Enchanted Chameleon

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#tbt :: first halloween

"Meg stop whining, Chris stay on your side and Lois, for God's sake get off your ass and do some parenting!" 

Stewie, Family Guy

Not that I was ever a huge fan, I just couldn't resist with his large cranium.  No sewing required, besides a steam ripper to get out a giant embroidered flower from the front of the thrifted red overalls.  I dressed as Lois and we hit Family Place for a play that day.  We handed out glow in the dark bats and sparkle glue. Great memory.  

XO.
Suzanne 

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halloween costume :: ash from pokemon

From this, to:

A thrift shop, a glue gun and some felt.  That's all C's costume took to make this year.  We have delved into the world of Pokemon.  That's all I really have to say.  I have not learned to play with the cards yet and I'm pretty sure at this point, C and his friend are still slightly making it up.  We do have a cool babysitter that knows all about it and we did discover that for a limited time, they were for sale at the dollar store and not just the comic book store (although we did have a thrifty delight at the comic book store one day and took a huge stack of less than better cards for $4).

Three things I learned about Pokemon in making this costume:

1.  There are several versions.  This one above is from the Diamond and Pearl (no clue what that means).

2.  The girls are scandily clad.  This is only important for me and how cold I will be dressed up as Dawn Halloween night.  She's the girl in the pink mini skirt featured above.

3.  Any costume can be a slutty costume.  Still getting over the Slutty Pikachu we discovered when researching the costumes.  

So what are you all dressing up for on Halloween?  I have a less slutty costume lined up for work that I'm pulling out of my reservoir!  Why do I love dressing up and Halloween so much?!?

thanksgiving! gifts & gluten free

I've taken a new position on at my store, it's kind of like a special project manager where I essentially manage holidays!  Fun!  It's been a little bit deco, a little bit talking foodie and a lot of troubleshooting as its a new position to take over the chaos that normally occurs before the holidays.  I've already been dreaming about turkey orders and I will not lie, I am spending the week mentally preparing myself for turkey and meal pickups this Saturday as we still have 6 days to go and already we have over 75 people coming in just to see me!  And we haven't even really been super busy taking orders yet!  The real 'fun' begins this week.  

In between the bumpers of the pinball machine that these first couple of weeks have been like I've managed to come up with a little love of Thanksgiving, my creative contribution to my little corner of the store.

Normally at this time the store kicks out the perk and has cider sampling on overdrive.  It's a tradition and our guests at the store look forward to it.  However, I didn't want to just be the apple cider sample table.  I wanted a segway to talking turkey and deco and food.  I put two and two together and I came up with a very well received idea for Hostess Gifts, especially if the dinner you are attending is a famly, with the Apple Cider and Mulled Spice gift pack.  As pictured above we have a giant jug of Jim's Apple Cider from BC apples tied up simply with a pack of reuseable muslin pot pourri/spice sacs and the incredible Mulling Spice Pack from Gathering Place Trading Company (please click that link and tell me you don't want to visit this family for Thanksgiving).  People are just in LOVE with this gift!  I recommend it over anything else this Thanksgiving.

Anything else but a pumpkin centrepiece!  If it isn't love with the cider gift, than it will be full on soul mates with the beautiful green pumpkin carved out, decorated with fushia, red and orange flowers!  Or a white pumpkin with luscious rich fall coloured flowers or a butternut squash vase with sunflowers or gerbera daisies in a rich red colour. Oh the possibilities!  Seriously, visit Pinterest for inspiration (just click, the search is there!) if you aren't feelin me on this cause a carved out pumpkin bouquet/centrepiece is just the most luscious, decadent, epitome of beauty and harvest at the Thanksgiving table (here's one I made a few years ago with a Moulin Rouge Sunflower and Mum's from our old garden plot at Maplewood Farms).

I figured that while we are on the topic of Thanksgiving, I mean, it's just a week away (!!!) I would include a link to my Gluten Free Xmas Dinner post that I wrote last Christmas as a part of the 12 Days of Traditions with Vancouver's Top Mommy Bloggers.  A lot of the info posted in there from stuffing to gravy and of course, pumpkin pies can be really useful this time of year, and I went into a little detail if you are new or just hosting a guest that is gluten free and how to best handle having a gluten free experience for them.  Hope you find a little something extra that you hadn't thought of before you head out this week on your holiday shop!  

XO.
SUzanne 

Halloween Wreath :: Put A Pin In It

It has come to my attention that the Halloween Wreath that I made a few years ago has become a recent popular Pin on Pinterest.  It's just rounding the bend to 500 pins!  WOW!  This was an absolute favourite project of mine, and it was ridiculously easy to make.  I thought I would break it down gently here for all to share in the fun.  All the ingredients were purchased at Michaels except for the velour fabric which I happen to have on hand but could be picked up from a fabric shop easily.

What You Need:

:: Wreath Form (straw ones are cheapest)
:: Velour/Velvet Fabric
:: Fake Black Flowers
:: Foam Skull
:: Decorative Ribbon
:: Scissors
:: Glue gun
:: Basting Pins 

1.  Cut the fabric into a long strip(s), pin your starting point in the back and start wrapping it around in a way that is pleasing to you.  Fold over the final edge once you've made it around and pin it in place.  I find pins are much easier and much more secure than gluing the fabric at this point.

2.  Cut the flowers to the length of stems that you would prefer.  Mine had leaves on them and long stems so I trimmed them down to how I wanted them and I played with different looks all around the wreath to find the spacing that I wanted.  Once I was happy with how it looked with the skull in place I glued all the flowers in place.  Once the flowers were dry and secure, I glued the skull on.

3.  Cut the decorative ribbon, or fabric if you prefer to your liking and tie it up for hanging.

DONE!

So easy.

Here's a few more wreaths that I discovered on Pinterest that caught my eye and my inspiration for this Halloween.  I feel a little bit of Beetlejuice in all of them.  YUM!

1. 2. 3.

taste of thanksgiving - tonight!

applesauce season

"When the first apples of the season--Ida Red and Paula Red, Twenty Ounce, McIntosh, and Ginger Gold--show up in the city markets, it's time to take out the big pot and make applesauce. Eden Lispon's lovingly recounted description of a family's applesauce-making ritual describes the buying, peeling, cooking and stirring; the wait for the sauce to cool and the first taste. Mordicai Gerstein's paintings are full of the colors and flavors of the season: red apples, orange leaves, blue skies. Here's a lovely picture book celebrating an American family tradition."

C and I discovered this sweet book a few weeks ago on a trip to the local library.  I spotted it on the autumn display thinking that it would most likely be one of those books that I love more than C does.  But in the end it was quite the opposite.  Since we read it, C has been thoroughly excited to celebrate an Applesauce Season of our own.

In this book we discovered a fun little tradition that we shared along with the author, names of apples that we had never heard before and the deliciousness that is applesauce and cottage cheese in a bowl together.  It is my new favourite treat.

We cooked up a batch of our own, making it the way I remember my father making it when I was young and also, my preferred consistency when it comes to applesauce: chunky.  We peeled and cored the apples, as opposed to using a food mill like the author and were equally, if not more pleased with the delicious results.

Our sauce included: Macintosh, Sunrise, Silken, Honeycrisp, Pink Cripps.  According to Grandma (in the story) you need at least 3 different types of apples in a batch for 'real flavour'.

This really is a great little story.  I loved especially the amount of detail told in a small enough story for little ones to keep their interest.  The fact that as some apples come into season and others go out until they stop making applesauce and just eat apples was a simple part of the story (unlike how I just described it) shows just how wonderfully beautiful, modern and traditional this story is all in one.

Stay tuned for Hot Chocolate Season, coming up in the winter and again something in the Spring (unfortunately I can't remember what Spring was except that it definitely was NOT edible.)

grade 1 :: what's in the chest

Oh the pout.

It was much more defined earlier yesterday morning at the Vancouver Waldorf School Opening Assembly.  He doesn't like surprises.  I knew that.  The teachers told us to say it was just the first day and not spoil the magic of the Rose Ceremony but I knew better.  And yet, I still let him be surprised.  Oh the pout.  How do I explain it could have been worse?  A friend posted on FB that her 6 yo ended up on the wrong bus and the wrong stop at the end of the day.  WAY worse. Exponentially worse.  But, falling on deaf 6 year old ears, I say.  

Hey.  Tomorrow is another day.

It will be the first day he has been expecting.

In the meantime, allow me to swoon.  I loved the Rose Ceremony.  All the Grade 1's were welcomed to the school and presented with beautiful coral roses by the Grade 12's who will be presented with roses by the Grade 1's at the end of this year when the Grade 12's graduate.  I love this school.

I especially loved the way in which all the teachers took the stage and gave a small introduction to their class as to what they would be learning this year.  Some told it in a story, a summary, a skit.  It was very sweet.  

C's teacher told a story of a little boy that collects fire wood.  One day he went deep into the forest and it was especially cold.  He cleared out some snow to make his own fire and discovered a tiny gold key.  He dug further and discovered a little chest.  He found the tiny key hole and put in the key and he found....

To be discovered this year in school.

Can't wait!

XO.
Suzanne 

EC Returns :: 37 by 38

Oh dear friends!  It is great to be back.  I feel the ground beneath my feet.  I feel the subtle ebb and flow of the earth and the directions that I should go.  I feel... better.  This year has been no picnic. I thought that this summer was going to be a great opportunity for me to catch up on my love of blogging, however, technology proved to foresee a different direction for my summer.   In the end, it was all just a great opportunity to really put EVERYTHING on hold, relax, feel, be with my family, recover, recouperate, rejuvenate, revive, repeat.  And that is just what I did.

Now that we're back, I bring you the long awaited, long overdue, drumrollllllll...... I bring you my 37 by 38 list of intentions for the next year!  This list of intentions was inspired by the women of A Beautiful Mess and her inspiration at Hula Seventy. (PS. I had a lovely birthday with great friends and great food.  I'm a lucky gal. Unfortunately it wasn't very blogable - I was moving my entire life into a 7 by 9 by 7 foot box.  A story for another time).

Without further ado:

1.  Unpack

Just kidding.

Without further ado:

1.  Take snowboarding lessons with C.

2.  Sell the Juice Caboose and settle its accounts.

3.  Get my long awaited tattoo.

4.  Do a cleanse.

5.  Finalize my separation.

6.  Save up living expenses for 3 months.

7.  Redesign the Enchanted Chameleon blog.

8.  Plan a trip to Disney World with family.

9.  Experiment with updating/refinishing old furniture.

10.  Attend a knitting circle.

11.  Write a book.

12.  Get myself into a cleaning routine.

13.  Create a chore chart for C.

14.  Experiment in the kitchen with low glycemic sugars and sweetners.

15.  Go on a date.

16.  Go out for dinner at Acorn.

17.  Set up a sewing kit for C.

18.  Buy a record player.

19.  Listen to more music.

20.  Create a beauty regimen for skin.

21.  Create a beauty regimen for hair.

22.  Get a bike.

23.  Start saving for a laptop.

24.  Restore trailer.

25.  Go camping.

26.  Take a weekend trip alone.

27.  Practice yoga.

28.  Watch the entire series of Little House on the Prairie.

29.  Clean my car.

30.  Go surfing.

31.  Take C to the CN Tower.

32.  Take C to Medieval Times.

33.  Write for Rhythm of the Home.

34.  Fill the house with plants.

35.  Don't let the above plants die.

36.  Watch less TV.

37.  Take a trip to Portland with C.

Looking at this list, I can't help but think about the year that has just passed.  Oh my goodness! In time I will share it all, but only as the wisdom of the experiences comes.  In case you are wondering how last years list went, you can see it here.  I'm hoping that there are less life changing events this year and more down time to just be and experience the little things.  That is what this list is to me:  the little things.

Oh I'm so glad to be back!  I can't wait to see where this goes!  

XO.  
Suzanne 

~ these moments :: georgia ~

Georgia is 3 today.  Maybe I express more than usual love for my pup but I gotta say what a saving grace she has been for me the past 8 months.  When my son was away for Xmas and I was home alone and could have easily stayed in bed the entire week, she got me up and out.  

I love taking her to the ocean and throwing sticks in the water with my rainboots on with the water rising around them.  She listens, she cuddles, she never gives me sass, well, mostly never.  We go for long walks in the woods to clear my head and get her out.  She runs like Phoebe from friends.  She reminds me of me.  I think that my dog actually does look like me like those Fido commercials.  She's tough and playful and a social butterfly. I'm so glad to have her to get me up and out of the house and out of my head.  

Happy birthday to my little mutt.  

Have a great weekend, celebrating dads.  XO.  S