Tag Archives: halloween

Trade Em Up Tuesday: Halloween Weekend

I look at Marvelous In My Monday as super positive and Trade Em Up Tuesday as more honest about the good and bad. I certainly did not feel super positive about my Halloween weekend (not due to lack of fun though, that’s for sure) so I decided to wait and participate in Trade Em Up instead. I’m just still really struggling with being okay with the changes in my lifestyle that have happened since I moved to Boston. This was a big weekend for me and I’ve been feeling pretty crappy about it, but also thankful for the fun I had with family and friends.

I would not trade…starting Halloween weekend early with the WeWork Boston Halloween party. OK, so this (free!) event was really awesome. Jeannie has a WeWork office space so she brought me has her guest, and then I found out Emily was going to attend too, so I was looking forward to this party allllll week. I found out last minute it was space-themed so I turned my pre-planned cat costume into a last-minute laser cat costume. (Has anyone seen that SNL skit?!)

Such a last minute costume that I was building my laser cat glasses on the way to the party. Note: crafting on the T makes you look like a crazy person.

Such a last minute costume that I was building my laser cat glasses on the way to the party. Note: crafting on the T makes you look like a crazy person.

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Real Art Ways Oddball Halloween 2013

I received complimentary admission to this event. All opinions of my experience are my own and this is not a sponsored post.

Okay I know it’s November and we’ve all forgotten already that Halloween was less than a week ago. But hopefully this post, recapping an absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring Halloween event, will have you craving the holiday all over again (don’t get mad at me when you realize it’s still almost a year away).

Crazy concoctions brewing!

Crazy concoctions brewing!

You may recall my post (in which I gave away a pair of tickets) about the Real Art Ways Oddball Halloween event. Well now it’s time to share tell you all about my wonderful experience! This event was like the Onyx Gatsby Ball in that the entire time I was completely lost in the moments of the evening. I could not believe that such a cool party was happening right in my backyard! Hartford certainly has it.

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Scotch, Bourbon, and American Art

The winner of the Albion Fit Petal Pant leggings giveaway is LisaThank you so much to all who entered – so much enthusiasm for this product! 

albionwinner

Remember that from now until 11/3 you can get $20 off your Albion purchase of $100 or more by entering code “caitdiscount20” at checkout.

When one hears “Connecticut”, I’m sure the subject of history comes to mind. But what about art? It just so happens that in New Britain, CT, the art-curious can find the New Britain Museum of American Art. The best art museums aren’t just in the big cities! I’ve visited this museum three times and each visit has me circling back to old favorite exhibits and oohing and ahhing over new pieces that arrived since my last time there. Some exhibitions are permanent, while some come in and stick around for only a little while. NBMAA makes a real effort to promote its art not just to your stereotypical museum goers, but to the youth of the area as well. That’s where their fantastic events come in!

Art is fun - clearly.

Art is fun – clearly.

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Oddball at Real Art Ways – Giveaway!

Remember to check out Friday’s post for a link to a Physique 57 online workout code that will give you a free 48 hours of access – up until 10/31!

This Saturday 10/26 I will be attending the Halloween event of the season – the 2013 Oddball at Real Art Ways in Hartford! Ticket proceeds will benefit Real Art Ways, an art organization that shows independent films, commissions public projects, and puts on other live and visual arts based events. This is the fifth year of the masquerade ball featuring “tricked-out art galleries, eerie photo opps, and outrageous tunes”. Doors open at 8PM!

The $65 ticket includes a specialty Absolut cocktail and food from some of the area’s best restaurantsMax’s Oyster Bar, ON20, Pond House Grille, Firebox, and Republic. Trust me, their food is good…I’ve been to all of them except ON20, but given all the awards they win and the fact that one of my favorite mixologists Brent Bushong is now in charge of their bar food and cocktail menu, I’m comfortable saying they’ll have some delicious offerings.

I actually had dinner at Pond House Grille on Saturday night. They’re doing all-hours happy hour food right now – buy 1, get 1 for a penny. These are the Gorgonzola sweet potatoes and crab cake croquettes. I enjoyed both, ESPECIALLY the sweet potatoes.

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Edmondson’s Farm: Fall Decor At Its Finest!

TGIF!!! I am already feeling like it’s going to be a good weekend. Yesterday, my professor showed up to class 15 minutes late, and proceeded to tell us we’d be getting out over an hour early! I used the extra free time to attend Group Power and finally check out the newest release. I was fairly satisfied, but thought the second leg track was a bit too easy. It was still nice to get a surprise lifting session in! I came home to an awesome dinner and of course, an ice cream sandwich follow-up.

I also woke up early this morning (a good early, as in naturally, before my alarm, feeling well-rested). So, I left home ahead of schedule, beat some traffic, and got some term paper research done at Starbucks before work. It was nice to do some reading, even if academic related, and start my morning out NOT looking at a screen.

Continuing with the fall vibes I’ve been feelin’ lately, I thought I’d share the awesome experience I had on Sunday (before the Applefest) at a little farm Joe and I stumbled upon after I picked him up. Edmondson’s Farm was advertising hayrides on a road sign, so we pulled over and were pleasantly surprised to find not just hay rides, but tons of pumpkins and an adorable country store with extremely affordable autumn decor! I was freaking out – and so was Joe, but over the fudge selection, not the home furnishings.

While Joe was deciding on his fudge flavor of choice, I was busy picking out as many decorations as I can hold. I am a decor junkie.

I couldn’t argue with the prices though. That sign on the right was only $4.99. Seriously?! I’ve seen stuff like that at specialty shops for $20!!

How cool is that painting with the crow? I really wanted it but had to restrain myself. And the bronze sun would look beautiful in a garden!

Don’t worry, I didn’t buy that pumpkin-scarecrow-manthing. He weirded me out a bit.

But I did get plenty of decor for my cubicle at work, including a Christmas decoration that will have to wait until after Thanksgiving for its debut!

We didn’t even end up getting to do the hay ride because it had just left when we arrived, and we were on a schedule (as I always seem to be…), but I didn’t mind at all because now my workspace is a little bit cheerier and definitely Halloween-ready.

Why yes, I have a giraffe print stapler, why do you ask?

I’ve clearly been bitten hard by the decorating bug, so I also went to a hardware store last weekend to get adhesive magnetic strips for the ceramic piece that I painted at the Claypen a few weeks ago! Yay LivingSocial deals! All I had to do was stick the strips on the back of the piece (the adhesive is fairly strong) and ta-da, I had a giant magnet that I could stick on my cabinet!

I’m feeling so thrifty! I’m pretty sure I have the most decorated cube in the whole office, but I love it. I spend a lot of time here, so why not make it fun?

This post has quickly gone from farmstand fudge to how-to-decorate-your-cubicle – funny how that happens!

And by the way, Joe chose the maple walnut fudge. He said it had plenty of maple, but not enough walnuts. In case you were wondering.

Do you decorate your cubicle at work? What’s your favorite flavor of fudge?

Hear Ye, Hear Ye…

Ha, just trying to get into the spirit as I begin this post on my experience at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire! Last night the fairgrounds were open for extended hours, until 8pm, for a Halloween Knights event. That meant extra shows (jousting, comedy, birds of prey demos, etc) and actors, er, zombies roaming the paths and accusing me of having no brains (due to the blonde hair – at least I know I’m safe from zombies now).

Gorgeous hand-crafted masks.

I actually did have a brainless moment when I realized the Groupon I had purchased for our entries was, d’oh, expired. Luckily they still honored it, but only at the value of what I actually paid for it, meaning we ended up paying full price to get in ($16 per person, a little steep, but the events were free). Still, it could’ve been worse – they could’ve not taken it all. Is “could’ve” not  a real contraction? WordPress is giving me spellcheck squiggly lines under it!

Lidia, Silvana, and I came dressed to impress. I’ve always loved witches, perhaps because of my early obsession with “Hocus Pocus”, so naturally I dressed up like one – I like to think I was channeling Sarah Jessica Parker’s character, to continue with the dumb blonde trend.

They just don't make movies like this anymore.

The resemblance is uncanny, right? Wait, when did we switch movies?

We ran into some hilarious vendors, including a pirate who attracted us to his booth by waving necklaces in our faces and singing out “shiiiiny things!” He claimed his name was Captain Crunch. I also was given a walking citation by a self-appointed sheriff, and some creepy guy had Merlin take a photo of him with us ladies. I kept seeing him slinking around later and it was a little weird!

I thought these signs at the booths were hilarious.

Lidia and I had a great time getting very into character at every opportunity.

The queen and her sorceress. What's with the leopards adorning my throne?

Sorceress turns on the queen, hey, it happens.

We didn’t really buy any crafts, since a lot of them were pretty expensive (and rightly so – a lot goes into their creation!), but the vendors were very gracious about taking photos at their booths.

Of course there was plenty of FOOD! I wasn’t hungry due to a ginormous, fibrous Whole Foods salad beast that I consumed right before our trip (pic to come…) but there was still plenty of fun food to look at, and Lidia and Silvana both did some snacking!

Oh wow Lidia…

I just HAD to show this pickle some love. I LOVE PICKLES.

Overall, the CT Renaissance Faire was a lot of fun! Not sure if I’ll go back next year due to the steep admission price, but maybe I will if my blonde brain can figure out how to use their Groupon next time.

Have you ever been to a Renaissance Faire? What’s your favorite fair food?

I was pretty impressed that this place had baked potatoes – they’re one of my obsessions, along with pickles!

October Opportunities

Happy October! I can’t believe September is already gone. It seriously flew by! Though I love summer and being warm, I did get a little excited as I was driving to the Coventry Farmer’s Market yesterday (gonna have to post about my purchases ASAP) and saw the fall foliage creeping onto the trees, as well as signs announcing various local fall festivals and Halloween events. I love me some fall! EDIT: Right after posting this I discovered I had won two free tickets to the AppleFest that I mention in this post – is that fate or what!?

Right near my dorm!

Meghann did a post on things about October that she is looking forward to, and though mine may not be as hardcore as hers (marathon training? Umm…) I thought it sounded like a good way to get myself excited about the month ahead and give other people ideas for fun things they can do this fall at the same time!

Amazing fall beverage I had on Saturday: bourbon infused with peach, apple, and cinnamon at Rooftop120 in Glastonbury, CT.

So for those of you who want to know…what am I looking forward to about October?

1. Visiting Tennessee

Orange Nation AKA my family.

In the last weekend of this month, my family and I get to fly down to UT to see my sister and catch a football game! I’m so excited to see Hannah’s school and her dorm, and also to tailgate and attend my first UT football game since I was very young. My family is made up of some die-hard Vols fans, and despite being a UConn alum, I will always be a Vol through and through! I was just raised that way. There really is nothing like SEC football and I’m hoping the fall weather will be out in full-force for the game to add to the fun, cozy vibe of bonding over the game with my family.

Yes, that was my uncle’s 50th birthday cake.

2. Fall Festivals

Oh wow, just thinking about all the fall-like events I have lined up for this month gets me so psyched! The AppleFest in my town is always a huge deal, and like a townie nerd I seriously can’t wait. I even plan to volunteer at our church’s baked potato booth at this event, and if you didn’t know already, I’m a serious baked potato addict.

I also just recently found out about a few wine-and-cheese festivals at local farms that are reasonably priced and will be happening in the weekends to come. I am so excited to try new wines, cheeses, and more, as well as support local farms and vineyards. They’re all so reasonably priced and it’s a good idea to do a local search to find out if anything like this is happening in your area!

Corn maze in South Windsor, CT.

I’m also pretty excited to completely nerd out and check out the CT Renaissance Faire and their Halloween Knights event this weekend. I love all things Halloween and Lidia and I are planning to hit up this thing to shop, eat, and oh yeah, dress up. Yes, I ordered a costume off of WalMart.com.

Lidia and I are no strangers to nerding out when it comes to fall activities.

3. Halloween

Even though I am unfortunately past the age of trick-or-treating, and now past the age of college bar-hopping as well (I maintain my opinion that Halloween is the best weekend of college each year), I still can’t help but get excited for Halloween. I’ve already started decorating my work cubicle and bought a little ladybug outfit to wear there since the holiday falls on a Monday. This will also totally reflect how much of a grandma I am, but I’m excited to spend my first Halloween at home handing out candy. Please don’t make fun of me. I think it’ll just be fun to see the excited kids in their costumes!

There’s really nothing like a college Halloween.

I also think that it’ll get old after about 15 minutes since a) no one ever comes to our house and b) I can’t really stand kids. But we’ll see how it goes.

If a Green Man shows up on my front step, I’ll be shocked.

4. FOLIAGE.

Foliage right by my house!

There’s really not much more I can say about this. I just love fall leaves. LOVE THEM. On a sunny day there is just nothing more beautiful than driving down a road framed on either side by orange, yellow, and red leaved trees.

Driving through upstate NY.

5. School

I’m such a loser. But yes you read that right, I enjoy school and in October, we really start getting into the meat of material in courses now that we’re past the intro stuff. So yes, I am looking forward to school. Maybe not starting my ten-page paper, but at least it’s on a subject that I’m interested in (corporate ethics and marketing in the fast food industry). And with school also comes more time studying in my new favorite cafe each weekend. Their newest coffee flavor is chocolate dipped banana – what’s not to love?

What are you looking forward to most this coming month? Do you have any goals for the month that you want to share?

PS. Completely off-topic but I totally forgot to post one of my pizza creations in my pizza making post!

Broccoli and fat-free ricotta. Not the most creative of pies but certainly tasty. Those are roasted brussels on the side 🙂 favorite roasted veggie.