Monday mashup: a little bit of orange and a lot of pink

A combination of a lot of work and a little snow made this an extremely tame Halloween weekend. But considering I'm running 26.2 miles in less than a week, I'm pretty OK with it. Plus, I had plenty of time to gorge on candy, dress the dogs up as cats, and decorate my glitter skull with an 80's headband. I also started pimping out my marathon shirt and created November's fantastic (and pink!) cupcake recipe -- which I'll reveal tomorrow.

Happy Halloween! 

The always festive Lou

Lou.

I may not have the perfect costume or any solid Halloween party plans but I do have a black cat and an orange pumpkin so I think I have this holiday covered. 

Happy (early) Halloween!

Super basic - and super delicious -- Halloween sugar cookies

I love making sugar cookies. It's such a fun thing to do with kids, significant others, or -- in my case -- very vocal and hungry pets.

I WANT MY SUGAR COOKIES!

There are an endless amount of recipes online, but what makes these sugar cookies the best I've ever had isn't the ingredients but what I used to roll out the dough.

You know how most recipes tell you to dust your rolling pin and surface with flour before you roll out the dough?

This recipe recommends something else.

Ironically sexy Halloween costumes

I think some of these costumes are so bad that they're good. Just imagine the following conversation:

"So what are you going to be for Halloween."
"Me? Oh you know -- a sexy banana."

 A sexy banana! It's genius!

It shows that you're hot AND that you have a sense of humor.

And what's more sexy than that?

1. Chinese Take Out Box ($47.99) Chinese Take Out is definitely not considered sexy unless it resembles this costume.
2. Marvin the Martian ($47.99) It looks like Marvin's eyes end up directly on your breasts, which I feel could lead to many awkward staring contests.
3. Cookie Monster ($42.34) This one is borderline disturbing since it's actually a children's character. In this costume's defense, though, it's not actually a sexy Cookie Monster -- it's a sassy Cookie Monster (according to the label).
4. Husky ($128.95) If I could afford it, I would be a sexy Husky in a heartbeat. Just check out those awesome boot covers! (Similar styles on the sexy polar bear and the sexy skunk.) Disclaimer: real husky dog not included.
5. Sexy Skeleton ($39.99) My friends and I have been talking about this costume since last Halloween. It glows in the dark and it's a body suit. Need I say more?
6. Luigi ($34.99) In retrospect, this one isn't that ironic since Luigi is super sexy -- clearly the best Mario Bros. (His jumps rule.)
7. Banana ($69.96) Watch the video. It's very ... "a-PEELing." (I so wish I could take credit for that pun.)
8. Gold Credit Card ($49.95) How easy is this to DIY?!
9. Watermelon ($61.95) I can't get over the sexy fruit selection. It's so ridiculously awesome! I mean, this watermelon has a bite mark. Guarantee you'll get at least a dozen "You look good enough to eat" comments.

So it's pretty obvious I'm a fan of ironic sexiness -- but what do you guys think?


P.S. -- I would just like to point out that Yandy.com has the greatest selection of ironically sexy Halloween costumes I've ever seen. It's pretty amazing -- they have videos and they have puns and I love it. Definitely check it out. 

P.P.S. --  They did not pay me to say that. Unfortunately, Yandy.com has no idea who I am.

Skullz!

My style really isn't Goth. I'm sure that comes as a surprise to ... well, no one. But lately I've been lusting for skulls. I want to put them on pretty much everything -- including my pets. And with Halloween just around the corner, my obsession couldn't have been timed more perfectly.

1. American Nightmare Platform by Iron Fist ($49.99) Skulls and bows make these crimson shoes totally badass.
2. Purple Skull Ring (About $16) Love the bright purple color and the clearly-defined skull face on this ring.
3. Skull iPad Case by Rebecca Minkoff ($129) Because why not cover your iPad in skulls?(And Rebecca Minkoff?)
4. Lauren G. Adams Mini Skull Bangle ($40 each) Delicate and subtle, these bracelets are appropriate in almost any situation.
5. Sequin Skull and Crossbone Pillow ($28.99) I would have a tough time deciding which room to put this ridiculously shiny pillow in.
6. Small Crystal Skull Stud Earrings by Betsey Johnson ($30) While these bow-wearing skulls are kind of creepy -- check out those faces -- they're still pretty damn awesome.
7. Black and Hot Pink Leather Skull Studded dog collars ($29.99 and $34.99) Little Greg and Peggy Sue are already the most stylish dogs on the block (naturally) but these collars would bring them to a whole new level.
8. Metal Boyfriend Style Watch with Skull Markings (About $37) Not sure if you can see it from this image but instead of numbers, this watch face has silver skulls. Amazing.
9. Skull Beaded Bracelet by Bee Charming ($55 each) These bracelets are so whimsical -- I love how they look stacked together.
10. Skull Hat by Helene Berman (About $78) A glittery skull to keep your, umm, skull warm. (Couldn't resist.)
11. Black Skull Pump by Alexander McQueen ($845) Naturally you can't talk skulls without mentioning Alexander McQueen, and I believe these black pumps are a major cause of my addiction.

October cupcake: pumpkin cheesecake with "whipped cream" frosting

For this month's cupcake, instead of following a recipe created by a trained culinary professional -- or by someone with at least a decent amount of kitchen skills -- I decided I'd just tweak my favorite pumpkin cheesecake recipe.*

Don't ask me why I thought I could successfully transform a cheesecake into a cupcake -- must be all the Cupcake Wars and Chopped episodes I watch -- but I was extremely determined.

And so I woke up Sunday morning, threw on my black Northeastern University sweatshirt (lesson 1: wearing black while working with flour is a big mistake -- though I do love to show my school spirit in the kitchen. HUSKIES.), and went to work mixing and measuring like a mad kitchen scientist. I created four different versions of a pumpkin cheesecake cupcake, and shockingly all were edible.

Actually they were more than edible -- they all were good!

But the version I present to you today is beyond good. In fact, boyfriend Jack declared it the greatest cupcake he's ever eaten in his entire life.

And boyfriend Jack knows his cupcake shiz.

This recipe produces super moist cupcakes that taste just like pumpkin cheesecake. I mixed shortbread cookies -- used for the crust in the original recipe -- into the batter, which created a cake-like consistency -- and made me feel like the smartest woman in the world.

Oh and the frosting?

Oh. My. God.

I can't take credit for inventing it -- that honor belongs to MissyDew. I was searching for a frosting that resembled whipped cream in taste but had a thicker consistency when I came across a recipe called "the greatest frosting I ever tasted". And boy oh boy it really is the greatest frosting ever. (Apparently so good that it makes me say "boy oh boy".) Though it uses two sticks of butter and flour (say what?!), it's somehow light, fluffy, and tastes way better than any whipped cream I've ever had.

Clearly with this recipe I'm ready for Cupcake Wars -- as long as the surprise ingredient is this guy:

Monday mashup: incomplete

This past weekend was hot and humid, which made for an extremely uncomfortable 18 miler Saturday morning that completely knocked me out and messed up my schedule. I spent the rest of the day rehydrating, eating carbs, and watching cheesy awesome movies instead of doing anything semi-productive.

Determined to get something accomplished, I woke up early Sunday and baked two different types of muffins (recipes tomorrow) before heading to the suburbs for craft supplies and cheap dishware. I was hoping to finish up the dining room chairs I started last week -- but the store was out of Lagoon spray paint ...  yet again. So instead I began a project from my fall to-do list  -- glitter and gold skulls a la Glitter and Goat Cheese -- but I completely misjudged the drying time and was only able to paint the top halves of the heads and veggies.

Sigh.

Anyone else feel like the weekend was just too short?!