When I was little, I never really got a chance to go trick-or-treating. However, we did often attend some fun Halloween events or Harvest Parties, and dressing up in costume was always very exciting for me. Most years we just threw together an outfit by picking and choosing things out of our family costume box. I remember dressing as a hobo one year, and another year I came up with something strange that my dad called "Admiral Bird." No matter what you dress up as, there's just something exciting about dressing up in a fun costume and seeing yourself through different eyes!
Halloween has always been a fun time for Mike and I. When we were first dating we hosted some of the greatest Halloween parties ever, and I always handmade our costumes. Over the years I've gotten busier and busier and less and less creative. Last year we didn't do too bad with our Popeye family costumes, but this year I have just had a creative block, and I was struggling with costume ideas. I needed a little inspiration! Not only do I have to come up with ideas for Mike and I, but now I need to come up with a super cute little girl costume.
Enter Costume Discounters with their amazing selection of infant Halloween costumes. I was blown away by the cuteness! They have so many adorable infant and toddler costumes, and everything is very reasonably priced. I had such a hard time choosing a costume for Sam! Here are some of my favorites:
Flower Garden Gnome
Honey Bee
Dorothy
Now, I'm not going to tell you just yet which costume I chose for Sam, because if you know me, I like to maintain a little bit of mystery. Let me just tell you, she LOVES her new costume and she looks absolutely adorable in it! After seeing Sam in her cute new costume, Mike and I came up with some fun costume ideas of our own. We just needed that extra costume inspiration from Costume Discounters!
I received the costume just about a week after I placed the order, and it was in excellent condition. Halloween costumes never seem to be top quality unless they are 100% handmade, but this costume is in great shape and it definitely is the same quality of costume you find in the Halloween stores. And - bonus! - I didn't have to pick through everything on the shelves, hoping to find one in the right size. I was able to do it all from the comfort of my own home.
We are very excited about taking Sam out for her first trick-or-treating adventure. Her Pappy will be in town from Ohio, just to be able to taker her out trick-or-treating. I can't wait to see the cuteness! Since this is actually my first time trick-or-treating too, I can't help but be a little paranoid about safety. Trick-or-treating is meant to be fun, so I was happy to come across these Halloween safety tips to keep you and your little ones safe this coming Halloween. A few of the tips that stand out most to me are:
1) Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
2) Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
3) Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
4) Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.
Above all, have FUN, and make some great memories this Halloween. And take some great photos!!!
So....all my friends have finally driven me to start my own cooking blog. You will be amazed, I'm sure....
...Or not. I used to be an amazing baker, but my latest project was something of a mess. A tasty mess though, I must add! I figured I would start off my blog with a grand welcome - a photo documentary.Red Velvet Monster Cupcakes(with Cream Cheese Filling)
This blog is dedicated to my friend Clara, who wanted to see how I filled my cupcakes. I used a Duncan Hines cake mix for Red Velvet cake. My oh my, was that some red batter! I followed the package instructions for mixing.
After mixing, I went to pour the batter into the muffin tins. Alas - I discovered that my muffin tin did not make it during the move! It must have been left at the bachelor pad. What to do? I found some Halloween cupcake liners in my cupboard, and put them in a baking dish, hoping for the best.
Since I was planning to fill the cupcakes with cream cheese filling, I only filled the tins about 1/4 - 1/3 full.
My next plan of attack was to make the cream cheese filling. I used:
8 oz cream cheese (fat free!)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
red and yellow food coloring :)
I used the mixer until it was smooth, and then put the whole mess into a Ziploc bag and cut off the corner. (For easy cupcake filling.)
Then, I squirted a little filling into the middle of each cupcake.
My oh my, is cream cheese filling yummy!!!
Once I finished eating the leftover filling out of the bag, I carefully filled the cupcakes with the remaining batter, being sure not to let the filling peek out. The cupcake liners were about 3/4 full.
After I popped the cupcakes in the oven for 22 minutes, I got busy licking the beaters and the bowl. I wanted to see just how much food coloring was in that batter.
It's a lot of red, but I think it's a good look for me.
Time to take the cupcakes out of the oven! Oh dear...they are completely deformed - looks like it's not such a great idea to make cupcakes without a muffin tin. :( I'm sure they'll still be tasty though.
When Mike got home from work, we got busy decorating. We used the whipped cream cheese frosting, and added some yellow and red food coloring to it. By the time we were done mixing, it sure wasn't very whipped anymore. It was just gooey. Oh well. We added some Halloweenie candy corns to them. What we got was a frightful mess of gooey cupcakes.
Mike was the first guinea pig. Carefully he takes a bite...
Check out that creamy middle! (And that scary red tongue!)
Overall, the cupcakes were a success. Although I'm embarrassed to show them to anyone else. Next time, I'll be sure to buy the right pan before I try making cupcakes again!
