Shivers of Delight

Happy Halloween! We made it to another year. I had a blast this season and hope you enjoyed it too. Although celebrating Halloween on a Monday isn't ideal, I wouldn't change it for anything. Halloween has to be celebrated on the 31st. It's not just about the kids, you know. I packed in a bunch of activities yesterday. My goal was to participate in The Great Pumpkin Project . I have no idea who came up with this, but I love it. The object is to carve some pumpkins and then secretly leave them around town- anywhere that it looks like a pumpkin could bring some magic.  It doesn't seem to have caught on yet, though. Part of the issue may be that you're supposed to leave a pumpkin somewhere everyday of October. That's a lot of work. If I were to tweak this project, I'd say it should take place the weekend or week before Halloween. I chose three locations around town for my pumpkins. I could have chosen many more, but I didn't want to carve pumpkins all da...

It's the day before Halloween and the perfect time to tell ghost stories without any interruptions from the door and darling trick-or-treators. Recently I've been in several situations that called for the telling of a good ghost story and although everyone was eager, an awkwardness settled in as no one knew any tales or even how to tell them. So sad, and a horror story in and of itself. I could put the blame on many things, but in this blame-society let's turn to solutions. I think we need to use our ears more than our eyes for a good story. We could learn a lot from podcasts. One of my favorite memories of Halloween was just last year when I sat alone on my dark porch waiting for the next group of kids listening to the podcast Lore. I suddenly was aware of every little noise that sounded like someone might be sneaking up behind me. My neck was sore the next day from snapping my head around all night. It was a blast! Tonight, let's light a few candles and gather...

Although I celebrate Halloween all year long, October is the month when I can do lots of shopping for items to add to my collection. It's everywhere! I've already shown you the new clothing I added to my Halloween wardrobe a few days ago and now for the rest of the show. My first stop was at the famous Brimfield Flea Market in September. It's the last market of the season so odds are in your favor to find something for Halloween. I had to pass on the wicker casket for lack of funds, but it was beautiful. I did purchase a mega-big metal bat and a vintage pair of aluminum hands. You can't go wrong with disembodied parts. I tried my hand at a small craft project using a black glass serving tray I already owned and added some Halloween figures and black sand to create a Zen garden. I can make paths in the sand with the witch's broom. I can't say the idea was mine. I saw something similar somewhere- probably Etsy.  My box-store find was at Target...

I've been playing my Halloween tunes for several weeks now. If you need something to listen to while carving pumpkins this weekend, check out my Spotify Skeleton Ball playlist. Here is some of the music you'll find: Arctic Monkeys: Perhaps Vampire Is A Bit Strong But... Pixies: Ed Is Dead Concrete Blond: Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) The Cramps: Goo Goo Muck Beck: Devils Haircut Bright Eyes: Devil Town The Sonics: The Witch Radiohead: I Am A Wicked Child Starlight Mints: Coffins 'R' Us Pavement: Space Ghost Theme, Pt. II Maybe you can do a little dancing too.

This year it finally struck me. Why spend hours on a Halloween costume I'll wear for one night when I can put together a Halloween wardrobe that will carry me through the month? I already own several Halloween-ish pieces that I've purchased over the years, I own tons of black clothing, and with just a few more purchased pieces I have been able to wear something spooky every day this month. I asked Endora to give me a hand modeling some of the outfits. She lost her head about it. Really- I had trouble getting the dress back off of her. The embroidered sweater is a new purchase from VooVooDress . I absolutely love it. The design also comes in a cute t-shirt. Endora is lounging in a skirt that was purchased as a gift for me on Etsy a few years ago. You can get a similar one from SwellRenditions . The original was from Hazel's Threads . She is wearing a necklace that I cobbled together from a skull I purchased in New Orleans, a string of grey beads, and a...

My goal for October was to try and participate in as many Halloween events as I could before my husband started groaning. I think I've done pretty well. We have one more weekend and I only have a few more activities up my sleeve. I haven't told him yet. Not a problem, he doesn't read my blog. The unofficial start to the season was a visit to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA. It's a National Historic Landmark, being one of the first cemeteries in this country designed to resemble a park. We spent two hours wandering the paths and it was simply gorgeous. Mount Auburn Cemetery We officially started the season with a local production of Evil Dead: The Musical . I wrote about it earlier this month.  The musical was funny and gory with streams of blood flying everywhere.  My husband laughed so that was a good sign.  He hates musicals. Evil Dead: The Musical On October 1st, we invited a few friends over for a Halloween kick-off party. The best part of th...