Happy Halloween...

and Fall-O-Ween too.

Last night we hosted a small Fall and Halloween themed dinner party with some great friends and family.  And even though few people couldn't make it, we still had a good time.  Below are a few lot of images with a few simple D.I.Y.s mixed in.  Enjoy!

Party Prep. Non Toxic, soy based ink to decorate napkins.

After.

Pre-pot luck, what we made.

Hand Cut out tortilla chips.

Using cookie cutters, cut out tortilla shapes, bake for 10-15 minutes at 350* F

Cut out bowl size hole in pumpkin, insert. EASY!

One of my favorite snacks.

a little spooky display for you.

{Deocrating Trick! print out pretty images you find online and frame them, 

everyone will ask you where you got them!}

front yard, pumpkins are still a work in progress.

  

Hanging bat candle holder from my mom.

and mr. bones too!

Close up of my terrifying tortilla chips.

yogurt pretzels {store bought}

The Full Table

Pot Luck!

from Luke and Jess

from Ian

from Wayne and Gretchen

Spooky drink station, needed some webs, oh well.

Eating time! 

Kiddos playing.

Sitting down to eat.

After Dinner Dessert Game: 

Donuts on a rope.

No hands. 

whoever finishes first wins. 

donuts can not touch the floor. 

and the winner is...  

Matt, with a mouth full of vegan donuts.

Oh, and the dogs wanted to try too... 

After we devoured the food, some desserts remained... 

and then Emily busted out the mac book.

Too bad I forgot to put Hocus Pocus on.  Fail.

And don't you love the morning after kitchen sinks full of dishes, 

even after you ran the dishwasher and unloaded it?

yeah, me too...

Anyway, we've got big plans for today too, work and then Trunk or Treating at Midwives! 

What about you?!

Happy Halloween!

No Waste Pumpkin Carving

I love decorating for holidays but one of my biggest frustrations is when people make something, and then throw it away a few short weeks later.  Or when new supplies are used to decorate for holidays and events, and then tossed.  I think it's so wasteful.  BUT, I'm going to show you how I was able to use every last bit of our Halloween pumpkins and still have a cute display!  I haven't bought anything new for this Halloween, except living pumpkins, and I even grew a few of those myself.

Here's what you do...
1. go to a pumpkin patch.

 2. Pick out a pumpkin...

 3. Have Daddy carry large pumpkin to the car.

4. Once home, gut the pumpkin.

 5. Save the seeds in a strainer, rinse and separate from the stringlings.

6. Bake seeds on well oiled baking sheet 30 minutes at 325* F {may need additional time if not browning}

7. Carve pumpkin with wood carving tools and knives. Save any large pieces of the pumpkin flesh for baking.

8. Save all small pieces of pumpkin skin and seed stinglings for compost.
9. Bake pumpkin flesh as directed here. when peeling the skin off at the end, save for {you guessed it!} composting. Since I carve a few pumpkins every year, I have  a lot of flesh to bake, which I then use in pumpkin bread and pies.
10. Dump compost ready pieces into the compost pile and savor the nutrients your soil will receive {once the display pumpkin is done, toss that into the compost too}!

That's all there is to it! Simple, no waste pumpkin carving.

Oh and for the candle inside the pumpkin?  buy the metal tee light type and recycle the aluminum after the candle has burned out.

Happy Halloween No Wasting!