Welcome Back, Billy Corgan!

1	oz	Brown Sugar Simple Syrup
2	oz	Spiced Rum (We used Sailor Jerry's yum! yum!)
1	splash	Orange Liqueur (We used something called O3, cuz it was cheap... I mean inexpensive.)
1 1/2	Tbsp	Pumpkin Puree (Libby's cause we're lazy.)
1	dash	Allspice (homemade cause I had all the stuff.)
1	wedge	Tangerine/Clementine (or just eat them all as you try out your recipe.)

BOO! Did I scare you? Because it's HALLOWEEN! I love Halloween, I always say it's my favorite holiday because it feels like holidays for the rest of the year after it's over. (Yeah, yeah responsibilities, shh.) We finally got some pretty October weather (I don't ask for much just to be able to wear a sweater!) of course, the craziness in the Northeast is making me sad and I am wishing them all the luck, safety, and best recovery in the world! 

I'm hoping to do more than just some silly MS Paint doodle pun things (don't worry, I'm sure there's plenty of bad art from me in the future). I want to chronicle all my crafting, baking, and whatever else I'm in the mood to share that day with you here (sounds fun, don't it? mmm donut.) 

Geoff & I were invited to a pumpkin decorating party earlier this month (yay!) and he wanted to make up and bring a pumpkin cocktail (yum!) Now in this household we like to throw any food together that we think will work and eat it and usually it does, but a lot of times (like most people, I am totally assuming) we go searching online for ideas and recipes. I tend to take a few recipes and Frankenstein monster them together (you'll probably see this in future posts a lot) it's also a great way to brainstorm. Geoff found quite a few pumpkin cocktail recipes out there and picked one called The Smashing Pumpkin (welcome to understanding the title of the post) that was most similar to what we wanted to make. I think we doctored it enough to give it its own name, but I want to give credit where credit is due! 

On to the recipe (now that we are forever away from the ingredients list)! 

First: Make brown sugar simple syrup (mix 2 parts brown sugar with 1 part water, boil and let cool before mixing into drink) I've never made simple syrup with brown sugar before (never even crossed my mind, it's always the simple things OH MAN NO PUN INTENDED...) It's tasty stuff and pretty (cause I find strange things to be pretty, deal with it.) Now put an ounce of it in the bottom of your glass of choice, cause let's be real here I could tell you a proper glass and then we'll all just use whatever glass we want anyway. 

Next: Pour rum, liqueur, pumpkin, and allspice into cocktail shaker with ice. (Get a really awesome, cheap shaker like we did, this one is from Target and use it all year round even if it is spooky.) Shake it well, make up a song and do a little dance (don't spill!) 

Oh P.S. I made my own allspice (or pumpkin pie spice since I used ginger) with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger; I did about equal parts of a Tbsp or more cause you can always save the extra for later. Really this is up to your discretion, I really liked the spice from it all especially the ginger. 

Shh! Ignore that you're seeing the finished product that has been partially drunk (and so are we, just kidding... maybe.)

Now: Strain into glass on top of brown sugar simple syrup. (We think you're supposed to use clean ice, but this is where again we're saying let's be honest and not waste the ice in the shaker and go ahead and add it to the drink!)

Lastly: If you haven't listened to me and have citrus wedges uneaten, twist it over drink and garnish your glass. (Really I just like snacks in my drinks.)

Also if you're curious, there were no tangerines at the store which is why we changed it to clementines, I googled that info and turns out they can be substituted for each other, according to whatever site I read. 

Next is a pretty picture of some snacks (um garnish) all cut into wedges.

And voilà The Billy Corgan! 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, reading and drinking it, if you think of your own variation stick it in the comments! We definitely changed it up a few times while "inventing." (Not to mention when we showed up to the pumpkin decorating party we forgot the pumpkin puree! But they all got to try it at the Halloween party, so all is well.) 

The end. (I hope you didn't tl;dr me, if you didn't: Happy Halloween!!)

aka The Legend of Zelda: Quidditch Hero of Time-Turning

The mash-up of my dreams.

man, holidays are irritable.

halloween weekend part z: helpful ghosts.

halloween weekend part 1: gossipy ghosts.

letter to the people keeping my trashcan basketball skills in tact.

Dear Magazine Renewal Workers,

I know times might be tough for the print industry, I can read everything you're telling me on the internet. Here's my issue (I GET IT!), why do I need to get an renewal form every month? It claims I'm getting a deal, but it's the same deal I will get in July when it is actually time for me renew. If you must remind me to renew, try in June, or maybe even May. I would also rather receive these reminders as email, I hate getting this kind of mail, my bank and cell phone carrier have stopped paper bombing me. (Maybe you have a deal with the post office, but it's okay I'm not asking for real mail to stop.) I am not your concern for losing money (try ads with people you don't have!), if you look at your records I renew on time every year. Yes, I have given up other magazines, but the only thing making me want to leave you is this giant extra waste of paper every month.

Thank you for your time,

The girl throwing the envelope across the room in frustration every month, until it finally ends up in the trashcan.

the barbies are ready: the super bowl party is here!

I could get used to the attitude in the city since Sunday night, it was nice going to work and having everyone be nice and happy. The entire city was exhausted Monday, but no one seemed to mind, because the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl. A fact that most of us are still having trouble feeling like it’s real. Well guess what? It is real, it is very real. I wouldn’t consider myself a “sports nerd”, but I always care about my local teams. I have more Saints memories from when I was little than any other time. My grandpa used to get tickets through work, so every once in awhile I got to go to a game. Recently, I was talking about the game I started running fever and had to sleep through most of it. I don’t remember leaving though; I just remember switching seats to be closer to my mom. I remember some games we’d watch at my grandma’s house and before we walked in the front door I could hear her yelling at the television. I used to laugh at her, the grandkids always had more permission to laugh at the grandparents, I am smiling thinking about it now. If we didn’t watch it there and we watched it at home, my mom gets nervous and excited loudly as well. Back then, I would put on my Saints shirt from a first grade fair dance I did to “When the Saints Go Marching In” and lay out all my Barbie stuff and play with toys in front of the TV while “watching the game.” Sunday night I felt more like my mother’s daughter than ever, which is why it is maybe a good thing I didn’t watch the game at home with her. I hadn’t been that nervous in a long time, how I have any fingernails left is beyond me, but I need to let them grow before February 7th. Geoff and I watched the game with mostly people we had just met about an hour before the game started and it didn’t matter when we scored it was like we were all best friends. Heading home that night we got stuck on the interstate, people were honking and blaring music, it was what I keep calling, “An Interstate Dance Party.” My teacher canceled class the next day with an excuse I seriously doubt anyone believed. I don’t know what we’re going to do until the Superbowl gets here, because it’s all anyone is able to talk about. My friend’s birthday is Super Bowl Sunday, so I guess until it gets here I can decide what kind of Chocolate and Gold cake will be made. It is going to be a crazy month, exactly a week after the Super Bowl Drew Brees will be reigning as Bacchus. At this rate Mardi Gras will never end and if we’re lucky we will sleep again in March.

  9/16/90 - Barbies and all are ready for the game!