HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

We had our Family Halloween party- it was a lot of fun!!! This year I kept it pretty simple-

Halloween is all about the candy- at least that's what the little boys think.

But we did have more than candy.... these are pineapple & Mandarin oranges with whipping cream on top...and a few cockroaches on the side-

there were spider egg sacks..... (white cheddar cheese balls)

witch brooms made with string cheese & pretzel sticks.... I made these last year & they were a hit- so I made them again!

of course caramel apples too

I found these cute Halloween cups at walmart- and made green Frankenstein rice krispy treats in them  

It's amazing what a few things put together can look like....  we also had taco soup, rolls & salad

very easy graveyard pudding cups with crushed up oreo's on top, and a candy corn- I looked all over for the ghost peeps- but couldn't find them- they would have been darling!

mini cupcakes- perfect size for the little monsters to eat-

a jar full of little cuties - made to look like Jack-o-lanters

and straws of course .... for the Italian soda's and other drinks- everything tastes better with a cute striped straw!

add a few games: Balloon popping,  Halloween Bingo & Bobbing for apples and you've got a fun party..... I can't believe it's already Halloween.  Time goes by so quickly- take time to enjoy it and make some memories with those you love the most! :)

Happy Halloween

October is going as fast as September did.... I've got a few things up for Halloween-- but really need to start planning our Halloween party!!!  Any ideas? What are y'all doing this year for your parties?  I would LOVE some ideas.  

Halloween Party 2012

We had our Family Halloween Party yesterday..... here are a few pictures from it.

there's never a shortage of Treats!!! 

these are made with a small pretzel stick & string cheese.

my favorite little monsters



these are my favorite.. I had Jamie make me up a cute topper for them, if you want it- leave a comment on this post & I will have Jamie email them



More Caramel apples!!!  Oh YUM!

It was a lot of FUN!! Love spending time with my favorite people!!

Dipped Pretzel Rods

I've been dipping pretzel rods for our Halloween party this week.  So I thought I would show you how to do them.  I love to work with Peters Caramel-- it comes in a big block, and is so soft & yummy.  So first I cut a piece off and put it in the microvave for about 8 seconds. Then I roll it out flat



once it is rolled out, take a pizza cutter and cut thin slices of caramel



starting at the top of the pretzel -wrap the strip of caramel around, you don't need a very long piece.  I like to do it this way instead of melting the caramel because you end up with a thicker amount of caramel on the pretzel

next melt some chocolate-- I like to use a tall cup- dip the pretzel into the chocolate & coat it well

add some cute sprinkles, and lay it on some parchment paper to dry

you can do all kinds of  different things- I like to use both white & milk chocolate .... and it's always fun to drizzle some colored chocolate on them too.  Trust me they taste delish!! 

Cute Halloween tags

I haven't posted for a few days, but I haven't been just sitting on the couch...eating bon-bons!! LOL

Jamie posted some CUTE Halloween Tags she made..... so I thought I would use them!!

You can't get enough caramel apples this time of year!! They are one of our favorites!!

I had a Boutique last week-end and made caramel apples... wrapped them up and attached one of our  Halloween Tags!!

there are a couple of different ones to choose from... they turned out darling. If you haven't printed out any yet...you still have time!!   So there ya go, now you know what I have been eating... but hey, I figure they are better than bon-bon's!!  :) 

Halloween tags!

Have the cutest halloween treat but no tags? We are here to help!

Pumpkin Teeth Tag
Happy Halloween Tag
Halloween Treat Tags

Pumpkin graphics thanks to gg digital designs!

Thanks for sharing on Pinterest!

Scary Peanut Butter Blossoms!

Such a cute and SIMPLE cookie to make.

Peanut Butter Blossoms
* Skull Shaped Chocolates (I made my own using a mold from dollar tree... Yes Dollar Tree)
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl. Add 1/3 cup granulated and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate skull into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. (I put them in the freezer because the chocolate skulls continue to melt and you don't want that!!!)

Here is a picture of the mold I used



Simple instructions on how to use chocolate molds!

Halloween Party 20011

I am trying to put together our Halloween party for this year and came across the pictures of our party last year.... so I thought I would share a few of them with you today!!! 

the little boys loved these spiders.. I had seen some done with white chocolate for the web-- but I had yellow & orange chocolate already melted, so we used what I had.  They turned out perfect!

rootbeer brew'n

chocolate covered oreo's are always a favorite!

marshmallow pops

cockroach candy corn pudding-- the cockroaches looked a little bit too real... the little boys all said I don't want one! ha :) 

my favorite!!

gummy worms in the jell-o shot glasses....

mummy wrapped juice boxes



I didn't get a close-up of the caramel apples... or the sugar cookies- it was a very very FUN night, that never seems to be a problem for us. We LOVE a party!!!  Now to get started on the planning for this year.  What are you doing for your Halloween parties-- please share, I'd love to hear your ideas.