cute, creative, clever costumes...BOO!

happy BOO day to you!

the days of me getting the costume

"just right" for my girls are pretty much gone:(

but we had good times.

and, ahem, if i can be allowed to brag.......

we MADE our costumes:)

for the most part.

but there are such doggone cute ones out there now, 

i probably would be buying them these days.

here are a few for your viewing pleasure.....

hmmm...very clever, but cooking a baby?

yikes:)

sweetest ghosts ever!

love the shark idea.....

but is it just me, or does it look as if this cutie is being eaten?:)

NOT a happy bride!

oink, oink...cute lil piggy!

BOO!

Suzanne

BOO!...Pumpkin, Apple and MUMMY Treats

it's that time of year again.

time to think about the CUTE little goblins

(cause i hate the creepy side of halloween:)

and the stuff i found is SUPER easy.......

Pumpkins.......

here's a lil treat idea for you.

pinterest is full of breads and cakes but if i had seen

 this when my girls were young,

i would've run with it.

you just need a round of orange tulle from Joanns or a craft store,

green pipe cleaner,

and some treats.  

all orange is a cute idea and it could be

jelly beans, orange m & m's, reese's pieces, even candy corn.

pretty cute, huh?

and who doesn't love the fall flavors at Starbucks?

especially the pumpkin latte.

well, thanks to Molly,

you can make pumpkin lattes in the slow cooker!

photo courtesy of http-::gimmesomeoven.com:pumpkin-spice-latte:

Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Serves: 8 

Total Time: 2 Hours

-8 T of pumpkin puree

-8 T of vanilla

-2 t of cinnamon

-8 cinnamon sticks

-4 cups of strongly brewed coffee

-6 cups of milk

-8 T of sugar

-whipping cream [optional]

{Instructions}

-Combine the milk and coffee, and pour into the crockpot. Whip together the other ingredients [minus the cinnamon sticks and whipping cream] and pour into the crockpot. Mix together well.

-Cover the crockpot, and cook on high for 2 hours.

- put whipping cream on top of the lattes, and add a cinnamon stick for extra flavor.

YUM!

so how about apples?

any apple lovers out there?

personally, caramel apples in any way, shape or form are

probably my most "favoritest" treat:)

but they can be a bit tricky to eat.

so when i saw this idea, i flipped out!

caramel apple bites

okay, no need to complicate things.

if you're handy with a melon baller,

scoop little round apple bites out of an apple.

dip in your favorite caramel and toppings and

VOILA...caramel apple bites!

photo: taste of home

if you want an even faster way, have a self serve caramel bar.

use lollipop sticks with apple wedges.

clever stuff people come up with, i swear!

and thanks to How Does She Do It.com,

apple pie floats......

if you like apple pie and ice cream floats,

this one is for YOU!

simply mix 50% ginger ale, 50% good apple cider and vanilla ice cream

and you have an apple pie float.

~garnish with cinnamon and whipping cream if desired.

now how about those mummies?

personally, i think a mummy is as halloween as a pumpkin.

and kinda cute:)

so here are a few, but not all, mummy treats for you.......

sources:how does she do it .com

created-bydiane.blogspot.com

eighteen25.blogspot.com

bedifferentactnormal.com

there are more too...you could dip giant pretzels in white chocolate and

decorate to look mummyish,

cake pops, brownie bites...all would work!

and if you don't feel like "carving' a pumpkin,

just wrap one up.....

kinda cute, huh?

alrighty then,

i did my part fixin y'all up for the spooky day:)

now for a TOTALLY random moment,

i have to show you this.

i love dogs.

no secret there.

but i have never been a huge fan of "hot dog" dogs,

or dachsunds.  

just not the look i'm going for.

until now.......

OH. MY. GOSH!!!!!!!

i saw these miniature hot dog dogs and fell in love,

especially with the little blonde one.

aren't they PRECIOUS?????

uggghhh...who am i kidding.

i want every dog!:)

have a beautiful day!!!!!!!

Suzanne

Happy Fall, Ya'll...Come on in for some recipes, crafts and...

i've been wanting to say that...

 just kinda makes you smile:)

AND...i've been wanting you to see my blog makeover.
let me know what you think!
goodbye (for now) pale...hello bright, fall color!

okay...

WELCOME TO THE SHABBY CHICKS FALL OPEN HOUSE!

first up... come on in and grab a candy corn tutu...

 it's okay...their cute and fun...

and no one will ever know you wore one:)

great!

now, how about some warm apple pie oatmeal?

oh YUM!!!!!

we're all about quick, easy and delicious food around here...

and this fits the bill perfectly.

simple to make...

slice up apples and place in large ziplock.

shake with brown sugar and cinnamon.

saute in a bit of butter till perfectly tasty and soft.

 make a big batch of your favorite oatmeal...

place a spoonful in the bottom of the bowl and a heaping serving on top.

add milk or heavy cream if desired and go ahead...

devour!

 (that's what we did. hahaha)

let's talk crafts...

and sweaters...

SWEATER CRAFTS!

it seems sweater pumpkins were HUGE last year.

 (they're still pretty popular cause they're so DANG cute!

I even got in on it.

and now we have SWEATER VASES!

they're all over the place and last night we made a few...

what do you think?

 not bad for a quick and simple craft, huh?

okay, i am terrible about doing a tutorial but trust me,

google sweater vases and all kinds of instructions will come up.

 but basically, you go to goodwill or some other thrift store

and grab a few vases and a cable knit sweater for CHEAP.

 have some scissors and a glue gun handy and you're ready to get crafting!

the most important thing is that if WE can do this in a half hour...

i PROMISE you can too...and probably much better!:)

aaaahhh...all this work makes me hungry!

hahahaha...only HALF joking:)

how about dinner?

as in...a warm, cozy comforting FALL menu...

something like low cal LASAGNA SOUP.

 warm soup on a dreary day...can't beat it.

and this soup is YUM-MY!!!!!

add a loaf of warm, crusty bread and voila...a real family please.

Go HERE for the recipe.

(courtesy of Paula Deen's boy's...
they are making over their mom's recipes:):)

The only changes we made were we only used ONE clove of

garlic and red pepper instead of green pepper.

(and please over look the weirdly skinny breadsticks...

don't ask me, I wasn't in the kitchen:)

 let's see, what else, what else...

I KNOW...

a simple decorating tip for seasons/holidays.

if you're like me, your children ARE your works of art.

and if you took a gazillion photos of them like me, 

you have some for all the seasons of the year. 

soooooo...why not dig out a few and replace the photos currently in frames or on the wall

with special memories of seasons past.

so simple, so quick and SO EASY!

just like the above crafts and recipes,

quick and easy is the name of the game:)

and here is a quick photo i snapped of my childhood home recently...

 i used to JUMP in these leaves!!!

MEMORIES.

well my friends,

that's about it for the fall open house

  with the Shabby Chicks for today.

oh wait...you can't leave without a treat!

My chicks made CANDY CORN COOKIES tonight.

 we used the technique from Kathie Cooks blog,

and because i already told you we try to keep things simple,

we BOUGHT the sugar cookie dough in a roll.

divided it into thirds, colored one yellow and one orange (left the other one natural)

cut out candy corn shapes and VOILA...

candy corn cookies!

ENJOY...

and come back soon for more fall fun...
and a GIVEAWAY Wednesday!

XOXOXOXOXO