Halloween Weekend

Brad came down to Lexington to celebrate Halloween with me this weekend. We were super excited about this weekend since we planned for several fun things. First we made it to the My Morning Jacket concert in Louisville, KY. They performed at the new KFC Yum! Center which just opened a few weeks ago. It's a really nice venue right in downtown Louisville near the waterfront.

The new YUM Center or 'Downtown Arena' as it is being called in some circles, is a work of architectural art! The building provides an icon for Louisville and has a very interesting layout. The interior was pretty amazing visually and functionally. However, the acoustics in the arena were a bit lacking. I am sure they will work this out eventually and this will be a great venue for the downtown area. Its proximity to the Water Front Park and other plazas mean that the arena could be used in conjunction with other spaces for events, festivals, and, of course, sporting events!

My Morning Jacket uses puppets like these in their shows. I wonder how one gets to do this!

During the last part of the concert the band dressed up like Kernel Sanders and rocked out. MMJ also brought the Louisville Youth Symphony Orchestra to the show which you can see in the background. They provided some extra accompaniment for a few songs. The kids looked like they were getting down with the band and they sounded amazing.

After the concert we went to Tolly-Ho (a greasy spoon type of place!) back home in Lexington to get some cheese fries, cheese tots, and a milkshake. This place has been here for decades...and is about to leave this location on campus for another building nearby. A lot of people were dressed up in costumes which made tonight more entertaining.

On Saturday afternoon we took the dogs to the Howl-O-Ween costume contest, hosted by the local pet store, Incredipet. We didn't win, but the dogs got some great goodie bags and everyone got to socialize.

They all went as characters from the Wizard of Oz. Greenlee was Dorothy, Roxie was the Good Witch, and Heidi was the Wicked Witch

Heidi was really good, and even kept her hat on!

A lot of dogs (and girls!) were dressed as bees

This little dog won. We think he was the cartoon Grinch's dog

Even though none of the dogs won the contest, it was still very enjoyable. To see all of the pets and the owners dressed up was an interesting event. I must applaud Katrina for coming up with the 'Wizard of Oz' theme and making most of the costume with here awesome sewing skills! Just because they aren't recognized by the judges doesn't mean they go unrecognized by everyone! Nice Work!

Later that evening we met with Brad's friend Jonathan. We all went to eat at Planet Thai and then we dressed up in our costumes for the evening. Brad went as a pimp, and I went as a 1970's tennis player.

Jonathan went as Mario, a pretty impressive costume!

We then went to downtown to see the Thriller Parade. It's done every year at Halloween. The main part of the parade happens when zombies perform the Thriller dance down Main Street. Mecca Dance Studio teaches everyone who would like to participate the dance. They also showcased a few 'floats' and cars, such as a early 20th century hospital car, and a pirate boat. The community band also marched and a young ballet group did their version of Thriller.

After the parade, we headed to the developing Distillery District, where we attended the Beaux Arts Fall Ball. The University of Kentucky architecture hosts two 'balls' every year to raise money for the school. The ball is hosted at Buster's Billard's and Backroom. I wish that the Landscape Architecture Department on UK's Campus was this awesome and threw some parties to raise money for our programs.

Sunday we made into a relaxing day. Brad got to visit a friend from school with Jonathan and I prepared the kitchen for some cooking and pumpkin carving for the evening.

I made these muffins for Brad the morning before he came in. They're sooooo goood; they have to be the best muffin I've had! They're Pumpkin Cream Cheese filled Muffins! Thank You Annie's Eats. They take a little longer than most muffins, but they surely will be a hit!

It was quite an amazing weekend. Some things didn't go as planned and some events were left out, but mostly it was a huge success. It marks our 2nd Halloween together! I am currently learning how to make movies and videos using iMovie. I took lots of video at the concerts and during the parade. Hopefully, I can figure out the software and post the videos for everyone to see.