Creepy Halloween Dessert

We had a Halloween luncheon at work which included a dessert contest, if we wanted to enter. Food contest? I'm in.

I wanted to make something fun, but also something not too time-consuming. I found this awesome recipe online that was really easy and turned out super-creepy!

That's right, fingers!!! These were honestly hard to eat...they look so real, it was hard to bite into!

They announced the top 2 places on the dessert contest and...and...

...nothing. Nope, didn't win. Oh well! As they announced the winners, the lady announcing also said, "We did get a whole lot of comments about those creepy fingers!"

**As a side note, if you are allergic to peanut butter, sunbutter is a great substitution--that's what I used!**

The Ant Solution

Did I ever tell you all that we started getting ants in our kitchen in the spring? I was reminded of this just recently when I read Ellie's...er..."solution" to them on The Lying Cookbook. I started noticing an ant here, an ant there...usually just a few a day. Our counter top is black, so I would hardly even notice one until I went to reach for something and the ant would move. And there seemed to be no consistency in the ants...some were tiny, some were huge. All of them disgusted me and had no right to be in my kitchen, a place I love and hold so dear.

The solution? CAYENNE PEPPER!

My sister had told me once that cayenne pepper kept animals out of your potted plants if you sprinkle a little around the edges. I thought to myself, I wonder if it does the same for ants? It was worth a try, after all. I know there are ant sprays or different poisons you can put in your house for the ant to eat and take back to the other ants...but that still involves them coming into the house first, and I don't like that.

I wasn't exactly sure where the ants were coming from because I would see them anywhere in the kitchen, not just by one window or area. So I bought some cayenne pepper and sprinkled a solid line of it across the crack of the windows between the window and the window sill on the inside so that you can't even see it without looking down the crack. I did this to every window on the first floor.

The result? NO MORE ANTS! NOT ONE! I literally never saw another ant in the house after that day. I was completely shocked at the results. Everyone deserves to know about this miracle solution! I'm not sure if it's the spicy smell they don't like, or if they just see the line as a barrier they can't cross, but either way, it works! And the best part is that I realized my spice cabinet was really lacking without cayenne pepper and I use it all the time in my cooking now! I try not to think about ants when I use it.

Now, if I could only find a spice to get rid of those little spiders that make their webs in the corners of the house, or those camel crickets in the garage...

Retro Camera

So I discovered an app on my phone called Retro Camera (for Android) that puts a neat little frame and retro-look on your pictures. I was lying on the couch so I just pointed my phone up at the chandelier and took a picture...thought it turned out kind of cool! In fact, I thought it made several random things around my house look pretty cool.

24th Birthday

Yep, I turned 24! I hosted a jewelry party on the actual day since it was a Thursday and figured I didn't have anything better to do than get some free jewelry. :) On Friday, Ben's parents took us out to Porcini's, a really nice Italian restaurant (yes, the Rick Pitino scandal place). It was a fun night and a great end to a long week! Plus, I got to wear my new dress (birthday present from Ben's parents, Lindsay, and Emma)!

OK, so that picture is actually from the weekend before when I wore the dress to a wedding...but I didn't take one at the birthday dinner and I wanted to show it off.

If you come to my house, you will see the beautiful fall flower arrangement my mom made me for the front door...

...followed by the new pillow and vase full of flowers for the living room, from my sister...

...I might be wearing my new clothes (also from my sister)...or perhaps my new monogrammed apron and oven mitt (also from my parents)...cooking with my new kitchen utensils (also from Ben's parents)...perhaps making homemade ravioli with my new pasta roller, ravioli mold, and pasta drying stand (from Ben) with a recipe from my new cookbook (from Ellie). My family knows me well!

Thanks to everyone--I had a great birthday!

Family

My cousin Alison, her baby Katelyn, and my uncle Gary all came in town to visit a couple weekends ago and they stayed at my house. My cousin Missy also came and stayed at Jenn's house. It was a quick visit, but a great time, as usual. I couldn't help but take a bunch of pictures of my sweet little...uh...first cousin once removed?...second cousin?...not sure how we're related...but my cousin's sweet little daughter, we'll stick with that. :) She looks just like her daddy (sadly, he wasn't able to make the trip).

We had so much fun growing up, so many good memories...they live out of state, so whenever we got together it was always a blast! The last year has been a tough one for the family, but it's comforting to still be able to get together from time to time, reminisce, and celebrate the good things, like Katelyn! What a doll!

Bible Bowl

Ben and I have started leading a program at our church called Bible Bowl. It is a quick recall type program for 6th-12th graders. Ben and I met in this program in middle school, so needless to say, it is near and dear to our hearts. When the previous leader asked us to take over, we jumped at the opportunity to lead and serve in this way.

Leading Bible Bowl has been so much fun! Sure, there is a lot of work to be done behind the scenes, especially at the beginning of the year with registrations and everything. And it has taken several weeks to work out some of the kinks and organizational issues. And yes, since we are new, it is taking some time to get things set up just how we want them. And we still come up with different ideas for practice so things seem to change weekly. And...ok, so you get the point. But luckily, Lisa, who ran the program previously, is helping us out a lot with still taking care of most of the paperwork. Lisa ran the program for 7 years and has been involved for 15 years. She is one of the most godly women I know and her advice and guidance have been so needed and so appreciated! Plus, her daughter has been my best friend since 8th grade, and I know her whole family well from Bible Bowl and several family vacations I got to tag along on, so she is basically family to me, which makes the transition that much easier. And an extra bonus--she and her family just moved 1 mile away from me, so it makes it so easy to run to her house to drop off paperwork!! It seems like God has been working this whole thing out. That's just like him.

To start the year off, we had a cookout at our house for the Bible Bowlers and their families--complete with Wii, ping pong, corn hole, and food, of course. It went great, and it was also a really good way to meet the families and parents of the new players. We've been trying to make this year really fun for the players, especially since we have a lot of players in 6th grade who are just starting and we want them to really enjoy the program and stick around for years to come.

We feel so blessed to be in this position of leadership. Family and friends have been really supportive, offering encouraging words, giving financially, and giving of their time and talents. All of these things mean so much to us! We also know this role is a great responsibility, so we appreciate your prayers whenever you think about us.

Here's to a great year...and many more to come!

Florida!!

Yes, we finally made it to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida for Labor Day week! We actually left right after work on Friday (arriving in Florida at 3:15AM) and stayed through the following Friday. This was the third year in a row that we've been able to go to Florida for a family vacation with Ben's side of the family. The condos are right on the beach and the whole week is just spent totally relaxing, soaking up the sun, and getting some good, quality family time.

Everyday we would lug our camping chairs and cooler full of drinks and snacks to the big tent we had set up to sit under. And as you can probably tell from a lot of these pictures, we practically had the beach to ourselves. It couldn't get any better!

Snack time

Working hard

Beach babe

Breakfast at the Donut Hole

Pool time

Sand castle (sadly, I can't take credit for any of this...I only watched)

Reagan feeding the birds with Uncle Ben

It's too sunny for a nap out here!

Come on, smile for a picture with CH!

What a cute family!

Babies love their mommies!

Princesses

Riding in the backseat has never been so cute! :)

Almost to Florida...

After NYC, I spent the day in Baltimore before flying home. I had a great time with the Lindsay and the kids while Carl was at work--fun at the park and then lunch at Chipotle. Reagan and Quint, my niece and nephew, got some new clothes from Neena and CH for our up-coming family vacation at the beach, which at the time was 9 days away (as Reagan is showing you below!).

Love those kiddos!