Nightmare in Elmwood

We live in one of the safest neighborhoods I've ever known. Seriously, there is practically no crime in our safe little haven between UC Berkeley and North Oakland (which, let's be honest, isn't so bad itself). But last year, this happened.

And this year, our two giant, awesomely-carved (if I do say so myself) jack-o-lanterns were stolen, right off our front porch in the dead of night. I know I'm a grown adult, and we don't even have kids, but it's still really disappointing. I picked these babies out carefully, from the pumpkin patch an hour away. I spent 2 hours carving them with my husband. And it's no Sweet Dee, but I thought we did a pretty damn good job this year.

For the record, we worked hard on them.

I like Halloween. I'm not crazy about dressing up, and I don't like being legit scared, but I love the pumpkins and decorating our house and watching witchy movies and passing out candy. Plus, Halloween coincides with that change in the air that comes with Fall, and the pumpkin spice everything, and the gourds, and the sweaters, and the excuses to make things like this, and I just love this time of year.

I like to go moderately overboard. I love when neighbors compliment our decorations, and kids point them out to their parents with a mixture of excitement and fear. Someday, I want to be that awesome family that does this together, the neighborhood house that's totally decked out for the holidays. Especially Halloween.

Friggin' sweet decorations, yo!

So when someone comes along with a mean-spirited prank, it just makes me sad. Again, I'm a grown ass adult. I don't have kids. The Pumpkin Thieves did not steal from children. BUT STILL. I feel a little violated (the thieves were up on our porch steps!). I am the disappoints. #endblogrant

RIP, wherever you are...