Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Pikelween is tomorrow, so I will have lots more pictures soon!

Dressing up plastic cups

I saw this Spooky Chic party photo from HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS on how to set up a great Halloween Party and I just loved it...



I am definitely using some of the elements from this party...in particular the stickers on the glasses as seen here:



I have a large party, so I don't use real glass...I know....that kinda sucks, but just not practical for this party...because of the size...but I didn't let that stop me with this idea:



The stickers used by Hostess are Martha stickers, but I just made my own...I printed them on label sheets. Then we stuck them to all the glasses...so cute!



If you want this file, just comment and leave me your email...I will be happy to foward the file to you! Super easy, and inexpensive!!

Little Touches make it perfect

Hi Everybody...so, just continuing my month long prep for my Halloween Party...I am doing pretty good! I have already premade lots of the food...and I am really ahead of the game...I just wanted to share with you some of the projects I have been finishing up...

Well, Martha has really created a glitter monster in me. Anything you put glitter on looks like a million bucks! And it is so cheap! My brother Louis made these pics, and they were super simple, so I made some too...here they are before I put them in the frame.



I bought tons of Martha glitter when it was 30% off a few weeks ago...and it is getting used to deck the halls! These are just the same Martha templates for the small frames I made above, but I blew it up to fill an 11x17 sheet of paper...and glittered it!


I wanted to replicate the look of the Pottery Barn set up....they had a photo with a RIP and a skull and cross bones that I posted a few weeks ago...



And here is my mirror...





This is another vignette I am working on...I keep moving...things adding things...I am glad I took a month to do this! :)



I will post more photos later...when I am done with everything and it is all lit...

Eats for Pikelween

So, I am trying to plan the menu for my Halloween Party and I think I have narrowed it down:


Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
Chicken Wing Dip
Savory Goat Cheesecake with toast, crackers and honeycomb (I will post this recipe after I make it)
Pulled Pork Sandwiches (The Live.Love.Eat. recipe)
Sesame Chicken with steamed vegetables over scary Black Pasta
Taco Cups, using the Rachel Ray recipe, but I am making them like tiny taco salads with beans, ground turkey and all of the fixins.

Sweet Treats will include:
Cup Cake Pops (Bakerella Recipe)
Ghost Petit Fours (pictured above)
Chocolate Fountain with the following dipping items:
Bananas
Strawberries
Pineapple
Graham Cracker crusted marshmallows
Rice Crispy Treats

There might be a few other things thrown in there, but this is what I have honed it down to...I have already baked and cut out the cakes for the petit fours, I have formed the cake balls for my cupcake pops, and cooked the ground turkey for my taco cups.

I just plan to keep the momentum going all week but making what I can ahead of time. I have almost everything else done, my house is decorated almost 90%...I just want to have FUN at my own party this time...is that such a crime! I want to sleep in on Saturday with the peace of mind knowing I am really prepared this time!

Quick Halloween Update

So, I got so much done over the month, that I think I just might have fun at my own party. Because I am recording all my plans for this blog...it has kept me on point! I have done new projects every week and I am in GREAT SHAPE time-wise! I am putting the "icing" on now...and I will post lots of pics this weekend. Did some super simple Martha crafts that cost practically nothing...and look beautiful.... I haven't really spent much on decorations...it ihas really been paper and glitter...or things I already had...and in my opinion, my party looks better than ever!

So, I am off to my last shopping run with my super creative friend, Leighann. We have never hung out outside of work really, but I feel this is the beginning of a lovely friendship.

Stay Tuned...

TTYL!

Its just been that kind of week...

I just want to say thank you, to all of you, who come here to read my little blog. This is what I wish I did for a career...planned parties, created happiness...instead of working in corporate america...where life for me, this week has been so stressful. I had to come home and have a cold drink...



I am on #5.

Thank you for making me feel good everyday, for letting me share my ideas and giving me such great feedback...if only corporate america could be so kind.

YOU MAKE MY DAY!!! HERE IS TO YOU! (Yes...the martini's are talking...but I hope you know how sincere I am!)

Glittered Pedestals

So created these cute little pedestals out of $3 wooden candlesticks (you can see the raw version in this post) and paper plates! Once again, this is a Martha project. You can watch the how to vid on Martha Stewart.com.


Take four of these paper plates and glue them together.



Then I painted the candlestick and the finished plates both black.



There is this aluminum insert inside the candlestick that I removed. It made the top of the candlestick flat so that I could hot glue the plate to the top of the candlestick.




Then I got down to the fun part....THE GLITTER!



Here are all of my supplies...and a latte of course! Took me about 20 minutes to glitter...then I gave a quick spray of clear mirror varnish, just to kep the glitter in place a bit...cuz if you have done any glittering, you know it goes EVERYWHERE!

And here they are, displaying my lovely Crystal Skulls!

Glowing Cocktails

Did you know that Tonic Water glows under black light? According to a few online sources I discovered today, the bitter flavoring of tonic water is due to the presence of quinine, which glows blue-white when placed under a black light.



I think my signature drink for my Halloween party will certainly have a touch of Tonic! And, for those that do not, I plan to make some ice cubes out of Tonic, because, those are supposed to glow too!

I am going to give this a test try and let you know!

Halloween Cocktails

I was on the Midori site today and they had some great ideas for some green cocktails...


This drink will be great in the Magaritaville Machine...which I will have for my party! Yum!


I love champagne...and champagne cocktails even better!


I really love Martinis, and I bet this is a great one!

I think I will print out these pics and use them as recipe cards on my bar...They are so well designed...right from the Midori site!

Mini Caramel Apples

I just saw this post over on CREATE MY EVENT and I love love love this idea! I think you can expect to see these on my Halloween buffet!

Mini Caramel apples...look how simple!

Pikelween: Setting The Table

In planning my table this year, I wanted to do a black and white theme...and I kept seeing these lucite boxes that were illuminated from the inside:



So I thought I could try to give my own table this look. I simply took two table lamps and put them under my table, used a large table cloth to cover, and there you go...instant glow:

More Gorgeous Tabletops

I really love these tables...once again, sorry, I found them on line a while ago, so I don't have any creds:

To Die For: Molten Lava Cakes

Ok, this right here, will make you a rockstar...keep this one, and make it often...well not too often if you care anything about your arteries...but I am serious, this is that good! Molten Lava Cakes:

This is now one of my go-to recipes. Takes only a few ingriedients, and I usually have all of these on hand.

I make this with a mix of milk and dark chocolate, and I also added 1 tsp. of espresso powder to the batter. This is an Ina Garten trick, she says it enhances the chocolate...and I totally agree.

You can make it earlier in the day, pull it out of the fridge 15 minutes before you bake them (just so they aren't so cold before you put them in the oven to bake) and they are wonderful! People go CRAZY for these little cakes. What I love about them is that they cook up in cupcake pans...so you only have to make a small batch, it is a very manageable recipe, and totally 5 Star - a MUST TRY!

Molten Lava Cakes
from Martha Stewart Everyday Food's book, "Great Food Fast."

Ingredients

Serves 6
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Whipped Cream , for serving
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined.
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Beat in chocolate until just combined.






Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.


To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, or ice cream like I did, if desired.

Glittered Skulls

So, I am so glad I decided to start prepping for Halloween so early. There is so much to be done! I really try to fit it in wherever I can. I have a tray set up with everything on it, so when I find sometime, I just pull out the tray and get started.

Viviana and Dena offered to help me get some glittering done...


See...It is lots of fun! It wasn't like I set up a glitter sweatshop! :) I even gave them wine!






They helped me glitter all my bones and 3 skulls...I still have 4 skulls left...they take a LOT of glitter...but they are so gorgeous!

I found this old compote dish in my closet, and I was going to put it in the yardsale...cuz it is sterling silver, and it is always tarnished, and I honestly have no time for that...



which is why it has been in my closet for years! But I got the idea to spray paint it...BLACK for Halloween....much better...and with my skull and bones...GORGEOUS!

I Heart Blogging!

I just posted my 100 post this weekend, and I have to say I LOVE THIS BLOG THING! This is actually my second blog...my husband set me up with one while back, but I guess at the time, I just wasn't ready...I only made one post in one year...haha!

Well, this time, I was ready, and I am so happy I stuck with it. I used to go onto the internet and not know where to look. I would go to 2 or 3 celeb gossip sites, and that was it. Until I discovered the blog community...I never realized that there are SO MANY talented people out there that we can all learn from. I am so impressed every day with all of the great ideas I see and learn, and in turn use for my entertaining.

Now there are some blogs that I can't wait to read everyday. Here are some people I want to give a shout out to:

LITTLE ANT DESIGNS: Denise at Little Ant is so creative! You have to check out her blog. I LOVE IT!

GOOD THINGS: Life of a Martha Stewart Wannabe: Anyone that knows me would know that reading the title of Claudine's Blog...I AM HOOKED! Claudine...I Heart your blog! :)

GESTURES: Now you might think I am biased, but that isn't true at all. Louis is my baby brother, and he is one of the most talented people I know! He is one of my best friends and his ideas are so great! Anyone that knows him, LOVES HIM! :)

LIVE.LOVE.EAT: Stephanie posts awesome recipes and sweet stories about life with her family. Love it!

I also want to say Hi to Johnny Love at THE LOVE MANOR. I started my blog because I could never find the stuff I was searching for. I am big on Halloween, so when I discovered Johnny's site, I was so excited. Photos of food, displays, how you set things up...that is all so helpful, and Johnny took a lot of time photographing everything he displayed for Halloween. You have to go to his blog and check out his Flickr site. Thanks for sharing your great ideas, Johnny!

I think the best part about blogging is the feedback...just like I love to see my friends reaction when they see the real thing, I love to hear what you think! Getting a comment in my inbox is like Christmas everyday! Thanks so much to all of you who leave me comments! You make my day! People like my friend and fellow blogger, Dena at Written In Thread...and I have to say that Jennifer at Another Online Mom is so wonderful! She always says the nicest things! Just yesterday she made this post about me:



The award says, "This blog invests and believes in the proximity!" i.e., the closeness that we have in the bloggy world. It's really hard to narrow it down to one person but I think I will pass this one along to of my new "daily must haves"---Marcie at A Life Made By Marcie. If you have never seen her blog, please take a minute to check it out her great recipes and decorating tips!"

How nice is that?! Thanks Jennifer! :)

I guess what I am trying to say is THANK YOU...to all of you. Everyone is so nice and I am so happy to know you, even if it is inside this blogosphere! You all make me smile!