The Trick or Treating Zombie Horse of Christmas, Mari Lwyd

One Christmas tradition that has always intrigued me is the Welsh wassailing folk custom centered around Mari Lwyd. This Welsh tradition is reportedly over 3,000 years old and is focused on Mari Lwyd ("gray mare" or "Blessed Mary" in other translations), a macabre figure of a skeletal horse head mounted on a stick, decorated with ribbons and jingling bells, and draped in a flowing white sheet (to hide the handler/puppeteer of Mari Lwyd). The eerie equine represents Death, and the only way to defeat the specter is to beat it in a battle of rhymes.

20 Creepy Calendars for 2020

I am one of those people that adores wall calendars - I even have multiple calendars in different rooms of my house! I am a very visual person, and wall calendars work so much better for me instead of using my phone calendar or even a planner. I love the physicality of wall calendars and how I can see right in front of my face if I have an event or appointment scheduled. I grew up organizing my life on calendars, so from the time I was pretty young I would gleefully look forward to receiving a calendar for Christmas.

I love continuing this tradition and gifting myself a brand new calendar around the holidays. I always take great pleasure in picking out the next year's calendar for myself, which is why I love sharing creepy calendars with you every year! In a way, it is kinda like we are shopping together for calendars, and how fun is that?!

So anyways, if you are old-skool nerdy like me, take a look at 20 creepy-cute calendars I've had my eye on and let me know which one is your favorite!

Wishing You A Scary Boo Year!

Who's ready for 2019?! I am bidding farewell to 2018 and looking forward to a scary boo year in 2019. Before welcoming in the new year, I wanted to reflect a bit on 2018, if you would be so kind to indulge me in some recollections.

2018 was a whirlwind of activity for me. It was my busiest Halloween season yet, and I got to attend so many incredible haunts, conventions, and events. 2018 saw some of my best posts, which were a blast to write, and I'm so happy they were well-received (I had my highest readership ever thanks to you ghouls and boils!!). Not only that, but I also had the pleasure of guest posting on several blogs, a zine, and having a monthly column published on a popular horror site.

The year was not without its heartbreaks, though. I suffered a devastating loss when my Nonna passed away as well as going through various personal struggles. I don't delve into too much personal stuff here, but it was a hard time, as I'm sure you can imagine. It was a year of highs and lows, which everyone can relate to, because that is life, right? You gotta take the good with the bad.

During the end of the year, I like to focus on the positive and reflect on what brought me joy in 2018. I wanted to share a few of these favorite things from 2018 with you, dear readers, which included:

Creepy Calendars for 2019

I am one of those people that MUST have a physical wall calendar - I love writing out plans and seeing what is coming up without having to look at my phone. I guess this is probably old-school at this point, but I just love physical calendars! I never got into planners, but with calendars I am obsessed! I love picking out new ones every year, and of course I love the ones with a darker aesthetic or ones that align more with my tastes. This year, I've picked out calendars that vary from bats and cats to sacred sites to haunted places to cult films to moon magic to true crime to classic monsters to Gorey art and beyond - pretty much everything that could tickle fellow darklings' hearts!

Below you'll find 13 calendars I've chosen for 2019 - now I just need to narrow it down so I can pick a few for my own office walls! Let me know which ones are your favorites...

I'm Back with Vacation Photos!

Hi boils and ghouls! I know, I know...long time no post. So much stuff to catch up on! I apologize for my absence...I was on vacation the first week of January (during which I had my birthday...yay!), but when I got back home I came down with the death flu that's going around and was pretty much out of commission for a week and a half. Then I had my belated birthday party to host and lots of work at my jobby-job to catch up on...leaving not much time for blogging!

I'm back now, and will definitely be posting more often in the coming weeks!

For my first post of the new year, I wanted to share some photos with you of my trip up to Northern California. Mister Spooky and I headed up there to visit my family and have a second Christmas. We headed up the 101 Highway early, early one rainy morning and got up to Napa County early afternoon. During our week stay we ate awesome food, hung out with my family, went on hikes, visited tons of old cemeteries and even did a day trip out to Bodega Bay.

Here are a few pics of the trip (if you follow me on Instagram - thespookyvegan - many of these may look familiar)!

Sunrise on the road

The beautiful tree (and presents) at my parent's house! They 

postponed Christmas so we could spend it together :)

 Cutest owl gift tag / wrapping paper from my sister

 Squeeeeeeee....got the Trick or Treat book!

Some more neat books I picked up on the trip.

 Creepy angel in a mausoleum - Tulocay Cemetery, Napa, CA

 Sunset in the cemetery - Tulocay Cemetery, Napa, CA

Gorgeous monument at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa, CA 

Tulocay Cemetery, Napa, CA

Annnnnnd this is how I spent NYE...wearing my old dinosaur

costume from when I was a kid! RAWR!

 We went to the Petrified Forest near Calistoga, CA (I had lived in the 

area for years and had never been) and it was pretty cool!

This area had been excavated to uncover the massive petrified tree

to the left in the photo.

Awesome found graffiti at the Petrified Forest - Go Vegan!

 1800s Pioneer Cemetery at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

 1800s Pioneer Cemetery at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

On the trail at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

In honor of my birthday, I share with you this pic of me on my 2nd bday :)

 Finally made it to Ike's Place (Santa Rosa location)! Got their 

Vegan Ugly Owl sammie and OMG it was soooooooo delicious!

 Also tried this at Ike's...it was like drinking a peppermint stick! NOM!

Old abandoned Haunted House (or what's left of it) - somewhere

on the road to Bodega Bay

Old cemetery we found on the way to Bodega Bay

Had an amazing four-course fancy dinner at Jole in Calistoga, CA.

Jole isn't a vegan restaurant, but their chef created a custom vegan

four-course menu for me! It was so delicious!

 The view from this place was unreal! I could see all of the valley!

Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena, CA

 Old Pioneer Cemetery in Calistoga, CA 

I had never been to this cemetery, so I was excited I finally went! 

Lots of old, old tombstones that you could barely read anymore.

 Oh hi there! Me in the Old Pioneer Cemetery in Calistoga, CA

 Still my favorite grave...."Darling" in St. Helena Cemetery - 

St. Helena, CA

It was a much needed getaway for both me and Mister Spooky and I'm so glad I was able to see my family and just relax!

Happy Birthday to Me and New Years Resolutions

Today is my birthday (I am getting less and less excited about my birthday every year), and since I won't really be celebrating until next weekend when we go on a "glamping" (glamour camping) trip, I decided today would be the perfect day to share my 2012 resolutions with you. I usually don't do resolution lists, since I find them kind of passe and I'm more in the mindset of thinking that if you want change, you shouldn't wait until January 1st to implement it.

However, seeing as I want to make some major improvements in my life, I can't see a better time than my birthday to declare these intentions. And since my birthday falls on January 2nd, it pretty much perfectly aligns with the time for traditional "new years resolutions".

So, without further ado, in 2012 I resolve to:

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1.) Relax - I am a fairly anxious person that gets stressed out very easily, so my #1 wish for 2012 is to relax, laugh and let it go. Stress and anxiety can be so unhealthy, especially if when experienced frequently. I immediately notice the physical aspects of stress and anxiety in my body - tight muscles, higher pulse, etc. To combat this, I will try some homeopathic remedies (I can't wait to try Bach Rescue Remedy Tincture), meditation and breathing exercises this year. If that doesn't work I may need to go to my doctor to discuss it. One way or another, though, I WILL get my anxiety under control!

 Gothercise!

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2.) Exercise - Of course I'm sure this is on many people's list, but it is sooooo important! In 2011 I became a total couch potato. After starting a new, intense job, all I wanted to do when I got home was lay on the couch...and that is pretty much how I spent my evenings (especially since now we have Netflix streaming, Hulu Plus, etc. that give us endless and instant entertainment options). I completely neglected exercise in 2011 (and put on quite a few pounds to prove it). So this year I want to get healthier by exercising more often and on a more regular basis.

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3.) Explore More - Speaking of being a couch potato, this really limited me from going out and exploring. There are so many places just in the city I live in where I haven't gone yet. If I put myself out there more, not only will I discover cool new places and people, but I think this will also make my life more fulfilling and in a way, more meaningful. Again, all I want to do after a hard day of work is lay on the couch, so this will be a challenge...plus, I don't want to drop $$ on dinner/drinks every night (not to mention the additional cost of gas), so this will definitely need some careful planning.

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4.) Eat Healthier - I admit it, I am a junk food vegan. As long as dinner takes less than 10 minutes to prepare (or pick up) I am a happy camper. In 2012 I want to change that...I will stop relying on convenience foods (oh Gardein, I will miss thee!) and actually start making healthy meals for myself and Mister Spooky.

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5.) Think Healthier - Health isn't just about being fit and eating healthy, it is also about thinking healthy. This resolution somewhat goes along with #1, in that reducing anxiety will help to develop a calm and positive mental mindset. I would like to banish negative thoughts, learn to live in the now and appreciate life more.

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6.) Buy Less, Live More - I would love to stop spending so much of my hard-earned dough on stuff I want but don't really need. I am a horrible impulse shopper and if I want it, I have to have it. Whenever I want to buy something, I will ask myself, "do I really need that?" and "will I be glad I bought that in a week's/month's/year's time?". I will also think about what other uses my cash could go towards - donating to an animal sanctuary (I love Farm Sanctuary!) or even saving up for a vacation. I also need to keep reminding myself that buying things don't make you happy, experiences or people do! I especially love this article about redefining "luxury" from the A Little Minimalist blog! Buy Less, Live More should definitely be my motto in 2012!

I'll be taking these resolutions day by day, and hopefully they will stick in 2012!  I'll also be participating in Batfit, so I'm anticipating that will keep me accountable as well!

What are your resolutions for 2012?

Also, you can check out what I was doing last year during my birthday via this old post!

Happy New Year (and a belated Merry Christmas)!

Happy 2012, fiends!

It has been a few weeks (eek!) since I've last written, and for that I apologize. I have lots of catching up to do, starting with how I spent my Christmas. For Christmas, I actually got to go home to my parent's house in the Napa Valley in Northern California. It has been three years since I was home for Christmas, so I was majorly excited to spend the holiday with my family! I got to hang out with my younger sister, my mom and dad, and even got to see my best friend from high school while I was up there! It was a great time of spending time with family (including many games of Bananagrams with my mom!), eating yummy homemade food, reminiscing about the past and just enjoying the beauty of the Napa Valley (I miss nature...the concrete jungle I live in is depressing in comparison!).

Christmas was awesome because my sister and I spoiled our parents with lots of gifts!! After they spoiled us so much growing up, we decided it was high time to return the favor. They were so surprised and it was so adorable to watch them open all their presents!

I also got some very nice gifts, including recipe book Vegan Pie in the Sky, lots of beauty goodies (including my favorite mascara, Ecco Bella Black Mascara and awesome Murad Oil-Control Mattifier), a cute iPhone Monsta Case and a super-cool Table Top Photo Studio Light Tent Kit!

Here are a few photos from my Christmas:

 Buon Natale a tutti! (Merry Christmas to everyone in Italian)

 Yummy (vegan) nog and homemade gingerbread cookies

 The cutest wrapping paper ever!

 Christmas dinner - vegan Hazelnut Cranberry Field Roast, mashed potatoes, 

green beans in tomato sauce (much yummier than it sounds!), fruit salad 

(we used vegan sour cream and vegan marshallows for this...yay!)

I returned home to Mister Spooky in time for New Year's Eve and my birthday (which is tomorrow). Last night we were just going to relax at home, but at the last minute decided to head over to a friends' house to ring in the new year. We introduced Mister Spooky to Star Wars (he had never seen any of the films) and around 11:30 watched the New Year's Eve celebrations on TV (eeesh...is that the kind of music people listen to nowadays??).

 A very foggy New Year's Eve!

Today I'm catching up on posts (hopefully)...I know everyone is doing their "best of" 2011 lists, but I would like to share mine, too! Plus, I still need to complete my first Batfit challenge!

For now, I'd like to wish you all a very fulfilling and prosperous 2012! Or, as others have been calling it, Happy Mayan Death Year!