Mimi Takes Five - #377

ONE // Pumpkin

When rewatching E.T. this year, I was inspired for my pumpkin design. For the past few years, I've thoroughly been enjoying pumpkin carving. I really challenged myself with my Coraline pumpkin last year so thought I could handle E.T. I found a design online and got to work. It took me the better part of three hours but I was up for the challenge. My poor hands were cramping by the end of it, but it was all so worth it! My E.T. pumpkin totally turned out and I love it so much. It makes me smile every time I look at it. There is something so satisfying about creating something. You start with a blank slate and completely transform it! I've unlocked a new passion but am happy to only carve one pumpkin a year because it is a lot of work. My husband is happy to indulge in my creative endeavours if they involve seeds he can then roast and snack on. He does make pretty great roasted pumpkin seeds. It's a win-win situation!

TWO // Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

I still had plenty of pumpkin purée so was looking for a way to use it. I was feeling uninspired by sweet dessert options so was happy to find a savoury recipe. I landed on this one-pot pumpkin mac and cheese and it was just the thing! This recipe totally hit the spot. I mean, mac & cheese is always a good idea in my book but adding pumpkin is completely inspired and perfectly seasonal. I ended up adding the different cheeses I had on hand and that worked out. It was seriously delicious and oh so cheesy - the perfect comfort meal this time of year. The best part is that I had plenty of leftovers to enjoy again and again. 

THREE // Skull Brooch

I've got a pretty solid brooch collection, but I'm always on the lookout for more little treasures to add to it. I approach it as a lifelong collection that I will slowly build and curate. The beauty about brooches is that they are a category of jewelry that can be worn throughout one's lifetime and then be passed on. I'm also a fan of adding seasonal touches to my outfits and brooches are a very simple way of doing so. I've had a spider brooch for a few seasons now and love wearing it this time of year. The other day, my husband spotted this skull and crossbones brooch and remarked that I should get it. I obliged! I've not gotten around to wearing it before Halloween, but I'll try to sneak in a wear in the coming days. My window of opportunity is closing fast!

FOUR // Monster Cookies

I felt like baking a sweet treat the other day and was flipping through my recipe book for inspiration. When I saw my monster cookie recipe, I knew that's what I'd be making. I always get a bit creative with this one because you can basically put any fillings you want, really. It's an oat-based cookie with peanut butter in the batter. This time, I added semi-sweet chocolate chips, a handful of leftover white-chocolate chips, some Skor bits and Smarties. I also remembered I had some eye sprinkles in the cupboard (that I've had for a while now) and decided the monster cookies would be the ideal recipe to test them out. I have to say, they turned out perfectly wonky! This would actually be the perfect cookie to make with leftover Halloween chocolate bars. Just chop them up into tiny pieces and mix them in for a decadent cookie. You could even just whip up a batch of any old chocolate chip cookie dough but swap out the chocolate chips for Halloween chocolate bits and voilà!

FIVE // Costume Hint

The most observant of my readers will have noticed that the Mimi Takes Five post is a day early this week. I decided to swap around the usual Friday post because tomorrow is Halloween and I wanted to do a costume post. That being said I thought it would be fun to drop a little hint about my costume here. This is a costume that I've had on my list of costume ideas for years. It's not particularly a new costume by any means but it's recently circled back to some extent. It's built entirely from pieces I already had in my wardrobe and it just seemed like the right time to wear it. I'm being deliberately cagey and hard to guess because the actual costume is very recognizable. Oh, I will say that it's a joint costume but I won't tell you who will be part of it. Drop your guesses in the comments and stay tuned for the big reveal tomorrow!