Myself, with a full black and white skull face paint, a skeleton lace poncho, standing in front of a coffin with a skeleton in it.

Book Review: Ghoulish Glamour

October 21, 2021, 1 Comment

I was at a Halloween event when I was introduced to the stunning woman of this book. We met through a mutual friend, and I instantly was in awe of her beauty and her incredibly kind and bubbly personality. I learned she was a make-up artist, and over the years have become her friend and been…

Myself, wearing a black wide brimmed hat and orange dress with poofy sleeves and full skirt, standing in front of a fall harvest themed display, featuring scarecrows with Jack O'lantern heads.

Autumn Outing at Disneyland

October 19, 2021, 4 Comments

Patrick and I returned to Disneyland last week to bask in the autumn decor. Living in Southern California means there really isn’t a lot of fall color, so sometimes I have to take in the manufactured fall vibes of Disneyland. Especially now as I’m not apt to do a whole lot of traveling at the…

A photo of a darkened drive-in movie theatre with a light red haze over the top. Red, dripping text reads "10 Spooky Movies" Other text reads "Something for Everyone! Zombies! Ghosts! Killers! Monsters! Possessed Animatronics!"

10 Spooky Movies to Watch this Halloween

October 13, 2021, 5 Comments

While I love a good spooky movie any time of year, October is still really the best time to curl up with a cozy blanket, some popcorn, and watch a movie that will send some chills down your spine. The horror genre is really quite vast, and goes beyond the the classics and bloody slasher…

Myself, wearing a black straw hat, black tee featuring Goliath, a massive gargoyle, and gothic script reading "Gargoyles" below, hands on my hat, standing in front of the stone walls of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Feeling Spooky at Disneyland

October 6, 2021, 4 Comments

Over the weekend Patrick and I spent a day enjoying the fall festivities of Disneyland, including watching the Halloween fireworks show. I love the variety of details found throughout Disneyland, but it really gets turned up a notch during the holidays. I especially love the plethora of Jack O’lanterns scattered along Main Street. So this…

The back wall of dining room. On the wall are three frames, the left features a piece of vintage paper tablecloth, with Jack O'lanterns and witches, the middle piece is a witch and skeleton with a guitar, the right piece is also a piece of vintage paper tablecloth with images of a haunted house. Sitting atop the three frames are three black cat die cuts. Below, atop the secretary are various Halloween decorations, including a die cut of a haunted house, skeleton dressed as a pirate, and skull, a small blow mold Jack O'lantern, a ceramic skull mug, a spirit board, and a pirate costume in the box.

All Decorated for the Spooky Season

September 29, 2021, 7 Comments

Here we are, at the end of September and, honestly, I can’t believe how quickly it has has gone by! With October in sight, it’s time to share with you how I’ve decorated our home for Halloween. Each year I add more and more, and was extremely thankful to return to antique malls on the…

Image of a yellow ghost rising from a tombstone. Another tombstone sits in the distance. A large orange crescent moon with a face sits to the right. Text reading "Atomic Redhead Presents Graveyard Grooves 13 Halloween Songs you can Dig" sits on the left.

13 Graveyard Grooves for Halloween

September 14, 2021, 1 Comment

It’s mid-September and stores are stocking their Halloween goodies. Meanwhile I’ve already decorated! And if you haven’t started decorating for or thinking about Halloween yet, then perhaps this little playlist will get you in the spirit? For the last few years I have been sharing music from my ever growing Halloween playlist, and this year…

Myself wearing a black top that features an open skirt, with black cigarette pants underneath. A white blouse peeks out at the top and a large orange bow with a print of black cats is worn at the neck.

Anaheim Halloween Parade – Drive Thru Style

October 28, 2020, 3 Comments

I’m lucky enough to live in a town that has a Halloween parade every year. Under normal circumstances, there is a fall festival during the day before the parade starts. The festival is full of games, artists selling their unique works, and live music. Then as the sun sets the parade, with its collection of…

A boy and girl bite into the same apple inside a pumpkin. Text at the top reads "Halloween."

The Long Lost Matchmaking Rituals of Halloween

October 21, 2020, 6 Comments

When it comes to holidays about true love, one typically thinks about Valentine’s Day, and not Halloween. But yes, the time of year we typically associate with more macabre imagery used to have a rather romantic element, the rituals of Halloween matchmaking. Some of the earliest noted methods of Halloween matchmaking are from 18th century…

Myself, wearing an orange cardigan over a black t-shirt with a black and white illustration of black cats running around a fire that has spooky ghost cats rising from it, and black jeans.

When Black Cats Prowl…

October 15, 2020, 4 Comments

Obviously things are different this Halloween season as a result of COVID-19, and Halloween is big business here in Southern California. Typically all of the amusement parks have special events, rural areas become autumnal havens full of pumpkins and apples, while LA has its very own Haunted Hayride, and even local homes do their own…

A buffet piece sits on the back wall of the dining room. Atop the buffet is a diecut owl, cat atop a skull, a skeleton wearing a pirate costume, in the middle a spirit board themed to the House on Haunted Hill, with a woman screaming, skeleton, and Vincent Price, to the right of it a plastic jack o'lantern with a black party hat with an orange cat atop it, and next to it a diecut skull. Hanging above all of it are themed framed pieces. On the left is a framed segment of a paper table cloth featuring an illustration of a haunted house. In the middle framed witch and skeleton, on the right a framed segment of a paper table cloth with witches and pumpkins. Sitting atop each frame is a diecut black cat.

Halloween is Creeping in Early

September 16, 2020, 6 Comments

Normally I don’t share my Halloween decor until early October, because despite decorating mid-September, I tend to spend the remaining weeks of September combing antique malls and flea markets for fresh vintage finds to add. But, this year obviously is much, much different. I’ve taken COVID-19 extremely seriously, and despite many antique malls reopening, and…