All Hail the Pumpkin Queen

I've spent probably at least 6 hours carving pumpkin this week. Three different nights I've been elbow deep in pumpkin guts. All the hard work, and broken nails.... totally worth it when you create little masterpieces out of a vegetable. Wait... is a pumpkin a vegetable? It has to come from the squash family so I'm guessing it is, but hey what do I know... today I tried to argue guinea pigs are from New Guinea. Ok back on topic, pumpkins.... first carving party was at Mason and Courtney's apartment with a few of their friends. Here's a collection of our masterpieces (stolen from Mason's blog. thanks bro! lol)

Mason's Finished Pumpkin

My Finished Pumpkin. JACK!

The Entire Group's Pumpkins

And then... my mom and I decided to throw down on pumpkins at home:

And finally, Cory and I decided to take our pumpkin carving expertise to his neighbor's house and carve

pumpkins for her little girl.

mmmm..... guts : )

Cassie anxiously awaiting her pumpkin

Yep, I beasted on a Dora pumpkin for Cassie. : )

Ok, thats all I've got for now, I'm going to North Carolina this weekend for my little brother's homecoming weekend, should be a blast. Expect a huge recap Monday morning...

untill then....

Happy Halloween

Eat, drink and be scary.

If I didn't already have plans to go to NC this weekend for Halloween....I'd be planning a Halloween dinner/party. I love planning and decorating.... in fact I've planned my entire wedding already (and I'm not even engaged) Crazy? hmm... maybe. I like to call it... prepared. lol. Any who... I thought I'd share with everyone really awesome party foods... or even just Halloween dinner for your kids. I mean, come on... it's only 1 night a year when feeding your children mummy hot dogs is acceptable in society.


Puking Pumpkin:


This could be the easiest (and grossest) appetizer ever... and makes an amazing centerpiece. Just carve a pumpkin to look like he's puking... squinted eyes and open mouth. Puke can be made from almost any dip.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Guacamole

Chilli-Cheese Dip




Mummy Dogs

A little less gross than puking pumpkins, but very adorable ... MUMMY DOGS!

1. Just take 1 can of refrigerated breadstick dough or croissant dough and cut into thin strips.
2. Wrap around hotdogs (cut in half) or mini sausages. LEAVE OPENING FOR EYES!!! Cut a tiny slit into hot dogs and place 2 peppercorns for eyes.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Place on cookie sheet.
5. Follow baking directions for breadstricks/croissants until golden brown. Serve with Ketchup.
   
   

Chocolate Covered Spiders

When I was little, I remember going to PawPaw's house and Shirley would make chocolate haystacks. I thought they looked like chocolate covered spiders. So this would be a great treat for anytime of the year, especially Halloween.

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cups chow mein noodles

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
2. Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave- safe container. Heat on 50% power for 1 minute.
3. Stir, and repeat, if necessary, until chocolate is melted.
4. Add chow mein noodles to chocolate mixture, and stir until well-coated.
5. Spoon tablespoonful of the mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.


Other Great Party Food Ideas:

Oysters served in shot glasses make great guts or ghost mucus

Wings can be advertised as "Bat Wings"






Mashed Potatoes can be piped (using a large tip and bag for icing cakes) into ghost. Peppercorns for eyes.











Ribs can be displayed with a halved red pepper as a "heart."




That's all I have for today, I'm about to head over to my old neighborhood to help kids carve pumpkins, pictures coming tomorrow!

This is Halloween

"I've seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly."



On that note...6 days away from Halloween, which is by far my favorite holiday. Most people love the warm fuzzy feeling you get from Christmas. Me, on the other hand, prefer the gut wrenching, terrifying, uneasy scared feeling of Halloween. That feeling of being on the edge of your seat during a scary movie, or running for dear life screaming when being chased by men with chainsaws in haunted houses, and even the goosebumps that sends shivers down your spine during cold October nights.... what's not to love? This is my first post for this blog, so I thought I'd give you a list of all things Halloween inspired that I love.each day will be something different, such as recipes, movies, costumes, etc.


The weatherman is calling for thunderstorms tonight, and there's nothing better than cuddling up on the couch during a storm and watching a scary movies. Here are a few of my favorite:

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street:
   When I was around 8 years old, I convinced my parents that I was old enough to go through a haunted forest. I cried and begged, and finally they agreed to let me go. I held it together through the whole thing, until I reached the most terrifying monster of all: Freddy Kruger. I don't know if it was his mutilated burnt face with skin hanging off his bones or his hands covered in long bloody knives or the creepy voices of children singing "1, 2 Freddy's coming for you" song.... but I busted into tears. To make matters worse he provoked my fears even more by gliding his long finger knives over my skin and telling me he loves to eat little girls for dinner. I lost it. Since that night, A Nightmare on Elm Street still rattles me to my core. I mean, how scary is it that you can't escape a monster while you sleep? Terrifying.
   
   
   
2. Psycho:
   Alfred Hitchcock is a scary movie genius. Psycho was released in the 1960's, and without the special effects and gore of most scary movies today, its so demented that it's terrifying. In fact, thanks to my History of Motion Picture professor, I've learned a lot about this movie and its impact on the horror genre. The infamous 3 minute shower murder scene was shot with 77 different camera angles... and never once do you see the knife ever puncture through skin. Still, after watching this movie... showers became a terrifying chore. Still to this day when I'm home alone, I'm constantly checking behind the curtain while I'm in the shower to make sure some crazy deranged psychopath isn't lurking in my bathroom ready to stab me to the death. The twist in this movie is also very disturbing.... and I won't give it away for the 3 people who haven't seen this movie. Definitely one of the best classic horror movies EVER. PERIOD.
   
   
   
   
3. 28 Days Later:
   There's nothing better than post-apocalyptic movies. The idea of society falling to a virus in which humans transform into... well zombies for lack of a better word, and people trying to survive and keep their humanity = scary stuff. Most zombie movies are focused on people raising from the dead, which seems very unrealistic. But with the threat of new virus wiping us out... very plausible, and there is nothing scarier than a scary movie that could actually come true. Unlike other zombie movies, these aren't your average slow walking grunting uncoordinated zombies.... these are fast running screeching zombies. God I love zombies. Dawn of the Dead gets runner up... but its more comical than 28 Days Later.
   
   
   
   
4. 30 Days of Night:
   Bloodthirsty gang of the scariest vampires ever who attack a small town (and make the most terrifying noises) in Alaska cut off from any other form of civilization during the time when it's always night outside. Enough said.





5. I Am Legend:
   Another post-apocalyptic film. Will Smith was absolutely genius in this film. He's immune to a vicious man-made virus originally created to cure cancer. He works to create a remedy while living in a city inhabited by violent victims of the virus. I forgot what the people who live in the dark are called, but they were very creepy. Just overall great film.
   
   
   
   
6. Candyman:
   I don't remember much from this film, I saw it once when I was little... but it really scarred me. All I remember is if you say "Candyman" 5 times in a mirror, he'd come for you and kill you. OH and he had a hook for a hand. I don't know about you... but a creepy man with a hook for a hand... you shouldn't mess with. After I watched his movie, my dad had to literally drag me into the bathroom and prove to me it wasn't real, since I wouldn't go in there to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I screamed and fought the whole time, but he did it. Candyman never came and got me... but at the time.... it was scary.
   
   
   
   
7. The 6th Sense:
   A little boy who talks and can see dead people.... with a crazy ending. I don't even have to go into how scary that is.





8. The Blair Witch Project:
   Three film students go missing in the woods while investigating the legend of the Blair witch. Although they were never found, their footage was. The shaky cameras and candid moments made this film feel so real. It was totally unlike any other scary movie. No sets, no actors, no production. Just three people with handheld cameras documenting their experience. Paranormal Activity kind of ripped off this idea and to me.... wasn't as successful as The Blair Witch Project. Plus after I watched this for the first time (late at night with my little sister like 10 years ago) I heard a banging on the window behind me. I jumped about 3 feet in the air screaming.... ran to kitchen to get my weapon of choice... a butcher knife... and coward with my sister in a corner terrified the Blair Witch herself was after us. Turns out it was just the neighborhood boys trying to see if we wanted to hang out. Thank God. lol
   
   
   
   
9. The Fourth Kind:
   A scary movie list can't be complete without an alien movie. Fourth Kind really terrified me. First, because I'm a huge believer in aliens and second because of the "real" footage shown throughout the movie. All though this so called "real" footage is really fake... it was really cool how they did this movie. Alien abduction is a scary subject. Government conspiracies are too. This film as both.
   
   
   
   
10. Chucky:
    I'm sorry... but that little doll is creepy as hell. I challenge any of yall to watch that movie and then place a creepy doll on your dresser just staring at you when you're trying to fall asleep. I bet your up for a long time paranoid that it's going to come alive and slit your throat. lol

OK, that's all I've got for today. Come back all week for more list and things Halloween related. Comments welcome. Let me know what you think about my list... what are you're favorite scary movies? I'm always looking for a new movie to create more nightmares for myself.

Sweet Dreams.