Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope everyone is having a great holiday so far. Last year for Halloween we were in London on our honeymoon and went on a Jack the Ripper walking tour of London.

Tonight we will be ordering in pizza and enjoying other treats (see below) and watching Halloween themed movies (It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Hocus Pocus and Sleepy Hollow being among my favorites). Low key, but always fun.

we carved our pumpkins last night

wearing this shirt from shirt woot

candy corn rice krispy treats

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large dutch oven, add a 10 ounce bag of marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix in 6 cups of Rice Krispies and then press into greased 13x9x2 pan, scatter candy corn on top and press into the Rice Krispy Treats.

roasted pumpkin seeds

Separate seeds from pumpkin, rinse and then toast in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes. Toss with olive oil and seasonings of your choice, return to oven for another 20 minutes

with lawry's seasoning salt and freshly ground pepper

with cinnamon and sugar

What are you all up to this Halloween? Are you dressing up or taking kids trick or treating? Any other fun traditions?

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Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! Nothing too exciting going on here this weekend, which is a nice contrast to the past few busy weekends we've had. The only thing that really needs to get done is pumpkin carving, and then roasting the pumpkin seeds.

Halloween is just a few days away and I cannot wait! In the spirit of festivity, I wanted to share a video from L.A., where one house does some really elaborate decorations that are synced up to music. It's absolutely incredible:

What are you all up to this weekend? 

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Candy Corn Flavors

The bon appetit blog recently did a taste test of all the different flavors of candy corn. I had no idea so many different ones existed! Some of them sound promising (caramel and creme brulee), while others just sound plain odd (blackberry cobbler). I am perfectly happy to stick with original! Read what the experts thought here.

the variety of candy corn flavors

the classic

Have you tried other varieties of candy corn? Do you have a favorite?

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Baked Apples

Baked apples are one of my favorite treats in the fall, and they're so easy to make even if it's just for one, which makes them a perfect weeknight dessert when you want something warm and sweet.

For each apple you need:
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Wash apples and remove core so you have a good size "well" in each and place in baking dish (or individual dishes, I love the Le Creuset petite cocottes).

Mix together sugar, oats and cinnamon, pack the mixture into the apples and top each with a pat of butter.

Bake loosely covered in foil for 30 minutes at 350 (I use the toaster oven if I'm only making a couple). Uncover and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until top is a little golden brown.

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What's on my nails: OPI Warm & Fozzie

The OPI Muppets collection is finally available! The first color that I had to try was Warm & Fozzie (I have many more shades from this fabulous collection waiting in the wings to be tried), which is this gorgeous micro-glitter copper color with this very subtle pinkish sheen (I couldn't get it to show up in the photos), in the original photos of the color it looked like a shimmery beige, but it is so much better in person.

real life

original photo

What's on your nails today?

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First Anniversary!

A year ago today was our wedding day! I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by. To celebrate we've both taken the day off of work to relax, will be having dinner out and then ending the day with a piece of our wedding cake (I'm anxious to see how the cake has held up in the freezer) and champagne.

Our whole wedding was inspired by autumn in New England, and as I was revisiting our album I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures and details with you all :-)

my bouquet- black magic roses wrapped with some of the extra lace from my dress

with my ladies before the ceremony

warm apple cider and cider donuts for people to snack on before the ceremony

our guestbook - blank comic pages for people to fill in

us

the ceremony

maple syrup favors

view from the head table

first dance

our cake had three different flavors: lemon & raspberry, cannoli, and carrot

milk and cookie bar towards the end of the night

last photo of the day

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Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! My weekend is packed with a Smashing Pumpkins concert, a Food Truck Festival, a friend's birthday party, pumpkin picking and all sorts of errands and little things to do around the house! It will be a busy weekend, but lots of fun, and I'm really happy for the lovely fall weather that is in store.

Have you seen that Miss Piggy has a collaboration with MAC coming up in November? The photos that are coming out are so fun. The collection is going to consist of a pink eye shadow, a black penultimate liner and some great false lashes.

What are you all up to this weekend? Pin It

Sephora Friends & Family Sale

It's finally here! The Sephora Friends & Family Sale is now live! Click here to get your 20% off code. I'm using this opportunity to stock up on some of my basic items, and try some new fun stuff, like this magnetic nail polish (I'll of course post photos as soon as I try it):

Also, if you are a Beauty Insider, the 100 point perks right now are amazing, there's a selection of three different full size cleansers, I picked up a 12 oz Purity Made Simple (for free!).

Are you getting anything from the sale?

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Baguettes

I recently tried my hand (and bread machine) at some baguettes. I used the recipe in Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook which I got for my birthday, and am completely loving.

ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cup bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoon bread machine yeast

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

Add first five ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed or otherwise instructed in the manufacturer's guide. Set the machine to dough cycle.

After the dough cycle ends, move the dough to a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough over to get it fully coated in oil. Allow to rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled.

Punch down dough and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle (about 16 x 12 inches). Then cut the dough crosswise so you'll have two rectangles (approx 8 x 12 inches each). Tightly roll up the rectangles, pinch ends of the dough to seal and roll gently to help taper the ends. Place the two baguettes on a cookie sheet, slash the tops (either a few diagonal slashes or one long slash down the center), cover and let rise for another 30-40 minutes.

Bake in a 375 oven for 20-25 minutes

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And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who entered the October giveaway for a Bath and Body Works Spook-tacular Bag!

The winner of this month's giveaway is Alexandria from The Rolex Release! Congrats, I'll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing address. Pin It

Home Sick

Today I am at home sick with a really nasty cold I caught over the weekend, I'm spending the day sleeping, watching talk shows and movies, and drinking tons of fluids. I am so happy I have some of my mom's homemade matzoh ball soup in the freezer, it's one of the only things I want when I am sick.

What makes you feel better when you're sick? Pin It

Friday Fun: Evolution of the Geek

I love this flow chart of all the different types of geek, so I had to share it with all of you, isn't it hilarious?

What kind of geek are you?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Bath & Body Works Spook-tacular bag loaded with lots of great smelling goodies! Pin It

Crispy Potato Roast

Since seeing this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I knew it would be in my future. I finally acquired a mandoline (I don't know if I'd have made it otherwise, this tool was essential to me for this recipe, I would have hated thinly slicing all the potatoes) and knew I could wait no longer, I had to make the crispy potato roast. And it was wonderful, looked beautiful and was a perfect side dish.

ingredients:
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 shallots, thinly sliced
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
parsley

Preheat oven to 375

Mix together melted butter and olive oil and spread an even layer of it (about 1 tablespoon) on the bottom of your dish (I used a 9 inch pie plate), sprinkle with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Arrange your potato slices on their ends in the plate, you can make cool swirls or designs, I went for a sort of flower shape in the center. Then wedge slices of shallots between the potatoes, trying to disperse them as evenly as possible. Brush the whole thing with the remaining olive oil butter mixture and then season the top of the potatoes with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bake for 1 hour. After an hour sprinkle parsley over the top and return to oven for another 30 minutes or so until it is nice, brown and soft.

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The Guild and Buffy Limited Edition Jones Soda

Jones Soda, the company that has brought you flavors like Candy Corn and Turkey & Gravy has made some incredibly geek-tastic sodas. They have limited edition six packs featuring characters from The Guild (amazing web show, you should all watch it now) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 motion comic (they took season 8 of the Buffy comics and put them on DVD with voice actors so it's like a cartoon). The flavors for the packs are from their usual soda line, which is delicious: Blue Bubblegum, Rootbeer, Cola, FuFu Berry, Orange and Cream, Green Apple (my very favorite!), Strawberry Lime and Grape. I just love the design of the labels, they're so great!

photos from Jones

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Bath & Body Works Spook-tacular bag loaded with lots of great smelling goodies!

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What's on my nails: Chanel Black Pearl

This is from the spring line, but I am liking it best for fall and winter, Chanel Black Pearl is the exact color of a black pearl, it has a bit of a greenish blue cast to it and is just an overall lovely color with a great shimmer to it

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Bath & Body Works Spook-tacular bag loaded with lots of great smelling goodies! Pin It

Cranberry Harvest Celebration

The Cranberry Harvest Celebration yesterday was awesome. We went with my brother in law Dan and his girlfriend Liz and spent the day enjoying great food, cranberries and beautiful weather (though a bit warm for October, in my opinion!).

deep fried oreos

deep fried reese's

deep fried snickers

cranberry cider donuts

ocean spray booth with a mini bog, giant bottle and lots of delicious juice samples

harpoon cranberry ale

liz and i made our own mini bogs

harvesting the cranberries

frog on a bog

bog

fresh cranberries

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Bath & Body Works Spook-tacular bag loaded with lots of great smelling goodies! Pin It

Have a lovely weekend!

Happy Friday! I am so happy to have a long weekend due to Columbus Day! Tonight at sundown is the start of Yom Kippur (Jewish day of atonement), which goes through sundown tomorrow. To those observing, G’mar Chatima Tovah, and I hope you have a meaningful and easy fast.

Tomorrow night, two of our friends are getting married, which will be a fun and joyous way to break the fast (though I will definitely miss breaking the fast with my mom's cooking, it's always my favorite meal). We are also hoping to get to the Cranberry Harvest Celebration on Sunday, and no plans for Monday except maybe some cooking with the cranberries we get on Sunday! If you have any great recipes for fresh cranberries, send them my way :-)

What are you up to this weekend?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Bath & Body Works Spook-tacular bag loaded with lots of great smelling goodies!

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Brown Sugar Apple Pie

I'm still fairly inundated with apples from going to the orchard awhile ago, pie was the answer. My grandparents sent me a cookbook of variations on apple pie recipes, so I went there for inspiration.

adapted from Apple Pie: 100 Delicious and Decidedly Different Recipes for America's Favorite Pie

ingredients:
crust dough (your favorite recipe, or store bought)
6 apples, peeled and slice (about 7-8 cups)
1/2 dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
milk
vanilla sugar (can also use regular granulated)

Roll out bottom crust and line bottom of pan, keep pie dough in the fridge while preparing the filling for the pie.

Mix together apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Put into bottom pie crust, then dot the top with bits of butter.

Cover with top crust, seal and flute edges, cut steam vents.  I also added a few decorative leaf shapes of dough. Brush crust with milk and then dust with vanilla sugar.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, then lower temperature to 375, move pie onto a baking sheet and then continue to bake for another 30 minutes.

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