Halloween-hallaboo!

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the cool "sweater" weather, the clocks change -so I get an extra hour of sleep, and all the darling little spooks come over for treats. After church on Sunday, Desi and Dylan came over to help us make our traditional Halloween pretzel sticks. Oh, so yummy. Here is the recipe in pictures....

• Purchase long pretzel rods...I found mine at Target but I usually get them at Wal-Mart.

• Melt some chocolate in the microwave. I bought white colored chocolate in the wedding section of the craft store. It comes in every color of the rainbow. We bought pretzel molds that look like mummies...so that is why I picked the white color.

• Add your favorite toppings...mini marshmallows, M & M's, chocolate chips,and sprinkles all work well.
  

• The most IMPORTANT step, lick all the chocolate off you....
  

• Ready to eat!
  

• Here is another Halloween tradition in our neighborhood. We BOO our neighbors! Not in a mean way, but in a May Day basket way. We leave little baskets full of treats for our neighbors on their doorstep. We ring the doorbell and hide. Each neighbor that receives a treat basket places this ghost sign on their door. That way, we know which neighbors still need treats. It is a chain reaction of Halloween fun up and down our block. Here are a few websites that offer ideas and instructions on making a BOO baskets.
• http://skiptomylou.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/boo/
• http://www.brightideas.com/halloween/family/f_1464_1.jsp
  

These little decorations are not anything elegant or fancy but I love them all the same. Here are a few of my favorite Halloween decor in my home.

• My little round pumpkin pillow that sits in our hearth room in a little wicker chair.

• The bird nest sleeping on my garland, hanging from the brick fireplace, in the hearth room.
  

• A large glass pumpkin my mom bought me.
  

• The silly ghost around our tree in the front yard. I made these from my mom's old sheets and newspaper. There are 4 of them. One for each of us.
  
  

• The fall wreath on the front door made by my mom and me.

• The junk I put in the bushes according to Shane...a girl has to do something when there aren't any Fall leaves yet!
  
  

• My little Potterybarn black tree with ornaments and K and Company treat sacks made by my 2 kiddos and the neighbor girl, Sabrina.