31 Days of Halloween: Vegan Oktoberfest 2014 Report

This past Saturday I attended the first ever Vegan Oktoberfest, held right on the beach in Santa Monica, California. Oktoberfest is such a quintessential October celebration, I was so, so excited that we finally had an all-vegan option for this celebration of drink and food! I had grabbed early-bird VIP tickets (cost: $50 each, though after the early bird sale they went up to $65 each) pretty much the day they announced the event many months back, so I had been eagerly anticipating attending this vegan event.

31 Days of Halloween: Spooky Short - Swamp Foetus

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I absolutely adore Pumpkinrot, a Halloween artist that creates some amazing props for his home haunts. He also created a haunting short film a few years ago called "Swamp Foetus". The short features some really cool puppets and props made by Pumpkinrot, and I really love its eerie atmosphere and ghostly score.

You can check out the short below, and please check out Pumpkinrot's incredible blog for Halloween treats year-round!
 

31 Days of Halloween: Vegan Autumn Beers

It seems fitting that since today is the Vegan Oktoberfest in Santa Monica, CA that I share some vegan autumn beers with you! First, I'll explain what makes a beer vegan, then I'll get to sharing my "wish list" of vegan autumn beers!

Food Review: Califia Farms' Pumpkin Spice Latte

Califia Farms just announced their new Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Brew Coffee earlier this week, and I already found it at stores yesterday! This is another one of those “holy grail” vegan items that have been released this autumn season, and we certainly are being spoiled this year! I am so glad Califia Farms has released this, since Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte is not vegan and making your own is kind of a pain. This is the perfect treat of cold brew coffee mixed with Califia Farms’ delicious almond milk and warming pumpkin spice!

31 Days of Halloween: Halloween 2014 Events in Orange County

There are lots of eerie events and activities going on this month in Orange County that are sure to get you in the Halloween spirit! There seems to be something for everyone, from scary mazes for adults and teens, to kid-friendly pumpkin patches, to jaw-dropping Halloween displays everyone can enjoy!

I've compiled a handy list of some of the haunting happenings in Orange County and also listed a few events that will occur beyond OC since they were just too good to leave out! You can check out my list below, though please note this isn't an all-inclusive list of all Halloween events. If you have a favorite event I've left out, please let me know in the comments!

Anaheim's Halloween Parade

Join in the fun with Anaheim's Halloween parade on October 25th, 2014, which has been celebrating the season since 1924! Fantastic floats, a Miss Fall Festival competition, and lots of Halloween activities at the end of the parade route round out this fun tradition! This is a free event to attend, but any activities, games, etc. are extra.

Food Review: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Joe-Joe's

A brand new product was released at Trader Joe's for the 2014 Halloween season - Pumpkin Joe-Joe's! If you are familiar with the Trader Joe's grocery stores, you'll know that they usually have some kind of Halloween-themed Joe-Joe's, but I have never seen pumpkin ones before!

If you aren't familiar with Trader Joe's, their Joe-Joe's are like Oreos! And they are also "accidentally vegan" (unless you feel strongly about processed sugar - however, like I've said before, veganism is all about intent and not perfection, so I am fine with being 99.9% vegan, meaning I don't stress about possible trace amounts of animal ingredients). I know many people that prefer the Joe-Joe's to Oreos and they appear to be a bit healthier than regular Oreos (they are still cookies though, so it's not like they are health food!).

31 Days of Halloween: Universal's Halloween Horror Nights 2014

I got to attend my first EVER Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood this past Saturday! I can't believe I had never attended before, and my first time was made even more special by a very generous friend who spoiled me with VIP tickets! I wanted to share a bit of my experience and let you know what I thought of it all.

Beauty Review: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter

The glorious return of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter!

Last year, Trader Joe's came out with decadent Pumpkin Body Butter, which sold out in like 2.5 seconds. I bought two tubs last year, and by some miracle I made them last until this September. Smelling like Halloween year-round was pretty fricking incredible, but I was in despair when I used up the last tub.

Luckily, Trader Joe's just stocked their shelves again with this magical Pumpkin Body Butter, so the day it came out (September 29th) I rushed to the store and literally made them go into the back and pull out the box of pumpkin body butters! I grabbed four tubs, because the employee who was nice enough to fetch them from the back said they only get one small box for the season, so when they sell out they don't get any more. When I got home I realized I should have just bought the whole box of 50 or so tubs and sold them on the black market to make a small fortune...oh well!

31 Days of Halloween: Autumn Bucket List

Hello, Autumn!

Hello fiends and welcome to another wonderful October, where I will be again participating in the 31 Days of Halloween (you can check out past years' posts HERE!)! This year's overarching theme will be ghosts, and though not all posts will be ghost-themed, many themes will focus on hauntings and spirits.

Food Review: Pumpkin Spice Oreos

Last week, Oreo finally released their latest fall flavor, Pumpkin Spice, in stores! I finally managed to snag a box over the weekend at Target, cuz OMG Pumpkin Spice Oreos!! I have previously reviewed Oreo's other fall flavor, Caramel Apple (read the review), so I was greatly anticipating trying the Pumpkin Spice Oreos!