Halloween Around the Neighborhood

Ever since the rain passed, I have been trying to get outside with my daughter as much as possible.  Soon winter will be setting in and we won't want to go on our walks anymore.  Then it will be impossible with ice, snow, etc.  Ugh, I don't even want to think about it.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the neighborhood we walk in was getting more and more decorated for the season.  I decided, in a break from my usual food posts, that I would like to share with you my favorite autumn scenes from our daily walks. 

One day, I finally remembered my camera.  I was nervous the entire time that someone, especially a grumpy old person, might come out of their house and say, "why are you taking pictures of my house?!"  Thankfully, that didn't happen!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these scenes as much as we do!

Baby all ready for her walk.

A cute start to our walk.  Frankenstein and candy corn!

It's spooky the way it is catching the wind ...

This guy especially freaks me out, so here is a close-up for a better look!

The thing on the door especially scares me.

Sooo creepy!

These guys are my favorite! :)

And we saw some deer at the end of our walk in the clearing next to our home.  They always just stare at me suspiciously.

Starting last week, this mannequin appeared at the end of a driveway on the way home from work.  They vary her everyday.  At first I thought she was REAL!

(Yes, there were no cars behind me).

Here she is close up:

Weird, huh? I thought so!  She sort of looks like Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction. 

Happy Haunts!  Halloween is just days away!  I hope you're ready.

BeatlesFreak

My Baby Pumpkin's Birthday

This is not a parent blog, but one of the best parts of my life is my daughter.  Recently, she turned one year old!  It went by SO FAST.

When I was in the hospital, I received pumpkin treats from both my mom and my husband's mom.  My mom brought me pumpkin bread -- two loaves!  And my in-laws brought me pumpkin muffins from Dunkin Donuts.  They were both much appreciated and so delicious.  Maybe this is why I was inclined to make some pumpkin cupcakes for my daughter's first birthday.

I mulled around the idea of cream cheese icing.  But have you ever worked with the stuff?  It is very finicky and doesn't pipe well.  I love piping my cupcakes with a 1M Wilton or 2D Wilton tip.  After a lot of thought, I ended up making Joy of Baking's pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream. 

Her barbeque party was going really well, and soon it was time for her to have some smash cake.  I was not about to give her the Big Top cupcake I made, but instead gently peeled off a wrapper from a pumpkin cupcake.  She gobbled down the icing in a flash, and promptly threw the beautiful pumpkin cupcake at her cousin.  Husband joked that she does NOT take after me, but him, because she loves icing!  It won't be added to her daily list of foods, but I am already looking forward to next year's smash cake. 

Here is my little pumpkin enjoying her icing:

My favorite pumpkin

I almost forgot:

Happy First Day of Fall!

BealtesFreak