Tag Archives: spooky season

Revamp Your Yard For Spooky Season

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Revamp Your Yard For Spooky Season

Spooky season is in full swing and what better way to pay homage to the best time of the year than in your own yard?! Sure, your house might be full of Halloween decor like mine but the outside is just as important to set all of the vibes come trick-or-treat night. At least, I sure think so, especially because I so wish that I had a yard to decorate! Let’s look at some fun projects to revamp your yard just in time for Halloween:

Decor Galore:

How cool would it be to have a front yard filled with twinkling orange lights, fake bats hanging from the trees, and zombies poking up from the ground? While you don’t have to go crazy with giant inflatables or twenty foot skeletons, a little decor goes a long way. Fake cobwebs, home made jack-o-lanterns, and makeshift ghosts in the trees works just as well!

Better yet, so many of the DIY aspects of Halloween decorating can be done as a family. You could make a bunch of creepy spiders by tracing your hands on cardboard or silly ghosts by sticking your feet in some paint. And, of course, there’s nothing better than a pumpkin carving night while watching all of your favorite scary flicks.

Autumnal Landscaping:

Mum is the word and you can purchase tons of glorious flowers to add some colorful cheer during the day. This is also another great activity to do as a family, perhaps by making a trip to your local pumpkin patch for some potted flowers? What’s more, you could paint jack-o-lantern faces on them for all of the fun of pumpkin carving without the pulpy mess!

Don’t forget to make the most of all of the fallen leaves adorning your yard too. They could easily be turned into garlands to hang around your door or porch railing. Add some fake cobwebs and you can’t go wrong. If you aren’t keen on raking or crafting with leaves, learn more about how a local landscaping service can assist. Then have a leaf jumping competition with the freshly raked piles and warm up with some hot chocolate afterwards.

If you’re crunched for time or have no green thumb to be found (And, no, Frankenstein green paint on your hands doesn’t count!), then you could hire a reliable landscaping company that delivers great results. You can even consult with them to turn your yard into the ultimate autumn oasis.

Trick-Or-Treat Tips:

Arguably one of the most fun parts of Halloween is seeing all of the adorable costumes come trick-or-treat night. Rather than answering a ringing doorbell all evening, how about setting up shop outside? My husband and I plan on doing this in my parent’s neighborhood! We will have a crackling fire and the Monster Mash playing on repeat, obviously.

You don’t have to stop there, though! You could host a neighborhood costume contest or set up a scavenger hunt in your freshly decorated yard. Expertly placed pine cones, mini pumpkins, and fake spiders could all be things to find. The prize? Extra candy! If you don’t have a fire pit, be sure to place lots of twinkling or floodlights around your property so everyone can find their way!

One of my favorite things about spooky season is all of the great outdoor decorations. Turn your yard into one that would make me stop and stare and have the best time!

Mini Halloween Haul

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Mini Halloween Haul

Hello! It is spooky season all year long in mine and Johnny’s world and the decor in our apartment reflects this. We love all things horror and true crime and Halloween is the happiest time of the year for us. Now that we are settled comfortably in our new apartment, we really wanted to upgrade our spooky decor since we have so much more additional space.

After a wildly successful haul at Marc’s, a discount store in my neck of the woods, I was itching to go back. I got all kinds of cool Halloween goodies and the best part was seeing the same items I purchased at Walgreen’s for triple the cost. The haul below costed me a whole ten bucks at Marc’s and from the Akron Zoo when I went with my nieces and sister. You can peep the OOTD from our outing tomorrow! Now, let’s take a look-see at my new Halloween treats – no tricks necessary!

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^^^ The little ghost and pumpkin are from the zoo, the rest is from Marc’s.

My Johnny has a huge collection of Halloween themed socks and he actually just bought a ton more from TJMaxx when we went last week. I was so proud! I’d be a liar if I said that I wasn’t a tad jealous so I was so happy to find some socks of my own at Marc’s. They are also the same brand of the Frankenstein socks that Johnny surprised me with last year and that I’m currently wearing right now! While my collection will never achieve Johnny level, it’s a pretty good start. 😀

The skull candles were a whopping two for a dollar and I am obsessed with them. 1) Talk about a STEAL and 2) they will be perfect for our scary movie marathons every weekend! The piece de resistance of my haul, however, is the skeleton hand candle holder. This costed me two dollars and I couldn’t believe my good luck. It reminded me so much of this year’s Bath & Body Works Halloween line and probably would have been selling for twenty or more bucks from there. Talk about an amazing find!

And, finally, who knew you could find some Halloween cuteness at the zoo?! At the Akron Zoo, you have to exit through the gift shop and it’s a total money trap lol. I love spoiling my nieces with a new stuffed animal every time we go, though, so what can ya do except buy a treat for yourself too! Every year, Johnny and I work on instilling a love of Halloween in our oldest niece, Val. It’s definitely working and she picked out the pumpkin for herself. She also plays with the decorations on our spooky shelf whenever she comes over. Proud aunt and uncle alert!! ❤

Not bad for a ten dollar haul, right? Mine and Johnny’s apartment is filling up nicely with Halloween decor and it is what we have always wanted. A local discount store with the coolest spooky treats is really helping the cause!

What is your favorite discount store? Do you have your Halloween decorations out yet? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Marc’s Halloween Haul

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Marc’s Halloween Haul

Hello! In my neck of the woods, there is a discount store called Marc’s that offers everything from food and clothing to toys and home goods. This past week, they also had a ton of Halloween goodies that I just had to snag for the apartment. Everything was SO cute and also way cheaper than anything you would find at TJMaxx and Walmart. Take a look:

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It is Halloween year round in mine and Johnny’s home and our decor includes skeletons, pumpkins, ghosts, ghouls, and a Jason Voorhees cardboard cutout lol. Our neighbor gave us this life size likeness and it still freaks me out sometimes! I have taken it upon myself to freshen up our Halloween stock pile this year and just couldn’t say no to the above purchases – especially considering I got all of them for under twenty-five dollars. 😀

I am particularly partial to the glittery hanging skeleton with the bow tie and Johnny loves the skeleton and scepter statue. Our niece, Valerie, always wants to play with our ghost figurines when she comes over so I think she will be a huge fan of the “BOO” ghost statue! As soon as I brought this haul home, it was like a kid in a candy store and Johnny added them to our spooky shelves throughout the apartment. SO. Precious!

While chain stores might have a bigger selection of Halloween goodies, don’t write off the discount stores. I have never seen anything like my purchases at Marc’s elsewhere so you are sure to find some very unique pieces if you know where to look. Now, is it Halloween yet?!

Where is your favorite place to shop for seasonal decor? How do you decorate for Halloween? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Sweet Surprises: Silly Socks Edition

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Sweet Surprises: Silly Socks Edition

Hello! Some girls like being surprised with flowers from their significant other. Myself, on the other hand, loves when Johnny surprises me with spooky attire and decor for the apartment. So, when he came home from running errands and said that he had a surprise for me, I had a feeling that it was going to be from a discounted Halloween section and (as always! haha) I was right! Check out these adorable silly socks that Johnny gifted me with:

My Johnny has a staggering collection of Halloween socks. He seriously has over fifteen pairs and his collection seems to grow by the day. Despite my love of the holiday, I had not a one spooky pair of socks until this Frankenstein pair came into my life. They are so comfy and there is nothing like a new pair of socks to slide around the hard wood floors of our apartment with! 😀

You can’t put a price on happiness but, in this case, it came in a two dollar pair of socks that make me smile every time I look at them. Whenever Johnny or I are running errands, we always tend to pick up a little treat for each other if something catches our eye and it makes every time we return home an exciting event. While my Halloween sock collection will never be as magnificent as my better half’s, I think these Frankenstein socks will help me start off on the right foot. Ba dum chhhhhhhhhh! ❤

What do you like being surprised with? Do you have a silly sock collection? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Spooky Spectacular OOTD Bonus Pictures

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Spooky Spectacular OOTD Bonus Pictures

Howdy! As promised, today we are going to look at some bonus pictures from my Spooky Spectacular OOTD. Johnny and I had a very successful Halloween weekend, minus me coming down with an awful cold on Sunday. But that’s okay because Halloween Sunday was just us watching scary movies all day so we didn’t miss out on any of our festivities. Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

On Friday, Johnny and I attended a Halloween get together hosted by one of his work friends seen in the picture above. Her and her husband set up a mini haunted house in their backyard which we unfortunately didn’t get to go through because it wasn’t finished by the time we were heading out. It was still a lot of fun, though, and it was nice to finally meet some of my husband’s work friends who he has spoke so highly about.

Saturday was a hoot too and we took our little niece trick or treating at our apartment offices and had a spooky song dance party afterwards. She also enjoyed playing with all of the bits and baubles on our spooky shelf as well as our huge collection of LEGO mini figs! Later that evening, we headed to a friend’s house for some Halloween hangs. Of course, Johnny and I had to step out in our costumes even though no one else was dressed up lol.

As mentioned above, I woke up feeling miserable on Sunday and was left exhausted by a killer cold from outer space. Everyone has a certain time during the year when they usually catch a little bug and I thought that I had surpassed mine because it tends to happen for me in mid-October. I guess Halloween weekend had one more trick for me so it was the perfect day to watch all of the scary movies and a couple episodes of Criminal Minds – our favorite! 😀

Even though I fell under the weather, our Halloween weekend was a great time. Johnny and I had so much fun getting dressed up in our costumes and we are already talking about what we should be next year! ❤

How did you celebrate Halloween? What is your favorite Halloween candy? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Spooky Spectacular OOTD

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Spooky Spectacular OOTD

Hi! Today, we are going to take a look at my Spooky Spectacular OOTD for Halloween. I’ll be the first to admit that I threw this costume together and hoped for the best and I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out. Although I couldn’t find a vampire costume to match Johnny’s, that’s okay, because I was able to come up with a costume that no one else would have. Take a look:

Who? What? Wear?

During our search for Halloween costumes, Johnny and I went to three different stores and I couldn’t find NOTHIN minus a couple of super cool accessories. This included the claw rings that I am obsessed with even though they are way too big and crazy cheap lol. Johnny was able to find a vampire costume that I thought he looked dashing in while I had to resort to online shopping after our rounds at the stores.

I scoured Amazon for over a half hour and was still coming up empty. I just couldn’t find anything that spoke to me and I had all but given up when I stumbled upon the skeleton bodysuit by Tipsy Elves. It was definitely more expensive than what I was comfortable with, however, it was one of the few things I saw that I could actually work with so I gave it a shot. It conveniently arrived with free one day shipping and it was a huge relief that it fit well when I tried it on. The last thing I needed was to find another costume in a sea of not so muches.

Despite having the bodysuit, my costume was not complete because I felt too exposed in just the bodysuit and fishnets. I decided that a black tutu skirt was a necessity so Johnny and I made our way back to Spirit Halloween the Thursday before the big weekend. The store was so picked over and entire shelves were completely bare with no black tutu skirt in sight. All that was left was red and purple skirts, so red it was. At the time, I wasn’t thrilled about it but after putting on the completed costume, I should have been looking for a red skirt all along – it’s so cute!

To finish the look, I went with my wedding heels that worked perfectly with the skeleton bodysuit. I also was really happy to be able to wear them again after mine and Johnny’s June nuptials. After my OOTD was ready to go, it was time to apply makeup and that went as well as to be expected with a palette from Spirit Halloween lol. Needless to say, it didn’t apply very well but I was pleased with how my attempt at skeleton makeup turned out even though I didn’t have the best tools to work with.

My Spooky Spectacular costume is one that I am really proud of and it turned out even better than I expected. Thrown together? Yes. So cute it’s scary? Yes times a million! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for bonus pictures! 😀

What did you do for Halloween? What did you dress up as? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Accessory Story: Halloween Haul Edition

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Accessory Story: Halloween Haul Edition

Hi! Halloween is mine and Johnny’s favorite time of the year. We love the style, the decorations, and all of the other spooky treats that come with the season. Last week, we ventured out to three different stores to search for vampire costumes for Halloween weekend and while Johnny found a great costume, I had no such luck. I had to resort to purchasing a costume off of Amazon (Which you will all see soon!) but I didn’t walk away from our shopping empty handed. Check out my Halloween Accessory Haul:

While I normally prefer accessory shopping at TJMaxx, you can’t beat places like Spirit Halloween to find odds and ends that add a touch of the macabre to all of your OOTDS. I have always wanted finger rings despite my pointy acrylics and just couldn’t pass up on the ones that I bought. And, yes, I had to buy them both because I couldn’t decide between the Vampire and Skeleton pack! Can you imagine typing at the keyboard with those babies on? 😀

Several years ago, I bought a pair of my favorite bloody knife earrings from Spirit Halloween and was looking forward to scoping out their earring selection. It definitely didn’t disappoint and I love the Day Of The Dead inspired dangly pair that I picked out. The real piece de resistance, however, is the feather collar for all of the Black Swan vibes. I recently rewatched that movie for the millionth time and when I saw only one collar left on the shelf, it had to come home with me.

I seriously cannot wait to create a look with the collar as the centerpiece so keep your eyes peeled for that as well as my Halloween costume OOTD very soon. It may be November first but that’s no matter when every day is Halloween in my household! ❤

What did you dress up as for Halloween? How would you style my feather collar? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Show Your Bones OOTD

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Show Your Bones OOTD

Hi! I have been making great use out of my new iPhone for exactly why I wanted it in the first place – lots of OOTD posts. 😀 Today, we are going to check out a spooky OOTD perfect for Halloween that I sported this weekend for a date night with Johnny. Let’s get to it:

Who? What? Wear?

Over the weekend, I got certified in Medication Administration which was a nine to five class both Saturday and Sunday. The location of the training was a decent amount away from the homestead, so I thought that I would get a hotel nearby to make it easier on myself. The classes were very intense and the only thing getting me through the day towards the end of the Saturday lesson was a date night afterwards.

After class, Johnny took me to a delicious Italian dinner at Napoli’s. Then, we headed to an arcade bar called the Buzzbin to play some games. However, when we got there we learned that there were no longer any arcade games there. Johnny immediately hopped on the case and we ended up at Rack It Up, which was another arcade bar in the area. We must have played ski ball for close to an hour – it was a hoot!

Whenever my husband and I step out together, we love to show out in our emo’s best. With spooky season upon us, I couldn’t think of a better time to break out my hand me down skeleton sweater from Johnny. While it was too small for him, it fit me just right. 🙂 All Black Everything was an obvious must for this look and to keep the wearing your insides on your sleeve motif going, I wore my vertebrae platforms a la Dolls Kill. It has been a while since I have gotten to wear them and they reminded me so much of the heels that I wore for my wedding. :*)

Although my Show Your Bones OOTD is quite simple, it was so much fun to wear because it felt like Halloween came early! As a short gal, it is important to me to create the illusion of length in the outfits that I style and I felt ten feet tall in this one. Rest assured that no bones were broken in the making of this post! 😀

What are you going to be for Halloween? Where do you find the best spooky themed clothes? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

New Orange & Red Violet Nails

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New Orange & Red Violet Nails

Howdy! It is spooky season alright, which means that Halloween nails were in order when I got my fill at Elysian Nails. All day long, I was debating which color combination to go with because I didn’t want to do something as obvious as red and black. Then, I began going through a mental list of Halloween movies to draw inspiration from and settled on Hocus Pocus for a unique orange and red violet combo. Check it out:

While I love my nails and the fact that the tech I went to did a speedy job, I miss my old go to girl very much. Which is why I can’t wait for my next fill because she’ll be back! Although it’s always nice to sit back and be pampered without much chit chat, the girl talk is part of the reason why going to the hair or nail salon is one of my favorite hobbies. So, the silent fill I had this time around without any dishing about work, significant others, etc. felt incomplete.

Despite a somewhat lackluster experience, my nails did turn out great and I am obsessed with the colors that I chose. Aside from my wedding, I have never gotten fun designs on my nails simply because I don’t feel like paying for it. This is why I wanted a nontraditional color combo that still said Halloween.

Like many who think of Hocus Pocus, the first thing that came to mind was Winifred’s hair! The orange was a must but what would go with it? I went through my mental archives some more and settled on Sarah’s purple accents on her dress. Originally, the colors I selected at Elysian were much darker but it felt kind of blah. I scoured through the polish wall several more times and went with brighter hues in each shade and ended up with exactly what I pictured in my head! 😀

It’s all just Hocus Pocus but it sure is fun. Happy Halloween to all!

What is your favorite Halloween movie? What colors make you think of spooky season? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Zempertoopa Skeleton Sweater

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Zempertoopa Skeleton Sweater

Hello! From band Ts to straight up silly ones, Johnny and I have a decent amount of matching T-shirts. I always joke that our matching tops will prevent us from getting lost when we are out and about! And, now, we can be twinsies in sweaters too during the cold weather because he bought a skeleton one off of Amazon that didn’t fit and had to order a size up. It was no harm no foul though because it’s mine now! Haha check it out:

For most people, the winter holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. For me and Johnny, however, it is the entire month of October – AKA spooky season! We live for Halloween and prefer to stay in the spooky spirit all year round. Our new sweaters will definitely help the cause of living every day like it’s Halloween. 😀

Johnny has wanted a skeleton style sweater for forever so he was very disappointed when this one didn’t fit. Myself, on the other hand, was more disappointed that he didn’t order me one too so I guess things all worked out in the end lol. This will be the perfect sweater for snuggling up and watching scary movies or going out and about to do fall activities with.

The next outing on our agenda is to hit the pumpkin patch but it won’t be to pick out the perfect Jack-o-lantern pumpkin. We have literally no room in our apartment to carve pumpkins so our plan is to purchase some anyways and go to a wooded area to break them open for all of our animal friends. Pumpkins are a delicious treat for woodland animals and I encourage all of you to do the same when you’re clearing out your Halloween decor. 🙂

Skeletons, pumpkins, and apple orchards – oh my! Your favorite resident emo couple is living their best life right now and I hope the same is true for you too. ❤

Do you like carving pumpkins? What are you going to dress up as for Halloween? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah