Read about Patio furniture, Barbeque grills, fountains and more. Outdoor recreation ideas for urban inhabitants.

My favorite holiday has arrived!  I hope every has a great time partying or trick-or-treating or just spending a quiet night at home with a scary movie!  Here are a few more great displays of Halloween decor to get you in the spirit!

Harry Potter House

Creepy House

I have been waffling about having a little Halloween get-together, but now I think I am going to make a make a mad dash to the store on the way home and see if I can scramble up a few more decorations for the back patio.  The weather has been so warm that I think it will be great to add some Jack O’Lanterns to the yard, fire up the old gas grill and have an autumn feast tomorrow night.  Food, friends, costumes and beer–what could be more fun for Halloween!

If you are planning a last minute Halloween bash of your own, here are some great tips:

Celebrations: Halloween Parties

Halloween Howl: Your Halloween Party Planner

Food Network: Halloween Party Menu

I am so excited that Halloween is on Friday that I have decided to start the celebration early.  To kick off Halloween Week, here are some pictures of houses showing off their amazing Halloween decorations:

I have to hope that there aren’t candles in all those Jack O’Lanterns.  That just seems like an epic fire hazard.  But the house does look really cool.

I LOVE all the life-sized creatures in this yard!  It would definitely give me the creeps on Halloween!

This house does have some Halloween decorations in its grand display, but something gives me the feeling this house looks this way almost every day of the year.  Perhaps it’s all the random stuffed animals and dolls.  At any rate, it is interesting to look at.

The first episode of MSN’s web series Fearless is all about rock climbing, and I have to say, I think I might be hooked on Fearless after seeing this episode.  I love how open and circumspect some of the participants are in talking about conquering the fears that arise while on the rock.  I have felt the same way and it is really encouraging to see how others recognize that fear and deal with it.

I’ll admit that I have been a bit lazy about climbing in the past few months, but Fearless makes me think I should at least grab my chalk bag and climbing shoes and spend some time at the rock gym, if not on real rocks.  It’s time to face down my fears once again!

Well, this is a little too close for comfort: apparently there was a brush fire early this morning near the Getty Center that closed the 405 for a few hours and burned 100 acres.  Luckily,  there weren’t any injuries or damage to property, and firefighters eventually put the fire out, but it is still scary that the fire was so close.   The fire hopefully will serve as a reminder that even people who live in the city need to be prepared for wild fire emergencies.

I couldn’t find any word on how the fire started, so in the interest of added safety, I will just remind everyone to use caution even when doing seemingly harmless things like cooking on the backyard grill.  All it takes is one little spark in windy, dry weather like we have been having to set off a wild fire.

I thought I was all set with Halloween decorations, but then this sign on GadgetLike caught my eye:

I like the sign so much that I am considering doing a whole-house Psycho theme for Halloween, including:

• The Psycho Shower Curtain

• A “Mother” Costume

Now all I need is an old rocking chair!

This is definately one of the more interesting ideas I have stumbled upon: PlantBot!  The “bot” basically crawls around looking for the best sunlight for the plant, which is great for apartment dwellers who need to move their plants around to sunny locations frequently.  I am totally fascinated by PlantBot and would love to get one, but I have no idea if/where they are sold.  I am also curious as to whether or not PlantBot freaks animals out, so if anyone has eny experience with PlantBot, please let me know. 

After many small successes and a few major disappointments, I have decided to take on the container garden once again. The weather is beautiful and cool and I’d love to spend some time curled up on a hammock with a good book, but the ratty looking remnants of the container garden were totally ruining the ambiance.  So yesterday I uprooted the stragglers (sorry Swiss chard!), and re-potted some of my healthier plants and added a few new herb seedlings.  Even though the garden is much smaller and doesn’t currently have any fruit or vegetable plants, it looks much better.

I am a little disappointed that the experiment in growing edible plants didn’t go better, but hopefully this latest incarnation of the container garden will be a bit easier to manage and enjoy.  I will keep you posted!

The fires outside of Los Angeles are still raging, and many people have been evacuated from their homes.  Just as the recent earthquake reminded up to keep our earthquake kits stocked with clean water and food, the fires remind us that we also need a “Grab and Go” emergency kit for times of evacuation.  Whether you make your own kit or buy one, make sure you keep it in a convenient location for easy access.

Here’s a rundown of related safety resources:

Grab-n-Go Box

Be Prepared: Wildfire Safety

About.com: First Aid: Wildfire Evacuations

Ready.gov: Wildfires

Wildfire Zone: Emergency Kit Checklist for Pet and Livestock Owners

Real Simple: Grab-and-Go Emergency Kit

I thought I was dreaming when I woke up to the faint smell of burning leaves very early yesterday morning.  Apparently, though, there was smoke in Santa Monica, brought in by the same crazy high winds that were stoking the wildfire which erupted earlier Sunday morning just northeast of Los Angeles. In a sad coincidence, I had been planning to wake up early to do some hiking and possibly bouldering in the Angeles National Forest yesterday.  Now I am just hoping that firefighters are able to get the fires out before anymore forest, property or lives are lost.

In the meantime, I’d like to know that I am not breathing in any of that smoke that seems to be lingering in town.  Los Angeles air quality is questionable enough without adding smoke to the equation, so I thought this might be time to revisit some earlier posts on choosing air purifiers and maintaining good indoor air quality.  Enjoy!

Air Purifiers-Part 1- WHY People Need Home Air Purifiers

Air Purifiers-Part 2-WHAT To Look For in an Air Purifier

Smog and the City