How I spent September 1st: the unofficial start to autumn!

September 1st is normally an exciting day, but this year I did it right! I binged on pumpkin.

I started off my morning the only way a proper Halloween gal should: with a batch of tasty & delicious Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes. Addicting, they're so good.

Filled with energy and excitement, I took a trip to my local Wegmans to check out their stock of pumpkin ales. (If you don't know this, Wegmans has one of the best beer gardens. EVER.) And I wasn't disappointed this time, either!


I took notes of all the pumpkin brews they had available then selected my custom 6-pick to take home to taste. Look for blog posts covering each one!

Next stop? A quick coffee date with the boyfriend. While Sept. 4th is the official release date for the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, many will serve them starting the first of the month.

I was THRILLED to snag one yesterday--my first of the season! Since I'm livin' life a bit healthier these days, I opted for a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino Light. If you want the hot version of the beverage, ask for non-fat, no whip. There is no "skinny" version of the drink.

Very little of this was actually planned yesterday; it all revolved around a day full of errands.  I happened to have left over pumpkin pancake batter. I happened to have needed to make a trip to King of Prussia mall yesterday, which just happens to be near the new Wegmans. We made a coffee run prior to getting me some new running shoes, and that particular Starbucks happened to be serving PSLs already.

To complete my day of errand-running, I had to visit our local supermarket, a GIANT Food Store. As we pulled up in the lot to park, a bright patch of orange caught my eye. Rows and rows of pumpkins for sale! SWEET. Any size, just $5. Obviously I had to buy one.

It's such a gorgeous one, isn't it? I'm so excited to dig into it tomorrow and roast up a batch of seeds. My favorite snack! 

Oh, yeah. The reason I went to GIANT in the first place? To stock up on pumpkin puree, of course ;)

31 Days of Halloween: Day 1

I do this blog differently every year.  (And not at all on purpose.)  So this year, lets take a look at how I'm spending my October, a.k.a. my 31 days of Halloween.

My day started off by happily stumbling upon the very beginning of Ghostbusters on VH1.  For the past couple years, I've been trying to figure out how I can get my hair that big to be Dana (as Zuul) for Halloween.  After watching the flick this time around, I still haven't figured it out.  Anyway, here's a clip from the film in case I've put you in the mood and you need your fix:

I Want You Inside Me

Aside from being appropriate to my comment, I tried to pick a different clip from Ghostbusters that I've yet to feature on this blog.  (Although you can still watch "He Slimed Me" in it's original Halloween Spot post - just another great clip from a great flick!)



After watching Ghostbusters in it's entirety (and losing that portion of the day to be productive,) I unwrapped the new gravestones I bought and placed them outside.  (purchased at Target and Party City)  One "stone" in particular had a job: I was making a grave site this year!

Of course, just like when baking, I never have all the components I need when I start a project.  For the grave site, I also needed some bones and some loose soil.  I made a pit stop at the local Halloween Adventure first, since I haven't visited it yet this season.  It must be said, I was incredibly disappointed!  Their stock was less than impressive, and what they did have was way overpriced.  Oh well!  I knew where I could grab some bones; I had eyed up Target's Bag of Bones on a previous trip.  A little pricey for being styrofoam ($20,) but I needed them to do the job.  Then I ran over to good ol' Home Depot and grabbed the cheapest bag of soil I could.  And I paid for it.  It smelled... unnatural.

Next, I laid out the bones to get an idea of which ones I would use and about where they would go.

Two reasons I didn't use all the bones in that bag.  1) I thought this would give a better creepy effect, and 2) I now have extras in case any little assholes decide to grave rob.


To lay the soil, I shoveled it bit-by-bit into a bowl to break it up (as it was pretty damp) and to be able to spread it more easily.  This process took a little while, but I thought the outcome was pretty damn good!

I used up the entire bag here, yet some of the ground beneath came through in blades of grass and leaves.  That is A-OKAY.  I plan on spreading another bag of soil over the "grave" closer to the date of our shindig to make it look "fresh."

WHOA!  I missed mentioning an important part of my Autumn-y day!  I had also stopped by Starbucks during my errand-running and grabbed a tasty Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino to make the day more complete :)

photo credit: starbucks.com