Zoulah's Fall Into Hallween Tablescape

 

Zoulah welcomes you to her Fall into Halloween tablescape. You see if it were up to her, you would be seeing a Halloween Tablescape naturally, but this is a compromise table for this time of year.   

 

 

The other night when we were getting ready for dinner Zoulah grabbed some orange dinner plates and some black salad plates, and I said, "Whoah, it is not Halloween yet!"   Zoulah gets a bit excited about Halloween and deals!  She bought these dinner plates and salad plates for one dollar each at Tai Pan Trading this year. 

 

 

 So she grabbed a red bowl for the soup and said, "There are you satisfied?"   Yes, I was.   Strangely enough I liked the combination.

 

Somehow her color combinations seems to say what this time of year is.  It's fall on the verge of Halloween.  The Fall Blocks were made by my daughter Tatianna last year.  I bought the vibrant table runner many years ago, in my suit and pumps era, on a lunch break on the K Street Mall in Sacramento. That seems a lifetime ago...

Yes,  Zoulah I do like these colors together.

 

 This is the soup we ate, and it was delicious.  I found the recipe on Pinterest and it is a winner.  I will post about this later.

 

The Pumpkin tureen was a find at TJ Maxx and more in St. George, Utah this summer.  I stuffed it with a chrysanthemum for the tablescape.   Zoulah wants you to know that I was able to spell chrysanthemum without the aid of spell check :).  Yes, I did win my second grade Spelling Bee.

It comes with an adorable ladle.  Many, many moons ago the ladies at my church made a soup tureen like this.  For some reason, I didn't, and I am always reminded that I didn't make one when I go to my Mother-in-law's home at this time of year. Oh those days of crafting in Relief Society.... Finally, I have one of my own!!

Tablescape Information

 

Wal-Mart:  Flatware, napkin rings, place mats

Tai-Pan Trading:  Bubble Stemware, Orange Dinner Plates, Black Salad Plates

Michael's:  Red Hob Nail Bowls

Pumpkin Soup Tureen:  T.J. Maxx and More this yea,

K-Mart:  Napkins

 

Thanks for dropping by the Couch.

 

Posted with the following:  Tablescape Thursday

Zoulah's Rice Krispies Bricks

 

Zoulah wishes you a Happy Halloween and Fall Season with these fun Rice Krispies Bricks.  Well, of course they don't have to be for Halloween, but Zoulah has a tendency to doll everything up for Halloween during the HER holiday!  These are not your small little Rice Krispie squares!  They are monster-sized bricks, big enough for sharing.  Zoulah always likes people to share during the Halloween season.

 

She just loves how the Halloween sprinkles look on these bricks.

 

 

So she wants to share with you how to make the bricks.  She is cackling because it is soooo super simple.  She just took two Dollar Store glass containers.

 

 

She made up a batch of Rice Krispies:

 

6 cups Rice Krispies

40 regular marshmallows(10 ounce bag) or 4 cups miniature marshmallows

3 tablespoons butter

 

In a large sauce pan melt butter over low to medium heat.  Then add marshmallows and cook until melted, then quickly add the Rice Krispies and stir until well mixed.

 

Then she took the mixture, while warm, and pressed it firmly into the glass containers. 

 

Then she took a knife and ran it along the inside of the glass container to help remove the Rice Krispies Bricks.    The standard Rice Krispies recipe will make four bricks.  After removal, you can reshape them with your hands to your liking.

 

 

 

Toppings:  Zoulah used milk and white chocolate and caramel.  She first melted the milk chocolate and white chocolate chips.  Then she cut out a small hole in the corner of a Ziploc bag.  Then she loaded the chocolate into the baggie and just drizzled it over the brick.  For the caramel, she used Kraft caramels, melted them, and then just drizzled it by loading the caramel on a spoon applying the caramel with back and forth motions.  Next she added Halloween Sprinkles before the toppings dried. 

 

 

Then she melted some candy melts and then dipped the end of a CUTE sucker stick into the candy melts and then pushed it through the center of the brick.  Zoulah found the CUTE sucker sticks at Wal-Mart.

 

 

Okay, so by now you know that Zoulah loves to doll up things for Halloween.  So she added some little Halloween signs.  She just punched a hole and fitted the sign on the sucker sticks.  Then she tied some ribbon to the sucker sticks.  She loved the presentation....

 

 

The High School swim team was having a yard and bake sale so Zoulah put the Rice Krispies Bricks in cellophane bags.  Because she was taking them to the sale, she took the ribbons off the sucker stick (she didn't want sticky ribbons) and tied them to the sucker stick on the outside of the cellophane bags.

 

 

 

Zoulah wanted to show you a few of her projects she has done so far this Halloween season.

 

Zoulah promises you she has much more Halloween Fun in her "magic apron."

 

Posted with the following:

 

Polish the Stars Halloween Party

 

 



Marshmallow Monsters

 

I welcome you to Red Couch Recipes where Zoulah has taken over my kitchen!  It's all about Halloween naturally!  She came up with these ooooh so easy and fun for all ages Marshmallow Monsters.  They are not being eaten at our home, they are just decorations.

 

 I just think they are so fun and festive for Halloween.

 

 

 

 

Zoulah says all you need is some marshmallows and some candy melts; Zoulah used green because we had some leftover.  You need some some sprinkles and colored sugar.  Well and anything else that is edible and fun,  such as the little green candy balls.  Oh, and let's not forget that you need some candy eyes that are readily available at Wal-Mart or other places that have cake decorating supplies. 

I hate to play favorites with these little monsters, but I think this guy IS my favorite.  Once your monster is made, just stick a sucker stick in the monster.  You don't need to anchor it in with candy melt because the marshmallow is sticky and light.

 

 

Well, I don't know, maybe the little black-haired one is.  Who me?  Yeah, you on the right!  He sort of looks like a French guy to me.  Oui Oui!

 

Zoulah would love for you to make some of these with your loved ones this Halloween! 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by the  Couch where Zoulah loves having you visit at Halloween! 

Monster Donuts

 

Zoulah welcomes you to Red Couch Recipes!

 

 

Okay, so her green face is blushing a bit because do these really need any instructions?  Take some chocolate cake donuts, melt some green candy melts and drip and spread the candy melts around.  Then add some candy eyes  The candy eyes are available at Wal-Mart in the Halloween and cake decorating sections.  If you want to make the green a different color -- Zoulah didn't.  You must use special coloring.

 

Zoulah yelled a big drat today as she was making these.  She only made these two donuts because while she was making them, the power went out for over six hours!  When it came back on, they donuts had magically disappeared !  Drat that Red Couch Family!  Once again, Zoulah was inspired by Matthew Mead

 

Zoulah thanks you for dropping by Red Couch Recipes

 

 

 

Linked with Link Party Palooza

 

Tablescaping at the Smithsonian and Awestruck with Washington D.C. and Virginia

  

Welcome to Red Couch Recipes, where I bring you kind of a different post from my travels back east this summer.  I haven't posted a tablescape in months!  I miss the society of all the wonderful tablescapers.  Some of you know my husband was working in Northern Virginia this past year, so this June I was able to go back to visit him two times in June.  On one of the trips we took our three children who had never been back east.  On the first day in town we took the Metro into Washington D.C. and went to the Smithsonian Air and Science Museum. 

 

Beware...there are only a few tablescaping pictures and lots of back east pictures. 

 

 

 My husband was thrilled with the museum, and my kids less so after our three hour visit :).

  

 My husband is a mechanical engineer and loves aircraft. 

 

 

  

The day we visited, the Air and Science Museum closed early as they were hosting a private party.  I snapped some pictures of the tables.  I loved the green glass plate; it was gorgeous.  I would like to have some like these.

 

Most of all I liked the unusual centerpieces.  The greenery was bended to look like ribbons.

 



I love the purple and white tables.  I wonder what they served for dinner.  I was not invited :).
 





A trip to the Smithsonian without seeing the Hope Diamond?  I think not!

 

 

 

We loved the energy of the city. We come from a very small town, so my children always love visiting a big city.

 

 

No White House Tours for us!  it amazed me how since September 11, you cannot get very close to the White House.  No President Obama sightings either.

 

 The National Zoo is not located near the other Smithsonian Museums.  We took an entirely different train and had to walk quite a few blocks to get there. 

My kids loved going to the National Zoo.  We even saw the little red panda that became an escape artist after we left.  I wonder if my kids had anything to do with this?

 

Our son Skyler outside of the Jefferson Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.  The Washington Monument is still being fixed up after the 2011 earthquake in the D.C. area.

 

 

I would have loved to have some time to contemplate while visiting the Lincoln Memorial, but it was crowded with people.  If you have seen Jimmie Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," you will understand how I feel about Washington D.C.  -- awestruck and gaga for monuments and history. 

 

We ate ice cream (Ben and Jerry's) as we drove around the monuments at night.  The Jefferson Memorial at night is fabulous!  Sorry, I didn't get a photo of that.

 

 

 

While my husband worked I took the children to Arlington National Cemetery.  It is very sobering.  Military funerals are held here every day.

 

  

On a hill at Arlington is the Arlington House, the pre-Civil war home of Robert E. Lee and Mary Custis.  The interior furniture of Arlington House is being refurbished right now, but it is still worth a visit.  The view of the Potomic River and the Washington Mall is exquisite.

 

 

Of course we went to Georgetown. We loved the architecture.

 

 

I am thinking that this Red Couch home deserves a red door like this.

 

 

 

 

 Of course we had to try out some famous cupcakes.



 

 

We fought the crowds and got our own pink box.

 

 

Our pink box.  A little bit too much Key Lime Pie going on here.  The cupcakes were a bit roughed up in this picture:  it was hard getting the pink box out of the bag :).

 

 

When I came back to Virginia with my husband, we went back to Georgetown and visited Sprinkles.  As for the DC and Sprinkles Cupcakes, I guess I am a homemade cupcake kind of gal.

 

 

 

My husband's landlord thought it was so odd that we came back east and tracked down eating places. 

We went to Astro Donuts and Fried Chicken too, because their crème brulee donut is ranked number 1, by the Washington Post.  We even made a special trip into Washington D.C. only to be disappointed by a sign outside that said their donuts were sold out.  This was at about 11:00 in the morning.   

 

A little bit off the beaten path, but very fun is watching planes land at Reagan International Airport from Gravelly Park.  The planes fly right over you.

 

 

 

We went to Fredericksburg National Battlefield in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.  It was raining (think the kids were glad), and I gave them an abbreviated tour of the important points of the battle.  I had been there in February, without them.  It is such a moving place.  This is the tale of the Union forces losing badly to the Confederates because of geography (the sunken road) and delays.  Someday I will do a post on it.   

 

 

 

We were able to visit our son, daughter in-law, and two children in Richmond, Virginia.  Our son has one more year of medical school there at Virginia Commonwealth.

 

Aivi loves the outdoors.

 

 

Sydney was about seven months then. 

 

 

Loved our day at Virginia Beach.  This King Neptune statue is amazing.

 

 

 

My girls taking selfies (I think that is what they call it!) at Virginia Beach.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed our visit to the east coast and the tablescape at the Smithsonian.

 

 

Thanks for dropping by Red Couch Recipes.

 

Posted with the following:

 

Let's Dish, Tablescape Thursday