13 Days of Halloween: 1 {trick or treat}

Hope you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween night!

Chloe even braved these crazy spiders to sneak a prized spider egg. Creepy!

13 Days of Halloween: 2 {Halloween madness}

I'm beginning to wonder how many times a person can possibly celebrate Halloween. With only one day to go, we have certainly embraced the holiday to the fullest. The more the merrier is what I say! The kids went to a party today at the gym we belong to. Much fun was had by all!
Hope you're having a fun Halloween weekend!

5 senses Friday: {Halloween weekend edition}

Seeing: one of my favorite tin finds ever....love the colors!Touching: this homemade cotton spun fall decoration from Amy Klobuchar's childhood home.

Smelling: sugary sweet frosted cookies being decorated.

Hearing: kids giggling playing the mummy wrap game at their school Halloween parties.
Tasting: candy, candy and candy!

13 Days of Halloween: 3 {ode to candy corn}

Today for Chloe's classroom Halloween party we did a cute candy corn craft. It got me thinking about my love/hate relationship to candy corn and the fun things I learned about the sweet treat from Dylan's Candy Bar book by Dylan Lauren. Pictures and facts below are from the book.
In 1880 candy corn was invented by the Wonderle Candy Company. In 1898 the Goelitz Confectionery Company began commercial production in Cincinnati. Now more than 35 million pounds of candy corn are produced each year.
What about you, are you a fan? I think I prefer using it in decorating more than eating it.

13 Days of Halloween: 4 {after dark}

I had another Halloween gathering last night, but didn't take many pictures since it all took place after dark. I did want to share with you some fun adult beverage recipes that look rotten (like they're supposed to) but taste yummy!

Sewer Water Halloween Punch

This Halloween party punch looks just... well, it looks like the name implies! Which isn't a good thing on any day except for Halloween. The Dr. Pepper makes the whole drink brown and sewer-y, and the orange juice gives it a cloudy appearance that's not so appealing. But it tastes great! I like to make mine with vanilla vodka, but you can also use plain.
Serves about 12.

Ingredients:

1/2 bottle (700mL) vodka or vanilla vodka

7 C. fresh orange juice with pulp

1.5 liters (3/4 of a 2 liter bottle) Dr. Pepper

Ice
Instructions: 1. In a large, clear punch bowl combine the vodka, orange juice, and Dr. Pepper.

2. Fill a separate container or ice bucket with ice.

3. Fill each punch glass with ice before serving. Serve with a lemon wedge if desired.

Bubbling Witches Brew

Whether you want to make an alcoholic Halloween punch recipe or a virgin punch for the kids, this recipe is just perfect. It's sweet, it's creamy, it's bubbly, it's tangy... and it's really rather creepy looking. The vanilla ice cream floating on top of the orange-red punch mixture makes it look like something pretty evil is brewing. Serves about 10 people.

Ingredients:

1 (2 liter) bottle orange-flavored soda, chilled

24 oz. fruit punch, chilled

1/2 (700 mL) bottle vanilla vodka,

chilled1/4 gallon (half of a 1/2 gallon carton) vanilla ice cream

Instructions: 1. Stir together the fruit punch and the soda.
2. Scoop out the ice cream and place all over the top of the punch. Stir gently for a moment to get the right look.
3. Garnish this Halloween party punch with creepy crawlies, if desired.

Both recipes came from this fun site.

I also made this 7 layer taco dip to look like a spider web using the sour cream.

Another night of Halloween fun!

13 Days of Halloween: 5 {Halloween baking}

I'm doing some Halloween baking today getting ready for a gathering I'm hosting tonight. A few of the ladies have end of October birthdays, so I thought some monster and spider cupcakes were in order.
Boo!

My little baker was proud of her creations.

Here was some inspiration I found via flickr.(source)

13 Days of Halloween: 6 {creepy lawn decor}

I don't mean to offend anyone, and I'm not usually a fan of truly creepy decor, but this house that I found last year has some pretty eerie stuff. I had to go check it out again this year....and I haven't even seen it at night!

13 Days of Halloween: 7 {gatherings}

One of my favorite things about fall and Halloween is hosting several gatherings for my friends. This weekend I had a "favorite things" themed party. It was a gathering of women that I used to work with at a nature center 10 years ago. I love that we still see each other several times a year. Chloe stayed for the festivities and several other women brought their daughters, so we're ushering a new generation of crafty nature-loving gals! The table was set with a few of my favorites, vintage inspired crepe paper Halloween cups holding Brach's carmel candy corn. Have you tried it? Yum!!!
I made some yummy goodies, many came from the Gooseberry Patch Halloween cookbook.
We played a little game of "name your favorite" that I found here. We then did a little gift exchange and I was so delighted by the thoughtfulness that everyone put into their gifts. Robin and her cutie pie daughter brought spices, cookies, canned salsa and veggies from their garden.

Karen and her lovely daughter brought home baked bread, warm tea and a cute little scarecrow.

Chloe and I gave out a Halloween mug, flavored coffee, ghost peeps and Belgian chocolate covered oreos.

Nicki brought a fun basket of thymes indulgent body care products.

Tracy brought some wonderful honey and a stirrer.

The girls got one of my favorite things, a giant cupcake from Yum!

We then did a cute owl craft from my last post.

What a great party!