Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! May your treats be yummy and tricks oh so funny. Enjoy!

{original artwork by Monkey & The Whale}

Craft Fail of the Week

Well, I am very sad to display this hideous planter pumpkin that I have created. I'm pretty sure I remember the one Martha made looking a lot different. What the f?


{photo of hideous decaying pumpkin planter by Monkey & The Whale}

Pumpkins and Hemingway

Last weekend we visited the pumpkin patch, not to buy just to look. I needed some good photos of the kids romping around the pumpkins since we didn't get good ones on our first visit. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm, the strange Indian summer we have every fall.

They have the most beautiful varieties now a days, the so called "fairy-tale" pumpkins in beautiful rich colors. They do give a sense of fairy tale just by looking at them, perhaps inspired by Cinderella's coach?

Such a fun morning had me inspired to get to work on some ideas that have been brewing in my head for ages. Ideas that need a little time to flush out on paper. I have been reading Hemingway lately, inspired by reading The Paris Wife (Paula McClain)--a lovely book by the way. I tried to get through The Sun Also Rises and thought I was going to die. Alas, I gave up. Now I am on to A Moveable Feast and it is much better. Perhaps because it is more of a memoir and he doesn't go on and on about ridiculous things. Something he said caught my attention though and I found it to be inspiring and hopeful.

He talks a lot about working and his process. He writes that he would never empty the well of his ideas because he always wanted to know he had somewhere to start the next day. He would finish his writing for the day knowing where it would go the next day. This meant that he would keep busy with reading, conversation, etc. to keep his mind from working on it while he wasn't able to write it down.

This is such a fascinating thought to me since I have experienced this myself. I find my mind going to creative places when I can't actually be creative and by the time I can put in the work I have lost the ideas. Being a busy mom and freelancer means a lot of my ideas get put on the back burner and then get lost in the shuffle. Perhaps I will try Hemingway's process out for myself.

If I can take anything from Hemingway I will take that. Thanks Ernest. Now, I must get back to my "studio" and finish being creative for the day.

Pumpkin Painting

This week we did a little October themed art. We have been stuck inside all week with various viruses so I decided to let Makena paint a couple of sugar pumpkins we had. This was also her very first time getting to use Mommy's acrylic paints and not just kid paints. It was all I had that would work for a pumpkin and I figured it would be ok with me supervising.

Don't you think they turned out cool? She painted one for her and one for Everett. Everett supervised from his highchair of course. It turned out to be a very fun project and I think both of them had fun-Success!

I am thinking maybe we will paint all the pumpkins instead of carving them this year. It certainly is a nice way to mix things up and you don't have pumpkin guts to clean up! And yes, I got on the hipstamatic bandwagon, don't hate me.


{all photos and art are original by Monkey & The Whale}

Autumn

Aaahhhh, can you feel it? Fall is officially here. I know this because I have made my first batch of pumpkin bread, and it isn’t fall until that first batch goes in the oven. This is my favorite time of year, the air is changing, it is cooler, crisper outside. The holiday season is upon us and I can’t wait! 

It is funny that in all the places I have lived, only 3 places—all in California, there has been a different feeling marking the arrival fall. I love how you get used to a place and the subtle changes of each season. California may be mild, but we do have our seasons. You just have to get used to noticing the little changes. Here in San Francisco, the light gets dimmer and the air gets crisp and cool. The leaves change a bit, but mostly there is something special about the light and the air. 

October marks some special occasions for us, my 7th wedding anniversary, a milestone indeed! 7 happy years with my husband and still counting. This year is also a big one for our sweet little E. His first birthday will be at the end of the month, hard to believe that it has already been a year! We have so much to be thankful for and that is what this time of year is all about. I am getting excited about planning his party and Halloween for the both the kiddos. Having kids makes this time of year all the more special. It is a chance to relive all those magical parts of my own childhood. I get so excited to share these moments with them and make a little magic for them. 

I always find myself inspired to be creative this time of year. There is just something about the fall and the holidays that makes me want to make stuff. As a kid I was always making ornaments and doing projects for Christmas so maybe that is where it come from. My mom was always crafting during the holidays and I think she influenced me in that regard. I am already thinking of projects and brainstorming crafts for this Christmas. It feels good to have a jolt of inspiration and motivation since I have been without that recently. 

First up we are heading to a pumpkin farm to get the kids their first pumpkins of the season, and maybe some pumpkins for Mommy and Daddy. Sounds like a perfect fall day to me.


{all artwork is original and created by Monkey & The Whale}

Sock Monkey

I think this little sock monkey would be fun to have around. No one ever claimed to hate a sock monkey after all.

{all artwork is original and created by Monkey & The Whale}