Turkey & cranberries, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes & marshmallows, green beans & fried onions and apple crumb pie & whipped cream have all been consumed.
Sat in front of the fireplace sipping coffee and admiring the holiday decor in this month’s Coastal Living {drool} and jotting down oodles of festive recipes and beverages.
Annual family ornaments have been purchased.
And, yes, Santa has been visited……TWICE!
We’ve already had SO much fun and it’s all just started.
It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
*****
I’ve learned that if you don’t scurry, take it all in early and enjoy EVERY minute, it’s gone.
Up until late last week I thought it was going to be a quiet weekend just cheering Jay along in the Santa Clarita Half Marathon tomorrow, but…
it started at 7:55 am yesterday when I dropped Elliott off at school and has not stopped.
In and out of the car running errands, visits with friends, dance class, birthday celebrations.
I feel like my house is out of control.
I have e-mails and phone calls to return.
Laundry to fold and put away.
Dishes in the sink.
But it’s OK because other things are coming together.
I am so excited to have made several “sales” and collected donations already for CCFA!
Thank you to all who have given and are now sporting a rosette on their cardigan or a clip in their hair.
Some new colors and more bangled bracelets coming up….along with some goodies for the {Fido} in your life! 😉
*****
Even though you know you have “more important” things to get done, never turn down the unexpected invitation that may come your way. It’s in these times that your children can spend hours running, laughing and frolicking with their pals and you can share much needed adult conversations with sweet friends over a cup of coffee {or something else!}.
So grateful for the UNEXPECTED this weekend.
Now, off to get some whole wheat pasta boiling for Jay’s race tomorrow!
Halloween was lots of fun, but I am pumpkin’d, witch’d, goblin’d and candied out!
I’m so glad I decided to dress up this year…it added so much to the night. I spent a grand total of $8 on our costumes this year ~ Elliott reused her dance recital costume, Holden borrowed his and I spent $5 on handcuffs and $3 on a cheetah print beanie that I fancied up with some orange rosettes to match my inmate threads!
A gal stopped me on the street and commented on my rosettes…why thank you! She asked me if I sell them…well, no I don’t, but maybe I should. Which got me thinking….stay tuned!
Getting back to trick-or-treating…we decided to go to our friends’ neighborhood this year as they have a street that goes all out and has haunted houses and stuff. There were swarms of people, my goodness!
Holden was finished before we even started:
10 minutes before we were to leave!
He rallied and we were on our way…
Perpetual mouthful of candy!
LOVE, love, love the red door on this house…
Holdy was always about 3 houses behind the group, but would catch up every now and then…
We had a great time and all was well and good until we got separated and Elliott began to worry about me {she was with her friends and my mom and Jay and I were with Holden}. Apparently she thought I was “lost” and then saw a Sheriff’s car and thought that maybe I’d gotten picked up since I told her I was an escaped inmate! Oops!
We had our annual Halloween chili and cornbread for dinner and enjoyed cobbler with the fresh peaches we picked a couple weeks ago. The cobbler was a breeze to make and turned out much better than I thought it would. Here is the recipe I followed.
We kept ours green, but you can add a touch of grenadine or blue curaçao to change up the color {as seen in the above pic}. Personally, I thought it was just fine the way it was. This is the perfect group cocktail to make in a big bowl with lots of ice and a ladle and people can serve themselves.
Already looking forward to next year and planning my costume! I’ve been missing out all these years…
It wasn’t an easy task, but we got little Dorothy to the yellow brick road this morning!
She apparently woke up on the wrong side of the bed {could’ve had something to do with a twister!?!} and didn’t want braids and complained of the costume itching…
But, she pulled it together and made the cutest little Dorothy Gale!
Complete with a green Toto…
Checking out a rainbow?
She’s sporting a little yellow rosette, too, to symbolize the yellow brick road!
And those shoes….
…there’s no place like {HOME}!
Meanwhile, Holden was parading around as a candy corn at his preschool…
*****
Click your heels three times, relax and fantasize a little on this gorgeous {85*} Thursday!
Well, it looks like it’s going to be a low maintenance Halloween.
Elliott wants to be a ballerina instead of Dorothy.
{wah!}
I really wanted her to skip around door-to-door in her ruby slippers and blue and white gingham dress, hair in braids and a little basket on her arm with Toto peeking out!
Oh well. She wants to wear her costume from June’s dance recital…
Remember this one?
I tried to tell her she could be a “Dorothy Ballerina” and wear a tutu under her blue and white gingham dress.
Uh. No. Not goin’ for it.
So a recycled dance recital ballerina it is!
Holdy will also be going green and recycling a hand-me-down chicken costume from Babystyle.
Man I miss that place. They had the BEST costumes.
Both my kiddos were the peacock….LOVED that one!
{Google Images}
Of course, he will be an organic, free range, grass fed chicken.
There you have it.
The Aspiras’ are reducing, reusing and recycling this Halloween.
Done and done.
Looking forward to our annual pot o chili and jalapeño cornbread muffins after we trick-or-treat. Searching for my goulish cocktail for this year…last year’s was more like a trick, not a treat.
