Menu Plan Sunday (gasp! It's Monday!)

I found a new website /blog that already has a planned weekly menu  including the recipes and shopping list.  Could life get any easier? I say not!

However, my only concern is what if I don't like what is on the weekly menu the blog planned....but so far, I haven't run into that problem! After looking through the website, the recipes seem delicious. I had to wipe the drool off my computer.  

I suppose our menu might run from Wednesday-Wednesday this week? Odd  weekly setup. but since we missed the first two days, it would give me enough time between to see what we need and get it.

Chicken Fiesta with Beans

Swiss and Bacon Quiche

Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake

Crispy Baked Chicken

I made this menu BEFORE our Halloween party on Saturday - and now looking in our freezer and fridge, we have an ABUNDANCE of leftovers...they are spilling out of the refrigerator. This is why there are only four recipes above, and not seven.  I have a feeling for the next three days we will be eating out of the containers from Saturday night!!


  

Good Reads - a membership for life and love

I love books. that is no mystery to the depth of my love for the novel.  I recently heard that Gilmore Girls may or may not be coming out with a movie.  However, my feelings are mixed.  This got me to thinking about Rory our common love for the written word.  She always had a book in hand...which then got me looking for the list of books (because not only do I love books but I love lists!).

http://buecherrad.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/rorys-bucherliste/

http://gilmoregirlsfanatic.com/2010/10/15/where-i-went-wrong-with-the-booklist/#comments

Both of the above links have Rory Gilmore's book list...and maybe instead of tackling the NY Times List (yawn!), I would attempt Rory's extensive list...and the plus side? Some of the books on the list are mandatory reads for my students. Fabulous!
I recently told a friend that once I blog about something I am going to do, I don't follow through....we were trying to figure out  why that is. Perhaps it's because I get it off my chest - I declare it to the world, and that is enough for me.....so I am hoping that THIS book list will be different (I am going to try a lil harder this time!)

*I joined the Rory Gilmore Book Club on Goodreads.com - so excited to meet people from all walks of life who enjoy reading and my favorite cancelled show!

The first book I am reading (I already had it shipped from a library nearby) is called The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorthy Parker.  I will keep you posted on it's fabulousness or not...

Boo-tiful cupcakes

Hallloween Party. I have one every year. We have yet to master the amount of food to make . It seems that in the past, we always have too much. WAY WAY WAY too much.  For example, we cook two trays of everything - and then we have leftovers for weeks and weeks.  Sometimes, we even have to throw food out...and it seems like such a waste! I hope that this year we have mastered the food situation.
But  what we really don't have a handle on is the amount of desserts to make or not make.....I always find some cupcake that peeks my interest - but not everyone is a cupcake eater (I can't believe this but it's true). If I had the time and the people around to eat them, these designs are adorable!

Not sure what I will go with - but I figured I will chose ONE design, since my usual MO is to make an overwhelming amount of work for myself hours before the party...and if not the party - I can always make these just for us!

Thank you Mister

Since I don't get to talk to my husband till we both get home from work, and sometimes that isn't until 7p.m. or later - I thought I would tell him thanks on my blog.

I had the BEST sandwich for lunch today. Yes - it is only 8:26a.m. and I already scarfed down my sandwich, but a girl's gotta eat!   I find that with my schedule, I can eat either at 8:15  or 2pm.  Doesn't leave me with any options....so I usually opt to have a lunchy breakfast. 

Last night, Mr. was taking requests of what he should make for lunch today. I was craving tuna on whole wheat toasted.  However, early this morning, he realized we didn't have tuna OR whole wheat.  What's a man to do?  That's right! He took  matters into his own hands and created the best wrap I have ever had this side of the river (mmm...what river? idk but its a phrase I think).

Cranberry Chicken Lettuce Wrap

He took chunks of chicken and mixed crasins,  mayo and celery.   Then he spread it over leaves of lettuce and wrapped it up like a gift.  It was delicious!!!

So the picture doesn't really do the sandwich justice, as now that I look at it, it resembles cat food...gross. I will wag my finger at my phone, because it doesn't take the best pictures...or maybe its the fabulous lighting at my work....But regardless you will have to trust me that it was delicious!!  

Hot diggity dog!

Only once a year, depending on where you live, can you get dressed up in costume and not be considered a fool (well...sort of.) There has never been a Halloween that I did not dress up for - whether it was a bee, clown, Frankenstein's Bride, or the Queen of Hearts - Come the month of October, my brain is on disguise mode.      Now that we have a little puppy in house, a costume for her only seems fitting.  I don't mean her to wear it for 31 days straight, but when I answer the door on Halloween  day, she will be at my heels dressed as something...and not just her adorable self.  My husband finds this idea a new form of torture, but I am convinced she will be fine.  Besides, she gets upset when you take off her collar - and at the sight of a blanket, she wraps up herself.  Not much different! (okay okay. I realize there is a difference but  let me have this one day!)

Not all of the costumes below would work, because our dog is a little ball of fur (she is a 5year old Shitszu who thinks she a puppy romping around).  But in my search for the perfect getup, I found some outfits that  were funny or creative.

**This picture is my friend's dog! How cute! (After reading the blog, she sent me the picture!!)

Thanks Paola for sending me Nina's threads :)

I started to notice that I liked the ones that made the dog look like a pony....weird.

But alas, and though I giggled while searching for dog costumes - the one I am stuck on reminds me of a movie I watched as a kid - The Ewoks. Our dog's face looks just like an Ewok, and though an official costumes does not exist - I can imagine it is not that hard to create. All you really need is a piece of thin leather and brown fabric for the hood.  

 I love it. I don't care if its torture.....she will totally rock her ewok hoodie! Now the true form of torture will be me trying to tackle the sewing machine.....

Have you decked out your pet for the holidays?  Please don't judge me :)

Welcome to my home - come in my pretties

I take special pride in decorating for the holidays, so I wanted to show you the outside of our house BEFORE my husband thought it was a good time to rip off our aluminum siding. I am so psyched for the project to be complete, because hopefully it will reveal the original cedar shakes!  We are hoping to restore our house back to the original look of the 1920s - yes, but with a graveyard in the front.

If your least favorite movie is "Arachnophobia", our house is not the place to visit! We have HUGE spiders crawling all over....these are my absolute favorite! They hang around corners, and look like they are trying to break in!! eeek!

Who knew the trees in our yard casted such shadows!

I love the graveyard and how it turned out this year.  After I took this picture, we finally filled a wheelbarrow up with leftover dirt, and stuck a few skull heads (yup, who doesn't have those lying around!) and a shovel in it.  Looks like we stopped a grave robbing!

My husband a few years ago made the fencing for Halloween - complete with gargoyles.  

We took plywood and cut them to make pillars. Then we taped off the pillars and spray-painted brick work.  Mr. took piping and bought fencing.  We get so many compliments! Some people even think we should have it up year around!! (Not so sure about that......)

Who really wants this guy lurking around your property?  My husband's favorite cartoon was Gargoyles, so it made me happy that we were able to find some that looked as creepy as in the cartoon!!

And a yard isn't complete unless you have a furry beast. 

My favorite is our ferocious guard dog......

Alright, maybe not so ferocious....

Happy Decorating!!

Project #20something

3D Halloween Wreath

(adapted from Tatertots and Jelly)

What you Need
foam circle wreath (I used 14 inch)
ribbon (whatever color you would like)
wooden circles (this was the hardest to find!)
fun Halloween scrap booking paper
wooden ball dowels
orange paint

How to start
Wrap the foam with your choice color ribbon and pin it (I taped it but to look better, I would pin it!).
Then paint all the wooden circles and wooden dowels. I had 8 dowel balls and 18 wooden circles.  Glue the wooden dowels to painted side of the circle (so if the backside of your wreath shows it still is festive!).  Note that I did it backwards. oops!

I used Outdoor mod podge and glued circles of Halloweenie/fall scrap-booking paper on the wooden circles.

I figured out the pattern I wanted to place the circles on the wreath.  

I let it dry and then hung it up on my front porch!! Looks so cute! I would show you my porch, but we are residing our house and it's a disaster!

Halloween Movies to watch

She's Baaaaaack!
(I meant myself, but whenever I hear that phrase, I always think of Poltergeist!)

This week was a rough and tough one.  I feel like either I had a ton to do at work, or someone in the house wasn't feeling well - and between the doctor visits and a concussed child - the blog fell by the wayside.  That saddened me, and I honestly felt a little lost this week.  Mostly because I didn't have any "Me" time.  Granted, I did see a few friends, and I watched my favorite show, "Glee"  - but little writing was accomplished.

I can tell you that during the duration of sickness floating around  our house, lots and lots of movies were watched - which got me thinking.....I love scary movies! Well, that's a little lie. Because I don't really like them, they scare my socks right off! But I find myself during the colder months yearning to put in a frightening movie, and snuggle under the covers , barely watching the movie (because my hands are over my eyes!).  Nonetheless, it is something that of course reminds me of  Halloween, but also of the changing seasons.

Therefore, I came up with a list of movie to watch this month: Some frightening, some downright scary, others a bit odd...all relative to the month!

1. Return to Oz (the monkeys on skates and the headless woman scared  my 9 year old self 20 years ago!)
2. Rosemary's baby
3. Fallen
4. Sixth Sense
5. What Lies Beneath
6. Hocus Pocus
7. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
8. The Addams Family
9. Buffy the vampire Slayer
10. Monster Squad

11. The Burbs
12. Witches
13. Casper
14.Beetlejuice
15.  The Gate
16. Goosebumps!
17. Roseanne's Halloween
18. Ghostbusters
19. Creepshow
20.Twillight Zone
21. Night of the Creeps
22. Little Monsters
23. Ghoulies
24. Troll
25.  Lost Boys

I'll be honest here, I only put down  movies that I could realistically watch depending on the mood I'm in. Sometimes I am braver than I think...but all I know is I don't know if I can watch a  movie with scary creepy kids or corn fields or possessed anything anytime soon...I purposely picked more psychological thrillers and just corny movies, rather than blood and guts (I can't stomach that!).  For example, The Ring - probably the scariest movie I have ever seen, and I will NEVER watch it again. EVER. I also realized that most of my movies are from 1980s. Couldn't help myself! On that note, I am heading to Blockbusters to pick up some classics, swing by liquor store for a bottle of red, and then  warming up to my couch!
Perfect afternoon!

13 Halloween books to read with your children

I remember as a child, every holiday big or small, reading a holiday book. I still have my collection, under our bed in a tupperware container, ready to be read by my own children.  But that doesn't stop me from looking at at other holiday books for future reference!

Top 13 Halloween  Books for lil Ones

   

Frankenstein Takes the Cake is an assemblage of horror movies, literature works, comic strips, and observations of how people (monsters) behave in situations.  Very cute!

The Monsterologist is an engaging rhyme,where the monster master tells all about Count Dracula and dishes on trolls, ghosts, witches, ogres, and myriad mythological and literary creatures!

The Ugly Pumpkin  - The cover is so adorable, I couldn't help but post about it! Same tune of the Ugly Duckling. 

Goodnight Goon is a parody of Goodnight Moon, where a little monster lays in bed and says goodnight to everything!

Young Wizards Handbook - project based book on how to act like a wizard :)

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything was my favorite book as a kid during Halloween time! A little lady stands up to some scary situations and never appears scared - even when Halloween tries its hardest. 

The Teeny Tiny Woman -LOVED this book as a child, about the tiniest woman never being scared. 

Halloween Bugs -pop-up book with whimsical creatures and insects haunting different places. 

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a Halloween classic! Though we mostly watch the cartoon, the book is just as good!

The Monster Who Ate Darkness - an adorable unscary monster likes the taste of darkness, and tries to eat it up - causing sunny days only :)

Halloween at the Zoo Pop Up Book - What would happen if the zoo and Halloween collided? This book!

By the Light of the Halloween Moon - a tale of a series of beasties and witches that nibble at children's toes hanging over the bed at night (I think if I read this as a child, I never would have gone to bed!)

Room on the Broom is a fun story about a little witch who keeps loosing things, but gaining animal friends on her broom. 

Happy Reading!