Happy Halloween!

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see." ~ Linus from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" 

Our home is ready for the Great Pumpkin and all the little Halloween Trick or Treaters. Here is a little glimpse into our festive home :)

Happy Halloween!

The Hub's Wolf Pumpkin.

Frankenstein warns the Trick or Treaters to BEWARE of the Wicked Witch!

The Wicked Witch wishes all a Happy Halloween!

Our colorful pumpkins. I love the Chevron Pumpkin :)

The Witch's Chalice :) haha

Our wicked entry way.

The Haunted Mantle

Our new polka dot pillow covers thank to the help of mom's sewing skills!

Spiders have literally taken over our home!

Nothing like glittery pumpkins and a little color to brighten even the most haunted of homes!

Our DIY Chalkboard with vintage frame displays the week's sinful menu.

Boil, boil, toil and trouble...

{Happy Doodle Land}

It is the last weekend before Halloween, and I'm SOOOOO excited! I love LOVE this weekend! So many things to bake, cook, decorate, make, etc. And I just don't think I'll be getting it all done. At least the flavors of pumpkin continue to go into the month of November. Mmm...pumpkin. {Sigh}

{Making Pumpkin Whoopie Pies for the Hubs!}

Annnnd....Here is our weekly menu:

Friday: Crockpot 3 Bean Turkey Chili and Pumpkin Beer and Pumpkin Bread

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Seared Steak with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola

Monday: Smokey Roasted Chicken Corn Chowder and Caramel Apples

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna  and Roasted Acorn Squash

Thursday: Leftovers

Have a wicked, spooky, haunted, pumpkiny weekend!

 

Weekly Menu 10/14/11

{pinterest}

This week was Homecoming Weekend and I really did not feel like doing much in regards to food. Just ask the Hubs. He was (and I quote) "Scrounging for food" on Saturday. Oh well. I can't be on my A-game ALL the time :)

Here is this week's menu...I'm planning for lots of leftovers so I can relax!

Friday: Pasta with Sauce and Bake Zucchini Sticks

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and asparagus

Monday: Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Eggplant Parmigiana and salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Recipe FAIL

{pinterest}

Ok, so yes. Not everything I cook is like "butta." I admit it. I never said I was Paula Deen, for goodness sakes. Nor would the Hubs want me to be Paula Deen...Mmm brown sugaaaa (inside joke). 

Anywho, I had a recipe FAIL. Big time. Let me just clarify that I did not make this recipe. I simply found it and thought it sounded good. But trust me folks, Pumpkin Sweet Potato Bisque Recipe does not taste good. There are way too many flavors going on - carrots, onions, tomatoes, pumpkin, cloves, nutmegs, barf, etc. It even has the texture of barf. The Hubs, God bless his sweet little heart, ate it. But I protested my own food. I ate a bean burrito, and dumped the rest of the soup down the drain. Yup. It was that bad. Not even starving kids in Africa would want to eat this yuckiness.

Gussy Sews $75 Giveaway

I'm trying to win the Gussy Sews $75 Giveway.

You should try too!

{Gussy Sews}

I want the Lola Vacay Tote :)

Sign up, but just know. I will win this.

I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly

{pinterest}

I saw the happiest butterfly today. While walking campus, the sun was shining, leaves were softly falling to the ground and the wind was gently blowing. Along came this little monarch butterfly just floating in the breeze. Not flapping her wings trying to get somewhere, but just floating, enjoying the breeze and where the wind took her. It made me smile and think, I should live my life more freely like that butterfly. Just enjoying the many blessings, big and small, that God has given me, and just let Him take me wherever he leads me.

Hello Monday!

With my first cup of coffee in hand and first gulp of the sweet caffeine {aaah}, I look back at the weekend and think of how incredibly blessed I am. What a great, fall weekend!

{Pioneer Woman}

Saturday started off with homemade cinnamon rolls that were TO. DIE. FOR! I did a little bit more cooking than I had hoped...what I thought was "8 servings" as the recipe said, was actually "8 batches" of cinnamon rolls. I have about 56 cinnamon rolls in my kitchen. I made the Hubs share some with his dad, so FIL, if you don't get cinnamon rolls, the Hubs is hoarding them. They are, and I quote "the best cinnamon rolls [he's] ever had!" Yea, I'm that good...actually the recipe is that good. Pioneer Woman is a master chef when it comes to cinnamon rolls. YUM!

I also spent Saturday catching up on some projects that I've been putting off. I finally sanded and glazed my bench and touched up our DIY chalkboard that was flaking paint. Works like a charm, now, and the Hubs added his one item he's been begging to add since I first started working on the chalkboard - ground red pepper. Do they even sell that at grocery stores? I have yet to find it at Hy-Vee!

By the Hubs - Check out the green fangs!!! Seriously!!!

By the Hubs

By the Hubs

By the Hubs - Can you see his green fangs!?

Saturday also involved a visit from a new friend. We named him Fang. And no, we didn't kill him. He is too cute and very helpful. He kills all the bad bugs in the house :) haha. And of course, the Hubs had to bust out his camera and take photos.

On Sunday, I got to volunteer for our Church's Fall Festival. I signed up to Face Paint, and got a little bit more paint on myself than on the kiddos :) I love my curly mustache and Harry Potter scar!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend, too! Now let's tackle the week!

Weekly Menu: I'm a slacker

{pinterest}

Sorry for the absence of recipe posts. I didn't think folks enjoyed them, and then friends and family started asking where they were. And I love you all for that. So here we go :) Enjoy!

Weekly Menu 9/7/11: AKA The Hubs is gone and I'm saving money :)

Friday:  

• Roasted Red Pepper Soup 
• Grilled Pepper Jack Cheese Sandwich
• Low Fat Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

Saturday:  

• Creamy Chicken Stew Crock Pot Recipe 
• homemade cinnamon rolls - for the Hubs...I might eat one :)
• Roasted Butternut Squash with Brown Sugar

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday:  

• Pumpkin Sweet Potato Bisque Recipe 
• Grilled Pepper Jack Cheese Sandwich

Thursday: Leftovers

Weekly Menu 9/30/11: AKA How many things can I cook in a Crockpot!?

Friday:  

• P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps 
• rice

Saturday:  Leftovers

Sunday:  

• Flank Steak and Edamame with Wasabi Dressing 
• Rice 

Monday: Slow Cooked Carnitas

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Lasagna

Thursday: Leftovers

Weekly Menu 9/23/11: Hello Fall!

Sunday: Steak Sunday!

• Seared Steak with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola 
• Blue Cheese-Walnut Green Beans

Monday: Smokey Roasted Chicken Corn Chowder

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday:  

• Autumn Pork and Apples 
• Brussels Sprouts

Thursday: Leftovers

Weekly Menu 9/16/11

Friday: Homemade Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Pizza

Sunday: 

Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce 

Warm new potato salad with basil-mint pesto

Monday: Crockpot 3 Bean Turkey Chili

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday:  

• Chicken and Mushrooms in a Garlic White Wine Sauce 
• Mushroom Risotto

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Leftovers

Weekly Menu 9/9/11

Friday: Grilling!

• Hamburger 
• Corn on Cob
• Grilled pineapple

Saturday:  

• Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach 
• Grilled asparagus

Sunday: Steak Sunday!

• Grilled Flank Steak with Tomatoes, Red Onion and Balsamic 
• Mediterranean CousCous

Monday: 

• Feta Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf 
• Mediterranean CousCous

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday:  

• Autumn Pork and Apples 
• Brussels Sprouts

Thursday: Leftovers 

Weekly Menu 9/2/11: And here's one more for good measure :)

Sunday: Steak Sunday!

• Flank Steak with Spicy Lemon Sauce 
• Mediterranean CousCous Salad

Monday: Smokey Roasted Chicken Corn Chowder

Tuesday: 

• Bruschetta Chicken Bake
• brussels sprouts

Wednesday:  

• Lemon & Dill Chicken
• Grilled asparagus

Thursday: Lime-Honey Glazed Chicken 

Friday: Cooking for Friends :)

• Grilled Flank Steak with Avocado Relish
• SW Black Bean Salad

The new colors of fall

Fall isn't just about browns and oranges anymore. Pinks, purples, reds, blues and greens are in this season, too! And I am lovin' the looks of fall at Loft.com!

Say hello to my little friend

{pinterest}

As soon as I decorated our house for Halloween this past weekend, lo and behold, nature adds its own little touch of decor to our home - spiders. So far 2, but really only 1 now. I accidentally killed the first one. The Hubs took some photos of it before I accidentally killed it, though. So that's nice. And I know what you are thinking. "Why didn't he kill it?" Because he is scared of spiders. And "How did you accidentally kill it? Why didn't you intentionally kill it?" Because I'm a schmuck for spiders. I've always loved Charlotte's Web, and I just can't help myself. Seriously.

{pinterest}

So yesterday, I found the second spider. I named him Boo. He was shy and scurried away once I found him. He did let me examine him a bit, and I spoke baby talk to him. But then he hid on the mantle with the fake spiders. I think he's confused. Oh well. He's my friend, and I'm thankful for all the other little buggies he will kill in my home.

{pinterest}

I wonder if I'll start seeing some witches if I start decorating with them in our home...EEK! I love Halloween :)