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 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

Fashion and Style Quote of the Day (#12) - Drinks and Lipstick

 There are days when only certain things will perk up my mood. Those are the days when I call my closest friends, who always make me laugh, long for the end of the day to see {msL} because she always makes me feel better, make a favorite cocktail and put on my favorite lipstick. For some people that last one seems silly or doesn't fit them.  For me it works every time. If I feel good about myself then that makes me happier. Bright lipstick works every time. It can make a simple outfit more polished. Great lipstick with a t-shirt somehow seems fancier. It's a simple tool in your arsenal.

I'm in love with all of the bright lipsticks out this year.  My latest obsession is the Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids collection. I love all of the colors and already own many of them.

This post on Beautezine has great swatches.

I even wore Hot Plum (far right in the photo above) on my wedding day (photo below).  It's a fantastic bright fuchsia shade.

A great way to jazz up your favorite sweatshirt and cargo jacket. I'm sure the necklaces didn't hurt either.

Now for the drink. On our wedding day we chose to serve beer (2 of our favorites), wine (red and white) and two signature cocktails. My personal favorite was the Lucky 13 (vodka cherry limeade). We also created a drink called the  Rock Star. It's a rum and passion fruit drink. The Lucky 13 was by far the most popular (reddish pink drink below).

 

Lucky 13 (vodka cherry limeade)

vodka
lime juice (fresh is best but bottled is good too for simplicity)
Monin cherry syrup (best I've found, don't use grenadine, it's not the same)
Sprite (or any lemon lime soda)
ice

Fill a rocks glass with ice.

Add 2 oz of vodka
Add two splashes of lime juice (about 1/4 oz, more if you like it tart)
Add 1/2 oz of cherry syrup
Fill the glass with Sprite and stir.

ENJOY!


It's a great summer time drink.  You can make some alterations to the recipe if you are calorie conscious. Use club soda or sugar free Sprite in place of regular Sprite.  There are also sugar free cherry syrups available but we chose Monin because it doesn't have a fake cherry flavor. You could also use cherry juice, like Ocean Spray or Old Orchard Very Cherrie. If you substitute juice you will need to alter the proportions.

If you have a down day anytime soon, try a little pick up. Grab your favorite drink and put on some fun lipstick.  Thanks Elizabeth.