The Wizard of Oz

by Meredith

I love Halloween, the candy, the pumpkins, scary stories, the kiddos out and about and the costumes!  For everyone that was curious to see my what I came up with this year, see below.  My Dorothy turned out just as I wanted.  I was happy Jesse came around to becoming the Cowardly Lion too.  What do you think, do we make a cute pair?

Until next year! Now, on to November...

Clever Pumpkin Carving Idea

by Meredith

Still need some pumpkin carving inspiration, but running out of time?  Here's a clever idea.  Last year I cleaned out a pumpkin and used a drill to put holes all over.  It took about 1/3 of the time as a very detailed design, but I think is just as awesome.

Want some other pattern ideas?  I like Better Homes and Gardens' website.

Dorothy

by Meredith

This year, I'm channeling Judy Garland's Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz for Halloween.  Since, I experimented with a wig last year, I'm hooked.  I'm picking one up this week.  Think the blonde Scandinavian can pull it off?  Now all I need is a Toto...

Hang tight for pictures!

Happy Halloween

by Meredith

What a great weekend. I celebrated as Wonder Woman all weekend long and carved pumpkins yesterday.  I hope you did something fun too and got creative in whatever way you love, decorating your home, carving pumpkins or becoming someone (or something) new.

Decorating for Halloween

by Meredith

This weekend I geared up for Halloween by decorating my home with fall colors and buying pumpkins.  I'm excited to carve them this weekend and have been searching for new designs.  Be sure to watch for them later this week.

{Use multicolored decorative dried corn}

{I like using fall centerpieces to decorate table tops, then you can keep it up all season long}

{Lit decorations are my favorite - this Jack-o-lantern was made for me by my grandmother}

{I've kept some of my favorite childhood keepsakes for decorations: my McDonald's dress up
chicken nugget toys, trolls and a couple of Beanie Babies}

{I like to hang fall colored garland from the doorways}

{I think placing characters in a straight line on the piano looks nice}

{Often I find myself placing decorations in the corners of rooms}

{The back of my doorway}

{I like to find items at craft fairs instead of my staple Target store}

{These guys are cute when lit up by a candle}

{Halloween 'treat' from my grandmother}

{I love decorating with scarecrows}

{The fall wreath on my front door}

A Halloween Disruption For A Martha Stewart Fan

An avid Martha Stewart fan was super disappointed when she purchased the Halloween issue of Martha Stewart's Living magazine this year.  She was sitting at her kitchen table and noticed something strange about a photo of a chocolate cake titled the Macabre Manse.  She thought she had seen the haunted house-styled confection before, in a previous issue of a Martha Stewart publication so she checked.  What she found was an October 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living that had the same image.

This fan had also been an editor previously and was shocked they repurposed material.  She checked other issues looking for examples of duplicated content and found many more.  So what is the protocol on this?

I thought maybe this was a new trend, as people are not reading newspapers or magazines as much anymore.  However, repurposing content is something that many magazines and newspapers have been doing a long time - including The New York Times.  However, the publication usually (and should) clearly state it is doing this.  However, in this case there as no such label.  Instead it says Ms. Stewart's food editors are "at it again, dreaming up truly original drinks, snacks and desserts that only look gruesome."  Soon after, a spokesperson from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia said that the two to four special editions they create each year only carry about 60 percent of original material and contain about 40 percent repurposed material.  Further, that only about 70 percent of this year's Halloween issue is original.

After our avid fan made many phone calls to Martha Stewart's Living magazine, Martha Stewart and two other reps sent a personal email back thanking her for her interest and apologizing for falling short on material and not communication this duplication matter.  Hopefully that doesn't hurt the special edition sales - the fan responded saying that it's still disappointing because "You're Martha Stewart you don't follow that standard, you set it."

The 2011 Halloween special, pictured, from Martha Stewart reused a cake from 2008.

The cake as pictured in the October 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Offensive Halloween Costume Creates Controversy

Among the many distasteful costumes that go sale prior to Halloween there’s a particular one causing disdain among the immigrant population, the "illegal immigrant."

The costume appeared in Target's online sale this season with the following description: "He’s got his green card, but is from another planet!" Sure to get some laughs, the illegal alien adult costume includes an orange prison-style jumpsuit with the words 'ILLEGAL ALIEN' printed on the front, an alien mask and a 'green card.' Of course, the costume has alarmed immigration rights groups.

Angelica Salas from the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles has asked Target to remove the "distasteful, mean-spirited and ignorant of social stigma" costume. Lizette Olmos, national communications director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, referred to the costume as “really disturbing” Other social action groups, such as the United Farm Workers have urged their supporters to send complaints to the stores selling the dehumanizing costumes.

I believe Target has responded positively to the complaints during this PR crisis. Target spokesman Joshua Thomas said the item was put on its website by mistake when an employee entered a wrong number into the system. Target has a strict review process with its vendors, he said. "We apologize, this was never intended to be part of our assortment." Thomas said Target is doing everything they can to take the costume down from their website. Media adviser, Vicki Adame, said that this is exactly the kind of divisive issue that a major brand like Target should want no part of. "It's insensitive, it's offensive. Immigration is such a hot-button issue. Why would Target fuel that fire?"

Other companies and websites have been getting angry complaints from the public for selling the costume too; but I believe their PR responses have not been done as well as Targets. The costume can/could also be found on toyrus.com, amazon.com, meijer.com, Walgreens.com, buycostumes.com, eBay. No changes or response have been made yet, however recently, Amazon had taken down the full-body costume, but still offered this equally offensive mask.

The backlash has already begun. Anti-immigrant groups are now asking followers to buy up the illegal alien costume from Amazon and other retailers and wear it on Halloween to make a statement. Americans for Legal Immigration PAC's President William Gheen is even offering to wear the costume during media interviews next week.

"The illegal alien supporting groups in America are attacking free speech once again," said Gheen. "These are the same types of people that are trying to ban Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck from television. They want to control what people can see, hear, say, or even wear for Halloween in pursuit of their open borders agenda."