Happy Halloween! Get Super Freaky...

This year's a little different for us as far as celebrating Halloween goes.  There weren't any crazy parties, dynamic duo costumes or even pumpkin carving.  What's wrong with us?

Halloween has always been one of our favorite holidays, only taking a backseat to Christmas and St. Patty's Day.  Scott and I both love dressing up, eating cooking seasonal treats (obviously...you've seen my pumpkin obsession by now) and dressing our little furry Hesington's up in costumes.

Today...we decided this is how we're spending our Halloween:

What? Dancing around in basements with a witch, mummies and Frankenstein is completely normal.

Even though we didn't partake in our normal Halloween festivities, we still love seeing what everyone else dresses up as.  Before I go any further about costumes, check out this cutie pie a friend of mine posted on their Pinterest board:

Ahhh! If that doesn't win the most adorable award I don't know what does?!  Besides admiring some adorable baby costumes online, (which is something I could do all day long) I got a preview of Halloween costumes Friday night when we went out for my friend's birthday.  Some of my personal favorites included...

Where's Waldo:

Lego Man:

 

LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem Robot:

 

and last but not least, Angry Birds:

Scott and I love putting together detailed and good quality costumes, but it would be fun to go as something totally random or funny like that one year.  Maybe 2012 is the year...

Until then, we'll keep a lookout for all of the awesome and/or funny costumes you guys come up with.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Questions:

• What did you/are you dressing up as for Halloween this year?
• Do you prefer an all over impressive costume or a funny one?

Halloween Costumes: this year's different

Halloween weekend is officially here and this is the first year since Scott and I have been together that we haven't carefully selected and put together dynamic duo Halloween costumes.

This year is different than previous ones because we're actually making an effort to save up for a house (finally!) and are trying to be smarter with our money.  During the Fall season, we usually hit up every Halloween or Fall event we can in Orlando, including Halloween Horror Nights, Epcot's Food & Wine Festival, and go to at least one or two Halloween Parties dressed to the tee.

Here's a little re-cap of our past 3 Halloweens together:

2008: "Dr. Pepper" + his "Hot Nurse"

2009: "Ken + Barbie"

K+B will always be a favorite of mine, but nothing compares to...

2010: "Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: 

Before + After":

There just aren't any words for this.  All I can say is that we won the "Best Couples" costume award at that Halloween Party - BOOYAH!

Oh, did I mention that the his & hers DCC costumes were a find from our bonus room?  Don't ask why or how this happened, but I have a little confession to make:

Over the past 4 years that we've had a condo Scott and I, no...Scott has accumulated an entire room of props, costumes, and anything else you can think of that is random and has no use...until now.  You might have missed it, but you can see a VARIETY of the types of costumes I'm talking about he pulled from his personal collection in this Funny Bridal Shower Video.

For your enjoyment, and in lieu of having Halloween Costumes this year, we proudly present to you an: "I found it in the bonus room" costume fashion show!"

*NOTE: These photos were taken back in May when Scott had a full beard for the Orlando Magic's Fear the Beard <--- (funny video) campaign.  I finally made convinced him to shave his beard off before all of the wedding festivities began, but in all fairness I agreed to his only request of taking photos of beard disappearing.

So, in case you were wondering...that facial hair is legit.  First up, Harley Joe: the one man serious mullet show.

 Next, the "fu man chu" showcased by Scott the Sensei:

I know what you're thinking by now and yes...this is what I married.  It was almost too much to take at first, but sooner or later I had to join in and decided to embrace my inner Geisha:

Followed by channeling my secret Ninja skills...

Closing up with a pretty intense Kung Fu stance:

Ohhhh man.  Are you crying yet?  I am over here.  I seriously debated posting these or not, but they were too good NOT to share, right?  You're welcome.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Halloween Weekend celebrating, cooking yummy orange and chocolate treats & getting dressed up.

*Don't forget to enter in my Pumpkin Spice Coffee Giveaway! 

Questions:

• What did/are you dressing up as this year for Halloween?
• What is your favorite Halloween costume to date?

Pumpkin Spice Coffee GIVEAWAY!

Have you noticed I have a slight obsession for pumpkin yet?! :)

I know I'm the only one either, because I've been getting a lot of comments and personal messages about pumpkin, especially about the Fresh Market Pumpkin Spice Coffee I featured on my Pumpkin Spice Muffins recipe.

 

I've bought some for friends and have led others to their nearest Fresh Market to get some for themselves.  The other day when I was in the store I noticed there were only 8 bags left!!! There used to be an entire wall of Pumpkin Spice Coffee, but it's all gone.

Seeing this, my heart broke a little so I scooped up a few bags.  When Scott questioned why I wanted so many bags of coffee I told him not to question it & "just go with it"...looks like I'm getting the hang of this marriage thing, right?

I saved one bag for myself but I have 2 bags of Pumpkin Spice Coffee to giveaway to you guys!  I have a regular and a decaffeinated version, both ground since the whole bean were all sold out.

To Enter Giveaway:

1.  Become a "Follower" my joining the site on the left hand sidebar, subscribe to my posts via e-mail, and/or *Follow me on Facebook by "liking" my HB&SH FB Page. *preference 

2.  Leave a comment in the box below stating what your favorite pumpkin or Fall treat is.

3.  Specify whether you would like Regular or Decaffeinated.

I'm giving you all a week to enter, so I will randomly select 2 giveaway winners next Friday, November 4th. 

Good Luck Everyone! :)
Keep a look out for a few more Pumpkin Recipes coming soon!

$5 Footlong - the Healthy Way

Five.  Five dollar.  $5 Healthy Subway coming your way!

Since this week brings us to the end of ANYtober (where every regular footlong sub from Subway is $5) Scott and I have been hitting that store up like it's our job.  If you can take the "Subway" smell (really....what is that?!) on your clothes from being there for the 5 minutes it takes to order, getting two meals for $5 is truly worth your while.

When I go to get myself a foot long, I split it between lunch and dinner that day, or split it with Scott if I'll be seeing him in the near future.  There are several things that can distract you from eating healthy at Subway (don't even get me started on that Meatball Marinara sub...YUM), but there are several tasty right ways you can go too.

Here is my pride and joy go-to sandwich from Subway:

"Foot Long Turkey on Wheat":

Wheat Bread (toasted)
Turkey
American Cheese
a little bit of Oil & Vinegar
and a whole lotta Veggies:
Lettuce
Spinach
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Onions
Banana & Green Peppers
Black Olives
Jalapenos
Pickles

Whew! Now THAT'S a sub if I've ever seen one.

*TIP: If you like veggies, go NUTS here!  The ones I listed above are all fat-free and add nutritional value to your sub.  If I'm watching my carbs, I'll often go for the Subway Salad with Turkey and get the exact same things listed above, using half shredded lettuce/half spinach as the base.

Watching fat? Leave off the cheese and go light on the dressing.
(Oil & Vinegar is the best dressing choice).

Not a Turkey fan?  Go for grilled Chicken or Ham.  You can see on these charts below how these 3 choices rank compared to the rest.  Take that Meatball Marinara!

*Nutritional Chart pulled from Subway.com.

Unless I'm really hungry, I go for the sandwich only and if I'm going home then make a side for myself there.  *TIP:  No matter how amazingly, crazy good the cookies are, try to avoid getting them.  They give you 2 or sometimes 3 per meal and that just killed your healthy trip to Subway.

Instead, choose the apple slices or the baked chips.

At home I prefer to cut up a few apple slices.  Try dipping your apple slices in my All-Natural Pumpkin Peanut Butter for extra energy and taste!

Everything pictured above is less than 500 calories and provides a substantial lunch and/or dinner!

Question:

• What are some of your Subway Sandwich combination?  
• Are you a veggie freak like me or do you prefer just the meat and cheese (Katie...)? 

All-Natural Pumpkin Peanut Butter

I had a conversation with my friend Amanda the other day about my obsession with pumpkin.  I told her some recipes I wanted to try and before I even get started on those I HAD to try out her quick and easy go-to for a healthy, hearty snack.

All-Natural Pumpkin Peanut Butter

1/2 tub of all-natural peanut butter

1/2 canned pumpkin

2 tbsp of honey (for taste)

There's really only a few things you need for All-Natural Pumpkin Peanut Butter, with an open mind being a main ingredient.  If it seems to taste dry or bitter you can find a solution by playing around with the ingredients.

To make PPB: start off with getting a tub of all-natural peanut butter.  You can find this in the deli section at Publix, or at Fresh Market in the nuts and dried fruits & veggies section. 

*NOTE: All-natural peanut butter is going to taste different than the already canned JIF or other peanut butter brands.  If you make it yourself with the machine at Fresh Market or pick it up at Publix or any other deli that sells all-natural, it isn't going to have the sweet taste you're used to: hence the healthy snack part.  You will see how I sweetened my PPB in a minute...

There really isn't a recipe amount of how much PB to use.  However much you decide, equal that amount with canned pumpkin.

Use half of a tub or scoop out however much you want from a jar and pair it with that same amount of pumpkin.  *TIP: If you're using the all-natural PB out of a tub it's easier to mix it all together in a separate, slightly bigger mixing bowl.

Mix together until PB is well blended.  Taste it to see if you need to sweeten it or not.  If using JIF or another brand from a jar, you don't really need to add anything at all.

If it tastes to bitter, try adding a little bit of honey.  We don't use a specific brand at our home, but we've been enjoying this Honey we got from a Fall Festival straight from the farm!
Can't get any fresher than that! :)

Yup, it's almost gone because it's THAT good.  Add about 2 tbsp or so, until its sweetened to your liking.

Mix until peanut butter is as smooth as you can get it. 
Spread on your favorite snacks & Enjoy!

*TIP: Try using PPB on more than just veggies & crackers.  This spread would be great on top of a rice cake, in a PB & banana sandwich or on top of a pancake in lieu of syrup.

Question:

What are some of your favorite things to dip into peanut butter?

WOW: The Holy Land Experience

Every year, The Holy Land Experience offers one free general admission day for anyone and everyone to come see the park.  Scott and I live less than 10 minutes away from it, but have never gone over to visit it together.  When that free admission day came around last week, we figured it was the perfect time for us to go. 

Scott has been a few times, but this was my very first time to the park.  Right away, I loved the buildings, statues, especially the number of random animals.  Hello there, Camel!

The buildings and landscapes were absolutely beautiful.

Scott said it was pretty crowded (free admission....hello!), but on normal business days it's usually less crowded and becomes a great place to reflect, pray, and have some alone time. 
*THOUGHT: What's really alone time anyways?  Are we ever alone?

For my Word of Wisdom this week, I was inspired by a framed bible quote inside one of the auditoriums.

Matthew 28:20

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

What a great reminder.  How many of you ever feel alone?  I know I do sometimes.  You could have a million people around you and still feel alone...why is that?  I think that feeling is completely normal, however I have good news for you: You're never really alone.  Jesus is kind of like Santa Claus...He sees you when you're sleeping & knows when you're awake.

The park was truly a blessing.  I've been wanting to go see it for a while now and I'm so glad we did.  We saw a few shows (which were great), with my favorite being the Passion of the Christ.  The actors and singers impressed me and it was amazing how real the scenes came across.

In between shows, we got to take communion and be a part of the Last Supper.

We saw a bible that is over 300 years old!

We got to travel over to Little Jerusalem.

Then took advantage of the kid's area photo opp...naturally.

Regardless of what our only photo there together looks like, it was quite the experience & a Holy Land one at that ;)  I know not everyone who reads thinks like a Christian, but whoever you are or whatever you believe I hope you got something out of this Word of Wisdom.

I didn't feel like I was alone at Holy Land but I feel alone most when I'm at a busy, high traffic spot.  Airports and theme parks fit into this category but restaurants and movies are where I feel like an ant in a world of giants.  Within seconds of sitting down I turn to my cell phone for entertainment while dining alone (which I rarely do) and avoid going to the movies alone all together.

Question:

Do you ever feel alone? If so is it when you're at home by yourself, or in public surrounded by people?

3 Things for Fall

I just love Fall.  I love the leaves changing color, I love the smells and I certainly LOVE fall-inspired recipes + food.

By the of September I was already Fallin' on a Budget, getting ready for the season by adding a few Fall touches to our home.  Of course there's other things I acknowledge and eat or celebrate the season with but here is a short list of quick, easy additions you can bring into your home for Fall.

1. Mini Pine Cones.

I picked a bag of this pine cone mix from The Fresh Market for $4.99.  I kept passing them every time I went in and out of the store and eventually gave them a try.  They smell SO good and give the exact natural fall look I wanted on our coffee table.  

The large glass bowl holding them was a wedding gift from Crate&Barrel, which turned out to be the perfect addition to the coffee table.

2.  Cinnamon Broom.

I grew up smelling the cinnamon scent in our house every fall + winter season.  This is the first time I've actually bought one for my own home, since I always thought of it as a "country" accent.

I wasn't sure where I should put it, since I didn't want it to be in our kitchen screaming "hi, I'm a cinnamon broom producing that wonderful fragrance," so I tucked it away in our kitty spare bathroom, which is next to the kitchen.

Now, every time we walk into the house we immediately smell cinnamon goodness.  Cinnamon is a great offset to whatever other smells seem to come from that room...

I got my broom from Fresh Market, but you can find them at most grocery stores like Publix or Wal-mart.

3.  Cans of Pumpkin + Pumpkin Pie.

Anyone who has read my blog or talked to me in person around this time of year knows I have a true obsession with pumpkin.  It all started with trying the ever-so-popular First Watch Pumpkin Pancakes 3 years ago.  Ever since that first bite of heaven, I immediately wanted to add pumpkin to everything!

Whenever I see quality cans of pumpkin I stock up, before they're all gone.  Finding cans of pumpkin in stock is not always an easy task, so it's good to have them on hand when you're dying to make something pumpkiny.

It's really simple to come up with recipes using pumpkin.  Check out my Pumpkin Spice Muffins, for example: only 3 ingredients!

Stay tuned this week for more pumpkin-inspired baking, spreads and side dishes.  Now that I'm stocked up, I'm ready to rock and (pumpkin) roll!

Question:
What are some of the things you look forward to the most for Fall?

Wedding Photos: Album Dilemma

October 22nd marked our 3 month wedding anniversary & Scott and I celebrated by re-living our wedding day online.  We sat down, looked at every single wedding photo on the Elegant Imagery proofs website and selected our favorite 40 60 (oops!) to make up our coffee table photo album.  

Picking our top photos choices was not easy. Actually, the task might have been harder than planning our wedding all together...then again, maybe not.  Regardless, it took hours for Scott and I to select what we were asked to from our photos.

Included in our photography package was the coffee table photo album and a 4x6" print out of every single picture.  As if picking a select few for the coffee table album wasn't hard enough, I'm now on a mission to find an album to hold ALL 700+ of our printed wedding day photos.

First, let's get something straight: I am not in any way, shape or form complaining about having a bagillion photos to pick from.  Each and every single photo has been edited, optimized and is gorgeous.  We are ecstatic with how they turned out and can't wait to share some with you...

My ideal album (obviously) would be an over the top bling-ed out scrapbook style like this Florida Etsy Street Wedding Album:

what...too much for every day decor?

For our stack of photos: definitely.

Now I started thinking more on a practical level.  What could hold all of our photos and allow us to display it in our home?  I thought of something like this Wedding Memories Keepsake Trinket Box:

This is a unique idea and I like it, but then again I don't.  I couldn't handle sticky finger prints on all of our wedding photos, not to mention getting them out of order.

That would drive me insane!  So...what's a girl to do???
A dictionary-sized album? Stack them up and put a big pretty bow on them like a present? Grrr.

I felt a little relieved when I came across this Engravable Wedding Album from Pottery Barn: 

It says it has 45 double sided page inserts, but doesn't give details on how many photos it can hold.  Pages can be "inserted or removed," but does that mean it can hold OUR stack of photos?  Hmmm...

If that doesn't work, I love the idea of this Pioneer 12-at-a-time ELITE album from sendaframe.com that holds 12 4x6" photos per open page.

The front of the album is hideous not very cute...especially for wedding photos, but I think I could scrapbook that up.

Decisions, decisions.  I thought the wedding planning was over?!
I think I might need some help on this one.

The only other options I've found are:
Kleer-Vu Photo Leatherette Album
Kleer-Vu Memo Album Wedding Moire Collection

What would you do with these?

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed & appreciated! :)

*NOTE: I recently changed my settings from registered users only to anyone so ALL of you can share! Comment in the box below + share away my friends...

Questions:

• Which album(s) do you like best?
• Would you get one monster of an album that holds all of the photos or break them up?
• Classy engraved album, or scrapbook style?