Happy Halloween

We were invited to my friend Ginny and Joe’s Halloween party last night.

We go every year.

The snow storm didn’t stop us either.

We don’t live that far so it’s wasn’t a big deal.

Anyways I had seen Martha Stewart on the Today Show making

these cupcakes.

I never got the actual recipe but it didn’t really need one.

Pretty simple I thought.

Chocolate cupcakes with caramelized sugar to look like glass with

red jelly or jam to look like blood.

Cool right?

Ok I cheated and used a box cake.

I rarely do that but to be even more lazy I made George go to the store and buy it : )

I did though make the marshmallow frosting

or 7 minute frosting …

which I’ve talked about before in a previous post but I’m too lazy to find the link.

But I will give you the recipe.

7 minute Frosting

Ingredients
2 egg whites
6 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a stainless steel bowl, combine the egg whites, cold water, sugar, and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Place over boiling water and whisk constantly or beat with a hand mixer until the frosting is stiff and holds peaks, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Let cool, whisking often.

SO SO EASY

You’ll be licking the bowl

and if you’re like me eating the leftovers for breakfast too.

George had to stop me.

“What is wrong with you?”

(Coming from the man who’s been making himself french toast every morning for a week)

Here they are with their little glass pieces on top.

I could lie to you and tell you this part was easy but it wasn’t.

They were supposed to come out clear and not opaque……

I tried 4 times at least.

The last time I thought I had finally gotten it right.

Transparent just like Martha’s but they were too soft and stuck to the wax paper.

We’ll just call mine dirt glass: )

Maybe I should have looked for Martha’s recipe.

Then the jelly or (blood)

That was easy except I used Jam that I had made myself.

Don’t worry I tested it a few days before so I wouldn’t KILL anyone.

See cute and not too scary!

Now here comes the scary part.

Ready???

We were trying to stick our heads out so you wouldn’t see our “chins”

that’s why I look like a bobble head doll.

I was a Zombie Pirate woman and Ginny a Voodoo Woman.

I have to tell you that Ginny is actually very pretty and so that she doesn’t kill me ….

this what she normally looks like.

This was taken at Christmas time during another party.

She was showing off her scarf that she bought at the dollar store.

So funny.

She was so happy with herself.

Ok so off to watch

American Horror Story tonight.

Think it might have already started but they rerun it.

Have you been watching it???

Happy Halloween!


Edit:
OK big ninny that I am had the wrong show!
It was The Walking Dead that was on last night.
For those of you that hate zombie movies
( me included)
this one is really different.
It's really well written and character driven. 
Hope you give it a chance. 

Vintage at the gift show

Since coming back from the show….which I only went to on Monday,

the week has just flown by.

I didn’t end up taking half as many pictures as I had wanted to.

So much to see and order …..so little time.

But I did go back to this one showroom at the end of the show just so

I’d have more to show you then just lots of pictures of the city while on the shuttle bus.

Not sure that would interest you though I loved the vantage point myself.

Anyways I’ll keep this short and just let you see some of the cool

things that manufacturers are producing that are vintage inspired.

  

I had to have this.

I’m going to use this for planting succulents in.

 

This is the chandie I bought myself. I know I shouldn’t have.

Cool chalkboard but what I really loved was the artwork….

with chalk!

Tin cubbies

                   

Some Vintage style Halloween which I debated on ordering.

I really like it but I don’t find it moves for me.

I couldn’t help wanting to take a picture of it anyways.

Do you decorate a lot for Halloween or is it just Fall Decorations?

My niece will be here visiting in October and I plan on doing a bit of

Halloween decorating like I used to do. She’s french so I’m thinking she’ll think it’s a little strange….

or we’re strange.

But when has that ever stopped me…?

Linking up to Debra at Common Ground

For Vintage Inspired Friday.

By the way she's having a great 2 yr blogging anniversary

Giveaway.

Have a good weekend!

Halloween.... again???

Are you sick of Halloween pictures yet??? I know!!!

Just a few more pictures to tie you over til next year. This was me getting ready for a little get together. Same costume as last year but this time without the mask I had painted last year. Boy was it hard to eat or drink with that mask!!!!

but I think there was no risk of me starving:)

I went as a puppet and hubby was supposed to be the puppet master. He never dressed up this year....what a party pooper! Just as well I'm the one who has to fix his make-up every year. The man can not put eyeshadow on!!! :) Well ...maybe that's a good thing! This was the mask I wore last year so I tried copying it. I bought some liquid eyeliner to do the thinner lines. I assumed it would be easy to find liquid eye liner......but I learned the hard way it isn't. Took 3 stores to find some.

The night was perfect for trick or treaters. Warm and the rain held off til midnight. By the time we got there they had run out of candy and had to turn out the lights. Too bad.... my favorite
 part is seeing the kids in their costumes.

Last year we sat on the stoop passing out the treats and I think we even went to a few houses trick or treating.....

I never want to grow up!!!!!

Just a few views of Ginny's new kitchen that was completed last year. It looks so much bigger now with no extra sq. footage added except the ceilings been raised and a new huge palladium window installed. It was great before with it's charming unfitted cabinets. Every time you'd go to visit it would look different. Joe, her husband would sell it at his auction and then replace with something different. Wouldn't you just love that???
You can't do that with fixed cabinets but they got tired of the old drawers that were hard to open....you know how that goes!

Their house is dated 1785 or around there built by a sea captain. It's dimly lit but they like it that way....more like the way they would have lived in the 18th c.


There house is furnished in primitive and classic Early American style and lends itself well to decorations for Halloween and the Fall season.

A few scary monsters around the house that night!

Some of her collection of Christine Crocker dolls
She keeps these out most of the year except at Christmas time.

In December 08 issue of Somerset Magazine Christine was featured with some of her dolls. A wonderful story about her growing up on a farm and learning to sew and make things for herself with what ever they had around the house.

You may remember seeing this cloche in the article about Christine in Romantic Home in the same month. A old paper candy container. The soldered pendant is made by her friend Cathy Penton. Another one of my favorite blogs to visit and I know many of yours. Wouldn't it be the perfect gift presented that way?

Well I guess that's about all the scary things you'll see til next year ( threw in the last couple just for balance).

I still haven't put all my Halloween decorations away.
Maybe orange,black and white will be my new Christmas colors this year...
haha!!!

It's almost here!

Today I looked all over the internet for some pictures of carved pumpkins since we hadn't yet carved any of our own. Needed some ideas. I thought I'd cheat a little and me able to show you something from all the wonderful decorating sites out there....Martha Stewart, Country Home etc. but for some crazy reason I couldn't seem to be able to save the pictures. They all wanted me to sign up with their site....so I happily obliged (anything to get them) but nothing worked. I did find along the way some great recipes for Halloween parties that I probably won't have time to make.

I just like collecting them.

You thought it was just junk???

So my point being that the only thing I could come up with are some of my own pictures!!!! I know nothing like those crazy gorgeous designer photos.

Tomorrow will be the day we carve our pumpkins and if they come out good I'll show them to you. Don't hold your breath.....it's not anything I excel in.

Ok more mantel shots. Sad to think I have to take it down soon. If I don't I'll be seeing Halloween decorations almost the whole Christmas season. A week before Thanksgiving I spend no time at home.

I've been known to be decorating my tree days after Christmas.

That's my time.

That's life in retail I guess.

More outdoor stuff!!!

I hope you're all ready for Halloween....candy bought, costumes ready, house and yard decorated. We used to stay home and wait for the kids to come but we live on a dark windy road and we don't get many kids anymore. I swear I would move to just to see the kids coming to the door on Halloween. So CUTE!

We're going to a small party at a friends house.

What are you doing for Halloween????

***

Trick or Treat!

More Halloween

Ok Laura this ones for you. I thought if you saw it in it's natural light you'd learn to love my scull and bones in this chandelier!!!

I think it adds that elegant look I was looking for. I bought it in Salem, Mass. one year when we stayed up there during their Halloween festivities. A big time of year for them. The town really gets huge crowds and the costumes you see are incredible.

I'd had this garland for a while but didn't like that the only way you could use them was vertically. Imagine how thrilled I was when I used them here finally after keeping them in the box year after year!

In my last post I showed you the mantel in Black and White but I thought you might want to see it in it's natural state. Not too orange!

My favorite pieces are from Bethany Lowes - Dee Foust Design and Nicol Sayre when she was licensing with Midwest. It's too bad she didn't renew her contract with them. I love her work but I'm sure they came out nothing like the prototypes she send them.

This is one of her witches. The green face I could do without but it's the hoop wire petticoat that I really like on her. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the whole doll.

This really isn't much of a Halloween picture except for the faux pumpkin. That was taken the night we got all new halogen bulbs and I was testing out how the light looked in pictures. Pretty bright! Blinding actually but I prefer the whiteness of it. Helps to have dimmers!

A little fabric bat bought at Ginny's a few years ago.

See.... not scary!

A better view of Cathy's doll from the previous post. Bothered me that you couldn't see what a sweet face she had. She's not scary either...though the dust on her is. I like decorating better then cleaning.

Don't be frightened by the green walls either ! Yes... the girl who always shows you all her white things does have a room all full of color. And I don't mean wimpy color!!!!!

I'm breaking you in slowly. I feel like you'll all leave me if I give it to you all at once.

Baby steps!

I'm thinking of painting it this Winter to....... you guessed it

WHITE! I may need your help with that decision when the time comes!

*****

Thanks for stopping by.....hope

you all have a wonderful week!

Carole

Ginny's Open House

Halloween at my friend Ginny's store is a holiday her customers wait with great anticipation. I hear all the time that no one does Halloween like her.

It's her favorite holiday dwarfing Christmas. If you enjoy having the unusual then this is the place to get it.

If you're not familiar with the look of primitive then this may be foreign to you.
I know for me the look took me by surprise at first but I soon learned to really loved it.
I'm never one to like the decorations at the big retail stores. They can be fun but a little cheesy.


Her quest thru the year is to find pieces made by artisians who's look is Early American or vintage Halloween from the early-mid 20th c.

Dollhouse adored with Debbee Thibault's paper mache dolls holding lanterns...sitting on pumpkins....and just doing what ghouls do!!!

Exaggerated pointy witches shoes adds to the fun.

Ginny and her daughter Jen spend days setting up for the Open House that she has put on for the past 15 yrs.

Scarecrow by primitive artist Nettie LaCroix

A bit of Thanksgiving decorations for after Halloween when the witches, brooms and bones are put away. The time we give thanks for all we have and eat a big Turkey.....or in my case

Some Tofurkey.....and a lot of vegetables.

This is the doll that Ginny made herself. I just loved her!!!

A witch in a shadow box dressed in vintage fabrics.

She's looking up at the owl in the tree.

Why me Why me???? she cries

A copy of the witch trials in Salem, Mass. in 1692 where they were burned at the stake.

Just for being different!

A tombstone in the corner and lantern and broom by her side.

You never know when you might have to fly off at a moments notice.

Her Fortune Teller Doll in a wooden case curtained in gauze fabric.

She's holding the smallest fortune teller cards I've ever seen.

She made her too. Isn't she cool? My friend Barbara got to take her home! She emailed me and said she was really happy she got her.
I wonder what she sees in those cards???....fortune, love, heartache or maybe just a long and happy life. We can only hope it's good news.
Only she can see tell your future.

****

The crowds all went home with there goodies and fun was had by all!!!

Visit HERE to see more of Ginny's store at Waterside Antiques.

Thanks for stopping by...

hope I didn't scare you too much!

xo,

Carole