Happy Haunt Jaunt: Jackets and Jack-o-Lanterns

Halloween means spooky times, tons of treats, and a chill in the air.  It's the chill that brings the thrill, of course -- the thrill of breaking out jazzy jackets!  Um, don't you mean costumes, oh esteemed Tote Trove lady?  No.  I mean jackets.  Because a jacket is a lot like a costume -- colorful, fun, and cape-able of turning anyone into anything.  Here's the cream of my top layer crop.  Two are oldies but goodies; one is as fresh as roadkill.   

This first jacket is a Wild Fable favorite.  Sure, it's more Saved by the Bell than Satan's ball.  But I'm willing to let that slide because of my hair horns. 

And here's the new kid on the blog, decked out in day-glo.  Sorry, Joseph A. Banks, but Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat has claimed this happening hoodie.  It's from Dolls Kill by way of Delia's.  Which, if you ask me, is pretty Halloweeny.  Most Dolls merch is mucho edgy.  To give you an idea, it comes packaged in black bags emblazoned with a knife-wielding Kewpie.  It's a sight that never fails to unnerve me.

And finally, faux fur fires up stormy denim.  Black is a fitting shade for this day of undead and its feathered friend -- or perhaps I should say feathered Poe.  Nevermore, That's So Raven, said some Nickelodeon exec at some point one day.  Mr. Foe (for I've made my decision; this foul fowl is not to be trusted) is the only frightening thing in this picture.  Unless you count my closed-eye smirk of a creepy doll impression.  Watch out, Kewp, I'm coming for you.

You could probably tell by my tongue-in-cheek tone, but I like Halloween only a little.  And even then, it has to be playful as opposed to spine tingling.  Observe the quirky cute cover of this murder mystery in which a mean woman dies in a way that's not at all gory.  

The husband, on the other hand, likes Halloween a lot, and the darker and more macabre the better.  (Who do you think bought that raven?)  This is his beloved reproduction of a Van Gogh self-portrait that haunts our hallway every October. 

The husband and I agree that Vinnie was a sad, misunderstood man who died way too young.  Even if he did want to marry to his cousin.  

Speaking of which . . . whoa.  It's a Poe-Van Gogh crossover.  Two dark dudes and artistic geniuses who had the hots for their uncles' offspring.  Who would win in a weird, tortured, incestuous-even-though-it-was-olden-times, dead guy contest?

My money's on Vinnie.  People who cut off their own ears mean business.

Pop Goes the Evil: Corns and (Pineapple) Palaces

 That 70s Grow Necklace

Top: Self Esteem, Macy's

Skirt: TJ Maxx

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Old Navy

Flower bangle: Mixit, J. C. Penney's

Striped bangle: ZAD, Zulily

Blue bead bracelet: Cloud Nine

Beaded bracelet: Plymouth Plantation gift shop

Pompom charm bracelet: Zulily

 People of the Pineapples Necklace

Top: Decree, J. C. Penney's

Skirt: Worthington, J. C. Penney's

Shoes: Shoe Carnival

Bag: Circus by Sam Edelman, Kohl's

Belt: J. C. Penney's

Pineapple purse charm: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Palm leaf purse charm: Michaels

Catherine the Ornate Necklace

Top: Self Esteem, J. C. Penney's

Skirt: Celebrity Pink, Macy's

Shoes: Guess, Marshalls

Bag: J. C. Penney's

Beaded bangle: Amrita Singh, Zulily

Other bangles: B Fabulous

Sunglasses: Rampage, Boscov's

Barrette: The Tote Trove

You've heard of Children of the Corn.  Well, this is People of the Pineapples.  Except it's a necklace, not a horror movie.  And I made it because I enjoy bringing you the best in off-putting produce.  That said, corn and pineapples aren't all that different.  Both are yellow and segmented, with a green tuft on top.  And in this case, both are haunted by undead spirits: the corn by frightening farm kids, and the pineapples by severed head silhouettes.  Which are more than likely children, too, but the kind that come from the city.

Pineapples, at least, can be playful.  As in, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?  SpongeBob SquarePants!"  The scariest thing to ever happen on that cartoon was Squidward playing his clarinet.  

But corn -- corn is something else.  It's stringy and strange and gets stuck in your teeth and dies an awful death come autumn.  Talk about Kernel Killjoy!  I've never seen Children of the Corn, and if all goes well, I never will.  Nevertheless, its namesake villainous veggie has begun to work its black magic.  Here it is, less than a week after my summer-ain't-over-until-it's-over Labor Day post, and I'm already ranting about a topic that would be more at home on Halloween.  I'm pitting the summer pineapple against the harvest corn husk -- a starch I secretly love -- and I hate what it's doing to me.

No wonder they say that corn syrup's the devil.

Here's hoping that your corn stays sweet and unspoiled.  And that it finds some other poor sap to stalk.

Mermaid in the Shade: Look at this Stuff, isn't it Sweet?

Heartland and Sand Charm Necklace

Top: Wet Seal
Skirt: Amazon

Shoes: B.A.I.T., Zulily

Bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill

Belt: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

 Nautical Nonsense Necklace 

Colorful Carnival Cuff  

Nautical Nonsense Bracelet

Yellow top: Marshalls

Striped top: Aeropostale 

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Shoes: Charles Albert, Alloy

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Belt: Apt. 9., Kohl's

Ocean Love Potion Necklace 

Magical Mermaid Hairpins 

Top: JCPenney

Skirt: Amazon

Shoes: B.A.I.T., Zulily

Bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill

Belt: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

First, a note about the "stuff."  The store-bought as opposed to handmade stuff, that is.  A chunk of it comes from the Internet, most notably my good pal Pinterest.  This Dolls Kill seashell bag and these Zulily BAIT wedges started life on my Bright Bags and Show-Stopping Shoes boards but ended up in my closet.  And I first spied these Amazon skater skirts on The Big Hair Diaries blog, where big hair aficionado Samantha regularly rocks them in a rainbow of colors.  That's what I love about the web: shopaholics helping shopaholics, one purchase at a time. :)   

Now that that's out of the way, on to the mermaids.  Because they're having a moment.  Pinterest (I told you she was a pal) is swimming with bags, tees, mugs, jewelry, you name it, splashed with images of these salty sirens.  Even the beach shop down the street from me boasts a "mermaid room" where you can have your picture taken as one such maritime maven.  I think it's for kids, but then those tails looked mighty long.  

Of course, I've always been hip to mermaids' magic.  Even as a second grader I wanted to be one in our class anti-pollution movie (yes, you read that right; no plays for us in high tech, 1980s South Jersey) even though my teacher had me slated to portray the "philosophical fish," a peacock feather-wielding do-gooder who warned humans of the dangers of discarding uncut plastic soda can rings.  This was right around the time The Little Mermaid came out, and as such, the height of my Ariel obsession.  Needless to say, it was farewell feather, hello fins!  Wearing that orange sequinned, slightly smelly rented mermaid costume made me feel far more glamorous than the humdrum hat and cape of that know-it-all fish ever could.

One of the things mermaids are known for (besides promoting recycling) is their enchanted tresses.  Ariel famously ran a fork (er, dinglehopper) through her fiery, animated locks, and any woman with a long, flowing mane is said to have mermaid hair.  So, when I set out to embellish my very first set of hairpins, I thought, why not go with seashells?  Pastel and pearlized, they make just the right contrast to the dramatic black pins.  Although I love the way they turned out, I still wanted to make something brighter, bolder, and, yes, bubbling over with big, bad beachiness.  And so I spawned this matching Ocean Love Potion Necklace.  Because if there's something else that mermaids are known for (besides luring sailors to their death), then it's sporting seashells on their chests.  

Or, at least sometimes.  For this wasn't always the case for the Stowaway With Me mermaid mascot:

This sign, oddly, is not in Brigantine, or anywhere else at the Jersey shore, but on a not-quite stretch of highway enroute to Philadelphia.  It's been there as long as I can remember, but it wasn't until ten or so years ago that the management of Stowaway Storage saw fit to cover mistress mermaid with a pink seashell bra.  (To be fair, pre-bra, her hair strategically covered her most scandalous bits.)  The why remains a mystery.  Who knows; maybe Stowaway was getting too many late night phone calls from sailors looking for a good time.  Elaine (because let's call her that, for reasons that may or may not be clear at the end of this paragraph) does have a big ass phone number plastered right next to her head. Also, if these Nautical Nonsense Necklace and Bracelet photographs are any indicator, then she has a shore thing for sponges, cartoon and otherwise.  

Sounds kind of fishy to me.

Etsy Favorites: Hot Dog, it's Almost Summer!

 Felt Play Hot Dog, Fairview Place

Super Dog Magnet, Sick on Sin 

Crochet Hot Dog Headband, You Cute 

Nathan's Hot Dog Print, Rachel Dunlop Photos 

Hot Dog and Fries with Pickle Soap, Sweet Soap Treat 

 The Hot Dog Handbag, With Love Bunny

Chicago-style Hot Dog Hair Clip, Amber Brown Makes Art 

 Vintage Valentine Reproduction Frankfurters, Vince's Illustrations and Fun Stuff Shop

 Hot Diggety Dog Halloween Costume, Smarmy Clothes

Mustard and Hot Dog Charm, Bored Inc.

Last week's Etsy Favorites: In an Octopus's Garden post was inspired by my favorite octopus of all time, Nickelodeon's animated Oswald.  You know, he of the enormous blue head, tiny black derby, and Fred Savage voice.  But in all my excitement, I forgot to mention him in the write-up!  The bf said not to despair, suggesting that I focus this week's Favorites on hot dogs in honor of Oswald's beloved dachshund, Weenie Girl.  So, I rounded up this sweet and silly serving of grill-worthy delights.  Picnic fare never looked so cute!  I like to think that Weenie Girl would bark her approval :)