Motherhood Monday: On Halloween in 2020

Happy Monday!! We're *almost* in October, so naturally, I have Halloween on the brain! And I'm wondering - what are you planning to do for Halloween this year? 

(was she ever really this little?!?!?!)

Last year I went the laziest route possible. Mia was a cool seven months old, so I just put her in a little skeleton outfit and called it a day (which LOL I found on clearance at the end of the season for $2 and bought a size for this year! #momhack). We were just getting her dressed up for daycare so I didn't quite see the point, especially since she'd mostly be rolling around on the carpet and ripping off any hats or accessories I tried to put on her. 

But now that I have a cute little 18 month old running around, I want to put that girl in a costume! The only thing is, where to wear it? 

My plan is, for pandemic safety, to just take her "trick or treating" (read: costume showing off) to a few of our family member's houses, and social distance while we're there. I'm thinking we'll also end up dressing up for a day at preschool, but that remains to be seen. 

I originally got really stuck on the idea of dressing up Mia as Madeline after seeing this cute picture from Danielle Moss. But honestly pandemic me has no time to make Mia a complicated costume, and everything I wanted to buy was hovering in the $100 range. Seemed silly to drop a hundy on a costume we won't *really* get to use. Also, I knew my work was going to have everyone dress up on camera for a virtual Halloween and there's no way I was going to be one of Madeline's nuns 😆

So instead I pivoted. I bought Mia some green tights and a green dress, and we're having her go as Peter Pan! Add a couple faux fur items and some face paint, and Jeff and I will be a couple of Lost Boys. Easy peasy lemon squeazy. Costumes made mostly from items we have at home that won't be too hard to pull together. Perfect for a Pandemic Halloween. 

What are you up to for Halloween this year? Are you still going all-out, or have you reigned things in? 

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Bloglovin!

Halloween at Home

I'm assuming it's because it's our first fall in our condo, but I've been super excited about fall decorating this year. Like, bought everything at Paper Source excited. Like, smelled 15 pumpkin scented candles at Target, decided none of them were quite right, and then spent $40 on a pumpkin chai Nest candle excited. Oops.

I'm not one of those people who's all about the creepy or scary Halloween, but give me a cute pumpkin or fun wine glass and I'm a happy camper. Here are a few of my favorite Halloween decor finds:

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Janet Snakehole and Burt Macklin Couples Costume

Oh god it's October already?! Halloween is right around the corner, and I haven't started thinking costumes at all yet. Which is really weird for me, considering I once spent a whole month drawing tiger stripes in my spare time and I'm pretty sure I planned my Ralphie costume a whole year in advance.

If you're like me and are trying to come up with something, here's an easy couple's costume idea that Jeff and I did last year - Janet Snakehole and Burt Macklin from Parks and Rec. If you have a little black dress and your man has a button down and a tie, then you're already halfway there!

Janet Snakehole - Dress / Necklace / Heels / Cigarette Holder / Hat / Earrings

Burt Macklin - Sunglasses / Jacket / Shirt / Tie / Duck Tape (for FBI letters) 

Looking for more easy costume ideas? Check out some of my past DIY costumes. 

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...Had a little Halloween party! Halloween is always my favorite holiday because I love costumes - this year Jeff and I dressed up as Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole. I had a lot of candy and a whole lot of "Hallowine" ;)
...Celebrated Halloween at work dressed up as "Fantasy Football" and went out with my coworkers to celebrate the end of our quarter, and then maybe had to take a train back in the city at midnight and maybe tricked Jeff into picking me up ;)
...Went over to a friend's for brunch and tried shakshuka, and oh my gee I need to make this all the time - so good!!
...Had dinner with my family and my adorable little baby niece, who finally figured out how to hold stuff. Get it girl!

I hope you had a good one!! We have a pretty crazy week coming up (more details coming soon!) and then on Friday we're heading to Kansas City for a friend's wedding. I've never been before and need the barbecue - let me know where I should go!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Mean Girls Costumes

Last weekend was October 3rd, so of course there was a Mean Girls marathon on tv, reminding me of its greatness and of how much its lexicon has slipped into my daily life ("Boo, you whore"). So who wouldn't want to dress up as one of the Mean Girls for Halloween? I actually was in a group Mean Girls costume thrown together at the last minute for a costume party in college (I thought about finding some photos, and then I decided instead to destroy all of the evidence), and let me tell you, if you need a last minute Halloween costume, Mean Girls is a pretty easy one to pull off. Here are a few fun Mean Girls costume ideas:

Regina costume: Cardigan, Tank, Skirt, Heels 

Damian costume: Sweatshirt, Sunglasses

Purple Bra costume: Skirt, Bra, Heels, Tank

Mouse costume: Dress, Mouse Ears (add a circle of pink felt to the centers if you're feeling DIY-y)

Would you dress up as a character from Mean Girls? Which is your favorite?

Oh, and completely unrelated - I finally joined Snapchat! I know I'm YEARS late on this. Now if I could only find a young person to show me how it works. You can follow me at kristinadoes. Stay tuned for amusing high school reunion pics this weekend!

photo sources 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Shop the post:

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Easy DIY Halloween Costume Ideas

I've shared a fair few Halloween costumes on the old blog over the years. It's definitely my favorite holiday even though I'm not so into the creepy elements - I really just love a good costume! Here's a roundup of a few of my favorites over the years:

Ralphie from A Christmas Story

This was one of those costumes that looked really complicated but was actually pretty easy to make. Plus, wearing a onesie all night was so comfortable! 

Sleepy Holly Golightly

Another fun and easy costume I put together at the last minute - thanks for lending me one of your shirts Jeff! Of course, those who were not Breakfast at Tiffany fans just thought I was a very confused Risky Business. 

Tiger

Now this is one of those costumes that looks easy but actually took me FOREVER since I hand drew all of the stripes. Maybe I should have tried fabric paint instead ;) 

Carebear 

Want everyone to give you Halloween hugs? Dress up as a Carebear ;) 

Wendy from Peter Pan

One cheapo nightgown plus one ribbon equals this easy Wendy costume - I had my friends dress up as Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and Tigerlilly to match :) 

Looking for more easy costume ideas? Check out my Five Minute Costumes!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

My Halloween Costume: Ralphie from A Christmas Story

I've been teasing my Halloween costume for the past couple weeks, but I actually decided on the idea over a year ago and just didn't get it together in time for last Halloween. A Christmas Story is definitely my favorite Christmas movie and I quote it year round, so Ralphie in the bunny costume seemed like a no brainer. For some reason I had it in my head that the costume would be really hard to make, but it actually ended up being super easy.

Step one was to buy a pair of hooded footie pajamas. I found mine at footedpajamas.com, and since I was shopping off season they were on super sale. Then I proceeded to wear them around the house for six months (Jeff even wore them once too ;).

I originally considered buying two pairs of pajamas so that I would have extra matching fabric for the ears, feet, and gloves, but instead I just took a swatch with me to the fabric store and found a near exact match of fleece. I got a quarter yard of the lighter pink and a quarter yard of a darker pink to use for the inside of the ears. I also picked up some googly eyes for the feet and some thin floral wire.



For the ears, I decided I didn't want them connected to the hood. As a faux redhead who pretends she has the same experiences as real redheads, I'm very temperature sensitive, and knew that odds were I would not be able to keep a hood on for very long. Instead, I decided to attach the ears to a headband so I could wear them separately. I found an old headband and whip stitched a cover out of the extra light pink fabric. For the ears themselves, I cut out pieces of the hot pink and light pink fabrics, and then cut a piece of wire to fit around the perimeter of the hot pink piece, plus a little extra. I then sewed the ears together with the wire (but you could easily glue them or use liquid stitch).  I did not sew the bottoms at first, and instead wrapped the bottom of the wire around my headband, and then wrapped and sewed the bottom of the ear around the headband.

For the feet, I made smaller versions of the ears, then glued on some googley eyes and used a permanent marker to draw a nose & mouth. I forgot to take a picture of this, but I also decided to make mittens out of some of my remaining light pink fabric since Ralphie's bunny suit covers his hands.

To make myself more recognizable as Ralphie, I also had to have a Red Rider BB Gun. I found mine on eBay for ten bucks or so. My gun shot air darts, you know, so I wouldn't really shoot my eye out.

And there you have it! Ralphie from A Christmas Story. Maybe I'll break this out again for Christmas with my in-laws, so they know exactly what kind of girl is joining their family ;) 

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...threw a little Halloween party after passing out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters. I was Ralphie from A Christmas Story, and Jeff was Gary from VEEP. The clear costume winner of the night though was my friend Becky, who went all out as Ruffio.
...Ate what some may consider an excessive amount of candy thanks to the HAIL we had during trick or treating hours, which means we had quite a bit of candy leftover.
...Finally went to see Gone Girl, which was so good. Other things that were so good? The excessive amount of butter on my popcorn, and the quick flash of Ben Affleck's manhood ;)
...Went over to the neighborhood cafe for a little breakfast date with Jeff's dad, where due to a little mix up we ended up ordering everything a la carte and ended up with about twelve plates on the table.
...Did a little bit of shopping in stores where I left empty handed, which transitioned into a lotta bit of online shopping and a pretty big chunk of my November budget gone.
...Went out for tacos with the boo and totally forgot it was the Dia de los Muertos - the place was packed!

I hope you had a good one!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween has been my favorite holiday for the past decade because I love costumes. Oddly enough, I hate all of the scary stuff, but dressing up and going into a sugar coma from all of the candy more than makes up for it. Tonight we're having a little Halloween party at our house to celebrate and passing out candy to the trick or treaters in our neighborhood.

All images via my Pinterest board

Are you a fan of Halloween? How are you spending the spookiest of nights?

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

The Friday of Halloweens Past

This weekend I had to finish my Halloween costume since I'm traveling the next two weekends for weddings, and while digging through my costume dresser (what, do other people not have an entire dresser devoted to costumes?) I was reminded of some of my favorite Halloween costumes of the past couple of years.  Here are some of my favorites:

Holly Golightly

Loofah

Tiger

Clue

Wendy from Peter Pan

Carebear

What's been your favorite Halloween costume?  Are you dressing up this year?

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Holly Golightly Costume

Happy Halloween!! This year I put together a last minute Breakfast at Tiffany's costume after seeing the idea on Face It Catalog.  I already knew I could pick up a similar mask on the cheap from Fred Flare, and I added one of Jeff's old button downs, a crazy cat purse I found in the kids section at Sears, and some tassel earrings I made from a package of embroidery thread and an old pair of earrings.  Sleepy face optional.

(Oh, and don't worry you guys, I was wearing shorts under there.)

Happy Halloween!!

Follow along via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

This weekend and a Giveaway!

This weekend I...

...Purchased a hilariously awesome/bad cat purse for my Halloween costume.
...Tried a cake shake from Portillos for the first time.  This may be blasphemy, but I would have preferred a regular chocolate shake.
...Watched a couple Halloween movies without sound - turns out they're mostly not scary and just hilarious that way.
...Started planning a Christmas block party with a couple of my friends from home.  What, you don't have outdoor parties in December?
...Went to the birthday party for a couple of 21 year olds, haven't been to one of those in years!
...Whipped up a killer breakfast sandwich.
...Tried to decide on a new phone plan.  What do you guys think, AT&T or Verizon?
...Wore fake eyelashes for the first time.
...Watched Christmas Vacation.  It's way too early, but it was on tv and I couldn't resist.
...Worked on a lot of website projects.


And now for a little giveaway!  I have teamed up with amazing bloggers and boutiques to bring you this amazing and huge giveaway. 25 prizes, which means 25 winners. Please read and follow all steps to increase your chances of winner these amazing prizes. If you are a blogger and would like to participate in these types of giveaways please comment on Nightchayde's blog. Good LUCK!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway





Follow along via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Halloween Hints

Oh hi!  It's Friday and I'm exhausted (and hoping I'm not coming down with a cold) so I'm just leaving you with a little hint of my Halloween costume for this weekend.  This little guy should be arriving at my house at any moment:

Have a great weekend!




Follow along via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Fun Group Costume: Clue

You know how sometimes you end up going to more than one Halloween party in a weekend and feel like you need a second costume?  I know some people will wear the same costume multiple times, but I always like to wear something different, even if it's thrown together at the last minute.

A couple of years ago my friends and I needed a second costume idea, so we went for Clue.  My friend just happened to already own a maid costume (what?) and for Ms. Peacock and Ms. Scarlet we wore blue and red.  Add a couple of fascinators and some weapons (Who just has a lead pipe laying around? We do.)  and you're good to go!

P.S. Nooses can get dangerous on the dance floor, especially since we tied them correctly thanks to our Internet research.




Follow along via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Easy Halloween Costume: Tiger

Usually for Halloween I'll try to dress up as something creative or add a twist to my costume, like the year I was Tinkerbell "on Pixie Dust" (ahem).  Other years, I just feel like being cute.  Hence, the tiger.

Step one:  Find an orange tee shirt and orange leggings.  What, you can't find orange leggings in a normal store?  Don't worry, American Apparel can help.  If desired, cut said tee shirt into a v-neck, and use the extra fabric to make some tiger ears (attached to a headband, of course).

Step two:  Find a picture of a tiger print online.  Use a permanent marker to vaguely approximate said print all over the place.  Use cardboard in the middle of the shirt/leggings to avoid bleed through.

Step three: Admire your handywork.

Pssst, looks like I was trying on the old Carebear costume too...

Step four: Tease your hair like nobody's business.  Ask a friend to draw on a nose and whiskers before the party starts.

Step five: Find some other cats (hats optional).

Step six: Get them to pose "fierce" with you in the streets.

And congrats!  You've had a successful Halloween.




Follow along via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!