Halloweens Past~

Happy Halloween!



Pink Swan
2010

Cheerleader

2009

Little Bo Peep

2008

Have a fun and safe night!!

Kickin Cowgirl!

Lucy borrowed these CUTE cowboy boots from her friend Camryn for her Halloween costume :), and so she decided to go as a Cowgirl to her Pumpkin Carving Party...cute and easy!

I think evey Cowgirl needs a little leopard...don't you??

Seriously though...these boots are now on our MUST HAVE list....love!!!

Yee Haw!!

Pumpkin Patch~

It is a gorgeous fall day here today

Lucy is going to a friend's Pumpkin Carving Party this afternoon...

and we needed a pumpkin :)

so, the two of us went on a little date to the pumpkin patch

...and she found a perfect little pumpkin!

here's a hint...

If you are on facebook, I mentioned what Lucy is going to be for Halloween

if not....

here's a hint :)

Violated

A few days ago, someone came into our home, while we were sleeping and stole my Macbook

MY Macbook...it was MINE

Toby bought it for me 3 years ago for my birthday, and I loved it...I had begun to use it as my personal filing system

It had everything on it...all my pictures, all the videos I had taken of Lucy since she came home, all our passwords, all my inspiration files, all my recipe files

I just can't get over it

I can't get over the fact that someone was in OUR home while we were sleeping

and

I just can't get over the fact that someone stole MY memories~

Pumpkin Pie Popcorn {In My Kitchen}

I really have NO idea how I stumbled on this recipe from Family Bites, but let me just say...

I am SO glad I did!

Pumpkin Pie Popcorn!

I am NOT kidding...you MUST try this

(are the CAPITAL words getting my point across :)

It is a delicious caramel popcorn with a hint pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Pie Popcorn 

• 10 cups air popped popcorn, salted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syurp
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Coat a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and dump the popcorn into the bowl, taking care to pick out and discard any unpopped kernels.In a medium saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and 2 tablespoons of water.

Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer, whisking often, and bring to a boil.  Allow the mixture to boil for about 2 minutes, whisking occasionally. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the baking soda and pumpkin pie spice.

Quickly pour the hot caramel over the popcorn. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn, taking care to distribute it as evenly as you can. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring and turning the popcorn with a spatula every 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Gently break up the popcorn, and serve.

**I made two batches of popcorn in my Whirly pop, and it was the perfect amount**
**I only put in 1t of pumpkin pie spice, so it wouldn't overwhelm my kids :)**

I dare you to not eat the whole batch!!

I'm a little obsessed with Pumpkins :)

I have gone a little crazy with the pumpkins this year :)

Every time I walk into a grocery store...I look to see what they might have

Cinderella pumpkins have always been one of my favorites, and so are ghost pumpkins, but the many colors and shapes of squash are so fun too!

Yesterday, I stopped in Walmart and they had a big box of unusual looking pumpkins :), and my cart on "auto pilot" headed right for them...I found the one below

and I loved this one because it looks EXACTLY like a faux pumpkin I already have!

And to think, we haven't even been to the pumpkin patch yet :)

My Fall Porch

I love Fall

I love porches decorated for Fall

❖

Here is mine this year!

HERE is 2010

❖

HERE is 2009

Wordless Wednesday~

Rain Rain Go Away~

This October is marked as being one of the wettest on record here in the Pacific Northwest...no big surprise really.

I have a first grader to walk to and from the bus stop, which means my umbrella is getting lots of use... so I started hunting around for fun umbrella stands.

Here are some I found...

I really LOVE this boot stand from
ZGallerie

via

Owls are quite the rage right now...LOVE it!

via

I found these two photos on Pinterest...

both cute DIY options with metal buckets

CUTE riding boot stand also from 

ZGallerie

via

This is another great DIY option...it was a stand found at a thrift store, painted and she added a monogram decal...LOVE it!

via

Do you have an umbrella stand??

My Niece and "Getting out of the Auto Zone"!!

My darling niece Makenna Riley was here with her Mama for a visit.

She loves to model for me, and once she gets going it just comes naturally.

Thank goodness I have this tree in my yard because it is my "go to" backdrop :)

I have so much to learn with my camera, and I am SO excited to be getting the opportunity to do so...I won a spot in Lisa's (The Long Road to China) photography class, 

"Get out of the auto zone"!!!

I have admired Lisa's photography skills for so long, and have wanted to take one of her classes.  She is so generous to offer a giveaway almost every session for a spot, and this time it was ME (and two other lucky ladies!!)

I am thrilled and cannot wait to switch that camera out of "auto"!!

Thank you so much Lisa!!

 (I really love how the tree is in focus in this pic, and MR is softly in the background)

(this is a shot I have wanted to duplicate so badly...I don't have the right lens to get it just right, but I love it anyway :)

LARA Bars {In My Kitchen}

I ♥ LARA Bars!

My friend Catie turned me on to these bars of goodness!

They are the perfect snack...gluten free, dairy free, soy free and Vegan

These sweet treats are made of basic natural ingredients, fruits and nuts...how much simpler could it be??

The only downside, is that they can be an expensive little habit :)...so with ingredients that simple, I decided to try making my own!!

I went with two of my favorites :)

❖

Cashew Cookie

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup whole pitted dates

(makes approx 4 bars)

~add cashews and dates to your food processor 

~blend until ground and mixture sticks together...you really don't want to chop too much so you still have some texture :)

~place mixture on plastic wrap and form into bars

❖ 

Cherry Pie

1/4 cup dried cranberries 

1/4 cup whole pitted dates

1/3 cup almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

(makes approx 4 bars)

** follow same directions as above**

~wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator to keep fresh!

If you have never had a LARA Bar, give them a try...
if you LOVE them, make your own!!