How-to how-to's

When it came time to make our Halloween costumes, I knew what I wanted but I wasn't sure how I'd get there. Mr. Clean was pretty straightforward- bald cap, white clothes, a dab of white paint on the eyebrows (and don't forget a hunky man to pull it off) ... ta da! But a dust bunny? Not so easy.

I knew I wanted gray - and had the dress and tights to take care of that. I also wore silver heels - they are the most amazing shoes I own, so I can't resist working them into a costume (omg they come in purple suede HONEY ARE YOU READING THIS I'M AN 8.5). The bunny part wasn't hard either - I just attacked a set of ears and a tail from a Spirit Halloween store with a can of gray spray paint. FYI Spray paint is kept locked up in art supplies stores these days as a deterrence to a) abusing the substance and b) defacing public property. What a world we live in...

The hardest part was getting the fuzzy look of an actual dust bunny, but thankfully I stumbled across some help on one of my favorite do-it-yourself sites (fashion and crafting advice, if you will) P.S. I Made This. This girl is amazing, and coincidentally she provided a template for a faux fur vest. Easily modified to create a fuzzy bunny, I thought! Alas, a trip to Joann Fabrics did not yield any well-priced gray faux fur. So I ended up with cotton batting (and another chance to use the gray spray paint). I still used the vest template, though, and was pleased with the results.

The crowning touch, haaa, was definitely my Bump-it. Don't judge me, you're just jealous. I had to give a subtle nod to the most ubiquitous of Bunny get-ups, and big hair seemed a tasteful way to achieve that. Their fabulous site, BigHappieHair.com, features hilarious how-to videos and loads of suggestions for adorning your head with the spiky piece of plastic (available in three sizes).

So there you have it: how to create a unique, one of a kind costume pairing that no one will get and leaves you with loads of leftover cotton batting. Quilting bee, anyone?

The Great Pumpkin

So last night I threw a temper tantrum. The general gist was "but I don't wanna go to work in the morning" - not for any job satisfaction reason, in fact, I quite love my job.

But I just hate my morning routine - up at 6:15 and to the gym, showered and ready and out the door by 8:20, 8:30 at the latest. The obvious solution is to get to the gym AFTER work but then I have all day to talk myself out of going instead of a few bleary moments before I wrestle with my sports bra. Once I'm inside that thing, I HAVE to go to the gym. It's like hand cuffs, or like I'm Frodo with that darned ring. Spandex will make you do crazy things.

Some good news...I'm headed to Keene this weekend with Mr. Boyfriend and our friend Tony the Tiger for the Pumpkin Festival! It will be AWESOME and I want to carve a killer jack-o-lantern. I found a pattern for a Roy Lichtenstein-esque damsel, and maybe I'll carve something about the election on a partner pumpkin so she looks all fretful about Republicans. Heh. I also found an Obama print for Mr. Man, but Tony will have to provide his own McCain pattern, I ain't supportin' that one. Find them here.

I'm always super psyched for Pumpkin Fest and to see the ridiculous lengths people go to for the sake of gourd decoration. The organizers set up all the lit jack-o-lanterns on three or four story risers and it's even better than fireworks since it lasts all evening. Plus, there is ALWAYS at least one marriage proposal spelled out in the pumpkins somewhere, and someday I hope to spy the lucky proposal recipient flip out. But it would be kind of tough to hide 15+ pumpkins.

Ah, the promise of all the cider and pumpkin themed treats, plus the donuts and beer...keeping me going until Friday!