The Strange Sights of October

Good evening and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

We are sixteen days from Halloween. By now you have witnessed some jaw dropping sights and some things that will be so scarred into your brain that not even brain bleach or music can save you.  Here are some things that you might see in October that you really should don’t want to. Why don’t you want to see these things? Well, you’ll soon see why….

5. Christmas Movies

For this topic, I’m excluding “Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas” because it’s considered a Halloween and Christmas movie. Besides, the Christmas movies I’m talking about are the ones that have been playing on the Hallmark Channel since July. You know what ones I’m bringing up – the cheesey, corny, wholesome, American way, unrealistic Christmas stories. Even during the holidays, these movies are kind of dull and just scream for attention like a child who doesn’t receive what they want. These movies try too hard to be some Blockbuster film that will take the nation by storm. Then again, they even try too hard just to be a television special. These films aren’t something memorable like “Die Hard” or “Big Hero 6”, they’re just bland sappy flicks that promote the loving, caring ways of a fictional world.

4. Pumpkin Spice Things That Should NOT Be Pumpkin Spice


For example, pumpkin spice cat litter. I honestly wish I was joking about this.

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Fall Frolic my eye, that's code word for pumpkin spice!

I used to have two cats – a black cat named Kitty and a grey kitten named Pistol (may God rest their feline souls). From my experiences with them, I know that cat leavings don’t exactly smell like a bunch of roses and I acknowledge that products exist with the goal of making a litterbox smell better. Some have a generic scent, others have some floral perfume; these scents are acceptable because they’re normal. Now pumpkin spice on the other hand is an acceptable scent for everything else, but not for cat litter.

3. Christmas decorations

Yes, Christmas is right around the corner, we know this because right now almost every store has an aisle that’s slowly being stocked with Christmas decorations. It’s a time honored tradition of rushing the holidays so we tear through the money maker that is Halloween (costumes, decorations, and candy aren’t cheap) and the even bigger cash cow of Christmas (toys, decorations, ugly Christmas sweaters, it all adds up).  It’s the most wonderful time of the year to remind you that Halloween is the mere stepping stone between spooky scary fun and Christmas consumerism.


2. Things That Should NOT Be Sexy 

Halloween costumes are by far one of the greatest pieces of clothing you can ever wear. It transforms you from your average human into a princess or that popular Internet meme or even a hot piece of corn.

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Damn this girl is ready to pop.

What? Don’t you know that corn can be a-maizing and sexy? Well, apparently it can be. Olaf can be sexy too while we’re at it and don’t get me started on some of your classic childhood icons. All limits are off on Halloween! Everything is sexy – yes, even your blender.  Go to your blender and confess your love to it, especially when it makes your smoothie just the way you like it.

1. The Treatment of Black Cats

Black cats are adorable, snuggly, and cause people to be incredibly superstitious of them. There’s nothing wrong with being superstitious, but like drinking you have to know your limit. Easily avoiding black cats without harming them is all well and good. Gutting them alive on the other hand is horrible and terrible. While black cats are shunned and harmed throughout the year, they’re usually given the worst treatment during October because it’s a month that they’re associated with.  Some people even use black cats for sacrifices in some dark religion or practice.


If you happen to see a black cat this month then call the animal shelter, take it to an adoption agency, adopt it yourself, or just bring it in for a night. Any one of these actions will do them a greater good than roaming on the streets and possibly being killed.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen during October?

Sweet Treats Are Made of This

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Browsing the Internet for simple recipes has never been more fun. What’s even better is discovering recipes that could be altered to fit special occasions and holidays. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, here is a recipe that can be used for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Halloween, or any time of the year. The beauty of this recipe in particular is that it allows you to create many different flavored treats all the while using the same exact measurements.

Cream Cheese Candy (20 min prep)

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese softened

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

• ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract (this could easily be substituted with other extracts like almond extract, strawberry extract, pumpkin spice extract, blueberry extract, the list goes on)

1. Beat the cream cheese and extract in a small bowl, then toss in half the confectioners’ sugar until it’s smooth.
   
   
2. Proceed to knead in the remaining confectioners’ sugar until it’s fully incorporated.
   
   
3. Shape the dough into 1/2 balls (or hearts or stars or any shape you can think of; yes even the Adipose) and place them on baking sheets. You can roll them around or sprinkle them with colored sugar; it’s not required, but it’s optional. Besides, it’ll give these little treats a bit of flare.
   
   
4. Flatten them with a fork.
   
   
5. Allow them to stand for an hour so they can harden.
   
   
6. Eat.
   
   
7. When you’re done, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
   

Thanks for reading today’s entry and if you enjoyed it, feel free to comment and reblog. As always, feedback is welcomed.

So tell me, what shapes would you make with this simple recipe?

Sweets to Sweet

Greetings everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with it comes the one aspect that everyone looks forward to: the food. The sight of turkey filled to the brim with stuffing has become an iconic staple of the holiday and the ultimate cause of mouth watering. However, when the last drumstick is finished, and the wishbone has been broken, the table becomes filled with desserts.

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OM NOM NOM NOM NOM.

Dessert during the Fall season consists of sweet treats like pumpkin spice cake, pumpkin pie, and other delicious delicacies. For Thanksgiving, I usually make a chocolate pudding pie or pumpkin spice cookies. I tend to lean to making cookies because everyone gets one and possibly more. This year, I want to do a different cookie, and break away from the pumpkin spice everything Fall has to offer.  I don’t want to do the traditional sugar cookie because I consider them a Christmas sweet. But a few days ago, I found the answer to my cookie conundrum.

While browsing out of boredom, I stumbled upon a site called hostacookieparty.com.  The site’s purpose is to give details for you to host a cookie party. They even have templates that allow you to create invitations to your party and cookie tags for your treats. However, the site doesn't restrict viewers to randomly creating a cookie party. People, like myself and other fellow bakers, are allowed to roam the site to get the idea for that perfect holiday treat.

On this particular site, I found tons of cookie recipes that solved my dessert dilemma. Amidst the cookie recipes, the site also showcases recipes for fudge, praline bars, fruit tarts, and even streusel squares. The web site even offers classic ethnic treats like polvorones (Mexican wedding cookies), Swedish almond spritz cookies, and Italian lemon drop cookies.

Even better, the recipes consist of try and true items that most people are familiar with.  Some ingredients include Pilsbury cake (or cookie) mix, JIFF peanut butter, Smuckers jam, and other trusted items. I definitely recommend looking this site over for the upcoming holidays and recipe ideas.

Thanks to hostacookieparty.com I’ll be baking jammie dodgers (also known as shortbread jamwiches) for the upcoming Doctor Who special, salted caramel cookies for Thanksgiving, and strawberry angel cookies for Christmas.

No Love for November

Welcome to another Monday here at The Magical Mystery Blog.

Throughout the year we have months that represent iconic events. October represents Halloween, December represents Christmas, June represents when school is done, and September represents the end of summer and the start of school. However, there are months that are just fillers to make up the calendar, like November. November is the month that blocks us from the merrily bustling month of December, which is mostly known for Christmas and New Year’s.  However, there are some things about November that we should adore; after all it is a month with certain days and traditions we appreciate.

Here’s why we should embrace November:

5) Christmas Decoration Sales

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Wait a minute, that’s a month away! Oh well, that doesn’t stop department stores from having Christmas sales no sooner Halloween is finished. Places like Kohls, Target, and other locations begin their Christmas décor sales at the start of November.  These areas usually cut villages’ prices in half, offer buy one get one free ornament deals, and tons of other bargains.  Why with all these decoration sales, you could have your home decked out for Christmas just before Thanksgiving.  Some stores even have these sales before Halloween. Walmart, for example, always presents their Christmas décor alongside their Halloween costumes at the start of September. The Halloween items are marked at moderate to high prices, while Christmas decorations are featured at low prices.

4) PUMPKIN AND GINGERBREAD/PEPPERMINT EVERYTHING.

The invasion of pumpkin spice everything began in the early days of September. It started with the lattes and coffees and slowly dwindled its way into other treats such as doughnuts, ice cream, and other delicious edibles. There’s still pumpkin spice food available but as November progresses, ginger and peppermint flavored foods will come to light. It will also begin with the lattes and weave its way into other delicacies.

3) Foliage

During this time of the year, the trees turn to gold and create some of the most beautiful landscapes the season has to offer. Photographers, artists, and even writers have been inspired by the lush leaves. It’s a wonderful and inspirational time to go walking through a corridor of gorgeous foliage, to hear the crunch of the leaves beneath your feet, and to go diving into a pile of oranges, yellows, and reds. Even their smell is intoxicating and sparks romance for those who happen to fall in love this season.

2) Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Staying up to 3 am is all right and is something one would do at an excellent party, college, and possibly, on a daily basis.  Staying up to 3 am just to wait for department stores’ doors to open to start Christmas shopping and save some money, is what people tend to do on Black Friday. Black Friday is the day where people tear each other apart for items right after breaking bread with their fellow man.

 

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Listen Grandpa I love you and whatnot but so help me God, if you want the same toaster I do at Sears tomorrow, I will obliterate you with my fists.

Some people have been trampled, murdered, or even severely injured by this all out brawl for savings. Yet it has been ingrained into our society (and possibly other societies) for many, many years. Even some movies and television shows like Jingle All the Way and The Nanny, have treated this day as the 10^th level of Hell. 

Following Black Friday’s chaos is Cyber Monday which is just like Black Friday if you don’t want to fight anyone for savings. It’s also for those who feel like dealing with the mad rush of Black Friday from their homes. However, instead of receiving a blow to the face you may receive a jammed server. When tons of people tend to be on one site at once, the site may freeze up, and break down temporarily; just like tumblr.

1)Thanksgiving

Fall is Fattening Season. October is the start of the fattening, featuring Halloween sweets. November is second in line with Thanksgiving and Christmas is the last month for gaining weight, showcasing holiday treats. But Thanksgiving takes the cake when it comes to gaining weight in the season of Fall and fat. Thanksgiving is a day where we honor two important concepts: a smorgasbord of food ranging from alcohol to stuffings and the day where we tricked Native Americans to being best friends and feasting with them only to take their land. However, it is still a holiday most of us love because it brings everyone closer together. It unites families and friends over a fantastic meal and festive activities. It allows us to break bread with those we haven’t seen in a while and to catch up with everyone. So raise your glass this Thanksgiving and dive into that turkey while associating with those you love.

What’s your favorite thing about November? Feel free to leave your thoughts below and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.