a very 2020 halloween

halloween for us was very...2020.  well - like, nothing went wrong or anything like that.  it was just really low-key and not like halloweens of years past.  the bean didn't even look at costumes, we didn't put out our decorations (other than joe and steve, our skeletons that served as our security guards outside), bought zero candy to hand out, didn't go trick-or-treating with our friends.  i didn't even torture the dogs with a costume of any sort.

i did, however, start the day off with some barre.  two of the instructors from my old studio decided to put their talents together and offer virtual classes, and it's been really good to get back to plies and first and second position and sweating my face off.

the rest of the day kind of just slid by, with the bean concentrating on reading for a book report and the hub puttering around in the garage.  we did decide to head out that evening though, making our way out to the west side and just get out of the house.  the sunset was really pretty as we drove along.

we ended up in santa monica, snagging a reservation for dinner at ivy at the shore with a little time to stroll through the promenade.

the bean was elated when her dad stopped here and said "let's have dessert first, shall we?"  she hadn't been to somi somi in ages, and with soft serve ice cream served in a fish-shaped waffle, you can't really go wrong.

i'd opted for a fresh waffle filled with custard, and the hub threw in a second one filled with nutella.  so good.

i stopped to take this across the street at santa monica place because i'm a dork like that.

the bean squealed a little when she found this store, full of soft squishy plushies shaped like all kinds of things from avocados to pizza to sloths.  and with a BOGO half off sale - well, yeah.  she may be 13, but she still can't resist cute plushies.

from the third level of the mall, you could peek over and get a fun view of the lights at the promenade.

and by the time we got back down to ground level, it was time for the short walk over to the ivy.  with only patio dining available, it was a little sad to see the empty restaurant as we checked in for our reservation.

we did have the patio almost all to ourselves.

but first:  wash your hands!

i gotta say, i'm pretty impressed with the night mode on my phone.  pictures like this would always turn out really crappy before.

we ordered some crab cakes for our appetizer, and it was the first time the bean had tried a crab cake before.  she picked a good one, because these were filled with real crabmeat and no filler.  pretty delicious.

i washed mine down with this delicious rosé sangria.  yum.

somehow, the night mode didn't kick in as i took a picture of the hub's dungeness crab salad.  either that, or the sangria had really taken effect.  heh.

my lobster ravioli was really good (and filling!), while the bean was quite satisfied with her fried chicken.

and since we'd had dessert first, we decided to take home a box of their chocolate chip cookies.  but not without sampling at least one first.

bye, santa monica!  happy halloween!

back at home, the bean was excited to tear into a fun halloween surprise from one of our favorite friends.  look how cool this is:

it's a big chocolate pumpkin that comes with a little mallet to smash it open and find more treats inside.

she started out with a few tentative taps, but it took a little extra oomph to get the job done.  and when it was well and truly smashed, she was happy to share some of her treats with me.

so i guess we weren't completely devoid of halloween fun this year...it was just abbreviated.  that's okay.  maybe next year.