IGT Halloween Party 2012

This past Saturday was the annual Indiana Ghost Trackers Halloween Bash. 

Mary, the Vampiress, and me, the Frankenstein monster aka Living Dead Girl

With my gorgeous hubby, reprising Adam Ant

Lucy & Charlie Brown ~ THE best!!  And, yes, there were rocks in the bag!!!

Sexy!!!

With the Mareks

Sandra & Dave

Mary & Rich

Dumb & Dumber...the Funniest Costume winners

Dave ~ working his "axe" off!!

Best Female Costume winner!!!


We stayed at this party for 3 hours before heading to Monsterbash Five at Bart & Bobby's, where we remained until the wee hours.  

We just missed Dave winning Best Male costume!  That's 2 wins in 2 years....last year, he won Scariest!!!   



RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiere party

On Monday, October 22nd, we headed to our friends' Donatella Isaman and Sinders Parrish's home for a viewing party for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

I tried my hand at a cake....

She has the finish line flags, just like RuPaul in the open to the show!  I made them from some plain white labels!  Colored them and wrapped them around toothpicks (then taped them to her hands)!!  

The cake is Funfetti ~~ for all the rainbow colors, of course!

Donatella

Sinders & ...



Alas, no picture was taken of me...yet I looked FIERCE!  Zebra halter top, zebra earrings, zebra bracelets, lacy black undershorts, fishnets & knee-high white boots!  Perhaps some version will make a return appearance this Saturday when we head to SPIN to see Raven!!! 

 

More Halloween Faves

How could I forget?!?  You can tell 1) I wasn't at home to peruse our DVD collection and 2) that my mind was in 101 million places when I wrote the first list!!

Corpse Bride

Beetlejuice

I know there are, most likely, others that I still haven't remembered....and one new one to add. 

We finished up our Halloween weekend (posts about the parties to come) by catching:

Frankenweenie

Tim Burton...the master, the genius, at work

This will definitely be added to our DVD collection when released!!  

Favorite Halloween Movies

Altho we haven't done so this year, Chris & I do like to watch our favorite Halloween movies every year.  I also like to catch shows aired on the cable networks, too, that have any connection to this, our favorite holiday.

Here are our top faves, in no particular order:

The Addams Family

Gomez & Morticia Addams ~ such a divine couple, aren't they!  We ADORE them!  As a matter of fact, we know so many of the lines in this film and this scene is one of our 2 most faves!  I bought Chris a still of this same shot~ it is black & white and I put it in a matte black frame.

Practical Magic
  

My all-time favorite witch movie!  Doesn't hurt that Chris's "freebie," Sandra Bullock is one of the stars.  From this movie, we own the handmade mug and silver spoon that Gillian magically stirs!  I love the soundtrack, as well!

Hocus Pocus

The kooky Sanderson sisters!  "Amuck, amuck, amuck!"  What a treat this PG movie is!!!  And while we own the DVD, I will always watch it when channel surfing! 

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack, Sally, Mayor Maynot, Lock, Shock & Barrel, Oogey Boogey and Sandy Claws!  This stop-motion animation gem is beyond comparel!!!  A true classic!!  Years ago, I bought Chris a gorgeous snow (well, more like glitter) globe with Jack & Sally in front of the moon on the inside and the cast of characters around the outside.

Coraline


Another animated winner, which I believe is also stop-motion!  The cast of characters are so quirky and the story so unique!



Harry Potter

I read all of the Harry Potter books and love the movies (almost) as much!  We were fortunate enough to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal two years ago!  You simply must get a Butterbeer and a Pumpkin Juice!



While I am not as big a fan as my husband, because of him I am a fan of the Universal Monsters.  Chris has many of the DVDs (I also bought him some figures many moons ago) and I will sit with him when he watches them.  There is something about the black & white movies (not just horror) and the simplicity of old movies that is rather transfixing.

I am not a lover of scary movies, tho (or haunted houses)!!  I will watch one every now and then and we do own some on DVD (Exorcist comes to mind), but they are definitely not my go-to pick. 

This weekend, we are going to (finally) see Frankenweenie!  Tim Burton's latest release ~ sure to be fantastic!

I read all of the Harry Potter books and love the movies (almost) as much!  We were fortunate enough to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal two years ago!  You simply must get a Butterbeer and a Pumpkin Juice!

Ya know what?!  Altho we haven't seen each of these movies in their entirety this year, we did watch parts of all of them when we moved into the rental!  We had no cable or satellite, so we would put in our favorite DVDs when we went to bed.  They were like "woobies" to help send us to lala-land!  (We...well I...always have the TV on when we go to bed, with the sleep timer set for an hour!!)

Kickboxing Meets Roller Derby

On Sunday, I had the chance to relive my youth!  A high school classmate is involved in roller derby, the Illiana Derby Dames, and they were hosting a Halloween skating party at the Lynwood Skating Rink.  I practically grew up at the Roller Crown Skating Rink!  Skating AND wearing a costume?!?  Are you kidding me!?  I am in!

The above image was my inspiration, as I decided to dress as a derby girl!

Meet

Pixie "I Break Hearts & Faces" Longstocking





My friend, Sandra, was the lone person brave enough to join me for this "adventure"!!  And, by default, she became my Couples Only skating partner ~~ we were the hottest couple out there, if I do say so myself!!!

It has been close to 3 decades since I skated (I have inlined a couple of times & ice skated once since, tho), so I wasn't sure how steady on my feet I would be.  It all came back!!!  I could have torn it up!  I was able to spin and skate backwards! 

Sandra was rather nervous abouting strapping on the wheels, but after several turns around the rink, she was doing just fine!  And no falls!!!  Next time (and there WILL be a next time), she will be skating backwards! 

I would love to go back with a somewhat larger group...or, at least, Sandra, her husband, Dave, and Chris!

Not in her derby attire, but in costume, here are me & Anne Bingham (aka Pinky Tuscadero).

CPHS Class of 1990 grads ~ we are FIERCE!

Now, I doubt that I will join the Illiana Derby Dames ~ I am too big of a chicken to get hurt and to get "rink rash" ~ so I can say without reservation this was a highlight of my 40's!!! 

 We hope to catch some of the Dames' practices and their shows.  Who knows?  Maybe I will take on a non-skating role ~ just so that I can hang with these tough broads!  

And a shoutout to Fight Chix...that's where you can get your hands on my tshirt!!!



Entrails, Anyone?? (aka Dining...Halloween Style)

I have been decorating for Halloween in a sort of piecemeal fashion.  We have been so busy since the move (before it, actually) and after getting all of our regular, everyday decor set, neither of us was too keen on replacing it with Halloween.  That said, we couldn't let OUR holiday pass by with no attention!

As you have seen in previous posts, we did outdoors with pumpkins, gourds, our arch & gates, some signs Chris made over the years.

Inside, we have two ceramic lightups that my mom made when I was young: a witch on a pumpkin and a haunted house.  For me, it isn't Halloween without those!!  We received a couple Halloween gifts, which are out, too: the witch legs from my mom and a "Keep Calm & Scare On" sign from our friends, the Stephenses.  Additionally, I have placed a few other items in the living room, bathrooms and, now, the dining area.

Before we moved, I bought these awesome Halloween plates from Pottery Barn!!!  And earlier this week, I stumbled across the black plates at Target...which are perfect as chargers and will be used for everyday after Halloween!!!

Here are 2 of them individually:

I love mixing what we have with a few new purchases!!! 



And how about the adorable green & yellow gourd with the twisty stem?!?  This is the only one of my pumpkins & gourds in the house.  I just knew it would be perfect on the serving tray centerpiece!!

Buon Appetito!!

Our First BIG-time Collegiate Football Game

"We Are...ND!!!"

So, last Saturday, we had tickets that we bought off my cousin for the Notre Dame vs. Stanford football game.  I was really looking forward to it!  The campus would be beautiful this time of year!  We were heading there early (it is an hour's drive east), so we could see the Golden Dome, the grotto & to meander the grounds.  We planned to watch the "Players Walk" and catch the "Trumpets under the Dome," as suggested by my cousin.  We packed up some grub for a little tailgating.

We arrived about noon (eastern) and get out the food to eat before we headed up to the campus for the remainder of the day.  Wouldn't you know, it started to drizzle.  We quickly made 4 sandwiches to throw in my purse/bag and made our way to the shuttle bus that would take us from the parking field to the library.

The.rain.never.stopped.the.whole.day!  As a matter of fact, it more than drizzled!!!  We were soaked to the bone by day's end...before day's end!  And we had an umbrella and plastic ponchos (or garbage bags as Chris kept referring to them!!!)!!!

We didn't get to tour the campus, we didn't make it to the Trumpets under the Dome, we didn't make it to the Grotto! 

We found a cafe in one of the (gorgeous) buildings and got warm drinks, pumpkin spice coffee for me and tea for Chris (he is working hard to give up coffee for digestional reasons).   

We saw the Players Walk and then made our way into the stadium for cover ~~ with another hour & 20 minutes until game time!  We sat on the floor, on our blanket, eating our sandwiches and pretzels and drinking our water. 

We stayed from beginning to end of a game that went into overtime.  Other than a couple/few minutes during halftime, we stood...in the rain...the entire game!!

Definitely NOT the experience I had hoped for...but, I can now cross attending a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game off the bucket list! 

Watching the student section lift people into pushups each time the team scored, joining in on the chants and cheers and being part of history were all pretty cool.  If only it had been a crisp, clear, sunny & cool Fall day ~~ it was October 13th, for goodness sake ~~ it would have been simply perfect!!!  But, then, I guess it wouldn't have made as good a story, right?!? 

No pics of us were taken (I was not having it since I was a soggy mess!), but Chris got some terrific ones of the game!  He has an awesome camera and is one hell of an action photographer!  ND should hire him!!!

More Fall Around Our Place

You can see my 3 big orange pumpkins at the top and 2 of my 4 whites from Ghostwood.

Here is another of the white pumpkins and I, finally, added a broom.

I eventually moved one of my new big orange ones to the birdbath.

Here is the flower box filled with 3 acorn squash I bought at the gas station in Bedford and the 2 daisy squash from Oliver Winery.  The branches are from a tree Chris trimmed and the pinecones, sign & lantern are ours.



Ghostwood Farm

A high school classmate of mine, Adam, and his wife, Melissa, have a small farm on their, oh, 33 acres in Bedford, Indiana, just south of Bloomington.  They were hosting their 3rd Annual Ghostwood Farm Open House this past weekend.  We didn't make it down last year, so I wasn't going to miss it. 

Originally, we planned to camp on the farm.  I borrowed a tent and Adam's parents were loaning us an air mattress; however, the weather report was freaking Chris out b/c rain was in the forecast.  He was all, "We are NOT going if it rains!  I am not walking around in mud!" etc., etc.  I was able to convince him to go by getting a hotel room (with some credit card points). 

We were going right past Oliver Winery, one of our favorite producers, which incidentally opened in 1972 ~ the best vintage, so I suggested that we stop for a quick visit.  We love visiting wineries!!  We didn't do any sampling b/c we already know what we like, but we were able to get a small tour of the winemaking facilities.  The grounds are beautiful, made even more so with pumpkins, squash, mums, etc.!  I bought a couple "daisy" gourds to use in my Fall flower box display!  It was a really nice break from our long drive, too.

From Oliver, we went straight to Comfort Inn to check in, drop off our stuff and freshen up real quick.  

The drive to Ghostwood Farm is wind-y and beautiful.  We drove by Lake Monroe and lots and lots of trees, which are their most beautiful in the Fall, of course!!!  We got to our final destination about 5PM (their time) and were pretty hungry!  I knew Adam had smoked pork and couldn't wait to get a sandwich!!!  There was just a little more than 2 sandwiches worth left ~ whew!!!

Another classmate, Michele, and her husband, Dan, made it down, too.  We chatted with them while we ate ~~ so much good food...the sweets kept landing on my plate and in my belly the whole nite ~~ before Adam led a group of us on a tour of the property.

I brought home this geode, which Adam thinks he might have cut in half with the bushhog ~ score!!!

After the tour, we ended up around the bonfire.  BRRRRRR!  Even with the fire going, we were so cold!  I was bundled up with a long-sleeve shirt, sweater & coat, plus gloves & a hat AND a blanket!!!  We talked, joked, laughed & drank til close to midnite.  I am glad we had a warm place with a soft bed (& a shower) waiting for us, rather than the confines of a tent on this super-cold nite!!! 

The farm has chickens and roosters & they grow produce (pumpkins, squash, asparagus & beans, just to name a few).  I was looking forward to buying some of their white pumpkins ~ I got 4 to add to my burgeoning collection!!

Chris took some great pics of the Ghostwood fowl:

I believe that is Kingfish...the top "dog"

Chris named this one Chanticlear.

A breakfast of melons grown at Ghostwood

 Sunday morning, we headed back to the Farm for a breakfast that included eggs from their chickens and venison sausage.  YUM!  The house was full of people, but it was cozy and welcoming.  Adam & Melissa were so calm amidst it all ~ perfect hosts for such a gathering!  We brought a (store bought) sweet potato cake that paired perfectly with (the much-needed) coffee.

After breakfast, we headed back outside, where I immediately headed for the coop to see if I could find any newly laid eggs.

I found 4...one of which was still warm!

About eleven (our time) we started the drive back home.  The part of the drive that is south of I-465, on 37, is such a treat for the eyes at this time of year!!!  I only wish the sun had been shining more b/c the colors of the leaves just pop in the sunlight!!

We had a fantastic time and can't thank Adam & Melissa enough for their generosity and graciousness.  We will make the trip next year, if we still live in Indiana, that is.  There are many projects that Adam wants to complete and we look forward to seeing the progress.