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?

BOO!

Happy Halloween!
House is all ready for Kara's arrival! I wonder if I'd ever clean if I didn't have house guests?

Not that I enjoy living in squalor, I just need a good swift kick in the butt to tidy up, and the desire to make visitors cozy and comfy is exactly that.

As for the rest of the time...poor Boyfriend, he thinks that my addiction to books and my hoarding of every scrap of paper I ever write upon/receive means I'm unorganized. It doesn't help that every morning the bedroom has signs of my first, second, and third outfit tries (usually reverting back to the first) strewn about the floor.

I dropped some cash at the Publick House Provisions and my eyes were bigger than my biceps...I ended up waddling back home with a six pack and goodies (Chouffe! Unibroue! and CHEEEEESE I can't remember the name of but is oooo so tasty!) plus the groceries I'd already picked up.

I'm almost done with We Were the Mulvaneys and oy is this a heartbreaking story. Can't believe it's taken me so long to get through it but I've been pretty busy and a lot of my down time has been spent knitting (and tearing apart and REknitting) for a coworker's baby shower gift. And I started writing a bit on my own this week and remembered how much I miss my workshops and late afternoon storytime at Tufts...

For now I'll settle for some ghost stories. I can't wait to dress up as Marilyn (Boyfriend is Andy Warhol, get it?!) and get Kara Jessica Rabbit-ed up...