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Wednesday Addams is the Halloween costume you don’t want to miss out on this year. From her dark braids to her panged makeup, the classic gory-loving adolescent girl is the ideal character to assume on the spookiest day of the year. Why? First crafted from the mind of cartoonist Charles Addams, then reimagined in the world of Tim Burton, Jenna Ortega became the “Queen of Creepy” last year when the Netflix series Wednesday quickly became one of the most watched across the globe for the streaming service. Wednesday’s gothic garments mirror her affinity for immoral behaviour and her inherent gloom. Her crisp collars and black ties are codes for what is typically referred to as “ivy-style”, with each suit stitched for the structure of a poised young woman – a contradiction to her otherwise raven-like characteristics and thirst for danger. Not only does Wednesday’s clean uniform aptly juxtapose her morose character, but it’s also very easy to recreate from what you already own in your wardrobe, or could find for cheap. Looking back at the eight-episode thriller, there’s only a few items needed to become the murder-solving Wednesday who’s captured everyone’s attention for the past year. Here’s some outfit options to embody the character of Wednesday Addams for Halloween. The classic schoolgirl Wednesday’s not someone to leave much up to chance. Her routine is consistent – minus the bloody extracurriculars and urge to break rules. However, the psychic prodigy is mainly seen in her Nevermore Academy uniform throughout the show. Just like any school uniform, the get-up consists of a fitted jacket, white button-down, black tie, grey sweater vest, long skirt, and loafers. Most of these items can be found at your local thrift store, if they’re not already hanging in your closet. Don’t worry about colour, Wednesday doesn’t care much for it. If you want to incorporate accessories that fully channel Wednesday’s character, buy a pair of chunky loafers ($70), sew a Nevermore patch ($14.90) onto your pinstripe jacket pocket, make sure your skirt is the same print as the coat, and get yourself a button-down with a long-pointed collar ($13.99). The polka-dot dress A misty cloud was enveloped around Wednesday from the very beginning. Even before she swapped public high school for a school dedicated to the supernatural, Wednesday stuck to dark colours. The polka-dot dress Ortega wore in the very first episode spoke volumes for her character. Walking through the halls and headed straight for the pool, with bags of piranhas ready to eat the flesh of her brother Pugsley’s bullies, Wednesday donned a long black dress with white polka-dots scattered all over. The garment was layered over her trademark sharp collar, and of course, her black tresses were pulled in two tight braids – never to be messed with. If you’re feeling lazy and aren’t up for the second-hand hunt, Amazon’s replica of Wednesday’s dress ($29.99) comes with both the top garment and long-sleeve undershirt. The fair Keeping with her consistent colour palette of black and white, the gifted teenager only swapped her pinstripe Nevermore ensemble for another print on her days off from school. Luckily, embodying Wednesday’s character outside of school is straightforward and effortless if you have black and white mixed into your clothing collection. All you need is a pair of black trousers, platform loafers, a black utility jacket, and a sweater with some monochrome embroidery. To match Wednesday’s look she donned at the fair – where she encountered the hyde for the first time – grab a gray hoodie and striped sweater. Since Wednesday is a girl of habit, most of her out-of-class outfits include variations of the black and white knitwear, like this checkered scoop neck sweater ($41.96). The school dance gown It’s a rarity to see Wednesday with her guard down, following her heart instead of her head. Even when she does, the character’s self-confidence never wavers. Wednesday knows who she is and what she likes, which is why she knew the perfect dress for Nevermore’s dance when she saw it in the window of an old antique store. The chiffon belted gown with a multi-layered skirt, sheer neckline, and buttoned black collar perfectly represented Wednesday’s desire to step out of her comfort zone while still staying true to who she is. It’s the kind of eerie elegance made for a night like Halloween. You can try and find a layered tulle skirt, black belt, and transparent button-up with a black bodice, or you can purchase the exact dress ($28.22). Either way, make sure your hair is pinned in two braids and wrapped around the top of your head. Find an opaque purple lip stain and dot some fake freckles over the bridge of your nose for Wednesday’s shadow-like makeup. If you’re really feeling crazy, switch on “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps and give your friends a taste of Wednesday’s ominous dance moves. Read More Halloween pumpkins – how to grow your own From a house party to a movie night, Halloween celebrations that don’t involve going out How to dress like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce for Halloween 2023 11 best kids’ Halloween outfits that will scare and delight 9 best horror stories to read this Halloween and beyond Kourtney Kardashian’s skeletons and other celebrity inspiration for Halloween

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WEST CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 21, 2023--

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, many of us are looking for ways to save money where we can. Food shops are one of the main things that have become more expensive in recent years – so are there any easy ways to save a bit of cash in the kitchen? Chefs are on hand to share their top money-saving tips… Make simple swaps Suzanne Mulholland, author of The Batch Lady: Cooking On A Budget (HQ, £22) recommends letting go of loyalty to brand names. For example, she says: “You’re not going to notice a difference in flour – yet it’s about a fifth of the price of a branded one.” Mulholland continues: “If you love to eat haddock, then buy hake instead. If you like to eat cod, buy coley instead – monkfish? Buy seacat. These are all very similar fishes, but they’re just not the most popular ones everybody else buys. “You wouldn’t actually notice the difference between eating a different type of fish, because hake is very much like haddock – yet because it’s not that popular, it’s half the price. It’s also locally sourced, because these are all British fish.” Maunika Gowardhan, author of Tandoori Home Cooking (Hardie Grant, £25), also advocates cost-effective swaps. “If it’s a chicken recipe, I normally use chicken thighs over chicken breasts,” she says. “It’s a cheaper cut of meat, and it’s a more flavourful cut of meat.” If you’re a keen baker, The Great British Bake Off’s Kim-Joy (Bake Me A Cat, Quadrille, £16.99) has a top tip for you. As butter “has become so much more expensive”, she recommends “using more vegetable oil in baking”. Make a plan “Most people are cooking blindly,” says chef Max La Manna (You Can Cook This!, Ebury Publishing, £22), “Pulling ingredients together and cooking – they do the same when they go to a supermarket, they buy ingredients – and a lot of waste happens when people don’t have a plan.” La Manna’s top tip is firstly “cook the food you already have before you go out and buy more”. After that, it’s all about making a plan. “Shop smarter,” says La Manna. “Create lists when you go to the supermarket, and stick to that list.” Make your ingredients last longer Throwing away produce that’s gone off is money down the drain – so La Manna is keen for us all to make ingredients last longer. “You can extend the shelf life of ingredients – for instance, most people throw away bag salad or herbs,” he says. “What I do with my bag salad, once I bring it home I’ll wash it and also let it sit in cold water – because it firms up and it gets crisp and it stays fresh a little longer.” Once he’s washed the salad, he divides the bag of leaves – putting half in a container in a tea towel (“to absorb some of the moisture”) and use within the next three or four days. “The other half I cook in hot water – blanch it really quickly, squeeze out the water, then I have this kind of pre-cooked spinach. Roll that up tightly, place it in the freezer and then when I need something in a week’s time – a stew, a soup, a curry, a stir-fry – pop those in.” You can also reduce waste by knowing how to store all your other produce properly. “That’s where a lot of waste is coming in, people put ingredients away, they turn their back and the food’s already gone bad,” says La Manna. “Know how to store your produce and where to store it – potatoes should be kept in a cupboard somewhere dry, dark, cool but well-ventilated so they don’t begin to sprout. Same thing with onions. Bananas like to have their own space – bananas don’t like to be with other ingredients, because they release a chemical and will ripen quicker.” Instead of throwing away bananas on the turn, La Manna says: “It’s great for the freezer, [or] use them in smoothies. Use them as a batter for cupcakes or cakes.” Use every part of your ingredients “With Chinese food, there really is a ‘no waste’ policy,” says Kwoklyn Wan (One Wok, One Pot, Quadrille, £16.99) – and he suggests this ethos could help you save money in the kitchen. “Even when you peel your onions, use the onion skin in the stock” – along with anything else you might normally throw away, such as the top ends of carrots or fish heads. “That’s so important – if people learn to use every part of that ingredient… You can have a fantastic dish with all the best bits, and at the end of it, you’ve got this fantastic soup base. All you’ve got to do is add really cheap noodles into it, and maybe a few veggies and tofu, some chicken – whatever. “You’ve got this lovely broth – and that’s your next meal completely free, or near enough.” Be smart with your ingredients Most of us are guilty of buying an exciting-sounding ingredient for our store cupboard and only using it once. If you really want to save money in the kitchen, it’s all about being smart with what you buy – and making sure you’re going to use it a lot. Lydia Vernon, co-author of Caught Snackin’ (Hamlyn, £20), says that on Caught Snackin’s wildly popular TikTok channel,”we like to keep with the same ingredients for each recipe. “We stay around things like mixed herbs, garlic powder, plain flour – those kind of staples you have in your cupboard all the time, which are going to be cost-effective.” Food writer Gurdeep Loyal (Mother Tongue, Fourth Estate, £26) takes this one step further, saying: “My advice would be to equip your pantry with four or five very flavour-forward ingredients – things such as tamarind paste, things such as brown miso, things such as fennel seeds, for example, or something like tandoori masala powder. “Because these four or five pantry staples can transform anything really simple and basic – just adding a spoonful of this is going to amplify your cooking into hundreds of different directions. “It means you can use very basic supermarket staples, then turn them into something incredible” – without having to spend money on fancy new ingredients every week. Read More The dish that defines me: Mallini Kannan’s baked honey-soy salmon Breakfast for dinner and four other things you should cook this week Money-saving chilli con carne that absolutely slaps with flavour How to pimp up your instant ramen (and save money) Do it for the Gram: Speedy but spectacular goat’s cheese linguine Where to find the best Guinness in London – and how to spot a bad one

If you’re after a year-round holiday destination in the UK, the Isle of Wight is pocket-sized yet picturesque – and it’s only two hours from London. Once famous for being a bucket-and-spade, budget destination, the island – the second-most populous in England – has reinvented itself as a place for a stylish sojourn by the sea. It now offers an impressive array of food and drink spots (more than 50 independent producers, at the last count). Known for The Needles, beautiful beaches and pretty promenades – alongside gorgeous countryside and colourful gardens – there’s something for everyone. As for where to stay, several island hotels used lockdown to refurbish, clear out the mothballs and pull themselves out of their 1970s torpor with impeccable style. Some are swish and sleek, others ooze history and character. Wherever you’re planning to stay, from the north in Cowes to the west in Yarmouth, or Ventnor in the south, you’re sure to find the perfect place to stay. Here’s our round-up of the best hotels on the island, where you can enjoy a sundowner while drinking in the views. The best Isle of Wight hotels are: Best family hotel: Luccombe Hall Hotel Best retro hotel: The Northbank Hotel Best luxury hotel: Sentry Mead Hotel Best boutique hotel: Villa Rothsay Hotel Best hotel for sea views: The Wellington Hotel Best budget hotel: Ryde Castle Best hotel for couples: Shoreside Inn Best hotel in a historic town: One Holyrood Hotel Best hotel for foodies: The Seaview Hotel Best family hotel: Luccombe Hall Hotel Location: Shanklin Originally built in 1870 as the Summer Palace for the Bishop of Portsmouth, Luccombe Hall enjoys what its original incumbent must have deemed a heavenly location at the southern end of Sandown Bay (which is more than five miles long), with views all the way to the north end of the beach at Culver Down. The hotel has an indoor and outdoor pool, large gardens with a giant chess and draughts set, a mini putting green and an children’s outdoor play area, making it a great choice for families. Rooms are decorated tastefully with ocean-blue tongue-and-groove furnishings and many have balconies. For a treat, book a garden room with a hot tub and a view of the sea. There’s a short but excellent menu, which you can enjoy in the aptly monikered Grand View restaurant. Best retro hotel: The Northbank Hotel Location: Seaview Entered from a narrow lane off Seaview’s genteel high street, the Victorian-built Northbank Hotel stands above the shore, with the hotel’s stately lawns sloping to a gate that opens out onto the village promenade. The hotel may have been updated over the years but its heart lies defiantly in the 1960s. Run by the Shaw-Yates family since 1959, it combines modern facilities with yesteryear touches, such as retro telephones and even an original 1960s Sega fruit machine. Rooms are fitted with traditional decor (OK, chintz prevails), oak furniture and sash windows. Dinner is cooked on the Aga, and the restaurant places great emphasis on local produce, including vegetables grown on the family allotment. Price: Doubles from £160, including breakfast (note the hotel closes for winter from 1 November 2023 until late April 2024) Book now Best luxury hotel: Sentry Mead Hotel Location: Totland The Sentry Mead Hotel overlooks Totland Bay on the island’s west coast. A former country house topped with a turret, the hotel has recently undergone a major refurbishment and is now among the most serene and stylish places to stay on the Isle of Wight. Rooms have been painted in deep tones, decorated with local artwork and fitted with London-brick tiling in bathrooms. The accommodation is spread over two floors – if you want a sea view, just ask. There are spacious grounds, ideal for taking in the setting sun over the western reaches of the Solent, with a glass of island gin. Best boutique hotel: Villa Rothsay Hotel Location: Cowes Cowes is steeped in shipbuilding and seafaring traditions, and few places encapsulate this spirit as much as Villa Rothsay. A son of the original owners won a sailing gold medal in the 1908 Olympics, while the Morning Cloud suite – named after the yachts owned by former prime minister Edward Heath – offers a 180-degree view of the Solent. Located on a small rise above the water, the villa incorporates old and new – bay windows, wood panelling and the chance to sit by a sleek modern fireplace on a Georgian chair. Best hotel for sea views: The Wellington Hotel Location: Ventnor Looming over the main promenade in the Victorian town of Ventnor, the refurbished Wellington offers not only sea vistas from its filigree balconies but also the mildest of climates. That’s because this part of the island is typically 5C warmer than elsewhere, thanks to the sheltering influence of the hills on which the town is built. Rooms have been refitted with richly coloured fittings but retain the old-time ambience, with sleigh beds, delicate coving and wooden balconies. One of the most striking things here is just how tranquil it is – no shipping lanes cross your gaze and the bustle of the Solent seems a world away. Best budget hotel: Ryde Castle Location: Ryde The location of this hotel (which is part of a pub chain) makes it an excellent choice. History buffs may be interested to know the building’s original incarnation was as a castle built on the orders of Henry VIII, to deter Spanish and French incursions. Still boasting its parapets and battlements, the hotel takes its place on Ryde’s esplanade among a hotchpotch of traditional shop fronts, decorative stucco and Georgian townhouses. Rooms feature chandeliers and richly embroidered bed covers – some rooms even come with four-poster beds – while dark-wood flooring adds to the ambience. Food leans more towards classic pub fare, but of a high standard, while Ryde’s open spaces, public gardens, sandy beaches and seaside stalls are only a short promenade away. Best hotel for couples: Shoreside Inn Location: Shanklin The only real giveaway that this property was built in the 19th century is the stately, squat façade of the three storeys and bay windows. Inside, the owners have created a stylish boutique hotel (for adults only). All rooms have full or partial views of the sea and include feature walls – think exposed brickwork and designer mirrors – while you can relax in a roll-top bath or walk-in shower. Two ground-floor rooms have their own private sun terrace with a view over the English Channel. Best hotel in a historic town: One Holyrood Hotel Location: Newport Located in the heart of Newport, the island’s capital, this well-run, cosy hotel is much nearer the equator than the Scottish Parliament with which it shares its name. Like many older island buildings, the hotel makes good use of the small space it inherits from its medieval origins. Attic-style rooms include period features, such as exposed beams, pitched ceilings, walnut-wood beds and the more contemporary metallic textures of Zoffany wallpaper. There’s a pleasant flower-laden courtyard and pergola at the back – perfect on a warm summer or mild autumn evening. In the dark nights of winter, cosy up in the lounge/bar, where you can put your feet up, next to the fire. Best hotel for foodies: The Seaview Hotel Location: Seaview When it comes to charm, location and service, the Seaview Hotel, positioned just a few yards back from the village beach, is hard to beat. You’ll find swish modern decor (smartly decorated rooms and walk-in showers), with a generous nod to the sea, in the form of paintings and photographs of nautical vessels. The ground floor is home to two restaurants – go for the Michelin-recommended cuisine in the restaurant, or top-notch fish and chips in the friendly bar, which serves local ales, island gin and good wine. Accommodation is on the first and second floors, with a spacious family suite for five on the top floor. The hotel rents out electric bikes to guests (these are definitely worth considering when tackling the island’s downs). Read more of our UK hotel reviews: The UK’s best cosy hotels Best dog-friendly hotels Where to stay in the Cotswolds Read more about UK travel: The Isle of Wight: An island of 20th-century miracles Best things to do on the Isles of Scilly The best hotels in the New Forest Read More The UK’s best seaside hotels Best UK hotels: Where to stay for a luxury or affordable break Best hotels in Hampshire: Where to stay for family-friendly trips and city breaks Best beach hotels in Cornwall: Where to stay for sandy shores and sea views The best boutique hotels in the Lake District for family getaways and luxury escapes Best hotels in Europe 2023: Where to stay for a city, beach or retreat break

It’s helpful to have a reliable appetizer recipe in your back pocket, and these corn fritters with chipotle aioli are hard to beat.