Quick Halloween Wrap Up

So yes, I decided to go the easy way out this year and use the plastic jack-o-lantern. Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day (or money to buy more pumpkins) and you have to be okay with that.  I have to say that serendipity stepped in here because what started out as just a regular, cheesy, plastic pumpkin actually turned into something totally awesome!

First, the light in the pumpkin would not work. We switched out the bulb. Nothing. So I decided that we should just put some glow sticks in it and it would be this eerie, green, glowing pumpkin!  My wonderful husband said he would take care of getting the glow sticks.  He came home with a strobe light instead. I was skeptical, but when he turned it on, man, was it cool!

Too bad you can't see the actual strobing effect! It was awesome! Admittedly, this pic makes it look kinda lame....but trust me-so not lame! You couldn't even tell it was a fake pumpkin in the dark!

We had some cousins over to go trick or treating and I made a few snacks to go along with our pizza, including these awesome bone cookies and brain jello!!!  I have had this brain jello mold and Wilton bone cookie pan for years, just waiting to bust them out for a Halloween party that I have been meaning to have. I got them both on clearance from Meijer the day after Halloween. Can't beat that!

I found this awesome serving tray at Walmart this year in the Halloween area. It was perfect! Maybe I should've gotten a few more!

This is part of the wrapper that the bone cookie pan came in, complete with some awesome ideas for the cookie decor. I was originally going to do the one on the bottom that looks like an old, real bone but when I tasted the cookies they were super sweet. I didn't even want to add a glaze to it, they were delicious as is! So I just left them plain.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome Halloween! Very low-key, but good fun, good food, and good friends. I'm excited for next year so I can do it up even bigger!


P.S.

GO CUBS!!!!!!!

Fall has arrived! Time to get pumpkins!

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Fall has finally arrived here in northern Indiana! Literally overnight the leaves on some of the trees went from green to punches of gorgeous red and yellow and the temperature has finally fallen below 70-for now...you never know here in the great state of Indiana. One night the low will be a frosty 35 degrees and the very next day will be sunny and 75. Seriously.

Autumn is my favorite season. At the first sight of it, I immediately want to put on an old school J. Crew rollneck sweater, throw a little John Mayer Continuum on the IPOD, and settle in to watch the original Halloween with a cup of hot spiced cider. Heaven.

I love it when the trees just start to turn and there is still some green on them.

What a great contrast!

We recently went out in search of the perfect pumpkin at a farm near the Amish town of Grabill. It was a little slim pickings again this year, but it was still leaps and bounds better than last years pumpkin crop. I was worried since I had heard that this year it was the lack of rain-instead of too much like last year-that was going to make it harder to grow a good pumpkin. In spite of all this, I think we found the most perfect pumpkins to date.

I love this barn on the way to the pumpkin patch!

The Pumpkin Patch! You can see some pumpkins still in the field in the background.

These three pumpkins just looked exactly how pumpkins are supposed to look. They are the perfect shape, size, and color. And I loved their stems! The stems are just as important as anything else when choosing a good pumpkin.

Gigantic pumpkins! I always want to get one (okay, like three) of these for my yard. I suspect it would take a crane to lift them though.

A lot of the pumpkins were missing their stems and most of the ones that had them were very mushy.

They've got great mums too!

I'll take them all, please!

Pumpkins are the best fall decor you can possibly get. If you don't carve them they will usually last all the way from September to November. They encompass all of Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. My conundrum this year is whether to actually carve one, or all, of my perfect pumpkins or leave them as is. I am the recent recipient of a fake plastic carved jack-o-lantern that lights up and I have to admit that I am seriously considering using that for Halloween. I guess we will see what this weekend brings.

The pumpkins at their new home on my porch!

If you are lucky enough to live in an area where the leaves change, make sure you get out as soon as possible and enjoy them because unfortunately, the beauty of fall is so very fleeting.

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to Sweet Home Indiana-the inaugural post!

I am a writer stuck in the body of an office worker. After getting on the blog bandwagon, I was inspired to start my own. Especially since blogs tend to combine several things I love-writing, photography, and usually food! It's like having your own magazine! I can write about anything that tickles my fancy that day whether it be decorating, a movie I saw, or an awesome new dish I made. I am the editor in chief here!

I've been writing my whole life and I love it. I've only recently figured out it's what I was born to do. You know that little voice in your head or that thing you just keep coming back to and can't stop thinking about. After getting (way) off track with the allure of being offered less than $10 an hour and no insurance to go into retail management (and several other jobs in between), I am back baby! It's time to put this college education to good use...who knows where it might lead!