31 Days of Halloween: Happy Halloween and Checking Off My Halloween Bucket List!

Wow, is it just me or did October really fly by this year? I cannot believe today is the day I have been counting down to for months and months and months! This was definitely a whirlwind month, and I wish I had more time to do more Halloween-y events! Alas, I did not complete all the items on my Halloween Bucket List for this year, but the good news is I was able to enjoy a fair amount of them! Let's review what I got around to doing this year, shall we?

31 Days of Halloween: The Halloween Kid Short Film

Only six more days until Halloween! And today I have quite a treat for you...The Halloween Kid, a short by filmmaker Axelle Carolyn!

I first heard about this short last year, but this year is the first time I was finally able to watch it! I think it is a really well-done, nostalgic short about a lonely boy and the joy he finds on Halloween. I love all the autumn and Halloween set pieces in this short and the rhyming narration adds a whimsical touch!

Check it out for yourself after the jump:

31 Days of Halloween: Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

One of my favorite things to do during the Halloween season is to bake pumpkin EVERYTHING, and these delectably fluffy cake-like cookies are always a big hit with vegans and non-vegans alike!

Check out the recipe after the jump!

Restaurant Review: Seabirds Kitchen in Costa Mesa, CA

Seabirds Kitchen at The Lab is now open!

I have been a long-time fan of Seabirds and their vegan food truck as year after year they have continued to impress me with their quality vegan food in Orange County! From delicious staples like their beer-battered avocado tacos to their other seasonal options and specials, I have always felt so lucky to have them in my community offering such amazing vegan food!

31 Days of Halloween: Apple Festival in Julian, CA

Cute roadside pumpkin patch!

This past weekend I finally got to cross something off my bucket list...a trip to Julian, California to visit their world-famous apple orchards and attend their 100+ year-old apple festival! I have always wanted to visit Julian during the fall, when the colors on the leaves are changing, temperatures are cooler and the apples are ripe for picking!

Mister Spooky and I were actually visiting San Diego for a concert, and so did a little sight-seeing / food-eating there before heading up into the mountains to Julian. Our first stop on the way down was at Stone Brewing Company, a craft brewery that makes Arrogant Bastard and other awesome beers (that also happen to be vegan, huzzah!). When we arrived, we grabbed a few beers from their awesome bar and strolled their beautiful grounds. I got an Autumn Maple brew from The Bruery and sat in a shady spot overlooking their turtle pond - it was bliss! We then took a tour of their brewery where we learned all about their production and even had a beer tasting! So fun! For lunch, we dined at their restaurant since they had vegan options (huzzah again!)! I had the vegan tempeh shepard's pie and it was delicious!

31 Days of Halloween: Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch

One of my most favorite places is the Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch in Irvine, California. I love the fact that it is a real working farm and you can actually pick your own pumpkins from the rows upon glorious rows of orange (and white and green) gourds that line its hillsides. It holds a very special place in my heart, and so of course one of my Halloween traditions is to visit it at least once every autumn! I generally try to go opening weekend, which is what I did this year.

Here are some photos from the patch this year:

 So. Many. Pumpkins!

31 Days of Halloween: Happy October Plus My Halloween Bucket List

 

Happy October, fiends, and welcome to the most wonderful time of the year, the October countdown to Halloween! I've participated in the "31 Days of Halloween" since 2010 (you can check out past posts here), but this year is going to be a bit different...unlike past years I won't be posting every day, but will try my best to bring you a Halloween treat as often as possible!

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!