The October List

I'm in a cranky mood, even though there's no real reason to be. Didn't sleep well last night. I'm getting sick. Had another 11 hour day. Glee isn't on tv tonight. Just in a general terrible, horrible, no good very bad mood. Maybe I should move to Australia?

By the way, I like you if you just got my children's book reference. :)

Please forgive me for the millionth post about fall/Halloween, but I need some endorphins.

Instead of any more whining, I give you...

The October List!

Yep, it's November, but I thought I'd update my pictures on a few things from October. It just might be one of my favorite month of the year. And that's saying something seeing that I get 9+ weeks off during the summer to be a complete sloth and hang with Dan.

Why do I love it? Let me count the ways...

1. Wine tasting with friends at Barboursville

Perfect weather + a bottle of wine + making fun of wine descriptions= yes, please.

2. My friend Mali's themed-Halloween outfit

Mali teaches first grade, so she dons applique sweaters and themed outfits (a la Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus) from time to time just to be random and to entertain her students and because she's hilarious! She treated us to her Halloween vest and striped tights for my horror movie night. Love her! :)


3. Themed food

What did I cook for the six adults who hung out to watch Zombieland and drink pumpkin ale?

Um... food that would have been suitable for a kids' Halloween party.

But look how cute these chocolate spiders turned out!
And I also made this pumpkins in a field butterscotch candy (the below picture is from this website since my pic turned out kinda blurry. That's also where I got the recipe).


I also tried this recipe for pumpkin sammies for happy hour with people from school, which might be the best pumpkin dessert I've ever made. And if you read my blog, you know I've made a pumpkin recipe once or twice before...

Pure cream cheese icing? Homemade cookies?

Holy. hell. so. good.

(photo from here because I forgot to take one of mine)

4. Cheap costumes

Last year, we were pick-up-lines. This year, we re-used our 80's costumes to be a trashy bride and groom. Cost? $12 mullet. Mullets bring any costume to the next level, don't they? My hair, however, despite a liberal spraying of Aqua Net, didn't hold up by the end of the night...

Still it was fun to go out in Old Town Alexandria! Much better than the Richmond club scene last year! And the party didn't stop there because the next night, we went to...

4. My sister's Halloween dinner

My sister had a dinner on the 31st, and let me tell you, her and her boyfriend left no detail un-spookified...

Bats on the walls:

They put red light bulbs in all the lamps for moody atmosphere:Even the bathroom got decorated:

She made "mad scientist" cocktails that tasted like pure candy (complete with gummy worm garnishes and novelty ice in the shape of bones.)
I think her friend Miranda liked it...

She hollowed out pumpkin bowls for a pumpkin soup she made:

She baked tombstone cornbread to go with their pot of chili:
And created spiderweb guacamole to go with chips:

I guess a penchant for themed food runs in the family...Kudos to our hosts!

Off to eat leftover pumpkin cookies and try to shake off my funk!

And the CSN giveaway winner is...

I know all of you are dying to know!

All six of you, that is.



You are leaning towards your computer monitor right now, aren't you?!



Fingers are crossed?!



Toes, too?!



You're thinking: just get to it already, dammit! I have to know!!

You're identifying with Kate Winslet at the Oscars,
just waiting for her name to come up after five nominations...

Ha ha! Just playing around!

My giveaway may not have had many people enter, but a blog's gotta start somewhere, right?


Now, let me get to the point.

I picked the winner through random.org:

And the third comment was:

Josie from A Wink and a Smile! Congrats, Josie!
Just send me your e-mail and I'll make sure CSN gets that gift card to you.

By the way, if you love fashion, you will adore her blog! She makes me want to actually try to be trendy with all her great finds and tips.

Thanks again for entering! And thanks to CSN for putting my very first giveaway on!

First picture via here.

Halloween Decor: Part 2

I'm back with a bit more Halloween decor!

Here is a (rather blurry) picture of my table:

I kept the center pretty simple:

To start off, I put down a burlap runner for texture and two metallic cups with votives for some sparkle:

I turned the faux antler candlestick I recently bought from Zgallerie...
on its side so that it wasn't so freakishly tall. I have to say, I like it so much better lying down. It kind of brings a bit of (fake) nature inside.

I'm sure you've seen this next trick before: Martha's bleeding candles! I have wanted to try it since I saw it on here. And let me tell you, it was so easy. Buy white tapers and one red candle, drip melted red wax down the side, done!

Lastly, to balance out an empty corner in the dining room, I put a table with a white tray, white pumpkin Dan and I picked up at the pumpkin patch the other day, and the other pumpkin I made over with chalkboard spray paint.

I like the "yin" and "yang" thing these pumpkins have going on. Oh, and the foreboding message came from Scrabble tiles.
Just for fun, here another Halloween tablescape I thought was kinda different:

From Pottery Barn

I especially love PB's chalkboard stones:
But, really, is there anything chalkboard related that I don't love??

Happy sigh...

So, that wraps up my Halloween decor! Hope you all enjoyed!

On an unrelated note, wanna win a CSN gift card? Feel free to enter my giveaway!

Halloween decor: Part 1

I kinda love Edgar Allan Poe, even though I've taught "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" for seven years straight now. And even though he was more than a bit of a weirdo. (Whenever I teach about him, one of my students will inevitably shriek, "He married his cousin?!" followed by a chorus of "ewwws" and inappropriate "Was he from West Virginia?" jokes that last for at least ten minutes. It's hilarious.)

Anyway, reading his stories every October gets me in the Halloween spirit. I decided this year to have an Edgar Allan Poe meets Hitchcock theme for my house decor, with plenty of ravens, black accents, and macabre accessories:

I've had so much fun slowly putting the decorations together! And playing with my camera's settings for extra mood. Here is my mantle in "day" lighting:

And now with the "candlelight" setting:

Spooky, huh?

I started by swapping out our lovey-dovey wedding pictures over the mantle for some sinister (free) art by printing out these three pictures from Hitchcock's The Birds and popping them in the frames.

The one with the bird shadows really freaks me out!

Then, I gussied up the mantle...

On the left side, I put a $2 plate from Target, a magnifying glass (for a "mad scientist" feel), and a bottle of wine with a "poison" sticker slapped on the front.

Thirsty? :)

On the other side, I put my alarm clock, a couple candles, and a raven:

I usually pull this guy out when I teach "The Raven", but I decided he would be more at home on my mantle with a handful of dried leaves:

In the middle of the mantle, I plopped down my chalkboard pumpkin I DIYed the other day:

I love orange pumpkins, but this going-through-a-goth-phase look gives me a kick too!

Finally, I finished off the living room by "mouse-ifying" my stairs, like I did last year:

Eeek!

Moving on to the foyer, I didn't do much here besides hang the photo of Central Park that Dan bought the day after he proposed to me there. I never looked at this picture as "spooky" per se, but the trees' spindly branches seemed to fit in with the decor.

I figure that I'll set up our jack o' lanterns and candy under this on a little table later on to greet friends and any trick or treaters that swing by.

In the dining room, I carried on the foreboding theme with my crazy raven silhouettes. (I just popped them into the frames that usually showcase black and white photography. Read specifics from last year here.)

Yep, these bad-ass birds are back...

swooping off ledges:

Staring ominously from frames:

And even trying to peck their friends free...

This is also the room where I set up a Halloween tree that I picked up this year

with hanging boxes (leftover from my dinner party last year) filled with our favorite candy:

Side note: If you haven't tried these pumpkin Hershey kisses, you need to. You'll thank me later.

This tree is a little cheesy, but it definitely helps me tap into my inner kid! (Any excuse to gorge on above candy...)


I'll show off my dining room table once I finish one little thing! Oh, and if you have any seasonal decor pics you want to share, feel free to include a link in your comment! :)

Hope you enjoyed the creepy tour!

I'm participating in the CSI challenge:

P.S. - If you haven't already, feel free to enter my giveaway!

(Picture credits: Hershey kisses, Hitchcock picture 1, 2, and 3)