Halloween

It is no secret that Halloween is my most favorite of holidays.  I've had the boys' costumes planned for months...and I was going to be a ring girl, but with the changes in my body I couldn't find something that worked...so I had to improvise.   We had lots of Halloweening this year - which is just the way I like it!

First up was the big Spooktacular event at the base:

Next was a Trunk-or-Treat with our church friends.  Let me tell you...trying to get ALL those kids to hold still and all look the same way was IMPOSSIBLE. 

And finally one of our friends hosted a party on Halloween.  Miles wore his costume, Nathan wore his football jersey...and I went as a pregnant zombie.  :)

I love Halloween...I'm already trying to come up with costumes for FOUR for next year!

Oh wait...it's almost Halloween?

I knew this day would come.  

I was prepared for it when during my research I discovered that Italians do not celebrate Halloween.  Normally my October is filled with Halloween parties, Pumpkin Patches, costumes, witches, skeletons, etc.  This year?  Not. No Target isles full of costumes, no corn maze signs off the highway, no ads on the radio for haunted houses.

I totally spaced that Halloween was coming until last week when a package arrived from my grandma, filled with Halloween goodies.  

It makes me sad a bit that I forgot. Now I've got to drum up some Halloweeny-ness so I don't end up in a full-on ugly-cry temper tantrum on the 31st. 

Happy Halloween!!

How to train your...wait...or has he trained us??

We have been getting our Halloween on all weekend...here we are at our Ward's Trunk or Treat. 

 

And yes...we took Miles around and collected candy.  Isn't that why parents let their kids GO trick or treating??  To plunder the spoils??  

Halloween wreath

I love Halloween.  Like...seriously LOVE it.  (Miles already has five pairs of Halloween socks...and five Halloween outfits)  I was born on Christmas so you would think that would be my favorite holiday.  Nope.  It's a second...but not even a close second.  The last couple years our Halloween has been super lame.  And since I've learned that Italy doesn't celebrate Halloween (super Catholic country...Pagan holiday...) I decided we needed to go out with a bang, as it were.  So on Sunday (only the second day of October...and I only waited that long because Nathan said I couldn't put Halloween decor up in September) we hauled out all our stuff (three LARGE totes) and started decorating.  

Later in the week I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and picked up the stuff to make myself a fanciful, adorable, original Halloween wreath.  Here it is in all it's glory:

What I used:

Child's feather orange feather boa - $3.99

Metal wreath form - $1.99

Purple glitter berries - $0.75/ea

Beware sign - $1.50

Black feathers - $1

Hot glue

First, tie the end of the boa on the wreath form...and secure the knot with hot glue. 

Then, working your way around the form, hot glue the boa onto the ring.  If you have a long boa or a small form, you'll end up going around more than once...that's ok it will add bulk.

When you get to the end of the boa, tie it to the form and again secure the knot with some hot glue.  What it looks like when the boa is all glued on...view from the back.

Attach the glitter berries by weaving them through the ring and hot gluing them to make it more secure.  My boa went around the form 1.5 times.  So I put all my extra stuff on the half of the wreath that had less feathers. 

It also helps if you have one of these...but I suppose it's not {completely} necessary. 

Toss in a few black feathers for good measure.  

Glue on the sign and viola!  You've got yourself a fabulous {cheap!} Halloween wreath!

On my mind

We've been busy.   No, seriously busy.  We got home yesterday after being away two days shy of three weeks.  Adoption conference, family reunion, BBQ's, picnics, shopping, family-seeing, friends-seeing, 3000+ miles in the car...we are exhausted!  And in the midst of it all Miles hit the three month mark!

I promise once we're unpacked, the fridge is re-stocked and the laundry is done I'll update...cause I've got some awesome stuff to share.  

But for now...it seems all I can think about is Halloween.  If you've been my friend for any length of time you know of my love (read: obsession) with Halloween.  While in Utah I picked up these beauties:

Goughlishly fabulous salt & pepper shakers.  

 Creepy set of magnetic spiders (I'm going to trail these on our fridge...a la Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...'follow the spiders')

Since this year will be our last Halloween in the states and there is no Halloween in Italy (insert SERIOUSLY sad face here.  Although there is Carnival in February...it's not the same) we've decided to go out with a bang.  I've already written up menu ideas and new crafty ideas.  Oh...and I've got THE. BEST. COSTUME. idea for our family.  Can't wait to show you!!

So if you're near us...let this serve as official notice...you'll wanna be at our place for the Halloween bash!

Halloween

This was kind of a lame Halloween year at our house.  I caught a wicked nasty bug and spent Friday, Saturday and most of today in a drug-induced state.  If you know me at all you know just how much I {{LOVE}} Halloween...so it was a big bummer to get sick this weekend.  But being sick didn't stop us from cuddling on the couch, cranking up the fire and watching some scary movies.  Poor Winston had to be the one to fulfill my dress-up desires (well except for my black cat socks), Nathan was excited to trick-or-treat from our Halloween candy stash and I was relieved to have the weekend off (I only get one off a month) to rest. 

This is the second year in a row we've been lame for Halloween...we'll have to go all out next year. 

Oh - brownie points to whoever can name the source of Winston's quote.

Lack of haunting

I am kinda bummed.

Normally we have a big Halloween shin-dig at our place. In face, we're kinda known for it. But this year with everything going on, we just can't afford to throw it. So 2009 will be sans the Annual Nathan & Holly Halloween Bash. We will spend the evening hanging out with friends and will still have a good time...but a little piece of me will be sad that I won't be spending the evening with kitty litter cake and bat wings and a whole slew of X-Men. But I don't want you to forget our past Halloween awesomeness so go here and here to remember. Do it. Now.

How'd we do?

more later once I get some sleep...and mop the kitchen floor.

Halloween Teaser

Here is what Nathan and I are for Halloween this year:

I'll post a pic of us later so you can see how we did. :)

(Oh, and enjoy the Halloween tunes I picked out!)

It is almost ready...

Nathan and I spent last night Halloweeny-ing our house.  Our front porch looks awesome...now we just have to acquire a few pumpkins and some corn stalks and I'll post a picture of it.  

I am also looking for a new treat idea in the way of halloween food...Here's a typical run-down of the smorgasbord:

• Kitty Litter Cake (see here)
  
• Devil Eyes (deviled eggs)
  
• Bat Wings (Spicy chicken wings)
  
• Embalming Fluid (soda with a frozen jello hand) (See link for cake)
  
• Gum Rotting Gumbo (candy)
  
• Skin Chips & Curdled Blood (chips & salsa)
  
• Brain and Crackers (cheeseball in a skull and crackers)
  
• Awful Arachnids (royal icing spiders.  Not sure if these will make the cut this year - they take F.O.R.E.V.E.R.)
  

Any ideas for an addition(s) to le menu?  Maybe something I could do with mini cupcakes?

This is Halloween, this is Halloween...

(cue the Nightmare before Christmas music...)

My friend Abby turned me onto CakeWrecks.  It is a hilarious website devoted to cakes gone wrong...which admittedly would not be hilarious if it were my cake.  For some good laughs go daily.  I checked today's cake and saw a most excellent cake.  (for fun she posts awesome cakes gone right on Sunday)  See for yourselves:

I LOVE the Nightmare Before Christmas...and this cake is absolutely FABULOUS!  If I were this talented I would make it for our Halloween party - not that we'll be lacking awesome treats for that though (I'll be sure to post pics).

as I was saying...

Not much going on here in our household. Nathan and I still spend our days in service to 'The Man'. (Notice how evil bosses are referred to as the MAN, not woman?? hehe) Winston and Frank are on a diet...they are chunking up a bit much. Winston is NOT happy about this new arrangement, he would prefer to have a trough of food slung around his neck and for me to fan him and feed him treats...seriously. So at 3am when they are hungry because they have gorged themselves and now their dishes are barren, they come-a-cuddling...and by cuddling I mean purring too loud and biting tender places. Winston's favorite 'I'm biting you so you'll feed me' spot is the back of my arm...you know, the part that eventually turns into batwings? That part. Ouch.

We are getting our house ready for my favorite holiday: Halloween. (Isn't it funny that my favorite holiday isn't the one I was born on??) Decorations will go up and preparations will begin for the Fright Night Fest at our pad. If you're in the neighborhood - feel free to party crash (well, not actually crash, because I will probably kill you for ruining our fun...) - costumes are required. I am VERY VERY excited for our costumes this year...I can't wait to post the pic here. :) But for now it will remain secret so that if I am putting on my winter weight too quick and can't fit into it and end up changing ideas, no one will know. :) Maybe I should go on a diet with the fur kids... ?

I am also honing my photog skills. I have been snapping photos of the beautiful fall, and of course of the fur kids, and tomorrow I'm taking fam photos for a friend of mine. If you need to be shot (hehe, lame joke I know) let me know - I need the practice!

Well, gotta run, I must report back to The Man. Four more hours until freedom!

Pictures

Ok, here are the promised pictures


Here are Nathan and I - all 'western-ed' up


Here is the Kitty Litter Cake


These are 'Simple Pimples' and 'Awful Arachnids'


Here is the total 'Graveyard Goodies' Spread


'Embalming Fluid'


Winston, not sure what to think


Our front porch/bone-graveyard.


The pumpkin Nathan carved


Besta, in his Spiderman costume


My brother, Brad, eating one of the 'awful arachnids'...I made them out of Royal Icing and they took FOREVER but looked really cool...

Halloween

ok...so since I only got ONE suggestion before the date (thanks Janus!) we decided to go with something we kida already had. My work last year had the theme to their big dinner-dance as 'Wild, Wild West', so I had bought some sexy-hot cowgirl boots and a cute skirt and hat...Nathan had bought a duster and hat and boots. So we went as a 'Cow-couple'...and we were pretty cute if I do say so myself. I have some pictures of all the crazy food and costumes - if I can find my darned cable I'll get them transferred and uploaded tonight or tomorrow...it was pretty fun overall... :)

QUESTION!!

ok, so I am having a halloween party and I'm not sure what to be...Nathan and I could match or we could be completly separate - but I have to be something VERY GOOD...after all I m the Hostess with the mostess - so my question to you is what should I (or we) be??


oh, and it needs to be faily simple to put together in 2-3 days...