Happy Halloween!

The evolution of our pumpkin (with help from our friend Jeff):

Go Gators!

October Snow

What's all this blue stuff on our weather radar?

Yep, you got it... SNOW... on Oct. 29.  What were we thinking when we moved to the weather twilight zone also known as DC?  After four months we've had an earthquake, a hurricane, and snow in October.  What's next?

We spent the day with our friends who live near Baltimore.  This video shows what the weather looked like for nearly all of the afternoon.

Luckily, we were celebrating German Fest (a holiday that Colleen and I made up last week to coincide with the Florida/Georgia game) so we had an amazing assortment of hot, delicious dishes to keep us warm.  I challenge you not to drool as you read the menu:

- bratwurst

- apple sausage

- warm potato salad

- red and white cabbage

- spaetzle with mushroom gravy

- apple strudel

Guten Appetit!

Cooking Resources

I've recently found a couple of exciting cooking resources on the web.  The first is Foodbuzz.

The Foodbuzz main page highlights the most popular posts by food bloggers.  Top picks are based on how many people have decided to "buzz" it.  I especially like the Top 9 dishes which are updated daily.

If you're looking for a specific type of food blog, you can check out the 2011 Foodbuzz Blog Awards Nominees.  Topics include healthy living, baking and pastry, general cooking, and more.  I have especially enjoyed looking at the Best Photography nominees... who doesn't love awesome photos of beautiful home-cooking?!

The second resource I've found was posted by one of the Foodbuzz bloggers, Brown Eyed Baker.  She compiled a list of her 150 favorite fall recipes, which is broken down into categories.  When I think of fall food, I usually think of baked goods that use pumpkin.  And although some of these are on the list, there are also a lot of main dishes, side dishes, and appetizers.

I don't know about you, but the Italian Sausage, Red Pepper, and Mushroom Risotto looks to me like a big bowl of warmth on a chilly fall day.

www.browneyedbaker.com photo

Happy cooking!

YouTube

I feel like I should be in a commercial for YouTube.  By watching videos posted to YouTube, I learned how to knit a scarf!

I had a round loom that had been sitting in the closet for a while. 

I had previously used to it make winter hats.  Mine didn't have beards attached, but what a brilliant idea!

When I started doing research about things I could make on the loom other than hats, I came across a video showing how to knit a scarf.  So I tried it.  And I made a one-strand periwinkle scarf.

Then after reading responses to the video, I saw someone mention using two strands to make a thicker scarf. So I tried it, too.  And I made a thicker blue and grey scarf.

I'm pretty excited about this new use for the loom.  Not only is it MUCH less time consuming than making hats, I feel like it's something more useful.

Autumn Wreath

Using supplies from the craft store, I made an autumn wreath for our front door.

Here's what I bought:

- Grape vine wreath ($3.74 - includes 25% off promo)

- Sunflower garland ($1.79 - includes fall flowers sale + 25% off promo)

- Wrapped floral wire ($1.49 - includes 25% off promo)

I attached some wire to the top of the wreath (using the metal loop that the price tag was attached to) to hang it from the door.  Starting at the top, I secured one end of the garland using floral wire and then started wrapping it around the wreath.  After making sure the wraps were even, I secured the other end of the garland using floral wire.

After hanging the wreath on the door, I pulled off any of the sunflowers that ended up on the back side of the wreath (and prevented it from hanging flat against the door).  And there you have it... a five minute project that can easily be redecorated by simply changing the garland.

Total cost of project = $7.02.

Halloween Costume Planning

We've decided to wear the same costumes this year as we did when these photos were taken...

Super J!

A says, "I'm a mouse, duh!"

No, not really.