Homemade Halloween and Menu Monday

This Jack-O-Lantern was done by my very talented cousin, Julie.

Perhaps she got her inspiration from her youngest.

This little guy is my God son. He's a Michael Fan.

This is Chloe. She decided Halloween morning she didn't want to be the baseball player we had planned for. Lucky for her I had this outfit at home! We ran out and bought the wig, mike, makeup, etc. I just cut up the clothing and wha-la...rockstar zombie. A friend of mine did this for her daughter a few years back and I guess it stuck in my mind.

She really dedicated herself to getting into character!

Now that Nash is 13 he decided not to participate, fully, this year. While he didn't wear a costume, he did walk with us, and even snuck up to a couple houses without me looking. That was a no-no. No costume, no trick-or-treating! He wanted to make a "healthy choice" by not going, and I'm proud of his decision!

Menu Monday

Monday: Tuscan Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Sauteed Spinach

Tuesday: Greek Shrimp, Garlic Fettuccine, Salad

Wednesday: Salmon w/ Lemon Sauce, Rice & Broccoli Casserole

Thursday: Baked Ravioli, Salad

Friday: Date Night,

                     kids eat homemade chicken nuggets & rice-a-roni

Saturday: Crockpot Italian Beef Sandwiches

Sunday: Football! Snacks, appetizers, Chicken Ciabatta Sandwiches

Easy Halloween Cupcakes

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I despise Halloween, never been a fan, not even as a kid. But, now that I have kids I have to suck it up. And this year I even splurged on some first ever Halloween decorations for the house. After seeing ALL of the cute treats and cupcakes in Blog Land, I finally got inspired to make some cupcakes to take to my cousin's house tonight. It happens to be a birthday celebration for my God son as well. The only thing I couldn't find was Halloween/Birthday cupcake toppers. They all said Happy Halloween instead of Happy Birthday ;-(
Oh well. Anyway, because I believe in Good Things Simple, these are the cupcakes I made. They're cute, but I think they were the easiest designs I could have chosen. Mummies, spiderwebs, and festive...

Have a happy and safe Halloween everybody!

Non Sweet Festive Treat Ideas

Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

Another cute idea from All Recipes that landed in my inbox this morning. So happy to see a festive recipe that's not a dessert or sweet snack! In fact, it's even healthy! I love, love, love it! Just cut out your jack-o-lantern face into Orange Bell Peppers, stuff with your favorite recipe, then bake!

Photo By: Rebecca D.

Here are some ideas I found from http://www.pillsbury.com/



Halloweenies

Vampire Away Garlic Bites

Jack-O-Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie

Some of these recipes however didn't get the best reviews, so I would probably just use these as ideas and use my own recipes.

Candy Corn Bark

CaNdy CoRn BArk

I just love All Recipes! I saw this on my All Recipes Newsletter this morning and wanted to share it. I may have to whip up a batch for Sunday. You can check the site for reviews and substitutions.

16 Halloween-colored chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped

1 1/2 cups broken small pretzels

1/3 cup raisins

1 1/2 pounds white chocolate, broken into squares

2 cups candy corn

orange and brown sprinkles

1. Spread the cookies, pretzels and raisins evenly onto a lightly greased small baking sheet. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from the heat while there are still a few chunks, and stir until smooth. White chocolate burns easily.
2. Drizzle chocolate with a spoon over the goodies in the pan, spreading the top flat to coat evenly. Top with candy corn and sprinkles. Let cool until firm. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Some of the reviewers mentioned the candy corn made it overly sweet, and someone mentioned they added Halloween colored peanut M & M's. If I make this I'll probably cut down on the candy corn, add the M & M's, and omit the raisins.

Click HERE to see the recipe with all of it's reviews.

Recipe By: Julie G.
Photo By: MeredithRae24

Coffee Filter Cobwebs

Create Halloween cobwebs using household coffee filters. Cute, easy & inexpensive. Get the details from Mega Spooky HERE!

DIY Halloween Table Decor

Make these modern Halloween candle holders & floral centerpiece out of tomato sauce cans! They are sure to make your home look spooktacular!

Get instructions and the free printable labels from Living Locurto HERE.

Homemade Halloween Costumes

My Best (and one of the worst)

Homemade Halloween Costumes

After last years SpongeBob costume I promised I would never buy another Halloween costume.

 My cousin and I made this last year for Chloe. I got the perfect box (for free) from our local hardware store. I think we got really lucky on the box. It was tall and narrow, already had those narrow holes for the eyes, and it had perforated circles where her arms could come through. I purchased the tight's on EBAY for $6 and I also grabbed a small can of yellow paint at the hardware store. The rest of the colors we already had.

We downloaded an image from Google and freehanded it in pencil on the box. Then we painted it. It was barely dry when we left to go trick-or-treating.

The whole costume took about an hour and a half.

She got sooooo many compliments.

Little kids where very excited to see Spongebob.

They were pointing to show their parents!

Toilet Paper Mummy

I don't remember what led to this homemade mummy costume. I do know that we showed up at my friends house with Nash in his white pj's and a roll of TP. I wrapped him up and we were off. By the time we got home he was back in just his pj's because a little toilet paper fell off every time he walked. I guess we inadvertently TP'd the neighborhood. OOPs!

The following are all costumes I made last year and sold on Ebay. I bought the onesies and I learned how to make the tutu's, bows, and baby legwarmers from YouTube.

I just love YouTube!

Do you have a great costume that you

have made for Halloween?

 Tell us about it!

Spooky Boo Bags

Check out these BOO-tiful bags! Perfect for Halloween treats & super simple to make! If your planning on having a Halloween party, these would be cute favor bags for the guests. Get all the details HERE from How Does She via eighteen25.

Free Halloween Printables

If your a fan of the "Keep Calm & Carry On" posters, then these are the perfect addition to your Halloween decor! Head over to Craftily Ever After & download the FREE printables HERE & HERE!

Owl Mini Candy-Bar Wrappers

Aren't these owl candy wrappers a hoot!?
With a 3 year old that's terrified of most things Halloween, it's refreshing to see something for the holiday that's less scary & more fun. Print them up and wrap them around mini candy bars. Perfect for younger trick or treaters! Get the free printable from Trillustrations HERE!

Disney Count Down to Halloween

I've always gotten a kick out of advent cards (especially the ones with chocolates or little ornaments inside each day) and I'm passing along the tradition to my little girl.

Now you make your very own count down to Halloween with Mickey & Friends! Celebrate 13 thrilling days to October 31st. Download the free template from Disney Family HERE

Homemade Halloween Decor

Chloe created this on the Paint program on my computer the other day. I transferred the picture to a Word Document and we added the text. I printed it on glossy photo paper, and placed it in a $3 frame from Walmart. I'm so excited for her to do this for all the holidays and seasons. I think this would also make a great fundraising or project/gift idea for a classroom.

Ghost Leaves Kids Craft

Boo! Say hello to our new ghost friend created with leaves. Cute huh! Want to make some with your little gobblins? Super easy & so much fun. Let's get started.

You'll need white paint, brush, wiggly eyes, glue and silk leaves (we used small & large sizes).

Paint both sides with the white paint. Let dry & glue on the eyes.
That's it! Super fun Halloween decorations your kids will love to show off!

Love how the ends of the leaves started to fray. Adds to the spookiness!

She's so proud! We hung the big guys in our front window and made a garland with the little ones for her room.

Hope you'll try making a few to add to your Halloween decor!
Thanks for stopping by!

I'm linking to these fabulous blog parties!

These treats are easy to make and will surely gross out your Halloween guests! Just stick mini marshmallows on the ends of lollipop sticks and dip them in peanut butter! Instant ewwwwwww!

Hope you all have a safe & spooktacular Halloween!