A Wizarding World Halloween Tea

I'm so glad you can join me for a spell this Halloween!  Some of you may be no-majes (or Muggles as I've heard those without magic are called in the UK), but all are welcome here!  My parlor is all decorated,

and I've looked through my books for the best recipes,

I've set out all my special ingredients,

and found the perfect pot for my pumpkin tea brews,

so I'm ready for some magic in my kitchen!

Maybe a Pumpkin Fizz to begin--an American twist on Pumpkin Juice?

(My friend Lauren brought me these beautiful flowers as a hostess gift!)

I have set out two place settings, so please choose your seat,

so we can get to the feasting!  Each place setting has a menu,

And here are the results of all my mixings:

As always with my parties, first we start with savories!

These cucumber sandwiches, served with cream cheese mixed with ranch and dill, have witches hats of their own and the pimento cheese is served on fresh pumpernickel flying bats. Firewhiskey was a nice touch with marmalade and brie, with  Acromantula eggs ending this course.  Have you read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?  I've heard that text has a whole section on those giant spiders.

Next we have pumpkin cranberry scones, with clotted cream and pear butter.

(the pear butter also had maple flavors!)

And I hope you still have room, because it is time for dessert!

I've heard my pumpkin pasties are as good as those served on the trolley on the Hogwarts Express, but my personal favorite from this party are my chocolate frog cupcakes.

The mini-chocolate frogs are just like those served by Honeydukes in Hogsmead (I would know, I just visited last year!).  The cupcakes are chocolate with milk chocolate ganache filing and white chocolate buttercream.  Very chocolate-y if I do say so myself!

Before you go please take your favor,

 a selection of fall teas,
and I hope you had an enchanting evening here with me!

There are five different owls in this tea party post.  Did you find them all?  I wonder if we use Owl post here in the US?  I guess well find out in a couple of weeks when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits the theaters!

Opalescent

Happy Halloween!  I'm posting a new themed party tomorrow (clue in one of the pictures in this post for what the party is), but I wanted to share my Halloween Disney post for this year...because I've done one for the past two years, so I think it is now a thing :). 

My outside decorations are Disney themed, and I was very disappointed I couldn't find new Disney Halloween decorations this year--so I took matters into my own hands and made wreaths. 

They are so easy!  Three wreaths (two smaller ears and one larger for the face), some wire, then pic decorations (small leaves and flowers), and done!  The small wreath above I made for my sister.

For my pole wreath above I used the same three wreaths as for my sister's, but I filled the two smaller ones with small fake pumpkins (I pushed wooden chopsticks through the fake pumpkins to anchor them in the wreaths, cutting off the excess with the wire cutters I already had out) and painted a flat wooden pumpkin I found in Walmart for $3 in orange to cover up what was originally on it (something like "welcome harvest") and then drew a Mickey face using a black Sharpe and instant Mickey face!

  I also decorated the larger face wreath with some flower and leaf picks to give it a bit more color.  I think it turned out very cute!

I also made one for my front door with a large "face" wreath and flat bird nests for the ears.  One Halloween ribbon bow later--I have a Minnie wreath on the door to go with the Mickey wreath on the pole.

I did end up finding one new decoration for this year in the Christmas lights section--a projection light of mouse heads in different colors to go with my inflatable Mickey and Minnie!  You can see them in the background in these nighttime pictures.

 So my Halloween decorations are definitely multi-hued--just like October's gemstone of the month--the Opal!

The orange of these flowers (both real and china) really brings out the milky opalescence of the pretty opal stone, but there is an orange opal as well...

The ring above is chrome diopside (the green stone) and orange fire opals from Mexico!

 You are ice and fire,

The touch of you burns my hands like snow.

You are cold and flame.

You are the crimson of amaryllis,

The silver of moon-touched magnolias.

When I am with you,

My heart is a frozen pond

Gleaming with agitated torches.

Opal, by Amy Lowell

Tea and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!



Happy October!  I somehow managed to miss almost all of October, but came back just in time to post a Halloween tea, with a very special treat.

 

 

 

What better way to celebrate a "not so scary" Halloween then with Disney?

 

 

At least that was my family's thought when we visited Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida last week.

 

 

I bought these two mugs while I was down there:

 

Mickey

 

and Minnie.

 

But now it's time for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

 

 (aren't those Marigolds?  October's flower of the month!)

 

The park decorations were terrific:

 

with lots of pumpkins

 



 

garlands of fallen leaves,

 



 

 

 

 and of course Mickey!

 

On the treat side, Disney had all sorts of goodies, including Halloween themed candied applies,

 

 

and of course ice cream!

 

 





Come dusk, characters came out in all their costumed finery:

 

(This is Jack Skellington and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas.  Halloween is the only time they come out to play at Walt Disney World)

 

In true Halloween party fashion, many people (both adults and children) came to the park in costume, and, as night fell, there were all sorts of candy stations set up for trick or treating...for both the kids and adults.  Below was one of my favorite surprise finds of the night--Gaston (a Disney cast member) takes a picture with a guy who dressed in a beast costume!  That is dedication.

 

Once it was completely dark, a Halloween parade began

 

(a gravediggers dance)

(tombs from the Haunted Mansion ride graveyard)

(dancing ghouls)

 

 Followed by a Hocus Pocus themed show in front of the castle

Many different villains showed up to help the three witches out:

(Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog with a bit of voodoo)

(Maleficent herself)

(Hades from Hercules, the Evil Queen, Cinderella's Stepmother and Captain Hook)

 

And then fireworks!

 

 

 The lighting around the park added a bit of spooky fun.

 

 

This week I'll be sharing more about my trip to Orlando, including a visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

 

I'm linking this post to the following tea parties:

 

Tea Cup Tuesday-- http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

Tuesday Cuppa Tea--http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/

Berideen's Friends Sharing Tea

Rose Chintz Cottage's Tea Time Tuesday