*originally posted November 2011

I’ll take a moment to pat myself on the back and say it isn’t half bad. In fact, it tastes just like mom’s soup. Know what’s not a triumph?

Promptly losing the recipe. I’m not kidding. I can’t find it anywhere and I just used it yesterday. But I’ll ask mom to email it and I’ll post it later. In the mean time I’m not going to look at any more Martha Stewart recipes. I’m sticking with family recipes. Mostly because my family has a history of pinching pennies and the recipes are actually affordable. Nothing chaps my hide like reading an ingredient like, “Mushrooms, preferably from the forests of Germany.”

Right Martha. Sure.

In the mean time, fall has hit our neighborhood in force. The air smells like chimney smoke. It’s raining today. And for once I’ve actually cooked something good. Now that I’ve gone and bragged on myself, I foresee the next project to be totally jinxed. Stay tuned.

So in anticipation I turned on all the orange Halloween lights in the house. And then I baked. Nothing exploded, burned, singed or popped. Most of all, the cupcakes are edible. Mission accomplished.

This year I find I’m not in the mood for a scary Halloween. These last few months we’ve had enough scary moments to last us awhile. I’m in the mood for a sprinkles kind of Halloween. Cupcakes seemed like the right choice. Actually, when are cupcakes not the right choice?

Bring on the cold weather.

This year, meh. Not so much.

So because I’ll probably drop the ball this year in the creativity/energy department, here’s some inspiration from last year. I wonder what those ladies at BHG did with this mask I sent them? I kind of miss it.

Frankly, I’ll be doing good to plug in my jack-o-lantern.

But never fear. I WILL plug it in. It is after all the best time of the year. And even if I’m not doing my best Martha Stewart impression, I’ll still be watching scary movies and throwing around strands of orange twinkle lights.

If you haven’t entered yet, be sure and check out my book giveaway below! The end of the contest is drawing near!

But one thing that hasn’t changed in the past few weeks is her absolute and total loathing of tummy time. She kicks and strains and presses her little face into the ground while squealing like an angry little piggy.

We find a mirror helps. No matter how foul her mood, she always manages to enjoy looking at herself.

Kisses afterward help too. Actually, they’re mandatory.

And here’s that halibut and risotto I was telling you about. Yum.