1. Boo! First and foremost, Happy Halloween! We’ve got a roast in the crockpot, pumpkin spice candles going, and a big ol bowl of treats ready for the kiddos 🙂 I am seriously counting down the hours until our neighborhood is swarming with littles all dressed up in their costumes, running from house to house collecting enough candy to keep the dentist in business for a lifetime. There’s just something so magical about Halloween, don’t you think? All of the make-believe and mystery brings out the childlike joy in everyone, not to mention how creative people get with their costumes, decor, and pumpkin carving. I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve seen this year. Oh, and speaking of pumpkins, is anyone else going to be watching It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on ABC tonight (7pm)?? We definitely wouldn’t miss it. Charlie Brown directly corresponds to the holiday season in my opinion, Halloween obviously being the grand commencement (even if it is 80 degrees and rainy outside). It’s the perfect way to kick the season off, so in just a few hours we will get Bree dressed up in the best costume I was able to fashion and hit the streets early to trick-or-treat with my niece and nephew before cozying up at home with a big bowl of roast, a mountain of candy [hopefully], and a little Charlie Brown.
2. Let’s Get Cookin’. Last weekend, the rain put a damper on my first round of mini sessions (bummer!) and left us with an entire day of doing what we wished, so we opted to get a jump start on making Bree’s first bites of solid food. I have been eagerly anticipating this milestone (we LOVE to cook) and assumed we would officially get the thumbs-up from our pediatrician this week at Bree’s checkup, so after a methodical trip to Whole Foods, we turned on the oven, fired up the double-boilers, and got to work. I won’t go into major detail (message me if you are interested) but in summary, we used recipes and tips from my Pinterest board and random Pinterest searching, steamed/baked everything the old fashioned way, pureed it all with our Magic Bullet, and portioned the food into freezer-safe containers that will hold up for 3 months. We did attempt to use a few different techniques and contraptions, but found that this method worked best for us in the end. I liked being able to quickly steam/bake items large or small, then puree them in containers that didn’t need to be washed in order to proceed with the next food item. Because the Magic Bullet comes with like 6 or 8 cups, I was able to keep the cooking flow going without having to break to wash — score! I am all about convenience, folks, and I HATE doing dishes 😉 Check out my Pinterest board for ideas, and my pal Ashley’s blog post for some great tips, recipes, and info on this FANTASTIC item she let me borrow. It made storing the food so darn convenient (and fun!). I can’t wait to cook up some more goodies for our girl!
3. Retail Intervention. I am addicted to shopping… for Bree. She has an entire closet FULL of stuff, not to mention a packed dresser and a big bin full of items she has already grown out of (hey — no judging!), and yet I can’t stop. I did a fantastic job when I was pregnant, purchasing a very small number of things here and there, mostly from consignment stores, but now that I have a little lovely girl to dress up, I can’t seem to stop myself from picking something up for her nearly every time I go into a store. I had to stop by Baby Gap Tuesday to return a sweater and walked out with two pairs of pants, two Halloween outfits (see photo below), two dresses, a corduroy one-piece, and two bows. What in the world?! Thanks a lot, 30% off sale... sigh. At least I always shop for a bargain and almost never pay full price…right?? That totally counts for something. Pinterest and Etsy sure don’t make it any easier either since I have been trying to put our outfits together for our fall photo session and in the process, have now become obsessed with…wait for it… baby shoes. Completely unnecessary, overpriced, may-wear-once-before-they-don’t-fit baby shoes. I haven’t actually purchased any, but boy have I browsed. And added to favorites. And clicked ‘add to cart’. I swear I wasn’t this bad when I only had myself to shop for. Help me. I beg you.
4. Photos >> Wall. I recently discovered an incredible little website while reading Jessica Garvin’s blog (which, by the way, is awesome and friggin’ hilarious!) that I just have to share with you. It’s called INK361 and is an Instagram Web interface that allows you to connect with others through photos, as well as easily PRINT your own Instagram images. They offer regular photos as well as canvases and metal prints, so there are tons of options for getting your photos off of your phone and onto your walls and shelves. I think I am going to give them a try so I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes 🙂 Have any of you ever used INK361? What company do you prefer for printing your Instagram photos??
5. Thread Tunes. In the spirit of the holiday, I thought I would leave you guys with a little number that is a Halloween classic: Michael Jackson’s Thriller 🙂
I hope you all have a spook-tacular night, and remember to stay safe 🙂
