Category: halloween

Pumpkins

Posted by – 2 Nov ’11








I know Halloween has past, but I couldn’t help but share a few of the amazing carved pumpkins and decorations we saw this year. Oh and an adorable black cat.

November is here and already our month is full of big things. Over the next few days we’ll be trying to see as many film as possible at AFI Fest. There is such an amazing selection and so many that I want to see, I can’t wait. Then, in a few weeks our two good friends, Baxter and Alicia, are getting married. Hooray! Then it’s my birthday. Then it’s Thanksgiving. That’s pretty much all of November! It’s going to be a busy month.

Halloween Tidbits

Posted by – 30 Oct ’11


October has almost come to a close and we’re having a very relaxed final weekend. It’s nice to celebrate without feeling pressure to indulge in too many festivities. In fact, I haven’t even truly made a costume this year.

I did realize I never shared all of our decorations, like our veiled lady, which I think we’ll keep up for the rest of the year as well. Or our floating pumpkins.

We spent Friday evening watching more horror movies while I made a black velvet cape for Shawn.

I’ve had the same black cape for the past 14 years and it’s served me well (I even wore it to our wedding), now Shawn has one of his own that will surely last longer as my sewing skills have improved in those years. There is something wonderful and comforting about being able to shroud yourself in a cloak. I hope to make more, different capes to wear on a more regular basis.

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We wore our matching capes to the Hallovegan event at Verdugo bar this year. I was pleased that they played The Shining all evening. Not to mention the delicious vegan food they had.

Looking forward to going to check out one of the most beautifully decorated neighborhoods in Los Angeles tomorrow. It’s so exciting to see all the kids trick or treating. Can’t wait to dress up some kidlets of our own.

Vegan Zombies

Posted by – 26 Oct ’11

Just wanted to share this fun video Shawn made, since it is full of flesh eating zombies, very appropriate for this time of year.

Oh, and I think it’s cool.

Halloween Movie Party 2011

Posted by – 24 Oct ’11

This weekend we had our 4th Annual Halloween Horror Movie Marathon. When it started out a few years ago, it was just a sleepover where we’d watch scary movies, but has since turned into something much crazier, as we watch horror movies for over 24 hours straight. Watching horror movies for so long with so little sleep definitely does some strange things to your mind and it starts to feel like you’re living in a horror movie yourself.

So here’s a glimpse into what it’s like… Get ready for a lot of photos.

To set the stage, we turn our living room into a screening room, blacking out all the windows and adding some creepy mood lighting. We even brought our spare bed out to add some comfy viewing spots.

We continued the creepy lighting throughout the apartment. Here are the beginnings of our snack table. Snacks are vital for getting though the night.

We hung a velvet curtain to keep the light from our kitchen down since there isn’t a door. Dining room chairs were moved to the living room for extra seating. We had about 15 people throughout the night, although only a handful made it till morning.


Initially Meeme was excited about the party, hanging out on our new carpet. She and Mochi got scared though and spent the rest of the evening watching movies in their own room. They particularly liked Beetlejuice.

We made our bedroom into a second screening room for our friends who don’t like scary movies as much as we do. Everyone toughed it out though and the cats had the room to themselves.

This hallway is definitely horror movie material.

So we’ve set the stage, shall we get to some of the treats?

I had to make sugar cookies as it has become a yearly tradition. This year I opted for pumpkins to go a long with my pumpkin theme.

Shawn requested that we make some healthy things instead of all sugary treats and we came up with some  scary looking drinks. While kale, celery and ginger juice, might be fairly common, it still has the look of a strange brew.

Or how about some blood? I mean, carrot beet juice.

There were popcorn balls made with Dandies.

Apples with caramel sauce for dipping.

There were pita chips with black bean dip and hummus as well as crostinis with spinach dip.

I ran out of time before guests started arriving and hastily frosted the pumpkin cookies. Not too cute but still deliciously sweet.

As a later night snack, I made some quesadillas jack-o-lanterns. I found some green cactus tortillas and knew they would be perfect for a Halloween. During the night we also made tons of tofurky dogs with lots of toppings, pizzas and even coffee cake. Oh and lots of coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

Kim stopped by and brought these amazing lady fingers. How creepy?

Like I said, we watch straight through the night and well into Sunday. This is the remaining 6 of us some time on Sunday afternoon. Jenny L., Shawn, Me, James, Jennifer Y. and Kyle. Without a doubt this has been the best year yet, so much fun! Already I can’t wait till next year.

Want to know what we watched? Here goes:

  1. Coven
  2. Phenomena
  3. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
  4. Amityville Horror
  5. Martyrs
  6. We Are the Night
  7. Harpoon
  8. Troll II
  9. Sheitan
  10. Dead Snow
  11. The Burning
  12. Rosemary’s Baby
  13. The Shining
  14. Silence of the Lambs
  15. Cannibal Holocaust
  16. Sleepaway Camp
  17. The Lost Boys
  18. The Company of Wolves
  19. The Hunger

In fact, we’re still watching as I write this…

Bat cupcakes

Posted by – 19 Oct ’11

While technically speaking I’m no longer in the cupcake business, I had a special request for some bat cupcakes and I just could not turn it down. Especially with Halloween coming up, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to try out some bat decorations.

I spent a long time practicing drawing bats in frosting and but every one felt like something was missing. I was about to give up and go another route when I realized what it was. Eyes! They needed eyes. I grabbed some sprinkles and very carefully placed two tiny beady eyes on each bat.

They manage to still be a little cute without being cartoonish. These would be perfect for a Halloween party or just for some who liked bats. Just imagine a dozen of these little guys at a party.

I’m debating making cupcakes for our Halloween gathering this weekend, as I make cupcakes every year. Maybe I’ll make ones with pumpkins on top. What’s your favorite way to decorate cupcakes?

Halloween Pumpkin Mantle

Posted by – 17 Oct ’11

Generally speaking when it comes to Halloween decorations, I lean more towards the actual scary than the cute. On the other hand, I love pumpkins and I knew for our mantle I wanted a ton of pumpkins.

I bought a handful of fake pumpkins from the craft store (they never go rotten!) and went to town. I thought I’d stick with a black and white theme and at first I was tempted to make them pretty with patterned stencils, but was inspired to paint cute faces on them when we found a light up pumpkin at a Halloween store. We turned that one into a makeshift light putting it on an antique tripod.

Of course with the black and white theme, I was able to incorporate the ghosties I made.

Look at that happy pumpkin face! They were all painted with acrylic paint we had laying around the house. Pretty simple and pretty fast.

This is the just the beginnings of our decor. We have some more creepy awesome stuff that I’ll share over the next weeks. Not to mention that next weekend is our horror movie marathon and all the treats and decorations that go along with it. Can’t wait!

halloween costumes

Posted by – 30 Sep ’11

It’s the last day of September which means I am declaring it officially time to start talking about Halloween. I’ve even changed my header in honor or my favorite holiday.

First order of business is costumes. I always try to plan ahead so I can make my costume but then can’t decide until the last minute where I scramble to make something overly complicated and end up making myself crazy. Yet again, I’m stumped this year.

Looking back at the last few years, I’m really happy with my costumes, in fact, they’ve been some of my favorite.

at the farm

Last year I was a prairie girl. The coolest thing about this costume was that it was super comfortable and totally re-wearable. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make a costume so I bought a lovely vintage dress on etsy.

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In 2009 I had big ambitions that I would make an intricate Marie Antoinette dress, including a corset. I never finished it. It managed to get it to a wearable state but never made the hoop skirt that went along with it. This project nearly broke me. Despite not totally finishing it, I was still really happy to have a fancy and yet really creepy costume.


In 2008 I was a bat. I have wanted to be a bat for many years as I have wings already built in. This costume was a simple, black, shiny dress with an open back. It was easy to make just by draping. I added gloves, thigh highs and mask to finish it off.

Possibly my favorite costume of all time was this dear costume I made in 2007. Knowing in advance that I needed something I could wear on a bike ride, I made a super comfortable cotton jersey dress, spray painted the belly white and added ears and a tail. I also made the cape Shawn wore with his pumpkin head costume. It was one of the best Halloweens ever.

So what’s next? I’d like to go with something traditional and scary. Maybe something with horns? I much prefer things that are creepy than cute or sweet. I also love getting the chance to wear makeup and masks.

What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you make your costume or buy it? Let’s brainstorm ideas together!

craft night

Posted by – 29 Sep ’11

Oh it’s almost October and I can hardly contain myself. Every day when the sun goes down a little earlier and the air is a little crisper, a feeling of elation passes over me. I adore fall time.

I’ve already been plotting decorations, and last week a few lady friends came over for some crafting.

With Halloween on our minds, everything we created had a sort of holiday theme.

A gaggle of ghosts were born. Or unborn? Not sure with those ghosts.


It was nice to spend the evening with some lovely women and talk about anything while we worked on our little projects.

At the end of the night I had a few ghosties of my own, and a dear little spider.

I can’t wait till our next craft night…I foresee pumpkin carving!

Dia de los Muertos cookies

Posted by – 2 Nov ’10

I wanted to make a few special cookies to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. I searched for a skull cookie cutter but to no avail. The closest I could come up with was a skull and cross bones. Not quite the same.

dia de los muertos cookies

I went ahead and just drew the skulls on larger cookies with some royal icing. I’m still working on my technique, although I think these came out nicer than my Star Wars cookies.  I would have liked to draw on some roses and other decorations but I don’t think I couldn’t have managed the detail. Thinking maybe next time I can paint food coloring on for more delicate lines.

Most importantly, they tasted awesome and were still pretty cute.

dia de los muertos cookies

Cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Icing recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Happy Halloween

Posted by – 31 Oct ’10

Happy Halloween!

I’ve been spending my morning hanging out with the kitties and reading about haunted houses.

I was just going to post a quick teaser of our Halloween costumes, but some of the photos are just too much fun, so I had to share more.

prairie girl & astronaut

This year I was a prairie girl and Shawn was an astronaut. I didn’t have time to make a costume,  so I bought this amazing dress from an awesome shop on Etsy. I love the dress so much, I might have to wear it all the time.

halloween kiss

It’s true, we love Halloween.

dancing like a maniac

We went to a party with some crazy dancing ghillie suit creatures. Watch out for this guy. His moves will blow away even you’re sweetest dance routine.

dance party

Even Cleopatra was there; cutting a rug on the dance floor.

halloween cupcakes

There were cupcakes. They were devoured.

yay! halloween!

I’m so glad my friends love Halloween as much as I do.

We’re planning some more Halloween adventures for this afternoon. Can’t wait.

What are you doing for Halloween?

Spider web cake

Posted by – 27 Oct ’10

Halloween is nearly upon us and I feel like I haven’t yet gotten my yearly fill of creepy decorations and festivities. Granted, we’ve been to a haunted corn maze, had our 3rd annual Halloween movie marathon, I even baked a pumpkin. Not to mention, we’ve watched over 40 horror movies this month (so far).

It’s still not enough though. So tonight, just to satisfy my Halloween cravings, I made this spiderweb cake. I think it’s creepy but still has a bit of elegance. No one wants to eat a cake that looks gross, even if it’s supposed to evoke grossness.

spider web cake

I had a little extra fondant (and a leftover cupcake) and this little ghost came haunting around.

ghostie cupcake

Before this weekend arrives, I still hope we’ll get to carve pumpkins. I’ve got my costume all together and can’t wait for all Halloween festivities.

Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Here are some more Halloween desserts from years past.

Halloween Treat roundup

Posted by – 26 Oct ’10

Halloween is just around the corner and I thought we all could use a little dessert inspiration.

I’m thinking of making a fancy Halloween cake this year, just have to find the time. I really like the idea of painting on a cake or using some stencils.

Here are a few of my favorites I’ve made over the years.

ghost cookies

Cutest, easiest ghost sugar cookies. If you can frost a cookie you can make these.

zombie cake

Chocolate zombie cake. Gotta show the zombie love.

brain cupcakes

And zombies need some brains to eat.

spooky ghostcake with dandies

Dandies Marshmallow ghost cake. I love anything that’s creepy and cute at the same time.

vegan halloween cupcakes

Or you can get really crazy with pumpkins, spiderwebs, bats and more.

Personally I always want to make chic-o-stick cupcakes around Halloween, but can’t ever find them.

What are your favorite Halloween treats?