Happy (Belated) Summerween

I was surprised that I had never posted about Summerween before.  I felt like it had been around relatively long, as it's come up a bunch of times during my blog-material searches over the years, but I never gave it much more thought than that.  I think I was of the school of thought that celebrating Halloween outside of the traditional time frame was just not something I'd want to do.  That it somehow seemed irreverent (I'm extremely uptight).

Then a good friend of mine asked me if I wanted to do a Summerween cookout.  My first instinct was that she was putting me on.  She informed me of the origins of the odd informal cultural holiday.  Back in 2012, an animated series called Gravity Falls once had an episode that dealt with a town that loved Halloween so much it celebrated it twice a year.  The summer varietal of the holiday took place on June 22, and it was celebrated with jack-o'-melons, costumes, trick or treating, and loads of candy.

I agreed to a low-key version (no carved watermelons), but plenty of cocktails, mummy hotdogs, Halloween tunes, and a visit from a Witch.  As the haze from the Canadian forest fires began to clear in this region, we (uncomfortably) added our own smokey fog with a fire pit and way too many smoke bombs.  We were a month late, but it was a nice little party and a cool reminder that the real Halloween is getting ridiculously close.

Click here to watch the episode that started it all.

Here are some of our pics...

Forged Commodities

Some really neat stuff here.

Click here for the Etsy shoppe.

Cauldron Fire Pit

Love this idea.  

Image source.

Fire Goooood

Broke in our new Halloween fire pit last night after work.  

The maiden voyage was a blissful success... and seeing glowing bats and a jacko face smiling fire wasn't too shabby either.

Cider And Fire Pits

We took a trip to the Ironbound Farm and Ciderhouse this weekend and enjoyed some amazing cider in the most perfect and rustic setting.  Ordered a flight and food at the bar and then moved outside to a nice fire and enjoyed some drinks.  Will definitely be heading back soon.

Some of their neater offerings:

DEVIL’S HARVEST 

TART. JUICY. SUBLIME.

Infused with dry-harvested Pine Barrens cranberries and tart cherries, with a hint of white pepper in the finish.

JUNIPER HARD CIDER 

Juniper berries impart aromas of rosemary, lime peel, lemon, and subtle green apple in this rich, dry, intensely aromatic cider.

CAPE MAY ROSÉ 

A sweet-yet-dry summer infusion of Cape May beach plums and Ironbound farm-harvested aronia berries.

Their menu here.

And here's their IG.

Now Playing: Ardmore

By Dylan Henner.  

We took a short post-Halloween vacation across the state and into West Virginia.  Stayed in a sweet cabin in the woods that had a small stream flowing behind it.  Next to the stream was a fire pit.  Next to the fire pit were some fine drinks.  

While driving around the beautiful mountain roads, the below song came on.  Ardmore was the perfect soundtrack for the landscape out there, which had already lost most of its leaves.  

Click below...

Skull Fire Pit