Martha Monday--Thanksgiving Central

Thanksgiving is only 25 days away, and people across the country are making plans for the holiday.  Some will host, some will travel, and nearly everyone will enjoy a fantastic meal and fall into the subsequent turkey coma.  

Thanksgiving is, I believe, the only holiday that centers around a meal.  Sure, there's that whole giving thanks and being grateful stuff, but let's face it:  most people are all about the turkey and the trimmings.  And I can't blame them.   

Sorry folks, just keeping it real here.  You know how much I love food.

If you are hosting Thanksgiving, or bringing a dish to the festivities, Martha has you covered.  The good people at Martha Stewart have set up a Thanksgiving Central with recipes, ideas and planning tips to make this the best of all Thanksgivings.  Sign up for the special enewsletter and have Martha's menu ideas, recipes and instructions delivered to your inbox every week leading up to Thanksgiving. 

Last year, the TMI family enjoyed three Thanksgiving dinners spread out through the long weekend. We hosted one of them, and opened our home to 21 friends and family.  It was wonderful!  Two things I relied on for a great meal were Martha's instructions on brining a turkey and making a perfect pie crust. 

If you are hosting the Thanksgiving meal, or contributing to one, then I strongly recommend that you give Martha's Thanksgiving Central a try.  I know I will be relying on her divine guidance in the coming weeks.  And thanks to how delicious my turkey was last year, I will never not brine a Thanksgiving turkey again.

Only 25 days until Thanksgiving...I'm not sure I can wait that long!  All this turkey talk is making me hungry.

Happy Halloween!

Good evening! I hope everyone is enjoying some spooky festivities and lots of treats.  Here are a few pictures from our Halloween....

The Little Guy is dressed as a doctor, as is the Big Guy.  The Big Guy's scrubs are the actual ones he was wearing when the Little Guy was born. 

Despite having practiced "Trick or treat" for a full week, the Little Guy still froze when it was time to deliver the phrase.  Fortunately, the neighbors were won over with his cuteness and overlooked this detail.  We only took him to a few houses--in our case, it was more about getting him used to the tradition, rather than collecting candy.  Besides, the Little Guy is only two...I have no intention of giving him any candy right now.

We encountered some super cute trick-or-treaters while we were out.  For the most part, the neighborhood kids had some great costumes.

And for you, my dear readers, I hope your treats far outnumbered any tricks this evening.  From the TMI house to yours, happy Halloween!

Trick-or-treaters beware

I take Halloween very seriously.  When I'm not raising the dead or concocting a poisonous brew, I'm getting ready to pass out sweet treats to the darling neighborhood children.  It's something I enjoy and look forward to all year.  In the past, I've given out handfuls of candy for especially awesome costumes...this year, I'll reward the trick-or-treaters who go the extra mile with a full-size candy bar.  Yum!

Some children, as you can imagine, are not so darling.  Some children just show up on your doorstep with a large bag and an even larger sense of entitlement, and think that because they've bothered to show up you are required to give them candy.

I don't think so.  If children want candy that I've paid for with my hard-earned cash, and even more importantly, candy that I've managed to avoid eating so that they could have a delicious treat, then they need to put on a costume. Seriously.

This was a huge problem at our old house.  Naturally, I had to take steps. 
 

I made this sign from a piece of countertop.  It's spray painted with textured paint for a stone look, and the wording accurately conveys my feelings about the 'no costume' issue.  Have I mentioned I'm quite serious about Halloween?

And yes, I've enforced this rule on many occasions.  And no, my house has never been egged or teepee'd because I've taken this stand. 

 

So to all the potential trick-or-treaters in the new TMI neighborhood, consider yourselves warned:  you had best be wearing a costume when you ring my doorbell.

Or else...

My favorite Halloween decorations

I have a ton of Halloween decorations. Unfortunately, this year I was only able to put about 10% on display.  I'm blaming a unique combination of birthday fatigue, pregnancy fatigue, flu/cold yuckiness and a severe lack of spare time for my inability to decorate the house the way it should be decorated. 

Excuses aside, I did get a few of my favorite pieces out in time for the holiday.

I put out this handy door mat as a prompt for the more nervous or shy trick-or-treaters. 

I made this wreath several years ago.  All the pieces are store-bought, but I put it together.  Isn't it fun?

I especially like the purple glitter spider.  Because nothing says 'Halloween' like a sparkly arachnid, you know?

This last piece is my absolute favorite Halloween decoration of all time.  My Big Martha bought it years ago.  She says it's a Halloween depiction of me.  MBM displayed it proudly for years, and when I got a house of my own, she passed it on to me. 

I put it on the mantel.  Besides being a beautiful decoration, this witch is also functional.  A tealight candle goes in the bottom, and a wax potpourri tart goes in the cauldron to fill the air with a great smell.  I always go with a fall scent (apples, cinnamon, etc.). 

Of course, I could always put some eye of newt and tongue of snail in the cauldron and get a true Halloween effect, but I don't think that's what My Big Martha had in mind when she bought this.  Eye of newt just isn't that functional in the TMI household.  Trick-or-treat!

Lurking in my pantry...

This fun candy bag is on the pantry door handle.  If I'm smart, I'll heed the monster's warning that too much candy is going to lead to a belly ache.  Plus, he's protecting me from the darkness that is currently lurking on the pantry floor...

NO!  DON'T GO IN THE PANTRY!!!  CLOSE THE DOOR!  IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!!!

aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Okay, I guess it's not that scary, but 277 pieces of candy are posing quite a danger to my willpower.  Must...resist...temptation...

Fortunately, I only have to last a few more days.  And with any luck, I'll get 277 trick-or-treaters (and not one more) at the TMI House so I won't have to worry about leftover candy.  Because once Halloween is over, any leftover candy is all mine.  And that might not be such a good thing!