Decor Galore

I have always been in awe of those who have wonderful holiday decor for each and every Holiday/Season.
As early as September, I was "list making" and planning all the wonderful and fun ways to decorate for Halloween. I spent countless hours on Pinterest and Etsy, bought every Halloween magazine known to (wo)man and raided the Halloween section at Michaels and Homesense. Well...I think time got a way from me and I didn't get nearly half of what I was hoping to do.
But, I did manage to satisfy my crafting and Halloween decorating urges. Here are a few of my favorite Halloween finds!

One of my new Holiday staples, wreaths. ItzFitz is one of my favorite shops on Etsy, click here to see more. (picture from ItzFitz on Etsy)

I also got this amazing idea from Zakka Life to make chalkboard pumpkins. I bought me some craft pumpkins and chalkboard paint, rolled up my sleeves and got to work (note: probably not a good idea to do these on a windy day while wearing white - trust me). I love them because they are versatile, fun and unique! These were so incredibly easy (and pretty cheap) to make. Now good luck trying to track down white chalk! 

Next up on my craft hit list, trying to figure out what to do with a blank plate (or three of them). After having them sit blank for over a week, a light bulb moment: throw some window decals (from Martha Stewart) on them and voila!

To do: finish my "BOO" frames. I found these wonderful treasures at the Dollar Store, filled them with some Halloween paper and one day I will finish them by adding three simple black letters B-O-O. For now, I'll just admire them for their awesomeness. (p.s. I plan on changing out the paper and using them for Christmas Ho-Ho-Ho frames!) 

Finish off by some "batty garland" (I cut out bats, various sizes, on plain black cardstock, punched a few holes in the wings and strung them on black ribbon), some of that annoying spider web that gets everywhere and a dancing Frankenstein. There you have it some easy, fun and most importantly, cheap Halloween decor! (and yes, that is Chelsea Lately on the TV, and Girl, don't get me started!)

Trick or TREAT

Usually when there is a pot luck involved, I have NO idea what to bring. I am still wondering what my special signature pot luck dish will be...I don't think it's going to be any past contributions - Pepsi and Root Beer, Tim Horton's donuts, pasta salad. 

With the help of the good ol' world wide web and Better Homes and Gardens magazine, I came up with some cute and fun pot luck contributions worthy of a Halloween Brunch: Mummy Dogs and Owl Eyes

I am exhausted from the excitement and the time it's taken me to create these culinary marvels so I won't be posting any pictures (or proof). But I swear, I really did make these. Just ask the ladies that will be there tomorrow. 

Mummy Dogs

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls

10 large hot-dogs

Cheese - optional (this would have been too much for me, baby steps people)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 F

2. Unroll dough; separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. 

3. With knife or pizza cutter, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces (making a total of 40)

4.  Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog to look like "bandages", stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. 

5. Place on cookie sheet (I sprayed with cooking spray) - Bake 13-17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot

6. With mustard, draw features

7. Prepare yourself for a whirlwind of compliments!

Pesto Cream Cheese Owl Eyes

I have to give props to my super creative sister-in-law, Angie, for creating these for Presley's baby shower. Not only were they theme appropriate (that woman should be a party planner) but they were super tasty too!

This recipe is just too long and hard (that's what she said), so I am not going to type it all out. You can pretty much figure it out from the picture

And now, I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted. 

Are you there Martha? It's me, Maegen

Last week, I channeled my inner Martha (Stewart) and made me a fall wreath. I had so many ideas about how I wanted to go about it. 

I fell in love with yarn wreaths early this year, thanks in part to my late night browsing on Etsy. After paying an astronomical amount for shipping, I decided that I could probably do that. Maybe not as nice, but what first draft is?! 

So my darling little daughter got the first wreath draft. And after enduring hours (well, maybe not that long) of wrapping yarn around a foam ring, and multiple hot glue gun injuries, it turned out somewhat decent. It's one of the many crafty touches I added to her nursery this spring. 

I decided to try out something a little different for my "Fall" wreath. Thanks to my wonderful and creative sister-in-law, Amie, I got the idea for this fantastic colour scheme. I know you're probably wondering, "How can I create such a masterpiece like that?" Well my friends, it's easy. As my first DIY blog post, I took some step by step pictures to illustrate how you too, can create your very own work of art! I bought the twig wreath and felt at Michaels for all less than $10

Here's what I used to make the felt flowers:

8 sheets of felt (2 of each colour)

an old pasta dish and sour cream lid (for tracing my circles)

sharpie

dull scissors (not recommended, but that's all I had)

glue gun

Step 1:

trace out your circle onto felt 

- the bigger the circle, the bigger the flower 

(hope I haven't lost you yet)

- cut around the outside to make it have a wavy look

Step 2:

pick any point to start cutting your spiral shape, like below

Step 3:

take the end where you started your cut and start rolling, 

keeping the roll tight so the shape will hold

Step 4: 

once you get to the end of the roll, 

you will glue the bottom of the flower

It should resemble something similar to this:

I cut random strips of felt, different widths to glue on to a twig wreath (I don't know the actual name for it). And voila, my fall wreath goodness!

Next project on the books: a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween wreath I have in the works (now if my little Turkey Butt would just nap so Momma can get her craft on!)

Turkey Pants

This weekend is one of my FAVORITE of the year! Besides the obvious loves of my life, fall and Thanksgiving rank right up there. Well, definitely top 10. I love the colours, the smells and most definitely, the food!
It's because of this momentous holiday that I didn't pack away a certain article of clothing that I wore most of last winter, my maternity pants. That's right. For as long as I have been back in my pre-mama jeans, those maternity jeans have waited patiently, folded next to them, for this weekend to arrive. I can't help but get a little giddy when I think of donning those stretchy panel wonders and eating to my hearts content - without any hesitation. While I'm sure my "turkey" belly won't be as adorable as my little baby bump last year at this time, I'll love that little turkey bump for the short time it's here. Then I'll give those maternity pants a high five for a job well done, lovingly pack them away, and get my butt to the gym first thing Tuesday morning!

Oh Turkey Pants, how I love thee!

3 years and Leather

Today is a very special day...it's our 3 year anniversary!! And the gift for 3 years, Leather. I could work with that. First year was paper, and for Jeff I got him tickets to Dane Cook and he gave me a spa gift certificate to Eveline Charles (the gift card was plastic, but he argued that the spa menu was on paper and it came in a paper envelope). Second year was cotton. We went to the Keg, where the napkins are cotton. Actually, we didn't buy each other gifts, we bought something for our little one on the way, a blanket. This year, it's Leather. In a not-so-subtle way, my wonderful hubby asked me what my shoe size is. Hmm, could I be getting a pair of boots that I have been lusting over? A few weeks ago, we were laughing about the different options, ahem, for leather gifts. However, boots are far more appealing to me! Now to think of what to get the hubby...a leather gun strap? Maybe. A nice belt? Nah. Or how about the chance to go hunting this weekend...that's pretty creative right?! While it's not exactly the type of gift I can wrap up and tie ribbon around (coordinating ribbon that I would curl to make it look extra snazzy), but it's a gift that I know he'll love just the same. Plus, I'm sure it ties in with the whole Leather theme somehow.
We will celebrate by taking Presley to her first swimming lesson and having leftovers for supper. Friday will act as our pseudo-anniversary, with a romantic dinner at Normands.
So here we are, giving 'romantic' gifts such as boots and hunting trips. Eating left overs and sitting in our sweats. Not the stuff romance novels are based off of. But's it's what our very own love story is all about, and that's just fine by me!

A Work in Progress

Umm..I just realized, I have NO clue about blogging. Bear with me, hold my hand and just enjoy the endless about of oops' and oh s%@ts'. I hope you at least get some entertainment!

No Clever Opening

Hello! Welcome to Pickled Raspberry!


I don't know about you, but my brain works a mile a minute. Somewhere between my hundredth load of laundry and middle of the night feedings, I thought I should probably do something to unleash this creative beast that has been laying dormant for way too long.


Blog? Well, first and foremost - I wanted an outlet for me to have a place for all my random thoughts, questions, ideas and just a way to keep track of all life's little treasures and surprises. I should reiterate the word to describe my thoughts, RANDOM! It's enough to drive a gal CRAZY! It's not unusual for me to start a sentence and end it talking about something entirely different than how it started. I can't take credit for originality on this one. Monkey see, monkey do, right?! Which is the case with my lovely friend, Erinn. For months, I have been religiously following her blog, Fancy Napkin. I love how she shares her experiences, thoughts, recipes, fashion sense! (I promise you, there will be no fashion tips on this one, seeing as I have none!). Thus, I give her complete credit for inspiring me to follow in her blogging footsteps!


I would describe me as a Chaotic Type A personality. Chaotic: I am the Queen of multitasking, starting a new project before completing the last one and learning the ropes of motherhood. Type A: I am a perfectionist and like to have some kind of system or organization to this self induced chaos. This involves lists. Many, many lists. I have two or three notebooks dedicated to such (type A). Ask me where they are, couldn't tell ya (chaos). It took me forever to study in University, because I would have to decide how I wanted to categorize my notes, underline or bold the title and blue or yellow highlighter for the sub titles...


Pickled Raspberry? Yup. That's the first name that raced through my head. And then I thought, is there even such a thing as pickled raspberries?! Sure is. Have I heard about them until I Googled it? Nope. Thinking about it now, I guess it kind of describes the way I am. Pickling and raspberries are two things that are very common and familiar (some could even argue awesome), but the combination is a little unexpected and intriguing. I am nothing out of the ordinary; my appearance is pretty Plain Jane (I pray that the Fashion Gods will bestow upon me some sense of style..effortless and affordable please), have the house, the husband, the baby and the dog. I don't have any major talents or skills that I can think of. I have never won any major awards or honorable mentions. My average in high school was just that, average. However, I am one of the most loyal people you will ever meet. I am a step-mom and trying to balance that with becoming a new Mommy. I can be quick witted and super affectionate. I strive to be honest with my words and my actions. I sometimes leave my car in drive when I'm meant to park. Combine all those and that's exactly what you'll get, Pickled Raspberry.