Okay, so since today is Halloween I thought it was the perfect time to share a weird true story with you guys that involves aliens and a small town. It is Halloween after all. ;)
This story is actually about the tiny coastal Texas town I live in called, Palacios. A town I have lived in all my life and am just about getting ready to leave in a couple months. So no better time to tell this odd story and dedicate this post to “the city by the sea”, as we are called. I actually stumbled onto it online some years back and was a little stunned. Those who live here or who have lived here may already know it.
In October of 1973 the Mayor of Palacios, W.C. Jackson, decided to invite extraterrestrials to our lovely little city by the sea. Saying, and I quote, “No one has ever made those fellas welcome”. Such southern hospitality, right? In fact, he was so intent on making sure they felt welcomed that he actually sent a letter to President Nixon asking for him to grant the permission to proclaim the City of Palacios as the “Interplanetary Capitol of the Universe”. Yep, I kid you not.
Well as you can probably guess, Nixon denied Mayor Jackson’s request. A letter was sent back to the Mayor stating that “it would not be in accord with Presidential policy".
And so that’s how I almost lived in the “Interplanetary Capitol of the Universe”.
Why did Mayor Jackson feel so strongly about this, you ask? Did he have a “close encounter of the third kind”? Was he an extraterrestrial himself? Or is there just something in the water here that slowly makes you go crazy (would explain a lot)? I don’t know. These are all good questions. What I do know is that… the truth is out there.
I can’t believe Halloween is tomorrow! Feels like it just snuck up on us. I couldn’t let this fun holiday pass without making some Halloween cupcakes! Plus, I had these super cute cupcake liners, sprinkles, and picks that I had to get some use out of, right? ;)
One of my favorite fall dessert combinations is pumpkin and chocolate, they are just a match made in heaven. So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to give it a shot. I decided to make two different kinds of frostings for a little variety: Maple Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. These cupcakes just taste and look like the season to me.
So put on the Halloween playlist below the recipe and bake some of these lovelies for your trick or treaters! But if you decide to be selfish and keep them for yourself, I won’t judge!
Happy Halloween! :)
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Maple & Chocolate Buttercream Frostings -
These cupcakes are light, fluffy, and super moist. The warm flavors of the pumpkin, cloves, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice pair perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate chips.
Both frostings are a great compliment to these cupcakes. With the maple frosting, I left out the cream cheese and just added a whole stick of butter instead. It turned out just as good, very creamy, and fluffy. The maple flavor didn't come through as much as I was hoping but I'm pretty sure that's because I didn't have any maple extract and had to rely solely on the syrup. But it was still really delish! Very much the taste of fall. Though a little on the sweet side, I will say.
The chocolate frosting is my go to recipe. It's basically an adaption of Hershey's one bowl buttercream. Over the years I just started doing it this way and liked it better than the original. But feel free to use your favorite chocolate frosting recipe. It’s so good on these cupcakes! As I said before, chocolate and pumpkin are just meant to be. And while the maple rocked, I think I like them better with this frosting. It's rich, creamy, chocolaty, and fluffy.
I was going to go more elaborate on the decorations. I was very ambitious and had planned to make these cute white chocolate spider webs & chocolate spiders for the top. But alas, it was not to be. It looked so easy but mine were either turning out too big or too weird. Probably because I was trying to use a piping bag and tip instead of a squeeze bottle. So I got frustrated, threw the first batch in the garbage, made them again, got even more frustrated, threw the second batch in the garbage... and settled on sprinkles, candy corn, and little candy pumpkins for garnish lol.
In spite of that, I still think they turned out pretty cute & festive! Hope these cupcakes make your Halloween even more delish!
Cupcakes -
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar ¼ cup granulated sugar 4 large eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground ginger pinch of ground cloves 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups canned pumpkin 1 cup mini chocolate chips candy corn, candy pumpkins, and sprinkles for garnish (optional)
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
Gradually add both sugars to mixing bowl, beating well. .Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just to combine. Add vanilla and pumpkin beating until blended.
Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter between muffin cups. (You should get approximately 18.) Bake for 18 to 20 minutes and let cool.
Maple Buttercream Frosting - Ingredients: 3 ounces cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons butter, softened 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/2 teaspoon maple extract 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 4 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions: Cream together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the syrup, extract, pumpkin spice and sugar. Mix on low for a minute and then on high until creamy. NOTE: If your frosting is too thick you may add water but only a teaspoon at a time. This recipe is only for 12 cupcakes. Double recipe if needed.
Directions: In a medium bowl beat butter till light & fluffy. Add in cocoa and beat till incorporated. On low speed, beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add in vanilla and heavy cream and beat 2-3 minutes till fluffy.
Pipe or spread chocolate & maple frostings onto cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired.
What is Halloween (or any holiday for that matter) without some awesome tunes? I wasn’t sure if I was going to make another Halloween playlist this year. I was pretty proud of the one I made last year (which you can listen to here) and I thought I might be just repeating a lot of the same songs. But I started to think of and find so many good ones! Thus, volume two, if you will, for your Halloween pleasure!
Can’t believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! Crazy! Where did the time go? I must say, as much as I am ready to deck the halls and let the Christmas-ing commence, fall has been such a fun season I’m sad to see it go. It’s truly my favorite time of year for so many reasons. The cool, crisp weather … which finally moved into Texas (thank God), leaves falling & changing colors, lots of Pumpkin Spice Lattes (way more than I should have had), pumpkin baked goods, Halloween, and… my birthday! So I thought I’d share some fun fall memories with y’all today as well as a fall playlist! :)
Halloween ~
Spent Halloween with my family, watching "It's the great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", and enjoying our traditional goodies we make every year. Like my dad’s green punch! It simply wouldn’t be Halloween without it.
Popcorn balls are a Halloween must! And I also couldn’t resist making some Pumpkin Chocolate Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream. They were delish if I do say so myself!
A fairytale pumpkin! These are my favorite, so pretty!
My Birthday ~
I’ve always loved that my birthday is in the fall! On Nov. 5th I turned 28, and to celebrate the day, I went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my parents. And even though I begged them not to, they told the waitress it was my birthday … so moments later I was sung happy birthday by the Cheesecake Factory staff. Isn’t that always oh so awkward? Or maybe that’s just me. But on the upside, this peanut butter cup cheesecake was to die for!!
It’s funny though, not only did they spell my name with a C instead of K, but they left out the S. Ha! Didn’t realize that until later. So apparently to them I am Crytal. Nice, huh? ;)
After cheesecake, I did a little shopping and stopped off at Williams Sonoma… oh how I could freakin’ live in that place! It’s like a baker’s dream. I picked up some cute cupcake liners (can never resist them) and some really pretty sanding sugar.
Yummy chocolate cupcakes I made a few days later just so I could use said cute cupcake liners and sanding sugar. ;)
And to top off the birthday festivities…oh yes, my awesome parents bought me this beauty!! It came in the mail a few days before my birthday and I was freaking out! A stand mixer has been on the wish list for some time now, so I could not have been happier. Isn’t it pretty?! The best birthday gift ever!
Though when I used it (ahem, like an hour after I got it) I realized a slight problem with it. Don’t know if any of you who have stand mixers have the same issue, but it doesn’t mix everything evenly. It mixes what’s in the middle of the bowl but misses everything on the sides. I googled this problem and apparently it’s pretty common, it’s called beater to bowl clearance. They said that at the factory they adjust the beaters to clear the batter from the bowl (which makes no sense to me) so that’s why it doesn’t mix properly. I read how to re-adjust it yourself but am a bit scared to do it. If any of you have had this problem would love to know what you did about it.
Fall Crafts ~
Finally did a few little fall craft projects! Like these glitter pumpkins! They were so fun and easy to make! Messy (was covered in glitter) but fun! They made for a really lovely fall display.
This super simple leaf garland; just made out of some fall scrapbook paper and yarn.
And last but not least, I made these jar lanterns! I made 12 of these things for my sister’s wedding last month, so I could pretty much make them with eyes closed now lol. So I made a few to put around the house but this time slipped in some scrapbook paper to give it a fall touch.
Fall Playlist ~
Here’s a fall playlist I put together of all the songs that sound like the season to me and have been keeping me company on these pretty autumn days. May I suggest listening to this with your windows open letting the cool fall breeze float in while enjoying a pumpkin spice latte? Hope you enjoy, loves! :)
Seeing as how today is Halloween I thought I’d have a little fun and repost this blog that my sister and I wrote together a few Halloweens ago in 2010 on our e-zine, The Waking! This is one of my favorite blogs we did together, trust me, we had a lot of laughs writing this one! So if you grew up within the awesome but admittedly sometimes odd world of Christian culture, you may be able to relate! ;)
I (Cecily) was a paranoid and terrified little child all because of a scary little thing we call "Christian Culture". In light of Halloween, we thought it seemed fitting to address the many ways Christian culture scared the "hell" out of us as children...no pun intended lol. Okay lame joke, but it had to be made. If you too were subject to any of the things we mention in this blog please feel free to share your story. We Christian culture kids have to stick together. ;)
It all started with .... Carman.
"No Monsters" music video by Carman ~
So this is one of the many Carman videos that scared the "hell" out of Cecily. Some people might laugh when thinking that someone as harmless as 90's Christian musician Carman could instill such fear in a person but trust me, you didn't see the fear in her eyes. "No Monsters" was a song and video that was supposed help kids conquer their fears through Jesus...but it REALLY had the opposite effect on Cecily. Poor Carman...it wasn't his fault. He had the best of intentions. Carman if you're out there...just know....we don't blame you.
When this music video would come on I (Cecily) would cower in the corner. The video shows monsters coming out of places and terrorizing people! As you can see, this is still a very sensitive subject lol. It scared me as a kid. It's like my eyes caught the visual but my mind missed the message lol. I would stare at my closet at night and wonder if and when the monsters were going to come out. I would always look for the closet door to just all of the sudden open. It never did. But to this day, I still make sure my closet door is closed when I go to bed...out of sheer habit I tell you!
Left Behind ~
Ah, Kirk Cameron, what can we say? Let us first confess our undying love and affection for you. Mike Seaver will forever and always live in our hearts. However Kirk, we must admit you lost some serious brownie points with us for the end time’s thriller "Left Behind".
UPDATE: Just found out from Relevant Magazine that a remake of this movie is in talks and will be reportedly starring none other than…Nicolas Cage. As much as I know you hope I’m joking I assure you, I’m not. World gets stranger everyday.
The Power Team ~
For those of you who’ve never heard of The Power Team before, let me explain a bit; they are a group of really strong men that do things like break bricks and lift really heavy things, and give their testimonies on stage of how God’s broken the chains in their lives. Pretty cool, but when you’re a kid sitting in a big church watching these men pour gasoline on bricks and set them on fire, and then try to smash the firry bricks with their fists, it's pretty scary!
Before they would do these stunts they would preface it by saying that we should not be afraid of the smoke and fire and the intensity of the stunt, we weren’t in any danger. Well, I’m sorry, but when the whole place is filling up with smoke and there are scary flames, and the veins are popping out of the red faced man’s head and neck as he tries to break the bricks as people yell “help him!”….yeah, it doesn’t feel very safe! I (Cecily) would cower in my seat and uncover my eyes only to look for the emergency exits!
"Satan Bite The Dust" music video by Carmen ~
Yes, Carman strikes again. If you saw this video as a child you probably understand where we're coming from. "Satan Bite The Dust" is the equivalent to a spiritual western. Complete with a gun slinging saloon standoff between Jesus, demons, and devil himself. No folks, we're not making this up. Cecily always hated the devil voice.
"I Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb" music video by Ray Boltz~
To a 6 year old, talk of religious persecution is never a fun thing. In Ray Bolt’s video for “I Pledge Allegiance to The Lamb”, a father has to explain to his son how he is going to have to die because of His love for God, and says his goodbyes to him. The video shows images of persecution that has happened to Christians in the past, and what is thought to happen to them in the future. To my (Cecily) 6 year old mind, these images meant immediate impending doom, and thoughts of having my parents carted away to get their heads chopped off, leaving me stuck in a prison cell to fend for myself would race through my mind…so not cool yo, so no cool!
"Witches Invitation" by Carman ~
Okay Carman, three strikes and you're out! .... maybe. A song and music video based on a true story of a minister being invited to a warlock’s house to "talk" about God. The warlock challenges the minister’s belief in God. The minister rises to the occasion and leaves the warlock speechless with the word of God. As a kid I (Krystal) thought the song and video were pretty cool but Cecily was absolutely terrified of it! And would even run out of the room if the song or video was on, therefore never making it to the very dramatic ending line... "Next time think twice before you rumble with a man of God!!! And by the way thanks for your.. uhh... witch's invitation."
The Thief In The Night ~
Oh the horror! If any of you saw this movie when you were kids you know exactly what I'm talking about. In fact, I don't even have to say another word because just the very mention of the title is enough to elicit shivers up your spine. Yes, I (Krystal) too was subject to this creepy 1970's classic, in which a girl dreams the rapture has happened and she has been left behind. Throughout the movie she is being chased by people trying to get her to take the mark of the beast. She wakes up at the end of the movie relieved to find out that it was only a dream...until she realizes... that in fact the rapture has just occurred and she really has been left behind. The movie ends with her screaming in complete terror as the song "I Wish We'd All Been" ready by Larry Norman played (we'll tackle that song next).
"I Wish We'd All Been Ready" by Larry Norman ~
Now for the song...the song that gave us butterflies at the very sound of the opening notes...the song we dreaded hearing whenever it played. Much props and respect to the late Larry Norman, who paved the way for Christian rockers everywhere, but man did he write a creepy song! “The Father spoke, the demons dined, how could you have been so blind? There's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind." ' nuff said... "I Wish We'd All Been Ready” sung by Larry Norman or DC Talk .... it doesn't matter; it freaked us out either way. Oddly enough we're actually going to use this song in an upcoming church play ... gotta love irony! :)
Carman's Riot movies ~
For their real and intense depiction of gang violence. I (Cecily) would always get so scared while watching these movies because T-Bone was so ghetto and scary, and had guns and drugs and i didn't want him to shoot Carman! But, thankfully, Carman always showed so much bravery when taking on a drug lord... he was da bomb!
Kevin Max (formerly of DC Talk) ~
Oh Kevin Max, what can I say? He used to scare me! Kevin has always had a very gothic style, which now, I (Cecily) flipping love and admire, but then as a youngen, I would hate watching his video for his solo song “Existence” because in it he wears angel wings and I thought he was trying to be the anti-Christ. Sorry Kevin! I don’t think that anymore! And I now dig the angel wings! :)
We hope you enjoyed our look into a scary little thing called "Christian Culture".... or rather the many reasons why we need therapy! :) But we know we are not alone. There are many of us out there who have been holding this inside since maybe 80's...and just looking for a safe place to find solace and hope. It is our prayer that we have provided that for some of you today. But in the event you need more moral support feel free to share your stories about how Christian culture scared the "hell " out of you here! ;)
Hey friends, thought I’d stop in today and share a fun little Halloween playlist with y’all!
I don’t know about you but there’s just something about Halloween that always makes me feel like a kid again. And maybe that’s because it makes me feel very nostalgic. It makes me nostalgic for trick or treating with my sister and cousins, dressing up in cute costumes, for family gathering at my grandparent’s house for sandwiches, chips, popcorn balls, and my dad’s special green punch (as was our every year tradition).
It makes me smile to think about how serious my sister would be about her costume every year. It makes me smile to remember the couple times my parents decided as Christians we shouldn’t be trick or treating… then later on feeling so bad that we missed out on all the fun. And it makes me laugh to think of Halloween 2001 when my dad would not let my sister trick or treat because of the whole anthrax scare…yeah, she was not a happy camper. ;)
It was always such a fun time of year and as an adult I still enjoy it! And even though times have changed, my grandparents are gone and my sister has moved away, tomorrow I will still be enjoying sandwiches, chips, popcorn balls, and green punch with my parents. Hey, ya can’t buck tradition, right? :)
Halloween Playlist -
Here’s a playlist of songs, Halloween jams if you will, to rock out to tomorrow as you pass out candy or you know, toilet paper a house or two. Happy Halloween! :)
Because today is Halloween it only feels appropriate to confess my new found love of the weird and gothic music of the band, Dead Man’s Bones. Yes, this is actor Ryan Gosling’s (Noah from The Notebook, the most epic love story of our time :D) band…and no, I do not like them just for that reason (am not that shallow…though why deny the fact that Ryan is even hotter behind a piano..oh & gotta love the deep sexy vocal thing. Okay, sorry, back to the music…which I’m all about ;)).
Dead Man’s Bones is a collaboration of Ryan Gosling and his friend, Zach Shields. The two friends met back in 2005 when they were dating sisters and resented being forced to hang out. They claim to have wanted to hate each other but ended up bonding on a mutual love for music and a fascination with the paranormal. These shared interests grew into an idea to write a theatrical monster ghost love story set to music. But upon learning how much all this would cost, the duo decided to nix the theatrics and stick to the music.
Their sound is straight out of the 50’s & 60’s; somewhat reminiscent of artists such as The Shangri-Las, Bobby Vinton, and The Andrew Sisters. With eerie and haunting sounds (such as tin foil for rain, creaking doors, paper ripping for thunder, foot steps, screaming, crying, waves, werewolf howling, boat noises, crickets); Ryan’s deep sultry voice (did not know he could sing like that, so impressive); and L.A.’s Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir on background vocals; it creates a unique gothic inspired collaboration.
This song, “In A Room Where You Sleep”, is off their self-titled debut album which released in 2009. Even though this tune has been around for a couple years, I just discovered it a few weeks ago and became a little obsessed with it. The video is a live performance of the song. The kids choir all dressed up in their costumes is just too cute; (especially love kid at the end) and adds a really interesting dimension to the sound.
This is the perfect song to crank for your Halloween party tonight.. or while you’re at home pigging out on candy and ignoring trick or treaters! ;) For more info on Dead Man’s Bones, click Here.
Well I’m off to make some homemade peanut butter cups and red velvet cake pops with my sister! Hope you have a safe & happy Halloween! :)
Halloween holds such special memories for me! While it was never my favorite holiday; I always found it to be so much fun and still to this day, it's hard for me not to feel like a kid again when it comes around. Aside from the fun of trick or treating; our family has a special Halloween tradition that was actually passed down from our great grandmother.
Every Halloween, since my sister and I were kids, almost all of our extended family would get together at my grandparents house and we'd pass out candy while enjoying: sandwiches (tuna...which I really don't like but you can't buck tradition...I have chicken salad ;), chips and dip, popcorn balls, and my dad's green punch.
Though now it's just my parents, sister, and I, we still do it up right just for old time’s sake. I mean, let’s face it; my great grandmother did this, my grandma did it, and now my dad still does it...more than likely my kids will know this odd tradition too lol ;P.
So I wanted to share a few recipes that are a part of our tradition, hope you enjoy! Happy Halloween! :)
Butterfinger & M&M Popcorn Balls
Ingredients: 6 cups popped popcorn 3 (2. 1-oz) Nestle Butterfingers candy bars, chopped Large bag of mini M&M's 1/4 cup butter 3 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Directions: Combine popcorn, chopped Butterfingers, and mini M&M's in large bowl. Melt butter over low heat, add in marshmallows, stir constantly until melted and smooth. Pour over popcorn mixture and quickly toss until well coated.
Spray your hands with cooking spray and form popcorn mixture into six 3-inch balls. Wrap individual popcorn balls in Saran Wrap or in cellophane.
Directions: Make Lime Kool-aid according to package directions, pour into punch bowl. Mix in bottle of Ginger Ale. Using ice cream scoop; add in Lime Sherbet to fill the bowl. Serve!
Ingredients: 1 package brownie mix (21-ounce) 2 tablespoons flour 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup candy coated peanut butter candies 1 cup mini marshmallows 1/2 cup butterscotch ice cream topping
Directions: Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine brownie mix, flour, water, oil, and egg. Beat with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter in the pan and sprinkle with the candy coated peanut butter candies.
Bake for about 18 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and immediately sprinkle with marshmallows. Cool for 15 to 20 minutes then drizzle with caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping. Slice into wedges when cool.
![081[1] - Copy](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDiEjO_d1vwTEPn94QQvJWxssl-HArTCU7gDqQXWLPruCaEH8lLh_GGqDk_xOhgE9q4NSYOUBqb-EVP_N5B1YddDOdsaP0ny4PWjCqbhyphenhyphenhHjXgeqzD6UcB_EemWh7ntAciUW6uM_umzMY/s1600-h/0811Copy6.jpg "081[1] - Copy")
![073[1]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiEvlUrqjj4o3UDYhiSn2YzuJMu1NbPljkaibAv8nKxBvZVDMtqa-r6B2le-2CrygTzmwxGEvzWjUriQb6_xMko7-8-JQUXaFF3hcsMluPuup0KX5Sq7FVE4_3NJq_St7JWa2_5miD6s/s1600-h/07318.jpg "073[1]")
