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| Kenan Memorial Football Stadium, Home of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels |
Anywhoooo... I do know that Saturday is a home game for the Carolina Tar Heels against William & Mary, so I might just have to take my parents tailgating! Kenan Stadium is only 3.3 miles from my apartment... destiny perhaps? If I'm going to fill one day with football, I know I need to balance it out and do a nice dinner that night. So Friday night we'll go out to dinner and Saturday night we'll stay in to avoid the lingering football fanatics on Franklin St. I want to at least acknowledge Halloween and do dinner at home, maybe lighting our carved Jack-o-Lanters from Humptober Fest and making the a-p-t a little more festive. My dad doesn't always go for gimmicks and tchotchkes having to do with any holiday, and Halloween is no exception. So how am I going to decorate the table in a subtle way that has a BIG impact? Here are some decorations I've done before and some new ideas I'm toying with...
Martha (Stewart, that is) never fails when it comes to making a table look festive, but never tacky. Halloween's orange and black decor can get a little childish, so why not mix it up with some black and silver with hints of the others? You can use real un-carved pumpkins or artificial ones, depending on your table.
How To: Start by painting the pumpkin(s) black; cover 1/2 the pumpkin with tacky glue, then apply ultra-fine glitter using a paintbrush. In a large bowl, mix black and silver glitter; hold the pumpkin over the bowl and spoon glitter over the glued surface. Let dry for at least 1 hour, then tap/brush off any excess glitter. Repeat gluing and glittering on un-coated surface until completely covered.
Add some store-bought spider webs and sprinkle some fake spiders amongst the finger foods for a fun, spooky table!
Bloody Candles
This one is an easy, subtle addition to any table decoration and requires practically no work! If you have white candles, red candles, and candle sticks, you're ready for a sinister table setting complete with dripping blood candles!
How To: Fill a small cup with sand and plant a white candle inside so it is standing upright. Light a red candle and tip it over the white candle, allowing the wax to drip on the top and down the sides. Be careful not to burn yourself!!! Let the wax cool completely before placing them in their candle sticks. For an added touch, you can drape some fake spider webs around the bases of the candles -- just be sure to not get the webs too close to the top where the flame will be! A table of these bloody candles with the right food and dim lighting would make the table just festive enough without going overboard!
Pumpkin Flower VaseIf you're like me and get really excited at the beginning stages of pumpkin carving, it probably means you rarely follow through with the lavish spooky Jack-o-Lantern you set out to create. So instead of breaking 8 of those plastic knives trying to carve a pumpkin, why not hollow it out and put beautiful flowers in there?
How To: Pick a cylindrical-shaped plastic container to use as a vase inside the pumpkin; place it on top and use a pen to trace the outside rim with a little extra room. Cut off the top of the pumpkin and scoop out all of the pumpkin goop with a spoon or pumpkin scoop. Put the container inside the pumpkin to hold the flowers; pour water into the container and flower food if you have it. Arrange a seasonal bouquet, such as: dahlias, cockscombs, rose hips, mini crab apples, and any other fall-colored beauties.
Pumpkins are the usual go-to Halloween decoration, but there are plenty of other edible fruits and vegetables than can make your table look festive. There's no carving involved in this centerpiece (an added bonus) and how adorable do they look?How To: Pick up some root vegetables at the grocery store (daikon radishes and turnips are good, but any root veggie will work); wash off any excess dirt. Slice off the leafy top with a knife, enough to create a flat base for them to stand up on. Use black-headed push-pins for eyes and use a paring knife to cut a half-moon into the veggie for the mouth. Fill in the mouth with a black Sharpie to create depth. Arrange several of the veggies in a shallow bowls, varying the heights, shapes, and faces. Bonus - this works for the kid's table at Thanksgiving too!
To K.I.S.S. (keep it simple silly), create a monochromatic table with variations of the same color in different shades. White pumpkins already have an almost magical look to them, so why not do some magic tricks on the boring-old table?
How To: Pick big, round, "Lumina" pumpkins and wash the outside thoroughly. Place them directly on the serving stands and platters, or in a row down the table. Break up the monotony of a pumpkin patch by interspersing natural candles. You can also pick up gray, ashen apple cucumbers and mini pumpkins if you want to add some seasonal colors to the table -- just try to not get the brightest of the supplemental decorations.
Fall Leaves & Cranberries Too
We have 2 fall favorites at our house around Halloween and Thanksgiving, and they happen to be the easiest one of all. Grab some of the brightest fall leaves that are scattered about your yard (if you live anywhere where it's actually feeling like fall and not 82 degrees today... ahemm Chapel Hill) an sprinkle them on the table top. Pick the cleaner ones and make sure to pick them the day you want to use them so you don't have dirty brown leaves crinkling on your nice table cloth. And a favorite of my mom's -- use fresh cranberries in glass jar to cover the stems of a bouquet of flowers or to rest a candle in! Festive in a few!!!
Happy Fall, Happy Football and Happy Almost Halloween!
...Go Tar Heels!
1 comment:
mac monday was more like a mac moment this week!
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