Pull up a chair, grab your cup of coffee and kick back for a few minutes. This is a picture-filled post today ...

I completely missed the fact that the clocks were going back today (or actually during the night). Usually I hear about it somewhere ... the TV, radio, general conversations, but didn't realize it was this weekend until The Husband told me this morning that it was actually earlier than I thought. Ooops. Time-change days (when we gain the extra hour) always seem to last f-o-r-e-v-e-r; it's amazing what an extra hour will do!

I made the Pumpkin French Toast for breakfast, along with Swedish Pancakes, which I've made before. Both were a great way to start the day. Recipes will be added to the sidebar tomorrow.


Pumpkin French Toast

The Neighbor made dinner ... all by herself! She made Stuffed Shells, Stuffed Garlic Bread and even Banana Bread. She did a great job! It felt weird not to be making dinner on our regular Sunday get-togethers, and it made for a decidely non-food-focused day, something I'm definitely not used to.



She sent me home with half the banana bread - yum. I love toasted banana bread with butter, and since tomorrow's a vacation day for me, I already know what I'm having for breakfast!


A Dutiful Boyfriend Helping his Girlfriend with her Shoes After Dinner


One Good Turn Deserves Another - Zip Me Up Please!

Got a chance to watch Giada's Behind the Bash last night and really liked it. I love behind-the-scenes shows, and seeing how it all comes together. This episode highlighted a Grammy After Party, catered by Along Came Mary. Celeb and entertainment industry followers (me! me! me!) will probably recognize the name, Along Came Mary, as she does many recognizable events ... Barbra Streisand's wedding to James Brolin, President Clinton's parties, star-studded movie premieres and many more celebrity shindigs. Considering the owner/head of Along Came Mary, Mary Micucci, started her career as a flight attendant, she's doing amazingly well, with annual sales over $10 million. For this episode of Behind the Bash, it was eye-opening to hear the numbers involved. This particular event was hosting 6,000 guests, involved 1,200 pieces of eggplant, 700 pounds of fish, 100 staff members, 20,000 pieces of dessert, 5,000 hand-rolled tamales and much more. I haven't checked FoodTV Network's web site yet, but I'm hoping there are recipes for the Rock Shrimp Shooters, Bleu Cheese Bread Pudding and Ceviches they highlighted, because they looked delicious. I'll definitely be watching this show again.

Tomorrow's a busy day, with a Halloween Parade and Party at Nicholas' school in the morning, and trick-or-treating in the afternoon. The Husband's probably going to put some finishing touches on our yard in the afternoon, and I know we're already making plans for what we're going to add to it next year. I can't wait to see the kids' reactions as they come into the yard, so we're going to do our trick-or-treating early to get home to catch most of them.

I managed to find the pictures I took Friday from Nicholas and The Girlfriend's Halloween Party at their old school:


My Boyfriend, the Superhero


Don't Worry, Sweetie, I'll Save You


Her older sister was in Nicholas' old class, and I think baby Amanda wins the prize for the most adorable that night.


Even Cinderella needs to eat.


The Preschool set gettin' down!


The Old and the New. Do you know how hard it was to get the three of them to sit still for this picture? Long-time readers might remember the little girl on the far right as Nicholas' very first girlfriend, Isabella. It cracked me up that both she and The Girlfriend dressed as Cinderella. There was definite territorial fighting and competition between the two girls over Nicholas. He's a lucky boy.


Oh Superman, your muscles are so big!

Tune in tomorrow for more pictures of our trick-or-treaters, our yard, and even a picture of my parents' dog, Beau, who dresses up every year for Halloween. This year, he's a Butterfly. I also have to figure out what treats to make for my office and The Neighbors'. Until then...

P.S. Be sure to stop by Eat Stuff for Weekend Cat Blogging. Here's my entry:


Luke

Also check out Kalyn's Kitchen for Weekend Herb Blogging.

And now, the pups...

Sweet Gidget from Busy Nights Real Food:
Oliver and Harley from Culinary Adventures:

Dale from One Hot Stove:

Bear from Farmgirl Fare:
The pups from Something So Clever:

Dit from A Little Bit of Everything:
Gino from The Flying Apple (see their website for even more gorgeous pictures of Gino and his girlfriend, Fanny):
Sammy from Taste Everything Once:
Bailey from The Savory Notebook:
Given Nicholas' costume this year is Spiderman, he cracked up when he saw Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen:
The pups from Musings:

Lulu from Why Travel to France:
Checking in from The ReMARKable Palate:
The pup from Belly-Timber checking in:
A newcomer from Little Monkey and Friends:
Last, but not least, our very own Bella. She's actually not growling, she's just caught mid-treat:

Miss Bella