Halloweentime

 

 

 

 

It's Halloween and while the day doesn't have the same excitement that it held when my girls were young and it was a day filled with class parties and trick or treating, I still think it's fun. It's different though and much more simple - no costumes to sew or buy and no cookies or cupcakes to make and send to school. We don't even bother carving a pumpkin anymore.

 

 

Even the trick or treating is not quite the same. In our old neighborhood, we would easily have close to 200 trick or treaters. Here in Florida, I live in a new development, so last year, with a lot of construction on my street still happening, we had no children stop buy. This year, things are a little more finished and organized. There is a system set up where all the houses that are passing out candy have an orange ribbon on the lightpost. We are told to expect around 20 trick or treaters (it's Florida after all and while not a retirement community, we don't have very many kids in the neighborhood). But, it's going to be a beautiful night and I will be ready with my bowl of candy.

 

 

Through the years, I have always made a special cocktail on Halloween night, as well as passing out coffee with a Baily's shot or a beer to the dads on trick or treat duty. My cocktail choice this year is a Pumpkin Spice White Russian. Most fall cocktails are made with apple cider, which is hard to find in Florida, so this seemed a good choice. I made one last night to test it out and it is delicious.

To make: Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add 1 ounce vodka, 2 ounces kahlua and 2 ounces Pumpkin Spice Flavored Creamer. Stir together well and enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

 

Try these other cocktails from past Halloween nights:

Apple Cider Margarita

Caramel Apple Martini

Apple Cider and Buttershot Cocktail

 

{ Linking with these friends}

Savvy Southern Style

Between Naps on the Porch

21 Rosemary Lane

Stonegable

 

Pineapple Salsa

 

 

 

In my last post, I promised to post the recipe for the yummy salsa I made to take to a football watch party. Now, this is not something I would have made to take tailgating on a chilly fall day in Michigan, but here in Florida; perfect. Or, if you just need a little sunshine and some tropical goodness to brighten your day.

The pineapple here in Florida is really good and fresh right now, but pineapple is a fruit that you can find year round, so no worries there. To save time chopping, I bought the red onions and peppers pre chopped, so this was really easy to put together. I did not add a jalapeño, but added a few drops of Tabasco instead. That way I could control the heat a little better. My dish was clean when I left the party, so that's a sign of successful recipe to me.

The original pin and recipe can be found here. I did not serve the salsa in the half pineapple, but how great does it look. Maybe next time :-)

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

{ Linking with these friends}

Savvy Southern Style

Between Naps on the Porch

21 Rosemary Lane

Stonegable

Lately

 

 

 

My daughter Melissa was in Orlando for business and was able to drive to see us this past weekend, after her work trip was done. It was a quick visit, but we had beautiful weather and she loves to get her beach and pool time in, so that is what we did. We went to Siesta Key beach one day and spent another day at our pool. We had some fun dinners at restaurants on the water and she had her fill of sun and pina coladas, before heading back to the colder temps in Michigan. It's always hard to say goodbye, but this time it wasn't so bad, since she will be back in one month for Thanksgiving.

 

 

On Saturday, we were sad to see our Spartans lose to Michigan, but still had fun watching the game with some friends and fellow MSU fans here in Florida. Melissa came to the party with us (she is a Spartan alum too) and also enjoyed spending half time by their pool. There were a lot of rivalry shenanigans both before, during and after the game and I can't wait to see what next year's game brings. The photo is what I took to the watch party - pineapple salsa in my favorite MSU dish. Recipe coming soon, since it was delicious.

 

 

Yesterday, I went with some friends to see A Star Is Born and I loved it. I don't see a lot of movies, but this was one I really wanted to see. I have fond memories of the Barbara Striesand version and was really looking forward to seeing Lady Gaga in the role. I thought she was mesmerizing on the big screen and more than held her own with Bradley Cooper (also great). As a pop star, she does a lot of semi weird things in my opinion, but in this stripped down, vulnerable version of herself, she became interesting and believable to me. She is a very talented singer, but now a legitimate actress as well.

Happy Tuesday!