Halloween Fun 2014

One of my favorite holidays has now come and gone. Our annual Halloween party was a blast. We finally decided on our costumes (thank goodness) and I love how they turned out. Our friends had a fun, which is really all I care about. There was great food, good drinks and all around craziness. I was so busy having fun that I didn't get photos of all of our guests. I think next year I'm going to set up a little photo booth to make sure I get shots of everyone. Now on to the fun.

I created this skull cake for my friend Kris' birthday, which happened to fall on the day of the party.

A spooky cocktail was in order. I found this vampire blood cocktail idea on Pinterest and modified it to my taste a bit. The original idea and recipe came from The Self Proclaimed Foodie. It turned out great and everyone loved it.

I attempted to create another Pinterest find, mini caramel apples. As you can see in the photo, they were a huge fail. When I first created them they looked great. After about an hour, they looked like this. The juice from the apples caused the caramel to slide off and created this watery, mushy mess. These ended up in the trash.

We ended up dressing as the Mad Hatter and Alice (a punk rock version). I think {msL's} costume and make-up turned out great! I decided on a rocker version of Alice, complete with a paint splatered dress, ripped hi-low tutu, floral Doc Martens, and tattoos. I already owned the dress and until last week it was destined for the trash. It has some stains and I hadn't been able to remove them. Instead I took Sharpies in shades of blue and created a paint splatter effect.

The Mad Hatter and our friend Kevin, the Prince.

Gaby and Mia look great as the women of Sons of Anarchy. No biker chick costume would be complete without attitude!

Kris (the birthday girl) and Lauren (her girlfriend), look amazing as Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Kris did that make-up herself (including Lauren's scarred cheek). Kris is a scary and impressive Bid Bad and Lauren is a beautiful Red. Incredible!

It was such a great time. I'm a bit sad that I didn't get more photos. There were so many good costumes. I also missed getting a photo of our newest outdoor decoration, a posable skeleton (like this one). I hope you all had as much fun at your Halloween gatherings as I did.

Don't forget to come out and see me next Saturday at the Shopaholics Suite in Silver Spring, Maryland (DETAILS and TICKETS HERE). It's going to be a fab afternoon of fashion and bargains. I hope you'll be there.

photo credits: @peacfulsafira, @_gabillionairee, @daisybee45

Inspiration - Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is less than a week away. Our party this year is on Saturday (November 1st). Luckily, we have one extra day to get our act together. I definitely feel like our costumes are a huge part of the party. Since we're the hosts, I like to go all out. It's the only time, EVER, that I enjoy dressing as a couple. I'm definitely not big on the matching thing. In fact, one or both of us have been known to change clothes if that accidentally happens. Halloween is the only exception. Last year {msL} was Edgar Allan Poe and I was the Raven. My costume was over the top, complete with wings, feathers and claws. {msL} wore a dark wig, mustache, a waist coat, ascot and carried a book of POEtry (see what I did there?). Hopefully, we'll look just as great this year. I thought we were set on our idea but we keep going back and forth. Time is ticking people. Here are our options.



The Corpse Bride - Victor and Emily

More costume inspiration after the break.

Inspiration - Halloween 2014

It's time to start decorating for our annual Halloween party. It's become an exciting tradition for our friends and I look forward to it every year. I love the decorations we have but like to change things up and give guests some surprises. This year we are also celebrating the birthday of one of our guests, which means that we have to pull out all the stops, of course. As you can see, I go for spooky over cute. What's Halloween without creepiness? Here are a few new sources of inspiration.

The designers and creators at Martha Stewart are genius. The ideas they come up with are incredible and memorable.

 

My friend the DC Goodwill Fashionista is featuring last year's party and decorations, many purchased from Goodwill, on her blog today. Head on over and show her some love!


photo credits: marthastewart.com, abcdesign.com, houzz.com, epicurious.com, cocktails at marthastewart.com

Halloween Decor and Costumes

Halloween was a blast this year. It's one of my favorite holidays. We had so much fun decorating for and throwing our Halloween party and I thought I'd share some highlights with you.

I wanted a dramatic entry for our guests. The curtains will be used in my office when I redecorate.  The little gnome stays on the porch year round. We decorate him at Christmas and I thought I'd decorate him for Halloween as well.

 

I purchased candlesticks from Goodwill and painted them black. {msL}found dripping blood candles and I was thrilled until they dripped everywhere including all over the table cloth and the rug. I will stick with regular candles from now on. I snagged tons of skulls and crows. I painted the plastic skulls black and silver and also used a few from last year that I'd sprayed with glittter spray paint. I replaced all of the bulbs in the lamps and light fixtures with red bulbs, adding to the spooky feel.  I already owned the bulbs. I'd used them for my fire and ice themed 40th birthday party a few years ago. The food and the skulls were displayed on cake stands that I found at Goodwill and we also used for our wedding. We also decided to serve Halloween inspired cocktails. Of course we hit up Goodwill for some vintage looking cocktail glasses.

Outside we had a fire pit and on the table I used a tray I found at Goodwill. It was an engraved tray (an award) but since I was going to put candles, mini gourds and skulls on it, the engraving wouldn't show. I wanted to carry the spooky ambience outside.

Now for the costumes!

{msL} and I dressed as Edgar Allan Poe and his Raven. I already owned the wings, leather peplum top and the satin ball skirt. I purchased the mask and the talons that I wore. I made the feather necklace and bracelets. I created smokey eye makeup and a beak using heavy black liner. I outlined my lips in black and used a dark red lipstick.

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't manage to get a photo of my friends Carl, David or Willis. Carl was dressed as a Caps Fan. He actually plays a Caps fan in real life.  David was dressed as Peter Pan and Willis was dressed as a Pirate. Thank you to all of our guests and to everyone who sent photos.

 

 

Happy (belated) Halloween!

 



Inspiration - Halloween Party

We're hosting a small Halloween party this Saturday.  I've always wanted to throw a Halloween party but have never managed to pull it off.  This year I was determined. I'm definitely more of a skulls and macabre Halloween girl.  I knew I wanted elegant and spooky decor but frankly it took me a long time to come up with my costume and even longer to come up with {msL's} costume. I've worked hard at refining the decor, my costume and the menu. I can't wait for Saturday. Since I don't want to spoil the surprise for our guest (who read RGR), I won't reveal anything here, but I will have lots of photos next week. Many of these photos served as my Halloween inspiration.

 

Inspiration - Halloween Decorating and Party Ideas

For years now, {msL} and I have thought about hosting a Halloween party. It never seemed to work out, due to schedules or other obligations. This year we have worked things out early and we'll be hosting a small evening. I've already started thinking about my costume but I want to have some great decorations. A spooky, Gothic, Victorian vibe will be the aesthetic.

 

While shopping at Target the other day, I found bleeding skull candles. They will be the perfect compliment to candelabras and candle holders. I'm planning to repaint some of the candle holders I've used in my holiday decor from years past. I have black glitter skulls that I used in decor last year and cake stands from our wedding that can be used for decor and to display food. I love the idea of using cleavers and large knives to accent and cut food. I could create some vintage looking labels for bottles. I'll also be checking local thrift stores for bird cages.

I think with some planning, I will be able to reuse or upcycle many items for the decor. I'll use candles and simple items like apples for impact.

Do you decorate for Halloween?

Halloween Costume Makeup

I'm all for the easy Halloween Costume. I love the ones where you can use clothing that you wear daily and add minor accessories and makeup to create your costume. Several years ago {msL} and I went to a Halloween party as a modern day version of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.  It's one of my favorites. The makeup for {msL} took some time, mostly because of the fur and the ears but the outfits were items we already had on hand.  We purchased a cape for me and wolf gloves and ear attachments for {msL}.  I added hair extensions, false eyelashes and red lips. I also wore a leather corset I'd purchased a few years before and laced it with a red ribbon.  We got lots of compliments and the costumes were so easy to wear to the outdoor party.

We aren't attending a party this year but I am really inspired by these fantastic Halloween makeup ideas.

I've linked to all of these great ideas on Pinterest.   I might just have to do my makeup on Halloween night to give away candy to the kids in the neighborhood.

What are you wearing for Halloween this year? 

Instagram Monday with lots of DIY

I'm finally feeling better and over the weekend I did a few projects.  I did more sleeping and resting than anything so my plan to write a few blog posts didn't happen.  I thought I'd share a few of my photos from the past week or so.  I took these via Instagram.  It's easy to tell that I love the Instagram app.  If you're on Instagram, make sure to follow me (@realgirlrunway).  If you're not on Instagram, you can check out my latest pictures on Followgram or on the widget that's on the left side of my blog.

 

 

From top to bottom...

• Pretty DIY decorations from my cousin's recent outdoor wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and a wonderful time with my family.

• My sweet puppy Anita. She is a very active dog, so when she stops for a moment and looks so zen, I have to capture it.

• A beautiful lace options for my wedding dress.  It's crazy that fabric is so expensive. This lace costs $129 per yard!

• My DIY version of the popular Creme de la Creme sweatshirt.  My version only cost about $10 instead of $160. This DIY will contribute to my latest inspiration and obsession.

• Glitter skull DIY for our Halloween table decor. Made using plastic skulls from an after Halloween sale (last year) and left over glitter spray from this DIY.

• Chandelier for our wedding decor. I wanted a black chandelier to hang over the dance floor.  Thousands for a black crystal chandelier wasn't practical or in the budget.  I'm making my own using a brass chandelier I bough via craig's list.  This is step one, painting.  Bling will come next.

Hope you are all having a great Monday.  I'll get back to regular posting this week.

DC Goodwill Fashionista Feature ala Halloween

This morning I was surprised with a feature on the DC Goodwill Fashionista blog!  That creative girl, featured my DIY painted necklace and suggested using it in a fun and new way.  Halloween is a little over a week away and she thought it would be a great addition to a rocker costume.  FANTASTIC IDEA! 

I'm a regular reader of the DC Goodwill Fashionista blog.  Even if you don't live in the DC area, you'll find great tips on thrifting, fashion, and style. They even feature great buys that are available online. Be sure to check it out and subscribe.  It's a daily treat sent right to your in box.