Happy Halloween-iversary!

One year ago I married my best friend. I <3 m="m" p="p" you="you">

Happy Halloween-iversary!

Costume Kegger IV: party

 Green stoop light to let everyone know they are in the right place.

 Zombie Marge Simpson.

 Zombified Marge & Homer Simpson

 Punch that glows under the black light

 The drink menu

 M's "hand crafted" prop

The Dogfish Head Punkin keg that got kicked way too quickly.

Have you gone to or thrown any killer halloween parties? We'd love to hear about them. If you have photos, link them in your comment!

Costume Kegger IV: prep

 We didn't rake the yard because M thought it was more seasonal to keep the leaves for the party.

 Crime scene.

 Emmett and Styles totally confused by what we are doing outside...

 Kitchenaid full of bones.

 Rising from the grave....

 Back yard grave yard.

 Prepping for zombie makeup by adhering steel cut oats and toilet paper to my face with Elmer's glue.

 Bathroom blood bath

 Bathroom blood bath detail

 Bathroom blood bath detail

 Poisoned candy (not really)

 Cobwebbed entry way

Zombie make up applied.

Instafriday

 Being on my feet all day baking & going to the gym makes for massive back pain.

 Favorite animals.

 Maybe stole Trixie's bed!

This constructions SERIOUSLY messes up my Tuesday & Thursday commutes.

 Party props.

 Fell asleep while watching The Shining.

Morning cuddles are my favorite part of my days off.

Treat you self thursday

1. Zombie boy shirt

2. Zombie bookends

3. Zombie lip balms

4. Zombie Love Wedding Portrait

Currently

Loving: All of the Halloween decorations around town and in my own house. Pumpkin Spice scented candles. Feeling cozy in this cooler weather.

Listening: I've kind of been in a music funk lately. I need something new and inspiring to get me back into it.

Reading: Blogs and emails. Always.

Watching: Still trying to finish up 31 horror movies in 31 days with M. Looking forward to that beinf over soon so we can start the new seasons of The Walking Dead and Dexter!

Thinking about: Our Halloween party and our upcoming 1 year wedding anniversary!

 Stressing about: Our halloween party! Getting caught up on the book keeping for my shop.

Looking forward to: Our Halloween party! Having some extra time to work on and add to my shop and organize my home office mess. I'm feeling really motivated to get things done!

Making me happy: Cuddling with M & Emmett on the couch at night. Planning surprises and trying to keep my mouth shut about it. Talking about home improvements we need to get done in 2013.

Pumpkin Spice Macarons

 Gather your ingredients:

Almond Meal

Confectioner's sugar

Creme of Tartar

Eggs

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter

 In your mixer, whip 3 egg white and 1/4 teaspoon of creme of tartar on medium for 3 minutes, then on high for an additional 4 minutes.

 While your egg whites are beating, you can mix your dry ingredients: 1 cup almond meal, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. When your egg whites are done beating, you will fold in the dry ingredients, starting with half, then folding in the other half after the first in incorporated well. After everything is mixed together, put the mixture in a pastry bag and pipe 1 inch circles on your cookie sheet. I like to use the silicon pan liners, it helps the macarons bake more evenly.

 Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees and wait. Your little macarons need to rest before baking. At least 30 minutes, longer if it is humid. You will know when they are ready because you will be able to touch their tops without your finger sticking to them.

 Bake for 18 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Once cool, spread Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter on half of the macarons, then sandwhich them with the remaining half of the batch.

Voila! Enjoy!

Pumpkin picking

 This weekend we took a quick trip to Bowman's Orchard to go pumpkin picking. They had a small petting zoo set up with a few sheep and a couple of goats, so we had to stop over and say 'hi' before moving on to the pumpkins.

 Halloween is quickly approaching, so pickings were pretty slim. But even though the selection was small, they were all good quality with no soft spots!

 I contemplated choosing the siamese twin pumpkin (aka the butt pumpkin) but decided to go with something more traditional.