Fall Favorites

#18 Halloween Parties - and ours is Thursday night! For the past few years, we've moved Carter's birthday celebration up to late October in order to have a Halloween themed party. It's such an easy night to prepare - pumpkin decorating, mummy wraps, and a new addition this year.....put your hand in the bowl and guess the body part.

Yep, we're taking a step towards the dark side and incorporating some really gross details. We figure that if they don't go over well, who cares? We're moving out of the neighborhood, anyway!

The menu:

String Cheese Digits (pictured above)
Deviled Eggs
Spooky Spiders
Brain Mush Dip
Guacamoldy and Chips

Blake will have a booth in the basement....dimly lit by a strand of orange lights and maybe a few candles.....each willing child will walk down by himself to guess the body parts. Eyeballs? Nope, cherry tomatoes. Brains? Nope, cooked spaghetti. And, one more bowl of unknown items, which I will have to consider more before posting. I'll see how the kids react first!

Fall Favorites

#17 School Carnivals - Now, in our overly PC days of life, they're referred to as "Harvest Hop" and the like. But, it will always be the "Halloween Carnival" in my mind, as well as many in our generation.

I can't think of a more exciting night than that of the carnival at Christie Elementary. Dressed up in costume, money in hand, tickets to spend, parents no where in sight. Freedom. We walked through the school hallways in awe, which were dramatically transformed into a world of magic and fun. Cake walks, face painting, bean bag tosses, frito pie in the school cafeteria. I remember running through the event with Monica Hill, my first friend in Kindergarten, so completely spell bound by the excitement. Such great memories.

Oblivious to its title, Carter had a fantastic time, arriving home with 5 pumpkins he had picked at the patch - one for each member of our family. He had lots of toys and candy, too. Here he is showing it all to Daddy on Skype.

This was the first night for Carter and Blake to talk via Skype and I have to share with you one of the sweetest moments I can recall since our family began. The little ones were in bed, so it was Carter's turn to call his Dad. It took a second for the connection to load, but once it did and the two of them saw each other and heard each other's voices, they both burst into tears. It was such a heart-felt, sincere show of love...I was speechless. And, then I started to cry. Carter misses his Daddy. Thank goodness he'll be home in 2 days!

Fall Favorites

#16 Outdoor Halloween Decor - We don't have much in the way of Halloween out this year. Usually, our house is crawling with fake spiders and covered in decorations, but because we're on the market, I've had to tone everything down.

I really like the outdoor decorations the most. We have several houses in our neighborhood that have the outdoor inflatable scenes and our kids love them! Our front porch is usually draped in orange lights and it just doesn't seem right to not have it done. Can't wait until we're settled next year and can have some fun.

Some cute ideas....

Pumpkin creature.

Window silhouettes.

In-the-ground skeletons.

Fall Favorites

#15 Homemade Soup - I really can't start making soup until the temperatures drop and there is reason to stay in. Luckily, our weather coordinated with Carter's field trip to Miller Farm and we made a vegetable soup with his pickings.

A very easy recipe.....one that was simple enough for the kids to follow and since they were helping, the lack of complex steps helped me enjoy the process, too.

Carter returned from his trip with the following produce, plus a large pie pumpkin. Not bad for a school field trip! They picked the veggies themselves and Carter couldn't have been more proud.

The most exciting part came when it was time to shuck the corn. Each stalk had a large caterpillar inside eating away.....so no corn was added to the soup. He wasn't the least bit disappointed.....probably would have been, actually, if there were no caterpillars! They learned about this possibility on the farm and he'd been talking about it since he arrived home with the veggies. Oh, the anticipation.

Peeling more to find more little guys inside. It was a proud day for a 7 year old. A quote, "Collin only found 1 corn with a bug in it. We had all 3 ears with bugs!" Awesome.

So, the remaining vegetables to add, plus I sauteed some onion, too.



Carter worked very hard on his project.

Looks about right! He took some in to his teacher the next day. Sweet boy.

Fall Favorites

#14 The Pumpkin Patch - We go to a few each year and enjoy every trip. I prefer the more natural settings, with "you pick em" options, rather than the pumpkins placed out in a field for you to graze through. Corn mazes, hay rides, lots of fall trinkets to buy. I love it all.

Planning on a trip tomorrow afternoon with Pa to a local farm. Colorado has lots of great options for patches, mostly north of Denver. I have a feeling Kansas has just as many.....based on the wide open spaces outside of the city. Can't wait to find out!

As I previously posted, a great source for pumpkin patches throughout the United States can be found at this link. Enjoy!

Fall Favorites

#13 The History of Halloween - If I had to put these "favorites" in order, I would certainly put this at the top of my list. The real stories behind the holiday....the reasons for the customs we follow.....the truth behind the myths....it's all fascinating to me.

Many of you know that Caroline and I (and Carter, too) love haunted and historical hotels. We've stayed at several of the top "spookiest" hotels in the nation including The Stanley in Estes Park, The Skirvin in Oklahoma City, a bed and breakfast in Guthrie, etc. We tour other sites, as well, when we travel and actually seek out these attractions. Weird, I know. But, it's what we love to do. And, don't be too concerned about Carter. He's far braver than us when it comes down to ghost stories and late night talks....he passes out first and leaves Caroline and me sleepless and scared for the remainder of the night!

Back to the favorite.....check out this link from history.com. It's very thorough in its account of the "real" Halloween details. I really enjoyed it.

Fall Favorites

#12 Comfort Food - We may be getting snow overnight, so I'm thrilled to have a home-made vegetable soup (details coming) sitting in the refrigerator just waiting to be paired with yummy grilled cheese.

The picture above shows a casserole similar to a favorite in this family made of ham, potato, and cheese. It's perfect for super cold, stay-inside days. It's not at all good for you, so go easy on it!

Ingredients:
2 lb precooked cubed potatoes
1/2 lb cooked ham, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp salt
pinch black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
8 oz (2 cups) shredded swiss cheese, divided

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 quart casserole dish.
2. In large bowl, combine potatoes, ham, mustard, salt and pepper.
3. Warm oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cook 5 minutes, until soft, stirring often; remove. Add onion to bowl with potatoes, folding gently so as not to break up potatoes.
4. Return pan to heat; add butter. When butter starts to foam, whisk in the flour and cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly until flour is incorporated. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring well with each addition. Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring. Let simmer 3 minutes, until slightly thickened.
5. Remove sauce from heat; stir in 1.5 cups of the cheese, a handful at a time, until smooth. Pour the sauce over the potato mixture and stir until combined. Transfer mixture to prepared casserole dish.
6. Bake for 30 minutes; top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake 15 minutes longer, until top is golden and edges are bubbling. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

I'm big on casseroles during the winter and love chili and all kinds of soup. My goal this year is to perfect a macaroni and cheese bake.....the kind with a crunchy top. If you have a recipe, send it my way, please!

Fall Favorites

# 11 Horror Movies - I can't watch many anymore, but as a kid, I loved them. I still watch Halloween each year....on Halloween night.....because TNT or TBS always has it on. I love how dated it is, the music, the memories it brings back of me watching it with my big brother.

Fall Favorites

#10 Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - One of the best reasons to carve a pumpkin. We make these each year...usually the day of or day before Halloween. They fill the house will a buttery, salty smell and they taste so good!

The recipe is very easy, too:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1 pinch salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt.
Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

Fall Favorites

#9 Leaves Turning - seems simple, but they're not everywhere. Colorado is mostly known for its yellow shades due to the amount of Aspen trees we have here. However, all of the colors are present. You just have to take the time to look around.

A few photos taken Thursday afternoon.

Just outside our neighborhood.

The parking lot at the zoo. I absolutely love to see the streets flooded with leaves. It doesn't last long.

Inside the zoo.

Fall Favorites

#8 Martha's Idea Of The Day - anything by Martha is typically perfect in my opinion. In this column, she shares recipes and crafts for Halloween.

Fall Favorites

# 7 Spider Snacks - We throw a Halloween party each year....either to coordinate with Carter's birthday....or on its own.

The Spider Snacks are super easy to make and look great on the buffet. (Preferrably on a nice platter rather than the take-n-toss container pictured above!)

Most recipes call for chow mein noodles, but I use potato sticks instead.

Ingredients
3 cups potato sticks
1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 oz) package butterscotch chips
1 small bag of red hots

Directions
Melt the two bags of chips in a pan.
Add the potato sticks.
Stir & drop onto wax paper.
Drop 2 red hots onto each spider to resemble eyes.
Freeze until hard.

Fall Favorites

#6 The Great Pumpkin - Such a fun movie and one we watch often before Halloween. Lucy's disgust with everyone is typically my favorite part. Such a great character.

Fall Favorites

#5 Circle E Candles - These candles, by no means, need a holiday season to be enjoyed. But, the cold weather and snow encourages me to make the house cozy. And, these are the absolute best candles available, I believe.

Fall Favorites

#4 - Kids in Halloween gear. Nothing too extravagent.....most of ours are purchased at Target or Children's Place.

New goofy smile.

Oh, and the bow? I know she looks like a rooster. Don't care!

Fall Favorites

#3 - Just About Anything From Pottery Barn Kids. Their holiday collections are always so cute.

I specifically like this basket. I bought it about 5 years ago and have added liners for each holiday. Autumn, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter.


And, it's on sale right now!

Fall Favorites

#2 Candy Corn - I love the colors more than anything, but do indulge here and there, too. Not just for snacking.....I decorate with them, as well.

Fill jars or hurricane glasses with them and they'll hold a candle in place well. Such an inexpensive filler and cute, too!

And, an addendum for Carrie Darney:
Unwrap the package of candy corn before putting it in the jar. Using your hands, push the candle down into the candy. Use a lighter or match to light the candle. :)

Fall Favorites

I had intended on starting to post my favorites about Halloween and the Fall season on October 1 and go through Thanksgiving. A bit late, but I'll start now.

#1 Pumpkins - I love the colors, smells, shapes and sizes. The day they arrive in the stores, I buy. I will start with a few basics that I can buy at an affordable price (at Walmart or Target) and then add to them with more distinct or unusual ones from pumpkin patches or farmers markets. We get the basic orange, white, green, etc. I buy gourds large and small. I really love the "Cinderella" style most, pictured below.

We clean and prep them before putting them out. I didn't do so this year, but have painted and crackled them in the past. They go on the front porch, on the back patio, inside and out. I really don't think I could have enough.