Happy Halloween!!

Thank you to everyone who voted on my costume.  I love it and I feel so chic! 

Love, Rubie  

Happy Hump Day!

I promise that more substantive posts are to come!  In the meantime....enjoy this sweet family.  Pun intended.

Wind down with the Wailin' Jennys

I discovered the Wailin' Jennys on my Pandora station this summer and I have fallen in love.  They are perfect to listen to on long road trips or while ending your day in a relaxing bath.  Hope you like them, too!  Download "Long Time Traveller".  

And the winner is.....

The Little Mermaid!

We ordered it tonight! More pics to come!

I can't believe it is already Halloween week! I need to get some candy corn, stat!

Speaking of candy corn and yummy Halloween candy, I have fallen in love with the Food Network's Spooky Cake and Candy Cook-Off Challenge. It is incredible what these people create with teams of professional pumpkin carvers and candy and cake specialists. Check it out!

While we may not be able to create the masterpieces of the Food Network Challenge, here are some other really cute Halloween treats for us mere mortals:

Halloween Butterfinger Eyes Recipe:

* Recipes Makes 40.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 1/8 ounces Butterfinger bar, finely chopped
• 12 ounces white chocolate or 12 ounces vanilla candy coating
• 40 M&M's plain chocolate candy
• red food coloring or decorating gel
• black food coloring or decorating gel

Directions:

1. 1
   In a mixing bowl stir together peanut butter and butter until creamy.
2. 2
   Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until combined.
3. 3
   Stir in Butterfinger candy.
4. 4
   Shape into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper.
5. 5
   Freeze about 45 minutes.
6. 6
   Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or get a med sauce pan filled 1/4 of the way with water and heat until simmering and place a large glass or stainless steel bowl over top and turn heat off -if water is boiling it will scorch chocolate.
7. 7
   Add chocolate to bowl, stir constantly until melted and smooth, if you want the coating thinner add a Tbs shortening until desired thickness is reached.
8. 8
   Dip balls, one at a time, into coating. Let excess coating drip off
9. 9
   Place on waxed paper, immediately press an M&M onto center of each peanut butter ball (you can also wait to put M&M's on until after set and just use a dot of your piped colored chocolate to adhere)
10. 10
    Refrigerate until coating is firm.
11. 11
    Using leftover white chocolate add red food coloring until desired color is reached (you may have to reheat) and place in a ziploc or pastry bag,cut a corner very small, pipe squiggly lines on eyes to make them look blood shot or use red decorating gel.
12. 12
    Add a dot of black gel or black food colored coating to the center of M&M pieces for pupils.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/halloween-butterfinger-eyes-403566#ixzz1bfFhNh8X

• Tombstone Cookies

*16 cookies

Ingredients:

• 
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 6 1/2-7 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 2/3 cup flour
• 32 wooden toothpicks
• 1 teaspoon water
• 4 drops green food coloring
• 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
• black decorating gel
• vanilla frosting
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 16 decorative candies, pumpkins

• Directions:

  1. 1
     In large saucepan over low heat, melt butter.
  2. 2
     Stir in marshmallows until completely melted. Remove from heat.
  3. 3
     Stir in cereal til well-coated. (*Iused 6 1/2 cups because I think they come out less dry.And they hold up better if they have to sit out for awhile). The original recipe called for 7 1/2, but what i used worked out really well!).
  4. 4
     Press into a greased 13x9x2 pan with a buttered spatula. Cool.
  5. 5
     In large mixing bowl, beat cookie dough and flour til well mixed.(*You do have to add the flour, otherwise that store-bought dough is really awful -- very sticky!).
  6. 6
     On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough into a 6" x 16" rectangle.
  7. 7
     Cut into 16 small rectangles. 2 rows of 8. Each one being 3" x 2".
  8. 8
     You can trim tops (2" side)with a paring knife to resemble the top of a tombstone cutting an arch if desired.
  9. 9
     Place each tombstone onto ugreased baking sheets 2" apart.
  10. 10
      *Optional, along bottom edge (bottom 2" side)of each cookie, insert 2 toothpicks halfway into the dough. **If these will be for small children, I recommend not doing this. (My owm alternative directions to follow.).
  11. 11
      Bake cookies at 350º for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.(*Mine took 13-14 minutes.)But mine were probably a little thicker than the original recipe. It had said to roll out and hand-cut each cookie with a paring knife around a waxed paper pattern -- (Cutting them into rectangles from a large rectangle was MUCH easier! And made more sense to me.)Then just simply trim the tops to whatever shape/style you want.
  12. 12
      Remove to wire racks to cool.
  13. 13
      In large plastic ziploc bag, combine water and green food coloring.
  14. 14
      Add coconut, seal bag shut, and shake to coat.
  15. 15
      Toast coconut, set aside. (Optional.)I didn't, it was fine.
  16. 16
      Using black gel, tint frosting gray. (*I used one whole small tube and it was barely gray, but ok.).
  17. 17
      Frost cookies, decorate tombstones with more black gel. (*The black gel for writing didn't work for me! I had to scrape it off, refrost the ones I wrecked, and just used chocolate frosting instead for the writing part. That worked perfectly for me.).
  18. 18
      Cut cereal bars into 3"x2" rectangles.
  19. 19
      Spread with melted chocolate chips. (*I didn't do this, I used frosting instead.)BUT! See further instructions!
  20. 20
      Insert cookies into rice crispy treats sticking the toothpicks down in to hold up the cookie.
  21. 21
      Do this on the edge of one long side.
  22. 22
      *If you aren't using toothpicks, pipe a thick bead of melted chocolate chips on wide edge and hold in place til set. Or do on waxed paper, which is how i ended up doing this, and lay them down with the cookie pressed against it so you don't have to hold it. Refrigerate til set.(30 minutes was all it took.) Remove from waxed paper carefully.
  23. 23
      (*I then opted to use the rest of the chocolate frosting to frost the tops of the exposed rice crispy treats part. Pressed the pumpkin into the frosting, then sprinkled with coconut.).
  24. 24
      Decorate with coconut for "grass", and candy pumpkins.
      
      
      Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/halloween-tombstone-treats-192164#ixzz1bfHo3QtC
      
      
      
      
      In honor of the week, please enjoy my sister's favorite Halloween picture of all time:
      
      
      
      Happy little hula dancer!
      
      

Sign of Love & Hope

This sign makes me happy. There really are a lot of good people in this world. Happy Friday!

Just wish they were in Dallas!

Falling for Fall at Horseshoe Bay!

I have only been to Horseshoe Bay in the summer, but let me tell you, October is the time to go! The weather was incredible!

There is never a better time for good ole' Texas BBQ at Cooper's in Llano and a delicious breakfast at Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls.

Me, Claire, and Rebecca at Cooper's!

Uncle Will and Claire making the "goolicious" face!

Travis and his fish!

A little blurry, but we tried!

(Ashley and Jill: I'm still fishing in a blazer...)

Such a great weekend! Thank you, Crawley family!

Rubie's Halloween Costume: Help us Break the Tie!

Rubie needs your help again! The result of her poll was an exact tie between "Lil Stinker" and "Lil Mermaid." Please help us by voting in the poll so Rubie isn't naked on Halloween!

VS

It does Exist!

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=3G8A

Let's be honest. True Southern Gentleman can be hard to find these days. Sometimes you find one who pays for the date, but fails to open the doors (that's right....plural, car doors and regular doors). While this a good start, it is simply that. Women want to be wooed. Forever.

My mom and I always talk about writing together, mostly children's books revolving around our two super hero weenie dogs, but topics vary regularly. Last week, I had just gotten off the phone with a friend of mine who was frustrated with a boy, and it got me thinking about the subject of chivalry. I immediately called my mother and exclaimed "I got it! The gentleman's handbook to modern day chivalry!"

Well, Will and I went to Orvis on Sunday and low and behold, shining on the shelf, was this book (way to suck the life out of my book dreams, Orvis). I grabbed it and started flipping through the pages. This book seems to have it all, from taking off your hat when the national anthem plays at a sporting event, to dinner table and party manners.

So...while my mother and I will have to stick with our children's books, there is hope, America. The hope for all American women, nestling next to the rack of fly fishing lures.

At least we don't live in Norman!

While this year's OU game may not have been the best for the Texas Longhorns, it ended up being my favorite OU ever! We rented the patio at Matt's El Rancho on Friday night and we were at the fair on Saturday by 9:00 am. A day that starts off with a champion's breakfast of Coors Light and a Fletcher's Corny Dog is bound to be a good day!

Friday night at Matt's!

Will, his Dad, Robert, and a good family friend of the Crawleys!

Can't believe we all made to the fair by 9am!

Our first OU game!

Had so much fun sitting with Michael and Caitlin at the game!

The Fun: Even though the Longhorn's lost, we made the most of our day at the fair. We got to ride my favorite two rides, the pirate ship and the swings!

The Food: I will never be able to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich again without wishing it was fried! I gotta take it easy this week and stick to the salads because (no lies) the following is what I consumed (or in the least tasted) at the fair yesterday: 1 Fletcher's Corny dog; fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich; fried Fritos chili pie bites; chicken strips; giant pretzel; sausage on a stick; Nolan Ryan barbeque sandwich; and french fries. Dear Lord, I hope I didn't leave anything off this already exhaustive list!

The Best Part of the Weekend: Celebrating Will's 26th Birthday (tomorrow, October 10)! Happy Happy Birthday Will and thank you for being born! I love you!!

Love you!!