Kenzy has been ready for Halloween since the middle of August. She couldn’t wait to decorate her room and anything else she could get her hands on. Her favorite is setting the table for dinner. She will decorate the middle of the table with her decorations from her room or my decorations around the house. Some nights, little ghosts might be around a campfire that’s a flickering candle. Another night could be a pumpkin patch. One night, Clyde, our new five-foot skeleton, sat at the table with us with a witch’s hat on and had Sunday brunch with us. Kenzy even set a place for him, giving him his own plate and Halloween mug. He didn’t eat much, though! I don’t know why his wife Bonnie wasn’t invited, but she sat outside on the porch waiting for her man to come back from family dinner, I guess!? Haha! (More about Bonnie & Clyde later)

For Christmas, we each have our own special Christmas mug. Fall, we have pumpkin mugs; Easter, we have Easter mugs. But early this fall, Kenzy said, “Momma, we need our own Halloween mugs!” So, Momma was on the lookout since August for Halloween mugs.

I hit the jackpot at the Dollar General. There sat exactly four mugs. Two ghosts and two smiling jack-o-lanterns. Perfect!! You would have thought it was Christmas morning when I showed Kenzy. She was ecstatic! That evening, we made our hot tea in them at dinner, and she gave Daddy and her big brother Tyler iced tea. They added such a cute touch to her Halloween decorative table. Watching my nine-year-old get excited about mugs just melts my heart.

Can I also add to my Momma — I just remembered our jack-o-lantern mugs we had when we were little!? Green handles with triangle eyes and a happy face painted in orange. Where did these get to!? This explains my mug fetish. You always had special holiday mugs, too!

And this has nothing to do with my topic this week, but can I just share quickly how last Sunday at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, Kenzy ordered a hot tea and was singing Frank Sinatra at the table!? One of my best friends, Lindsay Mertes, giggled at her and said, “She’s nine, going on ninety! All I have to do is teach her how to knit!” What nine-year-old orders hot tea and sings Sinatra while sipping her tea at Cracker Barrel? My kid. *insert a big proud smile here!*

Besides mugs, there are other things we love this time of year, like our fall blankets. Mine with pumpkin pies, pumpkins, and little hot coco mugs printed all over it, and Kenzy with her Hocus Pocus blanket. It’s little things like this that you put away after the holiday is over, but when you get it back out, it’s new and exciting again.

As a little girl, one of my favorite things in October was a handmade ceramic kitty pumpkin that my Nanny made my Momma and all her sisters. It glowed at night, and I always couldn’t wait to turn it on. I still looked forward to seeing this in my 20s and 30s.

This year, I went over to my Momma’s at the farm to help her get a few fall things out. This pumpkin was top on our list as Kenzy went nuts over seeing it out as I did at her age, as would my sweet little nieces, Lexi & Leah. As I carried a tote and basket downstairs, I made it just fine. But as I sat it down on the floor, the basket was top heavy on the top and tipped over and broke our kitty pumpkin. I was so upset and mad at myself! More than my Momma was, and I give her props for how well she handled it. She had already put in a pretty rough day; God love her. She told me not to fret. My stepdad kept saying, “We have enough pumpkin bull crap. It will be OK,” as only Mark Metzger could say as he bent over, picking up the ceramic pieces off the floor. But it wasn’t just a pumpkin.

First and foremost, my Nanny painted it, so it made it special. Secondly, seeing this pumpkin lit every year took me back to being a kid again. It had memories with it, and that was the hardest part.

My Aunts each have one, so I texted them for help. My Aunt Sherie sent me pictures of it for the pattern. I am now on the hunt for someone who can make me a mold of this pumpkin, and I haven’t had much luck! Is there anyone out there who knows someone who does ceramics and has old molds from the 80s/90s or someone who can make a mold from a picture? If you do, please email me at lifestylefitnesscoach@yahoo.com. I really appreciate it! I’ve called ceramic places, and they can do it, but they need the mold to cast in order to make it. Thank YOU!

Do you have something this time of year that you really cherish? A pumpkin you look forward to plugging in? A cozy fall blanket? A special mug or plate? It’s the little things that give us joy. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy! Enjoy the season and all the little things that make it special!
Spooky Deviled Eggs

The concept is easy: hard cook your eggs. Cool the Eggs. Crack the Eggs. Dye the Eggs. Peel the Eggs. Devil the Eggs. Eat the Eggs.

Step One: Boil a dozen eggs as you normally would and let cool.

Step Two: Crack the eggs with the back of a spoon, making cracks that look like webs.

Step Three: Pour warm water into a pot that will cover all your eggs and add food coloring. I used purple. You want the water pretty dark. Let eggs sit for 2-3 hours. You can randomly check on them. Don’t let them go too long (like overnight), or the eggs will come out completely covered in color with darker spots where the cracks were.

Step Four: Peeling. The secret to peeling the dyed eggs easily is to ask someone to help you and then pretend you have to go to the bathroom. Disappear for at least 27 minutes, claiming food poisoning or lady problems. No one will question this — no one wants to know. (It’s worth the peeling, though, trust me. Haha! )

Step Five: Deviling. The easiest part of all. Egg yolks from the eggs, 1/4 cup mayo, salt & pepper. (I added green food coloring to mine to add to the sPoOky factor.)

Place everything into a bowl and mix it until it’s smooth. Add the filling to a piping bag and fill each egg half. And there you have it! Fun, colorful, Deviled SpOoKy eggs that look great and taste great too. Tiny little spiders I got from Amazon!