Aloha!

Aloha!!! (A smidge early!) We are Disney Vacation Club members and we are empty nesters!!! We LOVE Disney! We have only been members since 2009 and own at the new Bay Lake Tower. We will have our first stay at Bay Lake Tower in January 2011 when hubby and son run in Disney's marathon. We cannot wait. We really don't have to since we are going to stay at Disney's Port Orleans in November, only a few more weeks!!!

Well, we had a little Disney come to Chicago this past weekend. We were invited to McCormick Place for a Disney Vacation Club promotion...announcing a Disney resort in Hawaii!!! It is called Aulani! We bought enough points to allow us to visit Hawaii every 3 years! I cannot believe it! I've never been!!! We plan to go in Jan/Feb 2013!!!

After the show about Aulani was over, Disney surprised us all with a Disney Dance and Dessert Party!!! Wow! Disney does things BIG! We got up close to the characters, not too close because there were sooo many kiddos! They love the characters and the characters love the kiddos! They made every kiddo feel extra special!

Here are some photos...

Mickey Mouse!

Minnie Mouse!

Pluto!

Goofy!



The very fun DJ! He played the Cha-Cha Slide (is that the name?) and he played a great game of Simon Says with whomever wanted to participate. The kids were adorable!!!

It was a fun 2 hours, learning about the new resort and enjoying the dance party! The Vacation Club is great for us, we love it! It makes us take a vacation and we can use our points to go other places besides Disney...way cool!

Have a great day!!!

Hugs!

Kim

Not a Mantle

As I was blog hopping today, I saw that some were showing off their fall mantles and some showing off their faux mantles. I don't have a mantle here in Chicago but I do have flat spaces that really aren't faux mantles either. Here are a few pictures of me making the most of what this little apartment has to offer...

The hutch in my dining area that houses quite a few of my pretties that I just had to bring with me. (Dishes, milk glass, platters, etc.)



You've seen some close ups of a few of the pieces on the hutch but not these. The pitcher, I think I've shown you last year. My son-in-law's grandmother gave me the pretty pitcher. While hubby's sister was here visiting last week, I came across this little acorn, which actually houses a candle, at Bath and Body.

I HAD to bring at least one rooster with me. He's one of my favorites because he's so colorful. He is perched on an elevated counter between my kitchen and the living room.

A close up of my berry surrounded candle holder. I love this!

I have been enjoying seeing everyone's fall decor. Hope you enjoyed your visit. I want to welcome my new followers! It makes my day when I get a new follower! :-D

Have a great day!!!

Hugs!

Kim

Fall Swap

I had the pleasure of participating in a Fall Swap sponsored by Amanda at Every Crafty Endeavor. I sent my swap package to Randi at Dukes' and Duchesses. Here is what I sent off to her...

Apple Cider spice mix, pumpkin soap, a loaf pan (which sadly broke in transit) with a recipe for Zucchini Bread, a box of chocolate to share with her family, some fall pencils, clothespins that are decoupaged, a fall dishtowel, oven mitt set and an acorn candy bowl. Not pictured is a burlap tote with a yo-yo magnet/pin.



 I attached hand stamped tags to the gifts and tied them with some raffia ribbon.

Like I said, I decoupaged some clothespins and took some Green Craft Magazine advice and used a food box to make a little clothespin holder, I decoupaged that with the pumpkin paper. This was packaged in a clear envelope and tied with raffia ribbon and a tag.

Here is the tote that I picked up in the clearance section at Marshalls. It is a very cool bag with two front pockets.

I attached this yo-yo to the bag with a heavy duty badge magnet. Now Randi can use it on a jacket or another bag if she chooses.

Close up of the pumpkin tag.

 Oven mitt set with a sunflower tag.

Here is the card I made for her to enclose with the package.

I'm sooo glad that Randi loved her package! I really enjoy doing these swaps and doing something special for my bloggy pals.

Hope you're having a great day! I am off to grocery shop and I am stopping at a resale shop. I haven't been in a resale shop since I moved here...time to go and explore!

Hugs!

Kim

Chicago Advice

A little piece of advice when visiting Chicago...the first day in town you should take an architectural boat tour of the Chicago River. There are several companies that offer them and they are AWESOME! They give you a little history of the city and tell you the names and architectural style and name of the architect that designed the buildings. Now, if you are a visual learner it could be a little difficult to remember the details (that's me...I need to read along...the tour we went on did have a pamphlet) but I did manage to absorb some info that's very helpful as you walk the city. It's, also, an awesome photo opportunity.

The clock tower in this photo is a part of my favorite building...The Wrigley Building. There are 2 parts to this building and in one of the buildings the Wrigley gum was once manufactured.

This is a view from Hotel 71 the 30th floor. The round buildings have parking on the bottom floors and condos on the top floors. There is an elevator that brings your car up to the parking and a valet parks it, you aren't allowed to park your own car. The valet backs the cars in and it is very scary looking at cars backed up to the edge over the river.



This is one of 2 buildings that survived the great fire in 1871. It was Chicago's water pumping station. The architect wanted it to look castle like. It is beautiful!!! You can find this building on Michigan Ave.

Remember the first season of Donald Trump's Apprenntice show? The winner of that show was in charge of the construction of this building, The Trump Tower. His name is Bill Rancic, he heard the words, "You're Fired" when he took a Chicago morning talk show gig while he was working for Trump. Inside part of this building is enclosed parking, there is, also, room for commercial stores, condos and there is a hotel.

 The tallest building in this photo is Willis Tower once known as the Sears Tower. You can go up inside this building and there is a see through step out you can walk on and look all the way down...Ummm...NO THANK YOU!

This is the NBC building. See the NBC peacock at the top?

A night time view from the boardwalk on the Chicago River. It is sooo beautiful! You should see the Wrigley Building at night...amazing!

Hope you enjoyed your tour of Chicago! This is the tour we took hubby's sister on this past week. There is so much to see and do here! We haven't even scratched the surface! I'll give you more mini tours as the days and months go on.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!!!

Hugs!

Kim

I Have Nothing : (

At the moment...I have nothing : (  I do have a post or two planned but I have to wait until my Fall Swap partner receives her packages.

So, I'm taking a mini bloggy break...My SIL arrives tonight to visit us here in Chicagoland. I know we will spend a couple of days downtown and we'll show her our town of Arlington Heights and the surrounding areas. Restaurants to try and places to explore. Sooo...fresh new posts are on their way next week! Until then...have a wonderful week!!!

Source

Hugs to you all!!!

Kim

Sometimes...

It's the little things that make you a little more content. I'm still adjusting to apartment life and small spaces. Our ceiling fan had the traditional (from the hardware store) pull. When I bought some closet fresheners (Marshall's) they were wrapped pretty with a ribbon and a plastic "crystal bobble". I saved them both and one day decided the bobble would look nice on the fan pull. So I snipped the ugliness off (wish I had remembered to take a before shot) and tied the bobble on. Here's how it looks now...

For whatever reason, taking pictures is really hard in this apartment.

I was, also, inspired by Denise at Look Beyond The Picket Fence, to bake an apple pie. I wanted to make what she had made but I only had frozen pie crust. I'm still getting use to my electric oven here and it got a smidge over done. Hopefully it still tastes good. I'll spare you a visual.

Hope you're all having a great day!!!

Hugs!

Kim

More Fall Around the Apartment

I brought a few things back with me from MI to decorate the apartment for fall. The place is shaping up little by little but I still need more storage. We are going to IKEA this weekend to pick up an armoire for the bedroom. One step at a time. Here's what the decorating is looking like....

On the dining room hutch. Love my birdies.

Also, on the hutch, more birds (50% off at Michael's).

Again, on the hutch. I used both of the hankies I found at the antique store over Labor Day weekend. The driftwood is from the beach in Caseville, MI.

The wall in the dining room. I still need to go to Costco to get pictures made for this shelf and the black one, I showed you before. I got the insect plaques at the cutest store in Collierville, TN (wish I could remember the name of it). I found the pear at Marshall's to compliment the colors in the plaque.

I'm busy these days working on a Fall Swap sponsored by Every Crafty Endeavor.  I've been working on a couple of things and I've purchased a few things. Looking forward to sending it out this weekend.

Hope you're all doing well!

Hugs!

Kim

Fall Pumpkin Harvest

We went back home to Michigan this past weekend and did a little fall yard work. On the agenda was harvesting pumpkins. I wish I had pictures of everyone actually in the patch but at the time it was thundering and the rain was picking up. We ended up with 18 Jack O'Latern pumpkins of varying sizes this year. One pumpkin is not pictured because mice decided it would be a tasty treat and really ate some huge holes in it!

My daughter claimed this one. She may need to fight the grasshopper for it!

The rest of the harvest. Some are pretty scarred from mouse bites (just a little added extra character!).

The grasshopper wanted his/her closeup. They are pretty big this year!

Overall a good pumpkin season for us. I brought a couple back to Chicago, one for us and one for the little boy who loves our Emma (the bulldog).  Their family is on a very limited budget and they will love it.

Have a great day!!!

Hugs!

Kim

A Little Fall

Not the best picture below, but I have started a little bit of fall decorating. I took a length of ribbon and some silk leaves from the Dollar Tree (last year) and used glue dots to attach the leaves. Then placed it on the shelf.

I still need to add a couple of pictures to the frames. I think I know which ones I want to use now. I think a trip to Costco is in order. Ok, I'm off to add a little more fall to the place. I think I'll make an apple snack cake too : )

Have a great day!
Hugs!
Kim

Labor Day Weekend

We went back to Michigan for the holiday weekend. We had to go back so hubs could get a new to us used car. On Friday, we headed to the thumb to visit my parents in Caseville. Saturday the guys golfed and the girls made pie and read magazines. Sunday, we did some touristy things but of course I forgot my camera, ugh! We found the cutest little antique store! It is called The Haven in Port Austin. They had so many pretties!!!  This is what I picked up...

Some old wood spools, some with thread still on them and these 2 laced edged hankies. Total cost for all, only $5. I was surprised by the low prices. I could have stayed there all day but hubby was waiting for me outside the store...sigh.

Yesterday, we made the long drive back to Chicago made even longer by the holiday traffic. Good thing for the comfy new car!  Hope you had a great weekend!!!

Hugs!

Kim

A Little Early But...

I had to use what I have at the apartment. I started one project and realized that I still don't have all my favorite craft supplies here. So, I had to use what was here and that is one black stamp pad, Halloween stamps and watercolor pencils.  Here's a little early Halloween, some tags....

I glittered the ghost. This apartment is really bad for taking photos. Sorry they aren't that good!

Here's a witch...

I glittered her dress.

We are headed back to Michigan for the holiday weekend. I will pack up some more of my craft supplies.

Have a great day!!!
Hugs!
Kim