Happy Halloween....uhh...2 weeks late. I know. Lame.

So I officially stink at blogging lately. Here are my ridiculously late pictures from our Halloween party this year. It was definitely not the large affair it was last year. In fact, it was rather lame. My motivation to dazzle my party guests plummeted as couples continued to bail out on us up until the afternoon of the party. Of the 10 couples I invited only 3 came (and they were all family members). I didn't even dress in costume. I hope that those who did come weren't affected by my lack of enthusiasm and bad attitude. So enough with the complaining - here's the food spread:

What was on the menu?
Creamy Chicken Taquitos with guacamole and salsa for dipping - love these things!
7 layer dip - courtesy of my sister-in-law, Erica
Bacon wrapped lit'l smokies
Brownies - courtesy of my sister-in-law, Shanna
Mini Oreo cheesecakes - courtesy of my sister, Roxanne
Lime Slush
Apples with cream cheese caramel toffee dip (I can't find the link for this recipe)


I promise to do a better job of blogging! With the holidays approaching, I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities.

Target Halloween 75% Off

An early morning run to Target yielded some Halloween goodies at 75% off! You know I can't resist Target, Halloween, or 75% off! They had several aisles still full of Halloween stuff so I recommend checking it out if you want to snag some good deals for next year.

Here is some of my loot:

A cute Halloween shirt for Spencer - $1.50
2 adorable throw pillows for $3.40 each
black fish net stockings (I wear these in the winter even when it's not Halloween!) for $1.25
black party plates, napkins, cups around 50 cents each (I like to use these for Tech football game food - go Red and Black!).

There were plenty of other good deals to find - look for things that don't always have to be used for Halloween... they had a bunch of costumes left and Halloween candy was marked 50%. I think a bag of fun size Twix may have found its way into my cart :).

This fun wig for $2.50 will be great to have for next year! Did you see my friend Elizabeth wearing a similar wig for our Halloween party (pictures can be found on my family blog)? I was excited to get this for our costume box. I've been working on getting a few things each Halloween for Jeremy and I to use for costumes.

Oh how I love me some Halloween clearance! Have you snagged any good deals at after Halloween sales?

What makes a great Halloween get-together?

Mummy Dogs

Candy Corn Cupcakes

(mmm...not my favorite cupcake ever. I made the frosting recomended on Our Best Bites and was not impressed. They still looked fun...)

White chocolate dipped pretzel rods with Halloween sprinkles


Nutter Butter Ghosts, courtesy of my sis-in-law, Shanna


A "cauldron" or cooler bubbling with homemade rootbeer...yum!

Eyeball (grapes) salad

2 snazzy grandparents and a pirate throwing gang signs :)

"It's the Great Pumpkin!" Charlie Brown

Happy Halloween!

"Tis now the very witching time of night"...the makings of a Halloween Dinner Party

Last night we had our annual Davis Halloween party - and I must say it was my favorite one yet! Here's a look at the details and decorations:

The theme for the decorations: Black and White
The costume theme: Classic Horror Films (to see pictures of the costumes, check out my family blog at thetxdavisthree.blogspot.com)
Dinner theme: Italian, multi-course, sit down dinner for 16 people. The food was all SO delicous!
Course 1: Appetizers and drinks = bruschetta and 3 mocktail choices
Course 2: Salad = Fabulous salad with strawberris, feta, and candied pecans
Course 3: Soup = "Kidney Soup" (Minestrone)
Course 4: Main Dish = Manicotti with garlic bread
Course 5: Dessert = pumpkin cheesecake or triple chocolate cheesecake

Enjoy some pictures of the decorations! I had so much fun putting it all together! I couldn't have done it without my fellow Halloween lover, Elizabeth, who provided a good portion of the serving pieces. If you would like more specific details, please leave me a comment and I would be happy to give you more specifics. I will say that "Dollar Tree" was definitely my go-to source for this party... (click on each photo to enlarge for more detail)

Dinner Table 1

The place settings - courtesy of Elizabeth

Dinner Table 2

The appetizer buffet with mocktail menu

The front porch

I love mason jars with votives to create some magic on the front porch...

It was certainly a night to remember!

Thanks to everyone who came and helped make the night special!

The Queen of Halloween

I love Halloween. I know that I have said that before. But really, I LUV Halloween. I am not sure what it is about Halloween that speaks to my heart but I have found someone that shares equally in my devotion to this holiday. We must be kindred spirits.

My good friend, Elizabeth, was kind enough to let me take pictures of some of her Halloween decorations. I had to find a way to get my Halloween decoration fix this year since all of my acquired decorations are packed away in my storage unit (and who knows how long it will be before I see them again... sigh.).

One of my favorite things about Elizabeth's Halloween decor is that is all grouped by "collection." Pumpkins have their own table, witches have their own table, cats have their own space... and so forth. I don't know why it has not occured to me to decorate for Halloween in this way? It makes such an impact to have groupings like that. I love it.

So without further commentary from me...enjoy the fabulousness that is Elizabeth's Halloween House! And thanks to Elizabeth for letting me photograph her house - she is amazing!

The living room located to the left as you enter the front door.

(Ok just one thing to say - do you notice the witch legs poking out from the piano? LUV LUV LUV that!)

The pumpkin collection on the entryway table

The Cat Collection

Family room

Isn't her family room so cozy?

Lovin' the EEK! pillows...

Halloween Vignette

I am joining my first blog party today! And what better party to join than Melissa's @ 320 Sycamore, my favorite blogger ever!Go check out some of the other great projects... I am a Halloween lover. To the extreme. Some people only do fall. I try to have some fall decorations up at the beginning of the season, but inevitably Halloween begins to creep in little by little. I can't deny my love for Halloween any longer... So here is my newest Halloween vignette:

Put together with things I had on hand or items from Dollar Tree.

(Please excuse the horrible lighting in the pictures. It is rainy and overcast here today and I don't have the benefit of any natural light.)

This witch sillouhette comes from a new blog Melissa introduced me to -

The Pink Peony of Le Jardin. You can check out her version HERE.

Lovin' the Shakespeare quote...
I just typed it in Microsoft Word and added a little clip art witch's hat. Then I cut it out and put it in a frame I already had. So easy and I think it was a nice finishing touch.


Notice the plastic fly taped to the cloche?
Love it. It just adds to the spook factor.

So here is the breakdown:

The witch silouhette was made using things I had on hand.
I also had the silver platter (Goodwill), black candleholder (Savers, spray painted black), Alfred Hitchcock book underneath the skull (Goodwill), small black frame, and cloche (Hobby Lobby).
Things I purchased from Dollar Tree to pull the display together:
black, tattered cloth covering the bookcase - $1
glittery skull - $1
candleholder underneath the skull - $1
black crow - $1
plastic, orange and black spiders, snakes, and bugs - $1
orange pillar candle (purchased at a garage sale last weekend) - 50 cents
I wrapped the candle with scrapbook paper and ribbon I already had on hand

Grand total = $5.50 + tax

Definitely Under $10 and put together in under 1 hour.
Happy Halloween!

You could still pull off this look on the cheap,
even if you didn't have some of the things I had on hand.

Dollar Tree has silver platters for $1

a glass vase from Dollar Tree for $1,
like the one I used to make hurricane candleholders
could serve as a cloche over the skull

Also, the Dollar Tree hurricanes could replace the candleholder
I used in the display for $2.

Dollar tree has a large assortment of picture frames you could use to hold a spooky Halloween quote - $1

Your total with these items added would be right at $10.