Monsters, Oh my!!

I love baking....I always have.  Growing up with 5 sisters and 3 brothers, there was always some sort of celebration going on, and I was always more then happy to help my mom, or often my sisters, bake something yummy.  In fact, more often then not, we made treats for dinner, treats for the weekend, treats for Family Home Evening, treats for just about everything!  So, when I looked at our school's PTO sign up form, signing up to head up the Bake Sales was a no-brainer! It has been several years now, and my kids have come to love helping me with them too.  This time around, we are doing a Monster theme, coordinating with our Book Fair ~ and its been so much fun to see what all of the creative Moms have come up with!  My husband loves cupcakes, so I made these crazy-eyed ones above.  Jackson will only be in Elementary school for one more year....and this will definitely be something I'll miss being a part of!

I decided to make crazy~eyed Monster Cupcakes (shown above) and One-eyed Monster Brownies (shown Below).  I had fun creating the template for the brownies, so if you'd like to make your own One-Eyed Monster Brownies, click here for the page of eyes and click here for the Bake Sale Sheet.

Kind of LOVE this print....

Starting a new venture...

Here are a few of my prints, framed and on display ~ we have a very talented local woodworker that makes our beautiful frames for us.

We can customize and personalize prints for you, and are always developing new designs.

Halloween has arrived at the Bastian's...

I think pillows can add such an impact, yet are so easy to switch out and are pretty affordable.  I found this poison one at Target (of course!) last year, and the cute black/orange one behind it is from Pottery Barn.

Above our glass door to the back yard, Lance built a large window cornice that I often decorate for holidays and birthdays.

I usually keep the Kitchen table pretty simple, with something that can stay in place for meals, or quickly move out of the way for just about everything else (homework, board games, crafts, etc.).  I love this Silver tray ~ Lance and I bought it while we were on our 10th Anniversary trip to Mexico, so it brings back great memories every time I use it!

About a month ago, I attempted my hand at painting.  I wanted something cute and subtle for Fall, and had bought those cute pumpkins shown above.  Emily, from Jones Design Company, had painted a cute pumpkin picture, and inspired me to give it a try!  I wish I had made the pumpkin a little bigger, or I may just need to re-frame it with a mat or chunkier frame.... but it works well for our Fall Decor this year.

Our Fall Front Porch...

Oh how I love Fall.  Just a few flowers can really add a lot of Festive color to your home.  When planting my big flower pots in the Spring, I always try to plant some things that will transition well into fall.  Look for a few of the hardier flowers (like the white Begonias and Deep Red Celosia in my pots), which work so well, and stay in full bloom throughout Spring, Summer and Fall.

Chicago in a Day...

Oreo Ice Cream Sundae ~ just amazing!!  Kinda fell in love with Bandera, and the amazing Jazz band they had playing.

Lance ~ holding up "the Bean" (he's under there, I promise ;)  As I walked around this, I was amazed at the city landscape you could see, and that with just a few steps, the entire skyline would change ~ seriously so cool!  We have visited Chicago many times, but have never taken the chance to go to Millennial Park.  It was beautiful ~ especially during this amazing Fall we are having!  

Isn't Burberry's building just beautiful!  

And lastly, (I know this isn't a great picture), but we took the train into the city, and back out to the airport ~ a first for us!  We've always rented a car, and the parking/traffic is crazy!  Kinda loved not hassling with that ~ so much easier and saved $/time as well!