rushley & crew

I love planning Halloween costumes every year. In fact, as soon as one Halloween ends (maybe even before!), I'm usually already thinking about the next year's costume. (I already know what we're being once we have baby #2 [not pregnant], both if it's a girl and if it's a boy! 😂 ) I was planning this costume before Ada was even born. I thought we would do it last year, but then when my friend gifted me a tiny Sailor Moon costume for Ada, we switched gears and did that instead. Meet, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the cutest cheshire cat I've ever seen :) I was surprised at how many people asked me if I made my costume! I guess it sounds like something I would do haha. But no, this year was pretty easy costume-wise! I borrowed the Alice dress from an old friend who was Alice in 2016; we got Russ's pants and vest from DI; and we already had the bowtie on hand from something Russ did in high school. I assembled Russ's hat using fabric, ribbon, hot glu...

treats for harry potter and the sorcerer's stone -- jelly beans, chocolate frogs, and licorice wands Russ and I aren't scary movie lovers (we really don't watch them at all), so the only movie we always watch at Halloween time is Hocus Pocus. But in trying to come up with something festive to do in October, I decided we should have a Harry Potter marathon over the whole month. I can't believe I had never thought of it before, but Harry Potter movies are perfect for Halloween! They have witches and wizards, odd creatures, and sometimes even Halloween celebrations. Plus there were 8 weekend nights in October and 8 movies, so it was perfect! (Though we ended up only using 7 of the weekend nights so that we could attend our friends' murder mystery party ) treats and decor for harry potter and the chamber of secrets Rather than only invite specific people, I decided to open up the invitation to literally everyone. I posted it on my neighborhood Facebook pa...

I love to decorate for holidays. I do the most for Christmas, but I also enjoy decorating for other holidays. Usually my decor is limited to the mantel, with the possibility of a garland over the living room window and/or a wreath on the front door, but I think I'm kind of starting to expand some decorations so that they're creeping into other areas of the house, too. So far, my Halloween decorations aren't too out of hand, but there are enough that I wanted to compile all the pics in once place :) ^^This piece is new this year! As you'll see below, we have a frame on our Halloween mantel to house a photo of last year's costumes. However, This year I was thinking about how I like to go all out on costumes every  year, and it's a shame that past costumes don't have more of a chance to be appreciated! So I made this display with a $1 backless frame from DI, a $2 designer posterboard from Hobby Lobby, and some loopy screw things. It wil...

A murder mystery been on my "party list" for ages, but I've never gotten around to throwing one (probably because there are too many other ideas on my party list haha). So even though we were planning to do Harry Potter movie parties every Friday and Saturday in October, when my friend asked if we'd be available for a murder mystery, I told her I would rearrange my schedule to be there! Haha :) When the actual invitation came, I was super impressed because it was so themed and legit! Diana went above and beyond -- the kit they bought (from  Night of Mystery ) came with invitations, but she had someone design different ones that were so awesome. Girl knows how to get the party started right from the get-go! I had heard about and seen other murder mysteries before, and the main thing I always heard about was people dressing up. It was so fun to arrive at Diana and Michael's and find that everyone had really gone all out with their costumes! Wigs,...