Friday, November 27, 2009

Have You Met My Newest Nephew?

He's quite the little turkey....



You can see more of his cuteness on his mommy's blog

Saturday, November 21, 2009

I'm Not Going To Dispute This...





In case you needed extra disincentive: H. Luiz presents his 8 Reasons to NOT go to LAW SCHOOL.
1. FINANCIAL SUICIDE

2. IF YOU’RE A CREATIVE PERSON, FORGET IT

3. THE “BREAKUP” RATE IS NEARLY 80%

4. THE BAR EXAM IS BRUTAL

5. TOP JOBS ARE HARD TO COME BY

6. INSANE HOURS

7. LAW PROFESSORS ARE A-HOLES

8. HARASSMENT BY FRIENDS SEEKING LEGAL ADVICE

And may I add FINANCIAL SUICIDE?

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Thankful For Thanksgiving Treats

Thanksgiving isn't my favorite holiday.  I admit it - even if that makes me a bad person.  Honestly I'd like to go from Halloween straight into Christmas, but apparently that's only acceptable for the retail industry.  It's not that I don't love the idea of being grateful for things, I try to do that every day; I guess I'm just not a huge Turkey/cranberry sauce/football fan.  Or maybe it's how depressingly dowdy pilgrim clothes are...  But, in the spirit of being grateful and all that, here are some things that make me smile a little bit brighter. 

Pumpkin Pie - one of my top 5 favorite desserts/sweet treats of all time:


Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Directions:
MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

FOR 2 SHALLOW PIES: substitute two 9-inch (2-cup volume) pie shells. Bake in preheated 425° F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pies test done.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (3,500 to 6,000 ft.): Deep-dish pie- extend second bake time to 55 to 60 minutes. Shallow pies- no change.


Raspberry Pretzel Salad - because it can't be Thanksgiving in my world without it:



Pretzel crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar
1 cube butter, melted
Mix and press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool.
Cream:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip
Blend together. Spread on top of pretzel crust. Refrigerate until cool.

Jello:
6 oz. raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 bag unsweetened raspberries
Dissolve jello in water. Add raspberries, stir. Pour over cream mixture. Refrigerate until set.

Note:
I like to top it with another layer of Cool Whip and garnish with whole raspberries.


Thanksgiving Game Night (no, I don't mean the football game) - given the choice, I'd probably vote for skipping dinner just to get to the game playing:





Thanksgiving Placecards:


Pocket Pie Molds From Williams Sonoma


Thanksgiving Fun at Pottery Barn Kids:



Cute Acorn Bites from Family Fun:


Ingredients:

Chocolate Frosting or Peanut Butter
Donuts
Crumbled Toffee
Pretzel

Instructions:
Frost a third or so of a plain or glazed doughnut hole with chocolate frosting or peanut butter.
Roll the frosted top in crumbled toffee (look for it in the baking section of grocery stores), then add a small piece of a pretzel for the stem.

Funny Turkey Cookies from Pillsbury and first seen on Gordon Gossip:

INGREDIENTS:

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 container (16 oz) chocolate creamy frosting
Candy corn
Orange decorating icing
Black decorating gel
Miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies as directed on roll. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
2. Spoon chocolate frosting into resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag. On each cookie, pipe frosting on outer edge of half of cookie. Arrange candy corn over frosting for feathers.
3. Pipe orange icing onto each cookie to resemble turkey face and feet. Use orange icing to attach baking bits to turkey face for eyes. Pipe black gel on baking bits for centers of eyes.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Most Amazing Kids' Costume I've Seen All Year!!!!



You HAVE to check out this costume giveaway.  I seriously want to hide Valerie's Minnie Mouse Costume (that she couldn't live without) and make her be The Queen of Hearts instead. 

Boo-tiful Food

Tessa and I have been busy getting ready for our First Annual Hallween Costume Party.  If you can make it, let me know and I'll get you the address and directions.  We're super excited and can't wait to see everyone there in their finest costumed attire!!! 



Additionally, I'm thinking about having a few people over to carve pumpkins this weekend.  I went searching for ideas for some festive Halloween fare.  As usual, I was inspired (and overwhelmed) by all the creative people out there.  Here are some of my favorites:

Spaghetti is cheap and easy and can feed a huge crowd.  I really like this idea from Jeane Benedict:



I also love these Witch's Hat Calzones from Better Homes and Gardens (Spotted on Gordon Gossip).



Also spotted on Gordon Gossip and originally from Food Network were these Vampire Blood Tomato Soup Test Tubes and Ghost Sandwiches



These two creations, Deadman's Meatloaf and Skeleton Dip, were found on Munchkins and Mayhem.  I may just have to try my first meatloaf (a scary thought in and of itself..).




This fun food is from Picky Palate:

Breadstick Mummy Dogs

Bug-apillar Banana Dude

Oozing Monster Apple Mouths


These Meatall Spiders and Mashed Potato Ghosts are available from Schwan's.


Finally, Martha always has something to add to any festive buffet:

Devilish Eggs and Spicy Bat Wings


Finally, we are planning to continue our tradition and make homemade rootbeer and potato doughnuts!!  I love the holidays.  Sigh...

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

It's Getting Hot In Here....

Let's heat up the fireplace wth some spooky Halloween decor:





















From HSN











From Richsir











Sunday, October 4, 2009

I Love Funny People

I read the FUNNIEST post today on one of my favorite blogs, My Sweet Savannah.  It is titled: ~random thoughts from people our age~.  I don't know how old she is, but I laughed and laughed and laughed.  Here are a few of my favorites.  You can find the entire post here.

1} More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

2} I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

4} There is a great need for sarcasm font.

6} I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

7} The only time I look forward to a red light is when I want to text.

8} Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.

9} I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

12} How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said or really care?

13} What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

18} Whenever I’m Facebook checking someone out and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Barbie Doll Dream House that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!

21} I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

What Will Your Windows Wear For Halloween?

They say windows are the eyes to a home, so let's pretty them up a little.  Whether your theme this year is dark and spooky, cutesy, or creepy crawly, here are some great ideas:















From ehow.com



Source Unknown




From Spirit Halloween Store






From ebay






Friday, October 2, 2009

We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Halloween Post For....

....the Beyonce dancing baby.  Because 2 million viewers can't be wrong, can they?

Friday, September 25, 2009

Halloween Topiaries

At the first hint of fall, my thoughts immediately jump to my second favorite day of the year, HALLOWEEN. I've been planning and scheming for weeks, but I've done my best to hold out until today. (Five weeks out is socially acceptable, right?)


So without further adieu, let's get this party started!


Up today are these adorable candy topiary trees I first spotted at Gordon Gossip, and which then sparked a ridiculously lengthy search for other sweet arrangements. After all this searching, I think I should give some thought to hosting an online Festival of Halloween Topiaries!






Of course, when called upon, Martha never disappoints:

Here's one from Curbly especially for candy corn lovers (you know you're out there):

It's not made of candy, but here's a super cute ribbon tree from Vacuuming In High heels and Pearls:




And while these trees aren't exactly Halloween themed, they would be really easy to adapt appropriately:


From HGTV










And one final idea from Martha Stewart.