Halloween, halloween, lots of fun on Halloween....

We all have different talents, but my Mother takes the cake when it comes to creating a festive environment and making holidays extra special. Even though we are all grown up, this does not stop her from making holidays like Halloween a night to remember. Dinner was served in individual pumpkins, rolls were in the shape of spiders and for dessert we had our flaming ghost cake.

Food was served on black and pumpkin shaped dish ware.

The host and hostess as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. My parents have really impressed us these past few years with their clever costumes.

Even Pike Place caught the spirit of Halloween.

A humble Halloween

It might seem a tad odd, but I have wanted to be an owl or a bird for Halloween for a very long time. Something about the excuse to wear feathers seems fancy and festive to me. So here I am all dressed up with no place to go....... Cameron and I went on a "spooky" walk after dinner to check out all the decorated homes, basically it entailed me calling every decorated house spooky and then snapping a photo of it. It felt festive being out in the cold night air, with the silvery moon lighting up the night sky in the distance. It was the next best thing to trick or treating without the unwanted calories. I so dearly wanted to wear my mask on our walk, but felt a tad foolish being the only one dressed up.

Normally, my mother goes all out by making a fancy Halloween dinner and having everyone dress up, but this year they were out of town. Instead of trying to recreate the unparalleled Halloween splendor, we kept things simple with a dinner of Garden Minestrone soup and Molten Lava Cakes for dessert. (The above photo is actually from Halloween's Eve where where we had roasted fingerling potatoes, a salad and roasted butternut squash.) 

One of the homes I deemed "spooky"

Did I mention I had a little wardrobe change for our walk? I made this headband, but it was a little much with the festive flower pin I had on my shirt, so once my jacket went on, this homemade headband did too. I like being festive, even if it just for myself and no one else cares.

Molten Lava Cake with a little splash of orange sprinkles.

Last week in review: a pictorial account

Some of the ladies from church get together for a monthly Sunset Group. We leave the husbands and kids at home for the evening while everyone brings something to share. This month was Halloween themed, so we had Chocolate Graveyard cups, Bones and a Graveyard Hummus Platter. It is such a great opportunity to get to know women I might not otherwise get a chance to chat with, I really look forward to it each month.

For date night we had a delicious dinner at Kokoras followed by a rare trip to the movie theater. It was the best evening because the food was as spectacular as the service. I am reminded why I prefer small, local restaurants as opposed to chains.

There are so many things I dislike about going to the movies, but give me a small, empty, old theater and I am a happy camper.

I really enjoyed the movie theater's retro decor and no one was texting or talking during the movie.

A sunny, crisp fall Sunday walk.

Caramel Apples

If you want to take your carmel apples up another notch, might I suggest a clever idea I saw on Martha Stewart a couple years ago. Forgo the cheap popsicle stick and replace it with a real twig found in your yard. For added visual interest select a freshly washed and flattened leaf to set your apple atop. 

Pumpkin Carving Party

For the past twelve years or so I have hosted a Pumpkin Carving Party. It is a good excuse to get together with friends, make festive treats and carve our annual pumpkin. This year we kept it simple by having it during the week, serving only desserts and keeping the guest list short.

The witch's brooms were treat bags for the guests to take home.

Unfortunately, I did not photograph all of the guests before they left. Here I am with Tana, she undoubtedly has attended this party the most of any guest.

The handiwork of the group.

Cameron always aims for spooky with his pumpkin, but he inevitably ends up with cute instead.

Witch's Broom Treat Bags

Martha Stewart never fails me. She is always an endless source of inspiration, especially around the holidays. I wanted to make these witch's broom treat bags for several years now, but then I spotted this kit at Michael's and knew I was all set. They were easy to put together and just as cute as I imagined they would be. The only hard part was trying to decide what candy to put inside.

Halloween decorating

After we visited the pumpkin patch we went full force into decorating for Halloween. I have way too many decorations for my space, so here is just a sampling of what I pulled out this year. My favorite thing to decorate with are pumpkins and gourds, so this "family" of pumpkins are just about too cute for words.

Over the years, I have taken countless fall photographs. I like to switch out the artwork in my house seasonally, so I filled them up with snapshots from past trips. These little white pumpkins are my favorite because they are versatile enough to take you all the way to Thanksgiving. (did I mention they are fake?)

 Even my air plant deserves a festive home for the holidays.

Note the conjoined pumpkin in the background. Cameron spotted it at the patch and we just had to have it.

One of the real show pieces of my Halloween decor, is this Halloween advent calendar my parents made for me a couple of years ago. Yep, they are pretty much the dynamic duo!!

The fun part about decorating is each item is filled with some memory. This fabric banner for example was made from fabric my mother in law gave to me when we visited a couple years ago.

What is your favorite item to decorate with for Halloween?

Finding the perfect specimen

Fall is most oftentimes heralded in by our family, with a trip to the pumpkin patch. Back to back years rain has decided to accompany us on our excursion down south. Undeterred we fought the mud and the rain to track down just the right gourd to carve. Happy, but muddy we headed home with our selections.

The thought of choosing an already cut pumpkin seems unthinkable, when there are so many great ones awaiting in the field to be picked. I also love tromping all over the moldy ones.

The mud was intense and was literally wrapping itself around the tires of our wagon.

The ever present, but patient husband. He would have stood here as long as necessary for me to find just the right one.