Sunday, October 30, 2011

Happy Halloween from the Trailerhood!

Halloweekend - Pumpkin Carving

This evening, we had my parents over for snacks and to watch Tressie carve her pumpkin.


Hmmmm...this looks nothing like the inside of my pumpkin. I prefer the candy that my pumpkin has inside of it!


The Little Lady was ridiculously afraid of the pumpkin guts!



She was terrified that they were going to "get her."


She even felt the need to hide behind the table leg!


Getting a little braver.
Going in with her scooper.


But don't let her fool you.
It's all for show, she freaked out if any of the guts touched her!


Examining her Daddy's handiwork.


Tressie's "Bat Cat" Jack O' Lantern.


Her great fear of the pumpkin guts made for a very entertaining evening! {I can't say that I blame the girl...I'm pretty sure that my Mom scooped out and carved my pumpkins every single year growing up...that stuff is gross!!! :) }

Halloweekend - Boo at the Zoo

Saturday evening, we headed into the big city for a night of Halloween fun with our friends the Maranville's. We started at Fargo's for a little pizza.

To say that the Little Lady was wound up and loves Riley, Wesley and Charley would be an understatement. She LOVES these guys!!!


Charley trying to get Tressie to look at the camera : )


From there we headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to see Aunt Katie at Boo at the Zoo. The place was packed {again, another understatement}, but once we finally made it to the top of the mountain {the parking lot was full and so we had to park and take a shuttle}, we had a great time!




Throughout the zoo, local businesses had tables set up, handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters.


The Little Lady checking out her loot.


The zoo has a carousel...score! {Remember, the carousel was the Little Lady's favorite ride at Disney World.}



The Little Lady and John Wayne snacked on candy all night. They're enjoying some Nerds here.


You can't tell the best from this picture, but there is an amazing view overlooking the city from up there!


And our last stop before we headed down the mountain, was to visit the giraffes. The Little Lady loved them...they were very friendly giraffes.



So even though our night didn't turn out as planned...we got separated from the Maranville's, they parked in a different shuttle lot and didn't get up to the zoo until nearly an hour after us, we still had a fun night at Boo at the Zoo!

Halloweekend - Edison Carnival and Trick-or-Treat

Friday night, my Mom and I took the Little Lady to a neighboring community's Halloween carnival and community trick-or-treat. {John Wayne had the flu :( }

I must say, the Little Lady looked absolutely adorable in her "Pirate Princess" costume!



Not real sure what we were thinking giving her a sword?!?
{We picked this sword up for her at Disney World, we knew it'd complete her costume!}


The trick-or-treat portion of the evening took place in their elementary school, where community members lined the hallway and handed out candy to the kids. It was great to see so many old friends. {Before we moved to Wild Horse, we used to go to church with many of these folks.}



From there, it was into the gymnasium for the carnival. I remember going to this carnival when I was a little girl!


The Little Lady's favorite game was for sure the "duck pond." She loved it...and didn't want to leave it...ever.


It was such a fun evening, I only wish John Wayne could have gone with us. Next year...we'll for sure be back!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Ranch Wives Cooking Club - Cheater Chili

This is probably going to go down as the lamest Ranch Wives Cooking Club recipe ever, because my chili is “cheater chili” by all definitions: seasoning packet, canned beans, short simmering time. But when you’re looking for a good quick meal on a cold day, it might just fit the bill!

Four ingredients, seriously, that's it.


This little packet here is the secret to my chili’s success.


I’ve tried other packets, I’ve even tried seasoning it from scratch, but John Wayne always asks what I did different…and not in a good way. So Chili-O it is.

Brown up a pound of ground beef. Sprinkle on the Chili-O and mix into the meat. Add a can of pinto beans {and sometimes a can of kidney beans too, we like our beans around here!}. Mix in a can of diced tomatoes {which in our house have been through the food processor, we don’t like our tomatoes chunky around here!}. Stir it, bring it to a boil, let it simmer for a few and there you go…good chili, quick!

Chili, slices off a good chunk of cheddar cheese and cornbread make their appearance quite often on the dinner table at the Trailerhood during the cold months. With our Colorado weather forecast, I thought now was the perfect time to share this recipe with you all.


What's your secret to the perfect pot of chili? Beans or no beans? Seasoning packet or from scratch? I'd love to hear some of your chili recipes!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a $30 credit to Paisley White custom jewelry!

Friday, October 21, 2011

ChaChaChaChanges and a Giveaway!!!

The time has come, I've been contemplating combining the two blogs -- Trailerhood Aristocrats and Toddling with Tressie -- for quite some time now. For some reason, I've had a hard time "giving up" Toddling with Tressie. I don't know...it was my first blog, for my first baby...like I said, I don't know?!? But I think one blog will be more easily managed than two, sooo...

Trailerhood Aristocrats is...


So yes, that means all of you who are just Tressie fans and not fans of my ramblings...yes, you now have to keep up with the Aristocrats to keep up with the Little Lady. It won't be too painful, I promise!

In honor of this change (and to entice you to come on over and also to introduce you to my bestie's fabulous jewelry shop), I'm going to do my very first blog giveaway!

I will be giving away a $30 store credit to my best friend Katie White's custom jewelry shop, Paisley White.


With the upcoming holidays, this is a great time to pick up a fabulous custom piece to wear to all of those holiday gatherings, or if you're not so much the jewelry wearer, Katie will work with you to create the perfect Christmas present for that jewelry lover in your life.


To enter, all you have to do is become a follower of Trailerhood Aristocrats (the link is to the right). Then leave me a comment on this post telling me that you are a follower. If you already follow Trailerhood Aristocrats, to enter simply leave a comment telling me that you are already a follower.

For a bonus chance to enter, go "like" Paisley White on Facebook and leave her a comment telling her that Emily at Trailerhood Aristocrats sent you. Then leave me another comment on this post telling me you did. Same thing here, if you already like PW on FB, just leave me a comment telling so.

So liking Trailerhood Aristocrats is mandatory to enter and liking PW on FB will get you a bonus entry. Be sure to leave me two separate comments, as the winner will be chosen by a random number generator from all of the comments.

I will pick a winner on Tuesday, November 1st. But here's the kicker, we have to get Trailerhood Aristocrats to 50 followers, if we don't have 50 followers by November 1st, we'll postpone the giveaway until we do. So sign up now and tell your friends!

Welcome to the Trailerhood, friends!

Contest is now closed.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fun with Friends

This weekend our dear friends Jocelyn and Kaleb came to visit (it's harvest so Shaun had to stay home and work).

Kaleb is just a few weeks younger then the Little Lady and they had a blast playing together!!!


Saturday afternoon we went down to visit my Grandparents. The kids had a big time playing on the playground equipment...they especially liked the merry-go-round.



T and Great Grandma were giving Whopper and Tom treats while Justin and my Grandpa hitched them up to take us for a ride.


Once the Little Lady discovered where the alfalfa cubes were, she was all about getting treats for the horses.

At one point, she grabbed a cube out of the bag, examined it and then proceeded to take a bite. I'm pretty sure she was wondering why Whopper and Tom liked them so much!


Grandpa took us for a nice ride around the ranch in the surrey wagon.


The kid that needed to take a nap (T) stayed busy the whole ride, while Kaleb took advantage of it and drifted off to dreamland for awhile!


Saturday was a beautiful fall day and we enjoyed lots of play time outside.


And just in case you were wondering...she's getting fast...

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Happy Fall Y'all

It's officially fall at the Trailerhood!

This weekend was a great weekend. We finally had some fall like weather, I was able to "Take Back the Trailerhood" and we even had some time left over for some decorating and baking.

Okay, truth be told, the decorations have actually been up since last weekend, but you just couldn't see them for all the mess (that, and putting up fall decorations in last weekend's mid-eighties temperatures just wasn't right).


We decided to forgo the scarecrow this year after all she had to go through last year.


We have many more fall decorations inside, but you saw most of them last year. So instead I'll just show you the cute little banner that I made. I couldn't find a great place to hang it, but this will do.



Saturday evening, we headed to my bestie and her hubby's house for dinner. The Little Lady and I made an assortment of Halloween goodies to take for dessert.


Rice Crispy Treats with Candy Corn, Chocolate Dipped Pretzels and Halloween Whoopie Pies.


The Little Lady got to bust out her Dora Halloween shirt for the first time. Pretty cute!


Over the weekend, the Little Lady discovered a love for marshmallows and candy corn. I gave her one of each at one point during the weekend and she spent the rest of the weekend begging for more. We saw a lot of this "Mama, I want more candy" face this weekend.


And finally, it isn't fall without some sort of pumpkin baked good, right?!? I've been craving something pumpkin, so opted to try this Pumpkin Pie Bar recipe.


I think they turned out really yummy! They taste a lot like pumpkin pie, but I just might like this crust a little better. John Wayne went to the card party at Wild Horse tonight and I sent all but a couple with him, otherwise, I'd eventually eat the whole pan!


With John Wayne at the card party, the Little Lady and I are snuggled up on the couch watching Spooky Buddies and enjoying some Pumpkin Pie Bars, relishing in the fact that it's fall!