Kohl's special deal - just an FYI

In case you're not aware, Kohl's in Tallahassee has products in front of the registers that they sell for charity. Usually, the $5 donation buys a stuffed animal, a children's book, or some other miscellaneous youth-oriented item. We shopped there on Sunday, and besides the various Winnie-the-Pooh books and characters, they also had a cookbook, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.  You can't beat a $5 chance to get your kids to eat vegetables without them knowing it.  

Fall village

OK, so I didn't completely give up the light-up village scenes, but this one is more fall, less halloween. Look, it even comes with its own accident scene!

That's what I get for having a cop in the house.

Minimalist Literary Halloween

This year, George and I gave up the cheesy scary Target Halloween village, and we decided to go classic literary Halloween.

Our front table has three items, and we decided that the night before Halloween, we will have a Edgar Allan Poe fest. He is one of my favorite American authors, and you can't get much spookier than "The Telltale Heart" and "The Raven."

Halloween already?

We took a trip to World Market today, and they have Halloween items on display already. George and I shopped the wines, picking up Vampire Pinot Noir, Caged Wolf Cabernet Savignon, and Black Cat Riesling (in a cat-shaped bottle). We also looked at the specialty food items, and had to stop ourselves from buying too much. The kids spent the entire time looking at the scary halloween display, and we only saw them after a mysterious "attack" on Danny, who Megan was helping to stand due to his weakness and loss of blood. 

Ah, to be a kid again.

Jamie's Home Cooking Skills

If you don't know who Jamie Oliver is, well... what rock have you been living under? Jamie Oliver is right up next to Giada on my list of favorite chefs, and this ranking is mainly due to his outreach philosophy. Oliver's website has Home Cooking Skills pages where basic cooking skills are displayed on videos for all to learn.

His philosophy, as stated on this page, is "that to study home cooking skills is to learn how to cook great food that tastes amazing, how to save money and, in the long run, how to lead a happier, healthier life." I totally agree.