Do You Smell What I Smell?

Ahhh, fall. It's here!

It's cool enough outside that we have all our windows open, and that delectable scent of burning leaves in drifting right in!!

Who'd of thunk I'd get that kind of happiness here in the city?

Tomorrow is October 1st. I'm elated and terrified. :) Hope you're the same.

patiently waiting

I often wonder about the total amount of time I have spent waiting to pick up my children from various activities. It can be time-consuming. It can be monotonous. But it can also be wonderfully relaxing. Especially on a clear, unseasonably warm autumn day when you can lie on the grass and gaze up at vibrant shades of yellow and red on blue.

I think I could have stayed there all day.

Cacophony of Cawing Crows

One of my favorite Halloween icons is the Crow.
I am easily entertained observing a gathered group
as they engage in interesting conversation.
They are raucous, cunning, organized and mischievous...
admirable traits indeed. Though their black plumage,
deadly beaks, razor sharp talons and displeasing eating
habits befriends these birds to the dark side, I find them
to be delightful characters and a welcomed distraction
from my studio window.
Black Wing Greeting Cards available in ETSY.

Zombieland Movie Opens to Rave Reviews!

Zombie flicks are always a cult hit among fans, but the latest zombie-lovers treat is also getting rave reviews from critics as well!

Zombieland opens in theaters this Friday, but it already has an excellent 91% rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

It looks hilariously funny, while still remaining true to the zombie gore and effects.

Here's the Zombieland movie trailer, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out - it's sure to go down in zombie history as a legend!



I'm sure that this movie might peak some interest in zombie costumes for this Halloween. AnniesCostumes carries quite a few different zombie type costumes, and we also feature a full line of theatrical makeup, just like the pros use at www.StageandTheaterMakeup.com for all your zombie makeup needs!

ATC - The Punkin Dance

A New Nightmare on Elm Street - Movie Trailer

Does Elm Street really need a new nightmare? Can this movie actually be redone better than the original sans Robert Englund? What are your thoughts?
Check out the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie trailer, just released, and let us know what you think!

A Nightmare on Elm Street in HD


Every year since 2003, Extreme Halloween has surveyed visitors asking "What is the most Extreme Scary movie villain?" And for 4 years running, even among new horror movie legends like Creeper from Jeeper's Creepers and Jigsaw from SAW, good ole' Freddy has led the pack in survey after survey, year afte year.

So that brings me to the question: Does a movie that has stood the test of time for more than 25 years need to be re-made? Will you be seeing the new movie when it is released in theaters April 30, 2010? Did the original movie make you lose some sleep? I know I lost some sleep, fo sure!

To get your own Freddy costume, Freddy Sweater, & Freddy Glove for this Halloween, visit AnniesCostumes.com

Vintage Halloween Bridge Tallies

I've been a collector of vintage Halloween Tallies for quite awhile. I think the graphics are great. This pair would date to the late 1920s or early 1930s. I found them about 10 years ago on Ebay.

vampires are scary

It's a strange statement to make on a Halloween-themed blog. But it has to be said. Vampires scare me. All vampires. Or at least all of the vampires I've ever encountered through books and movies. I can't speak about Twilight because I've never seen it and likely never will. And I'd have to make an exception for The Count from Sesame Street. Let's just say that all vampires that are not fuzzy and cute scare me.



I took some time to reflect on my fear of vampires recently when I capitulated under the weight of my daughter's ridicule and sat down to watch Bela Lugosi's original Dracula for the first time. Yes, the first time. I had never seen it. Despite owning a copy. I bought it because I needed the Dracula set to complete my Universal Legacy Collection of DVD's. My collector's soul simply would not let me walk away.

As a fan of classic horror, I had to ask myself: why? Why do I embrace mummies and ghosts and werewolves, while vampires, and particularly Dracula, leave me cold? And I think I've arrived at an answer.


Dracula has absolutely no redeeming qualities. No glimmer of humanity. No endearing trait.

Frankenstein's monster is seeking acceptance. The Wolfman is the unwitting victim of his malady. The Mummy is searching for his long-lost love. The Invisible Man is . . . well, he at least finds humour in his situation. Maniacal humour. But humour nonetheless.

Dracula, on the other hand, is not humourous. Nor does he inspire pity or empathy.


He's just evil and creepy. Even in 1931 black-and-white.

Big Daddy

Today, tomorrow, then it's October. I've scheduled posts for about 2/3's of the month already, to buy myself some time before the wedding. So if I seem to be MIA - my apologies. You know how it is; Halloween, wedding, Halloween wedding...

But, before I become suspiciously ghostly... I've been meaning to share this AMAZING getup from Bioshock that my friends were all wow'd by at DragonCon. Can you believe how amazing this is?

Official DragonCon photo

The Stars of Halloween

Feeling inspired and energized as I return
to work after a fun filled weekend of mingling
with the Stars at Halloween and Vine.
Glitzy Halloween Ornaments now in ETSY.

Jennifer's Body - my 2 cents (spend them for what they are worth)

The quick version? I really, really liked it. I recommend it to people who love quality camp horror and want to like indie films but don't get into the usual subject matter (you know, kids who have film studies degrees - like I do - but loathe listening to their classmates explain how stellar Garden State was. Because it wasn't... it was just OK, and I can admit that now).



Back to Jennifer's Body. The scorecard:

Casting Director - Solid "A" for you, my friend - not an actor out of place, so far as I'm concerned. I even enjoyed Ms. Fox.

Art Director/Cinematographer/Costumer - FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC JOB - "A+" - that slo-mo scene with "Jennifer" all in pink and the blur of blacks and grays around her in the hallway? Over the top artistically speaking, but in a really, really good way.

Make up - Super A - everyone looked perfect, and not in the plastic Hollywood way.

FX Make up - I wanted to hug you hard during evil-Jennifer's debut on screen; the perfection of that smile was part M. Fox's doing, but the placement of the blood? That was your genius. "A+" for that scene alone. I love you; never stop doing what you're doing, 'cause it's golden and it makes me giggle.

Diablo Cody - "A" for concept and pacing, "B-" for believable girl-on-girl sexual tension, and a forking "F" for freaking failure at dialogue, specifically slang: NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT - PLEASE MAKE IT STOP - IT'S DISTRACTING - STOP WATCHING HEATHERS. ... there, I said it, I'm done, I feel better.

Haunted House Book - Page 1

This weekend I began work on a Haunted House book. I've wanted to do one for awhile and found a great black chipboard book so here I go...

water and fudge

So I decided to cheer myself up yesterday by putting up my Halloween tree. My son, a Halloween enthusiast like myself, was enlisted to drag a box of Halloween decorations out of its storage place in the laundry room. While pulling out the box, however, he misjudged its proximity to the water meter and assorted pipes. Suddenly there was a puddle on the floor. It got ever larger and larger. It could not be stopped. Buckets were needed. Wrenches were called into service. To no avail. Finally, a plumber was called and was more than happy to pay us a visit on a Sunday evening. Within five minutes, he had repaired the problem (broken gasket) and collected his $115. The Halloween tree would have to wait for another day.

On a happier note, I went apple picking on the weekend and stopped at a favourite market for some pumpkin pie fudge. An autumn tradition. Delicious as always. So good it almost balances out the plumbing bill. Almost.

Halloween Time Having a Ball

Finally. For the first time in a long time a
shift in weather has me feeling that Autumn
is on its way. Grinning from ear to ear.
Pumpkin Clown Ornaments in ETSY.

Pumpkin Ball

Deck the boughs with balls of folly...
The season of enchantment is upon us. Conjure
up some holiday spirits by decorating your
home with holiday decorations that pay
homage to Halloween.
Little Jackie Lantern now available in Esty.

New Costumes for Halloween 2009 - Just Arrived!

New children's and babies costumes just arrived:

Click to see our low prices on all these and more great new costumes for Halloween 2009!


New Adult Costumes for Halloween 2009 Just In:



Click to see our low prices on all these and more great new costumes for Halloween 2009!

Popular Costumes & Hot Sellers for this Halloween

Annie's Costumes Hot Selling Costumes for Halloween 2009!

Adult Size Hot Selling Costumes:






Kids Size Hot Selling Costumes:

Make Your Own Halloween Costume Predictions - Win Prizes!

For 5 years running now, ExtremeHalloween.com has published its list of the top Halloween costumes in all categories.



You can also tell us which costumes are your Halloween favorites! Take our Scary Halloween Survey (7 questions). It's your chance to tell us what your favorite costume are AND you get a chance to win fabulous weekly prizes! 5 winners are randomly chosen every week!

And now you can also see live results of what other survey takers say are their favorite Halloween costumes!

I am alone...

I am alone I am utterly alone. By the time you read this...

Dammit, by the time you read this I might have shriveled up like a prune in the torrential rains that Georgia is *finally* getting.

All we've been hearing for years is "drought, drought, drought" -- neighbors report neighbors for watering the lawn in the middle of the night! Cars have not known washing for months on end! Okay, maybe that second one is mostly true because I hate washing my car.

Since last weekend, though? Overwatersville City. Especially here in the Atlanta Metro Area.

My one solace? Blogging. I can't craft - the craft room leaves me worried about lingering dampness and possible mold since its repeated flooding. I'm a 'worst case scenario' kind of person about these things.

And while I'm drowndeding, what's going on in spookster blogland? Silent-as-the-grave time -- commenters have abandoned their dreary machines in favor of prop building and Halloween store scavenging! Don't think I haven't noticed, people. :) Whoa is me! I mean, umm, woe is me!

Hehe - okay, I'm done. I really just wanted to whine about the flooding. It's been obnoxious for me, and downright devastating for many. I feel fortunate to have gotten off as easily as I did. Spending my weekends siphoning water out of my basement is getting really old really fast, though, and I needed to be a little goofy to let off some annoyance.

Ugg. At least I'm not these guys. That looks deep.

Tomorrow will help cheer me up - tomorrow I watch Jennifer's Body with Husband-to-Be. I think I remember AtomicFox giving it a 'pretty decent' review. I didn't get further than that, because the title of the post used the word "spoiler."

Sunday Postcard Art Challenge - Stripey Legs

http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/ to see all the fun submissions this week...

Popular Halloween Costumes for Women Video

Have fun with our video featuring some of this year's most popular costumes for women.

Ladies' favorite costumes for Halloween 2009.

ATC - Full Moon Broom Rides

This is the 3rd and last in my "little witches" ATC series for a swap on Yahoo!...

think . . . think . . . think . . .

It couldn't have happened at a worse time.

This is typically the time of year when I am completely consumed with Halloween preparations. Pumpkins. Candy. Spooky movies. Props. And prop disasters. I embrace it all. But this year, I find myself horribly distracted. Distracted by real life. With few thoughts to spare for Halloween. Because unfortunately, my "Halloween Preparation Season" has coincided with "Serious Decision Making Season". And the serious decision making time is winning out over Halloween preparation time.

Since losing my job last winter, I'll admit I've been coasting along. Looking for an ideal job. But it appears that "ideal" jobs are few and far between here. As least for me. Now, with my unemployment benefits about to expire, I have some real thinking to do. I hate that. Although the choices are relatively simple. I could continue to search for an appealing job and try to get by with less money. I could return to school and train for something for which there might be a demand. Risky. Or I could hopefully return to an old, if not exactly ideal, job. Maybe.

But, in the meantime, while I bounce those options around in my head, the Halloween clock is ticking. And I am finding it increasingly difficult to focus on pumpkins and costumes and props. But this weekend, I'm going to try my hardest to push the more serious thoughts aside for a while and just think of Halloween. Try to work on some props. Maybe visit a pumpkin patch (one more successful than my own). Otherwise, by the time Halloween arrives, I'll likely have made a decision. But I'll have missed all the fun.

ATC - Admit One Spook

This is the 2nd ATC in my series "little witches"...

SB's Frappuccino Ice Scream

Have you ever had one of these? I love them - my beloved Grandfather used to keep a few in his fridge for me:



Mmm... delicious. And blog relevant, because Starbuck's is corporate evil, and here at Creepy Cupcakes we dig evil!

Husband-to-Be and I got an ice cream maker attachment for our KitchenAid mixer (yay!) as a wedding gift; etiquette dictates yaddah yaddah not to use things until after the wedding yaddah yaddah... but come on! It's ice cream!

The inaugural flavor? Kahlua Coffee Ice Cream, which I am now officially redubbing 'Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino Flavoured Delight,' because that is exactly what it smells/tastes like, especially just before it goes into the ice cream maker.

Yield
1^1/2 quarts

Ingredients

* 8 large egg yolks
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 quart half-and-half
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup brewed double-strength Starbucks espresso (available in the coffee section of your local grocery store, more than likely), cold
* 1/2 cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur

Directions

straight from food network, with a little editing

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow. In a saucepan bring the half-and-half to a boil. Gradually pour into the egg mixture, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Let stand 5 minutes and then chill.

Stir the vanilla, cold espresso and Kahlua into the chilled custard. Pass through a fine strainer. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is nearly done, melt the chocolate over simmering water.

Transfer to a container and freeze until firm.

ATC - Toil & Trouble

This is the 1st ATC in my series of "little witches"...

turning leaves

The start of another autumn. The perfect day for a walk around my neighbourhood to enjoy the beginnings of the fall colours. And yes, I know autumn arrived three days ago. It's been a busy few weeks. Close enough.