Halloween 'Hood Party

Yes, Halloween 2012 is now in the past, but I want to share some highlights from a party a few of us on my street organized in honor of the holiday. The majority of the effort was lead by, the King and Queen of Halloween themselves – The Sokolowskis, who, I might add, were responsible for the very idea of this spooky soiree! Everyone gathered in their front yard so the house you see in my pictures below actually belongs to them. Needless to say, the SPOOKolowskis go all out with their decorations, they even purchased a projector so we could all watch a Halloween movie displayed on the side of their house once the sun went down. And another neighbor took the time to decorate a trailer he hitched to the back of his truck with orange lights. He created seating with hay stacks where the kids proudly sat as they rode up and down the streets parading their costumes for all those whom we passed by. We were suppose to have a jack-o-lantern contest too, but never got around to that... we must have lost track of time due to all the fun we were having!

It goes without saying that I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such awesome families. I love getting together with my neighbors and hope we can make this an annual celebration!

 

Our fabulous hayride!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween dear readers!

Hope you've had a wonderful day, tricking and treating, dressing up, eating candy, having fun with little ones, or whatever else Halloween might mean to you. 

For today's post, I wanted to share some of what Halloween meant around these parts, in terms of decor that is.  ;-)

A look at our front door... some squashes, gourds, and pumpkins (in vintage iron baskets from happy place Scott's Antique Market) alongside some ceramic jack o'lanterns from Kroger and an autumnal berry wreath from Target a few years back and I'm good to go!

 

Foodies Love Food Trucks!

It seems like Food Trucks are all the rage these days. Foodies flock to them not for your usual hamburger and fries, but for a more cultural cuisine. You’re more likely to find a gourmet twist on tacos or an Asian fusion type of menu on one of these trucks rather than some boring hotdog. These chefs on wheels have put a whole new spin on the idea of street food and the masses are really taking to it. There is even a show dedicated to the concept on the Food Network called The Great Food Truck Race. My husband and I watch this from time to time. The good news is you can find a food truck in almost every major city. Atlanta finally came around to the idea too, opening a huge park on the westside of town. I haven’t been there yet, but I hear it’s really fun, attracting tons of trucks which offer a wide variety of food. This park in particular even hosts small concerts on the weekends. You can check out their site here.

Quick and easy - but still HOMEMADE - No Bake Cookies!

Y'all, today I want to share one of my favorite recipes, No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.  It's a favorite because the end result is so yummy, but it sure doesn't hurt that it's quick and easy to boot.  And not to mention - no baking required!!  I got this recipe some years ago from a dear friend and former co-worker, Donna.  Donna is just about one of the sweetest women I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and calling my dear friend, so it's fitting that she's the one who gave me this to-die-for sweets recipe.

Burt's Pumpkin Farm & The Cumming Country Fair and Festival all in a weekend... Oh and Zoo Atlanta too!

In the year of 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue... and who knows how the rest goes? Just glad they didn't have GPS back in those days or ole Columbus wouldn't have missed his mark by two or three oceans and most of us would agree that was a good thing. Geez, he really was no where close to India. Well happy Columbus Day everyone, hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Sorry my post is a little late, Lindsay and I like to have one out by Friday or Saturday if possible, but this weekend was a busy one for me. I actually got around to doing some of those Autumn activities I mentioned when I last blogged. You can read about those here. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the highlights/pictures from my weekend, we hit up 2 of the 5 places I mentioned – Burt's Pumpkin Farm and the Cumming Country Fair and Festival. And we're headed to Ellijay next weekend for some apple picking so my list is close to being checked off.

Fall Delights

In keeping with Catherine's post from last week about her favorite Fall things to do in the greater Atlanta area, I thought this week I would share some images I've been hoarding that are giving me oodles of inspiration this season as I start to decorate our home.  It doesn't hinder me in the least that we won't be getting cool weather for a few (to maybe even several) weeks, thanks to our mild Georgia weather.  I mean, I guess colorful leaves would be more fitting if I needed a sweater, but hey! you go with what you got.  ;o)

Most of these images are also featured on the "holiday decor" board of my Pinterest page, so if you want to follow me there, please do!  You can find me here.

My Top 5 Autumn Activities

Ahh Fall... brings about cooler weather, football, festivals, 'warm the soul' kind of food such as chili, and the aroma of those cinnamon brooms you buy at the grocery store fills the air. Of course, it helps that everyone is a little giddy knowing that the holidays are right around the corner which means a much needed break and more time spent with family and friends is on the way.

Who doesn't love Fall? It's my favorite time of the year!

Below is my Awesome Autumn Activities List and despite my cheesy title, I think you'll find this list is a 'cornucopia' of fun Fall things to do if living in the state of Georgia. ;) OK, that whole sentence was cheesy, but I just couldn't help myself. Anyway, I drafted an activities list for summertime (see that post here) and thought I'd do something similar for the cooler months. I hope you enjoy! :)

Burt's Pumpkin Patch

There are many great pumpkin patches to visit in Georgia, but this one has been around since I was a kid and it's my favorite for a number of reasons. One being that it's set in such a pretty location, the North Georgia Mountains. You have to drive over an hour to get there from Atlanta, but it's worth the trek because you really feel like you're out in the country, and you are! The mountains surround you as you walk through hoards of gourds. Ha! Seriously, there are thousands of these big, orange fruits sitting around - yes, pumpkins are actually classified as a fruit and not a vegetable. Burt's pumpkins really are beautiful. They come in all different sizes too, some of their big boys are around 150 lbs! Once you pick out your pumpkin and load it on to your wheelbarrow, you can buy some pumpkin baked goodies, take a hayride, purchase some indian corn, or bale of hay for your Fall decorations... what ever tickles your fancy. We took my daughter last year when she was around 9 or 10 months old and now that she's walking I can't wait to take her back!

Colorful Co-Ed Baby Shower

Wes grilled and Staci marinated this pork roast.  Yum!  Colorful hurricanes are from One King's Lane.  Y'all know how I love that site!  (And if you don't, check out my previous post on the ever-so-fabulous OKL here).

Happy weekend everyone!  Here in Georgia we are still experiencing gorgeous summery-fall weather (I made that word up, but I think it fits nicely), just perfect for heading outdoors and having some fun.  Just this morning, my son and I enjoyed watching my husband play tennis with his men's ALTA team.  It was beautiful out there (made even prettier by a Zing-Zang bloody mary).  And while my little one naps, I am itching to get back outside and tackle a little gardening.  But before I do that, I wanted to share some pics from a little soiree that my hubs and I co-hosted a few months ago.  This was an evening shindig we hosted alongside Staci and Alex (another couple we are close friends with), and it was for our dear friends Matt and Heather.  (Side note: Staci, Heather, and I have co-hosted a baby shower together before - it was a nautically-themed coed bash for friends expecting a little boy; you may remember that post, found here).  The reason for this particular party (besides having a swell ol' time, naturally) was to celebrate the then-upcoming arrival of Matt and Heather's little girl.  I am proud to report that at this point in time, their little pink bundle has arrived safe and sound, and she is now doing well and even sleeping through the night (almost!).

Pasta with Tomato and Almond Pesto from America's Test Kitchen

I'm on a recipe sharing kick and this week I want to share one from a public broadcasting TV show that my husband and I love. It's called America's Test Kitchen and you can find it on your PBS channel. I believe they've been on air for over 10 years now, but if you've never seen this show, then I highly recommend you catch an episode. They always demonstrate a recipe or two, but as the name suggests, they also test out different cooking equipment - blenders, specialty knives, toasters, etc as well as test various products. They also do blind taste testing on coffee blends or various peanut butter brands to see which one the audience prefers most. Needless to say, it's really interesting, very educational and the recipes you'll get from them are awesome!

 

Georgia on My Mind...

Hey y'all!

I hope that all our readers are having a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  (To reminisce on the meaning of the holiday and some other fun bits related to Labor Day, you can peruse my posts from last year here and here).  And on a side note, I simply cannot believe that a year has gone by since I wrote those.  It's so trite but so true - time flies when you're having fun, and it flies faster and faster the older you get...

True to the times a'flyin' thought, my family just returned from a wonderful week-long getaway to St. Simon's Island, Georgia.  I've been to this special place many times over the years, both with family and friends.  It's one of those places I hold near and dear to my heart.  This time, we stayed in the beautiful High Tide Cottage and loved it so much, we can't wait to go back and stay here again.  It's right on the beach on the southern side of the island, just up from the pier.   

Isn't she gorgeous??