My love affair with Halloween

I love Halloween. Always have, always will (well, maybe I won't when I am old and can't get up to answer the door for trick or treaters...). I love dressing up for it and thinking of a costume months in advance. I love that there are so many craft ideas to do for Halloween. I love that it is in the fall, my favorite time of year. I love that there is no pressure to entertain (just buy the best candy!). I love that Almond Joy candy bars are in abundance this time of year. But most of all, I love it because 11 years ago yesterday I met my husband.

I was living in Minneapolis in 1998 and was looking for a place to party for Halloween weekend (I was 23!) and my friend, Stacy, invited me to Madison. My brother, Geoff, also invited me to Lutsen (northern MN). I debated where I was going to go but ultimately chose Mad-town since I had never spent much time there. Have you ever been to Madison on Halloween? It is insane in the membrane! Stacy (and Steve) was in her 2nd year of law school. We met up on Friday night (30th) at the UW- UMinnesota hockey game. Steve sat in front of me and missed a lot of the game because he kept turning around to talk to me. After the game he met a friend from undergrad out and we went to a party that I really wanted him to be at but he wasn't. The next day we were set to go to a Halloween party with a bunch of law school types. I was looking so forward to it. I went as Cosmic Nic, a superhero, with silver miniskirt, cape and go-go boots and a black shirt, mask and tights. I wish I had a picture of that night! Steve showed up at the same party as Captain Stubing. We started talking and I told him I could read palms (a load of crap) and started 'reading' his. He bought it and we were smitten! We had a long distance (no closer than an hour drive) relationship until we were married. A little less than 2 years after we met (September 13, 2000), he proposed. A little less than 4 years after we met (June 1, 2002), we were married. And 11 years later? We are still as happy as can be!

Happy Halloween!

So I know that I have been so lame when it came to writing but I have been busy trying to get Christmas and winter cards to the galleries. I have no idea why I am not doing that in July because every October it is the same! And with a very busy 2.5 year old I don't get as much done as I used to...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We had fun this year! AJ was Mower Man, a lawn mowing superhero. Goofy, I know. He's kind of known in our neighborhood for either the lawn mowing or for having a wicked golf swing so Mower Man was born! Next year maybe he'll be a golfer...

AJ in his costumes- 2007 he was a devil (we just handed out candy in 07- I had a red Baby Bjorn so the devil was just perfect. My Mom made the hat, tail and romper and added the flames with a loose stitch that we later took off and replaced with fur trim for Christmas but he was too big by then...), 2008 he was an owl (specifically the Tootsie Pop owl- he even passed them out. I made this costume. He could wear it over his jacket or sweatshirt depending on the weather. There are little ears pinned to his hood.), and this year Mower Man. The face makeup was supposed to look like a mask but that is hard to do on a ticklish 2 year old! The hair was a hit with both him and the houses. Easy peasy to make- I winged it!

I do have a love affair with Halloween but this was just a day of dress up with my friend Julie circa 1983! Can you imagine dressing like that for a Chicago Halloween? I recently dug this out of my mom's photo album and posted it on Facebook for Julie to see- she loved it! :)




Costumes through the years (some are friends or relatives that are just clever (and that I had on my computer)):

1. Halloween 1996- Senior year of college I went as Conscience. I spray painted half my shirt and skirt silver and the other half red. One leg red tights, one silver tights, one red shoe with flames painted on it, one silver shoe with stars. More intense makeup and hair teased on the devil side, lighter makeup and straightened hair (only time I have ever straightened my hair...) on the angel. My headband had a horn and a half of a halo. It was a pretty good costume, one of my favorites.

2. 2000: My sister-in-law, Lisa, as a zombie and my brother, Geoff as Lucifer. Dude, he's scary.

3. 2001: I am Igor in the center. My back hurt like hell after that night. Bartending with a hunchback is not fun. And I had a hard time talking with the fake teeth. Check out Mary as Olive Oyl- she was so perfect!

4. 1999: Geoff as a ghost cowboy. He drug (dragged?) his shirt behind his truck and shot it with a shotgun to get the proper effect!

5. 2001: I am Iris Retina. Don't ask me- I am just bizarro! The blue skin itched.

6. 2000: Fairy. Favorite costume EVER!

7. 1999: I was inspired by Smashmouth's Astro Lounge album cover so basically I am an alien. I actually spray painted my skin and hair (and yes it took forever to get out!). I wonder what Smashmouth is doing these days... I saw them in concert when they opened for U2 in 1997 but haven't heard much since. My dad was Cyrano de Bergerac. He was a pirate first and we decided he looked more like Cyrano.

8. 1999: I was a shiek complete with a fake nose. See Cyrano... People didn't even know I was female until I spoke.

9. 2001: Friend, Liz, as a Titanic victim. I gave her the idea and she ran with it and looked great! (Everyone used to ask me what they should be...)

10. 2000: That is me behind the bar as a skull. It was so freaky. My dad is the nun. I was very close to winning a costume contest with that getup but we left before it was over.

TV, TV, TV!

Oh, to have a TV like that! Yeah right. From my list of fall TV shows blogged about HERE there are a few that I axed already... Some old shows and one new one. The shows that I am watching are So You Think You Can Dance (I will watch this as long as it is on!), How I met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, Greek, New Adventures of Old Christine, Bones, The Office, 30 Rock (well not yet since it hasn't returned), Psych, Brothers & Sisters, Dexter, Castle, Vampire Diaries, Community, Modern Family, Glee, Flash Forward, Cougar Town. I axed the new Melrose Place after the first AWFUL episode. Dancing with the Stars is too long, I don't care about any of the 'stars' and I have way more fun watching SYTYCD. DWTS is redundant and getting boring. The choreography on it just seems so same old, same old. So that is now gone. I am so OVER Grey's. Quit your hospital bitching, I don't care. Everyone is in 'stable' relationships so there is no more steamy are they or aren't they. I am BORED! I haven't yet decided if I am giving Desperate Housewives the axe too. I am curious what the new Bolen Family is hiding. The scars on her back intrigued me but if they drag it on too long and don't give them enough screen time to figure it out, I am out. I'll read about it in TV Guide. I LOVE Vampire Diaries. Stefan is dreamy and it is the perfect teeny bopper escapism. I am reading the books by LJ Smith right now as well and the show is better than the books. My blogger buddy, Mel at Chicago Girl Gone Mild, and I are constantly exchanging emails about our latest obsession! Modern Family is decent. I liked it enough to watch it again. Phil cracks me up on that show as the I-wanna-be-friends-with-my-kids dad. Glee is still great. Kristin Chenowith guest starring was gold, baby! Cougar Town I am still on the fence about. Courtney Cox is a little (ok, a lot) over the top on that show. It was funny though. Community is good. That is Joel McHale's perfect part. Senor Chang, el tigre chino, is hilarious. And Flash Forward is so intriguing that I cannot wait for more! That's my fall (and my opinion regardless if you wanted it) in a nutshell or in a boob tube, take your pick!

Some more treasures from Artrageous Weekend

There were a couple of other things that I got at Festival of Arts that I didn't blog about before. Here they are:
I bought these 3 cards individually with the intentions of doing the above for an artsy Halloween piece. The pumpkins are batik fabric that artist Linda Nelson Bryan (St. Paul, MN) stitched with decorative thread and stitching onto paper and then did borders in leaves, Boo! and monsters. I then took them and mounted them on glitter paper in lime, violet and orange and framed them in this simple black 3- 5x7 frame from Target. I thought it turned out kinda fun and it is the only thing up right now for Halloween (more to be decorated but I am not a store and decorate for Halloween in July).

This tiny canvas collage I 'won' (you don't 'win' it if you end up paying for it...) at the Festival of Arts silent auction. My mom said something about it being perfect for the little shelves by the kitchen window that I can't find enough for the rest of the year besides Halloween and Christmas. I think it is cute and whimsical and I did admire her bigger pieces and talk to Ginnie at her booth. This canvas was done by Ginnie Cappaert of Stephenson, MI. Now if that heart would have been a star, I would have loved it even more! That little nest next to it is felted wool by etsy seller Winsome Hollow from Atlanta, GA. Head over to her etsy shop for some sweetness!