Leianea's Halloween

The Costume Conundrum: The Reveal!

2011-10-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Cooking Corner: Cake Pops

2011-10-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

ADD PICTURES

Have you ever heard of Cake Pops?

Well then you must have been living under the internet rock for quite some time. (Well either that or you're not a food blogger nerd like me). They've been sweeping the nation, especially since Bakerella published a book: Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for Over 40 Irresistable Mini Treats

I will admit, I have had my highs and lows with cake pops. My first attempts, I blindly trusted the ratios on her website and ended up with mushy, saccharine sweet blobs of goo that, yes, tasted fantastic (it's cake and frosting, how could it not?) but didn't hold up well to being put on sticks.

My second attempt was a similar failure. I got a texture that was work-with-able but my dipping techniques were sub-par and I ended up with crummy candy coating.

But my third attempt, oh my third attempt was wonderful. I watched the video that she filmed for Amazon to promote the book and I got it. It clicked. I went to work and made a whole bouquet of cake pops that I then gave to my research professor as a thank you for the help she has given me this past summer.

And now, because we all know my obsession with pumpkin, it is time.

Pumpkin Cake Pops. Pumpkin cupcakes. Cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Mush it together, dip it in candy, draw on a face and voila. you've got yummy Jack-O-Lantern treats that should probably be scared of you because their fate rests in your mouth.

The recipe appears in the Fall issue of Betty Crocker's baking magazine, the ones you see at supermarket checkouts. Bakerella posted on her blog about how excited she was to see her recipe on the cover, and then I had to go out and buy a copy.

(That's Bakerella's picture, no mine, my camera is not nearly that good)

So, in the interest of not being sued by Betty Crocker, I have not posted the recipe, but if you have a pumpkin cupcake recipe, and you know how to make Cake Pops, you are pretty much set. So let's get onto the good part: the pictures!

So, dear readers: Have you ever tried cake pops? Heard of them? Think they sound disgusting? Want to go try them right this second? Tell me in the comments!

The Costume Conundrum: Part 3

2010-10-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

As I sat, confused and loathsome about the decision I had to make, I began to ponder the years of Halloweens past...thinking about the great (and awful) costumes that had come before....

PICTURE

My first ever Halloween costume was a ladybug. I was just past being a year old, and my mom sewed me a little red pillow with black dots on it, that I wore like a backpack over a black onesie. I crawled around and looked damned cute. My little sister had a similar butterfly costume for her first halloween.

The years between have been lost in memory but I have been many things and many people. I've been an alien, a witch, a pumpkin, a spider queen, Tinkerbelle, a white-sheet ghost with red tennies, and in the more recent years I bought a Princess Leia costume, and last year I decided to revive the ladybug. Red skirt, heels, red top, headband with antennae and a foam set of wings that I whacked people with all night. It was awesome.

So, as I considered the decision I had to make, I reminisced about the costumes that had come before, and thought that I had a lot to live up to...

So what did I pick? Find out in the last installment of the Costume Conundrum!

So, what were some of your favorite Halloween costumes you had as a kid? Tell me in the comments, and pictures are always welcome!

Gettin up on my soapbox...

2010-10-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, I know I've already used this as a soapbox for non-Halloween related things, but this one is especially close to my heart. While we count down the rest of October, I hope you'll bear with me (this is the last one...)

October is Vegetarian Awareness month, and as a vegetarian for 8 years now, this is obviously a cause I hold near and dear to me.

Now, I won't bore you with my reasons for being vegetarian, but I do hope that you take the time to learn a little bit more about vegetarianism today. Learn about the health benefits, if anything, and consider going vegetarian for a day, a week, or a month. It doesn't matter what your personal reasons are for it, but you can do your part to save the planet, save a life, or save a few calories.

If you do go vegetarian for a day, you can enter to win $1000 dollars by submitting your pledge card here: World Vegetarian Day Website.

So tell me, would you consider going vegetarian for a day? Why or why not (keep it civil guys, I respect your love of meat, particularly the rising popularity of bacon, but if we're going to have a discussion we need to be civil. If you aren't I will delete your comment and block you from this blog. I have no tolerance for intolerance). If you are vegetarian, why?

The Costume Conundrum: Part 2

2010-10-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

When we last left off, Dorothy's ruby red slippers weren't quite the right fit...

My brain turned to other options. Being a brunette, I cycled through all my favorite female brunettes. Maybe I could be Velma? Orange turtleneck, red miniskirt, and I'm basically set. I've already got the dopey glases, and I've got my lines down ("Jinkies!").

Oh but what about matching the sweater to the socks and the skirt to the shoes? What about the classic little bob, my hair is too long, I'm not cutting it and I don't want to wear a wig. What about, what about, what about.

So that idea got placed on the backburner for a little while.

Then comes ComiCon 2010 in July. I see her everywhere and start to wonder whether I can pull it off. Wonder Woman. How bitchin would I be as Wonder Woman? I'd probably opt for a skirt rather than the spandex swimsuit version, but I can be a strong Amazonian warrior woman, with the right hair and the right accessories.

But then...well...I can't really make the costume. The stretchy, shiny spandex doesn't work well with my limited sewing skills and well, I don't really want to BUY a costume...$35 for the CHEAP costume that looks about as expensive as a McDonald's happy meal toy...or a heck of a lot more for a really nice suit. I am a broke college student. Not happening.

Staying in the vein of being broke, what about something easy, Where's Waldo? I think yeah, people would get a kick seeing me in a crowd, and all I need is the hat and the shirt, that's easy right? But oh, ew, horizontal stripes...

What about a jellyfish? Martha Stewart has a great tutorial. Get a clear umbrella and long strips of bubble wrap, maybe a blacklight...but hm...that's not really a costume it's just something you carry around...

What to do?! Find out next...

Question: Did you go through a process before settling on your final costume? Tell me about it in the comments!

Garlands!

2010-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I love me some swag. String me a line of some pennant flags anywhere and everywhere, and why not do it at Halloween too? It's the perfect decoration to add a little festivity and go as cute or spooky as you want, and it packs up flat for easy storage that isn't bulky.

Here's what I'm thinking of this year, Michaels Craft store has some great ideas on their website for things like this BOO garland:

And something a little more accessible to post in the front entry way, a simple orange and black Happy Halloween

I'll let you know if I end up making my own!

Do you have a favorite Halloween decoration or easy craft? Tell me in the comments!

Cooking Corner: Pumpkin!

2010-10-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Oh dear. The first cold day of the year (well, cold for California) gets my wheels a-turnin. It's cold. It must be fall. And when it's fall that means...

It's pumpkin season!

I wait all year for pumpkin season. Pumpkin and all the things that come with it define this season for me. The warm spiciness of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, with the smooth richness of my favorite gourd...wow.

Sometimes, I will admit, I cannot wait for September. I have made pumpkin pancakes in April, I will not deny this. I have concocted pumpkin ice cream in July. I have no shame.

So, for my first cooking corner, I would like to share with you a recipe that was featured on a favorite blog of mine, Baking Bites. They do a roundup about once a week of the best recipes that are circulating then. One fateful week, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I ran across this beauty:

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusal Buns.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Warm and gooey? Spicy and rich? Streusal?!? How could I say no.

And you know what the best part is? It's...(low fat). Don't tell anybody.

I'll leave the recipe to her, she deserves all the credit for this masterpiece.

What's your favorite fall treat? Tell me in the comments!

The Costume Conundrum: Part 1

2010-10-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

It all started on November 1st...

I found a pair of ruby red slippers, in my (ginormously huge) size, on sale, for practically nothing. How could I say no? So we got them, and it was decided. I would be Dorothy. End of story. My mom would help me make the classic blue gingham dress, which she swore was simple (I took her word). My hair is the perfct length to curl into the classic pigtails, and I had the shoes.

Until...

I tried them on. They fit, they worked fine, they would even have room for some whie socks with some lace, but they were...stiff. Hard. Not shoe material. They cut into the back of your foot and anywhere the edge came in contact, the sandpapery glitter itched and scratched and was not very nice.

Uh oh.

All of my Dorothy dreams came crashing down. I had already planned it out, my three dogs fit the personalities of the sidekicks down to a T. Dumbo Cody who can't drink water without choking and climbs down stairs like a rabbit? Clearly the Scarecrow, he is in desperate need of a brain. Meanie Toby who gets super jealous whenever another dog gets more attention than he does? Clearly the Tin Man, in desperate need of a heart. And cuddly Max, the oldest and meekest of the bunch who gets knocked around and doesn't stand up for himself when his favorite ball is taken, clearly, he is the Cowardly Lion.

Toto? No problem. I've got a fluffly kitty who loves baskets.

What to do? Find out next time!

Question: Have you ever found something you thought was perfect that turned out to be a disaster? Tell me in the comments!

Just incase you didn't know...

2010-10-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I just wanted to take a moment to talk to all 10 of my readers about the rising breast cancer rates around the world. It is

Please take a moment to look at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website and learn a little bit more about breast cancer today. The more you know, the better chance you have of helping yourself or someone you love.

So, dear readers, do you know someone who has had breast cancer? What are your stories, or if breast cancer isn't something you can relate to, what are some causes that are important to you?

It's the Little Things...

2010-10-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

On the eve of my 21st birthday, as I came home to prepare for the copious amount of alcohol that would be consumed that evening, I came home to a little surprise from my mother.

Yes, my friends, that IS a light-up pumpkin bracelet. I shall wear it proudly as many times as I think I can swing it this month as a reminder of what lies ahead of me, and a reminder that no matter how crappy my school day may be, or how poorly I do at the gym, it can't be all that bad...because it's almost Halloween.

Do you have anything you wear for the entire month to remind you that Halloween is coming? Do you have something you'd LIKE to wear all month? Let me know in the comments!

Childhood Memories

2010-10-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have some very very fond memories of Halloween as a child.

My mom would make dinner, and my sister and I would eat it in our costumes at the table. We'd go out with our mom, dad staying home to run candy patrol, and we would zig-zag through the streets to hit up as MANY houses as we could. Every year we were determined to hit even more than the year before, but around 9 pm we'd eventually poop out and turn around.

We always decorated our house the same way. We had a little porch in the front of our house that was just long enough for one string of lights all the way across. We had orange plastic bags with pumpkin faces on them that we'd stuff with newspaper and hang from the rafters, and we had window clings that we put up year after year, my sister and I lovingly peeling them and placing them just right.

It was always a relief to turn the corner and see our house with the same lights and the same decorations and to know I was home. I can still feel the heft of my heavy pumpkin-shaped treat bag as we turned the corner onto our little street and saw our house.

One year, we turned the corner and the moon was just rising over the horizon. It was a harvest moon, those rare, uncanny occurences when the moon is pale orange and about 100 times larger than normal. I remember turning the corner, looking at my house and looking at the moon and going, yeah, this is Halloween.

Do you have any great childhood memories of Halloween? Share them in the comments!

Gore in the Workplace

2010-10-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

Notice anything about this picture?

Oh yeah there's a severed hand on the cart!

While I am not usually a fan of blood and guts and gore, this is a tasteful sprinkle of gore that I find completely hilarious.

We call him Thing.

September 25 was the day that our lab started decorating for Halloween. We take this very seriously. Chris brought in his box of tricks, and in addition to the 8 brightly colored wigs we have lying around during the rest of the year, we now have a bag of tricks to entertain us through the hallways.

The best part about this severed hand? Nobody in class noticed it until about 3 hours into the lab. He has also been seen reading Obama's Audacity of Hope and pipetting some samples for us. If you're lucky you may get some follow-up pictures of what Thing is up to during the month...

So, what's your favorite unexpected Halloween decoration? Tell me in the comments!

Cooking Corner: Candy Corn Cookies

2010-10-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

I. Love. Candy corn.

I will not deny it. It's sickening sweetness and fun colors just ooze halloween to me, and they sell them all year round!

Now, I am a weekend baker. I like to bake every chance I get, and I have probably been the cause of a lot of people's weight gain. But they love it. So today I want to share with you a recipe from Bake at 350, a wonderful baking blog I follow, for these cute little candy corn cookies. Dark black chocolaty, chewy, brownie-esque background with a chewy colorful candy corn on top, what's not to love?

They're the perfect little size too. Just little enough that you don't feel guilty having 5, or 6, or 7. Yet the batch only makes about 36, so it's the perfect amount of little sweetness to share with your friends without sending people home with tupperware.

I don't want to take credit for the recipe, so for that I will send you to Bake at 350's website, here: Candy Corn Cookies

So here's my question: What's your favorite Halloween candy? Do you find ways to put it in unexpected places?

My Halloween Aesthetic

2010-10-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Blood, gore? Not my thing. You may balk, you may cry "but Lynnea, how could you love Halloween and not love severed heads?!" but I stand by my preferences.

Scary movies? Not my thing. But Lynnea, you say, how can you have Halloween without scary movies? I stand by my preference.

You see, I prefer not to be grossed out or terrified on Halloween. I prefer the colors, the vibe, the fun, the pumpkins. I battled with this preference last year, trying to figure out just how to define the Halloween that I love. Was it vintagey? Yeah, kindof, but not entirely. Was it cute? Not really, what about spooky? Nothing really fit, until I found this:

www.killerpumpkins.com

This artist was at ComiCon and I just went yes. That. That is what I love about Halloween. The bright colors in contrast with the dark backdrop, things that glow and light up, things with a lot of color and a little bit of scary, but not too scary.

The feeling that these works of art give me, that's the feeling I love about Halloween, and that's the feeling I try to recreate at my house during the season.

Question: What's your Halloween aesthetic? Tell me (better yet, can you show me?) in the comments!

Getting Down the Boxes

2010-10-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Any of you who were reading last year know that one of my favorite parts about Halloween is getting the boxes down from the attic.

Let me draw a picture for you. In my closet is the roof access, so on whatever day I bug my parents enough to get the ladder out, and bring it upstairs, we open the door and pull down about 8 different storage boxes chock full of goodies. It's like Christmas.

We bring all the boxes downstairs into our living room, dust them off (it's amazing how dusty a closed attic can be) and take inventory. Even though I've been doing this for years and know exactly what is in each box, it is still fun to look at and get giddy over all the things you haven't seen in one whole year.

Some of my favorite items include our Looney Tunes lightscapes.

My mother works for Warner Brothers, and one year when I was about 7 or 8, my mom brought home 5 different Halloween themed Looney Tunes lights, and my sister and I always fought over which one went on which side of the room. I always went for Daffy painted as a skeleton (who, sadly, was decapitated in a shipping accident in 07) and she always was torn between two Tweety ones, both of which somehow managed to survive.

While there are plenty of other fun decorations that grace those boxes (including but not limited to: cat/pumpkin Russian nesting dolls, old craft projects from elementary school, lights and wreaths) those Looney Tunes lights always were my favorite.

What are some of your favorite Halloween decorations? Tell me in the comments!

Welcome to Halloween Countdown 2010!

2010-10-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to the start of the Halloween season! Who am I kidding, Halloween started for me in July, but October 1st marks the first day I can wear my ghost earrings without garnering second glances from other non-halloweenies.

This year I have prepared. I have written entries months in advance, I have a calendar and a plan. While there may be some delays due to, well, the life of a college student, this year holds a lot of good things for my loyal readers.

So I hope you'll join me in welcoming back my 6-legged arachnid mascot, and I hope you're as excited as I am for the Halloween season!

So now's a good time to introduce you to one of the new features to make this blog better this year: questions! At the end of all my entries I'll pose a question to try to spur some conversation going and get you guys involved!

Today's question: What are YOU most excited about this Halloween? Tell me in the comments!

Quick Announcement

2010-08-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Anybody in or near the Southern California area with a love of frightening poor park-goers, listen up!

Six Flags Magic Mountain is holding auditions for it's Fright Fest employees! If you want to get your makeup done twice a weekend for a month and run around the park where your only job is to scare poor onlookers, look no further!

Returning "Scarers" audition Wednesday
New "Scarers" as well as singers/dancers audition Thursday

While I will not be a member, I do have many friends who participate in the festivities, and you can bet I will be going to Fright Fest this year.

Just so you know...

2010-07-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Joanne's Fabric and Craft store by my house now officially has 2 rows of fall stuff. It's never too early to start thinking about Halloween!

Planning Stages

2010-07-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Incase you didn’t know, summer, in California, is really really f’ing hot. Turning on the oven to 350 degrees isn’t exactly appealing so I’ll be a bit sparse in the baking area for a bit.

I just wanted to let you in on something I’m planning for Halloween ‘10…

(from http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index500.html)

I always get a little bit Halloween crazy a little too early, and it usually hits right about July. As some of you may know I’m dealing with the loss of a friend right now, and instead of burying myself in something useful to me (cough, research, cough) I’m delving into something completely useless, but completely fun. I’ve found a template and I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve…

At any rate, I’m excited, and I’ll be doing some test builds with paper pretty soon.

Not dead!

2009-10-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from studying to let you know that I'm not dead...just studying.

I'm in my last stretch of midterms, with my last one today at 11 for my Bio Lab practical.

Let me quote my teacher to you: "You can study 8 hours a day for the next week, and you will still fail"

So...yeah. Very encouraging, and I've been doing my best to remember everything we've ever learned or looked at in the lab and those crazy latin names really don't like to stick in my spongy brain.

But! I was inspired while sitting here at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to let you know that their pumpkin chocolate chunk "muffin" (hah, muffin, don't make me laugh, its a cupcake without frosting) is absolutely delicious. It seemed vaguely halloweeny, and a good excuse to break from my study session.

I'll be tempted to try their caramel apple ice blended thing next...why is fall coffee food so damn yummy?

Back to malacostraca and pedipalps and synconoid sponges!

Danse Macabre

2009-10-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

This song just oozes Halloween to me. Camile Saint-Saens is brilliant, and when you look up the song on youtube you find all sorts of fun videos put to the music. I liked this one particularly.

In band (yes, I'm a bandie, trumpet for 12 years now) we played the...well the wind band version rather than the orchestral version, so that will probably have a place in my heart forever. We had a saxophone play the violin solo and the windy, reedy, breathiness of the sax just made the song that much creepier to me.

If you want I can go all music theory on you and tell you about the representations of wind and ghosts and skeletons by all the different motifs and themes, but I'll refrain. I should be working anyways.

Enjoy! Take some time to look up other vids on youtube, there are some pretty neat ones.

Fluffy Stuff

2009-10-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

I think its called tulle. Not entirely sure, but its fuuuun. Yet another project inspired by a sale at JoAnne fabrics...$2.50 for fifty bajillion yards of tulle, and they just happened to have black and orange. So I had to, naturally. I think it looks lovely and ethereal on the stairs, and while it's black and orange I like that it doesn't like scream in your face "ITS HALLOWEEN AND I'M BLACK AND ORANGE BECAUSE ITS HALLOWEEN". It was very...well transparent because it's tulle, so I doubled over the tulle and then draped it along the banisters like we normally do at X-mas with our cranberry wreaths.

And I had just enough to drape a bit from the chandelier in our dining room, accompanied by some dangling spiders, of course. Got to have a little spook. And if you look carefully, you might notice that I recycled the spiders from my pumpkin scone setup. Way to repurpose!

Okay fine, I'll go back to Chem now. It's so hard to enjoy Halloween when school gets in the way. But I did officially put a countdown to Halloween on the whiteboard in the research lab I work in. Woohoo!

2009-10-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

PS: Ta-da!

Ignore my mannish, pale, and obviously not professionally manicured hands, I finally got around to painting some festive color on my nails!

That is all. We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Pumpkin Obsession

2009-10-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

Chemistry will be the death of me...

On another note! Today was fabulously rainy, a rare sight in SoCal and so I took every opportunity to enjoy it, including splurging on a Starbucks run between classes. I got a pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin scone, because one can never have too much pumpkin.

I loooove pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin seeds, oh boy.

So last year, on a whim, I decided that I needed pumpkin scones because I was going broke buying them from Sbux. A quick search of the internet gave me juuuuust what I needed, a recipe actually designed to mimic those fantastic scones.

But I made mine better. Not only did I up the spice, being a spicy pumpkin pie lover, I made the spice glaze on top a bit spicier, as well as purple! Now on my first batch I actually took the time to pipe out spiderwebs and then decided that was bogus, so the next batch I did squiggles and slapped some plastic spiders on the tray. Voila!

They were so good that my mom immediately volunteered me to bake some for her office for their Halloween potluck. Um...thanks mom? It just gave me an excuse to make and eat more.

NOTE: I take no credit for this recipe at all in any way shape or form. It is just delicious and worth sharing. A quick google search for "pumpkin scone recipe" should take you to a Starbucks Pumpkin Scone recipe on Reciepezaar. They get the credit!

Ingredients

Scones

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 7 tablespoons sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 6 tablespoons cold butter
* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
* 3 tablespoons half-and-half
* 1 large egg

Powderered Sugar Glazze

* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
* 2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze

* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
* 2 tablespoons whole milk
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 pinch ginger
* 1 pinch ground cloves

Directions

TO MAKE THE SCONES: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool. [EDIT: I opted to make mini scones just by dropping spoonfuls onto parchment paper, if you do this just watch the scones, they should be done in about 10 minutes]

TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE: Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone. [EDIT: I found that this made WAAAY too much icing the first time, so the second time I just eyed it and added milk to a little powdered sugar until I got the consistency I wanted. Then, rather than brushing it on, I found I got a really nice coat and a really nice crunch if I carefully dipped the top of all my mini scones into the glaze. I would not recommend the hassle if you honestly don't care]

AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING: Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk. [EDIT: Instead of making another batch, I took the leftover glaze from the previous step, added the spices, added a lot of purple food coloring (this was before I discovered the magic of gel food color) and put it in a ziploc bag with the corner cut off and drizzled away!]

Add spiders, and voila!

Update

2009-10-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I didn't post yesterday, a weekend, when I should be free to devote my life to this blog.

I got really painfully sick on Saturday night and was really out of it until about 2pm on Sunday when I had to focus on a 3 year old's birthday party which was, really, really, really hard.

Just to let you know how out of it I was, we were watching Men in Black, and I thought it was a musical.

But anyways, there were costumes at the birthday party, and I will have to hold you over until later tonight, after I've finished the second half of this novel, when I can make a real post.

DJ Lance Rock! Enjoy.

PS: My big sister married the best guy ever.

Ghoulishly Good Apple Pie!

2009-10-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, I know I'm repeating myself with the tastiness but what can I say, I bake on the weekends.

It all started with this guy. He is my favorite cheapie dollar store bowl (my boyfriend insists that he needs a mustache though). He is filled with apples we grew in our "orchard", but unfortunately the squirrels managed to eat about half of them, so as you may notice it is supplemented with good old market apples, and a pomegranate (that one we did grow though). My mom intended to make apple pie, which, well, is delicious. She likes it very minimalist, piles and piles of apples sprinkled with a little bit of sugar, cinnamon, and a few dots of butter.

I decided we needed to pay homage to the great service our bowl provided in carrying these apples. Our ghost cookie cutter is a bit warped though and my sister insists he looks like a boot which, well, he does. But he's a ghost! And he says BOO! (not boot!) We ate him after dinner with a dollop of whipped cream, and it was delicious.

Fried Pumpkin Ice Cream!

2009-10-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

Now, I was intending to do a "Tasty Tuesdays" segment, but this was so tasty I couldn't wait.

I got the idea from the CRAFT magazine blog, who recently posted a link to this instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Fried-Ice-Cream/

Hm...I have a box of cornflakes I've been meaning to use up. Oooh I have some extra toasted coconut from my attempt at homemade samoas and macaroons. Cinnamon and chile powder, I bet this would be good with nutmeg and my new favorite ice cream!

I want to personally thank whoever is in charge of making this delicious, delicious ice cream. I am a big pumpkin pie fan, but most generic pumpkin pie flavors don't have as much spice as I like (my mommy's recipe has double all the spice that Fannie Farmer does). This has just the right amount of sweet and spice and everything nice. Anyways! So, I tried scooping it out with a spoon and making it round that way, but there really is no other way but to use your hands to form these, and there's something very satisfying about smooshing ice cream in your hands (after washing, please!) Then shove them back in the freezer, you need them cold cold cold.

Next, take your leftover mini box of cornflakes in your pantry from your sister's camping trip where she ate all the good cereal in the pack like froot loops and kix...(or you can use a normal size box I guess, my mom said frosted flakes might be good, or even cocoa pebbles if you like the chocolate pumpkin combo as I do) and I added coconut. To be honest, I didn't taste it much except that it added a slightly toasty hint, but you could do without. Shake of cinnamon, shake of nutmeg (didn't feel like grating it fresh, sue me) and smoosh!

Next, beat up an egg in a back alley, I mean small bowl, and take your frozen ice cream balls and dip them in the egg, then coat in corn flakey goodness. I had a bit of trouble releasing mine from the plate, but a spatula made quick work of that. Back into the freezer they go!

Now, is where you should not follow my example. Do not do this in a small pot like I did, but I am really freaky about wasting oil. A shallow sided dish works best, and it needs to be wide enough so that your ice cream doesn't crowd itself. I used my candy thermometer to check that it was up to 375 degrees ("DEEP FRY" on my thermometer, I love that it has that) and then fry them. Quickly. Stupidly quickly. Like seriously 2 seconds in 2 seconds flip 2 seconds out. My first one burned because I left it in for 5 seconds. You just want it to brown and crisp up. Do drop it in with a spoon, and not your hand, because those five seconds will be the most terrifying five seconds you ever spend in the kitchen.

Add fork and enjoy! They disappeared rather fast so I'd say they were pretty good. If you're terrified of oil, as I now am, I'd stick with sprinkling nutmeg and cornflakes over your ice cream. Deeeelicious!

BOM BOM BOM, BOM BAH DUM, BOM BAH DUM

2009-10-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have to say that one of the reasons I've let this blog skip a few days is because I have to promise myself that I will do my homework before I let myself go all Halloweeny.

I am blatantly ignoring that rule tonight.

Suck it, math!

Now, while this post is not stricly Halloween related so-to-speak, it is still freaking awesome and well...there's costumes involved.

And yes, that is me standing next to C-3PO. Or rather, his empty shell. And then I went inside to listen to his soul, Anthony Daniels, narrate the story of Star Wars from beginning to end, while listening to a live orchestra and choir belt out the tunes that have made my heart soar for the past, oh god. Too long and not long enough.

And he did it in a rhinestone bow tie and a gold vest. Oh, Anthony Daniels.

Oh, did I mention I'm a vapid Star Wars nerd? I've had my fair share of Star Wars marathons in my life, most recently a few weeks ago accompanied with Wookiee Cookies and Bossk Brownies. And water opera soda, which was our cheap excuse for using rainbow sherbet instead of lime to make Yoda soda.

Anyways, they had a really neat "museum" of costumes and props from the movies which absolutely made me squee with fangirl delight. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) there were thousands of other fans squeeing around the same exhibits so I didn't get a chance to get all the pictures I wanted.

They had threepioh and vader setting off the entrance right when you walked into the venue. Around the corner I found Chewie, in all of his massively tall glory. Queen Amidala was there as well, her headpiece looking a little worse for wear but I mean, c'mon. It went through a lot. Also gracing the halls were various aliens I am not geeky enough to know, as well as Grand Moff Tarkin, Yoda, 2 ewoks (which are actually rather creepy in person) and everyone's favorite bounty hunter, Boba. They also had a display of an original score for a battle, as well as various weapons which my boyfriend proceeded to explain were very very mildly altered airsoft guns (and...well...one of them was very clearly just an M4). But then I proceeded to geek out because I knew half of the guns anyways, and my beau rolled his eyes and called me a geek.

The live music was even more amazing than the costumes, but I am a total nerd, and am actually currently listening to the soundtrack anyways. It's hard to imagine 4 trumpets and one tuba making the gigantic sound that they did, even if they were accompanied by a bajillion piece violin section.

And now, I simply cannot put off this blasted homework any longer. But this weekend, lemme just give you a hint to what's coming up: Fried Pumpkin Ice Cream. Oh god.

Movie Picks

2009-10-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Apologies, life has caught up with me the past few days, and I have midterms coming up...October was probably not the best month to attempt this, but Halloween is only in this month!

Now, as we have already established that I don't like creepy scary gory things, that seems to limit my choice of Halloween-themed entertainment. Normally at my house during parties, I put on a movie related to the theme so people have something to do if they don't feel like socializing.

So, here is my list of Netflix Instant Queue movies that I have ready and waiting:

-Addams Family (the movie, and the first season, which I'm actually going to watch on my own because Addams Family = love)
-Old school episodes of Scooby Doo (how can you not love him? I'm so glad my sister has the sense to play this for my nephew, rather than whatever junk is on TV now)
-Corpse Bride
-Nightmare Before Christmas (I consider this more of a Thanksgiving/Christmas movie, but it makes the list)
-It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (can you believe I've never actually seen this?)
-Ghostbusters

and, as much as I hate scary movies, you can't get around the classics (and they aren't really that scary anyways)
-Carrie
-The Birds
-Night of the Living Dead
-Dracula

Hopefully this inspires you to think about how you can do an un-scary Halloween too!

Takin Down the Boxes

2009-10-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was completely fabulous. While I had planned to write a draft of my essay for class, the boxes in the garage just kept calling my name and I had to listen.

My family has 5 Halloween boxes. One contains old costumes, and the other four contain various Halloween decorations. I won't post pictures of all of it because, geez, there's four boxes!

My main focus became unpacking the boxes and dressing up our patio, which is the perfect little enclosed space to be Halloweeny. My dad hangs up a blacklight every year, and we have glowy spiders and bats and ghosts, and this year my dad purchased a skeleton to hang and glow and be creepy.

Now, I am not a creepy/scary/gory Halloween person. I think most of the stuff Halloween stores are selling now is cheesy and cheap, and I avoid severed hands and disgusting corpses rising from the ground. I'm much more of a classic pumpkin/black cat/bat type Halloweener. Its more classic, its more accessible, and its what I've grown up with.

I'll be featuring more of my Halloween decor in the upcoming month, and for now I leave you with a picture of Tweety with a pumpkin, one of a series of light-up Halloween Looney Tunes (including a skeleton Daffy with a cauldron, Taz in a pumpkin patch and Sylvester at a witch's cauldron).

I've got a surprise in store for you tomorrow! A good friend of mine will be making a guest post, and I hope you all enjoy the change of pace!

2009-10-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not posting yesterday, we took down our Halloween boxes and I was so excited I didn't remember to take pictures or post anything. I'll be giving you guys a bigger haul when I get home tonight!

Luz

2009-10-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

This was today's project: lights! Once again, stupidly cheap at JoAnne fabrics, plus a 30 percent discount they were having = lots of lights! I just braved a ladder by myself (don't try this at home kids, always have a lookout) to put up some festive orange lights around the perimeter of my house. Now, obviously, I'm not going to post a picture of my front yard for safety reasons, but I'm sure you can assume from the picture how the general effect will be.

[Edit: I've now added this picture of a string of lights we've had since I was, oh, I'd say about 8. It used to hang on the porch of our much smaller house, and I love this string so much because of the great memories it brings of great Halloweens, and coming home from a long night of Trick or Treating with my mom and sister, seeing those lights on our porch, and knowing that I had had a great night. Plus, when do you ever see Halloween icicle lights with pumpkins and witches? Never! They don't make em like they used to!]

Now unfortunately my dad has hidden the extension cords so they have no power, but their orange bulbs are hanging, so the hard part is done. On Sunday I'm dragging out the dusty old Halloween boxes and then we'll have some fun.

Also, as promised, here's a finished look at my Halloween countdown (still sans candy and sans official counter, the counter is in my Halloween boxes still).

Apologies for the blurry picture, my poor little Nikon just can't handle the awesome, but you get the gist of it.

See you tomorrow!

Busy college student is busy!

2009-10-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late update guys! I've had a crazy hectic day and I stayed up late doing a project then woke up early to go to class then went to the gym then had to stay late at my first day of work at the Autism Lab...

But the weather was perfect, soCal has welcomed fall just in time. The weather was cool and crisp with a slight breeze and oh man, it was just the perfect reminder that its October!

Which means Halloween is coming!

So today I came home and finished up a project my mom and I have been working on for a few weekends.

A Halloween Countdown Calendar!

Materials:

These things. I seriously doubt anybody who really has any intention of remaking this would need me to list the materials, but there they are. Basically this entire project was an excuse to buy Halloween fabric, which I always oggle but can never find an excuse to buy. So my mom and I picked out this cute glittery pumpkiny ghosty fabric for our background, sewed some pockets on, grossgrain ribbon, and added sticky foam numbers to make my life easier.

It will be filled with candy! And a little ghost marker I have yet to make/take a picture of, who will help me countdown the days to Halloween, and devour the candy on my way.

Once it is up (I need some ribbon to hang it...) I will post an action shot for your benefit, all four of my readers.

Hope you're as excited for this countdown as I am!

Meet My Mascot!

2009-09-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

Here he is! He has yet to be named, and I have no real reason for posting him except that I think he is darn adorable and the best spent 3 dollars of my Halloween season so far. I found this little guy on sale at JoAnne's fabrics (where I got supplies for at least 2 of the projects you shall see in the future) and absolutely could not resist him. I've got plenty more pictures with this little guy, we just did a photoshoot on my desk and glammed it up, he makes some pretty neat little shadows.

What do you think? I think he deserves a name. Archie the Arachnid? Octavius? (although he only has six legs...)

I'll eventually incorporate him into a banner I'll make for this site, but at the moment I have a horrifically long book I have to read by Friday. Any input from my 3 followers will gladly be taken into account.

I hope your Halloween preparations are putting you in as good a mood as I am!

Leianea

Greeting and Salutations

2009-09-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hello, internets!

Halloween is very near and dear to my heart, and it brings me a joy unparalleled by any other holiday. Every summer, as I realize my late September birthday is approaching, I realize that if my birthday is coming, that means Halloween must be soon after!

So now, with my birthday approaching, I'm realizing that as I'm exiting my teens, my love affair with trick-or-treating must come to an end. It has been a long, drawn-out goodbye with many years of "aren't you a bit old for this?" being asked at every door. And so, trick-or-treating, we must part ways.

But this doesn't mean that the fun is over. Oh no, it is just beginning. In mid-July, with my realization that Halloween was fast approaching, I started making decorations from scratch (a necessity on my college-student budget). I've pulled up old recipes and started looking up new ones, and any moment of boredom was filled with google searches of anything and everything Halloween.

I have a backlog of decorations and food that I hope to post once a day throughout October until the much-awaited day arrives. Creepy Crafties and Ghoulishly Good Recipes will probably frequent this page more than anything else, along with Halloween stories and memories, as well as costume ideas and Haunted Hauls, where I'll review halloween products that have managed to sneak past my frugal defenses, because they were just that darn cool.

I also hope to be listed on the Halloween Countdown Blog, which I hope will bring me readers and fellow Halloweeners (yes, I said it. As far as I'm concerned its an official term.)

I look forward to meeting you, blogosphere, and I hope that we might become good friends.

Leianea (hence the picture, and last years costume)