{weekend + links}

happy halloween! hope your weekend is filled with the soft glow of flickering jack-o'-lanterns, spiced cider and far too much candy, and most of all, mysterious masquerades . . .

have a magical weekend, everyone!
xo


{p.s.} a few fun halloween links:
* DIY: snowflake pumpkins
* fun costume: mrs. robinson

{as always, some things you may have missed:}
* halloween inspiration: orange
* better in gold: gilded pumpkins
* grey skies + crimson leaves
* fall lookbook: lyell
* backstage photographs: more lyell
* paris in black + white

{images: valentino haute couture, photography by sofia sanchez & mauro mongiello for vogue italia september 2009 via a glamorous little side project}

{brushed in gold}

. . . a little halloween inspiration in shades of hazy blue and gold . . .

{images: 1, 3 martha stewart; 2 - flickr via design lovely}

Halloween Cocktails

Halloween Punch

1 part Midori

1 ½ parts Skyy Orange Vodka

1 ¼ parts Sweet and Sour Mix

15 squeezed Orange Wedges

Melon balls, red orange slices and kiwi slices to garnish

Pour ingredients in order listed into a pitcher filled with cubed ice. Shake and stir for about 5 seconds. Strain from pitcher into punch bowl. Garnish with melon balls, red oranges and kiwi for a frightfully fabulous Halloween party centrepiece!

Trick or Treat

1 part Passione Nera black sambuca

1 part Midori

To make this devilishly simple ‘shotail’ pour the ingredients carefully into a shot glass to keep the green and black layers separate, and enjoy the cauldron of liquorice and melon flavours!

Emerald martini ....see here for how to make this....

It seems Halloween isn't just for children and tomorrow night I have been invited to an impromptu Halloween drinks party :)

I have rustled up something suitably witchlike to wear.....gathered together some appropriately ghoulish and ghastly snacks....and having rummaged through my cocktail cabinet, browsed the supermarket and explored online....I discovered Midori ....perfect for those glowing Halloween cocktails.

I have been testing them on my brother this evening!

(love the music!)

Check out Midori for more cocktail ideas....bwah ha ha!!

Halloween....

Bird's nest hair....

Jellyfish

(All photos above via Martha Stewart, always  a great source of holiday creativity)

A few weeks ago my very excited children and I attended a Halloween evening at the fabulous One Aldwych hotel to test out the fantastic new fancy dress range from Clothing at Tesco.

Yummy themed food, pumpkin-carving, face painting, the UK premiere of  "Monsters-vs-Aliens, Mutant Pumpkins From- Outer Space" and, best of all, really great costumes to choose from....my son was a skeleton and my daughter was a pirate witch.

There were rails of very creative costumes - dresses with cobweb sleeves, lots of purple, black and orange, great masks, lots of original and interesting details...Halloween heaven!

My great friend E loves a fancy dress event and hosts a Halloween party every year.....she knows a good  costume when she sees it and on my recommendation headed straight for Tesco and bought her 2010 costume!

All costumes available from Tesco in-store and online (and they are now half-price!)

We headed home having had a lot of fun and the children were given huge goodie bags plus their fab costumes - perfect!!

We are in fact away this week-end but are going to a Halloween party this evening....the costumes are ready and the face painting has already begun :)

Thank you so much to Tarryn and all her colleagues for such wonderful hospitality - you all looked amazing in your costumes too!

Throwing A Hit Halloween Party For Adults

Who says Halloween has to be geared only toward children?

By no means does it have to be a kids-only celebration. Getting dressed up in costume and having a spooky party can be a “chilling” thrill for grownups, as well.

Whether you want a huge blowout or smaller get together with friends here’s how to make your adult Halloween party a hit.

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Find a Great Theme



Halloween can be a party theme in itself, but consider going further.
You can tailor everything to something in particular, whether it is old, black and white monster movies, zombies, vampires, or anything else your creepy little heart desires.


For old movie themes, rip some fabric and drape it over tables as mummy wrappings or set out a Creature from the Black Lagoon punch.
If you want to go with zombies, make sure to have body part themed refreshments, such as gelatin desserts made in brain or heart molds, eyeball garnish in drink glasses, or simply gummy candy body parts you buy at the supermarket.
A vampire theme can feature cupcakes with red raspberry filling.


Your imagination is the only boundary where the theme is concerned.
Go wild!

Here are some theme suggestions to get the idea motor running.

Beetlejuice Party

Addams Family Party

"Thriller" Party

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Or what about an…

Haute Couture Halloween Party

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Getting the Invitations Out

In order to get a proper head count ahead of time, make sure that your guests get their invitations at least two weeks before, so that they can keep the date open.
You can invite people by creating an event on Facebook or go the traditional route with party invitations.

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n the invite, include time and date and directions to the location.
Also let people know how to dress costume-wise for your party, whether it will be PG rated only, mild R, or AG (Anything Goes!).
Adult Halloween Costumes can be a blast, since you have a wider range of knowledge to draw from in creating them.

Refreshments


There are huge Halloween food and drink possibilities.
You can go in an intentionally juvenile direction with this and be a huge success, since adults love a gross food pun just as much as kids do!


When setting out punch, no matter what color and flavor, try adding a few chunks of dry ice to make it fog menacingly.

Create “finger” sandwiches that look like fingers using hot dog buns.

Simply cut slender pieces out of the buns, keeping the tan top of the bread, and fill with things like tomato and mozzarella or pimentos and turkey, trying to keep a red and white theme inside.

Stick a sliver of almond on one end to serve as a fingernail and dip the other in salsa or seasoned tomato sauce, making it appear ‘severed’.

If you run out of ideas, just look online for more inspiration.

One important concern should be edibility.
It doesn’t matter if something looks amazing if no one wants to eat it.
Make sure that everything you serve is delicious as well as exciting to look at.
When you are deciding which refreshments to offer, consider who your guests will be.
For instance, if you know that there will be some teetotalers there, be sure that you have non-alcoholic drinks available.

Halloween-y Music


One of the greatest joys of Halloween – besides dressing up – is the fun, creepy music.
Spooky soundtracks can be fun, but they can get annoying when the sounds repeat too much.
Try playing songs such as Zombie Jamboree, I Put a Spell on You, Monster Mash, Thriller, and so on. You can find a great deal of music fitting in with the Halloween theme, if you use your imagination.

Entertainment

Just because you’re adults doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and games at your Halloween party. Just update them a little and make them more exciting for an older audience. Bob for apples that have a prize symbol on the bottom correlating to a door prize. Play Halloween-themed charades.

To get really spooky, have a table set up where people can play with a Ouija board or have someone sitting to read tarot cards for your guests. If you’ll have designated drivers or taxis to take people home, consider a drinking game – put on a classic, black and white horror movie and create some rules for it, such as drinking when someone dies, when there’s a scream, when the suspenseful theme plays, or when the monster gets a creepy close-up.

When your guests start to leave, consider providing a parting gift. An adult goodie bag is perfect for this. You could include a scratch lottery ticket, gift certificate for a treat at a local sweet shop or other store, Halloween-y items such as pens or party favor toys, or even naughtier items, if your party is a bit more R rated. And don’t forget a little candy – adults love their trick-or-treats, too!