Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween!

Our costumes this year-channeling Nick's Greek roots-gladiators!

 Our friends as LMFAO

Trick or Treat!

Lollipop Ghosts-tradition started by Mom :)

Gertie's Costume

Batten down the hatches-Storm Sandy!

Storm Sandy is headed our way! Here in New England, we are lucky that we're not in the direct path of Sandy, but we're in the peripheral, so better to be safe than sorry!  Yesterday we stocked up on water, batteries, non-perishables, candles-and of course a bottle of wine or two :)

Last year's hurricane was no joke-especially for my family down in CT, where my parents and in-laws were out of power for a week :/ So we are taking Sandy seriously and hoping for the best, but preparing for whatever may come.

Okay, this is kind of funny:

Everyone stay safe! We're battening down the hatches over here!

The Farm School

So, this past week, I was a little MIA as I headed out West-Western MA that is...to The Farm School with 46 8th graders in tow. It is such an amazing place! The theme of the farm is: being kind, helping others and good food. All the farmers and staff embodied that and more! The kids had such a great time, there were no major incidents and we all returned in one piece-for an 8th grade overnight field trip, I'll call that a success!

Being away from technology for a few days and waking up before sunrise to work on the farm, definitely put things in perspective for me. I loved being that close to nature and even being removed from my beloved devices, did good things for my soul. From sunrise nature walks, morning yoga, the amazing food that was cooked by the kids (with help from the staff), exploring the woods, and campfires at night-it was truly a one-of-a-kind experience that I will not soon forget.

Although I must admit, after a few pumpkin beers, a hot shower, and a full night's sleep,

 I did feel a bit more human :)

Gone Farming!

This weeks post will be a little shorter than usual, since as this post goes up, I will be an hour and a half away in the hills of MA. That's right, I am currently chaperoning 50 eighth graders on a 3 day, 2 night class trip to Farm School. We're taking the city kids to the farm.....

...this will be quite the adventure!

Wish me luck!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Colors

Yellow: 

Orange:

 Red: 

Lovin' these fall colors!!

Pure Happiness: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past weekend, I decided to indulge on a treat that I've seen all over Pinterest, magazines and TV. 

Believe me they are worth the hype! 

Here's what I did to make these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies-aka pure happiness :)

Gather Ingredients:

Cream together 2 sticks butter, softened

Add 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar, cream until smooth

 Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, then 1 tsp vanilla and 1 can pumpkin puree

 Slowly incorporate dry mixture: 3 cups flour, 2tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 

1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg

 Add 1 bag of chocolate chips-I used dark chocolate!

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes...

And voila!

Make sure you have people to share with, these will be tempting!

SO glad I tried this recipe, I was a little wary of pumpkin in my chocolate chip cookies, 

but these are delish!

Leaf Peeping Fail

When on a weekend, and one decides to leaf peep, here are a few things to keep in mind....

Please choose a driver who is willing to make stops, so you don't have to frantically 

try and get shots from the inside of your honda civic...

  

Or you will get shots like this, with reflections from the windshield and 

parts of the steering wheel in the picture...

Or you may get all sorts of cars and trucks in the picture, 

which don't quite make for a frame-worthy shot...

When peeping, one must always tell the person with the camera when one spots a peep worthy shot, or else said photographer will be stuck fiddling with camera and miss the peep completely...

 Sometimes, one will peep some color and deem it a peep worthy shot, 

yet sadly it will not turn out that way...

The next pointer I have, and this is key....when one decides to go leaf peeping, one should look online or at some other resource to find out when the actual peep season begins...

Otherwise one will be sadly disappointed, when most of the colors are green with some brown and a tiny peep of color here and there, but nothing all that exciting...

  Yep, let's just call this a leaf peeping FAIL!

And please, remember when peeping to heed my warnings, 

lest you fall victim to a leaf peeping fail like me!