We hadn’t carved pumpkins in years. And the last time we did, there was a cordless drill involved and toothpicks to repair the elaborate pattern I attempted and then abandoned in disgust.

This year, feeling all festive, we bought ourselves a book of patterns and some crafting tools at Lowe’s and went to town on our back patio. I went with a simple design (on the left), which prompted the following conversation in our house as we set our pumpkins up side by side on the front porch (that’s Nick’s boo-tastic gourd on the right):

Nick: “Sooo..yours is like, a vampire right?”

Me: “Yeah, totally…I mean, how can you not tell?”

Nick: “Because, well … it kind of looks like he’s a greaser. Like, a greaser meets The Fonz. Vampire Fonz, maybe…”

Me: “No, no, no. He was supposed to have teeth but they fell in while I was carving them out.”

Nick: “Oh, OK….so, he’s like one of those vampires from that wussy Twilight movie you love so much right?”

Me: “Yep. A fang-less Cullen. Let’s go with that.”

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!

We’re celebrating with giving out GOBS of candy to trick or treaters and then seeing a midnight showing of Ball State’s “Evil Dead” musical (one of our friends is directing and we can’t wait! Bring on the camp!)

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I believe there are two camps of women in the handling of wedding dresses after the big day has come and gone: 1) the super cautious type who actually gets serious about its preservation, takes it to the cleaner, and then refuses to open it for 20 years in hopes her own child will someday want to wear it and 2) the careless type (but with good intentions to be like all those No. 1 types) who stuffs it back in the bag, hangs it in a closet somewhere in her house and promptly forgets about it.

I’ll let you take one guess as to the type I am. Needless to say, my gown has hung in the back of our guest bedroom in its white zippered bag for FIVE years now. About a year ago, I unzipped it to take a peek at what the wrath of time had done to its chiffon material. Some discoloring under the arms (to be expected, given I danced my behind off the night of my wedding) and that was about it. Fast forward to last month and my rearranging wardrobes (bringing winter duds back into my bedroom closet for the coming season). There it was again. Taunting me this time with the silly question of, “Think you can still fit into me?”

Girls, it is a dangerous proposition to ask yourself this question. And yet, there I stood, doing it anyway (and if you tell me you’ve never thought it yourself, no matter how many years removed from your own wedding, I’m calling you a liar). So earlier this week, I asked Nick for some help getting back into this dress. He furrowed his brow, gave me a “What for?” but then shrugged and said, “All right.” There was some shimmying and shaking, but you better believe I raised two Rocky-style fists of glory when I felt that zipper pull all the way up. And yeah, OK…there was a bit more “back cleavage” than there was five years ago. But the point? THE ZIPPER ZIPPED.

And that brings me to this month’s self-portrait. Yes, that’s me in my wedding dress (though, admittedly, that’s a horrible angle that doesn’t show off just how pretty my gown truly is. This shot from my bathroom is slightly better). And yes, that’s cake in my hand. Because, I thought, “If I’m going to put this gown back on, IF IT STILL FITS, well, I’m celebratin’!” (Or, in the words of Parks and Rec‘s Tom and Donna, “TREAT YO SELF.”) Because you see, on my own wedding day, I never actually ate any cake. At least, not beyond that sliver shared with Nick for an obligatory cake-cutting photo. I set my piece down, “Twist and Shout” started playing, and the next thing I knew it was whisked away and I’d forgotten all about it.

So fast forward five years to thinking this treat to myself was well-deserved. And the best part about this whole little journey (beside me giggling over its absurdity)? I still love my wedding dress every bit as much as the day I first tried it on.

What about all you wives out there? Where do you keep YOUR wedding dress? Have you ever tried it back on? I so want to hear about it in the comments!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

A beautiful fall evening, a sweet couple whose wedding I’m photographing in 2012 AND an heirloom tandem bike for their engagement session? Well, that’s Cara and Brent for you. I’m in love with the images we captured of them earlier this week. Here’s just a peek until I can share the rest with you next month! (Next month…HOW IS IT GOING TO BE NOVEMBER IN FIVE DAYS?!!!)

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

I thought this particular month’s Ten on Tuesday is pretty appropriate with its travel theme, given that Nick and I are gonna jet set out West next Friday! Can’t wait to explore Portland and Seattle!

1. What is your dream vacation?

I feel blessed to say I am actually one of the lucky ones who feels like she TOOK her dream vacation. Having always wanted to go to Europe, getting there last summer with Nick was literally a dream come true. Sometimes, like, when we’re watching TV or something, I look over at him and am all, “Can you believe we held hands and walked to the Eiffel Tower together? How AWESOME was that?!!” Still reliving that one, friends. BUT…you know, since this question is about dreams, I’ll say other places I’d love to travel include Spain, Florence/Tuscany, Hawaii, traveling along Old Route 66, a cruise to Alaska, Thailand, Iceland and Australia. You never know! 

2. What has been your favorite trip so far in your life?

Yeahhh…see No. 1. I will say, our honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas was pretty incredible too. I don’t think I’ve EVER been as relaxed as I was those 10 days we spent at an all-inclusive. I actually got a tan too! haha :)

3. If you and one of your best friends could go anywhere in the world for one week, where would it be and why?

I’d LOVE to take a group of girlfriends and go one of three places: 1) Napa Valley to hit up wineries 2) NYC to live it up and take in the magic of that city (from seeing shows together, to cocktails out in cute dresses to shopping like crazy!) or 3) Rent a house on the beach at the Outer Banks and just enjoy one another’s company for a LONG weekend.

4. Have you ever booked a trip using an online deal? How did it go?

Never an online deal, per say, but I use Travelocity.com for pretty much EVERY flight I book.

5. What’s your favorite thing to do while you’re on vacation?

Explore, explore, explore. I’m yin-yang with vacations. If a beach is involved, then the best combination is a deck chair, some SPF and a good book. Maybe a Corona and I’m set. If we’re city-bound, I want to know where I should eat, cool sites I should see, and the best museum in town so I can walk through its doors.

6. Have you ever missed an opportunity to take a trip that you regret?

I REALLY regret not studying abroad someplace in college. At the time, I remember thinking I couldn’t mess with graduating in four years because of my scholarship money. Plus, I hated the thought of leaving Nick behind. But college is the PERFECT opportunity to go overseas for an extended period of time. So I wish I would have taken advantage of that!

7. You travel far away from home and get stranded with no way to buy anything, what’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Oh man…these types of questions are SO hard to answer! My usual go-to? A book. It’d have to be a good one though if I could only get one! I should probably ask for a Kindle instead and hope this place I’m stranded has Wi-Fi.

8. What’s one of your favorite traveling memories?

Aside from ALL those Europe memories I spoke of earlier, I have a few other memories I cherish: 1) Sitting on the porch of a B&B with my mama in Asheville after a day spent exploring the city and Biltmore 2) Nick and I’s horse-drawn carriage ride through the historic district of Charleston 3) Watching Los Angeles light up beneath me as twilight fell at Griffith Observatory

9. All included resort or backpacking? Why?

I remember when we were taking the train from London to Paris and watching these girls who were, hmm…. maybe 5 foot tall, with backpacks strapped to them that literally went from their head to their thighs. They looked like they’d topple over at any minute! I thought, “No way….I could never do that.” I think the more stuff you lug around, the more cranky you get as you travel. We were cranky enough with the bags we had! Sooo…in that case, I’ll go all-inclusive (because it IS really nice not to have to carry anything with you except a beach towel and a magazine or book!)

10. Are you more of a lie on the beach kind of person on vacation, or do you prefer to see the sights?

I hit on this in No. 5, but I can do both pretty easily. My favorite vacation involves some form of exploring and copious amounts of good food, but at the same time, I love that in the past few years, we’ve kind of switched things up and I feel like we’ve gotten some great beach time in in between those trips we’ve explored cities. So it’s a nice balance….Plus, a beach usually always means great seafood so I’m in!

Ten on Tuesday topics from Roots & Rings

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.