Halloween Cocktails which to do??

I just love the holidays when I get the opportunity to have friends over and swoon them over with food and drinks that are not only Delicious but stimulating to the eye.

I was researching some fun ideas for a Halloween cocktail and came across several recipes with some splendid photos of the showcased libations.

I need to pick one for a few girls that are coming over tomorrow night for a scary movie night.
This is the bleeding heart martini...beautiful isn't it??...however this is basically a BEET martini...blahhhh...I like beets in my salad but in my martini..no thank you. Anyways I am going to create a more favorable approach on this martini tomorrow night for my guest...I will be replacing the BEETS with Strawberries. I am thinking a vanilla vodka and some strawberry puree Homemade by yours truly and spike a big plump ripe sweet strawberry in the glass.

I just loved this hot apple cider...Bea nice fun tasty treat for the kids.

I love these Ice eyeballs! A good gentleman's drink

A hot Hard Apple Cider martini with a black sugar rim will be my second option.

One year for Halloween I made a black berry martini which came out BLACK was very tasty too...but I have to do something different this year.

The Possibilities are endless!

Wine,Food, Friends and Family

3 things I like to enjoy at least once a week!
Usually one a week I will have a girlfriend or two over at the house for small talk and wine with always some sort of food or snack!
Last Thursday Thelma and Toni came over. We decided to have a big pasta dinner and vino and watch project runway together!.
We each brought a bottle to the table. I also had this wonderful farm fresh English white cheddar to have with the wine while we waited for dinner. It was fantastic!

Toni brought over a salad for starters,and I made the Pasta dinner ( which was spaghetti with tomatoes,zucchini,black olives and tons of Parmesan cheese) I tried to get the sauce to tastes like a pizza sauce, and Thelma brought the dessert...a HUGE Caramel icing yellow cake that was REALLY good.

I made the kids spaghetti O's...they don't care too much for real pasta...well Parker for that matter...Ava will eat pretty much anything.

We all plopped on the couch in the living room and Yelled at Project runway and ate our dinner...it was a relaxing evening.

The following Friday..I met up with Ally at RS Sushi in Huntington Beach for a drink and a bite to eat. I am in LOVE with their lobster spring rolls and since the last time when we took my co worker there I been craving them. I ordered a plate of those and some California rolls. I am not really into sushi so I always play it safe with the cali rolls.

Fridays are a nice time for me to get away a little since I have sitters at my house every Friday. It gives me a chance to do something really quick after work and not rush home.

Ally was a little braver then I even though I did have this before. Crunchy Spicy Tuna roll. I took the two remaining ones home and Gabe practically inhaled them. He said they were really good. I wanted to have some when we were there but I fasted all day and really ate my food up so fast I felt a little ill and could not eat anymore.

After dinner we windowed shopped a little and sat out on the community chairs by main street and chatted awhile and then I was off home to see the kids. It was nice to be able to meet up for a drink and dinner though before rushing home. Even though it was 2 hours it was just nice to be out and social.

I am very thankful for those times spent with friends. When you are married and have children it is really hard to get out. Gabe and I try at least to get out on our own a couple times a month....kinda like a date night whether it be going to a friends club locally, dinner at a friends house, some fun event with the other adults or just getting away for the weekend wine tasting. Gabe and I like to have time to ourselves..it keeps us youthful and we still get to crack jokes and enjoy each others time with no stresses of the kids.

We love spending time with the kids too. We always try to make the weekends when we all can be together as a family a fun time . We try and go out to breakfast, or work on a project at home or go somewhere fun.

I guess Gabe and I really relish the best of both worlds, Family life and alone time spent with each other and friends.

Hearse show and Halloween Festival

This past Sunday we went over to the Orange County marketplace for their annual Halloween trick or Treat festival.
Basically the Oc marketplace is a swap meet loaded with ton of vendors. Every year they have trick or treating so we decided to take the kids. My parents came along too with us.
I dressed Ava as a rag doll. Here is a sneak peak. On Halloween her make up will be a little more detailed. I just did not want to load her up on it during the day when it is so hot.

Toni actually bought her this cute costume as a birthday gift! I just love it!

I adore her smile in this photo! I did it without the flash though. Click on the picture for a closer look!

For the Halloween Fest at the Marketplace they had a Hearse show and contest. Dr. Demento was the grand Marshall. There was a lot of really cool hearses!. They had a couple of coffin cars too!

This hearse had all kinds of do dads welded on.

Nice Grille

All the hearse owners were sitting outside their hearses passing out treats to the kids.

when you turned in your voting balot they would give you a popcorn bag to take to the popcorn cart for free Popcorn. It was delish!

Picking up trick or treats along they way

Ava even got a balloon from these crazy circus Ghouls

We just dressed Parker as a army guy but really he is going to be a knight for Halloween. His costume just was not quite ready yet.

Trick or Treat!!!

There was some great displays. Man that old granny face thing posted on that signs scares the crap outta me...my grandma used to have one when I was a small child hanging on the back porch and it's tongue would stick in and out and it would laugh...truly horrifying!

My dad in some crazy contraption...WTH is that??

The Knott's hearse was there too and also had a readily available coffin to pose in..eerie...

Who ya gonna call...........GHOSTBUSTERS!!

My mom voted for this hearse.

can't go wrong with flames!

After we trick or treated the Hearses and made out votes we went to watch the stage show with the kids and adults costume contests and ate our popcorn. Gabe and I took the kids up just for fun! They both got participant ribbons and some goodies such as a pumpkin necklace, candy and a free ice cream or drink or hot dog coupon! Parker in the crowd pictured above.

Ava got a little stage action! Her little bloomers were all bunched up though!

After the kids it was adult time. There were some good ones!

I was voting for the witch! She got 1st place! Flo got 2nd!

I was really rooting for the bearded lady too but she fell out of the running....

After the costume contests we walked throughout the marketplace taking the kids trick or treating. Ava was really digging getting the candy. We stopped for lemonade and I caught Parker daydreaming...

Before we left we let Parker play on the bouncy obstacle course..he had loads of fun.

There was this lady dressed as DJ lance she looked a lot like him ( don't know if that is good or bad) and Ava was tripping out so hard...Here is the picture we took of Ava just staring.

It was a fun time for us and the kids. I just love all these Halloween festivities!

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor

This is like my brothers 3rd or 4th year working as a monster at the Queen Mary during the Halloween season scaring people. He was able to get Gabe,my dad and I free tickets to Dark Harbor so the 3 of us went this past Saturday night.From the highway over the passage to the Queen Mary you can see huge flames being shot up into the air..it was Really cool.

When you walk in this Mc is quite entertaining making fun of people and entertaining everyone. He was really funny. He stands above a huge container which a ton of them were set up to be like a big maze into the Queen Mary dark harbor event. The containers were full of dimming lights and fog and scary noise.

Inside there is the Dark Harbor Queen welcoming everyone to their death!

There is this little stage and lounge area outside where bands and dj's played and the bars were all lined up. All kinds of twisted metal and sea stuff and lights.

Gabe making his scary face..I took this while we were in line for a cocktail! We met up with Thelma and her sister and niece and Toni was there as well.

Thelma and the kids went off to do mazes and Toni hung out to get a drink then hit up mazes with us. We got the Shipwreck Cocktail...It was good with fruit juices, rum, orange liquor and a float of dark rum. Gabe shared mine with me.

Toni and I with our shipwrecks and now off to the first maze on the ship which was Hellfire...that is the one my brother works on..

We waited in line forever!! We finally got in and it was like the boiler room of the ship. We had a scare here and there. We found my brother!! I had Toni take a picture with him..I didn't quite get Gabe though. It was a pretty small space.
My brother walked out with us to the end of the maze . He had not taken a break so said he was going to take his. When we got out we walked over to upgrade to a Fright Pass which let's you go to the front of the line of the mazes. We figure since we got in for free why not upgrade cause then we won't spend the whole time in lines. It was soo worth it. While we were walking it was pretty funny watching my brother spook people around the park..Gabe was laughing saying I could watch your brother do this all night!

They had a freak show going on as well. We were so much more relaxed with the Fright pass..now we could actually drink, enjoy the shows and go right in and out of the mazes. Here is a girl hammering a nail in her nose!

The next maze we went on was Submerged! My brother's girlfriend is also working this year at the Queen Mary and this is the maze she is working on so we set on our journey to find her. This maze was giving you the image of being in a sinking ship. It was a little freaky!

You find this crazy creature hanging over the infamous pool.

Hey we know this girl!

After the Submerged maze it was time for bathroom and ATM breaks

The ship!

My dad!

We had another round of drinks and then headed to The Cage maze which was in the DOME.

When you walk in you walk this long passage way into a movie screen of skulls and right on the other side is just pure darkness with only lazer lights. It was super cool looking! Here is how dark it is without the flash.

With the flash! When you walk in your surround by black curtains or sheets hanging and you have to try and find your way out on your own..We got so lost we were just laughing trying to find the way out and kept running into other people who were like WTH how to we get outta here. Once you figure your way out of this fabric maze you find yourself on a path through craziness..wall covered in mirrors, and ghouls coming out of nowhere and many many surprises that i cannot reveal all over this maze..this place had the feel much more of a crazy demented fun house!

This picture is so funny...I took this picture in The cage I walked way ahead of them and hurried to grab a quick shot! Classic!

This part I seriosuly almost peed myself! You walk through all these cages/fences and in one of the path ways was all these hanging bodies anyways I was running through the bodies and waiting for Gabe and Toni at the other end ..I was standing with my back against the fence ( fool) and did not realize there was a monster in the cage that lounding started banging this metal plate hanging on the fence and it scared me sooo bad I started screaming to Toni I think I just peed myself a little!

Gabe inside The CAGE It was sooo foggy

Walking out of the Cage you just follow this light...intreresting surprise when you get into that room! after The Cage maze we went into the Village of the Damned maze and that was all of our favorites...I think we ALL got the crap scared out of us inthat one!

My brother and Jess met us outside and we visited with them a little and watched them scare people.

I'll get you zombie!!

We went on the last of the 5 mazes which was Containment..this one is also on the ship. It is like a crazy hopital type theme. Gabe and my dad working on one of the bodies!!

After we did containment we started doing repeats on the mazes.

We went back to the Village of the damned! It was even scarier the 2nd time!

There were so many good scares and surpirses in it.

The best is when Gabe hid around a corner to scare me which he did and then as he was laughing walking in front of me some zombie popped out of a window at Gabe and scared him straight into a spin...Gabe spun around sevral time screaming right into a wall..it was the hilarious..I think we were all crying from laughing so hard!

After going on the Village of the Damned we went back to The cage again. Here is Toni and I getting ready to walk through the curtain into this Mad crazy funhouse!

It was almost the end of the event. A lot of people were now hanging outside in the lounge area dancing and listening to the dj's and there were even monsters dancing and having fun with the guests! Since we only had about ten minutes left to closing we went to the Hellfire maze to see my brother in action one last time then we headed on home.

I have to say..between this and Knott's this is much more of a place to hang out and drink with friends and dance and have scary fun mazes to do for the whole evening. It is hard to do that at Knott's cause you don't really get the chance to do all the mazes if you want to hang out. I would LOVE to go back!