Kate wants to be Rapunzel, a witch, Mary Poppins, a princess, Tinker Bell (just like last year). She changes her mind about every 2 seconds. How much bribery will it take to get her to be Audrey Hepburn? I am willing to bribe a lot. Like off the charts.
I'd go for Lucy, too.
I have a new favorite salad. A salad that involves dried cranberries, goat cheese & sugared pecans. You can buy your own sugared pecans but they are so easy to make, you should just make them instead (famous last words.)
I've made sugared pecans a few times in my day and it seems like more recently I've been running into recipes where they allegedly claim that you can make sugared pecan's in a crock-pot. A crock-pot for crying out loud. 
The ingredients are basically the same but instead of hovering over a stove stirring and keeping a watchful eye, there is only the occasional stir that's needed over an approximate 2 hour time period. 
And in the end, you are left with crunchy, sweet, delicious sugared pecans.
Or so they say.
The crock-pot method totally did not work out as well as I thought it would. Maybe it was just me. I was putting them in the oven, trying to dry them out (the crock-pot never entirely got rid of all the liquid like the stove top typically does). In the end, they turned out, but I've got to simplify this process. I must, I must.
Just wanted to let you know that's not going to be happening anytime soon.
I have puking children who have a slight priority over sugaring pecan's.
Will it never end?
p.s don't forget you have 2 days to enter the contest 🙂
Last week some fellow bloggers & I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call with Better Homes & Gardens. We were able to get a preview of their Halloween & Fall content and got to hear about some exciting things they have happening on their site this season.
I wanted to share some of my favorite's with you. Because I know you all like to bake (you do like to bake, right?) BHG is having a Creative Halloween Dessert Photo Contest where you could win $250. They want pictures of your wackiest, creepiest, eeriest edibles! You can read all the contest rules and upload your photo's here. They are also having a Creative Thanksgiving Dessert Photo contest, click here to enter.
And (yes, there is more) they have generously offered to give (5) 1-year subscriptions of their magazine to my ever-faithful blog readers! So leave a comment, tell me what you love about Fall/Halloween and I'll pick 5 winners in a few days.
I love crisp cool air, sweaters, apple picking, pumpkins, changing leaves and caramel apple pie.
Halloween decorations started coming out today. Not sure what to do for our mantle but loving this:
More mantle inspiration found here.
Happy October!
xo
p.s. still no visit from the tooth fairy.
All photos in this post from BHG.
If you would have told me a week ago that Henry's tooth would still be stuck in his mouth, I would have never believed you (I am so naive at this tooth-loosing business).
Pops would tell him every time on the phone "keep that tooth in until I get home on Wednesday!" and well, he did. It's pretty loosey goosey. I keep threatening to tie a string around it and tie it to a door knob and slam it shut. You know, as any loving and kind mother would. Kate keeps threatening to throw a car at his mouth and laughs hysterically every time she suggests it (so does Henry). 
This is the little tooth fella that we made last weekend. When that tooth does decide to come out, it will go in the tooth & crossbones pouch (seen above). I'm debating on putting a little pocket on the back where the tooth fairy can leave a proper certificate and a small gift (i.e., not a $20 bill).
Henry had a lot of input with his tooth. He was adamant that it had a blue button eye, which he picked out himself. It ended up being so light on the felt that I had to use some gentle nudging to convince him to put a little brown felt circle behind it. We cut out several tooth & crossbones until we liked a size that was just right. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but it's a pretty good size, probably about 9" tall & 6" wide. Anyway, he was a hoot to make. Henry has a new friend that just moved in next door that has the most gorgeous red hair and who also kindly requested a tooth of his own (with matching red hair). I'm going to be honest, I'm totally excited to make more.
If you want to make your own tooth, there are a lot of tooth templates on line but I think this one is the best (and how cute is that tooth?)
I'm looking forward to the weekend. We are all feeling exhausted and I've come down with the most miserable head cold. The Halloween garb is definitely coming out though!
XO
I've been a long-time subscriber to Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP newsletter. I loved what she sent out today and wanted to share it with you:
**************************************
"Rosh Hashanah is an important time of the year; there are blessings available to every person during this time. It is the beginning of the lunar calendar year, and is therefore called the “head” (Rosh) or beginning of the Year (Hashanah). The Kabbalists also call this time the seed of the coming year. We know that the seed of a tree, even before it is planted, holds within it all the potential that the tree will become. It will take time even after the seed is planted for the tree to manifest its complete growth and potential. Nevertheless, the seed that was planted already determines much of what will grow and happen next. If you plant an apple seed, no matter what you do afterwards, you will not be able to grow an orange tree. This is what occurs on Rosh Hashanah; we are creating and planting the seeds for the coming year. We want to have a year filled with great blessings and happiness so we take the opportunity through our thoughts and actions now to draw all of the energy that we will manifest later. Everything that we do on the days of Rosh Hashanah (this Thursday and Friday) is meant to assist us in planting the right and best seeds for the blessings that we want and will need in the coming year.
Another beautiful teaching is that on this day everything is renewed. One of the greatest sources of unhappiness is that everything ages and becomes old. Usually we are more excited and in love in the beginning of a relationship than 10 years into the marriage. Many of the gifts that come into our lives are exciting and fulfilling in the beginning, but then they become old. Even if we still appreciate them, it is not usually with the same joy and vigor as in the beginning. But it does not have to be so. We can and are meant to renew ourselves, our relationships, our lives, and our blessings at least once a year. One of the gifts available to us on Rosh Hashanah is the ability to draw the energy of renewal to the important areas of our life. Think about the areas of your life that have become old, and blessings that you want to fulfill with the energy of renewal. Through this consciousness you draw the energy of newness into every area of your life.
There are many tools that we can use during the two days of Rosh Hashanah but there are two important connections that we can all make. The first is to take time during these two days and think about our past year, the good, the better, and the not so good. Then ask yourself, “What do I want to change from last year?”, “what do I want to make better?” Also, “what blessings do we want to draw for ourselves and our family in the next year?” The supernal gates open up during these two days and by opening ourselves up to the flow of light and energy from above we can receive endless blessings.
The second important connection is how we think and behave during Rosh Hashanah. If we desire to connect to the supernal energy that is revealed we should behave like the supernal light. We should act in only ways of sharing, forgiveness and care. No anger, no doubt, no jealousy, no sadness, at least for these two days. How we are during these two days will influence the next 363.
May we all be blessed with a wonderful new year and endless blessings for ourselves our families and the world. Shanah Tova."
Michael Berg is a Kabbalah scholar and author. He is the co-Director of The Kabbalah Centre.
*************************
Happy New Year to those who celebrate!
Henry has the day off of school and we are excited for a fun day together (which just happens to be at the happiest place on earth- wink, wink )
Now, go make some rugelach!
About an hour after I wrote that last post, the power company who had been working on the power lines behind our place cut our phone line. 5 days later I finally got my phone and internet back (I'm not even going to mention how productive I was during those 5 days…) I thought about blogging but Chris has my Mac-Book in New Jersey where he's working. Combined with a fishing trip he took before going to New Jersey, I think we've only seen him for a few hours over the past 2 weeks. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty sure the children are sick of me and me well, I'm tired. Really tired. Hat's off to single parents. It's a tough job. Henry told me tonight that he was keeping track in his mind of how many times I've raised my voice at him" Huh? Keeping track?? He told me it was 2. I'll take 2. 2 doesn't sound bad at all now, does it? Pop's is coming back this week. We are all counting the days/hours/minutes/seconds.
Henry has his first ever loose tooth so we are all preparing for that (there is a lot of preparing to do, incase you didn't know) He asked me today if I knew what the tooth fairy was going to make and leave for him. Doesn't he know the tooth fairy's sidekick is out of town? I'm happy he is expecting a handmade something. I think it's sweet. His friend who was over this week told him he gets $20 a tooth. Thanks, soon to be ex-friend. $20 a tooth??? I feel like I have to get this tooth thing right, it's going to set the precedence for the other teeth and the other children who lose teeth. He wants to know if the tooth fairy will leave a trail of glittery fairy dust like she did when Ivy lost her tooth at our house last Summer (of course). Today we finished a tooth-thing that has a little pocket that he can put his tooth in and put under his pillow for the tooth fairy (I'd show you but you know, my Mac is across the country) I think there should be a little certificate and….I don't know what else to make it special and magical.
This blog post is so boring with no photo's.
I'm leaving now.
After I dropped Henry off at school yesterday I took Kate & Charlie to Disneyland for few hours. It's the best time of year to be the. The crowds are minimal, the weather is cooling down and they are completely decked out in Halloween garb.
This fabric reminds me of something that belongs in the haunted mansion! When I was downtown last weekend, I completely geeked out when I saw it. Oh the possibilities! I'm thinking of using mine for a tablecloth, but wouldn't they make awesome drapes or pillows? Or even used as bunting. So many options, really. 
I bought the rest of the bolt because I thought you might like some, too! I bought everything they had and they weren't sure if they'd be getting more in or not. So there you go. If you don't want any, well, I have enough to make curtains for every room in my house :)
The fabric is a nice deep orange (it's looking really light in that top pic) with a raised black damask pattern.
I dusted off ye olde etsy shop and have the fabric listed there. It's $9.50 a yard and includes shipping.
The etsy listing is here.
Is it to early to go to our storage unit & get all the Halloween stuff out?
I say no!
I finally got around to it. The pillows. The old ones were so skanky. I think they were probably almost 10 years old and in major need of being replaced. They'd been spilled on, puked on, you name it. Pillows are so simple, too. I don't know what took me so long. Having all my family coming into town gave me just the kick I needed to complete a few last minute projects. 
Our living room is always on the darker side, so the colors in the pictures are a little funky plus I'm sure it didn't help that I took the pictures at 6:00 p.m. but whatev. The fabric is Dwell Studio which I found at JoAnn. Our couch is a brown chenille and we have 2 red side chairs so these serve both of those well. 
The patio chairs got a new coat of paint. You may remember these chairs. I bought them in the Summer of 2008 and while the cushions got some immediate attention the sad little chairs had to wait another 3 years. We got some good mileage out of those cushions but because they were'nt outdoor upholstery fabric they didn't last as long so they got re-covered about a year ago with a striped outdoor fabic (I thought I took a pic of this but guess I did not…) I don't know what the deal is with all the red lately. I ran out of spray paint so the chairs just need a little touch-up in some spots but other than that they are good to go.
Can you feel Fall right around the corner? While it's not technically Fall until next week, we've already been reading 'pumpkin' books at bedtime. Kate is anxious to hit the pumpkin patch and is already asking when we are going to make pumpkin pie (because it's her favorite, just like the girl in the story.) We are talking about Halloween costumes and I'm thinking it would be a good idea to start those now…even though I work so great under pressure (wink). I picked up some AWESOME Halloween fabric downtown last weekend. And lucky for you, I picked up some extra yardage which I'll throw in my etsy shop or somewhere. The fabric will be sold by the yard if you are interested. I'm not kidding when I say it's good. It's real nice, Clark.
I'm debating on doing another Fall/Halloween Craft night. Last year was so fun, but after an exhausting few weeks, I'm thinking there's now way. Who knows. You'll be the first to know : )
xo
(scanned from one of our photobooks from 2001)
Everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2011. We were living in Boston and I was on Boylston/Rte 9 in Brookline driving in to work. I remember hearing the news on the radio. I imagined it was a small cesna that hit the north tower and wondered how someone could have accidently hit one of the twin towers. I remember feeling so badly thinking that a family would be so devastated to have lost a loved one. When I arrived to work, the news started coming in and coming and coming. We were all sent home shortly after. Because 2 of the planes departed from Logan airport in Boston the entire city was evacuated. Chris worked downtown and took the subway to and from work everyday. I would be lying if I said I wasn't completley terrified that something would happen to him before he was able to get home.
A few days after 9/11 we went to New York City. It was devastating. I will never forget the smell of the city. The smell of burnt metal. Burnt everything. The towers were still smoking. People were still searching. The subway stops were covered floor to ceiling with missing posters. It was too much to take in. You can't process that much devastation.
At the time, I remember thinking that I wanted it to be 10 years from then so that we had all the puzzle pieces and could try understand what happened. We would know who did this. No one really knew anything early on; there was just a lot of fear and heartache and devastation.
I can't believe it's been 10 years. People close to what happened say it still feels like yesterday. The memories and loss are so clear & vivid, that it will always feel like it was just yesterday.
I love New York City. I will never forget the first time I traveled there in 1999. The city is amazing. Living in Boston meant we could go all the time. I would take the Amtrack down for work and Chris & I took many, many weekend and holiday trips there. I would say we've been there at least 20 or 30 times. Chris applied to film school at NYU and UCLA. I told him I'd be happy with either one. I am glad we came to UCLA, but it's no surprise if you've read this blog for any amount of time, that I desperately miss the east coast.
Today I am grateful for a city that is back on it's feet. For people who gave their lives. For the plan of salvation, that we will all be re-united in the afterlife. There is great comfort in that.
I'm loving this article as well.
XO
The first day of school consisted of: apple & cozy for the new teacher, 
photo with Marcus, 
the old monster backpack which was just a tempory one until we found the backpack of his dreams (which was found today, after the customary first day of school fro-yo from yogurtland, thank you Japanese Import Store), 
new name box (I realized I never showed the box from kindergarten on the first & last day of school- that thing got some good mileage!) Henry is completely obsessed with those astronaut clips on the side of his box. 
and the first day of school pic with new teacher, Ms. S. She's going to be great.
I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be a pretty good year.
