A Spooky, Happy Hallowe'en to All!!

Wishing you a Spooky, Scary, Succulent Hallowe'en!!!

(Yes, the calories in this picture are VERY scary, indeed!)  ;-)

Bruce Campbell and a Cemetery Picnic

No, I didn't meet Bruce Campbell at a cemetery picnic!!  Instead, there were two Goth Meetup events this weekend that I attended.  With this group, it's either feast or famine; this week it appears to be a feast.

The first was last night, a Home Movie Night showing of two Bruce Campbell films: Bubba Hotep, followed by Alien Apocalypse.  We had five goths, two guests, and Daisy the pit bull in attendance at this one.  We had a very strange (but fun!) assortment of munchies, including chips, sodas, Chinese takeout, and some s'mores cupcakes I made in the afternoon.  The first movie was VERY different from what I expected (I'd watched Army of Darkness a few weeks ago, so I was expecting something like that).  Somehow, the idea of two old guys in a convalescent home who think they are really Elvis Presley and President John F. Kennedy taking on a soul-stealing mummy just never occurred to me as a legitimate storyline, but it was actually pretty good, and very funny.  What made it fun was that the whole thing was SO out there that you had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next!  After a brief intermission, we watched Alien Apocalypse, which I have to say was a disappointing letdown after Bubba Hotep.  There wasn't even very much ichor when they FINALLY got around to killing the human-sized, wasp-like aliens, which they did by shooting them with arrows, when all they really needed was a giant can of Raid.  Daisy didn't like it much, either; she went to sleep and snored through most of it. 

Today's event was our second Cemetery Picnic, held in a much larger cemetery than last time.  Rather unfortunately, the directions were not very clear, and we had trouble actually getting the group together as we got there on time but didn't realize there were two fountains, so we waited at the wrong one, and others got there late.  Again, seven adults showed up, but the pit bull was replaced by a small boy who was was much more enthusiastic and bouncy.  Fortunately, he was also fairly well-behaved, so what could have been a disaster (children are not really supposed to be brought to these events unless it's specifically mentioned that they are welcome) turned out to be a lovely, fairly peaceful get-together.  Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera, and no one took pics while we were there, so I won't have any pictures to share.

Now I'm going to eat dinner and go to bed, as I'm so tired I'm falling asleep at the computer.  Fortunately, I'm on vacation this week, so I don't have to get up early tomorrow.  G'night.

And Yet A Third Outfit Post! (Will Wonders Never Cease?)

Yes, a lot of these outfits probably look similar.  Bear with me, I'm still learning.  :-)

Here is one that looked much better in person than it does on film.  Apparently Martin was feeling especially tall when he took this picture, as the angle makes me look a bit short and dumpy.  (Yes, I'm short, but I'm not dumpy.)  The top is from Torrid, and is now a bit too large for me, but the thin black belt makes it work.  The parasol is from Victorian Trading Co. ($30), and the cotton skirt with tiny vertical ruffles I found at EcoThrift (about $3).  The black plastic rose on a plastic chain is one of my favorite necklaces, and I got it on Etsy from JackieHatesYou for about $10.  Hair flower from a private sale on LJ, about $2.  The spiked sandals are from Payless Shoe Source (and YES, the spikes are really pointy, and if you hit yourself with them, they hurt).

This next top was one of my original "goth" Etsy purchases, and I plan on wearing it until it desintegrates!!  The design is made of rhinestones, which you can't really see in the pic.  The skirt is from Torrid; it's a size 16, but I was able to take a tuck in the waist so I can still wear it... until I lose another 5-10 pounds.  Some of those white rectangles are actually light gray (there's a little too much flash here!), so it looks more interesting in real life.

  The flowered design on this top is made with pale pink embroidery. The skirt is the one I wore to the DMV.

I'm not sure if I like this outfit, so I'm asking for your thoughts.  Is it too busy?  Too many different designs and/or textures between the top and tights?  I'm not liking at nearly as much as I did when I put it on...

For work, I seem to be dressing somewhere between Corp Goth and Academic Goth, with a touch of Stevie Nicks thrown in.  The weekends tend to be a combination of more casual and more daring.  After looking at all the different outfit pictures I've taken of myself, and going through my closet, and thinking about what styles I like and don't like, I have to ask myself:  How will my clothing style need to change as I get older, or does it need to change at all?
 
And I REALLY miss those shoes... ::sigh::

An Adoption Announcement!

I am a new mother again!  Well, not exactly, but close.  I have adopted a Vamplet!  She arrived last week, along with an adoption certificate and her baby bottle of disappearing blood.  I still have to find her a coffin crib.

This is Lily Rose Shadowlyn, in her limited edition ballet tutu (and diaper):
























Isn't she adorable???  I can hardly wait for my son to meet his new baby sister!!  ;-)

As you can see, Vamplets are baby vampires.  I've been wanting one for about two years now, but could never "justify" the buying of a stuffed toy for myself.  However, I've finally come to my senses and realized that there is NO reason I shouldn't have one!  So now she will be company for my Skelanimal bunny rabbit that I bought in a private LJ sale a few months ago:

 


As you know, I also have a Goth "Barbie" doll, for whom I make clothes from remnants, and for whom I will soon start making furniture now that I have a pattern.  Goth-themed furniture, of course.

Too old for toys?  MEH.  Nonsense, no one is too old to play!  When we lose our sense of fun and play, then we are truly dead.  Or when we stop breathing, whichever comes first.  I think I'd rather do that.

So, What Do YOU Do for Halloween?

I recently read a great post by Nightwind on his blog, The Gothic Embrace, where he talks about his October Halloween traditions.  What an excellent idea!  So here are my own traditions, both current and those planned for the future (starting now!):

1.  Every year I decorate my office space at the very beginning of the month.  Skeletal hands crawl out of plant pots and off the top of my upper cabinet, a lovely graveyard scene (complete with witches doing their laundry) adorns the top of the large drawers next to my desk, and stuffed cats and bats decorate the plants.  Death and a Trolls vampire with wild fuschia hair both leer down at me from the upper cabinet, right next to the Wild Rumpus from Where the Wild Things Are. And this year there is some shredded "mummy wrap" draped over my visitor's chair, along with a stuffed pumpkin made of black cotton with white spiderwebs on it.  Lovely!!  (Normally I take everything down right after Halloween.  This year, though, I'm thinking of leaving at least some of it up and see if anyone notices.)

2.  Visits to Walgreen's, CVS, Michael's, Jo-Ann's, and the Spirit Store are de rigueur in October!  I've already stocked up on Halloween stickers (for letters and envelopes), some limited edition makeup, a Jack Skellington mug, a stuffed skeletal kitty, and new additions to my desk graveyard scene.  (I'd really love to include a hearse in it, but I haven't found one yet!)  Actually, I must admit I haven't been to the Spirit Store yet, but I AM planning to go this weekend.  Of course, most of these things will be used throughout the year, not just in October.

3.  Martin records all the Halloween specials from our favorite cartoons (The Simpson's, Courage the Cowardly Dog, FutureRama, and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) so we can watch them together in the evening.

4.  For the last several years, I've taken a vacation day every Halloween.  This way I can celebrate in my own way, and I don't have to endure the terrible aspects of "the Office Halloween Party" (ugh!), or try to figure out what to wear that won't make me feel completely stupid and/or elicit comments like "Where's your costume?  You ALWAYS dress like that."  This year I'm taking the entire week off, woo-HOOO!!

5.  Last year, I wore a "not-exactly-a-Halloween-costume-but-very-strange-by-most-standards" outfit to go grocery shopping at Lucky's on Halloween; it was a sort of Emilie Autumn-style number involving black and white striped bloomers and a parasol.  I totally delighted a little girl wearing a vampire costume who was pretending to bite her dad by scurrying past her and gasping, "Please don't bite me!!" while cowering in fear.  This was later followed up by a game of "Boo!-Eeek!" at the deli counter with a smaller child dressed in a costume of a less scary nature.  I think I shall make this a yearly tradition as well.  Well, I can't go Trick or Treating anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't roam around in some type of costume and delight small children!  :-)

6.  Yes, we do buy candy in case any Trick-or-Treaters should happen to ring our bell.  No, we haven't had one come by in several years, as we live in a gated apartment complex.  Yes, we eat the candy ourselves after 9pm. No, we're not sharing it with you.  :-P

So, what are YOUR Halloween traditions?  (Feel free to use any of mine if you wish!)

In Which I am TOTALLY Overwhelmed...

Yesterday when I got home from work, I found a HUGE box waiting for me.  I've been getting packages for the last two weeks, but they were all things I had actually ordered.  This wasn't.  It was from Canada, and when I saw the name of the sender, I was extremely surprised!  She is one of my penpals, but we have never met; she had mentioned in a recent letter that she had "a little something" she wanted to send me, but this box was HUGE!!  The customs tag on it said simply "Hat".  Well, of course, I had to tear the thing open, being extremely careful in the process, as I had NO idea what kind of "hat" would be in a box this big. 

Inside the HUGE box was another box... a Victorian Trading Co. hat box.  OMG!!!!!  And the MOST INCREDIBLE hat was inside...

The tag in the hat says "Hopeless Romantic Hat", and it certainly is that.  A circular black hat (straw, I think) swathed in dark red sateen and black lace, with some fall/winter flowers on the front, a black ostrich plume, black and red lace ribbons, and a couple of feet of black net hanging down the back. 

I WILL post a picture, I promise, but unfortunately I cannot find one of this hat on the Internet or VTC's online catalog to post now, and it will be a little while before the pictures in my camera can be developed.  

In the meantime, the generosity of this gift has reduced me to helpless gibbering.  Thank you SO MUCH, Lynne!!!  I want to go out and hug everyone in the world, just because!!  But instead of doing that (which isn't really practical, after all), I shall address the most important issue of all:  WHAT am I going to WEAR with this incredible hat?????

I definitely hear a shopping trip calling my name...

Review: Does Smashed Makeup Work Better?

Well, I bit the bullet the other day and ordered some makeup from GoodGoth.com.  The items were pretty inexpensive and there was a 15% discount on all makeup, so it should have been a deal, but the shipping took care of that.  Grrrrr.

Anyway, I've been wanting a different look, so I went for some stuff I haven't seen in the stores.  I ordered three items: Hardcore Black Metallic Eyeliner and two Utopia Baked Eyeshadows, in Game (swirls of purple and different shades of fuschia and pink) and Danger (swirls of gray and white with hints of silver), all by Klean Color.  Each shadow comes in its own compact with a mirror and applicator.

"Danger"  (Doesn't this look like a black & white pic of the Earth?)



  
"Game"  (I'm still trying to figure out a reason for this name.)

Shipping was very quick; ordered on the 5th, mailed on the 7th, and received by me on the 9th.  (Add 3 Goth Points!)  The items were in a fairly small box, loosely wrapped in some paper.  Unfortunately, everything was covered in purple and pink dust!  There was Game shadow everywhere...  When I checked the compact, it was still sealed but the shadow was broken and in chunks, and about a quarter of it had leaked out into the rest of the box.  Obviously the packing was NOT sufficient.  (Subtract 1 Goth Point.)

When I opened the compacts, I had no trouble actually opening the top to get to the makeup.  However, I was unable to figure out how to open the bottom section to get to the mirror and applicator.  More Grrrrrr...  After checking the website for clues, I was finally able to get to the compact mirrors and applicators.  (Add 1 Goth Point for visuals, as the makeup itself did not come in a package and had NO instructions.)  But more crumbled chunks of Game were in the mirror/applicator section (take back that Goth Point!).

Since I was in a hurry the next morning, I didn't try the shadows, just used the liquid liner on top of a nasty eye pencil that I'm getting rid of because it rubs off and smears.  I was hoping the liquid liner would hold the pencil down and make the whole thing stay on longer without smearing.  Live in hope, die in despair...  well, it DID stay on better, just not quite as well as I'd hoped.  So I figured, hey, tomorrow is another day.  We'll just start over then.

Next day:  I tried the Danger eye shadow, as I've been wanting to try a gray shadow for some time now.  I LOVE the color!!  It comes out (on me, at least) as a darker, slightly metallic gray, which is just what I was looking for.  The applicators are nice; you can use BOTH ends instead of just one, and the tips are not that cheap stuff that falls apart quickly, but good sponge that should last a while.  I used Mary Kay's Eye Primer as a base; it's a bit thicker than other primers I've used, and it tends to hold the shadow in place a bit better.  

Results:  At the end of the day, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my eye makeup was almost completely intact!  The shadow was a little smeared in the crease, even with the primer, but not so much that it looked bad.  And my eyeliner was also almost completely intact!  (Definitely 2 more Goth Points for this.)

Today I tried the Game eyeshadow.  Much different than I expected!  The darker purple bit didn't show up much, but it mixed a bit with the lighter fuschia/pink, which dominated the look completely.  And I actually liked it!  Not as much as the other one, but I will definitely use it again.  (Another Goth Point.)  However, the crumbled bits of shadow still got ALL over the place, and I had major cleanup to do on my fingers before I was finished applying it.  I did manage to salvage most of them for later use, though.  And no, the "smashed" makeup did not work any better than the unsmashed one.

So, overall, I like this makeup, both the way it looks on me and the way it stays on me.  I'm still not very fond of GoodGoth.com, though, and doubt I'll buy much else from them.  The "discounts" usually don't make much of a dent as the shipping is so high.  Three small makeup items cost $7.99 to ship???  Really??  I don't think so...  

What new makeup have YOU tried recently?  Did you like it?  Why or why not?

Memento Mori

Today is the 20th anniversary of my father's death.  From now until his birthday, November 15, my favorite picture of him (taken by me) will sit in my office, and I will remember him and the little I know about his life.  I do this every year as a tribute to one of the most important people in my life, although I never lived with him and didn't really know him very well.





 

"He who can be named is remembered; he who is remembered, lives."

Another Outfit Post!

I'm saving these outfit posts for when I don't have anything more interesting to talk about...  ;-)

Here are a few more outfits mentioned in past posts.  This is what I wore to the Cemetery Fundraiser in July.  I thought that my Danse Macabre top from Etsy would be very appropriate, with dancing skeletons playing instruments across the front, and the victims dancing across the back; I topped it off with my Momento Mori pendant (the one on my icon).  It's hard to tell, but the skirt is black lace (Bane, it's the one I bought from you).  And those are my prized Anarchy boots; they cost me only $32 (including shipping!) on GothAuctions.com!

Next is my "new" skull-n-crossbones patterned sundress that I got for $1.48 at EcoThrift, worn with leggings ($2.74 with a Kohl's gift card), spiky sandals from Payless Shoe Source (with coupon) and a spiderweb-draped cross on a ribbon (private LJ sale, $2-$3).  The heart on the dress that's partly covered by my hand has a larger matching skull-n-crossbones on it.

And here is my most recent acquisition, a gray t-shirt with Death Raven singing lots of skulls instead of musical notes.  (Ravens may be officially considered "song birds", but they DO NOT sing... they croak.)  If you look VERY CLOSELY at the large skull, you'll see a child peeking out of each eye socket.  Each of the three smaller skulls also has a child with it.  The caption reads: "Death Raven sings sweet sweet songs of Death."  They only had this shirt in XL, but it turned out the perfect size for me to wear with leggings.

Until next time...

October: "I'm SO Goth..."

This month's "I'm SO Goth..." is one I made up myself: 



I'm so Goth, I get sympathy cards on my birthday...
 

   


Happy October!!!!