Halloween Spirit: Appropriate vs. Inappropriate

One time Regina George punched me in the face... it was awesome.

"In girl world, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress up like a total sl*t and no other girls can say anything about it. The hard-core girls just wear lingerie and some form of animal ears."  Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), Mean Girls.

Warning sign number one that she's probably ex-girlfriend material.

I gotta be honest, you have larger issues. Seek counseling. 

There are only 3 times the above outfits are acceptable to wear:
1. You're in college or in the afterglow of college (2 years post) looking for free drinks (roofie punch, anyone?) at the local frat house or in a meat market bar
2. You're working you're way through college (ha!) by picking up shifts at Daydreams, Delilah's or Club Risque.
3. In the bedroom for your Halloween obsessed significant other.

Many people consider Halloween to be their favorite holiday. It may actually eclipse Christmas for the amount of money and time put it by the most hardcore enthusiasts. But onto the greater point about Halloween costuming and showing your appreciation for the holiday in an age-appropriate and work-friendly way.

Let's play the appropriate vs. inappropriate game with Halloween. I think you will easily see Lisa DeAmicas (Lisa D. to the cool people), one of the stylists at BellaLisa Hair Studio has found the perfect blend of showing your enthusiasm for Halloween at work so you can still have your job and the respect of your co-workers on November 1st.

This is a test. Mentally mark the following pictures as "Appropriate" or "Inappropriate" ways to show your Halloween spirit at work, school, or other public venues. Begin.

So how did you do? Well if you're at all normal you're heading to BellaLisa right now to pick up Lisa D's goodies.  She has fabulous Halloween themed jewelry: hair clips, earrings, pendants, necklaces for boys and girls, and hats just waiting for you to sport at work, home, school, and yes, even the bar. Stop in to see Lisa's spooky treasure trove at BellaLisa Hair Studios at 3530 Cottman Ave. or give them a call at (215) 624-6667. 

Alright, this one is just awesome....

Oktoberfest and Meet the Candidates at the GLP

*BOOM*

What's that sound?

*BOOM*

I know what it is. It's the sound of me dropping the ball on this week's post. *cough* Again. Oops.

Alright, so what's important to know this week? Well it's October and that means Oktoberfest at the Grey Lodge Pub. Plus it's also an election year and what's the best way to celebrate that we live in the greatest democracy known to man? Get drunk and listen to the candidates. (Personal aside: My fingers kept typing "democrazy". Freudian slip? Perhaps. Is it also fitting that it's Oktoberfest and Freud was German (Alright technically he was Austrian...I'm trying to make connections people!! Details.)

And at this point you're saying "Shut up and get to the part about drinking with the candidates while shoveling German goodies into my face." Fine. It's on Friday, October 19, 2012 from 6pm – 9pm and there will be plenty of festbier, sausage, spatzel (yum), promos from a couple of breweries, and more.  It also coincides with the GLP's "Meet the Candidates" night for the November election. All the local candidates were invited to meet with you in an informal manner. Maybe they'll even buy you a beer, or at least PROMISE to buy you a beer but then leave you holding the tab. *Shakes fist at politicians*. Scoats did ask Romney and Obama to make a stop but apparenlty they're too "busy" with something. Joe Biden may be there though because there is beer and he's only a short drive away in Delaware. Hilarity to ensue.

The Last of the Vendors for 10/14/12

I love you pumpkin! Almost as much as the Mayfair Fall Festival.

Have you started fasting for tomorrow? Doing stretches so you can sprint all over the final 2012 Mayfair Fall Festival and Farmers' Market Preview? Got your game face on ready to stampede the cupcake stand, push that little old lady out of the way for the last baguette and then celebrate your dominance with a gourmet chicken cutlet sandwich and a beer? Go get em' tiger!! But try to leave some goodies for the rest of us.

What am I saying? There's going to be PLENTY of stuff throughout the day.

MORE WINE!

 High atop my list of place to visit are any vendors serving and selling wine or beer. We have 2 wineries coming tomorrow for your purchasing pleasure. You already got to meet Cardinal Hollow Winery so now it's time to unleash the awesomeness that is Desiato Winery. Luigi 'Louie" Desiato from Pipersville, PA will be bringing a taste of Italian wine to Mayfair. The Desiato family planted their first grapes in 1993, and they are focused on doing things naturally — growing grapes without pesticides and recycling the rainwater for irrigation. They also run "Mamma D's Restaurant" which was recently featured on the Food Network show "Restaurant Impossible."

Mamma D's Restaurant

HOMEMADE CARAMEL APPLES

I've decided I'm having a caramel apple for breakfast. Hope of Hope's Sweet is a local girl from Castor Gardens who is just starting to branch out as a confectioner. She's bringing a bunch of her homemade caramel apples and some homemade candies on Sunday. Is there anything that screams fall festival more than a delicious, crispy and gooey-sweet caramel apple? If there is, I haven't seen it! Make sure you stop by and see Hope and her sweet goodies!!


KID FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES, MUSIC,  AND DOGS!

Jenna our wonderful face painter from the last Mayfair Fall Festival is back and she'll be assisted by the lovely Erin to paint all the adorable faces of your kids! It's completely worth the wait for that little smile that lights up their faces when they see Jenna and Erin's handiwork.

Donna of Caricature Art, Murals and More by Donna will be at the Fall Festival tomorrow doing her art. You know your mother, mother-in-law, or *fill in the blank relative* who are IMPOSSIBLE to shop for for Christmas, would love a caricature of you, your significant other, your kids, your dog, you name it. Donna can do it! Make sure you sit for her and walk away with the memories of the best Mayfair Fall Festival EVER!!

Painting pumpkins with Republic Bank!

Republic Bank, who are the sponsors of the Mayfair Fall Festival/Farmers' Market preview along with the Mayfair CDC, are getting into the fall spirit by hosting a pumpkin painting table for the kids. The pumpkins were purchased from our friends at Stern Farms and Republic is supplying all the paint and decorations for you! Bring the kids over to this great little activity! Republic is also working in conjunction with Animal Care and Control (ACCT) of Philadelphia to co-sponsor a dog adoption table. If you're looking for a new best friend you may be able to find him/her tomorrow at the Fall Festival. Then you can make sure to buy your new pal some gourmet dog treats at the Philly Dog Biscuit Company and the day will be complete!!

I bestow on you a kiss and I will name you 'Mayfair'.

Throughout the day enjoy the musical stylings of some of Philadelphia's finest musicians. Mr. Jason Cohn just returned from a European tour and local boy, Herb Oakley will be singing and asking trivia questions for prizes!! So grab a beer or coffee, unwrap that cupcake, take a seat and soak in the atmosphere.



10am-11am   Joe Coyne
11am-12pm   Jason Cohn
12pm-1pm     Herb Oakely
1pm-2pm       Adam Elliot

Even More October Vendors

Unusual pumpkins grown at Cheyenne's.

MORE FARMERS
You requested, nay, demanded more farms and we have delivered. Meet Cheyenne's Road Market and owners Craig & Shannon Higginbotham from Mount Laurel, NJ. They are a local farm that grows everything organically. They actually came to us HIGHLY recommended by Stephen and Nancy of Mill Creek Apiary, one of our fabulous honey vendors. It's a small world in the farmers' market community and everybody talks about where they've been and new markets. Stephen and Nancy were so impressed by the Mayfair community that they told Craig and Shannon. This is from their Facebook page describing their farming philosophy:

"We are a family farm raising the 4th generation in the footsteps of the 80+ years of farming history our family has right here in this very town. We love our Earth, proud to be a green market & we strive to not just lead a greener lifestyle but to inspire others to do so as well. We grow just about everything it feels like & every year there's new stuff we've never grown before that we just gotta try. We grow things naturally, using many organic methods, lots of hard work & creative thinking. We are best known for the classic Jersey favorites like corn & tomatoes, we always say "one taste & you'll fall in love" but it never stops there... we have an eye for the unique, a passion to grow the healthiest, a drive to have the absolute best for our customers. So you'll find things like pink tomatoes, orange eggplants & starship squash here. You'll find plum tomatoes that have 50% more lycopene than any other tomato out there. You'll find flowers that amaze you, hand made crafts that dazzle, and you'll find everything we do we pour our heart and soul into it. Finally you'll find a family here, not just another business." 

At Cheyenne Road Market--Angry Birds Hay Bales!! How cool!!

 ORGANIC SOAPS, BATH + BODY

Our next vendor is one you will need to visit for some great stocking stuffers, gifts for everyone in your life and little treats for yourself. When I first contacted Lisa, owner of Volta Organics, she was in Europe traveling around and looking for more inspiration. She couldn't make our September festival but was excited about the October one. All of Lisa's products are handmade in small batches in Philly. And she is completely committed to a simple idea:  providing high quality bath and body products that are made from organic and all-natural, eco-friendly ingredients.Now's the time to stock up!! She's bringing all kinds of goodies; handmade soaps, body butters, lotions, sprays, etc. Visit her gorgeous website here for more of a preview! Volta Organics

NEIGHBORHOOD PRIDE

The Mayor of Mayfair and his First Lady modeling Tacony Gear.

You've seen all those t-shirts around that are Mayfair and Tacony specific right? Wanted to know where you can buy them for all your relatives? Well here's your chance. MBA member, Tacony Gear will be there with a selection of their most popular t-shirts! Visit their Facebook page for more of their products. Tacony Gear.

Get yours!!

Since we're all about keeping it as local as possible and many of the finest ladies of the Mayfair/Tacony/Holmesburg community (including myself) are St. Hubert's alumnae, Marcy, a member of the St. Hubert's Alumnae Board, will be at the Fall Festival continuing the great work of supporting this wonderful institution of learning. Make sure you help the younger Bambies out by supporting Marcy and St. Hubert's by buying up all the chances for a prom package donated by some of the Mayfair Merchants and a trip to Rivera Maya, Mexico.  The winners do not have to be a member of the school community.

The Bambies want to send YOU to this paradise!

JEWELRY
Looking for some more stuff to add Halloween flair to an already fabulous outfit? Check out the Halloween handmade jewelry sponsored by MBA member, BellaLisa Hair studios. One of BellaLisa's fabulous stylist's, Lisa D.,  has been busy crafting and creating earrings, pins, and all kinds of adorable Halloween goodies for your wearing pleasure! Here's a preview of what's to come! Get it while it lasts!

ARTISAN WINE RACKS
Artisan Frank Mifflin of Steel your Idea is a local boy who makes amazing handcrafted wine racks and metal display pieces. Again, since you're planning on stocking up for the holidays with all the wine you'll be buying from Cardinal Hollow and Desiato Winery you're going to need someplace to store the 3 cases you buy. While the cardboard boxes are nice and all, you know your wine wants to look as cool as possible while it's waiting to be consumed.  For example:

This.

LOVE this!!

I call this "The Lightweight" because even though it looks awesome, clearly you need more wine.

Mayfair Fall Festival and Farmers' Market Preview--10/14/12

So you're ready for the second Mayfair Fall Festival and Farmers Market preview right? You've been salivating for a sandwich from Lil' Dan's, cupcakes from The Sinful Cupcake and Cafe, and you're already scraping the bottom of the jars of honey you bought from Mill Creek Apiary and Philadelphia Bee Company? Yeah, me too. Well it's this Sunday, 10/14/12 from 9am to 2pm on the 3500 block of Ryan Ave. (near Frankford and Cottman).

While we have many of the the same vendors as last time I recommend you review the following links to refresh your memory and taste buds:

Here
More Here
aaaaaand Here!
One more

We have answered your requests for MORE vendors! Without further ado, here are the additional vendors bringing you even more goodies on Sunday, from 9am to 2pm. Mark your calendars and start getting excited right now!!

BAKED GOODS
I'm just going to throw some pictures up and let's do some word association exercises. Ready?

 Turkish Fig Blondies:

Chocolate Chip Agave Nectar Whoopie Pies:

Madagascar Vanilla Bean Wafer Cookies:

Seasonal Pies: Pictured Cherry. Actual Pies that will be at the Farmers' Market: Pumpkin and Sweet Potato.

If your answer was anything remotely resembling "SWEET, DELICIOUS, OMIGOSH!" you are correct. Desiree of Desiree's Desserts will be bringing all of the above AND some apple & pear crumbles plus her infamous Carrot Cupcakes w/ Crystallized Ginger Cream Cheese Icing. Visit her website here for a picture gallery that will give you a sweet tooth. Desiree's Desserts

WINERIES

You know Sunday is going to be great for doing some pre-holiday shopping. Wine always makes a great gift to have on hand for company that drops in or even to give away as gifts to those people who surprise you with an unexpected present. Stock up with the wines from one of the two wineries that will be there on Sunday.

Chris Boyd of  Cardinal Hollow Winery from North Wales, PA will be bringing several selections of his wines. Chris is a first generation wine maker and according to his website, alcohol is in his genes. His grandfather come over from Europe and settled in Syracuse NY back in the 1920's and apparently, to make some money, he modified a V-8 Oldsmobile and would run moonshine from Quebec down to Syracuse. So basically Chris is related to Nucky Thompson and is clearly awesome. Chris made his first batch of wine in 1995 and today they are making over 25 different wines and producing over 2,000 gallons of wine a year. Come out to try his famous Jalapeno wine!

COFFEE

The clamor for coffee was so great after our first Fall Festival that we went on a hunt for a local barista. Luckily we didn't have to go too far to find Lisa and Bill of Great Awakenings Cafe who were recommended to us by several of their friends who are Mayfair neighbors. They will be serving up hot coffee, iced teas and coffee and some pastries. They are only there from 9-11pm so get it while it lasts!!

This Week in Mayfair (10/07/12)

Last Will and Testament of Your Favorite MBA Blogger

Friday, 10/05/12

I really wanted to do this will and testament as a video blog on Saturday night while at my friends Jess and Nick's wedding but nobody wants to be subjected to an hour and half video of me dancing like a fool, spilling vodka tonics on myself, stuffing cake in my face, and slurring out "No! YOU'RE an a**hole!".  Plus there's probably something non-binding about me not being in my right "frame of mind" considering I would be visibly intoxicated or some such legal crap when I give my collection of vintage My Little Pony figurines to both you AND my sister and it ends up blowing up into this big thing. Trust me. No one wants to start a war like that. Alright maybe the Iranians do. Hands off my Cotton Candy and Butterscotch, Ahmadinejad!

I want THOSE ponies.

Alright, so let me give you a little background on what happened here or at least events leading up to and around my imminent demise. I can't give you a minute by minute because that's the Delaware state coroner's job. Just know, if he says it's because I fell off a 4-wheeler (or pick-up truck) while driving around the QVC parking lot blasting 80's hair band music (When in Rome), he's only half right.

Welcome to the first state.

 So anyway, a couple months ago I found out my friend Clare's husband, Matt wasn't planning on coming to Jess and Nick's nuptials because he's in a wedding the night before and thought it might be too much because we're all "OLD" and have "KIDS". I told him to stop worrying about further damaging his delicate girl parts and to get his Italian ass down to the first state because it was going to be a rocking good time and all of the college peeps hadn't been together since the last wedding which was about about 10 years ago. Matt took this to heart and threw the gauntlet my way. However, what started out as a 3-shot challenge of  Matt's choice to me has somehow morphed into Matt and I going toe-to-toe and drink-for-drink at this wedding and will most likely end in me passed out in a bathtub or on the golf course while Matt calmly sips whiskey over my lifeless body and laughs with my husband.

The original challenge.

(**For the record, Jess the bride also chimed in and called Matt "W-E-A-K" for not coming, but apparently it's rude in this country to make the bride puke on herself and the dress she spent thousands of dollars.  I say that's a bunch of bull since it's the 21st century and women's rights, yadda, yadda, yadda. Especially when said modern females happen to be right, albeit big mouthed.)

Technically this should be Jess.

So here is my final bequest to you; a list of phrases, sayings or actions that I've wanted to incorporate into the blog that I never had a chance to use. What? You guys don't keep a list of phrases that you think up to use on special blogging occasions? Oh that's just me? Well, we've already established the fact that I am indeed a NERD so we'll just leave it at that. Please enjoy these final moments of what I thought were future out-of-context comic gems.

1. *Jazz hands*

2.  Obviously the brakes are busted on that car because she drove right past loonyville and straight into crazy town. 

3. Nobody puts Scoatsie in a corner. 

4. I mean really, what's not funny about numerous and random dick jokes?

5. This ad because God himself may have written it.
6.This meme:

7. Stop worrying about furthering damaging your delicate girl parts
8. Listen, I knocked. It was YOUR grandmom who heard it and proceeded on her quest to make out with the dog.
9. It's really is only a matter of time before Kermit and Ms. Piggy come out with a sex tape.
10. Ectoplasm is just one of those words that can be used in a variety of ways and it can either sound intelligent or sorta pervy. See also: Vortex, Booboisie, Puisne, Supererogation, Snollygoster.

(Blog aside:  I'm not even kidding you when I say Matt is sh*t-talk texting (STT) me as I compose this blog. He's claiming he was going to take it easy on me until he found out we won't be there til later because we have "responsibilites" (read: kids) and now he's upset because he wanted to pre-game and play golf with the hubby. Somehow this is my fault, so we're back to "I'm going to eff you up status". Will I have NO peace on my final night on earth??)


So now you know how it all ended for me and honestly, it's really not how I pictured it at all. I imagined something noble like falling off a mountain while trying to save orphaned baby goats.

I'll save you baby goats!

Or glamorous or even slightly scandalous.

This covers both a glamorous and scandalous way to die.

 Naturally, I've always assumed it would involve alcohol . I mean, when God wants to call you home, he does it. And apparently, He wants to call me home at end of a raucous wedding of a good friend on the picturesque beaches of the Delaware coast while I'm ass up in a sand trap. Who am I to question?

My odds of survival= slim to none.

So what will I miss this week in Mayfair? Well, my funeral for one, which you better all be at otherwise I will haunt the ever loving poo out of you. I want to be laid in state at the Grey Lodge Pub where I can be surrounded by craft beers and quality servers who will be sure to send me off the proper Irish way; in a sea of tears(fake it til you make it), whiskey and beer. Unfortunatley, it can't be on Tuesday (Lucky 13 Homebrewers Club Meeting, 7:30 to 8:30), or on Wednesday at 8pm (Quizzo) which I would still win even though rigor mortis has clearly set in, I can't write anymore and more importantly, my brain is leaking out my ears. That's why I have 3 other teammates to hold the pen for me and wipe up the mess. You'd BETTER lose to my team and my (clearly) dead body or I start randomly appearing in your mirrors and writing things like "Die" and "You're not getting anything in your tax returns this year." BooooBOOOOOO!!!!!

And clearly it can't be on Sunday because Scoats and crew have big plans starting at 7pm til 9pm inspired by one of their patrons Rich Klein. Rich wrote to Scoats: "Apparently on October 14, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a bill making it legal for Americans to make their own beer. I was hoping to commemorate this day, you could put something special on your schedule of events!" So Scoats made it happen and the "Home Brew Legalization Day" celebration was born.  So homebrewers, bring some of your beer to swap with other brewers. However, please note that due to liquor laws (blah), you'll have to drink any home brews at home. Sorry kids. Dems is the rules....

People of America, I give you "Home Brew Legalization Day" and an international crisis.

(New text from Matt: "I'm willing to sacrifice my own well-being tomorrow to make you suffer."  I told him I was planning on carb loading and hydrating all day tomorrow (if only I had this type of focus at the gym) and eating the entire bread basket myself to buy me an hour. He evil "LOL'd" at me. I'm so effed.)

Well kids, it's been nice knowing you all. I hope you've been at least mildly entertained by me in some capacity. Do me a favor and be nice to the new blogger. Rarely does depraved lightening strike twice.