Terrifying Tacos!

Halloween may fall on a Monday this year, but that doesn't mean you can't serve up some spooky tacos for a Taco Tuesday Halloween dinner! In my home, the Halloween celebrations last throughout the month of October, so some version of these will definitely be making their way into our lives in the weeks leading up to the big day. 

Food.com brings us this quite basic example of a basic crunchy shell taco. To achieve the spooky eyes, a few dollops of sour cream garnished with sliced black olives are strategically placed. Even though I personally can't stand sour cream, I think this version is the most likely one I'll try! 

Betty Crocker also has created a spin on the monster taco idea. Instead of the classic shredded cheese, an artfully cut slice of American cheese serves as a the teeth, and a tomato slice acts as the tongue. Cute!

I've seen this next example a few different places on the web, including the site, Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. Just make your favorite taco, and add a spider made of olives as a garnish for an instant Halloween vibe. Hehehe, I think using the whole olive in this position makes the spider look a little more like an octopus, so I'd probably tweak that a bit myself if choosing to recreate this dish! But how cute is that little spider? He could be added to several different dinners for an instant transition into Halloween dining!

And, that does it for spooky tacos. However, if you a big fan of Mexican food like I am, don't fear! I have several more ideas coming up for you in the coming months!

Movie Review: They Live

I wouldn't call it a Halloween movie, and honestly, I'm not even sure if it would be considered a horror film. But, since it's weird, creepy, and a little bit hilarious, I wanted to share my thoughts on a film I recently saw with you all.

It's a new tradition in our family to kick off the Halloween season with a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to attend ScareFest, the annual horror and paranormal convention hosted by Patti Starr. We've anxiously been watching as the list of celebrity guests grows each week, and we recently noticed that Meg Foster had recently been added. As my boyfriend was reading me the names, I had no idea who she was, so he explained that she was the lead female role in the movie, They Live.

My boyfriend was quite shocked when I told him that I had never seen it. Now, I was familiar with the plot and could definitely recognize the iconic 'Obey' imagery as being from the film, but I had just never sat and watched the whole thing from start to finish. So, we had to fix that and I may now have a new favorite movie. The 1988 film starring Roddy Piper, Meg Foster, and Keith David was, like I said, pretty funny...but pretty darn scary when taken in context of what's going on in today's political world, lol.

SPOILER ALERT

If you aren't familiar with the plot, the basic idea is that Roddy Piper's character is a drifter who comes into the city looking for work. He lucks into a construction job, despite the fact that the economy has apparently taken a turn for the worse in this slightly futuristic? world. A fellow worker takes him to a tent city establishment to stay the night, where he soon notices some strange activity at a church across the street and does some investigating. When the makeshift camp area and church are later raided, he gets away. Returning the next day, he finds that the hidden boxes of what appear to be normal sunglasses are still at the church.

Putting on the glasses, the world takes on a very different appearance. There's an epic fight scene, a chick with the strangest eyes you've ever seen (Meg Foster), and lots of creepy zombie/skeletal looking people with magic watches. I'm not sure if the ending was necessarily a happy, or even resolved ending, but the 'good guys' accomplished what they set out to do and everyone starts to wake up from the manufactured reality created for them.

As I said, I surprisingly really liked this movie. I know its not the greatest movie out there, but there were some scenes in it that were fantastic. The overall message, while presented in a comical way, is actually pretty poignant. While we might not be under alien control, I think its a fair assessment to say that many people today are 'asleep' in some way or another, oblivious to what is going on around them. And, even though she scares me a little bit, I can't wait to meet Meg at this year's ScareFest!

No Spirits Here

Good Sunday morning, everyone! I hope you're enjoying your daily dose of Halloween goodness here at Theresa's Halloween Wonderland. I'll be featuring some more in-depth articles soon, as well as some different types of Halloween subject matter, but one thing you may find weird is that I will NOT be posting much, if any GHOST related stuff. It's not that I exclude ghosts and spirits from Halloween, but aside from the occasional legend, craft, decorating idea, etc., things such as haunted places and true ghost stories will continue to be featured on my main blog, Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State. If you haven't checked it out yet, go now!

What's Your Halloween Name?

Nice to meet you! My name is Lurking Zombie! What's yours?

Halloween Dinner: Italian Style

Pasta is definitely our go-to for quick, easy, and delicious dinners. There's a lot you can do with the different types of pasta and sauces, and the ingredients usually tend to run pretty cheap. In its Halloween section of its website, Kraft Foods explains how to kick up the spooky factor a notch with these gruesome meatball eyes! This is another great dinner idea for all ages. Serve it before a night of trick-or-treating...or present this dish at a fancy Halloween dinner party with a twist. I think I'll be trying this one myself, but I may be toning down the size of those monstrous meatballs just a bit, lol.

Get the recipe at Kraft:

Miss Halloween

For all my fans of vintage Halloween postcards, here's another great example from the early 1900s. I love Miss Halloween's style, especially her pumpkin purse. Although, I'm not terribly sure what is being implied by the text underneath! 

The Horror Movie Diet

It's true! In 2012, a study was released by the University of Westminster stating that the average amount of calories burned during a 90 minute horror film was about 113. According to the study (more information can be found on it HERE), the Top 10 calorie burners are as follows:

1. The Shining: 184 calories

2. Jaws: 161 calories

3. The Exorcist: 158 calories

4. Alien: 152 calories

5. Saw: 133 calories

6. A Nightmare on Elm Street: 118 calories

7. Paranormal Activity: 111 calories

8. The Blair Witch Project: 105 calories

9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 107 calories

10. [Rec]: 101 calories

This Halloween, don't feel too guilty about snacking on the leftover trick-or-trick candy! Just watch a few scary movies and you'll be fine! I'll be getting some exercise of my own in tonight...and every night through Halloween, so check back often for my movie reviews and recommendations. I may also keep you posted on any weight loss updates as a result, lol. 

The Magic of Mini Reese Cups

Today's Foodie Friday post is another collection of treats for those of us who just aren't very...bake-y. I love fun, clever, EASY goodies that are perfect for any Halloween party or event and that do NOT require much (if any) actual baking. Here are just a few examples I've found that use mini Reese Cups, one of my favorite Halloween candies!

Witch Brooms
This idea comes from Couponing To Disney, and you don't get much cuter or simpler than this; just stick a pretzel stick into a mini Reese Cup for an instant witch broom. Dump the rest of the pretzel sticks into a festive bowl for additional Halloween party snackage....or save a few for this savory version.

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
This next idea is by Stefanie Fauquet of Mommy Musings. It's a little more labor-intensive if you choose to actually bake the cookies according to the recipe and full instructions as found at the link above. However, its possible to take a shortcut by just adding these little spiders to the top of some store-bought cookies and securing with a tad more icing!

Bat Bites

Today's last example comes from Chelsea's Messy Apron, and is an adorable way to incorporate both your Reese Cups AND Oreo cookies, two staples of Halloween treats! These little bats only require four ingredients total, and can quickly be assembled for any Halloween party. 

If you loved the ease of this simple treats, check out my other blog, Easy Halloween Cookies, featuring even more no-bake options! How cute would the Reese Cup Witch Brooms look  paired with the Witch Hats made from Fudge Striped Cookies and Hershey Kisses?

Video: Adorable Kittens Recreate Classic Horror Films

Even if you're not a big fan of cats (and really, who isn't?), I'm sure you'll enjoy this adorable video featuring feline actors taking on iconic horror films of the 20th century. There's also a wonderful message at the end of the video! 

Snowball's First Halloween

This is Snowball, one of two kitties that complete the Doughty/Racer family. Snowball came into our lives August of 2013, and has always been a very curious cat. This picture, taken during his first Halloween with us, is one of my absolute favorites.

For the Halloween season, I had set up a little spooky vignette complete with lace table cloth, Ouija Board, black lace fan, skull on silver platter, black candles, crystals, antique jewelry, and some old tin-type photos. I added one of our antique chairs to complete the effect of a fortune-telling/communicating with the dead scene.

Snowball decided that Mommy put that nice, comfy chair out for HIM, and pretty much stayed there the entire Halloween season, lol. At one point, we had a Halloween party where a few people wanted to use the Ouija Board. This was of great interest to Snow, and the next day, we caught him standing in the chair, with front paws on the board as if trying to mimic what he saw the night before. Snow did not manage to contact the other side, and no kitties were demonically possessed in the making of this post!

Alan Dellascio Art

I've recently discovered ANOTHER artist who specializes in absolutely gorgeous Halloween and Fall paintings. Salem, Massachusetts native Alan Dellascio, also known online as 'painteral613,' creates this awesome interpretations of different houses, featured in gray scale, with pops of color in the form of bright orange pumpkins. I REALLY had a hard time picking just ONE painting to feature here, so I highly encourage you to check out the links below for more examples of Alan's work. But, I did narrow it down to this one, titled Crow Hill Manor. An 8x10 matted print can be yours for A STEAL at $15!!

You can buy originals, prints, or even cards with Alan's creations...but the best part: for only $300 you can send him a photo of any house, even your own, and he will paint it for your in is unique and spooky style. If anyone is looking for a Christmas or birthday present for me, I've got plenty of photos of my house on Facebook....

From Art to Zombies
Instagram

Video: How Candy Corn is Made

Candy corn. It's a Halloween staple. I personally prefer to decorate with candy corn over eating it, but it remains one of my mom's favorite holiday treats. Here's a little history on the tri-color confections and how one company churns out plenty of them each year!

Halloween Merchandise!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" The time when Halloween merchandise starts hitting the shelves! Around here, it seems like many places started putting their Halloween stuff out a little earlier than usual...and their school supplies stuff out a little later. Oh well. I am completely fine with that! So far, I've really only been to check out the offerings at Michael's and at Jo-Ann Fabrics, and they had some pretty awesome stuff. I haven't bought anything yet.* I just haven't seen anything I'm completely ready to commit to, at least not until we get vacation and the first few days of school out of the way first. But tell me, what have YOU found so far in the stores? Who else is already getting their merchandise out and ready?

*That's not entirely true since I buy Halloween stuff year round at thrift and antique stores, lol. I just meant I haven't bought any 2016 season merchandise....YET.

Werewolf Names

What is YOUR werewolf name? Mine is Mystic Fire. Not bad...I'll take it! You can also check out Theresa's Halloween Wonderland to find your WITCH name and your HALLOWEEN name! 

Tuesday Tunes: A Saucy Halloween Playlist

Are you looking for playlist inspiration for your next Halloween party? Why not make things a little...saucy...with these suggestions from PopSugar?

Luke's 2015 Halloween Costume

It's August! The true countdown to Halloween has begun. In addition to starting our party planning, the family and I have begun tossing around costume ideas. Last year, Luke wanted to be a vampire. I found this surprisingly  complete and fair quality classic ensemble at Walmart for around $15. All we added was a little hair gel and some plastic fangs! We tried some white face makeup, but that was a fail. My son is just too hairy and it ended up looking weird. Fortunately for his costume, he's also pretty darn pale anyway, so it worked out.

This photo is of Luke getting ready to go to a party at our local YMCA. He had been taking swim lessons there for a couple of months, so I decided to take him while Aaron was working late on his radio show. We had an awesome time---tons of games, candy, a dance party, and seeing one of his swim instructors all decked out made for a fun evening. He wore the same costume to his school Halloween party, for trick-or-treat, and for my boyfriend's brother's party. And, almost a year later, I still think this costume is completely adorable. In a weird twist of fate, one of his best friends from the neighborhood decided SHE was going to be a vampire too. Her vampire dress complemented his suit so well it looked like they planned the whole thing. It really was the cutest thing EVER. I'm not sure he can top that this year, but I look forward to seeing what he comes up with.