Eggnapple Pumpkintini

So a few days ago I had this brilliant idea for a November project: 27 days of pumpkin! For every day leading up to Thanksgiving, I'd use pumpkin in at least one meal.

Scott immediately vetoed it. Party pooper.

But the more I thought of it, the more ideas I had. The more ideas I had, the more googling I did. Eventually, I just decided, "Patriarchy be damned!" Patriarchy being my husband, I guess.  Wifely submission and all that baloney. Down with it! It's a Pumpkinpalooza!

I set out to work on my bimonthly menu like I always do, planning out our meals for half of the month, between paychecks. Then I took each idea and either added pumpkin to the dish or added a pumpkin side. Or a pumpkin breakfast. Or a pumpkin dessert. And before I knew it, I had the first fifteen days of November planned out with pumpkin.

On the 1st day - today - I had BOOK CLUB scribbled across the calendar in purple marker. It was our Halloween meeting, with the costume theme "Literary Mash-Up". We were to dress up as two literary characters, mash-up style. We also bring food. Deliciously good food. I considered bringing some kind of pumpkin hors d'oeuvres like pumpkin dip, I thought, OR... I could do a pumpkin mash-up with alcohol.

I found several pumpkin martini recipes online, including this Pumpkin Pie Martini. I was all set to go with that one when my husband found me this Apple Pumpkintini recipe, which looked preferable in that it was a) easier and b) mocktini-able, for the pregnant ladies. It had been a crazy busy day, with Lolly's soccer game in the morning and Fifi's friend's birthday party in the afternoon, and a whole load of grocery list making and subsequent grocery shopping to get taken care of. I also needed to make dinner for the husband and kids too at some point, so "easier" was definitely better.

I had picked up all the necessary martini ingredients for my original recipe during my shopping trip in the afternoon, but when I switched to the Apple Pumpkintini recipe, I was suddenly in need of apple cider and ginger ale. Not to mention the vanilla vodka, which I simply hadn't had time to pick up yet. So after picking up Fifi from her party, I simultaneously made the family their dinner, hot glued some leaves to bobby pins for my costume, and packed the rest of the ingredients to take with me to book club. I threw on my costume and ran out the door, late as usual these days, and still in need of the last three ingredients.

It would have been simple enough to just go to Walmart or Kroger or any other neighborhood market to pick up these easy ingredients, but no. We live in a dry county, so I had to drive out of town to pick up my vanilla vodka. I went to the out-of-town liquor store first, clutching at hopes they'd maybe also have ginger ale and apple cider, saving me another trip to the supermarket. They had ginger ale but of course no apple cider. So I had to hit Walmart on my way to the party after all. While I was there, I impulse-bought a pumpkin pie to bring along, just in case my martinis were a bust.

All that to say, PLEASE, Arkansans, vote FOR Issue 4 and stop the dry county madness!! It makes me buy extra pumpkin pies which I then have to eat all by myself without sharing.

When I finally arrived at book club, I was greeted by several amazing mash-up characters like Hermione Who, Cat-niss Everdeen and Orange Is The New Jacob Black. I went as Where's Hester Prynne? in my Where's Wenda? costume, complete with leaves in my hair, a scarlet letter A on my chest, one sagging stocking and smeared lipstick. Saucy.

I began worrying that my pumpkintinis were going to be a mistake. There was homemade sangria and eggnog as well that both looked fantastic. However, it was good that I hadn't made the pumpkin dip I'd originally been thinking of, since both Pirate Cowboy and 50 Shades of Meredith Grey had both brought delicious variations of it. The world ain't big enough for THREE pumpkin dips.

Shaken, Not Stirred *

When it came time to make the first Apple Pumpkintini, I followed the recipe perfectly. I let our hostess, Mermaid Daisy Buchanan try the first taste. She made a polite face, and said it was "good", so I tried it myself to see if it was really that bad. It was... interesting. Tasted fine, but rather bland, not very sweet and not at all what I imagined. Very appley. So for my next attempt, I included the cinnamon sugar mixture in with the cocktail, rather than just sprinkling some on top or around the rim. That made a huge, sweet difference.

Then Hunger Game of Thrones made the key suggestion. "If you mix this with some of that eggnog, it's really good."

May the eggnog be ever in your favor. *

Interesting idea. So I poured some eggnog in my already shaken cocktail and BAM. That was it. It was delicious!

And thus the Eggnapple Pumpkintini was born. (Try saying that three times fast, or even once.)

Immortal Doctor, Underage Pupil... serving her was a moral dilemma. *

The rest of the night was great fun. We ate Halloween-inspired goodies, played Scattergories (I partnered with Michonne in Wonderland, and we *almost* won, losing by only one lousy point, dammit), and even briefly talked about the book, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion which was unanimously enjoyed by all (who read it).

I came home late (stopping by Walmart AGAIN to buy my own cocktail shaker and getting asked for my number by some late night Walmart stranger who thought I was dressed as a Christmas elf), and I made Scott his very first Eggnapple Pumpkintini. His verdict? Thumbs up. Not at all what he was expecting yet pleasantly surprised.

Velociraptors in an Opium Den Book Club *

Would I make it again? Yes. Without a doubt. It's very desserty though, very rich and creamy, so it wouldn't be an anytime sort of drink. But for a cold, cozy November night, definitely. For a Thanksgiving night cap, certainly, if you weren't already stuffed to your eyeballs with Thanksgiving dinner.


Eggnapple Pumpkintini
(Based on the Apple Pumpkintini recipe above)

Ingredients
2 1/2 tbsp pumpkin puree
6 tbsp apple cider
4 tbsp vanilla vodka
2 tbsp ginger ale
1 tsp cinnamon-sugar mixture (leaving some for rim)
4 tbsp eggnog, divided (I used Southern Comfort brand)
3-4 ice cubes.

Add all ingredients except eggnog into cocktail shaker and shake. Brush rim of two martini glasses with apple cider and dip in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pour out cocktail into two glasses and then add 2 tbsp of eggnog to each glass. Sip and relax in front of the fire.


* All starred photos:
Photo Credits go to Elizabeth Pollock, aka Orange Is The New Jacob Black

The Last 48 Hours in 10 Minutes

Yesterday was my last day of the October Dress Project. No, don't check your calendar, you aren't confused and neither am I.  Yesterday was the 30th, but I decided that this year, I'd end a day early to allow me to wear my Halloween costume all day today.

I wore The Dress as a pullover vest over a white button-up shirt (the silver dragon one) and jeans. I needed to dress comfortably and casually to chaperone Lolly's class field trip to the pumpkin patch. I had considered joining in with the kids' Western Day theme at school, but I don't actually own anything Western. Not even a pair of cowboy boots. Certainly not a hat.

I thought the field trip started first thing in the morning, so I got Jaguar and myself all ready to go straight to the pumpkin patch after dropping Fifi off at school. It turned out they weren't leaving until 10, however, so I took the already dressed opportunity to go run some errands, eat some breakfast with my boy and cast my mid-term vote.

Since I had Jaguar with me, I wasn't allowed to ride on the bus with the kindergarteners but had to follow behind in my car.  I thought the field trip was to the local pumpkin patch, so this was no problem. I followed the buses onto the freeway - which seemed a bit strange, but I figured, hey buses! Maybe too big for back roads? (Which makes no sense since buses take kids home on back roads.)  I followed them out of town and then out of the county... and off the Memphis exit... I began to wonder where on earth we were going and if I'd somehow managed to accidently follow the wrong school buses. I was running out of gas too. I called the school, while keeping a very close eye on the buses, to find out where we were going, in case I ran out of gas and needed to hitchhike. 

We went to Motley's Pumpkin Patch, about an hour out of town. I did not run out of gas, because my new car does magic.  I got to meet all the little kids in Lolly's class that she's always talking about, and I learned that I will never, ever become a primary school teacher. Keeping track of that many five year olds was pretty much the reason I will have to dye my roots in just a few weeks. Jaguar loved playing with all the big kids, and Lolly, well, I'd like to say she loved having her mummy there, but actually, she barely noticed me. Some of the kids clung to their parent chaperones, but not Lolly. She's my little social butterfly!  She even made it pretty clear that I was totally crimping her style by trying to sit next to her at lunch time.  I couldn't have been prouder. 

After the field trip, I drove back home to wait for Fifi to come off the school bus and take her straight back out to her first swim meet.  She was swimming in two events- 25 yard freestyle and 25 yard backstroke. She did great, and I was really proud of her. My favorite part was when the 50 yard freestyle boys were on their blocks, preparing to jump in, and they made a call for the next event participants to get ready.  Fifi, being in the next event, went to the other side of the pool where the 25 yard swimmers began, and, true to oblivious Fifi form, she failed to notice she was the only one standing there, and when the whistle blew for the boys, she jumped in too and started swimming towards them!  I jumped out of the bleachers and ran to the pool shouting for her to get out.  She looked up, trying to understand what was going on, and then it clicked. She swam back to me as the boy was almost on top of her - and unaware of her - and I grabbed her arm, pulling her out just as the boy kicked the end of the pool and pushed back to finish his race. It was hilarious! But don't mention it to Fifi, she was pretty embarrassed, poor wee thing. And this blog will remind her of that moment forever and ever.

After the swim meet, we raced - ha - home to make dinner before Trunk or Treat at one of the local churches.  I chopped and fried a gazillion vegetables for the world's fastest cream of red pepper soup ever, leaving an ungodly mess behind me, and practically shoved it down all our throats, wanting to make it to the Trunk or Treat on time.  Which, to me, meant 7 or 7.30.  Unfortunately, for the church organizing the event, that would have meant 6 because it ended at 7.30. By the time I'd realized my mistake, it was 7.  Without even dressing Jaguar in a costume, Scott and I chucked the kids in the car and sped off to the event.  We got there in enough time for the kids to collect a decent amount of candy and play some games before the good times rolled up and turned out the lights.  The girls were upset they never got to do everything, but by this time, I was so tired and so cranky that I didn't give a flying flip what they were upset about.

And that was yesterday.

*****

Today started at 4am when my alarm reminded me that I was working the 5am shift at the community center. I actually really enjoy the 5am shift, but after my exhausting yesterday, it was a bit much.  I wore my Where's Waldo? - or to be more exact, Where's Wenda? costume.  I love working at that time, because it's quiet and fairly empty at the community center at that time of morning.  Only the pre-work crowd go that early and a few senior citizens.  And all those senior citizens thought I was dressed up for Christmas like a candy cane. Where's Waldo? must've been after their time, or maybe my costume was just really bad.  The rest of the staff arrived at 8am and my boss even let me take a wee bit of time off to go to the Cardio Dance Party class that I usually attend on Fridays, meaning I didn't actually miss EVERY costume workout this week.  I didn't last long though... dancing in a denim mini-skirt and brown flats isn't very comfortable nor is it very safe. I left the class early to preserve both my health and dignity and went back to work.

After work, I picked up my son from the "babysitters" (our friends to be mentioned later), and we grabbed 50 cent corndogs from Sonic on our way to pick up some things at Sam's Club and attend the carnival at the assisted living building my mom works at. Jaguar was a very loveable gorilla. We only stayed for 30 minutes though, because I had to be back home in time for kids coming off the school bus. Busy busy.

And when they got off the school bus, I instructed them to all be super quiet and let me take a nap or I really would be a scary Halloween sight in just a couple of hours.

Our friend Mike and Alice brought their two cherubs over for trick or treating around our neighborhood.  Little Mikey was a skunk and Grace was a bat (which I only figured out after looking at these pictures later).  Fifi was a dead ballerina again, and Lolly put together an amazing Powerpuff Girl costume all by herself. I just added the makeup.  Scott was the banana to Jaguar's gorilla, and I continued to wander around wondering Where's Wenda's sanity?

And finally, after hitting up all the houses in the neighborhood and filling each kids bucket with about eight pounds of tooth decay, we piled back in the car for our second annual Trick or Treat at the Grandparents' Houses.  Fifirst we hit up my dad for some (more) candy and then we hit up my mom.  

Then this happened.

And after all the exhaustion of the last 48 hours, when by all rights I should've come home and crashed out on the sofa, somehow something crazy hit me and I sat down to balance six months of Pampered Chef accounts that I've been putting off for, well, six months.  

I can sleep when I'm dead.

Spook Week Interrupted (With Pictures)

My Spook Week hasn't gone quite as planned. I was going to dress up in costume for all my work-outs this week. I was going to join in with kids dress-up themes for this week's Red Ribbon week. I was going to make Halloween bentos every day.

Then I woke up at 3am on Sunday night with a funny feeling in my tummy... and the rest was history. I spent all day Monday either in bed sleeping or kneeling before the Porcelain Altar.

Thankfully, my wonderful husband worked from home that day to look after Jaguar for me, because I would NOT have been able to feed him or clothe him or keep him safe in the slightest possible way that day.  I was completely out of it. Oh, and Scott had to look after Lolly too, who also said she felt sick Monday morning and had to stay home from school. (She turned out to be okay, but she did sleep a fair bit.)

So I missed taking pictures of Fifi's All Red Day, and I missed wearing my Wonder Woman shirt-and-cape to Kickboxing. And I did not wear the October Dress, understandably.

Tuesday Scott had to go back to work, and I wasn't throwing up anymore, at least, but I still felt like limp pasta left lying in a cold colander. Unfortunately I couldn't even spend the day lying around feeling sorry for myself for being absolutely famished but unable to eat anything, because I had to take Jaguar into Little Rock for an appointment at the Children's Hospital. (He's fine. No worries. More about that later.) The appointment took much longer than planned, I felt nauseated yet starving the entire time, and my stupid ears kept popping. And it was raining, and I didn't know where I was going since I've never been there, so I ended up parking in the farthest parking lot away from the building. I did, at least, wear The Dress, in as comfortable a way as possible. Black leggings, black flats and a black running jacket.


That's me lying in my favorite chair at 10pm in a messy room feeling even more sorry for myself after working my five hour shift at work.

And in my daze of a morning, I missed taking a picture of Fifi's Inside-Out outfit, but I did at least get a picture of Lolly's 50's Day outfit. (For some reason, Kindergarten had a different theme.) I made that poodle skirt, by the way, though I messed up the waist measurements. Instead of halving the dress and cutting out a circle using the radius, I halved and measured out the whole diameter, making the waist hole twice as big as I should have. Math. Sheesh. Luckily, Velcro.


Then this morning, it was Fifi's turn to not feel well, so she stayed home in bed and missed Crazy Socks Day. Lolly wore my bones socks, and for some reason was really unhappy about it.


(Still, Scott can always make her laugh by making fun of her grumpy face.)


Today I'm feeling better, but since Fifi is home, I missed my workout again (in which *I* was going to wear the bones socks). However, I decided to still take Jaguar to his toddler class Halloween party, because I had to wear this Wonder Woman shirt at some point, and Jaguar loves his class - and his gorilla costume.




(I even tried to use a fan to get my cape to fly behind me, but it turns out it's hard to take a selfie on a timer and still get the cape to flap at precisely the right moment when the camera clicks.)

(It's also hard to get a two-year-old gorilla to stand still long enough to get any good pictures even without a timer. I did my best.)





And while I didn't make any Halloween bentos over last couple of days, I at least made one last week. I'll hopefully make them again tomorrow and Friday. Maybe.


Spook Week continues; two days left.

Halloween Week... And GO!

The Dress comes in two parts today. Early this morning Lolly had her soccer game, and it was cool outside when we left the house, so I wore The Dress over jeans and with a gray owl sweatshirt. It was a little bit of a cheat, since only a small strip of dress showed, but hey, it was 8am.

...Speaking of soccer, Lolly scored two goals this morning. After three seasons, I'd say she's finally starting to get it! I was a proud soccer mum today.

<<She's also not a half bad photographer. Could stand to grow a couple feet though.  Would do wonders for her perspective and angle work.

I love my owl sweatshirt (especially the ears on the hood), but by halfway through the game, it warmed up significantly, so I changed when I got home. I switched into my gray YES! t-shirt and my skeleton bones socks for heading into work.

That second image I think was some kind of Thriller face. Because of the bones socks.

It's Halloween week. We have a hard time in this house deciding on just one costume each year. With various activities to attend, including the school's week long dress-up theme days, we always end up with several costumes each. This morning Fifi had her Girl Scouts Fall Festival. All the other girls were mermaids and princesses. Fifi was...


... a dead ballerina. Alternatively a zombie ballerina. She kept switching back and forth. Either way, she was awesome. The idea was entirely her own. We happen to be very proud of our dead tiny dancer zombie girl.

I bought Jaguar's costume last year in the post-Halloween sale for $2. It fits perfectly this year. I was going to let him be Spiderman this year until I remembered the gorilla purchase. Still, when I saw this costume in the Dollar General for $10, I kind of lost my sense of practicality, and I bought it. I bought it without closely checking the size - it's a 4-6 year. Oops. Jaguar doesn't actually fit in it at all, but he sure loved running around the house in it yelling "MAN! MAN!"


It was too big for Jaguar, but it did, however, fit Lolly to a T.

Lolly was going to be a black cat - and she probably will still be one day this week - but she's now decided that she's going to be "Spider Girl" for Halloween.


And Jaguar still makes the cutest baby gorilla I've ever seen.

More Halloween costumes coming your way. I'll be here all week!

Ghosts of Halloweens Past

Fifi is my photographer today. Naturally she wanted me to pose with Mr Demon. The first picture she took would have been the best, but it was blurry.

I'm wearing The Dress to work this afternoon with the white shrug from yesterday (only wore it a couple hours anyway) with long black beaded necklace, black leg warmers and black and white striped peep-toe wedges. I also wave-curled my hair today, but it's already starting to fall. Next time I'll remember to mousse it before rolling!

Today, in honor of Halloween, I present you with the Ghosts of Halloweens Past. These are the ones I could find anyway, floating around in various corners of the internet.

The Craft with Sarah and Devon

Lara Croft with Paula, Maria, Heather and Elaine

Lara Croft

Tinkerbell with Captain Hook, a mermaid, and Tiger Lily

Dead Little Bo Peep (with TMNT Raphael Sheep) and hippie Amanda

TinyTalk Tooth Fairy

Wicked Witch of the East with Scott and Sarah (executioner and dead school girl?)

The imprints of bricks on my arm. From the house falling on me.

Dead bride with werewolf

Mavis from Hotel Transylvania

Harry Potter Movie extra

Little Kitty

Banana with Little Orphan Annie

Powerpuff Girl with French Kiss

"Mummy" (I was really pregnant)

Pregnant Cleopatra and Company