Harry Potter Visits My Home

The Halloween Party for my son's class yesterday was SO much fun!!! Kindergarten is such a fun age, I really really enjoy going into the class to help out. The school (Pre-school through 2nd grade) did a Halloween parade and then we went back to the classroom to play The Mummy Wrap game, Halloween Bingo and my favorite, the Touchy Feely game! Oh my goodness this was SOOO much fun. We had little shoeboxes with holes cut out of the front and each one contained a monster part for the kids to reach in and touch. There was one with monster hair and teeth (faux fur and tic tacs), another with eyeballs and a brain (grapes and a wet sponge) and one more with guts (cooked spaghetti). If you could have seen their little faces when they stuck their hands in (and promptly pulled them back out quickly) - it was hysterical!!!

Here is a pic of my little guy in his costume! I did the scar on his forehead and it looked quite good with a little cream eyeshadow and a little powder etc to give it some raised dimension ;) Trick or Treating with friends today and then a nice relaxing rest of the weekend! Happy Halloween All!!!

The Great Coat Debacle & Halloween

Hello! So sorry for my lack of posts lately!! I've had my son home sick from school a couple times and between that, running around, volunteering at his school and getting ready for Halloween, I've been crazy busy!!! So I last posted about a coat that I had ordered from Modcloth after deciding to return the coat from Anthro. Well let me tell you this, when my husband returned that Anthro coat, I was soooo upset. Did I feel silly being that upset about a coat?! Sure I did. But I felt as though the coat and I had bonded, that we had formed a friendship and were truly meant for one another! But I still returned the Deep Woods Coat and my search for something I would love equally as much continued. I did receive the Anastasia Coat from Modcloth and it was very pretty, but sadly it was not for me. I even went to the J.Crew Factory store this past weekend and there were some gorgeous coats on sale! A charcoal colored wool trench and lady coats in apple green, purple, bright red and black. I am embarrassed to say that I purchased not one, but two coats (for the same price combined as the Anthro coat) but then returned them before we left because they just weren't what I was looking for. I know, you're probably thinking exactly what my husband said to me multiple times - "It's just a coat for pete sake!!!" I know it's just a coat.... But that didn't stop me. So my husband and I just celebrated our 7 year anniversary this past Monday and what did I get for a gift? The Anthro coat!!! lol. My long lost friend is finally home ;)

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day of Halloween activities at my Son's school so I need to rest up! He is going to be Harry Potter this year (since that is who everyone says he looks like, lol) It was a last-minute choice as the couple costumes were pondering just didn't work out. Here is a photo of him....


What do you think? Is Harry Potter the perfect costume choice or what?! We got him the robe, the scarf and the wand =) Pictures to follow soon. I hope everyone has a very Happy Halloween!!!!

New Coat!

I posted before about the Deep Woods Coat that I recently purchased from Anthro.... I thought this coat was really beautiful and really fell in love with it. However, I was experiencing some serious "buyers remorse" over the $268 price tag - especially when I got an email from Piperlime on Monday that they were having a sale!!! So I decided to return the Anthro coat and to buy a couple pairs of much needed Fall boots (along with an extra 20% coupon) and get a less expensive coat. I happened to be reading Chloe's Blog and was reading a great post about coats when I noticed that she had a little widget for ModCloth on her page, along with a 10% coupon code (cute10)!! I decided to head over and check it out. I was coming across all these adorable blouses, dresses and accessories when I decided maybe I should check for a coat when I came across this lovely.....



The gorgeous Anastasia Coat, which I actually like a bit better than the deep woods coat and it's less $$ with a coupon too! Score!! (thanks Chloe!!!)

So since ModCloth is known to sell out of popular items and this just popped up as a new item today, I bought it. I had a feeling that if I didn't it might be one of those things that would sell out and I would never be able to find it again and would spend the rest of my life thinking "Why didn't I just buy that coat?!?!?" I've come across a couple items like that in my life and yes, I still think about them, lol. Now let's hope I like it as much in person as I did on the site!!! Review coming soon ;)

Italian Pot Roast & A Spin-Off Recipe

So lately I have been terrible at planning our dinners! Everything is last minute and thrown together. But now that the weather is cooler I decided to dust off my cookbooks and start making some cool weather favorites. Tonight we are having some Italian Pot Roast from the cookbook "Kitchen Life" by Art Smith (Oprah's Personal Chef). I've made this recipe before and it's pretty good! I usually make my Pot Roast with brown gravy etc and this is a nice twist. Plus the left-overs can be used in a different dish the next night ;) So here it is...

Italian Pot Roast

~ 2 TB olive oil, or more if needed
~ One 3 3/4 lb bottom round beef roast
~ 1 large onion chopped (I used half this and used a chopper to finely dice
~ 1 Med Carrot, diced (I omitted)
~ 1 Med Celery Rib, diced (I omitted this as well)
~ 2 Garlic Cloves
~ 3/4 Cup dry red wine, such as Zinfandel or Shiraz
~ One 28oz Can tomatoes in thick puree, chopped
~ 1 tsp dried oregano
~ 1 tsp dried basil

This recipe called for using a dutch oven over the stove-top, but I like my pot roast falling apart, so I used a crock pot (slow-cooker). If you would like the stove-top recipe email me and I will send it to you!

I just heated the oil on the stove-top at medium heat. I took the roast, rinsed and dried with a paper towel. Then I rubbed it with a little salt and pepper and then seared all sides. You want to wait at least 5 min per side before turning over. You want all that flavor seared into the meat to keep all the juices in while cooking!

While I was searing the meat I cut up my onions, garlic and veggies (if you're using them). I put my tomatoes, wine and herbs right into the slow-cooker and stirred. Then I added my diced veggies and garlic. Once the meat was done I put it into the slow-cooker as well. To add a little more flavor to the sauce I took my empty tomato can and filled it with about a 1/2 cup water and poured into the pan to de-glaze all the browned bits of flavor and then poured that in the crock as well. Just make sure to turn on your oven's fan and stand back when pouring the water in!!

I turned the slow-cooker on high, placed an old kitchen towel on top (my cooker splatters) and voila! I will most likely serve with some steamed green beans.

Best of all, you can chop up the leftovers and toss with some penne the next night! Just chop the leftover roast, add some sauce along with your regular pasta sauce, a little basic and some Parmesan and you have another easy dinner! Enjoy!!

And the next Bachelor is......

Jake!!!! And I couldn't be more excited!!! I missed the announcement on DWTS last night and woke up this morning to an announcement on the Comcast newsreel. I definitely developed a MAJOR crush on Jake on the last season of The Bachelorette! I was immediately smitten by his "boy next door" good looks and his kindness and charm. Can he be a little intense? Sure. But does it really matter?! I am curious to see how it all plays out this season for him. I'm wondering how he'll handle all the catty behavior that will very likely ensue on the show. I also think he's going to have a really hard time sending women home as well. We will see! C'mon January!!!

What do you think of Jake as the next Bachelor?

Oh How I Love thee....

Let Me count the ways... My wonderful husband took me to Anthropologie this past weekend to check out the Deep Woods Toggle Coat. I completely fell head over heels with it online and even though I was quite hesitant on the price, we went to the store so I could try it on. I was a little concerned with the thickness, or rather lack thereof on this coat, but the wool seems very heavy, so it should keep out the cold for the most part. I tried on the coat and even my husband told me I just had to get it! The cut is SO flattering and it's such a classy look!! Now I just need it to start getting cold out so I can wear it ;)