Indiana Jones, this is one night you’ll never forget

Posted by meghanrushton

When I was a kid, we didn’t have cable but we did have a family friend who gave us VHS tapes with an odd assortment of movies that my sisters and I loved. Our favourite tape had Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Beetlejuice, and La Bamba on it and we have watched these movies more than 5o times each.

Obviously, there would come a time I’d introduce David to the Indiana Jones trilogy and convince him that although Harrison Ford can do no wrong, Indie will always beat Han Solo in our house. Luckily David loves the movies and I love that he was on board with this costume.

Our visual reference:

What we bought/made:

Archeologist hat and scar kit from a Halloween prop store
Boys white dress shirt dyed tan and ripped (Old Navy)
Khaki jeans and sneakers (Target (USA))
Whip made from rope and brown Duct Tape (Michaels)
Vintage army bag from my mom
Papier-maché Sankara Stones

He had no interest in smiling, which I get. His heart was almost ripped out and he just had an epic battle on a bridge:

Here’s a recap of our past Halloween costumes. And if I’m lucky, I can convince David to be Ritchie Valens next year.

Side note: These papier-mâché pumpkins are so beautiful.

Happy Halloween!

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the ghosts of halloween past

Posted by meghanrushton

It’s a sad halloween for this mom. Since about October 25 of last year, David has made it very clear that he no longer digs the homemade costumes so it was the Green Lantern or bust in 2016.A lot of blood, sweat and minimal sewing skills went into my creations but this year, all I did was a check-out at Amazon.ca … To be honest, I have checked-out completely this holiday since the marathon is in SIX DAYS and I am trying to avoid all things sugary including chocolates and stoop wine on Halloween night. Lame. I know.

So to celebrate my lack of creativity, lets take a trip down memory lane and look back at some of our better years. I have less than 365 days to convince my child to let me put my fine arts degree to good use again.

Fire fighter: 2011 halloween-2011 My Itsy Bitsy Spider : 2012 halloween-2012 Boo-ya!: 2013 (2 costumes, 1 year) halloween-2013 halloween-2013b Up and Away: 2014 halloween-2014 Mission Halloween: 2015 halloween-2015 Be safe. Have fun.

(I’m a purple pencil crayon)

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

baby, baby, baby oooh

Posted by meghanrushton

Last weekend my sister Erin and I (+ mom) hosted a baby shower for our little sister, Jill.

Newsflash: Jill and Alex are having a baby and I am finally getting a local niece or nephew!!! Thanks guys.

As you may know, I love planning a party so I got to it early on… so early, that I may of leaked the big news to some of her friends accidentally. Busted.

* * *

First up, the invite: And because I truly believe in mailing out invites – I am including a sample of the envelope too. The invitees has custom address labels. Tip: I like to purchase somewhat-related stamps when sending invites!
Decor: I made a few banners for the party room and the front window. I bought some flowers and pulled out that springy table clothes. Easy! We also had some balloons and raindrop banners outside but again, I forgot to take a pictures. Tip: Buy a cute crib sheet (last photo) and use as a table covering – then give it to the mom when the party is over!Favours: This is when Pinterest makes you do things you don’t need to do… like favours for a baby shower. Simple but cute although Mike’s comment was that the popcorn has already popped and I should of filled the bags with kernels. Um, no – not pretty. Tip: Avoid Pinterest and ignore your husband. Games: Erin planned a few games – one being Trivia because Jill is a trivia nut. It’s a fun addition to a party and no one in my house was forced to smell diapers with random brown stuff in them. Tip: Have paper and pens ready to go so your games look legit.

Erin’s Ten Trivia Questions

Q: How many children did Queen Victoria have? Bonus point if you can name one.
A: Nine – Victoria, Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, Beatrice

Q: Name one of the top three baby girls name in 1916?
A: Mary, Helen, Dorothy

Q: Originally Pampers diapers used pins. In what decade was the pin replaced with Tape?
A: 1970s

Q: What percentage of babies are born on their due date?
A: 5%

Q: In 1928 the Gerber company introduced its first line of strained foods. Name one the first varieties.
A: peas, prunes, carrots, spinach and beef vegetable soup

Q: How much did the heaviest baby born on record weigh?
A: 22 pounds, 8 ounces (Italy, 1955) (Somebody sure carb loaded!)

Q: In what year did Uncle Jessie and Aunt Becky (from Full House) give birth to twins. Bonus points if you can name them.
A: 1991 – Nicky and Alex

Q: What is a baby owl called?
A: Owlet of Fledging

Q: What Michael Jackson song topped the charts the month Jill was born (May 1983)?
A: Beat It!

Q: Jill’s baby is due in July. What is the birthstone of this month?
A: Ruby

Food: We had 32 guests from the age of 7 months to 91 years-young! All female, except the dog. We served mimosas, perrier, tea and juice packs for drinks and all of the food was utensil-free. The spread included chocolate and carrot cupcakes made by mom, lemon poppy seed loaf, homemade sprinkle fortune cookies, cheese and charcuterie boards, traditional devilled eggs, beet-pickled devilled eggs, a cheese ball with maple syrup, guacamole, artichoke dip, veggies, a baguette and skewers (feta + watermelon + mint) (bocconcini + tomato + basil) (an idea I got from another baby shower I attended). Tip: If you decided to make homemade sprinkle fortune cookies, be sure to let your guests know you put fortunes in them! So that’s it. Another party over. I said I’d host 12 parties in 2016 and this is party #3. I have to step it up!

My apologies – I got so caught up in serving mimosas and catching up with all the lovely ladies that I didn’t take any pictures at the event BUT as a dedicated blogger / designer / party planner – I got lots of detail shots! Hah.

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5 things

Posted by meghanrushton

I haven’t written a 5 Things post in a long time. Why not? 5 Things going on these days…

David had a big week – the Halifax Hurricanes came to his school and he made the front page of the Halifax Citizen (kind of – thanks Lindsay!). Click here. He also got new glasses (note: if you don’t want your child to choose the camouflage glasses, don’t let him see them… once he had, nothing could change his mind).
Those who know me, know I love Kraft Dinner. Call is nostalgia… or just call it what it is, deliciously good. I came across this recipe for homemade “boxed” mac & cheese and had to give it a try. Guys, it is actually good and took the same amount of time as the boxed! I used GoGo Quinoa Macaroni from Costco, which my friend Nancy introduced me to. Next time I am going to try it will regular macaroni so I can see how if really is as good as the real deal. Want the recipe? Click here
Mike and I are six months short of our tenth anniversary, which means it’s the period in your marriage when all the stuff you got as wedding gifts start to break (blender and backup blender in one week!) Not great timing since I challenged myself to a smoothie-a-day in February.
David and I signed up for the Bluenose. He’s doing the 4km run for his 4th time and I am running the half marathon. PSA: the price goes up on March 1st. Anyone else running the half? It will be my fifth time (or more?). I am also looking at fall marathon ideas… I’ll keep you posted. PS. I am selling an old Garmin. Interested?
So the old saying “The grass is always greener…” is true! I had to make a ‘quick’ business call to California for a quote and ended up on the phone with the owner for 4o minutes. Turns out Nova Scotia and the Celtic Colours is at the top of his travel bucket list. He lives 40 minutes south of Lake Tahoe. Obviously I blabbed about my love for his state and all the places I’ve been. He was impressed. He also appreciated all the tourist tips for the East Coast. Why did we not discuss a house-swap?

Bonus. Here is a download to some fun Oscar Bingo Cards. Not to gloat, but I’ve watched 4 more movies since my last update (including MUSTANG!)

That’s all! Have a great week. psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

with a pom on top

Posted by meghanrushton

My office in Montreal has a secret Santa gift exchange – and not the cheap $10-here-is-a-bunch-of-crap kind. We are big spenders.

I got my favourite tank from Lilas, and Caroline gave Nancy a toque (made by her mom) as a gift. My instant reaction was to snap a picture and send it to my mom (hint hint):Although Nancy’s was not faux, I am all about the faux fur pom pom toque. They’re everywhere this season. How can you not want one?

So, I returned to Halifax and began crafting up a request to my mom but was feeling…

Guilty because she just made me an awesome sweater.
Concerned because I knew my request would not be at the top of her crafting list. Winter is here.

My revised plan was to skip mom and buy a toque, but then I discovered I had a reject hat that’d be perfect for a pom pom! Etsy is a great resource for faux fur poms and within a week my mink brown faux fur poms arrived (I got two poms for $10 total). It only took me two minutes to attached and voila! I am happy, my pom bounces, and winter just got a bit better.

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

Hello Sunshine

LIFE • INSPIRATION • DESIGN

homemade

Indiana Jones, this is one night you’ll never forget

the ghosts of halloween past

baby, baby, baby oooh

5 things

with a pom on top