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Entries by Martie Duncan (339)

Monday
Oct262009

Halloween Costume Ideas for Adults: Alton Brown, Paula Deen, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kim from Real Housewives 

I had a ton of email this weekend asking for ideas for Halloween costumes for the grown-ups! I HATE looking in stores for costumes-- you get the sexy or evil witch option and that is it. Here are some fun options I've come up with for Halloween this year:

Alton Brown Photo: Food NetworkFood Network Stars:Since I am a foodie, I obviously thought it would be very fun to dress up as some of the popular stars on Food Network:

Sandra Lee is easy. Get a blonde wig, an apron, a box of brownie mix, and a cocktail glass and you're all set for a Semi-Homemade Halloween.

Paula Deen- do I really need to tell you how to pull of Paula, ya'll?Perfect for a couple, Paula and her hairy husband, Michael (pronounced MY-kul) would be hilarious.

Guy Fieri-Get some fake bling, some hair gel, blonde hair paint, and a black and red bowling shirt and you've got our favorite Food Network guy down pat. Be sure to get the Guy lingo-- "Duuude. If it's funky we'll find it. That's money" and some other classic Guy-isms.

Alton Brown- Spike your hair a little, get some geeky glasses, a plaid button front, short sleeve shirt, and a turkey baster and you've got the Good Eats star's signature look. Read his bio to get the character down! Love him!

Not on Food Network but also very, very funny for Halloween if you happen to be sporting a baby bump would be Padma from Top Chef! Work on your sexy accent and dress your hubby as her Top Chef co-host; the very bald, but super handsome Tom Colicchio.

Since we're now talking reality TV shows, how about "stars" from some of the other Bravo series? That crazy Kim from the Real Housewives of Atlantawould be just toooo easy. Too tight, way too low cut clothes, horrid blonde wig, lots of CZ's and Tardy for the Party on your iPod would make this reality tv bimbo costume super easy to create. Another easy to pull together costume, you could go as the obvious Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate plus Eight. Blonde Kate wigs are available at every store, it seems. Now, you just need a future ex-husband and eight kids to complete the look.

Others on tv: The Apprentice's Donald Trump-- a suit, a purple shirt and tie and a bad blondish red comb-over and you've got the Donald down cold.

Al Roker from the Today Show is also pretty easy to do. You just need to shine up your head a little, get the big glasses and a map of the US and you can tell everyone what's happening in their neck of the woods.

Tyra Banks: Since she's put on a few pounds, this mogul and model is a lot less intimidating to try to pull off. A tight dress, a big wig with lots of highlights, and big bags of money would probably let everyone know you're the top earner on prime time TV.

One of my friends is going as Billy Ray Cyrus, complete with leather jacket, cowboy boots, soul patch, bad highlights, and a Hannah Montana lunchbox. Pretty funny.

I went as Sarah Palin last year. Once, I went as Puss 'n Boots, the cat from Shrek. Big hat, boots, whip and complete with the Antonio Bandaras accent. This year, I think I am going as an Indiana Highway Patrol Motor Scout complete with boots and a ticket book or Martha Stewart.

For more Halloween ideas:

Pumpkin Carving Ideas and Pumpkin People

Spooky Snacks

Decorations and Costumes for the Kids

Caramel Apple Martinis

Tell us what you're going as this Halloween!

Monday
Oct262009

Halloween Party Ideas: Spooky Snack Menu

Do you still need a menu for your Halloween party? We've sorted through tons of ideas to come up with some really clever suggestions for kids and adult parties.

Let's start with the goodies:

Goat cheese Bat Bites from MyRecipes.comThese Bat Bites from MyRecipes.com are great for adult parties. Made of goat cheese (similar to my goat cheese truffles) these are so whimsical and pretty yummy, too.

Monster Eyes Sausage Balls from MyRecipes.comA new spin on an old classic, sausage ballswith "monster eyeballs" made of olives are pretty creepy but taste delish.

Mummy Dogsare hot dogs wrapped up like a mummy--- a twist on the old pigs in a blanket. (presentation is everything!) Check out the spider web condiments-- really cute. These are also from the great folks at MyRecipes.com and you can watch a how-to video, too!

 

Cheddar Cheese Witch's Fingers from MyRecipes.comThese completely creepy Witch's Fingers are made from cornmeal, cheddar cheese, and use almonds for the fingernails. They'd be great paired with chili or soup. Guy Fieri's Dragon's Breath Chili

Try this awesome chili recipe from Guy Fieri--- appropriately named Dragon's Breath Chilifrom his "Fuel the Fieri" episode of Guy's Big Bite.

See the full slideshow from MyRecipes.com for more ideas for your Halloween menu!

 

 

 

Tuesday
Oct202009

Halloween Party Help: Fun Pumpkin Carving Ideas!

Here are several sites you can go to find great tips and patterns for your pumpkins this Halloween!

Get dramatic curlicue patterns and more unique ideas and more from Country Living.com

These flame designed pumpkins are stacked to look like a fire! What an awesome idea from Better Homes & Gardens.com ! There are lots more ideas and instructions in the slideshow.

For Halloween videos on pumpkin carving, table decorations, and more ghoulish party how-tos, check out MyHomeIdeas.com. They have tons of great ideas!

We have lots more Halloween party ideas on our blog:

Halloween Menus: Spooky Snacks

Halloween Decorating: Dollar Store Decorating Ideas, Pumpkin People, Decorating & Costumes

Tuesday
Oct202009

Martie's Halloween Party Candy Buffet!

If you need to put together a quickie Halloween party for the kids for school, dance class, or for a neighborhood get-together, this one's a cinch to pull together. First, head to the dollar store for cheap decorations. The plastic pumpkins are stacked and dressed like our pumpkin people sculptures but are put together in less than ten minutes. The dollar store also has lots of other items perfect for affordable party decorating. These ghoulish goblets were $1 each; use them for serving treats or as a lantern by adding a flameless candle. All of this is available at the dollar store! 

Need more ideas? Check out these recent blog posts for our Halloween menus suggestions, party decorating tips and costumes! 

Monday
Oct192009

Halloween Party Ideas: Costumes and Decorations!

It seems as if Halloween is just about the biggest holiday of the year these days--- I can't believe how many yards are full of jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, cauldrons, witches, ghosts and tombstones. We have lots of ideas for a super simple Halloween party to help you. If you have a pumpkin to carve, check out these great ideas

Severed Head Bowl from Oriental Trading $19.99If you still need decorations, you can shop our favorite go-to online party shop, Oriental Trading Company.

Scare your guests silly when they see this severed head candy dish. It's literally a talking head-- repeating four different phrases when guests reach in to take a treat. (it has an on/off switch, luckily)

 Giant Hanging Spider $2.99 Oriental Trading And this huge spider is cheap but will transform a space in just minutes. Only $2.99. It's plastic, so you can use it indoors or out.

What about costumes? I love all of the funny costumes for kids--- nothing better than dressing up your kids in a silly costume and taking their picture so you can drag it out when they are teenagers!

Pottery Barn Kids Butterfly Tutu $69Here are some really cute ones from Pottery Barn Kids. Some of them aren't exactly inexpensive, but if you have kids to pass them down to, they are adorable. I love this pretty butterfly. And the Halloween Treat Bags are so cute. Lots to choose from-- get free shipping, too!Puffy Ghost Treat Bag by Pottery Barn Kids $12 Puffy Spider Treat Bag from Pottery Barn Kids $12