Martha's 'Halloween'

At the grocery store yesterday, I noticed Martha Stewart's annual 'Halloween' magazine and had to have it. Not only did it show her in an awesome ghostly equestrian costume, but it also included one of her gorgeous black Friesian horses, which I thought was just super cool! (I ride horses, and the Friesian is my favorite.) The magazine is full of wonderful recipes and craft projects, including how to make the costume she is shown wearing. I have never bought a Martha magazine before, but I must say, I was impressed with her Halloween one. It includes a link to a website where you can purchase all of the props and decorations online. I really liked several of the huge, inflatable decorations. I'd love to have the horse and carriage on my front lawn, lit up with black or red lights. I'll be trying some of the recipes this year, for sure. The magazine has a lot of stuff to give you some wicked Halloween fun! I would definitely recommend it.

Halloween treats

I was at Walmart today and as I was going through the check-out stand, I noticed a small booklet of Halloween recipes. It was kind of expensive for such a little book ($4.00), but I figured I had to have it since it was, after all, for Halloween. It just wouldn't be right for me to pass it up. It's called 'Halloween Food, Fun & Crafts', and it has some very cool looking treats on the cover. It has everything from dinner recipes ('Spaghetti and Eyeballs, with meatballs for the eyes; 'Slimy Sliders'), to appetizers ('Freaky Fondue'; 'Tasty Tombstones'; 'Buzzard Claws with Swamp Dip'), desserts and treats ('Poison Apple Cupcakes'; 'Great Pumpkin Cake'), an awesome 'Witch Hat' centerpiece made out of cocoa-flavored crispy rice cereal, and drinks, otherwise called 'Potions & Punches', such as 'Sinister Slushies', 'Swamp Punch', and of course, 'Witches Brew'. There is even a section on making crafts. You can make a 'Monster Fur Scarf' that has clawed feet on the ends, 'Spooky Supperware', and 'Glass Bead Spiders'. I might just have to try making these little spiders to place around the house. It also shows you how to make a 'Beaded Pumpkin Gift Box' if you're looking for something to store treats or jewelry in. I will definitely be giving some of the recipes a try this year, and I don't have too long to wait, either. We are almost in September, and All Hallow's Eve is practically creeping around the corner!

How I love this time of year. The days are starting to grow shorter, and the nights are growing cooler. Halloween will soon be appearing all around us. Cool days, orange and red-colored leaves, fall festivals, the smell of burning fireplaces, and pumpkins on porches....you can't get any better than that!

The signs of Halloween!

I know of at least two locations where the 'Spirit' Halloween store is coming in. One is right next to my gym, so I will be over that way a lot! I drove by it today, and there were people inside starting to set up. Oh, joy! I love to see that huge, orange and black Halloween banner hanging on the building for all to see, announcing Halloween's arrival! It shouldn't be too long now until they start bringing in the goods. Walmart, and other stores like it, probably won't be far behind. I already found Fall/Halloween, (and even Christmas!) fabrics in Walmart when I was there a few weeks ago. Another place I've been keeping my eye on is TJ Max. They had some great stuff last year, and when I went back a few days ago, sure enough, they had started putting out Halloween! I bought a few things I just couldn't resist buying. One was a large October calendar made entirely of fabric. It has a haunted house design on it with little pockets that are the windows on the house, and mark each day of the month. Attached to the top by a string is a little candy corn-shaped piece of wood that you slide inside the pockets as you count down the days until Halloween. It is just too cute. I also purchased a new pumpking carving pattern book at Micheal's last week. It's one of those "Shadow" ones. I thought I'd give it a try. I plan to go back and buy a few of the fake pumpkins to do some of the carvings. I carved one last year and was very happy with how it turned out.

'Spirit' Halloween is on its way!

You know the Halloween season is really on its way when you see the first Halloween superstore sign. As I was driving to my dance class today, I noticed the huge 'Spirit Halloween' banner on one of the buildings that I drove by. It didn't look like the store was actually there just yet, but the fact that the banner was already up told me that the grand opening would be happening very soon! I failed to make it to a 'Spirit' store last year (*hides her face in shame*), but I have every intention of going this year. I always loved that store. They truly have some cool stuff. I put up my first decoration yesterday, but I have so much more to do! I can't wait. I decided that I want to make a cemetery scene. I think we have a nice location for one. I just need to get some headstones, lights, and a few other little goodies, and I think it will look pretty good. I really want to not only take pics of it, but I'd also love to even have some videotape. I've never downloaded a video onto the Internet, so not quite sure how that works. Hopefully, it isn't all too challenging, and I'll be able to do it without any real trouble. Maybe someone can offer me some good tips, and I can have my first video of a Halloween haunt!

Halloween is beginning to show its face, my fellow fiends. We don't have too long to wait now. I am looking forward to this night of nights as I always am.

A Fall teaser

I couldn't believe it when I got up at 6 a.m. this morning. I went outside to let the dogs out, and it was as if time had jumped ahead to the beginning of October or November. It was actually chilly. The air felt like it had a slight dampness to it, and I noticed the faint smell of rain. We have been turning on the whole house fan in these wee hours of the day, but this morning, instead of having the fan on in my room, I seriously considered putting on a sweater. It felt so much like a brisk autumn morning that I felt excited! It gave me an early taste of those wonderful fall mornings that I love so much, and that I look forward to during the dry, scorching days of summer. Before long, every morning will be like this. Fall is not so far away now. Signs of it are already showing up in stores and mail catalogs. We even received a Christmas catalog the other day! Michael's and Hallmark already have Halloween inventory on the shelves, and Christmas won't be far behind. I am already thinking about my Halloween costume. I want to start ordering some new decorations and start putting up the ones I already have. Not everyone is ready for summer to come to an end, but I am. I guess autumn is in my blood. I am one of the Autumn People.

Welcome, Halloween!

I went into a Hallmark store today to look for a sympathy card, and I was excited to see Halloween stuff on the shelf! Not only was there Halloween stuff, but Halloween 'Peanuts' style! They had several of the 'Peanuts' characters dressed in adorable little costumes. One was Sally wearing a princess costume and carrying a treat bag, and the other was Lucy in her traditional witch costume. When you press a button on their foot, they say one of their lines from 'The Great Pumpkin'. They also had a really cool Snoopy in costume that plays a spooky little tune. He's holding a bag, and inside the bag is Woodstock, also in a costume, who pops up and down as the music plays. I couldn't resist purchasing the Lucy and Sally dolls, and I have every intention of going back and getting Snoopy, too. Hopefully, they will get some of the other characters. It wouldn't be right to not have good 'ol Chuck in his ghost sheet covered in holes! They also had some wonderful Fall-scented candles, a cute little candy dish, a black, bendable tree that you hang various 'Peanuts' characters from, and some Halloween books. One was 'It's the Great Pumpkin', and I noticed a newly revised 'Great Pumpkin' dvd that also had a couple of newer 'Peanuts' features. They had little ornaments, such as one that resembled Morticia from 'The Addams Family', holding a glass of blood, and a sign above her head that reads, "Partying is in my blood". I bought that as well to hang from my rear-view mirror.

After Hallmark, I ventured on over to Michael's, since I was told they now have some Halloween inventory on the shelves. Sure enough, I immediately saw some decorations as I walked through the front doors. I was so excited that I literally had a hop in my step as I walked over to the aisle where they were hanging! Some of the stuff was new, as I hadn't seen it before, but I recognized a pretty good-sized skeleton bust that I had kind of wanted last year. Thinking this was all they had out so far, I walked towards the aisle where the brunt of their Halloween stuff is usually stored, but I found that it was moved down an aisle or two. One whole side of the aisle was already filled up. Some stuff I remembered from before, but I did see a bunch of new stuff by the Spookytown collection. I will definitely be buying a few more of those this year to add to what I already own. I bought three little ceramic skeletons. They're the kind with the dangly legs, and the funny flat butt that enables them to sit upright. I've already placed them on the windowsill that overlooks my bed. There's much more to come, and I look forward to going back as often as I can to see what new things I can't live without! This is such an exciting time for me! I love it when Fall and Halloween first start to appear!

Halloween arrivals

You know the Halloween season is indeed on its way when you start receiving Halloween catalogs in the mail. Just the other day, I got the Fall '09 catalog for The Winfield Collection, and even I was surprised to see it so early! In case you aren't familiar with TWC, it's a company that makes all kinds of wood patterns. There are patterns for every holiday, and every season. I have never done woodworking, but those of you who are into serious prop-making should find it quite easy, I should think. There are even patterns for things that light up. I subscribe to the catalog because at some point I plan to give this woodworking thing a try. I would love to be able to put up lit-up displays for Halloween and Christmas. This new catalog has some new patterns this year, one of which is a large haunted pirate ship. There is also a very cool looking glowing graveyard that I would love to have in my front yard. You can make things for indoors, too, such as a 3' tall witch, vampire, or Frankenstein candy holder. These would all be perfect additions to any Halloween decor.

http://www.thewinfieldcollection.com/category/Lighted_Halloween