Halloween Weekend

Brian and I try to make the most of our weekends and this one was no exception. I may or may not have bought a ton of Halloween decorations at Kohl's a few weeks ago, so to justify the purchases we (I) decided to throw a Halloween party! We had about 20 friends over, mostly in costume, for rum-spiked cider, soup and assorted dips -- the best kind of party. The soup was definitively a hit. I made a riff on The Pioneer Women's Corn Chowder with Chilis. I crossed it with my mom's Chicken Corn Chowder, something I grew up eating. I added potatoes and chicken to the soup and let it sit overnight with the chicken bones so it got good and thick. I also made this Cuban Black Soup from The Kitchn blog. I switched green bell pepper for red bell pepper and added plenty of cumin, but do not skip the vinegar at the end! It's definitely the necessary secret ingredient. Brian and I decorated the apartment on Thursday night, putting up torn cheesecloth and bats cut out from black construction paper. Friends ate, drank and hung out until after 11.

I dressed up as a Country Singer and Brian dressed up as Clark Kent. 

With my best friend, the Ballerina.

I made shrunken heads out of apples to float in the cider (Martha Stewart).

Our friend Jodi brought "Monster Eyes."

The Ballerina and her husband, a Trama Patient.

On Saturday we woke up late, donned our Carolina gear and headed downtown to meet up with the Carolina Alumni Association for the UNC vs. NCSU game. We had so much fun meeting new folks and cheering on the Tar Heels. Still exhausted from the party we headed out around half time, but thankfully were able to watch the rest of the game at home, including that amazing run by Gio Bernard for the win! UNC has lost to State the past five years, but this year we took it back. The rest of the day included napping in front of the football, saying hello to friends who stopped by, making granola and catching Talladega Nights.

Sunday included seeing friends at church, watching the Bears Panthers game and continuing my attempt to cook my way through Screen Doors and Sweet Tea. This time I tried the Cornbread Crusted White Chili. Brian loved it, I more loved the idea of it. In reality it had too many tomatillos for me. We handed out candy to trick or treating kids and settled in for a lazy evening. Unfortunately I woke up Monday hit with the nasty cold I've been fighting off so it's blankets and the couch for me for a couple days.