Costumes 2012

In one of many Mom Fails I’ve committed over the last few (insert time measurement of choice), I forgot to bring the camera along on Halloween. We were Trick-or-Treating in my parents’ neighborhood and couldn’t just run home to get it, so that meant I didn’t get any good costume pictures of the kids.

Today I “made” them put their costumes back on so we could snap a few pictures.

 

Jacinta, put your dress down!

 

Silly sister.

 

We have Jacinta as a pirate, Ariadne as a ladybug and Veronica as a Jedi.

 

The ladybug has been a baby tradition in our house. All the girls have worn it, and it continues to be adorable.

 

Jacinta was given the choice of lion (which Veronica wore when she was two) or pirate (which we found last year at Goodwill). She chose pirate.

 

Argh!

 

I made this robe for Veronica, who had her heart set on being a Jedi. I originally intended to make her a tunic and pants as well, but that plan did not come to fruition.

 

On Halloween she was a good Jedi with a blue light saber, but today she decided to flirt with the dark side.

 

Ariadne didn’t bring a treat bag along, but Veronica and Jacinta had these. I used this tutorial (with some adjustments) to make them out of an old circle tablecloth that I bought by accident a couple years ago. They would have been easy and quick to make if my sewing machine hadn’t been acting up that day. It’s really my sewing machine’s fault that I forgot the camera on Halloween – I was so flustered when I was finally finished, and it was time to run out the door.

 

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

7 Holiday Recipes

 

For this week’s 7 Quick Takes, here’s some new (to us) holiday recipes we’ve made this fall and winter.

 

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1. Pumpkin Cornbread – A tasty variation of cornbread that is perfect for fall. Just be careful not to let it dry out, like I did the second time I made it. My oven seems to run a little hot, so I need to bake it for less time than the recipe calls for.

 

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2. Crispy Pumpkin Cookies – I love pumpkin cookies, but my husband is not a fan of how soft and chewy they are. Well, these cookies are the best of both the pumpkin-flavored and crispy cookie worlds.

 

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3. Candy Corn Bark – I saw several different variations of this recipe pop up all over Pinterest before Halloween. This version turned out fantastic! And I even found real white chocolate chips (made with cocoa butter instead of oil) at the grocery store. Super yum.

 

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4. Meringue Cookies – I have a lot of leftover egg whites from making ice cream (see below) and I decided to give meringues a try. I went with the Vanilla Rum flavor, it tastes great! Mine are definitely not as pretty, though.

 

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5. Peppermint Bark Fudge – I’ve been on a real peppermint kick lately, and this seemed like the perfect recipe to try to get my fix. So easy, and so good.

 

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6. Peppermint Ice Cream – Speaking of peppermint, one of my favorite holiday treats is Peppermint Ice Cream. I simply must have it around Christmas. Since my homemade ice cream has been turning out so well, I wanted to try my hand at making this holiday treat, and The Pioneer Woman came through for me as usual.

 

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7. Eggnog Ice Cream – Finally, a new favorite in our house, we discovered Eggnog Ice Cream last Christmas and fell in love. So, of course, I had to try my hand at this one as well. I used The Pioneer Woman’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream as a base (and cut back on the vanilla a bit), then added flavorings from this recipe. I did compensate for the difference in volume between the recipes, but I think I would even go a little heavier on the spices next time.

If you have a chance to try any of these, do it! They are all fantastic ways to celebrate the season.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Some Stuff

So I’ve been a little remiss in posting again. Life just gets going sometimes and before I know it it’s been almost a month since I put anything up. So, some stuff:

 

I said I would try to post pictures of our Halloween costumes, so here they are!

I made my pregnant skeleton costume following the directions on this blog. She certainly got the proportions better than I did, but it was fun trying freezer-paper stenciling for the first time.

Paul made himself an animal attack costume using some stuffed bears that we found at Goodwill. He just sewed them on some clothes and called himself a Zanesville Sherriff.

 

Here’s a better view of the attacking bears.

 

We inherited this dinosaur/dragon costume from my nephews, and to firmly cement it in the dragon camp I decided to make some wings. They turned out alright, but ended up a little heavy because I framed them with old coat hangers. I definitely would do them differently in retrospect. More like these bat wings. But with a split up the middle so the tail would still show. Veronica REALLY enjoyed being a dragon, and was not shy about letting people know what she was!

 

Last but not least, Jacinta was a chicken. I had originally planned on making her something, but we came across the chicken at Goodwill and just could NOT pass it up. The little tail when she walked…so adorable.

And that was Halloween!

 

I also realized that I never really finished up posting about our October trip to Wisconsin.

 

We pretty much spent the rest of the week relaxing and taking advantage of the great weather.

 

The girls loved being outside.

 

And hunting for dandelions became a favorite activity.

 

There was lots of time to spend with family, too.

 

The last day we were there it cooled off quite a bit, which meant we finally got to use the sweatshirts I had packed.

 

The cold didn’t keep us from one last run at the raspberry bushes.

 

It was a great trip!

 

Hopefully we’ll make it out there again soon.

But for now, this baby is due to arrive any day. Every day Veronica asks if this is the day her baby sister is coming. Soon enough, my dear!

Homemade Halloween

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I’ve always loved celebrating Halloween, and this year I decided to add some homemade touches to my Halloween décor.

 

First, these Pumpkin Votive Luminaries that I spotted on Dollar Store Crafts.

I picked up the votive holders at the dollar store (appropriately), and they worked great. Next, some Mod Podge, which will continue to be useful for future crafts. The hardest thing to find was the orange tissue paper. Apparently Halloween is not a good time to be looking for orange things.

Once I had everything assembled, the instructions for making the luminaries were really easy to follow. In no time I had my own! Very fun to make, and a great result.

 

Next, Trash Bag Spider Webs from How About Orange.

These were also easy to make, and cost absolutely nothing since we already had black trash bags on hand. Though she wasn’t kidding when she said they were slippery, you do have to be cautious when cutting them out. She managed to get hers to hold their shape better, but I think all in all they turned out pretty well.

 

I knew when I saw these paper bats from MADE that I just had to make them.

Though the other decorations weren’t hard, this one has all of them beat for simplicity. Just print out a bat template, and go to town on some black construction paper or cardstock. Voila! Bats. I think this turned out to be my favorite new decoration. I love the effect.

 

Last, but not least, a family tradition – Fan Ghosts.

I remember these from when I was a kid, they were always one of my favorite decorations. Usually, we made them out of napkins but this year I decided to try white trash bags for the shininess and translucency. I just cut out squares, put a cotton ball in the middle and tied them with string. A little black marker for the face, and done! Then hang them from the fan blades and watch them zoom around the room. It was hard to get a good picture of the action, but they are lots of fun.

 

We also had some homemade fun with our costumes, so hopefully I’ll get some good pictures to share when the girls go Trick or Treating tonight. Have a great Halloween!

“Cost-uhm” Fun

Ever since her birthday, when he was given to her as a gift by her cousins, Lion has been Veronica’s best friend.

 

They are inseparable. He goes where she goes. And while she sleeps with most of her stuffed animals, Lion gets the place of honor at her side.

So, naturally, we figured a lion would be a great costume choice for Halloween.

 

Veronica wasn’t too sure at first. It took some coaxing to get her into the “cost-uhm”.

 

Then we couldn’t get her back out of it.

She wore it often in the couple of weeks leading up to Halloween.

 

Finally the night arrived.

Sporting Veronica’s old ladybug costume, even Jacinta was impressed.

 

Or not.

 

Trick-or-treating was a big success. Veronica brought Lion with her, of course. They were a hit at every door.

 

And she did enjoy her treats. Before Mom and Dad swooped in and put them away out of reach. We believe in treat regulation.

Now the only question is…how can we top this next year?