Have you ever started getting ready for a vacation and just feel overwhelmed?

On Friday I am jetting off back home to San Antonio for my Uncle's wedding and in the meantime I have been running around to get things in place. From heading to the Apple Store to fix my phone, getting everything back on said phone, to finalizing things for my new job. The paperwork has been piling up as well as the chores around the house. With so much laundry, cleaning and taking down decorations, I feel completely stressed.

Oh and did I mention that I am getting a car come Friday so I have been working on getting all that in order? Yup.

I am only staying in San Antonio for essentially two days so it isn't really a vacation at all but I am seriously hoping for some relaxation.

Wishfully thinking?

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Laundry Day

It is laundry day in our house!

I kind of love doing laundry. The sorting, the switching, the warmth of folding he clothes and the best part is slipping on that soft sweet t-shirt or going to sleep on clean smelling sheets.

It is by far my favorite chore. There is something methodical and simple about it that it clears the mind and yet produces such great results.

What are some of your favorite chores?

Finally My Own

After many changes in choices, I finally decided to be a pirate for Halloween. I was terribly late on getting a costume and putting things together so I finally had to get a costume from Party City. Usually, I am a big fan of creating your own costume and picking up pieces here and there, but time ran out and I did my best to bring in my own elements.

On Thursday night, Jon's fraternity from his college days threw their annual Halloween party called Dark Carnival. The tradition goes back many years and the boys always wear their fraternity jerseys and black and white face paint. Jon decided to keep it simply and did the same with all his alumni friends. He went for clown makeup and it was a total hit! It had never been done before and everyone loved it!

The party was so much fun as usual with epic dancing and tons of interesting costumes. I loved playing with my pirate sword and cracking pirate jokes.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of old friends that came in town, many cocktails and general good times. Saturday night was our big Halloween night with Jon dressing up as a Mexican (no offense was taken on my part) and I relived my pirate costume since I got so many compliments. I loved that Jon proudly wore his Mexican gear and showed how great it actually was to be Mexican; he was Mexellant!

For my costume, I got a red silk button down and a black skirt that I cut and ripped, making them look rugged and worn through many days on the open sea. The jacket came from Party City and it was actually pretty warm for the cold weekend. I also found from Party City some wonderful knee high fishnets that had gold glitter skulls on the top. I absolutely adored them and actually got the pirate idea from finding them first. I had an eye patch, skull garter belt, plastic sword and many gold rings for accessories and wore my black cowboy boots to finish the look. On the nights I wore my costume it was extra cold so I wore red thick soccer socks on top of my fishnets and lets the red and white stripes poke out of my boots for added effect.

All and all it was such a wonderful Halloween and one of the best. It was absolutely full of friends and fun! I hope everyone else's was as well!

Decorate Me Up

Some of my favorite Halloween decorations via Pinterest.

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We All Have Them

Skulls!

I have quite the obsession with skulls as decorative pieces in house decor, clothing, accesories, you name it. This goes well beyond punk rock roots; they can adorned with anything to fit the mood or area.

Halloween is obviously the best time to break out the skulls and get creative while making scary touches.





I found these skulls at Target in the doller section for my own Halloween decorations. The black and deep orange glitter instantly attracted me and the fact that they were $1 each was such a plus! I can not wait to continue to decorate with them every Halloween!

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Pumpkin, Pumpkin

So while you are starting to prepare for Halloween when October rears it's head, one of the next things you can do is get your pumpkins! Granted, if you are going to crave them you will probably have to wait until closer to Halloween but there are so many other things you can do with pumpkins!

One of my favorite things to do with pumpkins, and particularly the smaller ones, is to spray paint them! While I am partial to a black and gold for The Saints, but these two colors really do look great for the holiday. Any really shiny black, gold, bronze or even dark orange can freshen up a pumpkin as well as make something everyone will love to look at. Here are some great examples:

 

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Also a favorite of mine is adding some lace. I absolutely love lace and think it is a perfect addition to anything, especially black lace. There is just something about black lace that can be made to look very creepy, especially on a pumpkin. Get your glue gun and wrap the lace around the pumpkin and even add some plastic spiders for a great eerie touch. Or paint your own lace design!

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Now, there is nothing wrong with a simple clean look for pumpkins either. Coloring pumpkins one single color or keeping them their natural orange can brighten up October. If you are going to go the simple route though, I would say get a bunch then to really liven your room or house. This staircase is absolute Halloween perfection!

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While all these unique pumpkin designs are great, there is still the classic carvings. You can always keep your jack-o-lanterns, but update the picture you carve.

What are your favorite ways to fix up pumpkins? 

Halloween Week!

With Halloween being only a few days away, I thought it fitting to do a whole week of Halloween related posts! I am a huge Halloween fan; I just love everything about it. From picking out your costume, decorating the house, gorging yourself on candy and making everything related from cocktails to cookies, I just love it all.

As soon as October rolls around, horror movies immediatley make their way to my television. Now let me tell you, I am not a big scary movie fan; I get scared super easy and often watch these movies through slits in my hands that are covering my face. Yet, there is something about watching these films in the Halloween season that just seems right and gives me an extra boast of confidence. Jon is a huge horror movie buff so since dating him I have seen all types of horror films from classics to modern day B-movies.

Here are some of my favorites for the season.

Waxwork. What could be more scary than turning to wax? Focused around a creepy old mansion that doubles as as wax museum, spoiled 80's teenagers and an all-knowing little person, this film has everything needed in a late night horror flick. Not to mention dream sequences, historical figures and epic battles, Waxwork has got it all.

Freddy vs. Jason. Ok, I know what your thinking. Seriously, combining two villains of horror classics for a final showdown against each other? Cheesy...but awesome! Freddy and Jason are two very different beasts with the same love of blood but they are not willing to share this with another. This film features underage party teenagers, backstories on Freddy and Jason and absolutely ridiculous killings. While there are scary parts, the gore is pretty crazy that it will end up laughing too.

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue. Maybe some of you are interested in the phenomenon of horror movies and their place in the American social world and psyche. This film goes back from the beginnings of the very first horror films to today's modern takes. With commentary from horror legends like John Carpenter and George Romano, this is the perfect documentary for those starting out in the horror genre or buffs wanting to know more.

Trick r' Treat. This is a film that Jon and I watched by accident on Netflix and absolutely loved. The film uses classic Halloween stories along with fairy tale like morals to gets its points across. There is a sadist father, group of girls looking to score, a town party and a little boy named Sam. Sam is always present to remind everyone about the traditions of Halloween...no matter what.

So check all of these out on Netflix or at your local video store for some good frights for the season. What are some of your favorite Halloween films?

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