I LOVE Halloween

Halloween is the least demanding holiday. Usually people aren't bogged down with intense traditions or family conflicts. It is a day of freedom. You can be who ever you want to be on Halloween. So go be free. Be who ever you want to be. Eat more candy than you would eat in a year. Wear something that makes you feel super cool. *Put crazy over the top decorations up. Let the kids stay up late.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!



*This Pumpkin King was created by my husband

Inspirations: Tim Burton and Edward Gorey

I adore the feel of each of their work. Dark, sometimes disturbing and always beautiful. I really hope all of you out their have experienced Edward Goreys Ghastly Crumb Tiny's and Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas. Gorgeous! And have you heard The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack?!!! Danny Elfman is a genius. My Family loves listening to it.

Here's some thing I put together that I thought had a Tim Burton feel.








The great thing about the week before Halloween is you can wear Anything!

Piano Family

We have been considering adding a piano to our household for a while. We want to encourage the children in their interest of music and instruments. And it's said that the Piano is really the easiest instruments to start on...
That being said, the only thing holding me back is the sheer size of the thing. I feel anxious that it will only fit in one spot in our house, and with my penchant for constantly ( obsessively?) rearranging my house and Feng shui, this may be a problem.
We have an upright Bass that use to reside in our living room, so I am used to having large instruments in our midst. BUT as large as that is, I was still able to relocate it to another spot in our house when it started to feel as it was looming over us. So-
There are always uprights in www.unclehenrys.com in the "Free for the Taking" section. Mostly out of tune, but to pony up the money for that instead of buying a whole new piano sounds fine to me. My concern is that there are always SO MANY. As if everyone gets a Piano and then realizes that it is a bigger commitment than they thought.
Perhaps I've just got to get over myself. My husband says if it doesn't work for us, we'll put an ad in Uncle Henry's and the cycle will continue. What do we have to lose besides a little gas money and some back pain? And I do enjoy the romantic image in my head of family sing-a-longs and ruckus piano parties. What do you all think? Any Piano owners out there? How do you like it?

Rock and Roll Halloween

Well, Brian and Tanya's 12th annual Halloween Party was a terrific time, as usual. Every one really worked hard on their costumes and looked fantastic. Here's how ours came out:




And here's few of my favorites ( though I wish I could post every one):

Amy and Jim

This guy was part of the group effort (the Munsters) that won the contest!

Phantom of the Opera

This guy was the best dancer there!

Alfred Hithcock inspired from Psycho and the Birds



Burgler who had money and jewels hanging from his backpack

And this is only part of Brian's headless horseman costume which was amazing!


And of course the bands both rocked!



Their house is always decorated!


Thanks for another great year guys, we had a blast!

The costumes have been assembled!

Tonight we will attend an annual Halloween party whose theme is "Classic Halloween." The guests always go all out and I am really looking forward to what people come up with. I haven't been for a couple of years because I've been either pregnant or nursing little infants. So I am EXCITED!
My husband and I stayed up late last night hot glueing tassles and rope to his Ringo Starr costume. And over the past couple of weeks I have been slowly piecing together an Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's ensemble. This morning I made her extra long cigarette holder out of a paint brush, painters tape, black acrylic paint and notepad paper. So our costumes may not be "Classic Halloween", but they are certainly classic.
My outfit is basically out of my closet. My dress is a dark gray wool gap number that I scored for six bucks at goodwill last winter. The gloves are from target for $2 and the eyelashes, bump it (for hair) and nylons are from walmart. The jewelry was all purchased at a yard sale this summer for 50 cents a piece. The Tiara is from my wedding and the pumps were bought from Kohls for $35 five or six years ago.
We found my husbands outfit and accessories at Mardens for $12 this week, and he says if it doesn't pull off as a Beatle he'll just say he's Prince Charming.
Here's what we are aiming for:



And here's what we've put together:





So I promise a follow up post with pics of how it all turned out, and pics of the best cotumes!

Guess you kind of have to think of a clever slogan in this line of work.

A really super nice guy just pumped our septic in a surprisingly short amount of time.
FYI: not sure opening the window to snap this pic was a clever idea.

Can you come up with a better slogan?

Today's idea

My intentions for this blog are to share my varied interests, ideas, and experiences . I will be showcasing projects I'm working on, outfits I've assembled, makeup tips,food I'm making and art I create. I hope to share my inspirations from others as well! I'd really like to compile everything into to one spot and see what directions it all takes...I like the idea of creating a sort of map to the my ideas and hopefully you'll share some of yours as well!

A 1960's ispired look:

I bought this sweater yesterday for $12 dollars at a local surplus and salvage store and it just begged me to do an era themed look.








Make up-Get the look:
Start with your favorite moisturizer.
Sweep White shadow over entire eyelid up into your brow. Lightly sweep dark blue into the crease of your eye lid , starting at center of the eye and working outward.
For liner, Loreal felt tipped liquid liner in blackest black,starting in center of eye working out ward, I start by making thin lines and gradually increasing thickness. Sweep a light coat of white shadow after liner dries.
Finish eyes with Almay triple effects mascara and you'll feel like you have false eyelashes on!
Physician formula blush in blushing rose, with shimmer layered on top. A bit of frosted pink lip gloss and your face is finished.

Hair- Pull half into a pony tail and back comb. Scrunch half pony into a messy bun and smooth out the top. Let bottom half fall free.

Tomorrow I am going to a Halloween party as Audrey Hepburn, pics and posts to follow!