Inferior Inspiration #15: Halloween food edition!

Although my (fairly minimal) Halloween decorations are up again this year, they haven't changed one bit from last year's Halloween decor post.  Writing a feature for WOW247 about the 5 best Halloween inspired sweet treats on offer in Edinburgh last week inspired me to trawl Pinterest and compile a list of the most creative and cutesy Halloween party food I could find for this year's themed blog post.

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It's pretty much unheard of for me to choose the healthy option when it comes to snacking, but I have to admit that these are some awesome looking fruits and vegetables.  At least the fruit kebabs have marshmallows on them (which, as far as I'm aware, haven't yet been classed as a fruit) along with the melon pumpkins and kiwi Frankensteins.  I also think the idea of hollowing out a pumpkin and using it to serve dip with vegetable crudités was genius and definitely worth a mention.  And I'm not sure who could really find the time to dye rice orange using carrot juice to make the jack o' lantern rice balls, but don't they look adorable?

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I think these poison toffee apples look so cool, even if their blackest black colour makes me a little bit nervous.  (If you're wondering, the secret is black food colouring, presumably in industrial quantities!)  The eerie eyeball cocktails are actually just lemonade with green sweets to give the colour and a floating eyeball cake topper, but I bet they would benefit from adding some alcohol for a 'grown up' party.  Marshmallow pops coated with festive coloured sprinkles look great and also seem pretty easy to make!

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How blooming cute are these chocolate owl cupcakes, decorated with a separated Oreo biscuit and M&Ms?  Again, they look fantastic but probably wouldn't take too long to put together, especially if you cheated and used store bought cupcakes - I promise I won't tell if you don't.  Everyone loves a donut, so who wouldn't want to include some monster donuts on their Halloween party buffet table?  Just be sure to remind everyone that the plastic vampire teeth are not edible...  Last, but certainly not least, the ingredients for spooky boo brownie bites - chocolate brownie and marshmallows - are an unbeatable combination, and these wee ghostly faces prompted screams (of delight) from me on first sight.

Sadly I won't have time to try my hand at making any of these terrifying treats for myself in the next few days, although Craig and I will be having friends round for a traditional scarefest movie marathon over the weekend.  Are you baking anything for a Halloween party this weekend?

Inferior Inspiration #9: Halloween edition!

Happy Halloween!  Even if you aren't dressing up and going out to celebrate this year, it's still fun to get in the festive spirit.  Here's some Halloween themed inspiration to put you in the mood:

1. I have a Scroobius Pip jumper in a very similar style to this Skeleton Sweater from Topshop, and it's so cosy and easy to wear.  I could see myself sporting this one all year round, but it's especially appropriate for October! (£35)

2. If you fancy a quiet one on All Hallows' Eve, you can always treat yourself to a lovely bath with the Lush Pumkin bubble bar, a nice drink and a good book. (£2.75)

3. These Topshop Halloween Nail Wraps make everyone's favourite terrifying monsters look super cute. (£6)

4. Craig and I spotted this Jack and Jones Skull Sweater for sale in USC.  It doubles up as both a Halloween sweater and a slightly morbid Christmas jumper.  Jumpers in this style are pretty unisex, and I wouldn't feel strange wearing this one.  If Craig decided to buy one, I would definitely pinch it! (£45)

5. I have a soft spot for novelty Le Creuset pieces, and this Petite Pumpkin Casserole (available at John Lewis) is adorable.  It almost inspires me to get cooking!  Almost... (£20)

6. You knew I wouldn't be able to resist including a decorative cushion, didn't you?  This embroidered skull cushion from Paperchase is cheery and creepy - what's not to love? (£22.50)

7. Another Topshop sweater, this time a cosy Knitted Pumpkin Face Jumper.  The design is almost verging on too scary for me, but I'm a self confessed wuss! (£38)

Halloween decor 2013:

It's nearly time for inappropriate costumes, extreme sugar highs and Hocus Pocus, so I thought I'd put out the Halloween decorations again this weekend.  Like last time around, I've mostly kept the decorations to the mantlepiece in the living room, with a few bits and pieces dotted around the rest of the flat.  There are some new additions to my collection, but I've reused everything from last year too.  You can read 2012's Halloween decor post and see some close up photos here.

The pumpkin and ghost lights are from the Halloween decoration mecca that is Poundland, along with the tinsel.  I bought these last year, but everything is still available to buy if you like!  A word of warning, though: I saw exactly the same tinsel for sale in John Lewis for quite a bit more money, so don't be fooled, and shop around if you're decorating or throwing a Halloween party!  The felt black cat and pumpkin garland strung across the fireplace is a new purchase, found in Asda.  It doesn't seem to be available online, but I only bought this a few days ago, so check in store if you fancy one!

I had pumpkin fairy lights already (still available from Poundland) but wanted a different way to display them this year.  This crazy felt black cat loot bucket kind of reminds me of the Cheshire Cat, and is a perfect home for the pumpkin lights, with some black tissue paper inside to bulk it out.

The ghost tealight holder is another Poundland special (new this year) and I've popped him on top of my piano.  He was too cute to resist!  You might recognise my little wall hanging ghost below from last year.  Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be on sale in Poundland any more, which makes sense as I bought him two years ago now.

Finally, the cheery skeleton below is also from Asda this year and can be bought online (although I found him in store).  He's guarding the kitchen door in case any hungry ghosts turn up, isn't he sweet?

Pumpkin party:

Last Halloween, I decided to be traditional and carve a turnip instead of a pumpkin.  When I was little, my parents would always carve turnips for us, and take us out guising in our costumes, not trick or treating.  It turns out that turnips are extremely difficult to carve, as you might be able to tell from my poor attempt in the photo below.  My poor little turnip was totally outshone by Craig and my old flatmate Liam's pumpkins.

This year, I conformed and carved a pumpkin like everyone else.  I found a few photos online for inspiration...

... but in the end I realised that I am not at all arty, and I would have to stick to something simple!  (And I have no piglets to put inside my pumpkin either.)

Mine ended up being the logo of one of my favourite (and Halloween appropriate) bands, Alkaline Trio, Craig's is a tribute to the Friday the 13th films and Tom's is a pumpkin within a pumpkin (pumpkinception!).

I'd love to see any pumpkins you guys might have carved this year, if you have photos.  Happy Halloween, everybody!

Halloween decorations:

I got overexcited about Christmas very early this year (thanks, ridiculous advertising!) and tried to distract myself with other holidays instead.  Somehow, even though we aren't throwing a Halloween party this year, the fireplace has ended up looking like this:

I'm not a horror movie person, and I jump out of my skin at the slightest thing.  I'm even still kind of scared of the dark, especially when I'm in on my own.  When I was around 13 I saw the American remake of The Ring and ended up so psychologically damaged that I slept with the light on for about 6 months afterwards...  In short, I'm a big chicken with a very over active imagination.  Still, I do love sweeties, cute (non-scary) decorations and Hocus Pocus, and I've always loved Halloween.

All of these decorations are from Poundland, which all students on a budget know is a goldmine for cheap Halloween party decorations.  If you're only going to have them up once a year (or aren't planning on reusing them at all) then there's no point in spending lots!

This little ghost guy is hanging in the hallway to greet people on the way in the door.  I got him in Poundland in Dundee last year, but he was also on sale in the Edinburgh branch when I bought my other decorations recently.

I took a daylight shot so you could see the Halloween tinsel I wound round ornaments on the mantlepiece.  I got the tinsel (one lot with pumpkins and one with skulls attached) from Poundland as well, and I know they have it every year because I've seen it before and specifically went in there to get it.  The gargoyle is Craig's own, and actually sits there all year round, but it's very Halloween appropriate!

I realise now that this seems like one big Poundland advert, but obviously a huge number of other pound shops will sell inexpensive Halloween decorations too.  If any of you were out for Halloween this past weekend, I would love to see some photos of your costumes!  If you're having a party on Wednesday, or this weekend, then hopefully this post has given you some decoration inspiration!