Tricks or Treats?

Since trick-or-treating can wear out the little ones as well as the big ones...this year I made our house the "last stop" for our little group to grab a snack and a seat and relax (or watch some football :) )  You see our town did trick or treating last night, October 30th.  So I threw together some snacks and decor and had a ball.  Here are some pics of the treats - no tricks here!

Here's our little hot dog "mummies".  They were super simple.  All you need are some hot dogs and croissants.  I baked them according to the directions on the croissant tube.  The eyes are mustard but I will say this, wait until the mummies cool a bit before putting on the eyes because they will just melt into the hot dog otherwise.  And I used a toothpick to make such small dots. 

And here are our ghosts....although the white chocolate turned out more cream colored so we had some ghosts who weren't feeling well!  But they still tasted awesome!

Yummy treats!!

Hope you have a safe and happy Halloween!

There is an apple under all that oooey goodness....

I have wanted to make caramel apples for several years now since one of my friends made one for me.  But I always chickened out.  I just didn't think I could pull it off.  But this year I put my fears aside and went for it.  I figured the worst that could happen is I would have to eat my mistakes.  So I made four for my first go round and I have to say it was easier than I thought!

So I started with 4 big Granny Smith apples which I forgot to take a picture of and a bag of these amazing little caramel bits.  The are little bits of caramel that do not have to be unwrapped plus they come with 5 sticks!!  Brilliant!

I melted the caramel and white chocolate squares (in separate pans of course) then dipped them in caramel first and let them sit in the fridge for about a half hour.  When they were nice and solid I dipped them in the white chocolate.

I had a couple squares of milk chocolate in the pantry so I melted it down and put it in a snack baggie.  Cut off the end a bit and drizzled it on the apples like this:

Then I decided to chop up some walnuts and sprinkle them on top along with a few chocolate chips.

I then put them back in the frig for about an hour.  When they were done I grabbed some baggies and ribbon and wrapped them up!

I just made the tags using old scrapbook paper!  Simple, cute and delish!!  You didn't think I gave these away without sampling did you?!

Runnin' for a Reason

I. hate. running.  I mean no offense to those of you who have experienced the whole "runner's high" thing but I have not - ever.  That is why I played sports in school.  There was a purpose to my running....to the other side of the court, to dive for a ball, etc.  Never did I run just for fun. 

My how your life and your opinions can change.  Last fall at this time two of my friends talked me into taking an 8 week boot camp with them.  Best thing I ever did for myself.  At the beginning of each class we would jog for about 5 minutes.  At the beginning this killed me.  My lungs hurt, my fat shook, my shoes sucked.  It made me hate running even more.  Then something strange happened.  After about 2 weeks, the running was the easy part.  I knew when we were done running we'd be doing lunges or squats or some hideous form of torture so the running became bearable.

Fast forward to this fall.  I have come to view running as a challenge.  Challenge was what I loved about sports anyway, only now I am competing only with myself.  How far can I run without stopping?  How much faster did I do that run this time?  It keeps me going. 

Now don't get any crazy ideas - I am still not a runner.  I don't quite enjoy as much as tolerate it, but I am hoping the longer I go that will change.  Those same friends that talked me into boot camp talked me into running the Race for the Cure 5K last Saturday.  Now I am a very detailed, list making kind of person and I knew technically I was not ready to run a 5K because I wasn't even sure I could run the whole thing without walking and to me if you have to walk you might as well not do it.  ( I know that's ridiculous, I'm working on it! )  But I agreed and once I paid my money and got my shirt there was no going back.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that I did it.  Did I make it the whole 3.1 miles without walking?  No  But I didn't walk as much as I thought I would and I made it four minutes faster than my goal time.  But that wasn't the amazing part.  The amazing part was watching hundreds, maybe thousands, of people...old, young, men, women, large, small, all running for one amazing cause.  The fight against breast cancer. 

I know what it is like to lose someone you love to cancer.  My amazingly wonderful grandpa died of lung cancer the month I found out I was pregnant with my daughter.  I know that he would be proud of me for running for something that could change the outcome of this horrible disease.  I thought I would share a few pictures from this wonderful day!

 This is from the Survivor's Ceremony

 Almost to the starting line

Looking out over the crowd

 This is where the runner's met up with the walkers to head toward the finish line.  A friend of mine took these pictures.  I couldn't because I was huffing and puffing coming down the hill!  :0)  So if you have ever thought about taking up jogging/running/walking....you should do it.  You never know how you can change you life, or someone elses!

Finally Fall on the Outside!!

I've been delaying my pumpkin purchases until it was a little cooler but this weekend I couldn't wait any longer!  Here is a look at my fall porch!

 I painted my front door black and can't wait to get some black shutters on the front window!

 Here is my scarecrow who helps welcome everyone inside.  A big thanks to my friend Staci who made him for me.

 I made this "outside" pillow by using a vinyl tablecloth.  So easy, plus if it rains I can just wipe it off!

On a side note, I was looking for a pillow to put on my garage sale chair and I found one, where else, but another garage sale.  Man, I love this time of year!

I Give Up! (for now)

So I am not the most computer savvy person out there, in fact, starting a blog at all was a bit daunting.  I wanted to quit several times just trying to figure out backgrounds and pictures and all that jazz.  But my hubby encouraged me to stick with it and I'm glad I did.  Of course I get bored with the look of my background just like I get bored when I haven't redecorated in a while so I try to change it up.  But I spend WAY too much time trying to decide what to do and what colors to use etc.  (One reason why I can't seem to get going on the whole scrapbooking thing!)  That being said, I'm calling it.  Tonight after searching through fall backgrounds, halloween backgrounds and pictures I'm going with a template from blogger.  Not that cute or creative but I cannot look at one more!!  Maybe another day :)

Bargain of the Week!

I was on my way to a friend's house this morning and just happened upon a garage sale.  From the street I saw an overstuffed chair.  I have wanted an overstuffed chair for a while now but it wasn't at the top of the NEED list so... no overstuffed chair.  Plus the odds of finding one to match our couches are (were) slim!  So I see said chair and think it is probably one of two things - they are asking way too much or it's in really bad shape.  I decide to give it a closer look and lo and behold it is cheap AND in great shape! 

WOWZA!  And here's the best part.....it matches my couches (they are brown corduroy type material)
This might seem silly to some but it also had the same legs as my couches!!

It doesn't get much better than that.  So it has now been vacuumed, steamed with my awesome friend Melissa's super steamer and febreezed!  For $35 definitley my bargain of the week!!

OMG I have a teenager living in my house!!

My beautiful daughter turned 13...."finally!" as she would say and "already?"  as I would say.  Since her birthday was toward the end of volleyball season and her and her friends can't get enough, that's exactly what we did.  A volleyball party.  Now, my husband and I both played volleyball and several of our friends and my family love to play as well so it was a really fun party for all.  Here are a few goofy pictures of the evening!

This might seem like a silly pic but these are their volleyball socks for the year (knee high) and I thought it was a super cute picture Syd took of hers

Here's what happens when you try to take a group shot!

That's a little better!

 Can't have enough candy and cupcakes!!

The many faces of the girls....and we can't forget the "annoying" little brothers! Happy Birthday Syd!!