We all know that Pinterest is great for inspiration, especially when it comes to putting together cute outfits, yummy new recipes, and DIY  projects to save you money. Sometimes the content you find seems too good to be true and, in my opinion, that’s usually because it is. However, there are a few Pinterest hacks that really do work, and they work so well that I use them on a regular basis. They’ve changed my life so much that of course I have to share them with you!  Click or use your arrow keys to read through the hacks I use.

Which hack do you think would make your life easier?

Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I’d like to take some time ahead of the holiday to reflect on the things in my life for which I am the most thankful. Thankful Thursday is a weekly series for the month of November.

We had our pictures taken this past weekend for our annual Christmas cards. I get really excited about designing our cards every year because they always turn out so awesome, which leads to me giddily but impatiently waiting to receive everyone else’s holiday cards, photos, and letters. December is one of the best months because there’s a treat in the mailbox just about every day, and we just don’t get that anymore. So this Thursday, I’m thankful for any and all of the handwritten mail I receive all year long.

Photo source

When I was in undergrad, which was ages ago at this point, my aunt and uncle sent me a card in the mail every month. They would include family updates, news about my high school’s sports teams, and other little tidbits of information they thought I might like. I looked forward to those cards every month — and not just because they also included some cash in there 😉 Knowing that someone is thinking of me and taking time out of their busy lives to write me a letter, card, etc. is truly one of the greatest feelings in the world.

The other day I was reading an article about hobbies you could take up if you don’t have any hobbies and it listed “sending physical letters to people.” Um, why didn’t I already think of that? I love writing letters, I love getting letters, and I had several pen pals when I was kid so why not make someone else’s day by writing them a letter? I’ve been thinking about turning this into a hobby in the new year. We’ll see how I do.

Photo source

It seems like email, texting, and social media have made letters essentially obsolete, so the gift of real mail is one that I treasure and one for which I am truly thankful.

Feliz Día de los Muertos!

Today is Day of the Dead, a two-day holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican ancestry, and it focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. On this day, people go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars with the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of their departed loved ones. These celebrations are meant to be happy and reverent instead of spooky or sad because they are, essentially, a celebration of life. I must admit I’m a little jealous of my colleagues in our Mexico office because they have today and tomorrow off from work!

Sugar skulls  Photo source

The items that families leave on their altars include sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar), often with the person’s name inscribed on the top; pan de Muertos, a special bread that is made especially for the season; and cempasuchil (marigolds) which bloom at this time of year and lend a special fragrance to the celebration. I have a fond memory of taking a Spanish class in middle school where we made pan de muertos that we covered in cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

Decorated altar Photo source

Nick is of partial Mexican (and Haitian) descent but he didn’t grow up celebrating any Mexican customs. I’ve always had a love for Hispanic culture, as I studied it for several decades and always wanted to be a part of it. I would love for us to embrace that part of Nick’s heritage, especially after we have our baby and are starting our own traditions. It’s definitely something to think about!

If you’re interested in appreciating and celebrating Día de los Muertos, here are some sensitive ways to do so:
-Visit your family’s graves in the cemetery and take some time to honor their memory/spirit
-Visit a local museum or art exhibit that is honoring the holiday
-Decorate your home with marigolds
-Try baking some pan de muertos
-Wear some appropriately-themed jewelry. For example, today I’m wearing a sugar skull necklace.

However…

*The most critical thing to remember when celebrating another culture’s customs is the importance of understanding and respecting the significance of the symbols and actions you’re taking. Above all, consider context and be respectful*

Hasta luego,
Nikki <3

Happy Halloween! If you’re like me, you love this time of year. Really, I love all of fall with its hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin everything, and of course Halloween activities. This year, we attended the Halloween Phantasmagoria at Duke Homestead. This is actually the second time we’ve spent Halloween at the homestead; the first was during the Widows and Wakes event they held in 2013.

Duke Homestead | Photo from DukeHomestead.org

Phantasmagoria means ‘a bizarre or fantastic combination, collection or assemblage; a dreamlike state where real and imagined elements blur together.’ During the event, we explored historical concepts of Spiritualism and wonder from the 19th century at Duke Homestead, as costumed actors helped to set the stage and answer any questions we might have had about life during that time. With our flashlights, we wandered the historic property to witness several aspects that our ancestors in the 19th century would have participated in during this time of year. It was fun! I apologize for the quality of my photos; we were running late and I forgot my good camera so I had to rely on my phone. A lot of the photos were taken in the dark with candlelight being the only light available. But hopefully you’ll get a good idea of what the event was like.

First, we stopped to take some photos in historic costumes. Hopefully the photos of us will be available this week and I can share. I wore a straw hat with an old-timey dress. Nick wore an old vest with gold bottons and an old bolo-type hat. We looked pretty dapper.  The next stop was to listen to a costumed actor read an excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. It was way too dark there for photos, so you can just use your imagination.

Then we attended a magic lantern light show. A magic lantern was an early type of image projector employing painted pictures or photographs of sheets of glass, a lens and a bright light source. The actors showed us primitive photos of geography like Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal, photos of the moon’s surface, and then told us two little stories. In the photo below, you can see where the actor was telling us the story of Old Mother Hubbard.

We moved to the back of the main house and watched these three adorable little girls play games that helped them predict who they would marry when they were older. In this particular game, one girl is blindfolded and has to reach out and touch one of three bowls; if her hand touched the bow filled with water, it meant she would marry someone very handsome but poor, the bowl with water and soap meant she would marry someone rich but ugly, and the empty bowl meant she would not marry at all. They offered to let a volunteer try, and she ended up reaching into the empty bowl. Whomp, whomp. She was a good sport about it 🙂

Finally, we attended a seance. This was the final and most entertaining part of the entire event. The costumed actors gathered around and attempted to convince the skeptic actor that the medium was real. The medium said the dead would communicate with them through a series of knocking — three knocks meant yes — and then she asked the spirit several questions to which it would either knock of not. They also asked for a volunteer in the audience to join them, which was really amusing until we found out at the end that he had been planted there for the show.

All of the events I’ve attended that the Duke Homestead have been a lot of fun, and would be really captivating for those who enjoy seeing a little bit of our history brought to life. The next event they have planned is Christmas by Candlelight where guests can enjoy traditional story telling, hot cider, and cookies, as well as join costumed interpreters in live music and historic dancing, and help decorate a Christmas tree in true Victorian style.  Who wouldn’t want to join their carolers for songs around a fire? I can’t wait for this event.

*This post was originally published on 10/23/13 but has been reposted below with a few updates.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I’m sure it has to do with loving everything spooky and getting to be creative and dress up in costumes. But mostly it’s the scary part! I’m ready for Halloween so I’m sharing my favorite horror movies, in no particular order. I really had trouble narrowing down this list down into something manageable. When I looked at the original list I’d made, I realized that a lot of my favorites are foreign films; I included them at the bottom in case you’re like me and understand Spanish or don’t mind subtitles. If you love horror movies and haven’t seen any of these, I highly recommend you watch them as soon as humanly (or supernaturally, mwahahaha) possible. I don’t want to give too much away about each movie for those who haven’t seen them, but if you do watch one or all of them, I hope you enjoy!

1.  Trick ‘r Treat 

Synopsis from IMDB: Five interwoven stories that occur on the same block, on the same night. A couple finds what happens when they blow a jack o’ lantern out before midnight, a high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer, a college virgin might have met the right guy for her, a group of mean teens play a prank that they take too far, and a hermit is visited by a special trick-or-treater.

This is probably my favorite Halloween movie of all time. I like that its stories are interwoven; it’s scary, funny, sad, and exciting all at the same time; it’s well acted; it gives you some surprises; and it’s Halloween themed. All of those make a great combination for a great movie.

2. High Tension (Haute Tension, French)

Synopsis from IMDB: Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa’s parents’ country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway.

This one STILL haunts me, especially when I enter a gas station restroom or sleep in a secluded cabin in the woods. The name of this film is basically how you feel the entire time you’re watching it. It’s an awesome psychological thriller that will leave you both terrified and shocked at the end.

3. Session 9

Synopsis from Wikipedia: The plot focuses on the growing tension within an asbestos removal crew working at an abandoned mental asylum, which is paralleled by the gradual revelation of a former patient’s disturbed past through recorded audio tapes of the patient’s hypnotherapy sessions. The film takes place in and around the Danvers State Mental Hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Psychological thrillers are my absolute favorite. Probably because I have a Psychology degree and enjoy picking out what movies get right and what they get wrong. And this one gets it right, all the way. It’s creepy, it’s scary, and it’s one of the best.

4. The Descent

Synopsis from IMDB: A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.

I love that this one has an all-female cast and is scary as all get out. Tight, claustrophobic spaces in the bottom of a dark cave? No, thank you! It was most definitely in the back of my mind as we were cave exploring on our honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Luckily, we only encountered murciélagos (bats) and not creepy, mutated predators.

5. Sinister

Synopsis from IMDB: A true-crime writer finds a cache of 8mm home movies films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s.

Holy crap, the footage of those 8mm home films is the creepiest thing you will EVER SEE IN YOUR LIFE. I’m not even kidding. While most of this film is truly horrifying, the ending could have been much better, but I’ve found this is true with most horror movies these days. But the majority of it being so scary totally makes up for the not-so-great ending and it definitely worth a watch.

BONUS!

The Pumpkin Karver

Synopsis from IMDB: A feature film based on a story in which a young man is stabbed to death on the evening of October 31, 2003. One year later, at a Halloween party, six people were brutally butchered in a remote location. The victims faces were carved and mutilated beyond recognition. The crime is still unsolved and is currently under investigation.

One of my favorite Halloween traditions that I share with my little brother is to watch the “they’re-so-awful-they’re-good” B-movies on SyFy. This is one of those, and it used to air every single year. I look forward to watching it every Halloween and have ever since I watched it for the first time in 2006 while studying for an exam at my parents’ house and it came on TV. I was hooked!

Honorable Mentions

Creep

Synopsis from IMDB: When a videographer answers a Craigslist ad for a one-day job in a remote mountain town, he finds his client is not at all what he initially seems.

I watched this one this past weekend and it was CREEPY! It stars Mark Duplass, who I really like as an actor, as a creepy man who claims he’s dying from a terminal illness and hired a videographer to create a movie for his unborn child since he will be dead before the baby is born. Sounds *kind of* legit, right? But the more time they spend together, the weirder Mark Duplass’ character becomes. It isn’t really that scary, but it’s creepy enough to make you think twice about meeting people from the internet, as if we needed another reason for that!

Tucker and Dale Vs Evil

Synopsis from IMDB: Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are attacked by a group of preppy college kids.

Okay, so this one isn’t a horror movie, it’s a comedy. But it’s sooo good! The main characters are a pair of well-meaning hillbillies who are mistaken for killers by a group of clueless college students. I think it gives you a story in the point-of-view of the possibly misunderstood horror movie killer with lots of laughs.

Foreign Films I love:

El Orphanato (The Orphanage)

A Tale of Two Sisters (Korean version) | The Uninvited (American version)

The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo)

Rec (Spanish version) | Quarantine (American version)

Let the Right One In | The original, not the remake!

~*~*~*~

I could probably go on and on about horror movies that I really like but I’ll leave you with this.

What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed film?