Friday:
Fancy steakhouse dinner with Matt
Final installment of Incredibly Depressing Movie Night (we watched Requiem for a Dream and then I cried hysterically, so we agreed to stop watching Incredibly Depressing Movies for a little while.)
Saturday:
Work. Meh.
Out to dinner at this Lebanese restaurant we like
Drank a salted caramel mocha at Starbucks and had a facial tic for the rest of the night.
Sudden burst of productivity due to caffeine rush. Cleaned Huxley the hedgehog's cage SO HARD.
Sunday:
Pumpkin picking hayride at Springdale Farms. It was awesome, but I have no pictures because I forgot to put my memory card back into my camera! Sad face.
Unsuccessful Reaver costume hunt that ended in frustration. Came back home and promptly went on an eBay buying spree. Now 3/4 of my costume is on its way to my house via expedited shipping. Pictures when they arrive!
Pumpkin carving with Matt!
First, Matt cut open and cleaned out the pumpkins. AKA the hard, less fun part. Thanks Matt!
Always such a good sport. Also, sigh. So dreamy.
Next, I applied the pattern.
Err. I kind of lost patience with it after a while and just Scotch-taped it into submission.
Then I used a dangerous little spiky wheel to trace the pattern onto the pumpkin:
This was kind of annoying. But also kind of ingenious.
Then I sprained my wrist and forearm muscles by using a tiny little knife to saw through the pumpkin's very touch and thick skin.
Please ignore my disgusting cuticles. I have never been known for having healthy nail beds.
I might look happy here, but on second glance you will notice that I have THE CRAZY EYES because of how frustrated I am with the dumb little saw.
And then I broke it. Oooops.
Meanwhile, Matt, who has much more upper body strength than I do, had already finished his pumpkin.
I like it!
And here's mine, halfway through the carving process:
BOO! A GHOST!
So it took a lot of physical labor, but I eventually finished... and you know what? I think it was worth the frustration, maybe even worth the soreness in my right arm today! They look pretty damn cool. Check it:
Yay! Terrifying luminaries depicting faces squealing in agony and spirits from the beyond!
Then there was the small matter of what to do with all this:
Pie was out because Just No, and I felt bad throwing it all out, so I decided to roast some pepitas, yo!
Wash the seeds in a colander and pull out any pulp, then spread 'em out on a baking sheet and let them dry for a couple hours (overnight is best, but whatevs).
Then add a bunch of olive oil, sprinkle with whatever seasonings you want (I did Lawry's seasoned salt and a 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder) and mix around until it's all coated. Then roast at 250 degrees for an hour.
Then eat them all in one sitting.
OM NOM NOM.
How was your weekend?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletesounds like a fun weekend! i love toasted pumpkin seeds. so yummy!
ReplyDelete(ps thanks for stopping by my blog! enjoying my visit to yours)
(pps following you now : )
ReplyDeleteOoo!!! First, Melissa, AWESOME FREAKIN' PUMPKINS!!! Jen and I haven't got ours yet. :( We're waiting until payday (the 28th!) We plan on doing them free hand this year, as the last few years except for LAST year, we did designs. Was that confusing? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteAlso, roasted pumpkin seeds are SO om nom.
Also, are you looking for a job? I can't remember if you were or not, but now that I'm a recruiter I can actually help you into working from home for Alpine Access... Lemme know!!!
My weekend consisted of LOTS of sleeping and cuddling in bed with Jen. Watching Nightmare on Elm Street. Playing lots of The Sims 3. And just relaxing!!!
Those look SO delicious... especially with curry powder!! I may have to actually do that this year... I did pumpkins last year but my dear friend pre-hollowed them for us all so all I had to do was carve! :)
ReplyDeleteZomg, jealous. Fresh pumpkin seeds are the best.
ReplyDeleteAs for Requiem for a Dream... meh. The only reason that most people watch that movie is to talk about that money scene at the end. So when I downloaded it, that's the only part I watched. Whenever I'm in a situation where people are talking about how RFAD is a prime spectacle of modern cinema, I always sound like I've seen the whole movie. Truth is, I can watch whatserface bang for drugs until the cows come home and sleep at night, but the second someone shoots up?
EEEEEP!
I'm totally jealous you carved pumpkins! I wish I had the time to do so! :(
ReplyDelete@cailen - Thanks for the follow! Now we're officially Blog Friends :D
ReplyDelete@Angie - Blargh, pumpkin carving freehand is not my forte. I can't do much besides the typical triangles-for-eyes, toothless-grin thing. I really like the way my pumpkin turned out this year, though, I might always do designs from now on!
@Emily-Jane - Pre-hollowed is the WAY TO GO. I bet you could make a killing selling pre-hollowed pumpkins for carving. Hmm...
@Jas - Re: RFAD, I think it was everything that happened with Ellen Burstyn's character that really got to me. And the sort of anvil-icious anti-drug message. I was like I GET IT, I'll NEVER DO HEROIN, OKAY DARREN? SHEESH.
@Tawni - I didn't exactly *have* the time to do so, but I needed a good procrastination activity and pumpkin picking/carving sure did the trick, haha :P