Halloween Party Planning chat

Ginger over at Magical Holiday Home is planning a chat on Sunday, July 13 to discuss Halloween party planning. If you want to participate, just click on the link above and scroll down a bit to the story on chats. She describes what steps you must take to participate. If you've never chatted before, you should give it a try!! It's lots of fun...and I know the holiday crazies that participate will have fabulous ideas and tips! Since I'm in full party-planning mode, I'm excited to see it on the schedule! I can't wait!!

The picture above is our back porch decorated and ready for last year's Boo!Bash! It was a huge hit, so we've decided every year, the Saturday before Halloween, is Boo!Bash! day at the Miller hamlet!!

Happy Haunting!!

Cathy

Double Chocolate Gooey Cake

This is one of my favorite desserts to make for Halloween. This recipe is from Paula Deen of Food Network. Boy, is it good! And gooey!!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus additional butter, for greasing pan
1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg, plus 2 eggs
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.




This is really good, but be careful not to overcook it...then it's still good, just not gooey. And, trust me, it's better gooey!! This is yummy served with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Oh, yes!!

Happy Haunting!
Cathy

Sigh

I didn't do anything for Great Pumpkin Day again this month. Do you realize that we only have 5 more GPDs before the big day? And it looks like we're having a wedding right in the middle of October? Do you know how critical it is for me to get busy? Do you? Do I? Evidently not, judging from my lack of activity. I'll do better soon, I promise!

In the meantime, here's a few more tips and ideas from Gooseberry Patch's Autumn in the Country cookbook. I shared a few on Scarecrow Soup also. I love these books!




#Line the front walk with canning-jar luminaries on Halloween! Paint scary or funny faces on jars using black poster paint and nestle tealights in several inches of sand.

#Show off your pumpkin carving skills...set Jack O' Lanterns on overturned large garden pots

#Place feathered faux black crows in the windows, on lampshades and all around the house for a spooky Halloween feel. (I really like this one)

#Use a linoleum craft knife to carve swirling designs on pumpkins. Since only the outer surface is carved, there's no need to hollow out the pumpkins..so easy!

#Carve or drill a pattern of round holes in hollowed-out pumpkins, then set tealights inside for a flickering glow.

And, a quote:
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." Henry David Thoreau

Me, too!

Later!
Cathy

May Great Pumpkin Day change of plans!

Oh, I'm still going to work on the pillow tops-but I'm going to do it on Lake DeGray, in between tubing, floating on an air mattress, reading my book and just chilling...drinking iced tea, watching kids swim, etc!! We are heading out on Friday and won't come home until Sunday!!! I can't wait!!

I do plan to put some felt squares, thread, needle, scissors and patterns in my bag to hand stitch while we're there. It is supposed to be hot, but I think just the 8x10 inch squares won't be too bad to work with. I'll try to post pictures!

Later!
Cathy

May Great Pumpkin Day project and a challenge!!

Ok! I've found my project for May Great Pumpkin Day! I have an old craft book I picked up really cheap at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. I was leafing through it instead of making corsages and bows for the big upcoming Magical Wedding this weekend and found the CUTEST autumn pillows. It's just plain pillows with felt embellishments-pumpkins, leaves, etc.-stitched on to felt squares and then attached to the pillow. I'm planning on making them for the lawn furniture for the Boo!Bash2.

Now for the challenge!

Since our party is a costume party and we give prizes for the best costumes, my second project for this month is to find prizes (or at least start looking for them) for each division of the contest, and to try to make them good prizes this time. I want to make ribbons to pin on the winners that say "Best Costume", etc. Last year I gave bags of candy for prizes. I want to find some cool things to use. So, to challenge you:

Decide if you want to have a costume contest at your gathering, and brainstorm what prizes you want to give. If you are not having a contest or even a gathering, start thinking about costume ideas.

Are you up for it?

Here's a picture from last year's contest:



The Burger King lives! Long Live the King!!

May Great Pumpkin Day

Over at Great Pumpkin Day, Ginger has issued a challenge for May. She is encouraging everyone to do this:

So the challenge should you choose to accept it is to make a party decor item (or party favors would count!) or if you aren't hosting a party then a fall decor item for your home!!!

Of course, we are planning on hosting our own Boo!Bash2, so this is a good challenge for me. I am thinking about what I want to do for May. Ginger mentioned that she is working on ideas for a haunted kitchen. I think that's a good idea, because, like Ginger, our kitchen is the main thoroughfare for the bathroom! Last year I had it decorated a little, but I want to really make it look good this year. I'll most likely go more fall than Halloween. I especially love my kitchen, and I like it best from September until January, when it's decorated for fall and then for Christmas.

Here's my cute little ghost that I plopped in the middle of the kitchen table last year:



You can't see his purple tennis shoes, but they are SO CUTE!!

I'll be back soon and let you know what my plans are and what I'm challenging you to do. I do know that I'll be taking on Ginger's challenge...it's a great place to start!!

Later!
Cathy