Terror Behind the Walls

Happy Halloween everyone!

Being a horror movie buff and fan of anything creepy, Halloween definitely ranks as one of my favorite holidays. Unfortunately, I married a man who can't stand scary stuff. It's not that he's scared (well, maybe a little - deep down), it's that he finds it silly and doesn't see how people get enjoyment out of it. He also HATES people jumping out at him (or on a screen) because he doesn't like being startled, so that really limits my ability to ease him into the genre.

Luckily, he had enough other positive attributes and things in common with me that the disinterest in horror wasn't a deal breaker early in our relationship (it probably would have been for anyone else, which proves I married the right guy!).

That said, if there was one thing I could change about Joe, it would be that he liked scary stuff even a fraction as much as me. Seriously, it means so much to me that if I found a genie I'd use one of my three wishes on it.

I have made some headway in the 5 years we've been together.  When we met, he didn't like dressing up for Halloween. Over the years, we have had some wicked cool costumes and this year he excitedly made the executive decision as to what we would be (after 4 couples costumes chosen by moi, it was only fair he get a shot). He's also watched some scary movies with me - all of the Scream movies, the Exorcist, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Paranormal Activity.

But the one thing that I could never get him to budge on was going to a haunted house. So I'd always go alone while he stood outside catching up on espn.com.

Until last week :)

***Side Note*** I specifically saved this post for Halloween since we won't be celebrating until tomorrow. I couldn't NOT have a Halloween related post on October 31. See how great of a planner I am?! ***End of Side Note***

Philadelphia has one of the premiere haunted houses in the country: Terror Behind the Walls. It's 45 minutes long (SERIOUSLY!) and takes place at Eastern State Penitentiary, an old prison in Philadelphia that is literally falling apart (and which I described in this blog post).

When we visited Philly for his interview last year, I wanted to go but since Joe wasn't game we skipped it. When I found out he got accepted to Penn, my second reaction (after
"OMG his first choice!") was "YES! Four years of Terror Behind the Walls!"

Not kidding.

Of course, I never expected Joe to attend. After all, how could I possibly think he'd be willing to pop his haunted house cherry on not just the scariest haunted house I've ever heard of, but one he couldn't escape for 45 whole minutes?!

Well, I married a man full of surprises because a couple weeks ago while I was doing dishes he presented me with an envelope. I opened it to find two tickets to Terror Behind the Walls. I was in shock (and should do dishes more often, apparently haha). 

Our tickets were for last Wednesday, and I took photos on my iPhone to document the experience:

Terror Behind the Walls, as I mentioned, takes place at Eastern State Penitentiary. A wicked cool setting for a haunted house!

When we arrived, we had to sign waivers. For reals.

That's me pretending to be scared. Secretly I was about to pee myself with excitement at the fact that a haunted house needed a waiver to be signed. I expected to be horrified, and couldn't wait.

After signing the waivers, we got into line and heard an announcer shout that we had a choice to make: we could opt for a scarier experience by wearing a glow necklace and blood on our face, or we could have the regular experience. The catch is, the scarier experience means that the people in the haunted houses can touch you, grab you, and even "abduct" you!

Joe was caught off guard at the option, because before we got there I promised him that no one would be able to touch him (I've never been to a haunted house where it's been allowed). Although I tried to persuade him otherwise, he opted NOT to have the scarier experience.

Scared at the thought he might be touched.

I, of course, readily opted FOR the scarier experience:

Most everyone else did as well, as you can see from these  line pics:

I couldn't get any photos inside the haunted house (which is really 6 different haunted houses, all with different themes), but it was awesome! Definitely the scariest I've been too.

And the good news, besides the fact we both survived, is that Joe didn't hate it! In fact, he said he'll come back next year since he loved seeing me have such a good time :)

What a man I married :)

More good news. My 19-year-old brother Brian made a last minute decision to visit us in Philly for a week. He gets here Saturday night, and our first stop is Terror Behind the Walls. He loves haunted houses, and I can't wait for him to experience this one!

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Repli-Kate - Pumpkin "Muffins"

I'm typically a very smart shopper. I print out coupons at home, head straight to sale racks at the store, and you are 99% more likely to find me at Nordstrom Rack over regular ole' Nordies.

But there must be some pleasure center in my brain that lights up when I am in a Costco because I WANT IT ALL. 

***Side Note*** I won't even get started on what an infomerical or issue of Skymall magazine does to me ***End of Side Note***

Whatever this spell is that Costco has me under, I see something I could conceivably need and find a way to justify it into my cart.

Case in point? I have never made anything out of pumpkin before. But the last time Joe and I were at Costco I saw a three pack of giant cans of Libby's pumpkin and decided I NEEDED it. I spewed out something about there being two whole months ahead of us where serving pumpkin is acceptable, we are having guests for Thanksgiving, I am cooking more, Joe said himself he wants pumpkin foods... etc, etc, etc.

Joe shook his head in a resigned acceptance that we weren't leaving without three giant cans of America's Favorite Pumpkin. I took that as my cue, and I happily skipped over to the display, plucked up my pumpkin, and distractedly dropped it in our cart as I caught a delicious looking sample out of the corner of my eye and, having won this battle, had already lost interest.

"America's Favorite Pumpkin" is not just me exaggerating about America's fondness for Libby's. It says so on the can.

This was a month ago, with 60 whole days of acceptable pumpkin-eating ahead of us. According to my spiel, by this time I should have easily used at least 1.5 cans making a variety of pumpkin goodies.

So have I? Of course not.

And with Halloween tomorrow (yay!) I knew I had to take a can opener to at least one of these bad boys or I might lose some of my Costco credibility with Joe (and that would be tragic).

So I scoured Pinterest for pumpkin muffin recipes and found the easiest recipe I have ever seen. SCORE!

Seriously - easiest recipe ever. All you need is a box of yellow cake mix and a regular can of Libby's (or half of one of my monsters). THAT'S IT.

***Side Note*** You can add spices if you want - I chose to add two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice and highly recommend that you do the same. Then again, I like things really flavorful, so maybe you'd prefer 1 1/2 tsp. ***End of Side Note***

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350

Stir together one box of yellow cake mix and one 15 oz. can of Libby's pumpkin

If you'd like, add 2ish tsp. of pumpkin pie spice

Fill a muffin tin - each 3/4 full (recipe will make 12)***

Cook for 20-25 minutes (I checked mine at 18 minutes and they were done, but my oven's nickname is Hades)

Enjoy!

*** The recipe I followed recommended piping the batter into the muffin tin (you can make a piping bag out of a ziploc with a cut off corner). I did this and am SO glad I did. The mixture is really sticky - and a spoon would have lead to frustration and cursing

When you finish, you can fill a cute little bowl like I did. I put them in a bowl solely because they were cute that way - in no way was it done to disguise the fact that I was snacking on tasting the goods ;)

The 80+ 3x5 cards that you spent 8 hours making for your husband aren't required... unless you are a dental (or medical, law, etc.) school wife. If so, you have probably felt my pain.

And, let's be real. These aren't pumpkin muffins - they are pumpkin cupcakes. That is, until breakfast tomorrow. Then they will certainly be referred to as muffins ;)

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New Blog Design

I'm still in shock that I hit "publish" on my 150th blog post a couple days ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I'd keep up with this blog for so long (or, let's be honest, have enough going on in my pretty boring life to have 150 entries worth of things to say).

But I've done it, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

In honor of my recent milestone (and because I'm bored out of my mind after Joe spent over 24 hours studying this weekend), I decided to give the blog a facelift.

Hope ya'll enjoy :)

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Day 5 of S&K's Philly Adventure

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Stacey's flight was set to leave around 6 p.m. on Sunday. As our last hurrah, we hit up Philly's Italian Market - the U.S.'s largest working outdoor market.

Just like Reading Terminal Station, I was kicking myself that it took me almost 5 months to check out this Philadelphia gem. As a proud (part) Italian, I love Italian culture and had been wanting to check out the Italian Market ever since we got here... I just hadn't yet. I was planning to wait until my parents visit in December, which in retrospect was a stupid plan. Why miss out any longer than I already had?  Not only is the Italian Market now a MUST for my Christmas shopping plans, but I plan to stop by any time I am in South Philly. It's THAT awesome.

***Side Note*** Fun fact, we talked with a lady from the visitor center and she said that the weekend is the best time to come because it is less busy than the weekdays. This shocked me, as I always assume everything is busier on weekends - especially a place that should attract tourists. So, if you plan to come to Philly and check out the Italian Market - do it on a Saturday or Sunday. ***End of Side Note***

We spent a couple hours exploring the different stores and Stacey bought a lot of goodies to give to her friends and family. Though I had already spent too much over the last few days, I couldn't resist buying some delicious rosemary olive oil, homemade pumpkin raviolis, and fresh basil. I also bought a bone from the butcher for Buster, but that didn't turn out so well...

I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but here's a few to give you an idea of what it's like:

After the Italian Market, we headed home and watched football and Stacey packed. Heading to the airport came way too quick, but at least we (ahem - STACEY) remembered to get a pic of us before she left. Almost 4 years of friendship and we have ZERO pictures together. Ridic.

Of course the one pic of us has me not only ball cap adorned, but make-up free after I cut onions and cried my face clean. When she comes back THIS SPRING :) :) :) I demand a re-shot ;)

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Day 4 of S&K's Philly Adventure

Before I start, I need to make an announcement...

This is my 150th blog post! 

Holy cow.

Now that my mind is sufficiently blown, allow me to walk you through Day 4 of Stacey & Kate's Philly Adventure.

By this point in the trip, I had officially 100% fallen in love with Philadelphia. I was mad crushing before, but looking at the city again through tourist glasses made me realize how lucky I am to live here. I was pumped for another day of exploration.

Anyone want to buy me this for Christmas?

Like any good explorers, we had to make sure we started the day well nourished; so we walked to a popular brunch place in Philly called Sabrina's Cafe. The route to the University City location (the area of Philly where we live) took us right through Penn's campus so Stacey got to wonder in its beauty. And she shot this pic of Joe and me:

That's right! Joe graced us with his presence again for brunch! But he sadly had to get back to the books right after, so Stacey and I bid him farewell and headed toward our first stop: the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Now, I have a confession to make. I hate art museums. They bore me to tears. I really wish that I liked them because I feel like it would make me more cultured, but I just don't get the appeal. Luckily, we weren't stopping there for the art (especially because a ticket is $20!). Instead, we were going because that's where the famous Rocky stair scene was filmed!

Ya, it's been a while since I watched the movie (and also apparently can't look behind me for a reminder). This is clearly more of a flex pose than a celebratory pose. Haha.

Following our trip to the steps (which Stacey ran up and I slowly ascended), we headed to Eastern State Penitentiary. For those of you familiar with Alcatraz, it's similar. Only it's not surrounded by water. And it hasn't been preserved well.

***Side Note*** When Joe and I visited Philly for his interview exactly one year ago this month (wow - mind blown again!), Eastern State Penitentiary was one of the few sights we had time to see. I was excited to go because it's supposedly haunted and they also host one of the best haunted houses in the country every fall. Though we didn't do the haunted house (Joe hates them), the audio tour of the prison was awesome and very creepy ***End of Side Note***

A little bit about ESP from their website:

"Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cell blocks and empty guard towers.
Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts."

Since I had somewhat recently visited and taken the audio tour, my focus was on taking photos. You see, this time last year when I visited I only had my iPhone. Now I have my fancy camera that I got for Christmas.

***Side Note*** Disclaimer (again): Yes, I have a fancy camera. Yes, I took expensive classes to learn to use it. No, I don't remember anything I learned. No, I haven't practiced using anything but auto-mode. No, I don't know how to use any type of photo editing software - what you see is all camera. ***End of side note***

Who wants to tour an old prison? ME ME ME!!!!

I hate when people are in my pics, so here's one cutting them out. Looks MUCH creepier :)

What the cells would have looked like

What they look like after the place was neglected for 20+ years.

What Al Capone's cell looked like, just as a comparison. Stacey said it looks very Tower of Terror. She was SO RIGHT.

One of the cell blocks

More ruins

Gate for the medical wing

Beautiful destruction

Starting to wonder if we're safe walking around here ;)

Love that guard tower

Seriously love it

After Eastern State Penitentiary, we went back to Reading Terminal Market. We didn't have much time when we went there on Thursday (we were rushing a warm cheesesteak home for Joe), and we wanted to have a chance to explore some more, try some famous Philly ice cream, and take some photos.

Reading Terminal Market is home to 80 merchants, some Amish! (see Lancaster County Farm Fresh photo). You can buy cheesteaks, ice cream, meat, produce, fish, spices, kitchenware, cookbooks, candy, baked goods, etc. I bought some candy and beef jerky for Joe, and Stacey bought some Amish cookies and jellies. 

I had heard about it before, but never had a chance to visit. Now that I have, it's a must-do for any of my friends or family who visit us! I'm already planning to do a lot of Christmas shopping there...

As the day came to a close, we headed home and Joe ran out to grab us some burgers from Bobby's Burger Palace for dinner. We ended the night with burger-filled bellies, watching Dr. 90210. A perfect last night :)

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Day 3 of S&K's Philly Adventure - With a Special Appearance by JOE

Last Friday was a true dream day for me: shopping at the largest mall in America, a delicious dinner, and a ghost tour!

Stacey and I left Friday morning for King of Prussia, which is about 30-60 minutes away depending on traffic and the route you take. We took the scenic route on the pretense that I wanted Stacey to see some smaller towns and more of Pennsylvania's "natural beauty" along the back roads. The real reason was that I was petrified to drive the rental car we are using while my car is getting its boo-boos fixed, and most certainly did not want to try it out on the freeway.

She totally called my bluff ;)

Boy were we glad we took those back roads. It was a GORGEOUS fall day, complete with trees releasing their colorful leaves on the car as we drove along. I'm kicking myself for not getting pictures.

When we reached King of Prussia mall, we were met with a whole different kind of beauty. A mall so large it couldn't be contained to one building. Yes, there were TWO giant malls ripe for the shopping. And shop we did!

After a few hours of shopping (and a quick cheesesteak break), we hit up some other stores in the area and then headed home. Joe was getting out of class at 5, and planned to take the night off to join us for dinner and then a ghost tour of Old City.

The original dinner plan was to go to City Tavern (which is HAUNTED and would have been a perfect start to our spooky night). Unfortunately, shopping took longer than expected and even though I DROVE HOME ON THE FREEWAY (cue the fanfare), it would have been too tight to try to make our reservation.

Instead, we hit up Distrito: an awesome tapas restaurant owned by Iron Chef Jose Garces (and very close to our apartment). For the second time that day, I was a moron and didn't take pictures. I blame it on the two margaritas...

With full bellies, we made our way to Old City via the subway (my first time using it in Philly) and met up with our tour guide just in time for her to point me in the direction of an open bathroom (once again, I blame it on the margaritas). The tour was by a company Stacey found called Free Tours By Foot. True to its name, you don't pay anything for the tour upfront. Instead, at the end you just tip your guide based on how much you enjoyed yourself. A pretty sweet concept.

The tour was awesome, and we heard a lot of spooky stories. For the first time that day, I FINALLY remembered to use my camera. Though I still don't know how to use the darn thing, I am so happy to have a DSLR because even on auto-mode (and AT NIGHT) it takes some mighty fine pics.

One of our first stops was Washington Square where we walked over the bodies of an estimated 3,000-8,000 people. The park was first used as a potters' field, next for bodies of American Revolutionary soldiers who died in a British controlled prison across the street, and, lastly, as extra burial space for victims of the 1793 Yellow Fever outbreak (they ran out of room in the regular cemeteries because the outbreak killed 10% of the population).

Another interesting stop was the Pennsylvania Hospital: the first hospital in the U.S. That statue (which is hard to see in my second pic) is of William Penn and there is an interesting story about him. Every so often, the statue "wanders off." Yup. People always thought it was pranksters moving the statue, but the area has been on camera since the 1980's and the statue has still moved. In 1982 the camera went to snow for just TWO minutes and he was gone! All 1,000 pounds of him! He was found lying next to a patient's bed in the psych ward. Try explaining THAT one!

And I thought Chucky was a freaky doll.

Interesting that Mr. "I hate horror stuff" was paying such close attention ;) I swear I am rubbing off on this guy.

Wouldn't be a ghost tour without a shot of a cemetery. This one is supposedly haunted by Hessian soldiers who all died of Yellow Fever and were buried here. They had used the tombstones as target practice, and the thought is that they are doomed to protect the sacred ground they once defiled.

St. Peter's Church. In the cemetery of this church, seven Indian chiefs who died of smallpox on a visit to Philadelphia in 1793 are buried. According to legend, they haunt the churchyard because they were not buried according to tribal customs.

The Customs House. Not creepy, but it can be seen briefly in Ghostbusters.

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Days 1&2 of S&K's Philly Adventure

Now that my fantasy line-up is set (though this week does not look good), I have some time to blog about Stacey and Kate's Philly Adventure.

The adventure began last Wednesday when we picked Stacey up from the airport. Of course, the best way to introduce her to West Philadelphia was to take the route home that goes through the hood. Although she was not as fortunate as my mother who saw a man dealing drugs with a boa constrictor around his neck (no lie), it was still interesting for her to see what most people think all of West Philly is like.

When she arrived, she met Buster and I went to work finishing up dinner (remember, I am all domestic now).

Back in California, we lived in the same apartment building for over a year and she'd often come over to have dinner and watch some guilty pleasure TV. So we, of course, had to do the same here. We started with a Makenzie episode of Toddlers and Tiaras (she's our fave)...

And then watched some Dr. 90210...

Like I said, guilty pleasure TV.


Thursday morning we headed to Old City where most of the historical sights in Philly are located (Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, etc.). We had heard late Wednesday night that the government shutdown had ended, so expected to be able to get in to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Alas, neither were set to open until *maybe* noon (we couldn't get a firm answer on anything) and since Stacey could see the Liberty Bell through a window she said she didn't need to wait around for either to open. We can always do them next time (she's coming back in the Spring!).

Instead, we checked out things NOT controlled by the feds.

Like Christ Church and its cemetery:

The Betsy Ross House:

 and Elfreth's Alley:

We took a break from history for a little shopping and I got a fabulous new coat and some fun booties from Burlington. That store really is more than great coats ;)

After shopping, we headed to LOVE Park so we could see the famous Philly Love sculpture. Though they have a reproduction on the Penn campus that I've seen, I hadn't yet seen the original. It was awesome!

Which is near City Hall:

And not too far from Reading Terminal Station where we got Stacey's first Philly Cheesesteak :)

It was an awesome day! 

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