Sugar Skull Bits and Halloween Fits

There are costumes, and then there are costumes.  When it comes to Halloween, the husband has always been more of a DIY than a costume-in-a-bag kind of guy.  So over the years for my parents' Halloween party, he's devised the following disguises:

- Guy Fieri & The Pioneer Woman (not implying they're a couple!)

- Bob Ross & his Happy Little Tree

- Johnny Atkins & Carla from The Goldbergs

- The Brawny Man & the Sparkles Fairy

- Mr. Clean & a '50s Housewife

  

But this year, the husband didn't have time to come up with something homegrown, so we went on Amazon and found these Day of the Dead getups.  Although we've never gone for something scary, I admit that these edgy and -- this part is very important -- not at all gory, dark side ensembles helped me get into the Halloween spirit.  On a lighter note, I loved the rainbow bows bisecting my ribcage.  

Hair comb and choker: Ella & Elly, Zulily

That said, here are my Halloween-themed "regular" outfits.  Or, in other words, my everyday costumes:

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Belt: Marshalls

Silver Spider Necklace

Top: Wet Seal

Alien Admirer Barrette Brooch

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Jelly bracelets: Target; Spike and orange bracelets: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Yellow bangles: B Fabulous; Black and white bracelet: Mixit, JCPenney; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy; Skirt: Wild Fable, Target; Bag: Cat & Jack, Target

 

Tights: Isadora, Zulily

Skirt: Wild Fable, Target

Shoes: Sam Edelman, Kohl's

Fabulous Felt Halloween Candy Barrette

Jumbo Jack-O-Lantern Necklace (sold just before Halloween!)

Orange bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Lime bangle and orange bangles: B Fabulous; Purple bracelet: Etsy

Top: Just Poly, Macy's

Lime top: SHEIN

And that's it!  Whatever your plans or apparel, make the most of this year's witching hour.  Have a very safe and happy Halloween! 🎃

Car Stars and Raised Bars: Let's Hear it for Team Tangerine

I have two posts with "orange you glad" in the title.  Which, in my opinion, is two too many.  Today I'm making up for it by subbing in tangerines.  Plus a whole orchard -- or perhaps I should say body shop -- full of color in this Gear Cred charm bracelet and earrings.  

Gear Cred Charm Bracelet

Gear Cred Earrings

Granted, these charmers aren't the kind of thing that you'd normally see on a lady mechanic -- at least not while she's working.  She wouldn't want to get them wrapped around the axle or lose them under the hood or whatever.  But what she wears when hitting the town is fair game . . . not to mention her business.  

Just like whom Charlize Theron as Charlotte Field dates is her business.

See what I did there?

I'd so wanted to see Long Shot in the theater.  Theron as super serious Secretary of State and Seth Rogen as her goofy speech writer presented a premise ripe for ridiculousness and hilarious hijinks.    But I guess most people didn't agree, because Long Shot was booted off the marquee within two weeks.  No matter.  It was just the thing to tune into On Demand for some late night crafting.  Now, it wasn't as funny as I'd anticipated -- but it was more romantic than I'd hoped to expect.  You see, Charlotte's always on team underdog, both when lobbying to save the environment and -- yes friends, this is where is gets sappy -- for the happiness of her heart.  And Rogen's Fred, a neon windbreaker-wearing, freshly unemployed journalist who speaks before he thinks, is about as downtrodden as they come.  Still, he has a superpower: getting Charlotte to reconnect with that idealistic sixteen-year-old he once knew.  Which is no small task considering that she's a presidential hopeful whose every word and eye twitch are dissected.  

Do these star-crossed lovers face challenges?  For sure.  Does Charlotte's right-hand woman hate Fred?  Like Guy Fieri hates low cal dressing.  Is it weird that Charlotte used to babysit Fred?  As weird as Guy Fieri eating low cal dressing.  (Fieri, by the way, makes a quasi-cameo as a dating don't.)  Do Charlotte and Fred find a way around it all and steal each other's hearts as well as those of the American people?

I think you know the answer to that one.  

That said, here's to strong women.  The kind who fix cars and run countries and fight for love found in unlikely places.  

And who buy orange juice instead of squeezing it.

Although for the record, if given the choice between rebuilding a carburetor, climbing Capitol Hill, or eking out some OJ, I'd reach for the juicer.

R is for Red and Retro: July Five Alive, Come and Sea

Bathing Beauty Charm Bracelet

Bikini: Venus
Sunglasses: Michaels

The Fourth of July is the star of the summer.  But you never hear anything about the fifth of July (which is why it's not capitalized :).  You know.  When the smoke from the sparklers has cleared and swimsuits and citronella are seventy-five percent off.  Maybe it's because I live at the beach and waited for what seemed like an eternity amid angry mobs of day-trippers at the local Acme to pay for some lemons.  But there's no denying that there's a certain relief that comes when the fanfare and crowds have evaporated, and the sun-steamed world is restored to sweet peace.  After all, peace is the essence of summer.  They don't call them the hazy, lazy days for nothing.

Rosalie shore seems to think so.  What's that you say?  Who the heck is Rosalie?  Why, the 1950s femme fatale figure dangling so fetchingly from this Bathing Beauty Charm Bracelet.  A siren of swimming pool cool, she also appears on the matching Bathing Beauty Charm Necklace that I made last December.  I remember that it was the Christmas season because a) I mentioned Manchester by the Sea in my post, and b) because I said so here.

But I digress.

Simply stated, this Bathing Beauty Charm Bracelet was begging to be made.  Because a necklace without a bracelet is like a queen without her king, a rodeo clown without his bronco, or Guy Fieri without a hunk of pork butt.  In other words, unthinkable.  What's more, this particular bracelet will be a not-so-secret free gift for the lucky lady (or lad!) who buys the Bathing Beauty Charm Necklace.  So, I'm celebrating the Fifth of July (now is the time for capitalization) with peace and, yes, primo pieces.  Even though I once said that calling my creations "pieces" was precious and pretentious and probably a whole host of other icky "p" words.  Still, as always, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the sake of sound wordplay.

Just as Rosalie is willing to sacrifice a serious acting career by playing pinup.

Valentine's Day in July

 Fabulous Felt Sweetheart Says Necklace

Top: Eric and Lani, Macy's

Skirt: Material Girl, Macy's

Shoes: Charles Albert, Alloy

Bag: Fred Flare

Belt: Wet Seal

Scarf: Wet Seal

 Fabulous Felt Strawberry Garden Necklace

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Cardigan: So, Kohl's

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Bag: Princess Vera, Kohl's

Scarf: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

Fabulous Felt Colors of the Couer Necklace

Dress: Kohl's

Cardigan: Delia's

Shoes: Charles Albert, Alloy

Bag: Fred Flare

Scarf: Wet Seal

Retailers are always cashing in on the kitschy appeal of Christmas in July.  So I thought, why not celebrate the sweetest style holiday of them all and haul out the hearts and flowers half a year early?  Never mind that it's hot enough to melt your lace-wrapped Russell Stovers to fondue.  I'm not what you'd call a real retailer anyway, so all bets are off (although I am most certainly kitschy.)

Talking about hearts makes me think of heartthrobs, which makes me think of how this season of TV Land's decidedly kitschy original sitcom "Hot in Cleveland" has been guest starring Tim Daly. (Hey, I never said it'd be a young heartthrob; there's a reason why AARPs always courting me).  Not to be confused with Tyne Daly, who costarred with Amy Brenneman in "Judging in Amy," who in turn costarred with Tim in "Private Practice."  Don't you just love TV connections?  Speaking of which, I always liked Tim on "Wings," more than Steven Weber, although less than Thomas Haden Church.  There was just something about that jumpsuit . . .

But enough of that nonsense.  On to a more important love connection airing this July, namely my and the husband's first anniversary.  We officially celebrated on July 27, marking our second weekend of food-focused festivities, an event that started with a return to the scene of the ceremony, a. k. a. Renault Winery, and ended with a visit to Guy Fieri's new Atlantic City steakhouse.  What it most certainly did not include was the traditional eating of the frozen top tier of our wedding cake.  Well, at least not for me.  The husband very gamely and bravely bit into the freezer-burned buttercream.  Although I wrestled with doing the same, I ultimately decided that I'd put my intestines through enough during the last forty-eight hours. (I'm looking at you, Mac Daddy Mac n' Cheese.)  Here's what it looked like, though (the cake, not the mac n' cheese).  My artist's ego feels honor-bound to report that it originally featured red, yellow, and salmon roses, not just this frighteningly deep-freeze-leeched-yet-digitally-enhanced Ronald McDonald-esque duo of red and yellow.  That having been said, my inner Bridezilla of days past would be remiss (and I'm sure all brides say this, we being a notably narcissistic lot) in not mentioning that it was the most delicious cake I'd ever tasted (props, again, to the good folks at Renault).

While I'm on this me-me-me stroll down memory lane, here are a couple of wedding pictures in frames I embellished.  When the pictures were fresh last fall, I was the first one to point out the flaws, criticizing each unflattering pose, stray hair, and weird expression.  Now I just think about how happy we look, a sentiment that'll probably grow stronger as the years pass and our quirks (photographed and otherwise) wax even weirder.

Thank goodness I'm a big fan of weirdness.