Thriller night

It was a wet Halloween night, but we had a great time at the costume party. Here are the yard decorations at my house. Spooky.

Here are some highlights for you. My brother and I both dressed up as icons of our childhood - Pee Wee and Carmen Sandiego.
Here are the winners of the costume party with their trophies - Super Gay, the Harlem Globetrotters, Selene from Underworld (I had no idea what this was until the party, but she had a great costume), and the Christmas elf. There were so many great costumes. My friends are so creative.
Our hosts are have a photography business and a studio in their house, and an artist friend painted an amazing photo backdrop for pictures. Here's Evil Knievel and Johnny Cash.
The Mad Hatter, Santa, and a witch.
And the White Witch casting a spell on me.
Trick or treat, and farewell Halloween. Until next year!

Happy Halloween!

From my nest to yours, have a Happy Halloween! Here are some spooky cupcakes from Cupcakes Take the Cake for you. We spent the day going to see Paranormal Activity (spooky, creepy, but not terribly scary) and watched the original Halloween while doing last minute work on the costumes. We're all dressed up and ready to head off to the Halloween party, a report to come!

Eve of All Hallow's Eve

It is a gray and rainy day before Halloween. I awoke to one of my most anticipated television moments of the year - the unveiling of the Today show host costumes. (This is totally dorky, I realize, but like a woman in retirement, I watch the Today show every morning.)
We are in full on Halloween mode now - I'm doing some last minute alterations to costumes to get ready for the party tomorrow night. I want to try to squeeze in a matinee of Paranormal Activity tomorrow just to set the mood. I am sad that I won't have trick or treaters this year. I moved to a new apartment, and I'm on the second floor, so no little ones.
I have gotten most everything for my costume, let's see if you can guess which one I picked. I apologize that I did not choose Jem (of Jem and the Holograms), but that would have required sewing the entire thing from scratch, and I just couldn't muster the Christian Siriano in me this year. Next time. It would be a fantastic costume!
Click here if you're dorky like me and want to see the Today Show crew in their costumes. And speaking of Christian Siriano, my favorite little elf from Project Runway, click here for the 50% off coupon for his line at Payless. It was announced on Oprah yesterday - it's only good until the end of the day today! You're so fierce.

My top 10 scary movies

In honor of our visit tonight to the Netherworld Haunted House, I give you my favorite scary movies. I love a good really really scary movie. Not gory or gross, but suspenseful, something that makes me jump out of my seat. The true test of a scary movie is whether you are still scared hours, days...years later.

In no particular order, here they are -

1. The Ring (2002) - I saw this in the theater with a friend when I first moved into an apartment on my own. I was terrified to look at the TV screen when I got home.
2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) - I re-watched this movie last weekend, by myself. I do not recommend this. I also recall that at one point in my life I liked the woods, and even camped by myself. Probably not doing that again any time soon!
3. The Descent (2005) - This is a newer movie, but one of my faves. A bunch of kick-ass, cave monster stomping girls go spelunking...and some of them make it out alive. Those cave monsters are creepstown.
4. Psycho (1960) - One of my all time favorite movies of any genre. Genius. Total genius.
5. Candy Man (1992) - For anyone that played Bloody Mary a kid, I challenge you to watch Candy Man and not be scared to look in the mirror in the bathroom after. Also a great scary movie for urban-ites like me. Sometimes the wrong side of the tracks can be scarier than anything.
6. Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Also a newer movie, but scary and funny at the same time.
7. The Exorcist (1973) - The story is that my dad went to see this when it came out and it creeps him out to this day. For those of you that haven't watched it beginning to end in a while, don't knock it until you've sat through the whole thing. Still scary.
8. The Shining (1980) - The movie is fantastic, but the book is scarier than the movie. I read it in high school, and I remember screaming when my cat jumped on the bed unexpectedly while I was reading. I have issues. Shelley Duval's wardrobe is almost as frightening as the ghosts.
9. Jaws (1979) - Not a traditional scary movie, but Jaws made me afraid of the deep end in the pool.
10. Cape Fear (1991) - My mom called me from the theater when my parents went to go see this movie on a date night. I was babysitting, and she said she was just calling to make sure we were OK. I didn't understand this until I watched it years later. Just try to overlook Robert De Niro's bad southern accent.

A day at Uncle Shucks

On Saturday, we had our annual pilgrimage to the Uncle Shucks pumpkin patch in Dawsonville, about an hour from downtown Atlanta in the North Georgia mountains. It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day.
There were horses! A city girl doesn't see horses very often, unless they are pulling a carriage downtown.And we had corn cannon target practice...
And I finally got caught in the stocks. Probably because it took me an hour to pick out my pumpkin! I finally found the perfect little guys to bring home. It was such beautiful weather, and sooo nice to get out of the city for a day. I can't wait to do some carving this week for Halloween.

If you are looking for some ideas for unique pumpkin carving, you should visit Extreme Pumpkins. Beware, these are NOT for the amateur pumpkin carver! How about a mooning pumpkin?

Photo from Extreme Pumpkins

Halloween poll

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday ever. As a craft-a-holic, I love to make my costumes. I have been Tina Turner, Carmen Miranda, Brenda Walsh, and Atlanta's own local celebrity Baton Bob (most people did not get that one until I told them who I was, and only an Atlantan would get it.)

This year, I've got a few ideas I'm tossing around, and I'm letting you help me decide. Vote in the poll on the side bar and let me know which costume idea you like best!
In the running are - Bjork in the infamous swan dress, Jem, Carmen Sandiego, Ikea (weird, I know, but cute), Jane Jetson, and Hitchcock blonde.

P.S. There are so many great costume ideas here at Coolest Homemade Costume!

And here is a little sampling of my costumes of yore (Tina Turner, Carmen Miranda, and Baton Bob)