Cupcakes and Grandmas

On Halloween night, I drove to Jonesboro, Arkansas (about an hour north of Memphis) for my Me-Maw's annual Halloween party. She loves Halloween, and every year family members gather at her place for a chili dog feast (I get veggie dogs, of course). Me-Maw decorates every square inch of her house in Halloween decor — motion-activated screaming ghouls, witches, ghosts, fiber-optic pumpkins, you name it.

Here's me with all my grandparents in front of one of Me-Maw's holiday displays:

Left to right: Me, Granny (the one who veganizes everything!), Me-Maw, and Pa

For the past two years, I've brought the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World to Me-Maw's party:

These are probably my favorite recipe in the whole book. I love how they're like a cross between a muffin and a cupcake. And I also love that my pumpkin-hating mom actually likes these!


After the family party, I drove back to Memphis for the "Hell on Earth" costume party at Earnestine & Hazel's, a South Main dive bar located in a former brothel. I don't really know what I was ... perhaps some kind of punk rocker?

My friend Greg was some kind of creepy scarecrow, but all his hay fell out over the course of the night. I think he looks more like one of
those scary kids from that horror film, The Orphanage.