As promised, here are photos of the final masterpiece that is our girls’ room:

The window valance was the result of a very pleasant first experience with Etsy’s custom forum called Alchemy. The process was simple. I posted a new request for someone to sew curtains for me. The form allowed me to describe the project and even name a target price. Using Google, I’d found a picture of a valance I liked and included that with my request. It was fun to read each sewer’s bid as they came in, and, within a day, I had received seven different offers, many for under my target price. I ended up going with a sewer who had matched my target price and lived only 45 minutes from my house (what luck!).

I’m thinking this custom section on Etsy is going to come in very handy.

Trick out your Halloween dinner table with some of these spooky treats. It’s probably the only way to get something healthy into the bellies of your little goblins.

	APPLE BITES These toothsome treats are a fun and healthy break from Halloween sweets. Just quarter and core an apple, cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter, and then press slivered almonds in place for teeth. If you’re not going to serve them right away, baste the apples with orange juice to keep them from browning.
	EDIBLE EYEBALLS Set out a platter of these creepy peepers, and your party guests are bound to do a double take. Simply slice carrots into 1-inch-thick chunks, top each with a blob of cream cheese and one half of a pitted black olive, and they’re ready to serve.
	GHOST TOAST Looking for a treat that truly embodies the spirit of Halloween? Try serving some of these flavorful phantoms. For each, toast a slice of white bread and then cut a ghost shape from it. You can do this freehand using a knife, or you can use a gingerbread-girl cookie cutter. When the cutouts have cooled, spread on a generous coating of whipped cream cheese. For eyes and mouths, add raisins.
	ENGLISH MUMMIES These yummy mummy pizzas make a quick and fun Halloween lunch or dinner. To create one, first spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin (toast it first, if you like). Set olive slices in place for eyes and add round slices of green onion or bits of red or green pepper for pupils. Lay strips of cheese (we used a pulled-apart cheese stick) across the muffin for the mummy’s wrappings. Bake at 350° until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty, about 10 minutes.
	MELON BRAIN Created from nothing more than a small, round seedless watermelon, this spooky cerebral creation is bound to turn heads. First, use a vegetable peeler to remove the entire green rind, exposing the inner white rind. Then slice off the bottom of the melon to make a flat base that will keep it from rolling. With a toothpick, outline squiggly furrows that resemble the folded surface of a brain. Finally, carve narrow channels along the tracings with a sharp paring knife (a parent’s job) to expose the pink fruit beneath the rind.

For more creepy cuisine visit FamilyFun.com.

We made Snickerdoodle cookies as a family on Sunday evening, and they were gone in a flash. Everybody was craving more today, so we made them again tonight. (Don’t you wish your mom had let you have cookies two nights in a row?) As we made the dough up tonight I was realizing that this is probably among the simplest cookie recipes, and the ingredients are all really inexpensive. Not that chocolate chips really break the bank, but when your watching your pennies every little bit helps, right?

So here is a refresher of my favorite Snickerdoodle recipe — they come out soft, buttery and satisfyingly chewy.

Snickerdoodles

½ cup Butter or Margarine
1 cup Sugar
¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 Egg
½ teaspoon Vanilla
1-½ cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

In a medium mixing bowl beat the butter or margarine with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup of sugar, baking soda and cream of tartar. Beat till combined, scraping sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in the remaining flour until it is combined. Cover and chill one hour. (Cookie dough meant for shaping often needs to be chilled first for easier handling).

Combine the two tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into one-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Makes 24 cookies.

Living in a place where Autumn is fairly non-existent I have to rely on other signs of Fall, like receiving my Halloween edition of the Pottery Barn Kids catalog.

Flipping through those catalog pages takes me back to the four years I spent living in Virginia. Fall was my most favorite time — the weather is not too hot or cold but just right, and the tree-lined neighborhoods boast the most amazing shades of orange, red and yellow.

We moved to Phoenix soon after having our first child because we wanted to get back out West where we would have a little more wiggle room. This time of year, though, I secretly wish we had never moved, and I contemplate flying my family out to Alexandria, Virginia, to go Trick or Treating the right way. The charming colonial architecture, winding roads and gorgeous fall colors have a fairy-tale quality that on Halloween night is so spooky in an absolutely wonderful way.

Maybe someday we’ll make it out there, but this year I’ll have to settle for the catalog.

Something about summertime puts me in the mood to eat healthy. Maybe it’s all the colorful fruits and veggies in season or the fact that it is 115 degrees out and anything not frozen — or at least fresh — sounds totally unappealing. Even more likely would be that I’m frequently donning a swimsuit, but whatever the reason I can’t resist stopping by the local farmer’s market and filling a basket full.

This evening I got apricots, peaches, plums, blueberries (my favorite), bananas, a cantaloupe (that smelled so good I nearly broke it open deserted-island style and ate it right in the aisle), tomatoes, limes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, and some homemade granola.

I felt so pleased as I unpacked my grocery bag without a single pre-packaged or processed item — thinking of how well my family was going to eat this week and proud of the stellar eating habits I’m instilling in my children. Now I just have to remember to use everything I got rather than let it spoil in the fridge. (The guilt of tossing a bunch of wasted food later would certainly undermine my super-mom high.)

Been on a brief hiatus with our move to the new house. It’s a funny thing about moving — you actually have to move EVERYTHING. No hiding things in the junk drawer or at the back of a closet…. every last thing must go.

Our house did not end up being ready last weekend as we had planned, so we’re in this awkward holding pattern. I keep having to dig through boxes trying to find things, and the cable company disconnected our internet Saturday, despite the fact that I called them Friday, and they agreed to postpone the switchover. Exhausting. Overwhelming. If only life had a fast forward button.

Working towards our big move this Friday, we’ve been doing a lot of eating out, but this recipe takes less than five minutes to prepare and uses hardly any utensils (a major plus when your kitchen is packed away in boxes), and it is just so yummy!

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 pkg. Pepperoni
1 tbsp. Oregano
1 tbsp. Garlic Salt
1-2 loaves French bread (depending on how many you’re feeding)
1 bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Optional Toppings: Mushrooms, Olives, Bell Peppers, Onions

Cut the loaf of bread in half down the middle. Then take each half and slice it length-wise so you have four large pieces. Repeat with the second loaf, if using. Place the bread, crusty side down, onto a baking sheet. Spread sauce over cut sides of loaves. Sprinkle two thirds of the oregano and garlic salt over sauce. Divide pepperoni evenly among all sections of bread. Add whatever other toppings are desired. Divide cheese evenly over sections of bread. Sprinkle the remaining oregano and garlic over the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until toasted. Cut into smaller pieces and serve on paper plates!