Happy Halloween!

May your Halloween day and Halloween night be filled with fun, friends, family and trick-or-treat delight!

I seriously cant believe its already Halloween...I am so excited! Halloween is totally one of my all time favorite holidays! This morning I woke up early to make my family a Halloween themed breakfast! Ghost toast, pumpkin eggs (gotta love cookie cutters), mummy bacon and milk out of Frankenstein's head!

This Not That...Halloween Candy

Its that time of year again...candy candy everywhere! Its so much fun taking my son trick-or-treating but when we get home and he dumps that huge bag of candy on the counter my mouth starts to water, my tummy starts to growl but my brain starts to yell at me "No No and NO!" Of course my mouth and tummy always over power what my brain is telling me and I end up eating some (a lot) of the candy. To prepare myself this year I decided to do some research, I ventured out to our local grocery store and checked out a bit of their Halloween candy! So for this Weight Loss Wednesday I wanted to share what I found out....here is my This not That list!

Original M&M's over Peanut M&M's

Original M&M Minis: Serving - 3 bags, 220 calories, 28 grams of sugar

 Peanut M&M Minis: Serving - 2 bags, 180 calories, 18 grams of sugar

Reeses Cups over Snickers Peanut Butter

Resses Cups: Serving - 5 cups, 220 calories, 23 grams of sugar

Snickers Peanut Butter Mini Bar: Serving - 1 bar, 130 calories, 12 grams of sugar

Smarties over Sweet Tarts

Smarties: Serving - 1 roll, 25 calories, 6 grams of sugar
Sweet Tarts: Serving - 8 pieces, 60 calories, 12 grams of sugar

Pearson's Mint Patties over York Peppermint Patty

Pearson's Mint Patties: Serving - 5 pieces, 150 calories, 27 grams of sugar, gluten free

York Peppermint Pattie Mini: Serving - 3 pieces, 150 calories 27 grams of sugar, gluten free 

3 Musketeers over Milky Way

3 Musketeers Mini: Serving - 7 bars, 170 calories, 27 grams of sugar

Milky Way Mini: Serving - 5 bars, 90 calories, 25 grams of sugar 

Tootsie Pop over Blow Pop

Tootsie Pop: Serving - 1 sucker, 45 calories, 8 grams of sugar

Blow Pop: Serving - 1 sucker, 70 calories, 13 grams of sugar 

Tootsie Roll over Caramel Square

Tootsie Roll: Serving - 6 pieces, 140 calories, 19 grams of sugar
Caramel Square: Serving - 5 pieces, 160 calories, 28 grams of sugar  

  Dots over Starburst

Dots: Serving - 6 Dots, 70 calories, 11 grams of sugar
Starburst: Serving - 8 pieces, 160 calories, 23 grams of sugar 

  Sour Skittles over Original Skittles

Sour Skittles Fun Pack: Serving - 1 pack, 61 calories, 11 grams of sugar
Original Skittles Fun Pack: Serving - 1 pack, 81 calories, 15 grams of sugar  

Skinny Cow Creamy Clusters over Snickers

Skinny Cow Creamy Clusters: Serving - 1 one ounce pouch, 120 calories, 10 grams of sugar

Snickers Fun Size Bar: Serving - 2 bars, 160 calories, 17 grams of sugar  

I'm sure my son wont get any Skinny Cow pouches in his trick-or-treat bag but Snickers is my all time favorite candy bar and it just so happens that it is the worst candy bar for you so to keep myself from eating all the Snicker Fun Size bars my son gets I bought myself some Skinny Cow Creamy Clusters....like I said prepared!

Always keep in mind that...

3 Musketeers is the best candy bar and Snickers is the worst!

Halloween Thrifted Twin Threads (Emma & Alice)

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook then you know that I am obsessed with the shows Once Upon A Time and Once Upon A Time In Wonderland on ABC. So this year for Halloween I came up with two costumes, Emma and Alice, using clothes that I thrifted....I like having options.

Emma Swan

Emma's style is always comfortable yet cute, I have loved it since the very first episode.

If I would of bought each piece of this costume new I would of paid around $223 but since I bought everything thrifted I paid about $18.

Alice In Wonderland

Alice's style is girly yet butt kicking, I love it!

 If I would of bought each piece of this costume new I would of paid around $205 but since I bought everything thrifted I only paid about $25.

Nummy Halloween Nails

Last October I went for a more "spooky" Halloween themed nail design so this year I wanted something a bit more fun...this is what I came up with!

My weapons of choice: Sinful Colors - Black On Black, Cover Girl - Lemon Drop, Maybelline - Sweet Clementine, Sally Hansen - White On, Wet N Wild - 469 and Sally Hansen - No Chip Top Coat

 I painted two coats of Black On Black on each of my nails except my ring finger. On my ring finger I painted the base of my nail with Lemon Drop then painted the middle with Sweet Clementine and topped it off with White On which ultimately made a candy corn nail! After my ring finger dried I painted a thin layer of the Wet N Wild polish over it to give the nail a bit of a sparkle. I then painted each nail with the No Chip Top Coat.

Fun right?!

Tasty Healthier Pumpkin Treats

Since October is a month of pumpkins and sweets I wanted to share some healthier pumpkin treats with you for this weeks Weight Loss Wednesday!

  

Pumpkin Cookies  

(made with no oil or butter)

 Ingredients:

1 box Spice Cake Mix

1 cup Oates

1 can Pumpkin (15 ounces)

Mini Chocolate Chips

Put the spice cake mix, oates and the pumpkin in a large bowl. Mix everything together. Add the mini chocolate chips and mix everything together again. Scoop the dough onto a pan and flatten with a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/Greek Yogurt Frosting

Ingredients (frosting):
1 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
A bit of Vanilla Extract
Mix all the ingredients into a bowl really well until it starts to thicken a bit. Put the bowl into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to thicken up a bit more.

Ingredients (cupcakes):
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Lite Salt
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Cloves
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Egg
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup Low Fat Buttermilk
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/3 cup Raises
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, lite salt, cinnamon, cloves and the nutmeg. In another bowl mix together the egg, brown sugar, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla, buttermilk and the pumpkin puree. Now pour the liquid mixture (egg, brown sugar, applesauce, ect.) into the dry mixture bowl (flours, baking soda, baking powder, ect.) and mix the two together really well. Add in the raises and mix again. Put your cupcake liners into your cupcake pan then spoon the batter into the liners and place the cupcake pan into the oven for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool then top with the yogurt frosting from the fridge and sprinkle with fun festive sprinkles! 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (or vegetable oil, if you're not calorie counting)

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

- See more at: http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Healthy-Pumpkin-Spice-Muffins/3568/#sthash.uBFPv7EX.dpuf

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (or vegetable oil, if you're not calorie counting)

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

- See more at: http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Healthy-Pumpkin-Spice-Muffins/3568/#sthash.uBFPv7EX.dpuf

Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1 cup Pumpkin Puree

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix everything together in a large bowl until everything is completely combined. Place the bowl in the freezer for half an hour then stir it up again and leave in the freezer for another half hour. Your frozen yogurt is now ready to serve. It would also be yummy with a few chocolate chips on top!

A Gift For My Grandmama

Today I would like to tell you a little bit about someone that means a lot to me...my Grandmama. 

My Grandmama was born and raised in Bois Colombe France which is now a part of Paris. Her and her family survived World War II and the stories she told us of her childhood were pretty amazing and totally surreal....there were sawdust cookies, clothes made from curtains, Nazi's taking over every house but theirs, a Nazi General taking my Grandmama to Germany to be his children's nanny and a dangerous escape back into France. My Grandmama and my Grandfather met after the war while my Grandfather was in France for work. They were married then moved to the United States were they settled down in California and raised 3 children. My Grandmama was an amazing person who lived through so much and spent her free time volunteering, cooking, doing crossword puzzles and sewing. Today my Grandmama would of turned 92 years old, sadly she passed away four years ago. In memory of her and to celebrate her life I made my family some French Crepes and my husband and I had a glass of champagne (one of her favorites) in her honor. 

(crepe recipe)

I think of my Grandmama every day and today, her birthday, I wanted to do something special to remember her. 

  Nous vous aimons et manques tellement. Joyeux anniversaire!

Kids Cute Halloween Treats

One of the best things about October is it gives me an excuse to make my son some super fun and easy Halloween themed food to eat. I love to see the smile on his face when I bring him is plate! Here are a few of the things I did this year:

Mummy Pizza's


Supplies:
Pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)
English Muffins
String Cheese
Pizza Sauce
Sliced Olives
 I placed 3 seperated English muffins on a baking sheet, I then topped them with the pizza sauce. I pulled apart the string cheese and placed the pieces on top of the sauced muffins. (Don't line the cheese pieces up perfectly, it looks more mummy like if you don't!) I then placed the baking sheet into the oven which I preheated at 350 degrees. While I waited for the cheese to melt a bit I cut the pieces of pepperoni into smaller circles using the center of my apple slicer. Once the cheese was melted a bit I placed the cut pepperoni pieces and the sliced olives on top of the muffins to make the mummies eyes. I turned the oven to broil and left the baking sheet in the oven until the pepperoni was warm and the cheese was melted just the way my son likes it! 

 

Vampire Bites

Supplies:

Peanut Butter (creamy or crunchy)

A Red Apple

Almond Slivers

I cut the apple using my apple slicer then I cut one slice into 6 smaller slices. I slathered peanut butter onto each side of the apple pieces. I then put the slices together and added a few almond slivers to make the vampire fangs.

  

Witches Brooms

Supplies:

Pretzel Sticks

String Cheese

I cut the string cheese into small sections. I then sliced into the end of each string cheese section once vertically and twice horizontally. Make sure to only slice into the cheese sections half way! I then stuck the end of the pretzel sticks into the non sliced end of each cheese section.

Witches Hats

Supplies:

Fudge Striped Cookies

Original Kisses

Orange Icing

I flipped over a few of the cookies so the chocolate side was up. Then using the orange icing I traced around the hole in the middle of the cookie. I then pressed a Kiss into the frosting on each cookie.

  

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese

Supplies:

Bread

Cheddar Cheese Slices

Butter

Pumpkin Cookie Cutter

Butter two slices of bread then cut a pumpkin shape out of the middle of one of the slices of bread with the cookie cutter. Place the piece of bread with the pumpkin shape butter side down in a warm pan then put a slice of cheddar over it and top with the whole slice of bread butter side up. Flip the sandwich frequently until the cheese is melted. Take the buttered piece of bread that you cut out and sprinkle a bit of garlic powder on it. Place it butter side done in the pan until its golden brown. Place it on top of the Tomato Soup.

Mummy Dogs

Supplies:
Hot Dogs
Crescent Dinner Rolls 
Mustard
Cut legs and arms into each hotdog. Open the crescent roll tube. Pull apart each crescent roll. Roll them on the counter top one by one making a 8 long rolls of dough. Wrap the dough around the hot dog like mummy wrapping. Put them in the oven until they turn golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Take them out and dab a bit of mustard on the "head" of the hot dog to make the eyes.  

 

"When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween."
~Author Unknown

Halloween Addition Curious In Colorado

Whats one of the first things I do in October? Plan our trip to the pumpkin patch! Its one of my families favorite things to do! Our son gets to run around and play outside in the fresh fall air and he gets to pick out a pumpkin for each of us....its always a great time! Our favorite pumpkin patch to go to is the Crazed Corn Field Maze which is located off of 104th Avenue and Riverdale Road.

This pumpkin patch has a bunch of different activities, there is something for everyone. This is why it is our favorite!

For the older kids and the adults there is a 20 acre corn maze which turns into The Haunted Field Of Screams and a Haunted Paint Ball Ride at night. But during the day is just a fun ol' corn maze! When you buy a ticket for the maze they give you a punch card so when you find a check point in the maze you punch your card and if you get all the punches and make it out of the maze you get a free mini pumpkin! 

 Not to be left out there is a Mini Maze for the little ones. This also comes with punch cards and check points....its like the big maze but mini!

Like I said there are a bunch of different activities! Besides the corn mazes there is a corn box to play in, a play set to play on, family hay rides, a petting zoo, pony rides, sand art and a jumpy castle and air slide! 

There are also a lot of goofy photo opportunities around the pumpkin patch!

And of course there are pumpkins!

I highly suggest going to the Crazed Corn Field Maze Pumpkin Patch, we always have such a great time! 

Crazed Corn Field Maze Colorado Pumpkin Patch

http://crazedcornfieldmaze.com

If pumpkin patches and corn mazes just arent scary enough for you I definitely recommend the 13th Floor Haunted House which is located on Brighton Blvd in Denver, it is Denver's most horrifying Halloween haunted house experience. I of course haven't personally gone because I am way to much of a winnie face, but after hearing my friends experiences and talking to my friend that works there, he is one of the painted up creepers that jumps out at you, it is awesomely terrifying and a must if you like that type of thing. 

http://www.13thfloorhauntedhouse.com

Perfect Conditions

Now that its fall the weather is getting pretty chilly and getting out from under that warm blanket and off that comfy couch to exercise just doesn't sound that appealing...like at all! But of course sitting on the couch isn't going to do much for your health and fitness. So no matter how cold it is or how comfy you are just remember....

And also....

A little inspiration for you on this Weight Loss Wednesday!

Kids Closet Costumes

Last October I did a Costumes From My Closet post and a Guys Closet Costumes post, so this October I thought I would raid the only closet left in the house....my sons! Here are a few costumes I came up with from my kids closet.

Cowboy

 50's Greaser

Basketball Player

Skater

Biker

Oregon Ducks Fan

(I just had to through that in!)


I also wanted to share some of my favorite DIY kids Halloween costume sites!
Design Finch
The Winthrop Chronicles
Happiness Is Homemade