Pumpkins
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
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.
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
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
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:
- Coven
- Phenomena
- Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
- Amityville Horror
- Martyrs
- We Are the Night
- Harpoon
- Troll II
- Sheitan
- Dead Snow
- The Burning
- Rosemary’s Baby
- The Shining
- Silence of the Lambs
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Sleepaway Camp
- The Lost Boys
- The Company of Wolves
- The Hunger
In fact, we’re still watching as I write this…
Bat cupcakes
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?
