All Hallow's Eve

I don't know about any of you, but I'm kind of Halloween-d out.  I mean throwing a birthday party extravaganza in which everyone and their mom showed up kind of filled my quota for thrills and scares.  I'm also a little bit done with ducking under spiderwebs in our house- we went a little crazy with the decorations but hey, they're awesome.

I think the problem circles around the idea of celebrating Halloween two weeks early, and then having stores start putting up their Christmas decor before Halloween is even around.  Sorry Halloween, you get a solid 15 minutes of fame and then you're outta here.

Brit and I went to Michael's the other day and their Halloween decor was all on sale- a measly display of picked over items.  However, their Christmas aisles were well and thriving. So much for stocking up post-holidays.

However, there are some things that I still am enjoying this week.  I'm making attempts to watch some classic scary movies.  Every Halloween (or around that time) I muster up the courage and watch scary movies.  By that I mean, I usually flick on ABC Family and see whatever is in their line-up.  It's usually fairly tame and has a few jumps here and there but without cable, I'm resorting to Netflix.  I was introduced to "Children of the Corn."  Talk about a weird movie.  Religious zealots already weird me out but then make them kids who kill their parents and adults...woah talk about a strange movie to watch right before an election.  I especially enjoyed the 80s-style special effects.  That's the beauty of the classics, they're not too scary but they still freak you out a little bit.

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Plus Malachai (sweet name, scary ginger as pictured) gave a bad rep to ginger children everywhere.  He was seriously terrifying in the movie.  Isaac was no better (old man-child thing).  Watch the movie, get creeped out a bit and laugh at the awful special effects.  What I can't believe is that there are sequels...ugh.  I'm also making an attempt to read another Stephen King work, "It."  Hopefully I can get through it without terrifying myself.  Remember when we were kids and R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" books were everywhere? 

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I remember being so nervous to check them out but after my first one and watching the series on Nickelodeon, I frequented that area of the library often.  Always a little bit creepy, but bearable.  Good solid stuff.  Having grown up, I wonder whatever happened to them or if he simply stopped writing.  I think I would love my kids to have those.  Those were my building blocks to reading and spending hours in libraries and bookstores.

When it comes to Halloween costumes, I love making my own.  I have a really hard time buying costumes because 1. They're expensive 2. They're made from really cheap material.  All-in-all, it's not worth it to me.  I love dressing up and thinking of really original and unique costumes.  That's why I went as Ms. Frizzle from the "Magic Schoolbus" fame.  Who doesn't love Ms. Frizzle?  An educator exciting her students on a quest for knowledge = an A+ in my book.  I definitely enjoyed fellow blogger Lindsay's post on the best costumes are homemade.  In year's past, I went as Witch's Brew (witch costume in relation to an alcoholic beverage), a mermaid, Eve, Skunk, Minnie Mouse, a school girl and a cowgirl.  Now those last two in the list were from freshman year of college and I had soon realized that I needed multiple costumes and I didn't want to spend money on them, or ask my parents to buy me any more things than they had already invested in me that year.  My most risque costumes were probably Junior year when they were a mermaid and Eve.  I handmade them but they featured very elaborately decorated bras and other accessories.  Essentially it showed off my mid-riff.  Being married, I've toned it down a bit.  Nevertheless, my argument is you can make a better costume on your own than spending $50 on something that looks terrible. Ahem the ladies that attempt the slutty nurse outfits.

Finally, it wouldn't be fall without some delicious baked treats.  I just attempted to make Caramel Stuffed- Apple Cider Cookies.  Seriously so delicious!  The batter in itself is a treat.

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies Recipe

It was a little difficult for me to find the Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix, but just take a good long look in the hot chocolate mix aisle and I used Werther's Chew caramels because that's all I could find.  I chopped them in half to get more bang for my buck.

P.S. This post might be a little late seeing that many of the parties were last week, but keep in mind the effects of what you choose to be for Halloween.  What is "your good fun" could actually be seriously insulting and showing a blatant disregard for the diversity of the people around you.  A few years ago my university had athletes dressing in black face as part of a costume.  The cultural and historical significance of that is so far beyond dressing up to get schwasted at some house party.  That's just one example.  I've seen people disregard entire cultures, people within their neighborhoods, and even their own friends because they choose to use Halloween as an excuse.  Ignorance or not understanding something is not a strong enough argument to belittle other people.  With all things, take your head out of your ass and think.