Batman Themed Family Costumes

So I know this post is kind of useless to you this year....seeing as how today is Halloween and all.  But I'm not the kind of blogger who likes to wait a year to post something when I have the material now.  Plus,  it's never too early to start gathering ideas for next year.  I pin Holiday stuff all year long

 My oldest niece Katie has been on a serious Batman kick these days.  She's borderline crazy....it's all she talks about and besides her dog it's the majority of her Instagram posts too.  She even has this on going play feud with one of our family friends that is a Superman fan.  It's been months of Batman Vs. Superman.  

This means of course when Halloween rolled around she wanted to do a Batman costume and lucky for her my little niece goes along with whatever she wants every year and then it turns into a family costume

 Na na na na na na na na na  na na na na na na na Bat Fam!!!

Katie was Batgirl, Elsa was Robin, my sister was cat woman, and my brother inlaw was Batman

I loved the use of dish gloves for the Batgirl look.  And they made that hat themselves but cutting up a knit hat from the dollar store and sewing it to create ears.  Then cut holes for the eyes.

The "R" on lines on Robin are just craft foam.  Elsa won the best costume award at the party and took this honor VERY seriously.  You would have thought the kid just won an academy award or something.  At one point she even wanted to give an acceptance speach

She took the role seriously all night actually...always staying in character.  I tried to snap a picture of her eating carmel apple dip and she still had to pose mouth full and all

Remember how I said the family friend is a Superman fan? Well, as soon as she found out my brother inlaw would be Batman she put together a Clark Kent costume for her husband

And even funnier was that they were the hosts of the party and their house ended up being invaded by Batman characters of all kind.  My other brother inlaw showed up in a Batman suit thingy, my niece as a cat, and another guest came as Bane. 

Not another Superman in sight....Batman wins! ;)

Fran Fine "The Nanny" Costume

We interrupt our regular Wardrobe Wednesday post to bring you a Halloween costume post......

I  LOVE group/couples costumes.  They make dressing up even more fun to me.  Last year me and The Boy were a loofah and soap and we've also dressed up as Jessie and Woody and I couldn't let this year be any different.  

I decided on being Fran Fine from The Nanny because it's been one of  my favorite shows since I was like 5 years old......way before I understood all the humor.  Then when me and The Boy started dating I got him into the show and now he loves it too...funny is funny man!

If I was going to be Fran he had to be my Mr. Sheffield.  My costume was pretty easy to put together but for him I ended up running around all over town hitting up 3 different Goodwill 50% off Saturdays getting his all together...but it did come together nicely.

Look at the inspiration picture and the coat I scored

I was pumped to say the least!   Then, the unfortunate happened.  The Boy has been working like a mad man....going in at 7am and sometimes not getting home until 11:30.  Getting one day off IF he's lucky.  It sucks.   And when he couldn't get the day off to go to the one Halloween party we were going to and get to wear our costumes I was crushed.   Maybe I'm a baby....but I really was bummed

So I had to be Fran without a Maxwell.  Here's how it looked

 

I couldn't find a turtle neck that was tight enough like here....so this one was wonky all night and made me look super fat in pictures haha.  I wish I could have spent more time on my hair but I was in a rush making food for the party so it was a quick curly job with a bump it.

I was really worried that people would just think I was Snooki but luckily I didn't get that comment all night....win!

At one point in the night I was cleaning lipstick off my teeth when my sister Kinsey said "Oh my gosh...that's sooo Fran!"  So I reenacted it for pictures

I may just have to redo my Fran up bigger and better another year soThe Boy can wear his costume

Witch Hat Headbands

I have a serious "thing" with making mini hat headbands for my nieces.  So much in fact that when I told my niece Elsa I had a little prize for her she says to me, "Let me guess.....it's a little hat?"

Why yes.....yes it is.

I got these mini witch headband at Michaels along with some sequin edging

I filled the hat with tissue paper to keep it standing up

Then hot glued a piece of felt over to hold it all in place

Decorated them with the sequins and a gem before gluing the whole thing to a headband.  While I was at it I glued some glittery spiders to headbands too...might as well right?

I think they turned out so cute!

They're perfect for when the kids want to look festive but can't wear a full on Halloween costume...like at a class party.

It' so quick and easy you could totally make one last minute before Thursday....go go!

Candy Corn Cupcakes

I just haven't had it in me to make a cake of any kind lately.  So when one of my friends asked if I could make one for her daughters birthday/ Halloween bash I quickly asked if cupcakes were ok....luckily she goes with the flow and said that was totally fine.  Whew!

I got really excited over the idea of making them look like candy corn.  I love everything about candy corn.....except how they taste.  I guess that means I just think they're cute....cuz I do.

They're as easy as you would imagine they are.  Just have 3 different colors of frosting.  Yellow, orange, and white.  Pipe it on gradually moving inward and that's all there is to it

In case your looking for a yummy flavor for your cupcake I made these using my orange creamsicle cake and my coffee creamer buttercream

Happy Halloween!

MoMo Monday Halloween

I attempted  to take a Halloween photo shoot with a tutu and a little witches hat I whipped up out of felt....but most of the pictures went something like this

This was the best I could get

Have a happy and safe Halloween from MoMo and myself!

DIY Poison Bottle

I tend to go for the more cutesy side of holiday decorating.  When it comes to Christmas I like cartoon Santas and everything to be lime green and red.....I don't do "classy" very well....in pretty much all aspects of my life ;)

From a Halloween standpoint I like all the bright greens, purples, and oranges and all things glitter.  Thrown in a few happy spiders and a smiling ghost and that's my idea of Halloween.  I don't do gore decor (though I love me a gore movie)

I think this poison bottle is the perfect middle ground....it's not coated in glitter but kinda spookyish.....right? And it's really easy

The Boy picked up this tequila from the store and told me "I thought you would like the bottle to make something with"   What a good hubby!  He enables me in my craft hoarding ways....what more can a girl ask for??  It's not even our normal brand of tequila but it was on sale (even better...be still my little heart!) so he snagged it

Just peel off the labels and clean it well.  Then I found this skull and cross bones necklace at the dollar store

Spray paint your bottle black...and rip off the hook on the skull with pliers (it's cheap as shit so it wasn't hard)

Glue it to your bottle with some E6000 glue and you're all set

Of course I surround it with glitter but I am who I am....

Wardrobe Wednesday-Printed Heart Sweater and Red Flats

Printed sweaters are a big trend right now.  You see them all over Pinterest.  Polka dots, dogs, cats, mustaches.....basically anything and everything are on a sweater right now

When I saw this sweater at Ross it had to be mine.  I bought it in August when it was still 110 outside and cooler weather was nothing more than a dream.....(still is) I paired it with jeans and my old red flats I've had since high school

Funny thing about the sweater is I picked it up marked on a Medium hanger and tried it on.  It was loose but I thought that meant it was just an over sized slouchy style sweater.  It wasn't until I got it home that I noticed the tag said XL and it was just on the wrong hanger...I'm bad at checking tags.  Oh well.....I kept it and went with the over sized look

Sweater: Ross
Jeans: Ross
Flat: Who knows?? They're old as hell


This is also my first time wearing red lipstick that wasn't for a Halloween costume.  I've always been too chicken to try it and I did....don't laugh.  Ok you can laugh if you want.  I know it's not the right red for me.  It's a little too orange and I think I need a more blue based red.  But I wanted to try a red lip with the red shoes and just used what I had on hand

Dollar Store Fall Owl Decoration

This project is so ridiculously easy that it's almost borderline ridiculous that I'm even blogging about it.....almost

I passed this cute little owl wall hanging at 99c Only about a dozen times.  It always caught my eye but I didn't know exactly what I would do with it so I never picked it up

After a few months I finally got a vision and the little owl finally made it's way into my basket

I just bought a piece of orange glitter paper, cut it to size, and hot glued it to the backside.  I almost did a lime green or purple paper to make it Halloweenish but I ended up going with orange so it wouldn't just be good for Halloween but for the entire Fall season

I was also thinking that with owls being all the rage these days it would be really cute for a little girls room.  Just choose a colored paper that matches their room.  Doesn't even have to be glitter paper.  Patterned scrapbook paper would be cute too!

Not bad for a project that comes in for around $2

MoMo Monday- Living the Life

I want to live this life

 That is all

You Might Be a Low Carber If......

I've always found the " You might be a _____  if" things to be hilarious.  Because whatever that blank is.....teacher, nurse, stay at home mom, crafter.....whatever,  when you read the lists you can't help but keep repeating YES over and over in your head. 

That's why I thought it would be funny to do a Low Carb version.  They might not all apply to you.....but I'm pretty sure at least one or two will

*Mauve and burgundy have become your favorite colors

*No matter how many times you explain that "sugar is sugar" people still don't understand why you don't eat bananas because they're "healthy"

*You say things like "I peed pink" excitedly

* You've eaten COUNTLESS bunless burgers at restaurants and social gatherings

*You can blurt out the brands with the lowest carbs in spaghetti sauce, salad dressings, enchilada sauce, and hot dogs at the drop of a hat

*You have to explain to people repeatedly that "it's not just meat and cheese"

* You've tried almost every flavor of pork rind on the market

*Your pantry is now relatively empty due to the lack of cereals, chips, crackers, and other carby items while things are falling out of your refrigerator every time you open the door

*No matter how often you sweep you can always find cauliflower somewhere on your kitchen floor.  Is it just me or does that shit get freaking EVERYWHERE??

*Bacon.   Need I say more?

*You feel the need to excuse the smell of cauliflower every time you have a guest to your house....especially the unexpected ones.  Add hard boiled egg smell to that one too

*You went through a serious Mug Muffin and Mug Cake phase

*You could live off Quest bars

*You don't worry about being stranded on a desert island because you know you could survive off nothing but coconuts

*You think Wheat Belly is one of the best books ever written

*You realize you don't need to keep Gas X in your medicine cabinet anymore

*Russel Stovers sugar free candies have made you shit your brains out on more than one occassion

*You shudder passing the Russel Stovers in the store now and vow to never go on a bender again

* If you know how to work a hidden carb calculator

*You feel like this

* You think Ricky Martin should change his song to Livin La Vida Low Carb

*All your friends know that when they come to your house BYOB means bring your own buns

* A trip to a market (Whole Foods, Sprouts etc) is your equivalent to being a kid in a candy store.  Bulk bins, scoops,.....yes!!  But instead of candy you're getting almond flour and nuts

*You have as much respect and admiration for Dr. Atkins as other people do for our founding fathers, prophets, and The Pope

Do you have any to add?  Leave them in the comments...I'd love to see them! 

=)

DIY Halloween Boo Sign

I just can't get enough of the Halloween crafts right now.  I have about 5 projects going at once.  I think I'm just excited to get crafting again after the summer hiatus.  During the summer crafting seems to take a dip....an it's not just me.  I've noticed it with other craft bloggers as well.  Nothing like the holiday season to bring it back and destroy your house with projects ;)

I really liked how this turned out

so I thought a Halloween version was in order

All it takes is a cheapo picture frame (hit up the dollar stores) and spray paint it

I had some cute Halloween scrapbook paper on hand that I cut to size and glued to some light cardboard for sturdiness....as you can see I chose a Snack Pack box

Then came the "Boo" portion.  I painted some wood letters orange.  I took a poll on Instagram on whether or not I should glitter them....since I glitter everything.  Of course every girl  said glitter of course....so I did just that

Glue the letter to your scrapbook paper and add a glittery spider for a little extra something

Surrounded by some glittery pumpkins you've got yourself a cute little set up

Low Carb and Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

I was never much of a sweets kinda gal before....but for whatever reason I have the biggest sweet tooth lately and urge to bake.  My sister insists it just comes with the season and I'm gonna go with that logic

I was craving cookies....even weirder because they were NEVER my sweet of choice....but I decided to wing it anyway.  I kind of threw some stuff together and hoped for the best.  I was happy when at least the dough itself was delicious because then even if they didn't bake up well I would still have something to eat that was cookieish

The good news is.....they worked!  A big accomplishment for me because developing baked goods recipes can be so hit or miss and I rarely develop them

The texture was sooooo good.  A little more crumbly than a regular chocolate chip cookie, but not in the sense that it falls apart easily, just soft. I would say they resemble the texture of an oatmeal cookie.  Then they have the chocolatey taste of your chocolate chip cookie of course....and then there's a third layer of awesomeness.....nuttiness!  I added chopped pecans to the recipe because I love them but the pairing of the chopped pecans with using almond flour in the recipe also gives me hints of pecan sandy cookies.  So this one little low carb cookie gem is like a hybrid of an oatmeal, a chocolate chip, and a pecan sandy.....and I will gladly say yes to that!

A think a big part of why these taste so good is because I put molasses in them.  I know what you're thinking.....Say what now?  Molasses is sugar....evil to the low carb diet!  Let me explain.....

In my pre-LC days I baked exclusively with brown sugar.  Even if a recipe called for a combination of white and brown or even just white sugar I ALWAYS substituted with all brown sugar.  I just really love what it does for baked goods.  To me it adds such flavor beyond just "sweet"   Since I always use brown sugar in my chocolate chip cookies I wanted to mimic that in my LC version too. 

I looked it up and there are brown sugar free substitutes you can buy....but I'm cheap and wasn't about to wait to get some.. I needed cookies NOW!  So since brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added to it and I had a jar of molasses in my cupboard I just threw 1 tablespoon of it into the recipe.  Yes, 1 tablespoon has 16 carbs in it....but once you divide that out over an entire recipe it's not adding much to your carb count at all but it adds TONS of flavor.  Those carbs are worth it in my book 

One other thing to note in this recipe is that I quickly realized a few minutes into baking that they do not spread much on their own.  So after you scoop your dough press down on them lightly or do it after they've been baking for a few minutes but aren't so hot you can't touch them

In this picture you can see I've pressed the ones in the front

Here's the recipe...go make them ASAP!  They were approved by my sugar fiend of a niece...I think that's saying something!


Low Carb and Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

1 stick softened butter
1 cup stevia or sugar substitute of choice
1 tb. molasses
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup. sugar free chocolate chips or  very dark chocolate (the darker it is the lower in carbs) chopped
1/2- 3/4 cup of chopped pecans (optional)


Cream together butter and stevia until fluffy.  Add egg, molasses, and vanilla and mix well.  Mix together dry ingredients and slowly add to wet ingredients until dough forms.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Refrigerate dough for at least one hour.  Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet or use a silpat. Gently push down on the scoops of dough as it does not spread much on its own when baked. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes or until you reach desired doneness

Yield 20 cookies or 40 mini cookies

* I always make my cookies "mini"  using a rounded 1/2 tb. scoop

Wardrobe Wednesday- Denim, leggings, and boots

I'm sure all you ladies have seen dozens if not hundreds (maybe slightly exaggerated) versions of this outfit all over Pinterest

It's everywhere!  But that's because it really is super cute.....and when something is cute who am I to resist?

I never wore it though because I have never been able to find a Chambray shirt I loved.  Then it occurred to me....why did I have to have a shirt just like that?  I recently found the best denim jacket ever at Savers and realized it was perfect for the same kind of look

Please ignore the extremely nerdy looks on my face that day....or maybe it's like that everyday?  Something for me to think about.......

Jacket: Savers
Shirt: Wet Seal
Leggings: Ross
Boots:Rack Room Shoes
Necklace: Instagram shopping (my new love!)

This was my first time wearing my boots this season....I was practically giddy! 

What's your thoughts on this trend?  Too trendy?? Or cute and comfy?

DIY Halloween Candles

Here's a super easy  Halloween craft for you.  Easy enough to do with the kiddos.  It will give you something festive to do until it's close enough to Halloween to carve pumpkins

Just go to the dollar store and buy plain white unscented pillar candles

And paint them however you want

I made mine look like Frankenstein, a ghost, and a jack o'lantern

They make for really cute decorations.  Put them on a tray surrounded by candy corns or on top of  tiered candle holders.  I made mine intending to keep them year after year for decoration but I'm sure you could burn them still if you really want to

Now I think I need a mummy, dracula, and maybe some candy corn candles.  So many ideas!

MoMo Monday- PETicure

I think I spoke too soon in last weeks post.  I talked all about how well MoMo had adjusted to becoming a full time indoor cat.  Well in typical fashion as soon as I flapped my big ole mouth...the very next day she was trying to get out.  

This whole spring and summer since she's been indoors MoMo really never showed any interest in trying to get out...but I think it was because she knew it was hot outside.  I swear that now she knows the weather is nice and she wants in on that action.  The other night I was taking out the garbage and normally I can leave the door open without her walking out....but this time she scooted her way out .   I ended up falling asleep on the couch by accident and woke up at 2 am to the sounds of her scratching at the weather striping of the front door.  Then she made her way over to  her now covered doggy...ummm...I mean "kitty door" and she scratched at that too.  I knew that if this scratching thing was going to continue I had to do something about it to salvage our stuff.  Sooo.....I brought back the nail caps

I used to buy them a few years ago....but since she was indoor/outdoors back then they would fall off sort of fast and I stopped buying them

Now that she's all indoors I think they'll stay on better.  It will keep her from ruining anything if she decides to get all scratchy again.....but the added bonus is that she looks super cute with her PETicure.   I love puns....they're punny

Such a classy little lady