BOO!

Happy Halloween!  I have a confession.  I have never been big on the whole Halloween decorating thing.  Now, I do like looking at other people's decorations, I just haven't done the spooky decorating myself.  Well, until now. 

A few weeks ago we went over to a friend's house for dinner and they had a TON of Halloween decorations.  My kids LOVED it!  They kept saying, "LOOK!  More Halloween"  every time they would spy another jack-o-lantern or witch.

After that dinner party, I was asked.....okay, hounded on a daily basis if we could get some Halloween decorations.  So during my 'wicked Wednesday' spent with Ami, we made a pit stop at JoAnn's.  Everything happened to be 60% off!  Yay!  I ended up picking up quite a few things and they were cute!  Here are just a few of them...........

Okay, this candle eyeball is not so cute, but I liked it and I knew the kids would as well.

I just loved this wooden jack-0-lantern stand.

A jack-0-lantern candle holder.















A black jack-0-lantern candle holder....both sit on my fireplace mantle.

These scarecrows are so much fun aren't they?  All but the witch can be displayed until Thanksgiving.

I may not be big on the Halloween decorations until now, but I've always loved autumn decor.  Hey, and maybe these scarecrows will really scare the many crows we have hanging around our house!  Think it'll work?

And I think all of Paige's preschool creations make great decorations.  She had a ball taping them up to our sliding glass door.


I also found these cute little ceramic pumpkins and the tiny scarecrow at JoAnn's.

Gourds, squash and mini pumpkins are always an easy, inexpensive way to liven up your home decor for fall as well.

Paige is really into Halloween this year.  She adores dressing up in her Leopard costume and at her gymnastics class this past week, the kids were allowed to wear their costumes!   They also convert the upstairs waiting area into a Haunted House obstacle course for all the classes.  What fun for her and all her friends.

After her class, she was invited to one of her girlfriend's house for a little Halloween party.  Where they enjoyed mini sandwiches for lunch.

Caramel covered apple.

Veggies and dip.

They also got to decorate their own cupcakes.

Paige covered hers with sprinkles, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips.

They even created a trick - or - treat bag.

We don't get any trick-or-treaters where we live but we will go out trick-or-treating for an hour or so.  I think I'll bring some milk along to dilute all that sugary candy......not looking forward to the sugar high, especially on a school night!

My favorite treat by far this Halloween is that pumpkin fudge I bought at the Harvest Fair at the beginning of October.  YUM.

 

 

What's your favorite part of Halloween?

If you like dressing up your house for any occasion, you'll love visiting Censational Girl.  She has a ton of great fall ideas on her blog!

Happy Sunday!

Easy Pulled Pork for the World Series

Once again, we'll be watching our beloved S.F. Giants trying to get one step closer to their 1st World Series win.  No extra time needs to be taken away from game time to cook dinner so once again the slow cooker is in use.  This time, pulled pork.  A perfectly easy and delicious game day dinner.  Slow cooker recipes are my 'go to' meals in the winter time.

Here's what you need...............

Plus a pork butt {shoulder} roast.  This one was around 4 pounds.  I trimmed as much of the fat off of it as I could.  Placed it in the slow cooker.

I then mixed the ingredients above as per directions on the back of the McCormick package and poured it over the top of the pork butt covered it and set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.

Here's the ingredients of the McCormick's package, in case you're interested.

After 8 hours, it looks like this.

Then I shredded the entire thing with two forks.  At this point, the pork butt roast just falls apart.  Mix it all up really well and serve.

I served it up on hamburger buns.  Yum!

We also have a huge bag of grated mozzarella cheese in the fridge, so some of that became the topping.

Hope you get a chance to try this easy, delicious recipe.

Related posts you may enjoy:

Here's a more of a 'home made' recipe for slow cooker pulled pork.

Grill Thai Pork Tenderloin Cutlets

Maple Chili Glazed Pork Medallions

GO Giants!

Giant's logo from Google images

And if you haven't already seen this, Steve Perry joins in to his own song when it was played at the ball park the other night.  Gotta love when Steve Perry serenades the crowd!

Happy Saturday!

October Morning on the Dairy

It's mornings like this that I just have to stop and take in the surrounding beauty and be grateful for where and how I live on this dairy.  This morning, as I was getting Bryce's lunch ready for school, I happened to glance out the kitchen window and spotted this beautiful sunrise.  It wasn't early, about 7 a.m.  but I knew if I didn't just drop what I was doing, this beautiful salmon colored sunrise would be gone.  It only took a few moments to walk out the slide door, onto the deck and snap a couple of photos, hoping they would do what I was witnessing, justice.....of course they didn't.  It was much more vibrant in person.

And just like that, it was gone.  More clouds moved in and there was no sign of the sun for the rest of the day.

Another thing I'm grateful for, living on the dairy is all the wildlife that makes this land their home and the fact that I am able to have visual contact with it on a daily basis.  On the way back from dropping Bryce off at school, one of our resident Cooper's Hawks was perched on a branch on the side of the road that leads up to our house.  I was glad I had brought  my camera with me on the ride.



















I was able to snap two quick shots before my feathered friend flew off.

Happy Friday!

Trick or Treat? Tips to Help Keep Your Pet Safe for Halloween

I'm a pet lover.  I love my pup, Chloe {in the first photo below}.  I love my horse, Joey.  I love my ferrel cats, Dora and Diego, that live in our garage and I love ALL of our cows.  I know many of you are pet lovers as well and with Halloween right around the corner, it's sometimes hard to resist dressing up our furry friends in one of those irresistable costumes you find at the pet store.  But do they really like being dressed up?  Probably not.  So, if you do decide to dress your pet, here are some tips on how to keep your furry friend comfortable and safe on Halloween.

• Be sure that its costume doesn't interfere with the pet's ability to breathe, see, hear, move, or bark.

• Don't leave your pet outside unattended on Halloween (or on the days preceding or following this holiday). Halloween pranks committed against pets can be vicious, and black cats are particularly at risk.

• Halloween treats are for people, not pets. Candy wrappers and lollipop sticks can be hazardous if swallowed and chocolate can be poisonous for some types of pets.

• Keep pumpkins out of reach of curious noses and paws. Pets may knock over a lit pumpkin and cause a fire.

 
• Consider keeping your pet in a separate room, away from the door, when trick-or-treaters arrive. Strange people in even stranger clothes can frighten some pets.

• When you do answer the door for visitors, make sure that your pet doesn't suddenly head for the great outdoors. In case your pet does escape, make sure that it is wearing proper identification. Pets with identification are much more likely to be returned to their owners.

All photos, other than Chloes were found on Google images.

Happy Thursday!

Bobbing

You may wonder why Bryce is almost completely soaked as he's blowing out his six birthday candles.  Well, having a fall birthday, it's up in the air as far as which direction the weather will go.  If an outdoor party is planned, you definitely need some sort of back up.  The fall also stirs up various stories of autumn, Halloween and such.  I'm not sure if it was a story he had heard at school, or maybe some playground conversation that sparked the idea my six year old had for his birthday party activity......Bobbing For Apples. But where ever the idea came from......... 

His mind was set.

There was no discouraging him.

Rain or shine.

And this is how it all went down.

Lesson learned:  Don't buy the mongol sized apples that you would find at Costco for a six year old mouth.

Determination of the participants and anticipation of the spectators.

Darn it!

We witnessed many techniques on this evening.  Here' the diver down version.

One of Bryce's cousins came right up with an apple on the first try!

It ended up being an indoor activity due to rainy weather, which all worked out great!  My floor was super clean after it was all said and done.

The girl's technique: must wear a tutu while bobbing.

This is a total fun party activity for kids OR adults.....just have plenty of towels on hand.  If you're an adult reading this and planning an adult party, maybe beer bobbing!  What-da-ya-think?!  Pumpkin Ale?  [But always drink responsibly]

Happy Wednesday!