this is how we do it.

halloween, that is.

welcome to year 6 of our halloween traditions.

this is how we celebrate:

... carve pumpkins.

... make riceballs.

... roast pumpkin seeds.

... eat obscene amounts of candy.

... oh, and embarrass poor henry.

step 1: watch charlie make riceballs.

a little background. charlie's italian and our first thanksgiving together we went to new york to celebrate with his family. the entire 5 hour trip up to ny he raved about these riceballs. and all i kept thinking was 'what the hell is a riceball'? turns out they are fried goodness. we make them on halloween and thanksgiving. why? just because.

you make these babies by hand.

rice, ground beef, egg + milk, and bread crumbs.

basically, make a meatball, form the rice around it. dip it in the egg mixture and then roll in breadcrumbs.

sounds healthy, right?

fry said riceballs.

i use canola oil instead of vegetable oil. i pretend this makes a huge difference.

told you they were healthy.

and the finished product.

oozing their fat onto some paper towels.

step 2: carve pumpkins.

the pumpkin carving set up.

the cut-up trash bag is a necessity.

making progress ...

i finished mine first. toby was pretty curious.

actually, he's trying to eat the pumpkin. i'm not kidding.

aaaaand, they're officially jack 'o lanterns.

in case you can't tell the one on the left is supposed to be an owl on a tree branch and the one on the right is a cat.

i am an excellent carver so i blame the cutouts. :)

step 3: embarrass henry.

don't worry he got a treat for this.

step 4 and 5: roast pumpkin seeds and eat obscene amounts of candy.

i have no pictures of this because i was too busy stuffing my face with reese's pieces.

another successful halloween.

i love the fact that it doesn't involve bars, slutty costumes, or drunken people.

and i love that it's a holiday we get all to ourselves.

hope yours was a good one!