Celebrating Halloween 2024 in Córdoba: Our Spooky American Tradition

It's been quite a difficult couple of weeks – it usually is around this time of year. Luckily, Halloween was just around the corner to lift our spirits and help us forget about all the drama that's been going on lately.

We kicked things off with our usual tradition of setting up the Halloween tree, which looked even more ghoulish this year. We always try to add something new to the tree, and this year didn’t disappoint.

But we did something a little different this time and decorated our coffee table with a Book of Shadows, Resident Evil and Charmed novels, along with an assortment of hauntingly cool items. Among them were skeleton heads, blood bags, shovels, a crystal ball, and of course, the ceramic Jack O' Lantern candy holder and cauldron cup from Ghostly.

We also jazzed up the shelf above our TV with a couple of Halloween items, including two more ceramic Jack O' Lanterns from Ghostly. One of them was the original candy holder that arrived broken earlier this year. Luckily, a little super glue saved the day – so now we have two!

Of course, no Halloween celebration would be complete without candy. I think we may have gone a bit overboard this year. As of the time I published this post, all the candy was gone. I honestly don’t know how we’ve avoided diabetes, but we somehow managed. Also, I do want to point out that Argentina's selection of Halloween candies has improved significantly since our arrival twelve years ago.

Now, if you’ve seen our Halloween celebrations in past years, you know we go all out when it comes to food and treats. Although we were on a tighter budget this year, we still managed to make some pretty tasty things. And, yes, we bought a couple of ready-made items too. Don't worry – I'll tell you which ones!

So, here are our homemade Halloween-themed peanut butter cups in the shape of Jack O' Lanterns and Witch hats.

Our second item was technically our first as the hubs arranged his homemade pancakes and donuts into this adorable monster face for breakfast.

Then the hubs made his famous dirt pudding. All he needed were some crushed Oreo cookies, some homemade pudding, some gummy worms, and an empty Starbucks cup.

And for all you health nuts out there, the hubs gave these cucumber slices a spooky makeover. He carved the eyes and mouth using a straw.

This is actually a homemade coconut cake. We used food coloring to turn the icing orange. Then we used chocolate chips to make the eyes and mouth for this Jack O' Lantern cake.

Graveyard Brownies, anyone? The tombstones were made out of coconut cookies, while the Umbrella Corporation shed was made out of Kit Kat bars. The shovel, zombie human and dog added a nice touch to this tasty dessert.

Again, for those of you who prefer healthier snacks on Halloween, we cut a few bananas, used chocolate chips to give them spooky eyes and then surrounded them with orange slices.

Full disclosure! The following items I'm about to share were either bought or we bought but modified with food coloring.

Alfajores are super popular here in Argentina—they’re basically two soft, crumbly cookies with dulce de leche (kind of like caramel) in the middle. A lot of them are covered in chocolate or dusted with powdered sugar, and there are all kinds of varieties.

Luckily, these two alfajores were covered in white icing, which gave us the perfect canvas to add some spooky features using a food coloring pen.

These donuts are actually from a pizza place called Bravucona, which offer donuts filled with Bavarian cream or jelly. They also come with eyes and a mouth. But as you can see, we gave one a vampiric makeover in the first photo and made the eyes in the second photo a little more pronounced.

These truffles were from a store called Rapanui and they came with these spooky designs beforehand, but they looked great on our coffin plate from Ghostly.

Another annual Halloween tradition at our house is watching a horror movie every day throughout October. So, here’s our 2024 list. Some of the films were classics, while others were brand new and surprisingly good. But, of course, there were some real duds too.

Halloween 2024 Movie List

• Strange Darling -- It was watchable
• Last Straw -- It was watchable
• AfrAId -- It was watchable
• Wrong Turn 2 Dead End - Bad, Bad, Bad
• Hold Your Breath - -- It was watchable
• The Crow - Waste of time
• Azrael -- It was watchable
• Beetlejuice 2 - Bad, Bad, Bad
• Hellboy The Crooked Man -- It was watchable
• Never Let Go -- It was watchable
• Resident Evil - A great classic!
• Scream - A great classic!
• Mr. Crocket - Decent but quickly forgettable
• Terrifier 3 - Decent
• Alien Romulus
• Stream - It was okay.
• Bagman - Disappointing.
• The Substance - It was okay
• False Positive - Meh
• Super Deep - Meh
• Smile 2 - Worst film of 2024
• Carved- A surprise hit
• A Nightmare on Elm Street - The original not the remake - Another great classic!
• The Hills Have Eyes 2 - Unrated - Sweet!
• Joy Ride 3 - Decent but not as good as the first one
• Don't Move - It was watchable
• Outside -  A total disaster of a zombie movie
• Dawn of the Dead
• The Faculty
• 28 Days Later
• The Others
• Time Cut - New and watchable, but easily forgettable
• Train to Busan
• Bonus - Final Destination in honor of Tony Todd. We watched this on November 9th after learning of his passing.

It's worth mentioning that the day before Halloween was my husband's 42nd birthday. Naturally, we focused more on his birthday celebration – we wanted the attention to be on him, not Halloween.

Thankfully, our dear friend Melisa joined us to celebrate. Though she couldn’t be with us on Halloween itself, we helped her get into the spirit a day early by carving Jack O' Lanterns out of peppers.

It’s not the first time we’ve done this. The truth is, finding a good pumpkin to carve at the supermarket isn’t always easy, so we decided to carve peppers instead.

We filled them with rice and cheese, then baked them for about 20 minutes. They were absolutely delicious! I might add some red sauce next year to take them up a notch.

In addition to stuffed peppers, pizza, potato balls and cake, we also made my husband's favorite non-alcoholic drink, which is a Shirley Temple.

Now, I'm more of a fan of alcohol than he is, so we also made alcohol-laced Jell-O and placed them in these skull shot cups.

Afterward, we had some fun taking photos in a collection of masks we've gathered over the years. I’m thinking of investing in more accessories next year so we can dress up in full-body costumes.

Speaking of costumes...

24 hours after my husband’s birthday, we decided to dress up as our own versions of Ghostface from Scream, the Terminator, and V from V for Vendetta. We snapped a couple of photos, but by this point, we were pretty exhausted.

Now, we're already thinking about next Halloween. Of course, those plans will have to wait as we prepare for Thanksgiving, which is only two weeks away. But we're a little worried because we haven’t been able to find any turkeys at the supermarket. It's not very popular in Argentina. In fact, last year we had chicken, but this year, I’m really hoping to cook a turkey.

I’ll keep you posted on whether I have any luck finding one!

Why Argentine Chain Mostaza Beats McDonald's and Burger King

Anyone who has ever asked me who makes the best burgers in the States has always gotten the same answer: McDonald's or Burger King. Of course, that’s not entirely true. The fact is, there are plenty of places that make better burgers in the States than these popular fast food chains, and the customer service is usually better, too. However, McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's have always been fast food staples in my life, going all the way back to my childhood. You know, back in the 80s when they served burgers in Styrofoam boxes. If I’m being honest, burgers tasted better in those than they do in the cardboard boxes used today. But, of course, everyone’s eco-friendly these days, and Styrofoam is the enemy. Oh well… moving on.

When my husband and I moved to Argentina in 2012, we were relieved to see that Córdoba had both McDonald's and Burger King. Honestly, I’ve tried burgers made by Argentines, and they are the worst!

Naturally, I assumed no Argentine fast food restaurant could ever live up to the standards of American fast food. Well, I was wrong!

It turns out that Mostaza, a local Argentine fast food chain reportedly started in Córdoba, offers better-tasting burgers and crispier fries than McDonald's or Burger King combined. Not to mention, the customer service is way better!

Now, the burger I’m about to show you is one of many varieties that Mostaza offers and it might not look as perfect as you’d expect. Then again, when has a Big Mac ever looked as good in real life as it does in the promos? Also, keep in mind that these images are from a delivery order, not directly from the restaurant itself. And in my experience, delivery food tends to get a bit beat up before it reaches its final destination. But if you're looking for better images and a list of all their items, check out their website here.

If I had one complaint about Mostaza, it would be that they never fill their fries to the top, so there’s definitely room for improvement there.

They could also offer more than just ketchup and mayo packets. I wouldn’t mind some barbecue or honey mustard sauce. Other than that, their burgers taste great, and I’m absolutely in love with Mostaza’s chicken wrap.

I highly recommend it, especially since I’ve been eating so many burgers lately that I’m in need of something new.

Overall, Mostaza has pleasantly surprised me, proving that even after all these years, there's always something new to discover, even in the world of fast food.

The Argentine Economy’s Decline: A Shocking Price Comparison from 2013 to 2024

I’ve been holding off on doing one of these price comparison posts between Argentine pesos and USD because, quite frankly, the Argentine peso has gone from being extremely low in value to almost non-existent outside of Argentina. Now, if you have US dollars, these prices won’t make you bat an eyelash. In fact, in many cases, the cost of these supermarket items might even be cheaper than in the States. But if you’re living in Argentina with only Argentine pesos as your source of income, the price increases over the past few months have probably made your heart skip a beat.

So, without further ado, here are the prices from years past versus today, showing just how drastically the Argentine economy has deteriorated over time.

The price in 2013 in Argentine Pesos

The price in 2024 in Argentine pesos. Keep in mind that the 2024 version has 50 grams extra. The price in USD is about $4.02.

The price in 2013

The price in 2024 in USD is about $1.26.

The Price in 2013 for a 230 gram box

The price in 2024 for a 330 gram bag in USD is $2.63.

The price for this one is from 2016

The price in 2024 in USD is $1.26.

The Price of Diet Pepsi in 2013

The price in 2024 for regular Pepsi in USD is $2.63.

The price in 2013 

The price in 2024 in USD is $4.48.

The price in 2013

The price in 2024 in USD is $1.25.

The price in 2013

The price in 2024 in USD is $3.50.

The price in 2013 from the brand Lacteo

The price in 2024 from the brand: Manfrey in USD is $1.21.

 

As you can see, the price changes have been significant since we first arrived. Despite four changes in government, the Argentine economy seems to be going from bad to worse.

The official USD value of one Argentine peso is 0.0011 as of this post. Back on December 31st, 2012, the cost of one US dollar was 4.90 Argentine pesos. As of August 2024, the cost of one US dollar is 950.25 Argentine pesos.

Whether the economy here will ever see better days remains to be seen. But for now, some Argentines and expats alike are relying on remote work to earn USD in order to keep their heads above water.

Now, I’m not saying that Argentina is nearing its end. On the contrary, if there’s one thing I’ve learned during my time in this South American country, it’s that they know how to survive even in the darkest times. But it would be nice to see a silver lining in their economy, for everyone’s sake.

A Taste of Home: My Birthday Surprise with Lucky Charms in Argentina

I turned 47 this year, and let me tell you, it’s not easy to look like I’m in my late 30s without surgery or digital filters. A touch of skin cream and a good dye job certainly help, though! This year, my husband decided to give me a very special gift. No, it wasn’t a diamond ring or a chateau in Europe (neither of us could afford those luxuries), but what he got me was truly special to me.

Lucky Charms!

Now, hang on! I know what you’re thinking: "He got you cereal? What’s the big deal? It’s just a box full of sugar, calories, and carbs that you can buy at any store." Well, let me stop you right there. First of all, Lucky Charms has vitamins too—it says so right on the box. Second of all, Lucky Charms is one of several common cereal brands that are not sold in Argentine supermarkets. The last time I had a bowl of my favorite cereal was in 2012, just days before we took a plane and started our new life in Argentina. We haven’t been back to the States since, which means no Lucky Charms have touched these lips in over 12 years… until now.

How? You ask.

Distributors. More specifically, a distributor called Tomodachi Asian Food. As the name suggests, this company imports a variety of Asian products that are not commonly sold in Argentina. But they also offer a ton of food products from the States, too.

At first, I wasn’t sure how they managed it. Then I noticed that the Lucky Charms box was in Spanish, and the label on the back suggested it came from Chile. Maybe it’s easier to import directly from Chile than from the United States. I don’t know, and I don’t care. What matters most is that I was able to enjoy the magical taste of Lucky Charms once again.

But that’s not all.

A few weeks before my birthday, my husband and I ordered a few other items from Tomodachi Asian Food. The most notable among them was Kraft Mac and Cheese, which is also not commonly sold in Argentine supermarkets.

Distributors like Tomodachi and Kiosko 21 in Buenos Aires make it much easier to buy American food items like Pop-Tarts and Halloween-themed Oreo cookies. The prices, as you’ll see on their sites, might make you do a double take. After all, who wants to spend close to 80,000 Argentine pesos on cookies? But if you’re really craving a taste of home, you might just be willing to fork over the extra pesos. Besides, it won’t cost you nearly as much if you happen to have USD. So, check out what they have when you get a chance. I’ve hyperlinked the names of these places so you can just click and buy.

Happy shopping!

Haunted by Ghostly Store: Our Halloween Decor Delivery Drama

Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, and there's nothing I love more than decorating our home with our Halloween tree, Jack O’Lanterns, and an assortment of items that turn our space into something ghoulishly spooktacular.

Finding Halloween decor wasn’t always easy in Cordoba City. When we arrived in 2012, Halloween was virtually non-existent here. But over the years, party stores have started adding more and more items.

This year, we were lucky to discover an online store in Buenos Aires called Ghostly Store. They offer a range of ceramic Halloween decorations, including a few pumpkin plushies and gothic-looking mirrors.

Eager to add something new to our Halloween collection, we decided to order an assortment of items for about 135,000 Argentine pesos (approximately $142 USD). After waiting several weeks, our ceramic decorations finally arrived, and we couldn’t wait to see what was inside the box.

Let me share with you what we ordered.

Cereal Killer Bowl from Ghostly Store

Pumpkin Cup from Ghostly Store

Coffin Plate from Ghostly Store

Scream Cup from Ghostly Store

Jack O'Lantern from Ghostly Store

However, not everything was as we expected. Two pieces in particular were truly horrifying—but not in a fun Halloween way. We had ordered a large black cauldron and a Jack O’Lantern designed to hold candy. Instead, we received broken pieces that matched our broken hearts.

While the Jack O’Lantern seemed easy enough to repair, the cauldron was shattered into a lot of pieces. Considering the condition of the box, I was surprised that so many other items arrived intact. Clearly, we didn't pay that much money to fix damaged parts.

I guess I'm not really surprised. Disappointed definitely, but not surprised.

Correo Argentino is nothing like the United States Postal Service in the sense that the Argentine postal service sucks. I’m not saying USPS is perfect, but they do know how to handle packages (most of the time). In addition, most companies in the U.S., use sturdy boxes for shipping, but the one Ghostly Store used was flimsy. We also noticed they hadn’t labeled the box as “fragile.”

I emailed Ghostly Store to explain the situation. They apologized and promised to send replacements. It was very nice of them, but a month passed with no updates. I reached out again, and they apologized for the delay, explaining they were making more cauldrons and Jack O’Lantern candy holders. They promised to ship them once available. I expected this to mean a few more weeks, but I was wrong.

My original order was in May. The replacements were supposed to ship in June. By August, I still hadn’t received anything or heard from Ghostly Store. I contacted them again, and they once more apologized and shipped the replacement items. Within a week, my package arrived—but I wasn’t thrilled with what I found.

While the Jack O’Lantern candy holder was intact, the large cauldron was once again in a hundred pieces. That wasn't really shocking given that the flimsy box didn't have a fragile label this time either. Clearly, I wasn’t going to ask for yet another replacement, but I doubt I will order from Ghostly Store again.

Fortunately, a friend who had visited Buenos Aires a few months earlier bought a smaller cauldron mug from Ghostly Store at a horror convention and gifted it to us. I'll show you what it looks like in a future post.

Despite the order processing and shipping issues, Ghostly Store’s customer service reps were very kind. Though their kindness won’t bring my large cauldron back from the ceramic afterlife, we do have a really nice collection of Halloween-themed ceramic items to enjoy this year.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to start planning for this year’s first Friday the 13th.

Unpleasant dreams!