Show & Tell: Halloween Costumes

I'm still unsure what I'm doing for Halloween this year,

but I couldn't miss linking up with Andrea again,

for another fun Show & Tell about Halloween Costumes!

(Past Show & Tell posts can be found here and here!)

Since I don't have set Halloween plans yet,

I don't really have a costume planned for this year,

so today I'll be sharing costumes from the past few years!

Nerdy Black Cat in Los Angeles in 2012

French Waldo In Kansas City in 2012

Devil, Toga and Black Cat ALL in 2013

And Pebbles Flintstone in 2014

So what are YOU going to be for Halloween this year???

Halloween and Fall Decor 2015

When I blogged about my DIY Bat Decorations,

I mentioned that I didn't do much Halloween decorating this year.

While my place doesn't look like it has in years past,

I still have some festiveness that I thought was worth sharing!

I pulled out all my Halloween and Fall decorations,

but only picked a select few to put out this year.

And yes, that's two giant tubs full of decorations!!!

Right when you walk in, you'll know it's almost Halloween!

Don't be scared of this GIANT spider - he's harmless!

Seeing that we don't get "real" Fall in Los Angeles,

I have to fake it with the Fall Leaves garland and mini scarecrow!

And last but not least, the DIY Bats!!!

Hope you all have something fun planned for Halloween this year!

DIY: Halloween Bat Decorations

Last Fall, another blogger shared bat cut outs she used to decorate for Halloween.
I loved the idea and made a mental note to use them while decorating this year.
I've scaled my Halloween decorations back this year, but I had to include these's bats!

They are SO easy to make and can be completed in very little time.
I got the cut out pattern from Country Living here,
and like Andrea, I scaled the original down just a little bit too.

Now let me show you how easy they really are!

The Goods:

Bat Template

Black Cardstock

Scissors

Cut out your template and then trace it on black cardstock that you've folded in half.

Make sure the template is on the folded side, otherwise you'll have two halves of a bat.

Once traced, cut out all the bats carefully.

This didn't take me very long, but I only did about a dozen.

If you're doing a lot - put on a tv show and get to work cutting the bats out.

Now grab some painters tape and your cut out bats.

And apply a loop of tape to the back of each bat...

And then stick them to your wall in a fun flying pattern!

That's it folks!

Super easy, super inexpensive, and super fun!

Decorating for Halloween!

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it a million times more, 

but I really LOVE Fall and everything about the season!!!

I love the crisp air and the cooler temps.

I love wearing boots, scarves and sweaters.

I love that it's the beginning of the holiday season.

And that means it's time to decorate my apartment!

I decorate and get all festive for a lot of holidays, 

but I tend to start to go ALL OUT for a few months -

starting the end of September for Halloween!

I get in the spirit with both store bought and DIY decorations.

I've accumulated a variety of things over the years, 

but I'm a sucker so I keep adding a little here and there.

Now, take a look below at the Halloween fun I currently have at my place!

Front Door Decorations with a homemade wreath.

DIY Spook Banner (link at bottom) and entry table.

TV Stand Festiveness.

Mantle decorations and fun DIY pumpkins.

The two large pumpkins are covered with fish nets,

the medium pumpkins have rhinestone stickers

and the small ones were painted and glittered!

Multiple black cats, a skull and some pumpkins!

Fall leaves over the french doors and bats flying in the hallway.

Guest bath Halloween spookiness!

Dripping blood and spiders all over.

And Halloween cuteness in my bathroom!

I even have a mini pumpkin in my bedroom.

And finally, the mini gargoyle that's more cute than scary!

If you're interested, here are past Halloween Decoration posts:

Halloween 2013 Part One

Halloween 2013 Part Two

DIY Spook Banner

Fall Garden Guests

Halloween 2010 Part One

Halloween 2010 Part Two

Pumpkin Carving 2013

Pumpkin Carving 2011

Pumpkin Carving 2010

My Poor Forgotten Garden

When I was talking to my mom recently, she said to me, 

"You haven't posted about your garden in awhile".

I know, it's been a long time - almost five months in fact,

but if I'm being honest there hasn't been THAT much to share.

Yes, I still have a garden growing on my balcony, 

but it's not what it used to be.

I'm pretty sure I'll always have fresh herbs

and I do enjoy the beauty of fresh flowers,

but I don't think I'll ever have "crops" growing

like I did when I first started this blog 

over FOUR YEARS ago!

So without rambling and saying much more,

let me show you what I do have growing  in my garden these days. 

Four different views of the balcony.

And of course a little appearance by Kahn!

My two balcony trees!

A lemon tree with FIVE lemons growing.

And my Christmas Tree from a few years ago.

It started off less than a foot tall,

and is now HUGE!

Can't wait to decorate it this Christmas!

A mixture of flowers.

And another mixture of flowers.

LOVE the dark purple pansies!

Some red geraniums with a cute little harvest sign.

And pink geraniums in hanging baskets.

My collection of Fresh Herbs!

I currently have the following in my garden:

Basil, Rosemary, Dill, Chives, Parsley, Oregano and Sage.

My jalapeno plant!

I thought I lost this one earlier in the year,

but then it came back and is doing so much better!

And I currently have a handful of peppers growing too!

A recent addition to the garden.

A Thai Chili Pepper plant.

I have yet to use the peppers,

but I'm betting they're HOT!!!

A mixture of other plants between the two trees.

I have two little mum plants (that aren't currently blooming),

two little gardenia plants that are very fickle and 

another that used to have flowers in in with some ground cover,

but I lost the flowers when the ground cover took over!

Oh and I can't forget!!!

One last thing before I go...

I MUST introduce you to someone!

With Halloween being just around the corner,

there's a little visitor in my garden!

Keep on reading to see who it is!

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Ahhhhhhh!

Got'cha!!!

My hope is to return to posting about my garden more often,

at least more often than every five months that is!

Halloween Fun!

Last year, I had an AMAZING time celebrating Halloween in the Kansas City area with my brother and his family. It was so much fun to relive my childhood and go trick-or-treating with my nephew, but I have to say that this year was equally as fun with a little more of an "adult" Halloween!

This year, I spent the night at home with with a few very close friends. It was a low-key night, but still quite festive and I had a SUCH a great time! Who knew that fog machines and dry ice could be that much fun?!?!

Instead of a big meal,  we had a bunch of tasty appetizers and drinks that everyone contributed to.

Caprese Salad with Buratta, Bacon Wrapped Bleu Cheese Stuffed Dates, Brie Cheese and Blackberry Jam Pockets, Zombie Eye Deviled Eggs, Mini Mummy Dogs, Chips, Salsa, Guacamole, Pumpkin Beer and last but certainly not least - Blackberry Moonshine! 

YUM!!!

And because Halloween just isn't Halloween without dressing up in SOME way, 

here's a look at a few of the costumes I wore this year!

Devil Robyn and Devil Ming while prepping the yummy apps, Toga Robyn for the fun Halloween night festivities, and Black Cat Robyn for work!

Dairy Free Banana Bread

I haven't made goodies for my co-workers in awhile, and with Halloween coming up I knew I wanted to make some kind of bread/muffin. I purchased some adorable mini muffin liners awhile ago and really wanted to put them to use!

I had TONS of bananas in my freezer just waiting to be turned into delicious banana bread or muffins so I quickly knew I'd be making banana bread. I've made banana bread so many times I've lost count - but I wanted to switch it up and try to make it dairy free so my friend Matt at work could enjoy it too! 

After searching online for awhile, I decided to just use my GG's recipe and replaced the butter with oil and the sour cream with apple sauce. Seemed easy enough and I was just hoping for the best!

 The Goods

3 Tablespoons Oil

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg - beaten

1/2 Cup Applesauce

(*bonus points if homemade!)

2 Cups Flour

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

3/4 Cup Banana - Mashed up

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Soooooo were my hopes too high? 

Absolutely not! And in fact - I can't even tell the difference between these one and the one's I've been making with butter and sour cream all these years! 

Here are just some of the cute lil gems I made to take to the office tomorrow.

And because I made a TRIPLE batch - I made some mini loaves too!!

Make the regular, make the diary free kind, heck - make BOTH, but make sure you make ONE of these soon!!!

MORE Fall Holiday Decorations

I recently posted about my Fall Holiday Decorations, but I completely forgot about a homemade Halloween banner I made last year and have added a couple NEW decorations too!

Check out the fun new things I have around my place...

Homemade Banner, Carved Pumpkin, Chalkboard Art and Fresh Flowers!

Spiders, spiders and MORE spiders!!!

Do you decorate for the holidays? 

I LOVE it and cannot wait for all the upcoming holidays in the next few months! 

Pumpkin Carving and Seed Roasting!

It's not Halloween to me if I don't carve a pumpkin and then roast the seeds. I usually do it closer to the holiday, but the I had the opportunity to carve pumpkins and hang out with a great friend this past weekend. 

Our pumpkins and carving tools!

I've always been a fan of carving pumpkins and I am not against using patterns. I purchased a new book and went with the hardest possible pattern! What can I say - I like a lil challenge!

Not bad, right? I think I did a pretty good job if I do say so.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of my friend's pumpkin, but it was interesting to say the least. :) Let's just say they were the first person I've ever seen who carved their pumpkin before scooping out and and cleaning up the goop. 

I dried the seeds overnight and then roasted them with a little melted butter and salt. Once they were crisped to perfection, I took them out and tossed half with cinnamon sugar and half with a spicy mixture. Both turned out great and I think I'll be using this method from not on! I want another pumpkin just for it's seeds now...

MMMmmm Pumpkin Seeds!

Did you carve a pumpkin or still planning to do so? 

Do you do roast the seeds or just throw them out with the other scraps? 

Look for more Halloween related posts to come soon!

Fall Holiday Decorations

I love decorating. I love decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Fall in general. This time of year is one of my favorite times and I look forward to decorating when every October rolls around!

Take a look below at the set up so far this year! 

I've accumulated these decorations over the years and plan to keep adding to my collection!