{Real Parties} Halloween Harvest Bash

Happy Halloween, everyone!  This was certainly a whirlwind weekend, full of rearranging the furniture in our house to accommodate the crazy weather pattern, lots of friends and the question of a broken sofa.

I mentioned last week that we originally intended to have this party outside; and therefore almost all of my planned decor and activities were better suited to an outdoor environment.  In the end, the ground was soaking wet, the air had a bitter chill, and we even got some snow! (Though none of it really stuck to anything.)

As a result, nearly everything had to be re-planned, and T got a good lesson in how to share what are typically just her toys.  Most of what I had planned for the backyard, ended up on our front porch to welcome guests into our home.

Inside, we had a buffet with apple cider, hot cocoa, chips and apple slices for the kids; and of course extra-large cupcakes!

We simplified the menu by ordering pizza for the kids (there's nothing my girl loves better than pizza!), and serving apple slices in little jack-o-lantern bags.  Some of the other details included homemade fondant fall leaves as cupcake toppers, cupcake wrappers made using the Silhouette, stickers on the kids' sippy cups, gourmet chocolate chip marshmallows for the hot chocolate, and painted bottles wrapped in twine.

As guests left, we had a favor station set up right next to the door.  The sweet treats included Sugar Cookies decorated like pumpkins, s'mores pops, chocolate dipped oreos and candy corn push pops.  A rag wreath and sign above thanked our guests one last time as they left to put their little ones down for a nap.

Like, I said, we did even get a bit of snow, and after getting T down for a nice long nap, and a getting the house back in order, we even got to play in the snow for a little bit!

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{Inspiration Board} Halloween Harvest

Our Halloween Harvest party is this weekend!  A few days ago the forecast showed as partly cloudy with highs in the 60s.  Perfect weather for a get together.  At the time I'm writing this, the forecast is showing a high of 45 with potential for snow!  Which means that nearly everything I had planned has to be completely re-imagined.  It looks like we may not have quite what I was hoping to put together, but it will still be fun, nonetheless!  Here's a bit of inspiration to show the feel what we're going for...though the reality may be far from the vision!

Sources: 

1- Kumquat table - 100layercake

2 - Rag Garland & Barn - Ruffled

3 - Front Porch - Creations from My Heart

4 - Leaf Garland - Good Housekeeping

5 - Bottles - Eighteen25

6 - Pinecone Wreath - Ellen Bassett Events via HWTM

7 - Twine Pumpkins - You Paid More than Me

8 - Rustic Tablescape - Alkemie

9 - Candy Corn Centerpiece - Your Decorating Hotline

10 - Pumpkin/Gourd Centerpiece - BHG

Because of the weather fiasco, I won’t be posting tomorrow, so I hope everyone has a great weekend...I’ll be back next week to share all the details of our little party!

{Roundup} Halloween Inspiration

The massive roundups just keep coming! The blog world has been filled to the brim with Halloween inspiration from real parties and staged photo shoots alike. Today's collection is sure to help with last minute party plans or to provide inspiration for future Halloween parties!

 

For even more Fall and Halloween inspiration, don't forget to check out some fantastic E-Zines from Bird’s Party, The Party Dress, Styled, My Little Jedi, Baby Lifestyles, and  Gatherings.

Sources:

1 - TomKat Studio - Spooky Halloween
2 - Pizzazzerie - Little Monsters
3 - HTWM - Little Pumpkin
4 - Bird’s Party Blog - Little Monsters 3
5 - HWTM - Polka Dot Trick or Treat
6 - Bird’s Party Blog - Little Monsters 1
7 - HWTM - Monster Brunch
8 - HWTM - Bewitching Bash
9 - Sweet Tooth - Little Witch
10 - HWTM - Spellbound Sweets
11 - Shindig Parties to Go - Halloween Dessert Table
12 - Bird’s Party Blog - Little Monsters 2
13 - Pizzazzerie - Goth Meets Glam
14 - HWTM - Colorful Kids Bash
15 - Celebrations at Home - Costume Theme Party
16 - HWTM - Itsy Bitsy Spider
17 - HWTM - Little Monsters
18 - HWTM - Rustic Halloween
19 - Celebrations at Home - Gothic Glam
20 - Somewhere Splendid - Brown & Orange Table
21 - Source Unknown (Pinterest - Please let me know if you know of the original source!)
22 - HWTM - Vintage Gothic
23 - HWTM - All Hallows Eve Dinner Party
24 - Pamela Smerker  Designs - Witching Hour
25 - HWTM - Deathly Hallows Dinner Party
26 - TomKat Studio - Halloween Cupcake Party
27 - Pizzazzerie - Budget Friendly Halloween Party

{Recipes} Apple Breads

Something got into me a few weeks ago. I can't seem to stop making quick breads. First it was Banana Bread. Then, for some reason, I got an itch to make apple bread. Being the indecisive person I am, of course I had to make more than one version!

First I made this apple spice bread originally found at According to Jen.  It tasted pretty good, but I made two mistakes: 1. I for got the pecans.  Total bonehead mistakek there.  Ooops!  2. Having multiple containers of whole cardamom is no substitute when recipes call for ground.  I took those little seeds out of their pods; ground them in the blender.  Added sugar and ground some more, but the teeny tiny seeds just didn't break apart!

To be sure, the bread was incredibly moist, and very well received (my coworkers chowed down both days I brought in this sweet bread!)  As long as I use the proper ingredients, there's nothing holding me back from trying to make this bread again.

Next up was the Lavender Apple bread from Frugivore.  I saw the recipe and thought, why not?  I loved the Lavender Shortbread I made for the Mother's Day Party.  While this recipe was definitely on the drier side, it was earthy and light.  I love the combination of flours.  It's nice and hearty without weighing you down.

Just the different flavor of this bread...even without the lavender is worth trying again.  Have some with a bit of whipped butter, and you're in heaven!

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