7 Questions: Halloween Edition!

This is me as a kid as a rabbit... I remember my mom making this costume still. There was wire in the ears to make them stand up.

1. Do you believe in ghosts? No
2. Do you prefer the cute or the scary Halloween? Definitely cute
3. How old were you when you stopped trick or treating? The last time I remember going was probably when I was in 5th or 6th grade.

4. Do you have any fun Halloween traditions? YES! This year is the 31st time I've celebrated this tradition... My Birthday!!

5. Share a scary local urban legend. There's a local country cemetery that gets the brunt of the "ghost stories". A little chapel that used to be at the cemetery burnt down and some people say a man died in the fire and he haunts the grounds... which I guess isn't true no one died in the fire. There are stories of a runaway baby carriage, a dog, a group of people under the shelter that stands where the chapel used to be. My husband took his dog there as a teenager and she would not set foot in the cemetery. She planted her feet and pulled backwards on the leash. She sensed something... but she wasn't the bravest dog!

6. Would you rather be haunted or haunting? Neither!! I'm a big baby, don't like scary things, ghost stories, etc.

7. What's your favorite Halloween character/ creature? (dracula, witch, ghost, etc) Witches but the cute kiddy kind, not the scary kind.

Mudroom Makeover: Part 1

Last Thursday I decided I really wanted to take the old ripped indoor/outdoor carpet off the mudroom stairs and hopefully paint them. That little simple idea turned into a full fledged budget makeover.

The mudroom serves several purposes in this house. It is the closest entrance from our detached garage so we never use the front door because it would involve passing the side door, walking halfway down the driveway, up the porch stairs and in the front door. The mudroom also houses the basement stairs and like any mudroom, it is our general storage area - coats, shoes, dog food, etc.

On Thursday, the room looked like this after we took the carpet off the stairs and found a mess. This is at the bottom landing by the side door. Lovely paneling huh? It goes so perfect with the peel and stick red brick linoleum don't you think?

 View from the kitchen looking back down the stairs. Our general catch-all room.

A different view looking into the kitchen.

 This is how it looked on Friday after I pulled the baseboards off and started priming. I would have much rather hired someone to completely gut the room and drywall but we're trying to keep this a budget makeover so yes, I painted the paneling. The mudroom is also known as Crystal's room (the dog that keeps showing up in the pictures.) She lays on that little bench in the window and watches the world go by. She's not too happy about being displaced from her room for the weekend.

 This was the view Saturday after more painting and pulling the carpet up on the top landing. The bad and the ugly. More dirty, brittle, broken peel and stick laminate tiles.

Sunday involved more and more painting and more cleaning and prep work.