Saturday, October 29, 2011

Halloween Festivities

I just love Fall. The crisp weather, colorful leaves, apple cider, pumpkin bars... it's just magical! I missed seeing the four seasons in Oakland, so it's fun to be back in a city that has them all (yes, even winter). TJ and I celebrated Halloween a little early by carving pumpkins and watching scary movies/shows. I decorated our apartment with spider webs, pumpkins, and candy-filled treat bowls. I didn't even care that he and I were the only ones to really enjoy it! I need to start practicing so our future kids can have memories of their mom decorating the house for the holidays. :)
Here are our pumpkins. TJ's is an angry bird and mine is the headless horseman thing from the Ichabod Crane story.
We're so talented, huh? Mine looks pretty creepy, I must say...
We also watched an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark. Do you remember that show? Classic. I can't belive it used to scare me so much. Ok, well, it IS pretty frightening for a 12 year old. After that, we (very unwisely) watched The Shining (don't worry - a clean version). Why why why why why why did I do this? TJ was pretty unphased. I, on the other hand, proceeded to have nightmares showcasing the following:
Such a creepy movie. More psychologically frightening than anything else. Don't watch it if you scare easily like me.
I've also been baking and cooking up a storm - anything and everything pumpkin! Especially pumpkin gooey butter cakes. These are, without a doubt, the most sinfully delicious pumpkin treats ever concocted. You can find the recipe here.
Hooray for Fall!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Hawaii!

TJ and I used our AAdvantage Points to cash in on a (practically) free trip to Hawaii! Thanks to Brandon and Jamie's tutelage, we learned how to also get a free room upgrade at our hotel. Hello, double deluxe ocean view room! Seven days of pure paradise.


We had such a wonderfully relaxing vacation. We weren't idle though - we completely explored the island. We hiked a TON, explored all the beaches, and had shave ice every single day. :) Can I go back?

Here are some pics. I wish I could live in Hawaii.

Pali Lookout - Super windy!

He's so cute. :)

North Shore at sunset. As we drove back to the hotel, we freaked ourselves out by reading about shark attacks. Not a good idea...

We're silly.

TJ's sandcastle - modeled after "Helm's Deep"


My sandcastle. I win. :)