I know it is mid November and I am still posting Halloween items. But I am at that age where resting in bed holds more charms that doing everything off my to do list. In fact that list has grown to 2 whole pages. But I need to finish my Autumn/Halloween bucket list.
An easy item on my list was to drink some yummy witchy cocoa. Since it was kinda hot in October I wanted to wait for cooler weather.
I found this cocoa on Amazon. I was attracted to it because it was orange, but also only required hot water. I never seem to have fresh milk on hand.
So pulling out my new favorite tea drinking cup, I grabbed a moon and ghost cookie and started to boil water.
Once the water was the perfect temperature, I mixed that orange brew up.
I bought some cute pumpkin hot cocoa bombs from Target and thought I would add them in. Once the chocolate melted marshmallows popped out of the cocoa.
The cocoa was very rich and creamy and very very orange. It was a nice way to end a busy day for me.
Onto the third of this series of Mocktails for the Halloween season.
This time I made the La Mummy. Made with the orange La Croix sparkling water, it was zesty and fun to drink. I might make this again but instead of lemon juice I think I will use orange juice. I really like my glasses. I bought these at Joann Fabrics. It felt very Halloween like to drink this mocktail.
I have one more drink to make. Sadly I cannot locate the drink in the store so I might get creative, Halloween if anything is about bringing out the creativity in all of us.
For some fun I found this picture on the internet. I loved the show Bewitched growing up. Aunt Clara always reminded me of my Granny whose name was also Clara. Same style, same features. And now I too feel like Aunt Clara. Oh how time marches on. LOL
My Grandmother Clara, dressed to the nines to sit on the beach with her husband Sam. Can you imagine wearing a girdle to the beach, or a man’s suit. In those days you dressed up. Doesn’t she look like Aunt Clara?
For Amazon Prime Members they provide a series of short stories to read for free. Last year I read the Creature Feature series which was a different story in each book.
This year I read Guillermo Del Toro /Chuck Hogan The Boy in the Iron Box. It was a continuing series of one story line broken out in 6 books.
Flying dark, a plane carrying a team of mercenaries crash-lands on a remote snowy summit. When they come across a mazelike stone fortress, it’s no refuge from the wolves and the freezing wind. It’s more like a trap. What they discover can stop the heart—or worse. As terror takes a new shape, the real battle for survival begins in this unrelenting serialized novel from Academy Award–winning filmmaker and writer Guillermo del Toro.
This was a good story but I prefer last year’s series better. I must admit I like these books and they come out with new collections all the time. Many of the books are written by popular authors that I have read. Each has a different theme. Some romance, some horror, others adventure. There is a collection of stories for anyone. I think the next series I will read is Busybodies or The Spy Who Vanished.
Keep in mind that each book counts towards your book annual challenge numbers. It kinda feels like cheating but it still counts LOL.
Because I bought those fun Halloween themed molds from Aldi, I also wanted to make cornbread with some chili for a cold night.
Instead of chili I ended up making taco soup. It is so easy just using a variety of canned beans with hamburger meat. Not as good as my Mom’s rainy day chili that would sit on the stove for hours. But does fine in a pinch.
To make this soup, just brown and crumble 2 pounds ground beef. Then add one package Ranch dressing and 1 package taco mix. Then add the following canned beans:
chili beans black beans, drained Pinto beans, drained Canned Corn, drained Diced tomatoes Rotel tomatoes Diced green chilis
Simmer all ingredients over the stove, add water to make it less thick. Enjoy!
Then just using a cornbread mix, pour into molds to make Halloween cornbread.
Although the cornbread was good, the poor pumpkins had issues popping out of the mold. The ghosties did better than the pumpkins but you really need to look at the shape to see the ghost. But that is ok. I knew it was a ghost.
I wanted to make some fun Halloween themed food this year. When I saw this ghost topped chicken pot pie I definitely wanted to try. It was a very easy recipe. I did make a mistake and used garlic powder instead of onion powder but it worked out ok.
I found the little ghost cookie cutters on Temu for a few bucks. There are two ghosts, each swaying in opposite direction. Sway to the left, sway to the right.
For ease of making, I bought rotisserie chicken but I think you can make your own chicken pretty easy. I did determine that this many ghosts are a “gaggle”.
I also decided to do a quick charcuterie board on Halloween night.
I bought this board from Michaels and thought it was real cute. I had to crop Eli the dogs paw out of the picture. He had to get all involved in making the charcuterie board. LOL
What I like about the holidays is the amount of fun products you can purchase for the season. Not just home decor, but themed scents for every part of your home/life. To me, Autumn smells like warm fires, cinnamon, apples and warm desserts.
I am a huge fan of Native products especially their deodorant. I have never used their other products but decided to indulge since the scents are so autumnal.
Honeycrisp and Cider Apple Butter and Strudel Autumn Air and Amber Toasted Vanilla and Honey
Besides the deodorant , I decided to try their face wash, body wash, shampoo and conditioner. I like the whole bath experience to smell great. I did pick up some autumn scents in bar soap from TJ Maxx. So my bath experience will be wonderful.
I am also a fan of Bath and Body Works. They do release a Halloween line every year. I prefer the body cream but i also enjoy the spray once in a while. I also use the spray as a linen spray after I wash my sheets. Makes getting in bed smell nice. I could not resist the tote bag as it is wickedly cute.
Vampire Blood Wicked Vanilla Woods Ghoul Friend Candy Apple Cauldron
Don’t these sound yummy! A great Halloween experience.
A little face mask during the season is also a good idea. I found these at World Market.
When I was at TJ Maxx buying Halloween jewelry, I came across some Harry Slatkin soaps. I know he sells on QVC but use to sell his goods with Bath and Body works. I have a few of his classy pic candles and candle holders. So it was awesome to see his Halloween soaps on the shelf.
I hope they come out with the Christmas scents. Of course a hair accessory is always a must for Halloween. I usually use a scrunchie to keep my hair out of my face. But cute Halloween barrettes are great too. I don’t know who Piper K is but they do have some cute stuff. One of my necklaces is from them also.
Hope your autumn smells wonderful. Thanks for checking out my blog.
Every year I watch the Hallmark Autumn movie release. Usually there is 5-7 movies that are released that have an Autumn theme. Last year was a disappointment as there was hardly a pumpkin shown amongst them. I had higher hopes for this year. Seeiing the words “Falling”, “Autumn” and “Haunted” gives me hope.
His & Hers
Lawyers Mark and Dana are the perfect married couple until they find themselves on opposite sides of a highly public divorce case involving a warring reality show couple.
This was a nice little movie, but it had nothing to do with Autumn. I would rate this a two pumpkin movie.
The Heiress and the Handyman
After losing her fortune, an heiress moves to a rural farm where she mistakes her handsome neighbor for the handyman. To live up to her family’s legacy, he helps her compete at the county fair.
I enjoyed the movie and I always love a broke heiress movie. Lol. A little bit of Autumn but I will give it a 4 pumpkin rating.
Falling Together
Natalie tries to bring feuding neighbors together in her new condo building. Her unexpected ally is the building’s super who prefers to avoid getting involved. I enjoy films with Ashley Williams so I enjoyed this film. Just a bit of the autumn sprit and a cute premise. I rate this a 3 pumpkin movie.
The Real West
A family vacation to a working Ranch introduces Professor Rebecca to Jake West. Rebecca is a widower chasing tenure and Jake is a handsome cowboy who never settled down. I enjoyed this movie and the sexy cowboy. It is a good story but autumn wasn’t really there either. I give it 4 pumpkin because I enjoyed the storyline and the ranch.
Autumn at Apple Hill
Newly divorced Elise starts renovating the inn she inherited from her grandparents, catching the eye of Luke, the chief financial officer of a major hotel chain. Despite first trying to scare him off, Elise discovers Luke might be the best person to help her restore the inn to its former glory. Lots of Autumn and fall essence. I was rooting for the inn keeper and hoping they would fall in love. At times I lost interest in the movie as the actors did not have chemistry. I gave it a three pumpkin rating.
Haunted Wedding
The wedding between ghost hunters Jane and Brian at a haunted inn is disrupted by Angelique — a ghost who mistakes Brian for her own dead fiancé. This movie at least had a haunting with the love story. Did not feel the chemistry between the actors so it was a bit neutral. Not my favorite movie in the bunch. I give it three pumpkins.
Out of all of these films, I liked The Real West the best. Oh how I miss the Autumn line up with actual Autumn or Halloween themes. Fingers crossed for next year.
I have always wanted to do a New England fall foliage tour. Although I have seen the local trees turn (they still have not and it is mid October) and I have seen beautiful foliage in Colorado, but I have not taken a bona fid tour in New England. I do recall a small tour of the area when I visited my friend in New Hampshire. It was lovely.
Sadly I am not doing well enough to travel so I tend to take tours via YouTube. The wonderful thing about the brain is I kinda blur the lines and think I have done the tour in person. It is kinda cheating but I will take what I can.
I found this YouTube channel of a man and his father taking a tour. We traveled the back roads and saw fall foliage. First they went to Sleepy Hollow for a visit.
They visited the Norman Rockwell Museum, which was interesting to say the least. I grew up with those paintings. Glad to know a lot of the original artwork is located there.
I was glad they stopped at the Vermont Country Store. I have been always wanted to see it. They had world famous apple cider donuts which they both claimed were dry. LOL. They saw covered bridges and lakes and miles of orange, gold and red trees. They went to president Calvin Coolidge’s house and town. So beautiful and the houses are so historic. Plus the Plymouth Cheese Company founded by Coolidge family.
A tour is not complete with visiting Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory. They were not able to get in, but saw the cemetery of dead flavors. LOL
This video of a three day trip did not disappoint. The only thing missing was to visit that The Stitchery store in Massachusetts. But somehow I figure these two men would not want to visit that store.
Food and drink make Halloween more fun. While looking at Pinterest I found this link to make mocktails using La Croix with a Halloween theme.
Count me in!
First drink is Ginger B’Witched
My drinks were served in the Joann Halloween cocktail glasses. I love the Skelton fingers gripping the glass. I used skull ice cubes but those little heads disappeared in the drink. LOL.
I look forward to the next mocktail. Thanks for checking out my blog.
