Blog Awards!!!

I feel as though I should be walking down some dark red velvet carpet in a beautiful dress designed by Heavy Red. Getting prepared for some awesome speech. Blog awards? Very cool and so very thoughtful! I actually feel quite sad that I haven't been following up on my favorite bloggers in our most favorite time of the year. I have even neglected my own. :::insert frown:::

So on to the awards... Monday, I received notification from October Boy of The Deadwood Cemetery and he presented me with the Liebster Blog Award! Tuesday, I received notification from Lisa Maple Grove Cemetery wherein she gave me the Zombie Rabbit Award. October Boy and Lisa, you guys are awesome and thanks so much for thinking of me! I enjoy your blogs as much as you do mine. Forever grateful.

Now, I have to pay my respects and return the favor. Below are some of my faves who fall under the Liebster Blog Award Rules. So here we go.... Drum Roll....

Haunted Hot Sauce: Moans from Moonlit Hill Mortuary - I almost feel like this is my BFF in the blog world or a brother from another mother. His blog was one of the first blogs I started to follow. The Undertaker and I have great conversations, share creative tips and secrets, and he never ceases to amaze me with what he's got brewing up next.

2nd Street Cemetery - A home haunt I admire.

Creep Factory - What this guy creates is nothing, but CREEPY and I like it!

Justine's Halloween - I recently started following her this year. What I like about Justine is she talks halloween all the time! Down to fashion, art, home decor... she keeps the dark and the spooky alive throughout the year.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Another home haunt that I admire.

Now on to the Zombie Rabbit Awards!

The first two blogs posted on my list are from my "next blog" slider. The following 8 are just a few I really enjoy, right down to halloween props, spooky gardens, yummy halloween treats, home haunters, and great vintage finds.

 Howling Moons Blog

Pumpkin Hollow

Addicted to Halloween

Beautiful Halloween

Creepy Cupcakes

Grim Hollow Haunt

Scary Sounds of Halloween

The Haunted Gardens

Vintage Halloween Collector

The Devils Workshop

Again, thank you so much Lisa and The October Boy. Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween season, I will be posting some pictures from my season soon. Until then, stay spooky!

Love,

The Madame

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

Fall-ing into place

This weekend I took a much needed break for myself. Friday, I stepped into the garage and pulled out some halloween props, just to play with and grasp more inspiration. I took out the laptop and checked out every halloween inspired website. Came to this conclusion... I have no "dead" women in my cemetery. WHY??? Realizing that 99% of props are all men, if in fact they are not a witch. Crazy huh?

So, I have two identical ground breakers who will become husband and wife. I took off their heads and have started the process. Will keep you updated on my progression, right now they are dying or drying to be painted. *insert witch cackle*

68 more days till Halloween and 36 more days till set up.

Love,

The Madame

Inspiration Weekend

It's all coming together now. Finally getting into the swing of things and I can't be more excited. Friday started off like a bang. I felt as thought I was in a million places and had a zillion things to do. Two doctor appointments, kids school shopping, oh travel 30 miles for a big lot of halloween goodies a woman was getting rid of. One of the many great things she had was this candelabra. From the picture I thought it was plastic/prop. Nope total score, it's wrought iron! As I gazed at it, I got this great inspiration for redecorating my guestroom. Right now it's got a half retro, half idkwtf? All I can say is there's a human size birdcage in there. That will stay, but the retro shit has to go. I'm thinking dark victorian? New bed, linens, and wallpaper and I've got plenty of spooky nicknack's and creepy paintings. Goal 2012!

Next, is a ground breaker, I have several of these from prior after-halloween sales. Fun to place them in front of the graves. I usually throw a dark colored cheese cloth over them and some moss around their torsos. Blah, right? I was thinking what I can do to re-vamp them? So inspirations here I come!

So Saturday I cleaned my haunted mansion, making sure to leave every cob web in it's place. Sunday ohhhh Sunday, I got to the garage. With the help of my hubby who cleaned his half. We were both very enthusiastic the entire day. Nice breeze in the air, it was strange because I could actually feel "fall". Nice and tidy!

Desert is always last? On Wednesday I get home for work, we all have dinner and out comes a surprise desert from my daughter. She made these cookie/cupcake, I'm not really sure, but it was delicious! Using cookie dough and placing an oreo cookie on the bottom of it. Toping it with halloween colored sprinkles and cute ghosts. Best part was the tombstone shaped cinnamon toast crunch cereal.

This weekend I have some "free" time. No work, no side projects, just me and my 3 day weekend. I think I'll be able to get started on some halloween fun.

Happy Birthday Madonna

I know Madonna has nothing to do with halloween. So I hope I don't loose any of my fellow haunters for posting this, BUT I wanted to wish Madonna a very happy birthday today. 53 years young! She means the world to me. Hence the name of my blog "Live to Tell". I even named a candle "Lucky Star" after her.

I recall Halloween 1984, I was 9 years old. Just at that ripe age with an attitude "I'm independent" and I don't need no stinking plastic mask with the plastic outfit. Well, I got a fucking Care Bear costume. *insert sad face* I ditched the plastic mask, turned the plastic outfit inside out, got a belt, grabbed my gummy bracelets, teased up my hair, gathered up some lace and wa-la! I was Madonna for halloween that year. *turned that frown upside down*

Below are some pictures of Madonna on halloween. In the time allotted, I could only find these three...

I am a proud new owner of...

A baby pumpkin!!! Yesterday, I went out into the garden and started watering my plants. Every time I go to water my plants, I creep down into the pumpkin patch and look under the big pumpkin leaves. Low and behold the glory of what I discovered.

I can not express how happy I am. This weekends plans will be to guard this baby with my life!

My visit to the Haunted Mansion

More inspirational shots. One of my most favorite places on the planet, the HAUNTED MANSION in Disney World! Below is some new additions just made to the Haunted Mansion. My time there was wonderful. The weather was perfect, not crowded, zipped right through onto every ride. The only thing missing was my husband. The kids and I had a great time. Later that night (bonus) I went to see one of my favorite bands, Interpol.

Welcome you foolish mortals.... and excuse the black photos, no flash photography. Now begin to sing the Grim Grinning Ghosts...

Inspiration

So I took some inspirational shots this spring. Thought it would be pretty witch'n to share.

First 3 shots of the skeleton in the cage
were taken here at the Georgia Renaissance Festival.

These next few shots were taken at our trip to

Disney World at the Magic Kingdom.

I liked the stacked effect they did with the skulls.

I wish I would have taken a better shot or more

of the moss that grows on the trees in Central Florida.

Spanish moss grows in the masses there.

I always put spanish moss in my tree

during halloween time and drape it across my tombstones too.

This was on one of the rides, skull on a stick, what's not to love.

Of course a nice shot of the head hunter.

Because shrunken heads are just delightful!

*must have one of my own, soon*

This was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. They re-vamped

the ride quite a few years ago to include Johnny Depp

(sooo, hot want to touch the hiney).

Apparently the 60 year old lady behind me thought so, too.

These last two are a little blurry, but you get the point...

Summer is finally here! One bloody hot summer to go. Witch (lol) means our favorite time of the year is not so far away.

With love,

Madame Jen