Happy Halloween!!!

October Foods

Ryan's grandma sent me a Martha Stewart link to very yummy fall/Halloween themed recipes. I highly recommend you take a gander here and here.

We had these yummy Monte Cristo Sandwiches:



And we'll see if I can get enough courage to make this Butternut Squash Risotto because it looks like heaven on a plate to me:



There's a little something for everyone, so please check it out.

I Never Ate My Candy

Is that weird? It was sooo important to get as much candy as we all possibly could, but then I hardly ate any of it. Maybe we just had a lot of bad candy in our neighborhood, but probably I was just picky. Ryan figured out when he was grounded from trick-or-treating one year that it's better to stay at home. The candy you're giving out is always the best, right? I mean, who buys candy they don't like? Sometimes he's a pretty bright one. Anyway, we ALWAYS give out Reese's. What do you give out?

Best Halloween Special Ever

Two Clever Halloween Projects

My friend over at My Kids Eat Off the Floor is a very crafty one. She posted about two great Halloween projects:

a spooky haunted house picture


a decorative pumpkin pillow


Please take a look. If you want to make them this year, you only have a couple of weeks left!

A Nice Costume

Lest anyone think I couldn't be something sweet and normal for Halloween:

See, there's nothing shameful in being an angel for Halloween. Side note: isn't he an adorable lion? Good thing he doesn't read my blog. Anyway, the point is that not ALL of my costumes were weird.







Errr...that one's not a costume. That was just everyday fashion at my house. No, I wasn't elected "most fashionable" at my high school. Why do you ask?

To Kill a Mocking Bird and General Conference

Okay, I promise Harper Lee and Conference relate both to each other and to October. At least in my head they do.

Since I was in between books, I decided to reread To Kill a Mockingbird. I fell in love with it all over again. Nobody likes to think that they are prejudiced . . . but I felt awfully humbled. How many judgments do I make on a daily basis? More than I care to admit. God really did make us ALL in His image, but I know I don't treat everyone that way. I should.

General Conference really impressed that upon me too. It seemed like 50% of the talks were related to love (loving God and loving our fellow man). President Monson is probably the greatest example I know of someone today who serves his neighbor. Harper Lee inspires me to respect everyone. Thomas S. Monson (and others like Dieter Uchtdorf) inspire me to love and care for everyone as well.

I haven't decided what to do exactly to love my neighbors more . . . but I will be thinking about it. What do you do to show love to your fellow man? Do you do volunteer work? Care for your spouse and children? Donate to a good cause?

Oh, and the reason that To Kill a Mocking Bird is October appropriate is that the big scene where Scout and Gem are attacked and finally meet Boo (hey, even that is Halloween-y!) is . . . on Halloween! It's a stretch, I know.

Leaves

In the scorching desert, we have to create our own autumn. One way we do that is by utilizing manufactured fall scents. We have a Wallflower (Ryan and I pick out the scents together. One time he tried to pick Calypso Caribbean something-or-other, and I vetoed that one) and also candles. My favorite was one by Illuminations, but alas, they are no more. I found my replacement though, and it may be even better:

Leaves is a bit of a misnomer though, since the scent in no way resembles the smell of leaves. It does, however, smell like spices and apples, and harvest berries. I love it. Anyway, I'm hoping for the same reaction from the trick-or-treaters as last year:

[doorbell rings]
Cute little girl: Trick--
[girl stops and sniffs air]
Cute little girl: Your house smells BEA-U-TI-FUL!

I totally gave her extra candy.

An Embarrassing Halloween Costume

I was thinking I might attract more readers using public self-shaming. Just kidding. But really, what was I thinking? Did I really associate "magic" with being cool???? Sadly, yes. Some other odd costumes included an astronaut and Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Oh, and my very most favorite: butterfly princess. What does that even mean? I guess I never really found my niche with Halloween costumes. Costumes are just too closely linked with fashion, and that's not my strong point either. The important thing, however, is that nobody made fun of me as a magician. At least not to my face. Unlike the time I was Scarlett O-Hara and everyone thought I was a saloon, ahem, special escort. That was true embarrassment. And I cried. And swore. Twice.

My Kind of Apples

Apples were never my favorite as a child. Yet, they've grown on me over the years, and I find myself craving a good apple this time of year. The BEST apples (and I am totally unbiased) are from Dixon's in Pena Blanca, NM. My kind uncle picked up a mailable box for me, and my thoughtful mother mailed them my way. I have to say, I am loving each one. I'd planned on making an apple crisp out of them . . . but I think I won't. I'll use grocery store apples for that. Dixon champagne apples deserve to be eaten just as God intended them. Another way I enjoy apples (again, I used store apples for this one too) is with onions. Odd, I know, but also delicious. I first found this recipe when I was subscribing to Taste of Home. I promise apples and onions will taste surprisingly better than you think. Hint: I add some white pepper and also nutmeg for extra depth.

How do you eat your apples?

An October Tradition

General Conference. Check it out here.

Orangey Things

I have decided to try something new with my blogging. For the month I will only post things relating to October. My first post will be to redirect you to my friend's blog. I hope she doesn't mind. In the blogging world I consider myself to be a bit sloppy and chaotic. Meredith is quite the opposite. Her blog is clean, refreshing, and lovely. Very fitting since her blog is Just Lovely. My favorite color is orange, which just happens to be a very October-appropriate color. Check out the lovely orange things she has found here.

October?

I am shocked (pleasantly) that it is October. Time flies faster and faster, it seems. And yet when I think of where I was in life a year ago, I'm even more shocked. Has it really only been ONE year? It feels like twenty.

Anyway, I am very excited about "autumn" (it's a relative term here in the desert). This Saturday I will be breaking out the Halloween decorations. At work my coworkers decided we should decorate our department like a witch's coven. Hmmm...having never seen one, I'm not sure how to do that. Any ideas?

I did volunteer to buy a plastic cauldron and make witch's brew--well, homemade root beer. . . I also feel a need to make cinnamon rolls and chili and spiced baked goods. I will be doing that this weekend as well. What do you do in October?