fright night minus light

Throwing a Halloween party in the middle of a blackout is some kind of tricky. However, it's not impossible, especially if you're lucky enough to have a gas grill and a generator.

We lost power at the start of Saturday's snowstorm, just as we began party preparations, and didn't get it back until late Monday night. (Not complaining, for real. Just about cheered when I saw the CL&P truck pull into my neighborhood. I know others are going to be stuck with a longer, colder wait.) This means the electric stove was off-limits, there wouldn't be much in the way of lighting, and half our party guests were already sleeping on couches since our furnace was plugged into the generator and their house was like an icebox.

Laura and I pretty much had to throw out our original cooking plan, but luckily have seen enough episodes of Top Chef to think we might be able to bake on the grill. Lo and behold, grilled brownies, grilled cupcakes. They're, er, a little charred on the bottom, but baked pretty well otherwise! We also did Rice Krispy treats and a vat of chicken-vegetable soup, as well as the uncooked treats like popcorn mix, sherbet punch, veggie dip, chips, candy, etc. Guests brought pepperoni bread and pizza to round it out.

The only sad thing, in the end, was that we got only one group of trick-or-treaters. The kids at our party couldn't find any open houses, either. I guess the outage really killed the holiday for most people.

WARDROBE:

Meesh as Endor Leia

poncho: made with my own sweat and tears. especially tears.

leggings: JCPenney

boots: Macy's

belt: NY&Co

Laura as Born This Way Gaga

jacket: The Limited

shirt: back of Meesh's closet

pants: back of Laura's closet

bowtie: iParty

hairpieces: Epic Cosplay

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costumes of halloween past: femme fatale fashion

left to right:  Harley Quinn, female greaser, Irma Vep, forest witch, Slytherin girl

I don't know that you could really call Harley Quinn a femme fatale, but hey: all goofball villainesses welcome.

Today was kind of a bust as far as this year's Halloween costume goes, so I ended up browsing through some more successful past costume attempts to cheer myself up. I tried fiber reactive dyeing for the first time, and after letting the garment cure for a day, the colors are significantly lighter than when applied. Kind of scared to see what it'll look like once it goes through the wash cycle. Although considering I also found out that the hairpieces I need won't be shipped on time, color accuracy is probably not something I should worry too much about!

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ninety-five percent anticipation

Yeah, I know. The socks kind of ruin the whole outfit. It was laundry day, what do you want. And I still haven't figured out how to make leggings work with flats when bare feet are totally impractical, like with today's surprise cold weather. Guess I have to finally kiss summer warmth goodbye.

Practiced a little indoor photography today, in anticipation of snow months when I won't want to go outside for pictures. The lighting situation at my house creates quite a problem, however. It's great if you want subtle bits of natural light streaming into a shadowed room for portraits, but good luck getting a clear, crisp figure shot without bringing all kinds of extra lamps into the place. I'm just not cut out for that much planning! Hence these somewhat grainy, blurry photos from this morning.

It's been a busy week here, and there's plenty more to come, what with Halloween approaching and neither decorations nor costumes being finished. I love this holiday, but it could not come at a more hectic time. (Okay, that's a lie. If it happened during the November-January stretch I'd probably cry.) Hope to have some pictures of this year's projects posted soon.

WARDROBE:

ruffle shorts/leggings: Forever21

tunic/flats: Charlotte Russe

cardigan: New York&Co

SET:

super-cute ghost mugs: Target's awesome Halloween section

refrigerator decoration: all silhouette paper cutouts by me

little pumpkins: the sad, bizarre result of this year's backyard pumpkin crop

CAMERA:

Me and the continuous timer, this time!

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friend friday: halloween edition

Modly Chic hosts a Friday group posting series called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday, and I just had to join in this one after seeing that it's Halloween costume-themed. Head on over to the post to see what Katy and the others have to say about their Halloween activities.

1. Do you have plans for Halloween? Sure do. A few years back, Laura and I started doing a small Halloween party so that we weren't just sitting around watching movies and waiting for the six whole neighborhood kids to come by trick-or-treating. (When you don't have your own kids, there are few local events, and no one else you know is into the holiday, Halloween can get kind of depressing.) Due to popular demand from family members, we've kept it up. This year's going to be a bit smaller due to the timing, though. Mid-week Halloweens suck.

2. Where do you go for costume and makeup inspiration? Movies, television, stories...and then straight on to cosplayer forums to find out how to get the general look without spending $200 plus. (Although I would love to be able to put several hundred into materials someday. The problems I run into with making costumes add up to about 25% time limits, 25% accessory availability problems--ie they don't exist and can't be made, and 50% money.)

3. What was the best costume you’ve ever donned? Good question. The best-made costume I've ever worn was a full Victorian gown with a corset, but the best look was probably Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi (although that was way back in high school, so it may not have looked as accurate as I remember!)

4. What’s the most creative costume you’ve ever seen? There've been so many that they all start to blend together after a while!

5. No holds barred if you could dress up as anything, what would it be? This year I was desperate to go as wedding!Beetlejuice, because it's such fantastic makeup. However, I ran into the same problem as my Ben Linus idea--there are no decent wigs with a man's receding hairline. Or even a high hairline so that I could do a femme version, really. I'd honestly be better off cutting my own hair short than using the options out there!

Any other costumers out there? What bugs you the most about putting together an outfit for Halloween?

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costumes of halloween past: old hollywood glam

Anyone who's met me knows that Halloween is my Christmas. Forget sleigh bells, fruitcake and obligation presents. Me, I like a materialistic holiday that's honest about it, and that no one takes too seriously.

One of the side effects of being such an All Hallow's Eve afficionado, however, is accumulating a ridiculous amount of costumes. Unlike decorations, you can't just whip out the same old thing every year. (Well, you can, but where's the fun in that?) At this point, I can't even count the number of costume pieces I have hanging around. Right now there are at least four copy paper boxes and a closet rack full, with other random bits tucked into various corners of my bedroom. No wonder I have no space for regular fashions.

A few years ago I did a blog for a 31-day Halloween challenge, posting one costume per day (although honestly, it probably could have easily gone a few more weeks). Thought I'd repost a few of my favorites here throughout the month, in anticipation of my favorite holiday.

Want to try something like this 1920s look? A few tips, here from me to you:

THE DRESS: This one is a short formal style I found on sale at Windsor, and had originally used for a gangster-themed birthday party. Anything slinky and nightgown-like is a good option for this Halloween costume. Just pair it with some strappy shoes that aren't too high-heeled.

THE HAIR: Fingerwaves, fingerwaves, fingerwaves. And if you've got long hair, get ready to do some pincurling, too. All you need to add to your usual hairstyling supplies are a couple of wave clips (I think I used five total). Be forewarned: a good tutorial is a must if you've never done waves before. I like the ones over at Vintage Hair, personally. As for specific style, that's up to you. You can see in the pictures that I brushed out my (admittedly crunchy) curls later for a bouncier look.

THE MAKEUP: Smoky. You'll want a dark, heavy lid and lots of lashes to pair with those super-thin eyebrows. I've got sparse enough brows to fake the look with a filled-in line, so if yours are thicker, you might need to cover them a bit. Blush should be pinkish and diffused over a large area of the cheek, while the lips can be pretty bold. I did the cupid's bow look here, filling in only the middle sections of the lips and adding a little extra over the top lipline.

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