More Halloween fun............

I can't believe it's October already!

This time of year is always so busy for me; it's time to clean up the flower gardens and the yard and prepare for the long winter. My outdoor planters that I'm going to over-winter have to be moved into the house and made comfy in an upstairs room where we get southern exposure all day, all year.

We are also in the middle of re-financing our home and have been busy accumulating all the necessary paperwork and other ridiculous hoop-jumping they make you go through!

My birthday is coming up as well, on the 21st of October.....and even though I know it's not ladylike to reveal my age, this is a 'big' birthday for me because I will be turning 40. Yes, it's true.
Erik will also be turning 40 this year...his birthday is right after mine, on November 4. (So yes, I married a younger man....haha!)
To celebrate both our impending big birthdays, and also because in this house, Halloween is the holiday we love the most....we will be having a combined birthday/costume party on October 30th with all our friends.

This, of course, will require much planning and hopefully I won't be too overwhelmed to remember to take pictures of it all for my blog!

With that in mind, here's a few more photos of the Halloween things that are going up at Le Beau Paon:

The skeleton on my staircase is now accompanied by some mice!

These mice silhouettes were from the Martha Stewart collection; the templates used to be available on her website (http://www.marthastewart.com/) and they still might be. It's been awhile since I looked at what is on there.

I wish I didn't have the ugly green carpet runner on our stairs; it would look so much better without it. Oh well!

A tiny white owl nests in the floral arrangement in the front hall.

The parlor fireplace mantel is a work in progress, but here is what it's looking like so far.

Some Spanish moss and spiders add a spooky touch. I have also put up two of my silhouettes that I made. To read a post about them and how I did them, click HERE.

Here is a close up of one of the "dead flower bouquets" that I made using the mint julep cups from our wedding centerpieces. To read about this project, click HERE.

Some window clings shaped like bats look just as spooky on a mirror as they do on a window!

I tend to decorate following the color scheme of each room. The front entry hall is painted in a dark mustard color and the fireplace is very dark stained wood, so I use mostly decorations in black, yellow and gold in this room. In the parlor, which is light green with purple, I use decorations that are black, lavender and green. Halloween decorations don't have to be just orange and black!

This gourd with a jack-o-lantern face has a mouthful of silk fall leaves.

Erik bought me these ghost candles from Pottery Barn a few years ago.

The living room fireplace mantel is fully decorated now.

 Our living room has light khaki colored walls; the furniture is tan, black and red. I find that the traditional fall colors, like oranges and yellows and reds look great with the color scheme of this room, so I typically use the 'traditional' Halloween colors of orange and black in this room.

My grandparent's wedding clock is a perfect backdrop for the faux mini pumpkins.

And the feather wreath with scary eyes that I made is hanging in the dining room. To read how I made this wreath, click HERE.  My dining room is red, with white anaglypta-papered wainscoting and the furnishings are dark, so I usually have Halloween decorations in red and black in the dining room.

Thanks for stopping by!
Stay tuned for more to come!
I'll be linking up with Cinday at My Romatic Home for Show & Tell Friday!