This will surprise no one: I own a witch costume.

I haven’t always been a witch. When we lived in the city and the girls were little, we had a great house with a stone porch and I’d host a party so everyone could watch the kids walk by. One year Steve and I were a king and queen. Another year we were a biker family with leather jackets. And I’ll never forget the time we went as farmers and Steve brought a real pig and goat to trick or treat with us. They caused such a stir on the street that we had to take them home.

For the first few years we lived at Serenbe, we didn’t have Halloween because we didn’t have the community around us yet, and I missed it terribly. But when it got going, I convinced the family to dress as characters from Wizard of Oz. Garnie was Dorothy, Kara was a sexy scarecrow, Steve was the wizard (of course) and I was Glenda the good witch.

All we were missing were the flying monkeys.

For the past few years, I’ve set up a big cauldron on my front porch, put on a witch costume and given out candy to the kids. Not apples, granola or raisins—I have never been that mother. I firmly believe that trick or treating is about junk: Snickers, Kit Kats and Three Musketeers. And if there happen to be some peanut M&Ms left over, that’s just fine with me.

This year my schedule got the best of me and I thought I’d waited too long to rent my witchy attire. But when I got to Atlanta Costume, they hadn’t even put the outfit on the floor yet. And I said, really? The dress is still here? I’m buying it.

There’s just something about being a witch that suits me. Decades ago, Southern women cooked meals in big black cauldrons over an open flame. And in that same way, we’re constantly cooking something at Serenbe. Our community cauldron is full of ingredients that complement each other in wonderful ways. I love the whole magical process of food—it’s the energy behind my cooking and what we’ve created at Serenbe.