Tag: halloween

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…

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!

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?

Halloween Spirit

Posted by – 24 Oct ’10

This weekend we had our 3rd Annual Halloween Movie Marathon. It wasn’t as crazy as last year, where we went for two weekends in a row, but we still watched movies from Saturday night all the way through to Sunday night.

I made some pb cups & peppermint patties, because you have to have some Halloween candy. Some roasted pumpkin seeds for something salty. And of course, some pumpkin spice & espresso cupcakes, well, because I’m good at it. I didn’t, on the other hand, take photos. Mainly because of our spooky Halloween lighting.

Shawn also made tofurky dogs for everyone to fuel us through the night. And lots of coffee. LOTS of coffee and popcorn.

Anyway…this is just a preface to say that my post today is neither cute nor delicious. In fact, it’s creepy. Shawn and I have spent a good deal of time at the Natural History Museum lately. We are trying to take full advantage of our membership there. Not to mention they have amazingly cool stuff.

I thought this might be the only time of year when I could get away with sharing some of the awesome photos I’ve been able to get there at the museum and at special events. Get ready for a bunch of bones, insects and dead things. So if you’re squeamish, you’ve been warned.

preserved

horns and antlers

Antlers in storage.

walrus skull

A walrus skull. Massive.

shawn and the blue whale skull

Shawn and a blue whale skull at the museum’s marine mammal warehouse. This whale was recovered after it was hit and killed by a commercial freight ship about 30 years ago.

bones

The Natural History Museum is part of the network that collects dead animals that have been washed ashore for research.  They have the second largest collection of sea mammals, right after the Smithsonian.

hippo skull

Hippo skull. I’m pretty sure this is Bubbles, but now I’m not positive.

spider

spider

spider

trantula

horns and taxidermy

We ended our pre-Halloween weekend by going to the museum’s haunted cave party. It was really a family thing, but it was lots of fun wandering around  after hours in costumes. I’m totally obsessed with all the taxidermy they have. I am really just obsessed with everything in the museum.

Oh and in case you were wondering what we watched this weekend…here is the playlist…

  1. Halloween
  2. Ghostbusters
  3. Chopping Mall
  4. An American Werewolf in London
  5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
  6. Scanners
  7. Child’s Play
  8. Carrie
  9. Poltergeist
  10. Simon, King of the Witches
  11. The Prowler
  12. Crawlspace
  13. The Shining
  14. Interview with the Vampire
  15. The Exorcist

Anticipation

Posted by – 19 Sep ’10

There are so many things coming up so quickly I can hardly believe it. Just 12 days till the first screening of Brainwashed Love. I’m terrified and excited. Only a few people have seen the film at this point so it will be crazy to show it to all the people who worked on it and supported us along the way. I hope people like it as much as we do.

That also means that it’s only 12 days till October. The best month ever. I’m looking forward to watching tons of horror movies and indulging in lots of treat making. Halloween movie marathon part 3 anyone? Not to mention the annual creation fest that is making a costume, which is always a production in itself.

night tree 001

Also in five short, busy months, Shawn and I will be getting married. Holy crap. Even though there is a lot to plan and put together, I’m really excited. For one thing it’s giving me a good excuse to be extra crafty (as if I need an excuse). I’m making a lot of things already as gifts and decorations. I can’t wait to share all the details, but for the moment they’ll have to stay under wraps.

My biggest dilemma at the moment is what dress to wear. Let me tell you, trying to figure out what to wear for our wedding and what I’m going to be for Halloween is sort of turning my brain into a pretzel. Or maybe a tree. Hence these crazy late night photos. I got the above dress from my grandmother and still have yet to decide whether I want to use it as the dress. It has a lot of elements that I really like but I don’t know if I can alter it into exactly what I want.

I’ve been looking into finding a vintage dress but it’s difficult to find something that has all the uniqueness of vintage dress but also fits me; stylistically and physically. For example, I love this dress below but there’s no way I could fit into it’s tiny waist.

For the most part I really despise the majority of modern dresses out there. If I never see another strapless dress again, it will be too soon. I can’t believe how alike wedding dresses all are, and how insanely expensive they are on top of it. Although, I have to admit, I am kind of in love with the ruffles on this one from J Crew.

And of course, part of me wants to make my own dress. Perhaps that is the masochistic part of myself. Hopefully I’ll have things figured out sooner than later as a wedding dress is not exactly something you want to leave till the last moment.

August 10th

Posted by – 10 Aug ’10

I might get in a little bit of trouble for this post, but I just can’t contain myself.

Three years ago today I met the man I’m going to marry.

That’s him up top, his name is Shawn if you hadn’t caught on yet. He is also known as Studiodrome. These days you might know him as Little Vegan Planet.

Here’s the setting…it’s the second Friday Midnight Ridazz ride. The Clown Ride to be specific. Hundreds of cyclists swarm the streets of Los Angeles from downtown to, in this case, mid-Wilshire. Here we are stopped at a 7-11 to refuel. This photo in particular doesn’t quite grasp the magnitude of how many of us there are. I’m going to say this was during the second golden age of MR.

We met on this fateful night moments after I caught him taking this photo above.  I tried to get out of the frame, and he told me I wasn’t in the photo. Obviously that wasn’t quite true. I kind of love that there is a photo of the moment we first saw each other.

The next day he broke all the rules and asked me out. In fact, he asked me to go get ice cream at Scoops. How could I say no?

So we met up, ate ice cream and talked for a long time. I found out he was vegan too (major bonus points), was crazy about movies just like me and of course, loved riding bikes. I honestly couldn’t believe how much we had in common.

Since then, everyday our life together gets a little more awesome.  We love Halloween. We love spending a whole day (or weekend) watching movies and eating vegan pizza. We love dressing up like zombies. We love biking around every city we visit. You might find us taking photos of all the food we eat.  Or you might find us hanging out and snuggling our cats, Meeme and Mochi.

Last summer we wrote and shot a feature film together…Brainwashed Love. It was by far the craziest, most stressful and most awesome thing I’ve ever done. I know it was only possible because we did it together. Not to mention the work we’ve done in the past year to make it as special as we can.

I wish I could put into words how awesome being with Shawn has made my life. I’m so happy and excited all the time. We get to do the coolest stuff. We get to do all the things that people are nervous about and not worry because we’re together.

I couldn’t be happier that in six short months we’re going to be getting married. I can’t wait for all the things our life together holds. Last night I stayed up late stamping save the dates. I can’t wait to show you guys some of the cool stuff we’re going to be putting together for our wedding, but for the moment it will have to stay under wraps. I promise, cool stuff ahead though.

Tweed Ride 2010

So here are some old (but always good) photos to remind us of the past few years. It’s crazy that nearly the whole time we’ve been together Shawn has had a beard and now he doesn’t.

Happy Anniversary Shawn. I love you more than anything. xo