I am definitely getting into the holiday spirit!  This time last year we were sneaking out for our first date and evening without the baby.  Will’s birthday falls at the end of the week and I remember sitting in the restaurant fretting about leaving our little one behind, perhaps drinking a bit too much wine to make up for my anxiety ;).  This year, our baby is racing around and it is such fun to take the holiday decorations over the top to make it a magical experience for him.  We already adorned our steps but added some carved (and drilled) pumpkins to our front porch to make sure that we’re really capturing the essence of Halloween.   And because fall hasn’t arrived in town yet, we added a few fake leaves from Michael’s…!   Michael’s is amazing, and I am afraid I already have Thanksgiving and Christmas in mind because they had all their decorations out.

(Popping the champagne to celebrate a long, vigorous pumpkin carving session!!)

I am particularly proud of my feather-headed friend pictured above.   It has been a few years since I carved a pumpkin and let me tell you, the technology has advanced!  They now offer battery operated carving devices (wow) and we also discovered that a drill can be very helpful, especially with the simpler patters, like the dots and lines.  Those pumpkins are filled with Christmas lights for an extra glow, an excellent trick which adds some much-needed punch.

I think the long and the short of it is, don’t be afraid to go big!  Pumpkins are plentiful, and you don’t have to carve every one.  We’re planning to make some pumpkin-filled recipes with our heirlooms but for now, they’re excellent decoration and the perfect mood-setters to mark the start of a fun holiday season. xx .  P.S. I am in my favorite loafers, linked here!!!