Trick or Treat

We chose treats... lots of treats.

Caramel Apples:

To make caramel apples you'll need a candy thermometer and yes you can do it without it but you'll have to test it in a small bowl of cool water for consistency. Do yourself a favor and buy one. Other than that you'll need 1 can of condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1 bottle of Light corn syrup and 2 cups of sugar.

The first time around I just put everything in a pot and mixed it together which apparently was wrong but we didn't notice any difference. What your "supposed" to do is combine the syrup and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Once sugar is dissolved alternate adding milk and butter in small quantities until used up. Really we didn't think it mattered. the first time around we also boiled it to "hard ball" temperature which was too hard. Batch 2 we stopped at "soft ball". Once you reach your desired thickness add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

We then transported it to a small crockpot to keep it warm enough to dip. MMMM looks sooo good!

Then you poke your apple and dip....

... roll in nuts and decorate with festively coloured chocolate.

Aren't they just gorgeous!?

Cake Balls:

I think since the time that I moved here 2 years ago I've made about 1,000 of these. They are just so simple and can be done in so many different ways! Step one is to bake a cake, any cake you want and let it cool completely.

Once your cake it completely cool find the biggest bowl you have and dump it in. Your going to break up it until it's nothing but crumbs. That's right, you heard me, destroy that beautiful cake.

Next you'll need jar of frosting. We have found cream cheese to be best but that is just a personal preference. No you cannot make your own frosting unless you want to battle with constancy.

Empty the entire jar and start mixing it into your now crumbled cake. Now is the perfect time to add chopped nuts or chocolate chips of you'd like. Chopped pecans are a personal favorite!

Roll it into relatively small balls (one bite is best) and freeze. From experience the cake ball will stay together MUCH better when you go to dip them if you freeze them first. Whip out that chocolate melter and away you go!

Like I said easy! Plus one box of cake goes a long way! Happy Halloween!

A Frightful Sight!

After a month of planning we had our Halloween party. It was full of games, laughter, food, fun and prizes!

As you might of been able to tell from my previous post I was Neytiri from Avatar! This was my first year that I had actually put thought and consideration into a costume and let me tell you, I had fun! Yes I did braid my own hair. I added pieces if yarn with beads and feathers though. It didn't take me near as long as I thought it would. The best part however would have to be my yellow contacts! Worth every penny!

My super hero husband! Easiest costume ever! We just had to buy the blue shirt from DI (which ended up being some young woman's camp shirt from 2004) and black hair spray for $2 at Wal-Mart. Note: If you find yourself using this spray for any occasion know that it will make a mess of your tub when you wash it out!

No party is complete without smoking drinks...

... mummy pizza's...

... & candy. This was a 400 fluid oz jar. Jakob and I filled it up for our candy count. Can you guess how many pieces are in there? Hint: Marah was way under!

We made Haunted Mansions. Stu (aka Knight in shining armor) took the trophy for Dracula's Dwelling. Let's be serious he had a bubbling hot tub.

The ladies! I love them all to bits! I couldn't ask for a better group of friends!!

Jack and Sally (aka James and Jenna) so stinking cute.

Marah the belly dancer and Courtney Maid Marion.

Stu & Courtney won Spellbound Set (Cutest couple)

The Phantom of the Opera set Chuck and Jess were a close second. Chuck did win the big jar of candy. There were 603 pieces. We cheated and added a bag of chips inside. So deceitful.

Ryan was runner up for best costume!

We had so much fun and want to thank everyone for bringing appetizers and desserts. (Or as I put in the invitation deserts). I can't wait for next year! I'm thinking we'll have to do a murder mystery dinner just to shake things up a bit. Happy Halloween everyone!!

Pre-View

Until I collect all of the photo's from last nights festivities this will have to do. More will come I promise you that!

For One Little Bear

Last week, Jakob's sister-in-law Janet e-mailed me and asked if I could make a little bear hat for baby Lucia. Of course I said yes and set off to work.

I have never made a toque for a baby before so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to get my feet wet. I asked Janet for the circumference of Lucia's head and found a pattern I liked.... FAIL! I didn't like the pattern one bit! It was HUGE!!! But I finished it regardless. After some pondering I threw away the pattern and made up my own which was a great deal smaller. Freaking adorable! It was much harder than I thought it would be, not having ever met or seen Lucia aside from a few photo's.

Then I got to thinking well she's got to have matching booties. Once again having never met Lucia I had only the measurement to go off of. I loved the booties and for my first pair I think they turned out quite cute.

And here's the little bear! Cute as a button as always!

Goldilocks and the three bears! Don't they look fabulous? How do they come up with these things? Jakob and I can barley think of anything for couples which is the easiest. I had a lot of fun making the toque and booties for Lucia. It made me think that I should start my own Etsy shop. I'll reveal more details about that as it unfolds. Happy Halloween!!

And The Winner Is.....

Last year Jakob and I hosted a Halloween party and it was so much fun that we decided that it would become a yearly tradition. This year however I have more than 5 days to plan which is SO much better. We decided that this year we needed to kick it up a notch however by awarding prizes for various things. At first this had me puzzled. I wanted to achieve a trophy look without the trophy price so I resolved to making my own (risky I know) So off to Michaels I went....

... and I found these guys! Perfect! AND only $1.99?! Be still my beating heart! Naturally, the statue just didn't say trophy the way I wanted (and of course I couldn't just say good enough) so I went to find a base and came across some wood blocks for the large ones and clay pot bases for the little ones. It was a good day.

I spray painted the bases black. NOTE: Do not use your husbands expensive nerd paint! He'll come home and be slightly annoyed that you emptied the can when black paint would work just as well. Plus clay pots tend to absorb the stuff like a sponge. In summation just stick to a paint brush.

I then sanded the edges on the wooden bottoms to give it a weathered look.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows how to use a hot glue gun so I didn't bother taking a picture. Plus it's incredibly hard to hold the gun, statue, and click a photo at the same time.

I then glued the statue to the base! The witch and skeleton looked a little lack luster so I added some ribbon for flavor and you're done! I am in love with them! And the total cost was less than $15 for all 4!

My next projects? Carmel apples, pumpkin cakes, cake balls, mummy pizzas, and you guessed it this mantelpiece. I have my work cut out for me. Only one week left!!!

New Page

Yesterday I did something I have been dragging my feet about for 4 years now... I signed up for school. I smiled when I saw this little guy on one of the guidance councilors desks because that is exactly how I felt! I will be attending the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) studying dental hygiene. The very thought terrifies me more than I can fabricate into words but I am excited at the same time. I don't honestly know how to be a student, seeing as how I would have never called myself one back in high school. The only thing that mattered back then was cheer. I feel however with time, age and maturity now on my side I will be a far more dedicated student than I ever hoped to be in high school. I am thrilled to actually feel as though I am progressing in life. To have something of my own to work towards and accomplish. I'm terrified at the thought of failure yet I know that failure is a part of life and if I dedicate myself failure will not be an option. All in all I suppose I'm excited! I'm turning the page... finally!!

Mouth Watering!

I bought a cookbook last year thinking that the cover looked appealing so the recipes must be good. (I know what your thinking... who does that?!) I then shoved it next to the rest of my never used recipes and shut the cabinet door... for a whole year. Last week I decided enough was enough. I wanted meat for dinner that didn't consist of hamburger, hot dogs, or sausage! I marched over to the cupboard and dusted off the cover to my never-even-opened- cookbook. Jakob would have never let me buy this in the first place just because it doesn't have any pictures in it. He's lost without pictures. I found some recipes I liked and off we went to the store for meat and one special ingredient.... Brandy.... shhh... it'll be our little secret. This recipe blew my mind. Probably because I didn't even end up cooking it, my wonderful husband did and it was divine!!! We liked it so much we invited Father Tobler over to have some with us 4 days later. (Mom Tobler was at a sibling reunion). So here it is for all to try! Wonderful!!!

Pan - Fried Pork Chops with Glazed Apples

• 2 tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary or 1 tbsp herbes de provence
• 4 thin- cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 tbsp bacon grease (plus more if needed)
• 2 small to medium red apples, peeled cored, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup apricot jam
• 1/4 cup calvados or brandy
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Combine the brown sugar, salt and rosemary in a small bowl an stir together. Coat the pork chops on both sides with the mixture, gently massaging the meat with your fingers to jump start the curing process. Let stand for 15 minutes. Wipe down the chops thoroughly. (Make sure to get off all of the rosemary... we learned the hard way)
2. Melt 1 tbsp bacon grease in a large skillet over high heat and add pork chops. Cook until crispy brown. About 2 minutes on each side.
3. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and cover with foil. Add the apples to the skillet and cook, stirring gently to brown slightly, about 30 seconds. Add the stock, jam, brandy, and cinnamon and stir well. Cook until the sauce thickens and is rich brown in colour, about 10 minutes. (Not to thick)
4. Uncover pork chops and cover with apples. MMMMMMM sooooo good!!!!

For those people who can't bring themselves to purchase liquor *Cough* Mom Tobler *Cough* we haven't tried it without the liquor but you can use some of ours! :)

Bon Appetit

Marvin < 3

Meet Marvin the crocheted Moose. Isn't he just darling? I love moose they remind me so much of home and are just so warm and cozy looking. Granted they don't blend so well with turtles (another uncontrolled addiction I have) but they make me smile and when I smile Jakob smiles and that's all that really matters. I made Marvin with a size 4.25 hook when it was supposed to be a size 9 so he's just a baby. I'm so pleased with how he turned out. Useless... yes but I love him. Click here to see the pattern.