Bits and Pieces-Halloween Edition

 

     Halloween is my favorite time of the year to host parties. Having a birthday very close to Halloween, I grew up having parties this time of year and old habits are hard to break. I have gotten so lazy about committing to company, but I was so glad that I decided to have a few friends over Saturday night for a casual evening. I didn't do a tablescape, I simply covered the table with black fabric, put my current centerpiece back on it and lit a couple candles. The dishes were stacked, the food was self-serve and simple, it was a no-stress evening for everyone. You don't always have to prepare a sit down feast for your guests. I made a pot of chili, the grilled cheese/tomato soup casserole I recently posted and two kinds of cookies (recipes soon). One friend brought a pie and another brought apple slices and dip. I had s'mores to make over the fire pit, but we were all too full to eat them! I had a great time and it reminded me just how much I really do love to entertain.

 

 

     While I'm showing you the little touches of Halloween that I added to my fall decorations, I want to show you my dining room table. We bought the table at a furniture store tent sale and have used it the past two years with a few scratches on it. It seemed to be getting more and more scratches and chips and my husband just refinished it. I think he did a beautiful job. We put a glossy, waterproof coating on it so I can just wipe it off.

 

This year I didn't really take down my fall things,

I just added a few Halloween items here and there.

     We are actually having a chilly week. I even turned on the fireplace this morning after taking Zoe out in the rain. We were cold. I haven't turned on the heat, or needed to...but the air finally went off yesterday, although I am certain I will have it back on again. This is the kind of day that I'd like to bake (and then eat it all).

 

     I've been asked to keep updating the progress in our family healthy eating/living plan. My daughter recently ran her first 5k since high school (10 years). She is wearing a size 6 and feels great. She would like to lose another 10 pounds or so, but her attitude is that it will happen when it happens. Keeping her calories around 1200 a day and exercising most days is still the norm for her. She said that she started crying about half way through the race because it dawned on her how far she had come in 10 months. I'm very proud of her. She also just started another new project at Disney, which meant that her trip home that was cancelled because of work in August and moved to November, has also been cancelled. I will go 8 months without seeing her, the longest we have ever gone. Her job is so exciting, but very hard on her mother!!

 

     I have dropped my exercising from 6 days a week to 4 or 5, I am still eating healthy 90% of the time and we both still live by the "is it worth it" rule for eating fattening foods. Some things are worth it! Some simply aren't. I am right where I want to be and maintaining it so far, but I know that I can never get lazy about it or I will gain it all back very quickly. We just live it now, we don't really think about it much like we did in the beginning.

 

     Speaking of foods that are "worth it"...coming soon, Trick or Treat Cookies.

 

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life

for Inspire Me Tuesdays

and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style

for Wow Us Wednesdays

  

The French Press

     Not long ago I was telling a friend about some delicious French Pressed coffee that I had enjoyed at Cakes on Walnut, in Champaign, IL. My friend wasn’t sure what French Pressed coffee was. Considering the fact that I am still unable to set a pretty table at my house with all our “redo” mess, I thought this might be a good week to discuss the perfect French Pressed “cup of Joe“.

     My first experience with a French Press pot, was at a nice restaurant at Disney World many years ago. I think I was as impressed with the presentation as I was with the coffee itself. It was served on a silver tray, surrounded by small bowls of lump brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and tiny pitchers of cream. My first sip and I was hooked on the dark, rich flavor. I do find it to be stronger than most coffee and generally top it with a bit of the cream (of course that may be simply because real cream is such a treat). I came home and bought my own press pot.

     The early coffee press was probably made in France, thus the name French Press. It was made from a metal or cheesecloth screen fitted to a rod and pressed down into a pot of boiling water. Today’s pots are generally clear with a plunger like piece that fits snuggly into the pot and has a fine mesh filter. The coffee is prepared by mixing the coffee grounds and boiling water in the pot, allowing it to steep for a few minutes and then slowly pushing the press down into the pot to trap the grounds beneath it. In many ways it is similar to making coffee on the campfire, only you have a way of keeping the grounds out of your cup.

Amazon.com $29.95

     As I said earlier, the presentation is very much a part of the process. Your guests will be pleasantly surprised when you bring a French Press to the table. The aroma of the coffee beans, the time element of waiting for it to be the perfect color and the assortment of treats to add to the coffee and serve with the coffee make it an “event” at the end of the meal.

Sur La Table-$39.95

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

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