Making stuff: October edition

October is the beginning of the Holidaze, if you know what I mean. It seems the opportunities to turn a house into a home with yummy food and holiday cheer are endless. With the majority of my kitchenware already packed and in storage my crock pot is getting alot more use. Thanks to being able to keep my inspiration organized in one place on Pinterest I am becoming much more efficient in actually creating and not just thinking about creating. I've made several batches of different kinds of chili and soup, but my favorite crock pot creation was the smothered pork chops on top of garlic buttermilk mashed potatoes.



Don't let the bad phone picture fool you. These were hands down the best pork chops ever. If I had stayed motivated and had more time I would have taken the juice and reduced it on the stove, maybe adding a touch of heavy cream during the thickening. For the crock pot portion I simply used ingredients I already had. First I threw in sliced baby portabellos leftover from our pizza night several days prior. Then I added three crushed whole garlic cloves, a chicken boullion cube and several spices to taste (salt, pepper, lots of fresh parsley, and a touch of cumin and adobo). I placed all four thick-cut pork chops on top of everything and then poured in about a cup and half of water. I cooked on high for two hours. Had I cooked the chops any longer it would have come out like pulled pork. Two hours was plenty long for melt in your mouth tender, juicy chops. While the pork cooked I whipped up a batch of mashed new potatoes, finishing off the last bit of my buttermilk and sour cream from previous meals. There is ALOT of room to get creative with this recipe. The key step is using your crock pot. I got the idea for this recipe from Pinterest, and it was originally pinnned from here.

Gavin and I really had fun this year getting ready for Halloween. It was his first Halloween that he could actually understand. We had several Halloween books we rotated during our bedtime reading and each week we added new decorations. I did alot of this after Gavin went to sleep. It made our mornings extra special as he exclaimed, "Look, mama. Look!" Initially I hadn't planned on making it a surprise, but I took advantage of a fun opportunity and told him it was the Switch Witch leaving him new decorations, preparing him for Halloween. For those of you who don't know who the Switch Witch is, she comes the night of Halloween and switches any candy that little ones leave behind for a fun (and healthier) treat. In this case a new pair of Scooby crocs, bear claw house slippers and a new book, The Very Busy Spider.

A few of the decorations we had the most fun with were the cookie cutter pumpkin carving, the witches brooms, the pumpkin wine bottles and the witch's curtain. Each of which I found on Pinterest but were originally pinned from the usual suspects of crafty genius: Better Homes and Garden, Martha Stewart, Woman's Day, etc. I also have to mention that as a frugal person and someone who likes to use what she has around the house (sustainability and upcycling!!) these projects fit the bill and were super easy on the pocket book. I think I spent a total of $10, which was the cost of a pumpkin and can of spray paint. Also, with the exception of the activities that Gavin was involved in, these projects were all accomplished within an hour's time during his naps or right after bedtime. Great for the busy crafty mom.

Wine bottle jack-o-lanterns




Witch's curtain for the front porch


Witches brooms for the front porch. My MIL and I made these together using limbs and twigs from her backyard. Other materials: duct tape, twine and hot glue. Items most every handy household has. We finished these in the time it took to do a load of laundry. I think I may have forgotten to mention but our washing machine broke several months back so I do my laundry in one of three places: the bathtub (Seriously. Thank goodness I grew up watching my great grandmother wash her clothes in the bathtub, washboard and all. I'm an old pro.), the laundry mat ($10-$20), or my inlaws house (an hour away). Fixing it would cost as much as replacing it. Everyone cross your fingers that I get a new one soon. Preferably before we move to TX.


Cookie cutter jack-o-lantern. Gavin loved being able to take owenership of this project. Every evening as we walked up the front steps he would point and say, "My pumpkin, mama?" And I would say yes, that is your pumpkin.



Gavin did some pumpkin carving with Papa Rod and Uncle Tyler too. They used power tools.


Gavin's ghosts and spiders. In addition to the stuff I made, I was sure to include any fun art projects that Gavin made at school. They did a couple ghost projects, but I only snapped a photo of this one. They'll be saved in our Halloween arsenal for next year's brujaja.


He enjoyed making the spider on the right so much that he insisted we make another one at home.


We decided the fire place was the spookiest place to hang the new spiders.


Speaking of the hearth. I enjoyed dressing up the mantle this year. The ceramic jack-o-lantern is an old decoration from growing up back home in San Antonio. My mom sent that and the stuffed pumpkin man to us last year. It was nice to incorporate a couple of items from my own childhood into Gavin's. The candle holders were decorations from my wedding. For each set of three I had one holding a cream-colored candle, one holding leftover scraps from the witch's curtain project, and one filled with colored water. I finally found a crow to add to our Halloween tradition. I started looking for one last year, but this was our year for it because I found it at the grocery store for 75% off!! I think I scored it for $2 or less. Steal!


Sweet Treats! As you might imagine, these were my favorite crafts this year. In case you haven't guessed it, I have a love affair with food. When Gavin's teachers asked the parents to bring treats for the school-wide trick-or-treat I was excited to look for fun alternatives to candy. While I can't say these were the same as say sending apples or oranges, I did feel better as a parent for not sending tootsie pops or Nerds (Gavin's new favorite candy).

Good chocolate


Melt chocolate in double boiler, dip pretzels and cover with sprinkles.




Trick-or-treat!!!


These next treats were my favorite. I will definitely make these again. They were incredibly easy to make and there are lots of mini apple pie type recipes out there. These were a fun treat for our Halloween fiesta.