Halloween

Halloween for Adults

by Jessica on November 1, 2012

in Halloween, Holiday

DSC_0629

For how last-minute our Halloween seemed to come together, we sure managed to have a lot of fun, and thankfully, more trick or treaters than last year. Last year was kind of a bummer. I think we had a grand total of 10 kids. This year however, I think we got closer to 30. I think the big yards and dark curvy streets just don’t have the same appeal as the tightly well-lit new construction neighborhoods. Oh well, our kids got LOTS of candy!

DSC_0631

First things first, carve pumpkins several days later than originally planned.

DSC_0633

DSC_0632

DSC_0634

DSC_0635

DSC_0640

Neil’s is extra shiny because he cleaned the pen marks off with Goo Gone.

DSC_0650

Dress up the kids. Be sure to call them kids, because it seems to piss off people with real kids. This is the best photo we could get of them. Two dogs with four eyes all going in different directions is tough to get with an ordinary DSLR lens.

DSC_0643

Matilda absolutely loves clothes. She bit at my fingers when I tried to take it off of her.

DSC_0656

Dance pumpkin, DANCE!

DSC_0662

Doesn’t look as spooky with clean windows…

DSC_0664

My pumpkin looks malicious…

DSC_0665

Neil’s looks happy haha…

DSC_0666

We watched our very terrible recording ofA Disney Halloween from the eighties. Never released on VHS or DVD, incredibly hard to find, but worth the nostalgia every year. We also watched Psycho, one of my all-time favorites.

DSC_0668

New for this year, Adult “Ecto-Coolers.” Remember Ecto-Cooler? I practically grew up with that stuff in my lunch box, and Neil suggested making it last night, only for Adults. He picked up some vodka, orange-tangerine juice and an orange and gave it a good mix in the shaker. There are probably more true-to-flavor recipes out there, but ours was plenty good with a lot less sugar.

So a pretty laid-back night for us, but a lot of fun too. I wish it weren’t too early for another Ecto-Cooler…

{ 0 comments }

This week, behind the scenes, I’ve been working on a series of posts about our first year of being mostly Paleo and doing CrossFit. I deluded myself into thinking I could be one of those bloggers who can churn out posts daily effortlessly, and that I would have them finished and posted in less than a day. WRONG! With work projects and training this week, time of course has just flown by and here we are at Thursday. The posts themselves have been a lot more complicated to write than I thought. There’s just so much to say, and finding the best way to assemble and present so many thoughts and observations is difficult. That or I’m just a much more terrible writer than I thought. I guess I’ll let you all decide.

So for now, while I give myself a little break and, I thought I’d try to entertain you with a few of the random happenings going on over here.

DSC_0553

A storm is rolling in. My friends in KC said temperatures dropped from 71 to 49 degrees in 15 minutes! And my coworker in MN has snow! I’m in shorts and slippers, prepared for anything at this point. Last night I could barely work in our loft because it was too hot, and not I feel like I need a heated blanket and a sweater.

DSC_0570

Neil convinced me to leave Matilda uncrated for the first time yesterday while we grabbed lunch. I was so nervous. Would I come home to wrecked house? Scratched doors? Food wrappers? Clive hasn’t exactly been a good home alone role model. But I came back and found her like this. Such a good girl!

DSC_0555

Neil bought our pumpkins this past weekend. I’m so excited to carve them this weekend. I always wait till the very last-minute because they always get mushy so fast and I like them to look good on Halloween. Neil said these two had good “face potential,” whatever that means…

DSC_0558

I impulse-bought chalkboard paint and brushes last week. Have you ever just impulsively bought craft supplies? Surely I can find a use for this…

DSC_0564

Speaking of crafts, I have a whole box of vintage blue jars from my grandparents estate that I want to do something cool with. Any ideas? Pinterest wasn’t a big help on this one…

DSC_0567

Neil just started one of the books he got (from me) for his birthday, and I’m excited to see what he thinks of it. As I just finished a Hitchens book myself, I know he often goes a little overboard on details. I know I don’t talk religion a lot here, and I won’t lie, I still get squeamish on the topic, or in our case, the lack thereof. But I know that there are a lot of us out there, especially here in the Bible Belt and I don’t feel like we should have to whisper or hide or pretend there is something wrong with us. There’s your overdramatic soapbox moment for this post…

DSC_0578

I on the other hand, have finally discovered Caitlan Moran, and I absolutely love her. ‘How to be a Woman might be my favorite book this year. Although I don’t think I’m on board with consuming my own menstruation, that might be asking a little too much.

DSC_0535

Gluten-free Hello Dolly Bars. Oh yes I did.

DSC_0563

And finally, this box just sitting in our extra room contains the jar I bought to make kombucha — 5 months ago. I don’t know what I’m so afraid of. I love the stuff, but the whole “mother” thing is totally grossing me out. Have you ever chickened out on a DIY foodie project? I really don’t want to, hopefully I can get over this.

So there’s your Random Thursday, now if you’ll excuse me, I’d better get back to work! Have a random thought, happening or soapbox moment to share?

{ 4 comments }

Halloweenies

by Jessica on October 19, 2012

in Clive, Dogs, Halloween, Matilda

DSC_0412

Happy Friday! It’s a cold and rainy morning here, and everyone seems to be cuddled up wherever they can find a warm spot, even if it means sleeping with the enemy.

I think we’ve finally got our yucky colds beat, and luckily, right in time for the weekend! Tomorrow morning we’re off to Kansas City for a Halloween-themed night of fun with Alex and Audrey and some friends. We were kind of last-minute in coming up with costumes, but I think they’ll go over well. People expect us to be weird so I really don’t think we can fail. I’ll post some pics of what we ended up choosing after the party.

Clive is going to don his skeleton costume again this year, but as this is Tildy’s first Halloween, she needed a costume to match. While we’ve put clothes on them before, we typically try to stay out of the “ridiculous” and “obnoxious” realm. Some of the costumes they make for dogs are just a little over-the-top don’t you think? I like things that they can still play in, and if they wreck it, then we’re out less than $10. I found this little pumpkin tee and a little tutu while at Target the other day and it was perfect. I couldn’t resist putting it on her immediately, and she loved it. She really thought she was hot stuff.

Oh what have I done....

I’m off to do a little baking for the party. I haven’t baked in FOREVER, so I’m really excited to try out a new recipe I’ve been thinking about. Wish me luck!

Are you dressing up for Halloween this year?

{ 4 comments }

Trick or …Trick?

November 2, 2011
Thumbnail image for Trick or …Trick?

We were beyond excited for this Halloween… Our house was decked out…(apparently ghouls are THE thing in this neighborhood)… Our pumpkins were carved… We bought TONS of candy… We put the pup in costume… I even made snacks for us, a trial run of Paleo brownies… We waited… …and waited… …and waited… We had a [...]

Read the full article →

Halloween Eve

October 31, 2011
Thumbnail image for Halloween Eve

Yesterday was Halloween Eve. We were scheduled to go on a mushroom hunt with Jeremy, but our poor little Clive got sick, so I stayed home with him while Neil went out in the early morning cold to hunt mushrooms for me, since he doesn’t like them. Our local state park has an awesome cave, [...]

Read the full article →

Pumpkin Carving

October 31, 2009

Our Mess Kill Anja, KILL! Mine on the left and Neil’s on the right. Isn’t it totally him? Felix posing with Blake’s pumpkin. Bob’s poisonous pumpkin. Happy Halloween!

Read the full article →

Happy Halloween

October 29, 2009

1. Brownie Bite Spiders via Bakerella 2. Chocolate Cupcakes via Martha Stewart 3. Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Créme via MyRecipes.com 4. Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling via Sunset 5. Pecan Caramel Spiders via Food Network

Read the full article →