Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch

I love pumpkin patches! They are probably one of my favorite places in the world! So when the opening of Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch coincided with the arrival of autumn, I couldn't resist checking it out! Irvine Park Railroad is located in the foothills of North Tustin/Orange in Irvine Regional Park. It's only about 20 or so minutes from my house, but I had never made the trek out there.

The pumpkin patch was a little more kid-oriented than I would have liked, but it was still fun! It had a small (but adorable) train that goes around the park, a hay maze, carnival games, a few kid rides and activities, hay rides and even a pint-sized haunted house (that was pretty awesomely decorated and free)! Most of the rides and activities cost money (plus it was $5 to enter the park), but I was content just walking around and going in the little (free!) haunted house. I was ecstatic to see all the pretty pumpkins carted in and arranged for picking, too!

Here are some pics from the first day of fall at the pumpkin patch:

You can tell I am sooooo happy in this picture!

NYC Travelogue (Part 2)

Yesterday I shared part one of my trip to New York City, and below you will find the continuation of my travelogue!

We left off after I had eaten myself silly through Manhattan and Brooklyn, strolled through Central Park and attended the goth/industrial Triton Festival...

NYC Travelogue (Part 1)

Hello Foolish Mortals,

I apologize for my absence…I am usually chock full of updates this time of year (the most wonderful time of the year!), but I recently got back from vacation and then got overwhelmed with work, etc. upon my return. I wish I could be permanently on vacation (doesn't everybody?)!

Since I can’t be forever on vacation, I wanted to share with you my vacation to New York City I took earlier this month! Mister Spooky and I jetted off to NYC for Triton Festival, a goth/industrial music festival held every year there. We've always wanted to go, and this year we decided to do it! Below you'll find my travelogue of the trip, though I want to share so much that I'll be breaking it down into several posts over the next few days.

Our vacation began with a red eye flight on Wednesday night that got us to New York in the early morning on Thursday. Our friend that lives there was gracious enough to meet us and show us the ways of the subway back to his place on Wall Street, where we stowed our luggage and went off to explore! The streets of Wall Street were eerily empty and hauntingly beautiful just as the sun was rising. Then we hopped the subway and ended up in the East Village near Sustainable NYC, so I took a look around at this adorable eco-shop and grabbed a vegan muffin to go!

Halloween 2013 Items at Target

My local Target finally started stocking their shelves with Halloween items! I popped in earlier this week and found the candy aisle completely stocked, pet costumes out, some decorations up and lots of Halloween-themed food available! They also had a few Halloween-themed t-shirts out as well!

I find that Target drags its feet on putting out all its Halloween decor...sigh! This year is no different and they are really dragging out stocking their Halloween shelves. Still, the stuff they do have out looks promising!

Check out a few photos I took of what I found:

 Love the ghosty!

The Night Gallery Halloween Display at Roger's Gardens

Boils and Ghouls, if you've been reading this blog the past few years, you know how much I love visiting Roger's Gardens over Labor Day weekend, since this is the weekend they unveil their elaborate Halloween displays! A visit to Roger's Gardens is an annual tradition in the Spooky house and really kicks off Halloween season for me.

This past Labor Day weekend was no different, and I headed over to the Corona Del Mar plant nursery to see their transformation to the "Night Gallery", which was their theme this year. Here is the description from the website:

"Wander down the central corridor of our Night Gallery, accompanied by chilling spirits, gawking at one-of-a-kind wonders from a collection of Halloween artists. Every corner, nook, and cranny of our four eerie art installations titled Cabinet of Curiosities, Mad Inventor’s Workshop, Day of the Dead, and Witching Hour overflow with creepy treasures to delight the most devoted of Halloween’s faithful."

Check out some photos I took of Roger's Gardens' "Night Gallery" below!

 They have a lovely selection of beautiful pumpkins, too!

Welcome to the Night Gallery

Halloween 2013 Finds at HomeGoods

I stopped into my local HomeGoods store earlier this week and was thrilled to find some of their shelves stocked with Halloween items! At first, I was a little disappointed as they only had ONE aisle devoted to Halloween items, but my gloom turned to joy as soon as I realized how many Halloween goodies awaited me! I spent at least an hour browsing their offerings, and I think this is only the start of their Halloween stock. I plan on checking back in a few weeks to see if they add any extra items, but for now check out some photos I took while I was there:

The aisle was brimming with Halloween items!

 Here is the other side of the aisle...So many goodies!

Halloween 2013 Items at Pier One Imports

I gotta admit, I love when stores start putting out their Halloween items in early August! So I was pretty delighted to find that Pier One Imports had all their Halloween stock out earlier this week.

I found that they carried a variety of items in different styles - everything from elegant candles to rustic ornaments to glittering masquerade masks to homey pillows to even fun jewelry! I seriously spent at least a solid hour just wandering around exploring all their Halloween stuff.

Check out a few of my favorite items I found below:

I really adore this apron, pumpkin wine glasses and witchy decor!

Eeeeeeeeek!

White Trash Weekend at Hicksville Trailer Palace

Three trailers at Hicksville Trailer Palace - 

The Ingratrailor, The Fifi and The Lux

I finally got the chance to go back to Hicksville Trailer Palace for a friend's birthday a few weekends ago! I positively adored celebrating my own birthday there a year and a half ago (read about it here), so I was super-excited when our friend (go check out his web comic dot problems!) rented the whole place in honor of his birthday!

Hicksville is a small resort tucked far off the beaten path near Joshua Tree, California. They feature amazing restored Airstream trailers, each decorated in a different theme. They have a pool, archery, BB guns, fire pits, ping pong, a library, a jukebox loaded with cool tunes, and much more for their guests! I love going there and relaxing in the gorgeous desert! 

Let's start at the beginning of the trip, shall we? We went to Hicksville in late July, so I knew it was gonna be hot, hot, hot! I packed a cute sundress, new sunnies, and a witchy hat to protect my paleness from the sun, plus tons of sunblock (I use Trader Joe's cruelty-free 50 SPF sunblock spray, which is cruelty-free and vegan)!

Halloween Items Now at Big Lots Stores!

I received a tip from the lovely Fright Bites blog that Big Lots stores had begun putting out their Halloween items, so as soon as I could I visited one and, lo and behold, they had several aisles already full of autumnal and Halloween items!

Nothing really struck my fancy enough for me to actually purchase anything, but I did snap a few pics to share with you! Check out what Halloween items the Big Lots store in Fountain Valley, CA had in-stock just this past Friday:

Pumpkins everywhere! Though there were too many 

glittery ones for my liking.

100 Days Until Halloween!

Only 100 days left until the very best holiday in the world!

Who am I kidding...I've been counting down the days since last November 1st!