's your favorite candy?

Chocolate or sour candy.

5.  Do you decorate for Halloween?

I don't now, but if we had a house we would put a few pumpkins out. No skeletons and bones though.... not really our style.

 

6.  Do you still dress up for Halloween? If yes, what will you be this year?

I always do, if there's a party to go to. This year, I planned to be a mermaid, but I couldn't make it to the fabric store, so I'm going as a swamp lady instead. There will be drapey fishnet fabric, painted on fish scales and fake seaweed. I'll make it work!

7.  What is the one Halloween candy you can't stand?

Those taffy's wrapped in the orange and black wrappers. Ick.

8.  What's your best Halloween memory?

Trick or treating around my subdivision as a kid. There were quaite a few houses which meant a decent candy haul. We always collected our candy in pillowcases. Did you guys do that?

9.  What song comes to mind when you think of Halloween?

The monster mash.

10.  What's your favorite part of Halloween?

Cute kids in costumes. Little superman's & fairies melt my heart!

11.  Would you rather trick or treat?

Treats!

12.  Candy Corn- Take It or Leave It?

Ew.

 

13.  If a black cat crosses your path, what do you do?

Call it towards me so I can pat it. Here kitty, kitty, kitty....

14.  Do you carve/decorate pumpkins?

Yes! I haven't the past couple of years though. I painted one a few years ago and it was really enjoyable so I think I'll do that again soon.

15.  How old were you when you stopped Trick-or-Treating?

16? I still remember feeling too old for it at that point, but some teens in the neighborhood still did it. I guess I'm a sucker for free candy.

I was a banana that year. A hellow hoodie and a sign on my chest that said "Yes, I'm a banana". I hope you don't feel jealous of how cool I was... Haha.

16.  Festive Nail Art- Yes or No?

Subtle nail art is good. Black with silver, a deep burnt orange or peach, but no long red claws for me.

I hope your Halloween is extra sweet. Happy trick or treating!

xx
Janelle

give thanks

 

 lettering by me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends & readers! I hope you find time this weekend to spend with your loved ones - both human & furry.

Things I'm thankful for today...

D's family and all they do for us. I can't even count all the drives they've given us.

My parents willingness to come down to Halifax to visit, so we don't have to drive up. 3 kids here does outnumber 2 parents up in New Brunswick though and they have a car... but still. 

Having the afternoon off work. My manager is super-accommodating and I'm so grateful for that.

Creativity and the joy it brings.

Friends and connections I've made through volunteering with Happily Ever Active. Building community.

Stuffing. Who can argue with that one?

Wishing you a great weekend!

xx Janelle

 

5 years later

I never understood how people could last in a long term relationship. To me, it seemed like an eternity. The thought of being in a serious, long-term relationship with someone seemed at once boring and stifling. I was too independent for that. I'm a Sagittarius, for god's sake. 

I was good at being alone. I had it handled. I self-regulated my emotions, cooked decent meals for myself and had enough going on in my social life to feel busy. That's what being an adult is, right?

And now, five years later - here we are.

At the end of the summer before 3rd year, my friend N and I made a trip to the liquor store a few days before school started. Us and every other university student in the tiny town of Sackville. I spotted that guy from my Spanish class. I accidentally let it slip to N that I thought that guy was cute.

Later that night, we headed out to catch up with everyone after a long summer away. Mostly everyone went to the campus pub, since it was one of the three bars worth visiting. Guess who was also there?

This guy.

A little tanned-up from working outside...

And so, N made sure that we "met" that night, even though we already knew each other. It was a very obvious and slightly awkward set-up.

And somehow, it worked.

I realized today that since our anniversary is in October, Halloween photos serve as pretty good benchmarks of each year. Except 2009. We were clearly too busy stuffing our faces with candy or assembling our costumes. 

Five Halloweens later - here we are.

Happy anniversary to the sweetest man. The only one capable of converting a commitment-phobe.

I'm ending it here before you barf from all the sappiness.

Can you guess all our costumes? Some are pretty obvious and others not so much.

xx Janelle

weekend recap | Sackville adventure

Want to come with me to get a tattoo tomorrow? Not usually the first thing a friend says to you when you arrive to stay the weekend. 

Last weekend, I went to stay with my good friend L in Sackville, New Brunswick, our former university town. In a moment of bravery, or maybe impulsivity, she booked a tattoo appointment for Saturday morning. After hitting up the Sackville market for some Indian comfort food, we headed to Moncton.

She decided on a simple black anchor on her wrist. And before she could change her mind, we found ourselves in a small room at the back of the shop.

The tattoo took all of 3 minutes to complete and before we knew it we were back on the road. We did a little store-hopping to find some storage baskets for her new place. By the time we finally made it back to town, we were starving and had to just sit for a bit. An episode of Orange is the New Black and stir-fried noodles is the perfect wind-down activity. Oh, and cheesecake.

Do you like our creative laptop stand?

On my last day we decided to head down to the waterfowl park. On our way there we spotted a really pretty courtyard with old doors by the mealhall. There are big round metal tables with fixed chairs and lots of greenery.

The least awkward of all the photos. Trust me.

It wouldn't be Sackville without the wind. Oh, the wind. Don't be deceived. My hair is not in a ponytail in the photo below.

The waterfowl park is such a peaceful place. It's set back from the university and the main roads, so most days it's calm and quiet. 

We walked along the boardwalk through the marsh and sat on a small bench and watched the ducks dive. We played a little sketching game and talked about the different definitions people hold of a successful work life. We talked about getting our shit together and about what that really means. We talked about settling down and how comforting it can be to have a homebase from which to explore the world on mini-vacations and trips.

L has a great perspective on building adventure into everyday. Travel is non-negotiable for her and I love that. 

All in all, we both had a soul filling weekend.

I hope all of you have a great day.
xx Janelle

weekend recap | getting stuff done at home

 

veggies from D's dad | abby waiting patiently for her treat | hedgehog closeup | blurry selfie, since i rarely post my face on here.

This weekend was just what I needed. I think D and I were both craving some time at home to do some cleaning, watch movies and relax.

On Friday night we watched FIBA Americas (basketball). Then on Saturday, I had a laughing fit with the seniors at our dance fitness class. The theme was ABBA and we came up with some pretty creative choreography. "Jump with my baby", turned into us miming being pregnant while hopping up and down. Almost everyone was in stitches. Maybe you had to be there?

Saturday night we watched The Beach - I know. I can't believe it took me this long to watch it. Apparently, it's a classic Leo movie. I liked it, but I feel like it started going downhill about halfway through. The whole gameboy scene was a bit wacky.

Today we got a few things done around the house that we've been procrastinating on. Hung a curtain in the living room (pics soon!), cleaned 3 windows, and hung up this painting I did a while ago.

I try not to see the mistakes when I look at it. I do like the hair though and it's the first of my artwork I've ever framed and hung. Plus I think it coordinates well with the wall colour.

What did you do this weekend? Fill me in.

Thanks for stopping in,
xx Janelle