Flowers and Cookies

Two of my favorite words. My mother claims the first word I uttered as a child was "cookie." I think she's yanking my chain, but what are you gonna do? I can't exactly prove her wrong.

With our big move rapidly approaching, we really need to hunker down and pack. This past weekend was mostly consumed with rounding up boxes and starting to fill them. Pretty boring. But, there were two highlights:

1. FLOWERS
I wasn't completely pleased with the photos I took of our hallway and I want to re-shoot it before we have to dismantle it. On Friday afternoon I picked up a bunch of flowers from a bodega in the West Village and brought them home to dress up the hall a bit for a mini photoshoot. It is fairly common knowledge that I am not an expert flower arranger (taking a floral arrangement class is at the top of my list of things to do) but I threw together a pretty inspired bouquet on Friday afternoon and couldn't help but share it with you all.



Now, I'm no Denise Fasanello, but I'm proud of this creation – my first with some depth and a variety of textures with a monochromatic palette.  The spiky little bursts of flowers are thistle and the sprigs of green are safari sunset. Sadly, I don't know what the white baby's breathe-like sprouts are. They have shots of purple and green among the white, which makes them a little special. Additionally, I added stalks of green leaves.

2. COOKIES
Due to the packing, we didn't do much to celebrate Halloween this year, but, to our surprise, we were the recipients of a spooky cookie delivery on Friday:

Hello, lovelies!

The ginger cookies above are the creations of an extremely talented (and thoughtful) friend who lives in LA with her husband, a former work buddy of Oliver's, and their pitifully unfortunate-looking child:

Photo courtesy Ben Lau
Shame, isn't it, that he's so homely? He's also devoid of personality, which is the saddest part.*

Here's a glimpse of the full batch:

Photo courtesy Ben Lau

DELICIOUS.
Thank you, Ben, Giao and Baron!

*Note: I am being completely sarcastic here. Baron is quite obviously an adorable, charming toddler with a vivid personality.

Tricking, Treating... or just EATING

Image courtesy Sweet Cupcakes

Most people funnel all of their creative Halloween juices into coming up with snappy costumes. I, however, like to focus on the SNAX. You'll be excited to learn that Oliver and I are year-round Halloween candy consumers. A long time ago, we discovered that the aptly named "fun size" candies are perfect for post-dinner chocolate cravings. Who needs an entire candy bar? But if you do, just eat a few more of the fun size guys! (I've been known to consume more than my share.)

Our quaaludes jar is stocked, dude:


There are a plethora of topics to write about around Halloween – harvest-y tablescapes, snappy jack-o-lantern designs, poking fun at those (not so) sexy Sesame Street-inspired costumes –

Srsly?

...I'm going to stay focused on the food. Dessert, specifically. Eye candy. Literally. Get it? Check out some of my favorite tricked-out treats.

Everything Bakerella makes looks outrageous. My mouth waters every time she updates her blog. Those little spiders are hilarious – and, I imagine, not so easy to make.



Sweet Cupcakes has some cute spooky-themed ideas for Halloween sweets:


Amy Atlas never disappoints. Those ghostly little cake pops are so flippin' cute!



You can always count on Martha to produce perfect holiday treats:



Country Living has some deliciously clever ideas. Although I'm not sure how I feel about rodents on my baked goods, even if they're made of cake:





Not to be a Negatory Nellie, but Real Simple did a little feature on which Halloween candies are healthier. UMMMMMM.....way to take the fun out! I know obesity is problematic these days, but really? Is there a point in comparing the nutritional value of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups versus Snickers? (Snickers is a better choice, according to Real Simple, by the way.) Obviously, they're both "bad" for you. Everything in moderation, folks! I'm a firm believer that home-made treats are "healthier" than those you buy at the store, since they're likely not pumped with preservatives, corn syrup and a bevy of un-pronouceable ingredients. Baked goods aren't an acceptable giveaway to trick-or-treating tots, but they're certainly delish for having around the house!

Have a great Halloween weekend, everyone! xoxo

Holiday: Happy Halloween!

A FRISSON pumpkin collaboration

Additional pumpkins:

Janna's Toothless Wonder

Josh's Tennis Jack-O-Lantern: A Tribute to my Dad