happy halloween

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but it involves candy and kids in cute costumes so I'm not totally opposed to it. Last year, we committed the worst new home-owner fail of them all by running out of candy after an hour or so. We had to take the walk of shame to our neighbors house to borrow some of their candy.

This year, I wanted to do things differently. We bought about three times as much candy, which Jon promptly hid from me. Halloween candy in bulk is a major hazard when working from home. He did a really good job. I haven't exhausted all efforts to find it, but I may or may not have opened a few closets in passing hoping to find the candy bowl. No such luck.

We didn't just stop with more candy, though. I wanted to have a fun treat to pass out to the kiddos we knew so yesterday I made 90 popcorn balls. This is approximately 60 too many, but it's my biggest fear in life to run out of food. It's right up there on the fear list next to cockroaches.

I did have a little mishap while making the popcorn balls. I put the butter and marshmallows on the stove to start the melting process. As I was standing there stirring, I smelled something burning. I thought it was odd because the butter hadn't been on the stove long enough to burn. I looked down, and it turns out I WAS THE ONE BURNING. Actual flames were eating my scarf. I guess I got a little too close to the open flame of the gas burner. Oops. Gas stove = 1. Pink scarf = 0.

Happy Halloween!

happenings

When bloggers get lazy (or just way behind on updating), we post pictures. Aren't you grateful that phones have cameras now? How many of these moments would I have failed to capture without it? Probably all of them. Of course, the trick is that after you snap the photo, you then put away your phone to actually enjoy life. 

3 meals for parents with new babies. If only they could all be as sweet as this wee one. I'm not even sure she ever cries.

one new coat of paint in the guest bedroom. it's almost done and ready for a reveal. stay tuned.

one beautiful bouquet of flowers from my hubby to congratulate me on my first day at my new gig.
do you want to hear more about the new job? work seems a boring blog topic, but i'll see what i can do.

a thousand cell phone lights demanding an encore at a Billy Joel concert.

one new kitchen organization station. finally, a place to hang all those baby announcements. :)

many a baseball game. 

one fab floral dress...and that wallpaper. i die. 

a wedding shower for this beautiful bride. 

a perfect ice cream cone during a visit to lynchburg to visit the tad hardins.

one nerdy stop at a civil war site on our way back from lynchburg.

two fabulous chairs delivered for the living room. 

one new couch currently in production. can you guess which couch fabric i chose???

one weekend trip to arkansas, complete with a tour of the new football stadium at my alma mater.

three returns, but finally one set of master bedroom that i think will stay.

one evening spent filling in as a soccer mom for these two goofballs.

two tickets to the NLDS.

one fantastic playoff manicure.

one husband sneaking away from a wedding to listen to game 2 on his phone. 

one art festival with this cutie who likes to eat phones.

covers and pillows and curtains, oh my. one guest bedroom almost ready for company.

one beautiful day working outside. best. office. ever. 

dozens of candy corn cookies. candy corn sugar cookies > actual candy corn.

Whew. Now we are all caught up.

Weekend Visitors

We had our first visitors this past weekend. Phil & Shirley (Jon's parents) took advantage of a Southwest airfare sale to spend the weekend with us in Alexandria. Hosting people is much more comfortable when everyone isn't crammed into a small apartment! [Hint: you should all come visit us.]

We toured the George Washington Masonic Memorial on Saturday.
This is the view from the top. Our house is somewhere in those trees!

Overlooking Old Town Alexandria & the Potomac River.

Jon is getting pretty good at this grilling thing. Recipe coming soon. :)

Like father, like son. The Hardin men always* do the dishes. I married into a good family.

How cute is this Dash & Albert rug?
It was a housewarming gift from Phil & Shirley. I love it!  

It took all four us to make sure our new address yard sign was straight.
Thanks for the anniversary gift, Mom & Dad. Now maybe people can actually find our house.
Also, check out the sneak peek of our new landscaping. :)

Not pictured: eating frozen custard, going to see Captain Phillips (it was good, but too long IMHO, and the shaky camera made it less enjoyable), church, crashing a neighborhood open house, card games, and some other good eats.

*Almost always. I don't want to get anyone in trouble. ;)