Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Happy Halloween! I already posted about all the treats I was making for myself, so today here's a little something festive for all the puppies in our lives. Emily made Dante homemade dog treats last year for Christmas and he went berserk for them, which says a lot because he is extraordinarily picky about his treats. The one store-bought treat he loves is a duck jerky, but unfortunately there's been a lot of warnings going around about harmful chemicals used aging the jerky made in China and making many dogs very ill. Yup, ours is made in China, into the trash it goes!

When I was in the pet store looking for new treats I saw a stack of pumpkin puree for doggies. I read the label and it's meant to be good for their digestion. The ingredients read: organic pumpkin puree. Hmmm, why would I pay extra for this can because there is a cute dog on the front? I went home and baked these with the canned pumpkin I had, for humans. These are easy enough to make for the baking impaired, like myself.

Professor Sibyll Trelawney Costume

I love Halloween. Dressing up in homemade costumes is so much fun for me and I kinda wish I had an excuse do it more often. So I usually jump at any opportunity where it's socially acceptable to get my geek on. This get-up was for a Harry Potter weekend in Chestnut Hill.  If you already own a lot of bangles, you're half-way to a decent Professor Trelawney costume!  I chose to imitate Emma Thompson's version of the character in film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. You don't have to be spot on, but there are a few must-haves to convey the look of the looney Divination teacher... or be mistaken for a new-age ceramics instructor living in Tucson*.

Homemade Halloween Candy

As a kid it was a cardinal Trick-or-Treating rule to not eat any homemade or opened items. Which is a shame now because I love the idea of making my own Halloween candy. But who says you have to make it for the Trick-or-Treaters? Instead, be a hit in the office or at a party. Here's a few recipes for better-than-store-bought-candy. Although I've only attempted the peanut butter cups (my favorite) I hope to be indulging my sweet tooth in the next week, and maybe getting a stomachache or two.

Beet and Spinach Orzo

So I have to admit I haven't been stellar at keeping up with Meatless Mondays, but we do have a lot of meatless other days. I feel like I've significantly reduced our meat consumption, which is the end goal anyway. And now that the chickens are laying we can get a lot of our protein from eggs. I got some tasty beets from the farmer's market and wanted them to be the star of something. I found this recipe on Food52, I know, I'm on there a lot, but I had this recipe saved and decided to make it last night.

Tea Treatments for Your Hair

I remember the day I colored my hair for the first time and essentially lost my natural highlights forever. Sigh. My mother warned me, but I did it anyway. My natural color is a dirty blonde, and growing up playing sports year round, I maintained golden blonde highlights. But that wasn't enough for me, I wanted something different and new! I wanted something dark. After I made up my mind my friend spent a fair amount of time coloring my hair in our apartment kitchen, and I loved it! Until I wanted my golden highlights back...

Using Natural Dyes

I have the pleasure of volunteering with Greener Partners, a non-profit in the Greater Philly area. I'm working specifically with their organic farm, Longview Farm and Market. Basically I get to hang out around the farm and attend awesome events and workshops! I was excited to attend this one, presented by the Marafiki Arts, about dyeing with natural plant dyes. It's one of those things that I've wanted to try but haven't got around to it. It turns out that the process is pretty simple...

The instructor already had three colors going. Big stainless steel pots simmering with the "dye", water and vinegar. The vinegar acts as a fixative to the fabric. Shown below are marigold flowers, which yield a brilliant golden yellow. They also have a magnificent fragrance as they simmer. In true sustainable fashion, the marigolds were grown at Longview over the summer. It makes me want to grow my own marigolds next year. I'm pretty certain chickens are fans of them as well, bonus!

We started off with white pieces of cloth and used various techniques to create patterns. Ah, brings me back to the childhood days of messy tie-dying... We used rubber bands, washers and clamps to make designs. the tiny clamps were really handy and effective at securing the pattern.

Look at that color! You can achieve an endless amount of hues by leaving the fabric in the dye for varying times. 

There also was a brilliant purple made from a crushed South American insect, ew, but it made a gorgeous color. The third color was indigo, that was also harvested from the farm.  I knew what the color looked like, but not the plant. The color is made from the dried leaves of the plant, below. The color in the pot looks like a dark sea green, but when the dyed fabric hits the air and oxidizes it turns into that bright blue.

These little wooden flowers made a cute pattern. After the dyeing process, you set the color by rinsing it in cold water, then allowing it to dry.

This is most definitely an art. Because of the nature of the method you could spend a lot of trial and error tweaking your process to achieve the perfect colors. I think I'd like to use natural dyes to do some batiks, where you use wax to draw your patterns. Pioneer Thinking has an extensive list of dye sources and the color they produce, here. Think of all the colors you can create!

Recommended: 25 Indie Movies on Netflix Now

It's my favorite time of year, when the leaves are changing and everything is pumpkin flavored. Unfortunately it's also the time when my allergy stricken immune system throws up it's hands in defeat. I'm sick. Currently, I'm on the couch, snuggling with Dante, drinking plenty of fluids and vegging out with Netflix. So I thought it a good time to share a bunch of movies that I'd recommend, that are available right now, depending on what you're looking for...

Cult Classics

1. Donnie Darko - Jake Gyllenhaal is a teenager that's seeing things, namely a terrifying bunny named Frank and portals into the future. 
2. Lost in Translation - An unexpected duo of Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray connecting in Japan.
3. Trainspotting - This is not a happy movie. You have been warned. That said, it is a classic.
4. Clerks - The first of Kevin Smith. If you haven't seen this, you've probably missed out on a lot of references to it in life.
5. Strictly Ballroom - The first part of the Baz Lurhman Trilogy. Trilogy? Strictly Ballroom: Dance, Romeo + Juliet: Poetry, Moulin Rouge: Song. Go.
6. Being John Malkovich - A completely bizarre concept. If you've watched this before, but when it first came out, watch again.

Coming of Age

1. Saved! - It's funny and heartfelt, and surprisingly a good commentary on Christianity. Mandy Moore is the "mean girl" and Macaulay Caulkin is her wheelchair bound brother.
2. Goats - David Duchovny plays a total hippie nomad that helps guide a teen through adolescent trials, with the help of some goats. 
3. Cashback - A twenty something develops insomnia after a difficult breakup. With nothing better to do, he starts working the night shift at a supermarket where he let's his artist imagination run wild.
4. Sassypants - If you hated Skyler in Breaking Bad, you'll love hating her character in this. 
5. Billy Elliot - You haven't seen Billy Elliot?? Watch this first! Just try not to feel good at the end. I dare you.

Cute, Funny, and (Most Likely) Awkward Romances

1. Timer - Romantic Sci-fi? This one takes place in a world where finding your "true love" a scientific reality.
2. Love Birds - Adorable rom com from New Zealand. Remember Murray from Flight of the Conchords? He plays a handsome bloke who takes in a wounded duck after his girlfriend leaves him. Aww.
3. The Giant Mechanical Man - This falls in the awkward category, but I couldn't help but empathizing with Jenna Fischer's character.
4. Ceremony - This rides the line of romance and coming of age. Many literary references, and has an overall feeling of the plight of the Great Gatsby.
5. Outsourced - They tried to make a TV series out of this, which sort of flopped. Disregard that and enjoy the film.
6. 2 Days in Paris // 2 Days in New York - I cheated, this is two separate movies. Not necessarily a sequel but definitely go together. 

Just a Little Dark

1. Lucky - Definitely dark and definitely funny. Gotta love Colin Hanks.
2. It's a Disaster - It's not exactly funny, but it's probably the most realistic outcome, I've seen, of a global disaster. 
3. The Brass Teapot - A good lesson can be learned here. It also makes you think about what you would do in their shoes.
4. Bernie - A dark comedy with my favorite, Jack Black.

Something Else All Together

1. Butter - A pseudo mockumetary about butter carving competitions in a Mid-West town. Olivia Wilde's prostitute character has very little to do with plot development, but is awesome all the same.
2. Lars and the Real Girl - I didn't get what the fuss was over Ryan Gosling, until I saw this film. That boy can act. I thought it was going to be depressing, but it has a great ending.
3. Magicians - Who loves "Peep Show"? Anyone? Robert Webb and David Mitchell play professional magicians. The plot mildly parodies The Prestige.
4. Unicorn City - Let your geek flag fly! Are you a gamer of any description? Watch this.

8 Things I'm Glad We Did For Our Wedding

Today is my two year anniversary of marriage to my awesome husband, Chris. And as with most annual celebrations I can't help but to think back and reminisce about the day. To anyone planning a wedding on their own, it's tough, though extremely rewarding. We tried to be as realistic as possible, and kept reminding ourselves that we don't have to conform to traditions, and that this was just one giant party. I'm not going to give a play by play of the planning process, but rather share the highlights of things I'm happy we did. Perhaps a little perspective for any future "big party" you might have.

1. We set our priorities - Right from the get go we knew we wanted have great food and drink and good music. It seems simple enough, but because we were working with a tight budget, we allotted most of our money to a fabulous "classy BBQ" caterer, Tommy Gunns. The buffet style food was a hit, guests raved about the food. You don't need a sit down meal with a steak option to be delicious! Of course, we also wanted an open bar because anything else is just not right. And after we agreed on what was most important us, the rest of the budget fell into place.

2. We made our own playlist - Our music component cost zero dollars because from January to October of 2011 we crafted our entire playlist, from cocktail hour to departure. There's nothing like loving every single song that's played on your wedding day. We used a laptop and a PA system, as well as our friend, and Chris' former band mate, who played emcee. The biggest floor filler of the evening? Chumbawumba, I Get Knocked Down. Go figure.

3. We incorporated friends and family - We're extraordinarily lucky to be in the company of so many talented friends and family, and we did our best to exploit that! As I mentioned, we had Chris' former band mate emcee, we had a friend do the photography, Chris' mom expertly did the entire bridal party's hair and makeup, Chris' uncle supplied us with his amazing homemade bottled hot sauce, "Botto's Bitchin'" as favors, and lastly our friend, Sean, added a trumpet solo onto our first dance song. Did I already say we're lucky? Everyone, especially our super bridal party, was ready and willing to help us set up the space the day before. Having friends and family help us in so many ways made the day that more special and uniquely "us".

4. I bought a dress that I was comfortable in - This probably goes against all womanly instincts, but I opted for a dress that was flattering, yes, but I was comfortable in it. I didn't have to re-position things, I didn't have to worry about eating too much and sucking in my gut. And it had pockets! I firmly believe that all dresses should have pockets, even big white ones. I danced all night in it without the slightest concern. And speaking of dancing...


5. I danced with my husband - After all the introductions, speeches and first dances, I danced with Chris all night long. Sure we made rounds and thanked guests, but I remember having fun with him. Although we planned everything ourselves, we actually enjoyed the wedding like guests and not hosts.

6. We had the guests leave us messages - This is the gift that keeps on giving! I most likely saw this on Pinterest; we asked guests to write messages to us on the inside of the table number card. Now we open and read the card on our corresponding anniversary. So tonight we'll read what table #2 had to say! It's a fun time capsule that we can openly yearly until our 23rd anniversary.

7. We left for our honeymoon the next day - I was worried it would be too stressful to jet off to Ireland the day after. But it wasn't! I found it quite romantic to just have a big chunk of time dedicated to wedding and honeymoon. We still were on a wedding high, and it felt more special than just another vacation.

8. We spent less than $10K - That includes everything! Honeymoon, rings, attire for ourselves and the bridal party etc. With a little under 200 guests, I thought it was quite the financial accomplishment. The last thing we wanted to do was to start our married life in "wedding debt". Because we stuck to our priorities, it was much easier to make decisions. It also helped that we did ALL of the decor and invites ourselves. So what didn't cost us money, cost a whole lot of time. Worth it! Wedding high-five!

In the end, it was a reflection of us. We had fun planning it, living it and now remembering it!

Easy as No Bake Vegan Granola Bars

I don't know where the expression "easy as pie" came from, but making pie isn't exactly easy. However, I'll tell you what is easy, this granola recipe by Gena Hamshaw.

I've tried to take my own advice and start snacking on healthy things throughout the day, rather than just eating a container of leftover dinner from the night before. This recipe caught my eye because of the "no bake" factor. The last time I attempted baking granola (late at night) after hours of super low temperature baking, I took it out and was immediately puzzled by the fact that it wasn't hard and chewy. Oh, impatience, you strike again.

Do you want your granola ASAP? Quick, to the cupboard! I used:

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup of sliced almonds
1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cups almond butter

1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup agave nectar (adjust based on how well things stick together)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (adjust based on which nut butter you use)

Mix the nut butter and agave separately at first to get a homogeneous mixture. Then stir everything together and shape it into a square on a wax paper lined baking sheet. 

Pop in the refrigerator for an hour, or so, to harden it up before you cut it into little bars. I got about 16 bars from this square.

Healthy snack accomplished! They are a tad sticky and if you hold them in your hand for too long they start to fall apart. But if you're holding onto granola for that long you deserve to get messy ;)

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size: 1 bars
Amount per Serving: Calories 123, Calories from Fat 83.4

Total Fat 9.27g

Saturated Fat 0.93g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 10.76mg

Total Carbohydrate 22.91g

Dietary Fiber 2.71g

Sugars 9.25g 

Protein 4.48g

October Playlist

Whether you're hosting a Halloween Party or not, get yourself in a spooky mood with this playlist; Photo source