Animated Candy Bowl

This is a big hit in my office this week. I got it at Target--a bargain at only $14. You fill it with candy, and then when someone reaches to take a piece, the animated hand grabs at you suddenly, and yells something. It's either, "Gimmie a hand!", "Not that piece!", "It's mooooving!"...there are a few additional phrases which I can't remember now.

The voice was reminding my co-worker of someone, and she finally placed it--Ren, of Ren and Stimpy. It's a very obnoxious candy bowl.

Nazi Zombies

Dead Snow is a movie about nazi zombies in the snow. If you're like me, that's all you need to hear before running to the computer and putting it at the top of your Netflix queue. If you liked Shaun of the Dead, you'll definitely like this movie too. It's funny, gross, scary, over-the-top, and totally implausible, everything that a good zombie movie should be. And it's Norwegian, which makes it extra fun (unless you hate reading subtitles). I thought it was fun to hear what Norwegian sounds like, especially with all the English phrases that they use (like, "Beer!").

I think pacing is important in a movie like this--the creepiness should build slowly, before all hell breaks loose--and Dead Snow has excellent dramatic pacing.

Happy Halloween!

Chicken Soup for the Homicidal Soul

"Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I'll go over to the person's house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I'm gone, but you know what I've left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife stuck in the side of its head with a note that says "You." After that I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done."

--Jack Handy

Ravens

Heidi and Seal wore these cool matching raven costumes this Halloween!

Amy Sedaris' Halloween Tips

From epicurious.com:

"For the last few years I've entertained people on Halloween," Sedaris says, "I've rented a scary movie and turned my apartment into a discount movie theater—vacuuming before the lights come up and all."

It's a simple idea that's easy to execute. Choose your film right off the, ahem, bat. That will serve as the basis for your drink and decor decisions. "The fun of the party to me is the movie I'm featuring," says Sedaris, whose favorites include the classic versions of Dracula and Frankenstein, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Trilogy of Terror, The Bad Seed, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

The next step, she says, is creating an in-home theater. To be certain all your guests have a clear view of the movie, place your television or projection screen in a central location, with the seating arranged around it. Make sure, too, that your seating is cushy enough to keep your guests comfortable for a couple of hours—or more, if you're showing a double feature. Finally, give your guests dining trays or set out some small side tables to give them a place to put the dinner and drinks you're going to serve.

It's true that discount movie theaters aren't exactly known for their dinners, unless you count stale popcorn and dusty chocolate candies as a meal. However, no hostess worthy of her charm-school crown would ever be caught dead letting her guests go hungry.

For her discount-theater dinner parties, Sedaris usually serves meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. "I choose this menu because you don't have to see it to eat it," she says. "This is important, because the lights are out." Nor does the menu require a knife—the one-handed fork operation makes it easier for guests who prefer to hold their plates while eating rather than placing them on a table or tray. It also provides an extra measure of safety should there be psychotic murderers lurking about.

In homage to the season, Sedaris also makes a pumpkin pie decorated with bats and owls. She likes to use the recipe on the back of the canned pumpkin, cutting out shapes in the dough with Halloween cookie cutters to place on top. (Set these on the pie after it's been baking for 15 minutes, she instructs.) You can also make Sedaris's famous cupcakes, decorating them with orange and black sprinkles or frosting (use food coloring), or seasonally appropriate sugar shapes or plastic cupcake picks, available at baking sites such as sugarcraft.com or babykakes.com.

Sedaris also likes to have her guests help carve a jack-o'-lantern at the beginning of the party. "You have to bake the seeds from the pumpkin," she says. "People have an association with that smell." Place cleaned seeds (give them a good rinse, then dry) on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and then bake them in a 350°F-oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool, then set out in a bowl for snacking.

When figuring out which beverages to serve at her party, Sedaris takes her cues from the movie she's featuring. "Last year we watched The Changeling. I served wine because there was a lot of whining going on in the movie." Bloody Marys, Sedaris says, are always good for Halloween, too. Either of these choices would be perfect with some of Sedaris's favorite movie picks, The Bad Seed, the original Dracula, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? For the latter, you could also serve the Blanche.

Beyond red wine and Bloodies, there are a variety of drinks that pair perfectly with classic screen screams. Here are some of our favorite macabre matches:

The Shining - Berry Rum Punch

Night of the Living Dead - Zombie

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Sangria

Frankenstein - Corpse Reviver

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Shangha

Any seasoned entertainer will tell you that one of the most important aspects of throwing a party is to set the tone with music and decorations. Not only does it get your guests in the proper spirit, it also gives them an idea of the type of evening they're in for.

First, send out invitations that look like a movie ticket or film reel, or copy the cover of the movie you're going to feature. To emphasize the discount-theater theme come party time, play some Muzak (who doesn't find that creepy?), drape red velvet over your walls and TV screen, roll out some mildewy carpet, and strew popcorn about. You could even ask a sullen, acne-faced teen to show your guests to their seats. And if you want yours to be a costume party, suggest that your guests come dressed as characters from the feature film.

Sedaris, however, prefers to go with more traditional Halloween-themed decorations. She pins a skeleton to her door, hangs tissue-paper ghosts, and suspends orange and black crepe paper from corner to corner of her ceiling. "That's what we used when we were little, and I still love it." Sedaris might also draw a body outline on her floor. "One year I sprayed cobwebs on an 800-year-old wheelchair I had in the apartment (long story) and placed one shoe on the footrest. I thought it would be scary to think where the other shoe was." She also likes to play an old sound effects tape as her guests enter the apartment. "One of the lines on the tape says, 'Didn't the other children tell you?'"

And because Halloween is a holiday intimately tied with fall and the harvest, Sedaris includes painted gourds and pumpkins, acorns, scarecrows, and leaves ironed between two sheets of waxed paper among her decorations. She also places the pumpkin pie, jack-o'-lantern, and other decorations on a display table for guests to see as they enter her apartment.

Another signature Sedaris touch, which she sets up whenever she entertains guests, is a sale table—a kind of concession stand, if you will. "I sell unwanted items. It can be anything from unwanted half bottles of lotion to a fancy bottle of wine, buckets, sponges, batteries—whatever you want to give away." She charges 25 cents (quarters only), no matter what the item, and caters her merchandise to her audience. "People like to pay for things and I like the transaction. It takes me back to a time when I was selling Girl Scout cookies door to door or collecting Coke bottles. I use these quarters to do my laundry." For your Halloween party, you could set up a sale table with candy or random parts of old costumes.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/entertaining/partiesevents/halloween_sedaris_look

Lobster and Chef

Nobody Here But Us Bananas

No, I haven't seen four dachshunds.

Have any of you guys? No?

If we see any dogs, though, we'll be sure to let you know!

Spooky Moose Munch

Somebody at work sent me a package of this Spooky Moose Munch as a thank-you for the work I'd been doing for her. She can be quite demanding, but she is really appreciative too, which makes all the difference. And if you think you can buy my loyalty with a lousy two bags of chocolate popcorn...I'm not gonna lie, you totally can.

It's from a company called Harry & David. They have a lot of other cute Halloween treats on their website, so in the unlikely event that you owe anyone a Halloween gift, I recommend it.

Here's the product description:

Don't be afraid. We didn't change the recipe too much.

Special Halloween gift edition of our exclusive popcorn treat.
We start with crisp, fluffy popcorn, lightly glazed with buttery cashew-almond toffee.
Some of it is dipped in semi-sweet dark chocolate.
Drizzled with orange stringing.

www.harryanddavid.com

Pumpkin Kitty

See more creations at: http://www.pumpkingutter.com/gallery2/main.php

Heidi's Party: What Will YOU Wear?

If you are lucky enough to get invited to Heidi Klum's annual Halloween party, here's something you should know: whatever you do, do NOT half-ass it. This woman goes all out and I mean ALL OUT.

I guess when you're a model, you have to really put on a lot of make-up to feel like you're wearing any.

But Heidi really "goes there." I wonder if she loves Halloween so much because it's a novelty to her (since she's from Austria). Sometimes it's the non-Americans who get the most excited about American traditions.

Anyway, I was wondering what she would wear this year, and I thought this would be a fun time to look back on some of her costumes from past years. I know she was pregnant (one of the many times) when she dressed as the snake/apple, because I remember her explaining that she got the idea to be an apple since her body was already so round. And I really love that Seal dressed as Eve! Now that is a confident man. I guess impregnating Heidi Klum 500 times doesn't leave a guy feeling like he has much to prove.

Heidi's attention to detail is impressive. Last year, when she was the goddess Kali, she thought about every detail, even the shoes. And when she was a cat, she was a CAT with fangs and yellow eyes!

How do you say MEOW!! in German?

Halloween Witch

Drawing by Jennifer

Cat Pez and Bat Pez

Champion Vampire

We saw this vampire in the window of Champion Party Supply last weekend.

Costume Store

Guy and I went to this costume store (Champion Party Supply) last weekend.

I'm going to be a pickle, so I bought a green wig.

It is a pretty great store. In addition to wigs, they sell costumes, decorations, novelty candy (they have the candy toilet!), gags, accessories, fog machines, blood, make-up, balloons--you know, all the important stuff.

http://www.championparty.com/

Vampire Killing Kit

It's almost Halloween (yes, in our household, this holiday is respectfully observed for a solid two months), and at this time of year, thoughts naturally turn to vampires: namely, how can we protect ourselves from them? If you're like me, you've been buying extra bulbs of garlic at PCC and stringing them into festive garlands, sharpening your wooden stakes, polishing your silver dagger, and the like.

Here's a great time-saving tip. Why not put all your vampire killing accessories in one place so you won't have to waste time every year wondering where you misplaced that giant wooden crucifix or vial of holy water? This year, when vampires are slavering at your door, all you have to do is reach for your handy vampire killing kit to satisfy all your vampire killing related needs.

It's fairly easy to assemble one of these on your own. But if you have some extra cash lying around, it's even easier to buy one ready-made (like the one pictured here):

"A complete and authentic vampire killing kit — made around 1800 and complete with stakes, mirrors, a gun with silver bullets, crosses, a Bible, holy water, candles and even garlic, all housed in a American walnut case with a carved cross on top — attained $14,850 in the Jimmy Pippen estate sale by Stevens October 3–4 in the new Natchez Convention Center."

I recommend you buy the oldest kit you can afford. It's similar to wine, these things just get better with age.

If you truly can't afford a vampire killing kit of any description, why not at least treat yourself to Ben & Jerry's seasonal flavor, Vampire Vanilla (available only in the month of October)? It's a rich vanilla mixed with tiny chocolate-covered pretzel crosses and generous swirls of whole garlic cloves. Each pint is personally blessed by a Catholic priest. Eat a bowl of this ice-cream, and watch as vampires (along with everyone else) quickly make themselves scarce!

Quotation and photo from www.antiquetrader.com, November 11, 2008