Halloween 2011 Recap

Halloween 2011

Whenever a holiday passes, it's a good opportunity to take stock.  As you pack away costumes and decorations, take a moment to reflect for next year: what worked and what could you do to make it more fun and less of a hassle? 

Did you wait too long to buy your children's costumes?  Did you break your diet eating all of the Halloween candy? 

Like all of you, I strive to create a beautiful and peaceful home.  As I mention often on my blog, I work outside of the home full-time.  Being a working mom, if I don't stay on top of things by planning carefully, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. 

It may be old-school, but keeping an old-fashioned calendar to record party dates really keeps my family on track. 



My Gooseberry Patch wall calendar

 Little ones eagerly anticipate holidays so it's always fun to encourage their sense of excitement!   We had so much fun with our Pottery Barn Kids Halloween countdown calendar.  Instead of filling the pockets with candy, I wrote little notes for each day of the month with an activity to do for that day (create Halloween masks, read a Halloween storybook, decorate pumpkins with stickers, bake cookies, watch a Halloween movie, go on a hayride, collect fall leaves, etc...)

My little guy loved going to the calendar each day for some holiday family fun.

Even our fur kids weren't left out. 

We bought some special Halloween doggie cookies for Ollie and Autumn.

We decorated indoors and out to create a spooky and festive atmosphere.  Even the playhouse was decked out with orange icicyle lights and whimsical decorations.

I'm more a fan of the cute than the creepy at Halloween - especially with a young child. 

We made a few of these wooden pumpkin luminary boxes years ago.

Of course Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without carving pumpkins...

These were my son's pumpkins

I drew the simple designs, and he (with help from his dad) carved them.

Our big one was a bit more sinister

with marble eyes and fang-like teeth.

little touches inside look magical, too...

Magical scent of the season

Candy Corn Candle

Eerie mouse silhouettes running along the stairs...Eek!

And all dressed up for trick-or-treating...

We hope you, too, had your best Halloween ever!

Spooky Graveyard Cupcakes

We're getting ready for Halloween at our house!

I love this time of year...

All of the spooktacular decorations, the candy, the fun!

No matter what time of year, there's always something yummy baking in the oven.
I never need a reason to get creative in the kitchen, and these little treats were no exception!

SpOoKy GrAveYard CuPcaKes!!

Aren't these super cute?!

I made them for my son's school Halloween party...

Ghoulishly delicious devil's food cupakes

With eerie sugar cookie tombstones,

candy pumpkins, fondant skulls and ghosts.



These cupcake liners have a surprise greeting when you turn them over.

Trick -or- Treat!

I accented my wire tiered tray with real, preserved oak leaves.

Decorating for each holiday can easily get expensive,

but by re-using things you already have on hand,

things you find in nature, and things you can make inexpensively like my cheesecloth ghosts,

you can give your house a spectacular and festive touch without breaking the bank.

We'll be watching Halloween specials this weekend,

and getting ready for trick-or-treating on Monday.

Are you all ready for the little ghosts and goblins that will coming to your door?

Happy Halloween!

October Eves

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”

~ Humbert Wolfe

It's been a typically fallish weekend in Pennsylvania, blustery, overcast and brisk.  Football and festivals are in full swing.  Neighborhood yards are decorated with haybales, cornstalks, and plump, orange pumpkins.  Halloween will be here before you know it!

For a little afterschool treat, I've made old-fashioned, buttery popcorn balls {with itty bitty Reese's Pieces candies in them in autumnal shades of orange, yellow and brown}.  Each homemade treat has been wrapped carefully in a cellophane bag and tied with coordinating fall ribbons.  I love this recipe because they stay nice and chewy (unlike the dry, crunchy ones in the store).

 The kitchen beckons this time of year, and the smells of something yummy being cooked fill the entire house with warmth and delicious smells.

I hope you're enjoying this bewitching time of year! 

want a bite?