Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I posted the first in a series of Lemax Spooky Town buildings that Menards is showing this season.  Today, I'm sharing another non-animated Spooky Town building:  Monster Hunting Supplies.  This one is brand new for this year - as the listing shows a 2018 release date .  Their sign bills them as having "The best bait in town".  Cute, but alas, Mantleburg isn't going this direction according to the cryptic press release from the Mayor. Want to see all the Spooky Town structures from Lemax that I've posted about?  Check out the full Spooky Town archive .

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the three kids at the Bolingbrook Menards taking in the Lemax Spooky Town display .  As part of that display, I picked out a few structures that I'll post over the coming days here on the blog.  I started this tradition of posting photos of Spooky Town structures all the way back in 2012 when I posted this photo of this Tombstone Quarry .  In 2016, I did three posts on Spooky Town Lemax buildings and same in 2017.  The full archive of Spooky Town posts can be found here . This year, the display is noticeably small - at least at the Bolingbrook Menards and has this white sign that says "Halloween Village" on top of it.  There are a few animated structures and some neat little people.  I'll post some images and details of some of the buildings in the coming days.  But, today, we'll start with this one above:  the Black Cauldron Bootique.  You'll notice that it is *already* on sale at $10 off the normal price.  That - at least

Marking the seasonal shift through the introduction of Halloween stuff at our local Menards.  And documenting it with a photo of the kids.  Here's all three of them:  The Babe, the Bird and the King of the Ball Tossers.  Halloween @ Menards photo of two of the kids - 2017 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of two of hte kids - 2016 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of just the Babe - 2015 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of the two girls - 2012 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of just the Babe  - 2011 version . *Blink* They've grown up so fast. 

There I was, perusing the ice cream novelty section over at the Westmont Mariano's when I see a little box on one of the shelves.  It couldn't be?  Could it? It's-it?  For real?  Here in the Midwest?  Sure enough!  I grabbed a box and scurried to the checkout line.  Proud of myself for bringing home this sweet treat.  When I got home, I showed them off to Natalie who wasn't as impressed as I was with myself. These are more than novelties.   To me.  They put me in a specific place.  In a specific time in my life. There's only one place that I have ever had It's-It ice cream sandwiches:  the main Google cafeteria from 2007 to 2013.  Back in the childless days of our lives, Nat came out to Mountain View with me and (apparently) ate at the Google Cafeteria.  Because she remembers having an It's-It then. This box is a three pack and it is outrageously priced.  But, time and place transportation isn't cheap, right? So, am I the last to know that

Just like last year - albeit a month or so later - our Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas out front are turning.  Here's a similar photo that I posted during our first Summer in Downers with the blooms of the hydrangeas outside of our front porch .   We have four Vanilla Strawberry plants right in front of the porch.  You can see them all from earlier this Summer in the photo on this post .  What's most striking is that by June these had barely started to leaf out.  And with the red/pink color just emerging in late August/early September, these are a full month behind where they were in 2017.  We initially were going to put Annabelle's here, but after talking with Nat's Mom and our landscape designer, they decided to put these pinkish ones in the same place.  I'm really glad we went that route.  Our Annabelle's are doing way, way better - with HUGE blooms - compared to these Vanilla Strawberry variety.  But, with time and a little bit of attention, I'm thin

I've posted about a bunch of the [ vintage glasses ] that I've picked up at garage sales and such over the years here on the blog.  I've bought many of them because they were the same glasses that I had when I was kid and they reminded me of a time in my life.  Others, like this Chippette's one are something from Nat's childhood .  At the Twin Lakes Estate Sale that I've posted about a bunch recently, I came across this set of vintage glasses that includes a couple of the Carebear ones from Pizza Hut, a Pac-Man one, a Looney Toons one and in the back the "I hate music" ones are from the Smurfs.  You can see the price tags that they were asking $3 a piece for these on Friday.  I went back on Saturday and they were gone.  I've bought a couple of these Carebear ones, but I don't seem to have posted about them here on the blog.  One of them, the Babe dropped and broke.  But, I know I have one of them in the cupboards somewhere.  I'll

I went to the Estate Sale that I've posted about recently on a Friday morning and took some photos of things that I've posted about here on the blog.  All of them, I was at least *comfortable* with passing on after saying my mantra to myself.  But there was one item that I wondered if I should go back for:  this Disneyland vintage felt pennant from Walt Disney productions.  After showing it around to Nat and her family, it seemed like I was drawn to this.  You can see that they were asking $5 for it on Friday - which I think (for me at least) is too much.  But, I went back Saturday knowing that they'd have 50% off of everything and more willing to deal.  The pennant was still there.  Marked down that 50%.  But, I offered $1 and they took it.  And now this vintage pennant from (what I think is) the 1960's is hanging in some of the blank space of my Disney pin boards hung in the garage .  I just tacked it up there for now to keep it from getting creased and folded,