It's  time for Halloween themed movies which usually mean horror. To my surprise I loved this fantastic animated movie with voices from  Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Christina Applegate and Ice Cube.  It recreates the Romeo-and-Juliet story against the backdrop of the Mexican customs surrounding the Day of the Dead. I worried maybe the "skeleton" painted Day of the Dead characters may be creepy but they weren't at all. The Book of life has one of the most colorful and unique set designs I have every seen in an animated movie! The Land of the Remembered was especially visually stunning.  It was nominated for best animated film at the Golden Globes last year. It's out on dvd now so check it out.

Don't forget to re-watch Ghostbusters as well!

On the topic of Halloween, if your office is allowing you to dress up on Friday, here are some work appropriate halloween costume ideas.

When I built my shoe closet I took out that shoe shelf and re-purposed it to be for entry storage. I threw my purses on top and threw other random stuff in the tiny cubby holes. My DIY magazine basket was spray painted black and I had fabric sewn into it. But it was always full of junk mail and reusable shopping bags and was awful and had zero function. It took me eight years of living here before I finally did something with the space.

I needed a routine to get everything back in place. I followed the Kondo method which says that everything needs a place. The main function of my entryway is to hold incoming mail. I needed one super organized space instead of allowing the kitchen island to become the dumping ground. So I picked up this cute wall organizer when I was in Thailand last year. Now the first thing I do when I get home is open all the mail, trash what I don’t need and the rest goes into the wall organizer. I also got a sunglasses basket so they are all in one place that I keep in my coat closet.
I replaced the shoe shelf with the Kallax shelving unit from Ikea. In fact if you google Kallax hacks you'll find a lot of ideas for using it. I’ve been loving it every since it was built as it's fantastic and keeps my entry way tidy and organized. I finally have a place to display all my travel guidebooks from the trips I've taken. I haven't taken a vacation this year but I do have a business trip to San Francisco next month.
 
Let me show you a close up of the cute gold bulldog tape dispenser I picked up at Target. I love all the gold desk accessories and the glass jar filled with roses. I feel it looks bright and organized.  The picture is from my strawberry picking adventure this summer.
On the bottom shelf I got a large storage bin also from Ikea for $5. I had wanted a metallic one but the ones at Pottery Barn were $29 so I thought it would be cheaper to DIY by just putting some gold stickers on it. It’s a great place for my reusable shopping bags, coupons and receipts.  Also in the past couple years I’ve been signing up for $2 per year magazine subscriptions. I get Oprah, Dr Phil, Allure, Women’s Running, and Real Simple, yet I barely have time to read them. lol I got a pack of cheap magazine holders from Ikea that I DIY with stylish wrapping paper. With a designated spot for magazines and papers, it really clears the clutter from the entryway area and the magazine station is hidden away.

I've gone to a pumpkin craving contest for the past few years, but this year I decided to do some no-carve decorating ideas. First I spray painted a pumpkin black and stuck on some sequins for a sugar scull. Then I glued gold glitter on the white pumpkin. The sugar pumpkin I'm baking instead of buying canned pumpkin. And with the Kabocha squash I'm going to make a Thai pumpkin curry. Here are some other no carve decorating ideas I found online that you might want to try.


 
 

If you've read my posts on gratitude, you know I like to take the time to keep a gratitude journal (Graditude365 app) to celebrate the positive things in my life. I also like to do lists, goal lists, and cleaning list (Tody app). Now I'm working on Moorea Seal's 52 lists in 52 weeks project. But first let me show you this awesome to do list pad on the right.  It's a 6x9 tear off pad that you can list your daily to dos on it, plus keep track of important times, meal planning, and track water consumption.

I loved Brian Tracy's book Eat That Frog so  I had to read another book of his. He says that all you do need to succeed in any of your life goals is self-discipline. The book shows you how you can achieve success in all three major areas of your life:  
1. Your personal goals.
2. Your business and money goals.
3. Your overall happiness.

Each chapter in this book shows you how to be more disciplined in one aspect of your life. With these guidelines, you can learn how to be more successful in everything you do because a little self-discipline goes a long way. Here are my favorite quotes from the book.

"It's quite common for many people, when they are unhappy or frustrated for any reason, to go shopping. They unconsciously associate buying something with being happy. They buy lots of things they don't particularly need because they unconsciously associate spending with happiness."