F words - Food, Fence, Fall Festivals and Fun!

Things have been very, very good and quite busy around here. Past two Friday's on my days off, I had to run some errands and leisured into the local retail stores as they just began to put out their halloween goodies. Think about a child who still believes in santa and wakes up christmas morning to all the presents she asked for. That's my face and internal feeling as I see all the halloween displays starting to be set up.  Also, several weekends ago I finally remembered to write down some ingredients for some halloween inspired recipes. I made this "Witch's Cauldron Pasta with Breadstick Broomsticks". I am going to attempt to make a mummy calzone this week as well! Rewind back to last Sunday I started building more of my cemetery fence. I am just about finished painting them, and should be done by this evening.  Most exciting thing of all is, tomorrow's the big day I start my set up! Pulling out all the storage bins from the garage and creating my halloween wonderland, brings me all the joy in the world. Last, but not least, this month is going to be very busy for me due to my favorite time of year, as well as 2 fall festivals I'm attending as a vendor for my candle business this month. I will keep everyone updated as much as I can. Until then stay spooky and happy hauntings!

Love,

Madame Jen

Burning Tears Halloween Special!

So yeah, I have this little shop on Etsy called Burning Tears. Check it out...

Love,

The Madame

DragonCon 2011

So I hit up DragonCon twice this weekend. Seriously most amazing convention to come through Atlanta. As I arrive on Friday afternoon, I get to the Sheridan Hotel and blasting on the speakers is "This is Halloween" and as I consume everything around me and all the people in the most amazing costumes. I smiled and thought to myself... I am at the best place on earth right now!

I look forward to DragonCon every year. This is my 2nd year in attendance. Besides waiting on line for 2 hours for my ticket(s), and only catching the tail end of the parade, you learn something new every year. Note to self, pre-purchase my tickets online ahead of time.

The one thing I was looking forward to was possibly meeting Elvira. Unfortunately, Elvira was scheduled to come out at 8 p.m. on Saturday, at which time I was at the Erasure show. Hopefully she makes an appearance next year.

Other highlights included... Seeing my favorite fellow local haunter The Undertaker. Always a pleasure!

At the Netherworld booth I got some great photo ops with the guys. Even scored some coupons for this year. Netherworld is considered #1 haunt attraction in the US and it's right next door. How lucky am I?

This zombie was hard to resist. Quite the charmer.

Below are just some random shots. I only posted the monsters and left out the superheros. After all this blog is about halloween...

Final thoughts, if I plan correctly next year I would really like to get a 3 or 4 day pass, rent a room for a night or two, and go dressed as Vampira.

Love,

Madame Jen

Halloween Celebrations

As you are aware there are halloween inspired magazines out on the stands now. I haven't seen anyone post about this one yet and by far thought this was the best one out there. I have yet to get my fingers on Martha Stewart's.

Most halloween magazines are kind of cheesy. Opening up pages to find corney crafts and the same traditional treats year after year. I do get inspired by the table settings and even the decorating.

Here's the cover of Woman's Day Halloween Celebrations.

Inside there were some great decorating ideas and mentioned in a previous blog, I mentioned re-vamping my guestroom. I think these are some great ideas for that. A spooky halloween mirror using ornate frame, inserting a creepy looking picture. I've always admired this site -  The Ghoulish Gallery

Moving on to the Lace Spiderweb, using a wooden embroidery hoop.

Last but not least these delicious looking candy apples. I think it's the awesome sticks that make them better looking. Do you remember in the 70's when it was rumored you would find razor blades in your apples on halloween? 

There are more great finds in this magazine, I just wanted to show you a few of my faves. Also note even the advertising was good... With that said we've got just under 2 months till the big day. I had a nice 4 day weekend. Got to go to DragonCon and on Saturday night I went to see Erasure with my BFF, Mandi. 

Love,

Madame Jen