Halloween, etc.

The scary man playing the cello as you entered the cathedral.

The Parade of the Ghouls.

Our friends Amy & Tim, clearly terrified.

My favorite costume. They all looked like a joint effort by Tim Burton & Picasso.

Mr. & Mrs.

I filled in this light on this one (bad photo) so you could get some of the effect of the Cathedral. We kept saying, "Is it weird that we're in a CHURCH?"

Our costumes, sans heads. Unfortunately faces weren't didn't match our cute costumes. We couldn't seem to take a good picture at Jill & Brad's (fantastic) party.

My skill at Pictionary. Guess what it was?

Halloween Costume. Obviously.

My Mr. Universe.

Ward Halloween Party on Saturday. I guess I dressed up as a Mom (that's Baby JJ, who belongs to my pretty friend Ruth- I love that she always lets me hold him). It sort of made my insides feel all funny to have a baby strapped to my chest in a Bjorn.

Today, Sunday. The runners have been streaming by our apartment all day (some a bit faster than others). We had to play frogger to cross 1st Avenue on our way home from church.

The Halloween Extravaganza at the cathedral on Friday night was one of the cooler things I've ever done in New York. So fun. I suppose it was just a tiny bit (a lot a bit?) creepy that it was held in a house of worship, but it was definitely very, very cool. We entered the cathedral & were greeted by an especially creepy looking skeleton playing truly hauntingly beautiful music on the cello. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is a Gothic cathedral & I believe the biggest in the United States. The exterior is creepy at night as is, & the music as we entered really set the tone. We met our friends Amy & Tim there, & the night started by showing the original version of Phantom of the Opera (a silent film), set to organ music that was played live by a woman in the cathedral. The film was almost comic, but the music was absolutely amazing. She must have been exhausted after playing for well over an hour. Afterwards, they had the March of the Ghouls, which was just like the title suggests- a march of scary monsters walking down the aisle surrounded by smoke & fog + equally spooky music. The costumes were brilliant- a la Tim Burton & Picasso. We loved them. Afterwards, we made our way to Brad & Jill's party just up the street. As to be expected, it was great- good friends, good friends, fun costumes.

We had our ward's Halloween party on Saturday afternoon. Mike & I were in charge of taking pictures, which he quickly took over since I was having more fun holding JJ & talking to friends. :) The party was great, lots of fun & well attended. Afterwards, we met our friends Mary & J (not married to each other - to other people that we really like - but both in town, so we were being efficient) for dinner at our favorite Italian place in the neighborhood. Mary & I left to go see Cantori, making sure to make time for a quick stop at Bloomingdales & Dylan's Candy Bar on our way. I love Mary. J's great too, but he won't go lipstick shopping with me.

It's Sunday afternoon. I have Mary's pumpkin muffins in the oven (best recipe ever.), am going to make this pasta in a few minutes (recommended by Kelli) & will make some Shake Shack hot chocolate before some friends come over later for treats.

It has been a busy weekend, but a good one.