Decorating, Cooking, Party Ideas, Travel, and a Halloween addiction




Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Great finds

This past week was my birthday, so I indulged myself in a Goodwill spree. Well. not a real spree as I only found 3 things, but boy, are they AWESOME!
First off these two cutey jars. One is the clasic cookie jar shape and one is in a ginger jar shape. Perfect to fill with fall odds and ends. I am thinking maybe channelling St. Mary-Martha {Stewart, that is}and cutting little shapes of spirits or devils to have floating in each jar.

Price on the cookie jar-
Price on the ginger jar-

Plus I got this little ghost candy dish. I plan on filling this with the mini bat cookies I made yesterday.
Note-
 If any of you are considering making "mini" cookies .
DO NOT SUCCUMB TO THE ALLURE OF MINI COOKIES!
They are so much stinkin' work . As if cut out cookies aren't bad enough . Lets roll out the dough and cut shapes and peel them off the counter an extra 6 times per recipe. One time was enough to cure me of my desire to use my mini cookie cutters. From now on the will only be used to cut bread or cheese or other easy things.
Anyhow, here's the last find.

price-

More Halloween to come!!!!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Halloween luminaries

Sorry no post in a week, I have been aggravated with blogger. I have been busy doing all kinds of Halloween projects. Most recently these little luminaries. My plan is to place one or two in each window in the kitchen.  These luminaries took like 10 minutes. Literally. I cut out some cute Halloween shapes, stuck them on some drinking glasses and thenwrapped the glasses in wax paper and secured.  That's it.
Sorry about the picture quality on this one. During the party the shades will be up and luminaries in place.
The paper curtains took alot more time to do than they probably look like.
Lots more has been happening this week decor wise. Also I picked up some great stuff at Goodwill that I'll be sharing in the next day or two.
Still plenty to do before the party.
But I have my costume basically figured out. I will be going as Medusa
Dress- white linen sheath
Hair- will do in a messy up do with tendrils coming down.
 I bought several toy snakes to weave through it and around my neck.
I will do some glitter green eye shadow make up on my face to simulate scales.
I still need to make a couple of arm bracelets and a big necklace....hmmmm

Will keep you all posted as things get done!
Happy Halloween



Friday, October 15, 2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Fall Find part deux

Skull Ice Cube Tray.... $1.00!

Of the many things I love about this country, dollar stores are in the top ten... well at least top 20.

I dub this facial expression "grinnacing"
get it...?
grin+grimmacing= grinnacing
I crack myself up...
Ahem
Are they wearing sunglasses?
a mug shot

I'm thinking I could make some seriously gross-out candy with these as well.
Like white chocolate filled with gooey carmel or peanut butter brains....
Actually that is not grossing me out at all .
Just tempting me to raid the party favors stash I have hidden from my hubby.....and myself, lets be honest here.



Thursday, October 7, 2010

halloween in every corner

The picture quality is crap on this pic, but it was like 11 pm when I took it..... Not an ideal time for lighting.
You can't really see, but in the cheese plate is a big spooky ball of all sizes of spiders and some webbing.  The skull is one of two I own.  Glowing, and only like 5.99 last year at Party City. The Trick or Treat sign I picked up at the Dollar Store like 6 years ago for obviously 1.00. The pewter candlestick was a Goodwill find- .25. That little white dish is a Shelly candy dish .99 courtesy of Goodwill again. And the pumpkin....well I just bragged about that here.
So not to toot my own savings horn,
but BEEP BEEP
I purchased  this two years ago on target clearance. I think like 2.99
The new home for the Medusa head...
I think I will make the candles drip blood or something. The plain white is bumming me out.
Maybe hot glue some candle bling to it? I also will be filling up the tea service with candy for the party,  but candy is not allowed in the house otherwise I will  gobble it all up in one sitting.
Seriously, I have no self control when it comes to the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.
And you know that's what I'll buy. No gummy items {has gelatin, which is not vegetarian} and no boring candy either.


Speaking of candy.....
The hubby and I were talking about treats that we enjoyed as kids, and Andes chocolate and mint candies came up..... My question is, Why have they not made a Halloween version of this. There are Halloween Oreos, M&M's, Chip's Ahoy, Reeses, and everything else under the sun. Why no Andes? The green would look super cute with a bit of purple mixed in ....like the wrapper. A low cost option vs. reformulating the whole confection.
Hear me Andes makers! We want A Halloween option!


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Top of the Hutch options



Option 1

Decided not to go with this based on hubbys statement that the Medusa head was one of the coolest Halloween items I had, and it wouldn't be fully appreciated up there.
BTW she has glowing red eyes. and I got her for $7.00 last year on Target Clearence
BOO-yah {I am so punny, I crack myself up}


 
Variation , no Medusa Head...
Thought this was too blah color wise

Final choice
yes the little thing on the left is a collectors Jack and Sally shot glass set.
I realize it does not go with my whole Vintage Victorian inspiration, but a little bad taste is like salt.

I will show the rest of the hutch tomorrow....


Monday, October 4, 2010

More Fall Flavors.....

I grew up in Northern Michigan, which is prime apple growing country.
I remember picking apples every fall from our neighbors orchard. Neighbors, that lived about two miles away mind you. Practically next door if you grew up in the country!
My favorite apples to pick and eat were Jonathan apples.
They are in my opinion one of the best apples to eat out of hand. Small, tart, sweet and juicy, they really pack alot of flavor into one little apple. Not to mention it has pink colored flesh that always appealed to the girly girl part of me.  We always made apple crisp and apple pie from them, if we didn't eat them all up first!
Since I moved to Florida, I haven't even seen one.
I have made do with Gala's and Fuji's, but that will only cut it for so long.
Last fall I discovered Honeycrisp apples. I am sure some of you out there have probably been enjoying this delish specimen since your childhood, but it was totally new to me.
Crisp, never mealy. Sweet, tart, firm and AWESOME. A bit more expensive than the regular varieties, but worth it.
I did a little research and it is a hybrid cultivated by the University of Minnesota from
a Keepsake apple and an unknown varietal.
This is one time where science has improved on nature.
Here are some I bought from Le Target. Each box was $8.00.
But sooo worth it!
This is the flavor of fall. {besides pumpkin of course!}

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Fall Find!

I am doing my happy dance right now!!!!
I hope you all appreciate this as much as I do.

FAKE CARVEABLE PUMPKINS FOR ONLY THREE DOLLARS!!!!
THREE DOLLARS!!!!!
Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha
The name brand variety runs around $15-30 per pumpkin.
You know I was not about to spend that much on a single item {unless I can wear it}.

My luck this fall is AWESOME.
sorry about the CAPS explosion....{I am very excited}

The variety of carving possibilities are making my head spin!
a witch flying over the moon?
a wise old owl?
a haunted house with ghoasties in the window?
Gaaah, I need more pumpkins.







Friday, October 1, 2010

First of the Fall Flavors...

This year I will only have beer and hard cider at the party,
so we taste tested a few interesting looking ones......
I have posted real beer tasters reviews because I either like it or not, I really don't know the "proper" terms for the flavors
White Rascal- pretty good, had that Belgian White taste of orange and coriander.
Dead Guy Ale- Hubby loved, but I am not a big fan of ales... a bit too dark tasting for me
Shipyard Pumpkinhead- My favorite of the lot...a nice pie spice flavor
Saranac Pumpkin Ale- average, I would drink hard cider over this any day.

I will hopefully taste more and post pics, but I can't lie,
I will most likely just go with Woodchuck Amber cider and a beer that the hubby picks. Compromise is the name of the game. He puts up with my incessant Halloween chatter, and I indulge his beer preferences...;p