A Practically Perfect Badass

It's only two weeks after the day, but I put it on the to-blog list, so by golly here it is, my work Halloween costume.

At the suggestion of my friend, Sasha, and this inspiration, I set out to re-create Mary Poppins.

Now, lest ye think this costume flies right in the face of Operation: Badass, let me point out some reasons Ms. Poppins is quite the badass herself:

• She doesn't take any crap from Mr. Banks and his sexist ways.
• She does what she wants with the kids.
• Jumping into chalk paintings and dancing with penguins=acid trip
• Spoonful of sugar=some sort of downer drug
• Mrs. Banks is a suffragette and you know Mary was, too.
• She's a free spirit who doesn't let herself get too attached, once the wind changes, she's gone.
• Burt is clearly in love with her but she just keeps him as her friend. While using him for acid.
• She is a master of the exasperated look and eye roll.

Now that that's out of the way, this is me channeling the ultimate badass:

And her accessories. (The hat caused a lot of hot glue gun grief and I hate that you can't see it in the above picture. I'm still waiting for coworkers to post their pictures.)

I think it's easy to put together a costume if you want to spend a little cash. But I set out to do this one for $20 or less, just because I love a good shopping challenge and really don't like Halloween. And I was able to accomplish this. (More or less.)

Shirt: $3, thrift store (This was so perfect and I hope to figure out a less uptight way to wear it.)
Skirt: $2.50, thrift store
Hat: $6, Target/homemade
Daisies and berries: $4, AC Moore/homemade
Bow tie and belt: $4, AC Moore/homemade
Bag, shoes, tights: Already owned (Bag was a tote bag of Mom's that I re-constructed.)
Umbrella: $13, Target (Mom paid so it doesn't count in total.)
Total: $19.50

Not too shabby. Plus, I was one of the costume winners at work so I'll get a nice lunch out of the deal, too.

Now that I've channeled both Mary/Julie and Holly/Audrey, what 60s era leading lady shall I do next year?

Pumpkin Carving Party

On the Saturday before Halloween, I hosted a Pumpkin Carving Party at my apartment. (Even though only 3 of my friends were able to attend, I'm still calling it a party. And 3 is better than none!)

I just love to throw a themed party, to decorate and cook for it. Especially when it's something as simple as pumpkins. Or the Olympics or Royal Wedding. Or, as will happen at some point in the future, an "I heart Obama" party and a wedding viewing party for Leslie and Ben.

My decorations were simple and cheap: pennant banners, printed signs, flags for straws and toothpicks, and dollar plates and napkins from Target.

 

I provided bourbon slush, caramel apples, pumpkin chocolate spice muffins, and cookies. Everyone else brought an appetizer, some drinks, and a pumpkin.

 

For the pumpkins I had carving utensils, templates, and stickers. I also had some pom pom fuzzy creature things that were on sale at AC Moore that we didn't end up making, and some temporary tattoos, which we all were way too excited about.

 

I didn't originally intend on people dressing up but, after several requests, that's what happened. Brandie was a tourist, Sasha was Lana Del Rey, I was a black cat (who couldn't stop laughing) and Shana was a woopie cushion.

\

 

After some drinking, eating, and chatting, we took over the floor and dug into our pumpkins. Sasha was by far the best at cleaning and efficiently cutting her pumpkin. So were Brandie and Shana, though Brandie did get her hand stuck and Shana hated all the yuckiness. No picture of me but I did carve one, too. (Not very well, but it was still lots of fun.)

And the end results, from left to right, Sasha, me, Brandie, Shana

It was fun to just hang out and get in touch with the kid side of Halloween again. But with alcoholic beverages. A win win!

Halloween Around the Neighborhood

It's difficult to believe, but this is my third fall in my current neighborhood. Each year as I walk and explore more, I'm struck by just how many houses decorate for Halloween. There must not be any fake spiderwebs or tombstones left at any store in NW. I took some pictures on my errands the last few weekends.

 

 

 

I really love the area where I live. There are trees and single-family homes, but also apartment buildings and I can walk to restaurants and shops. And every year, for a couple of weeks, I'm surrounded by fake cemeteries.

Did you ever see such a sight in your life?

Last week was...intense. There was a lot of work work, work for my writing class, and then a few social activities, some of which I had to cancel. But the week started off well, and in costume, for our annual work Halloween party. I mention every year that I don't like Halloween so I won't mention it again. But this year was really simple and dressing up with a group is more fun. Thus I present the Three Blind Mice of Alexandria:

And to show the level of commitment, me and my tail. Miraculously, I only had the tail (gently) grabbed once and heard the comment "nice tail" just twice. (During college Halloweens, sans tail, I had my "tail" grabbed way more times and heard many more suggestive comments. Work Halloween > Franklin Street Halloween.)

Thanks to this job I've acquired a ladybug's tutu, antenna, devil horns, a giant hat, and now mouse ears, nose, and tail. I'm quickly becoming a one-woman costume shop.

Being Holly

Being such an introvert, dressing up on Halloween is not a favorite day of mine. Before taking my current job, there were only a handful of costumed years since officially stopping in the sixth grade. (Including the requisite Franklin Street experience in college.)

Flash forward to said job, where the one staff meeting we have a year is a Halloween party where costumes, and highly-creative costumes at that, are strongly encouraged. I've grinned and bared it the previous two years, with my ladybug in a tutu and my devil in a blue dress. But this year I decided to exert a bit more effort and try and do justice, for a second time, to my favorite actress, character, and movie: Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

My first Holly G. attempt was sophomore year of college, a fairly last minute and weak effort. I wanted to do it better but still keep it simple and thought I could manage the little black dress/big black hat ensemble she wears to visit Sally Tomato at Sing Sing.

The Inspiration

The Reality

"How do I look?" (Holly)

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and would gladly wear a dress and giant hat everyday if I could. And if door frames were widened. And there was no wind. Unfortunately, only about half of my co-workers recognized me and the other half just thought I was a posh lady in a big hat. But that's alright.

The Details

"As I understand it, we're getting you ready to visit someone at Sing Sing." (Paul/Fred)

To me, being Audrey is all in the details. And since I've seen the film, read the book, read the book about the film, saw the dress from the opening scene, own the Barbie doll, and see the posters in my room every day, I'm pretty familiar with the details.

The LBD: Macy's Junior's department, on sale for $30. I love it and will definitely wear it again.

Shoes: Already had. From Target.

"Be a darling and look under the bed for a pair of alligator shoes." (Holly)

Belt: Already had. From Forever 21 and technically a headband. And though her belt was a bow, I decided to use what I had and give it my own twist.

Earrings: Earring World at Potomac Mills. They were clip-ons which was nice because they are so heavy, but hurt after a few hours.

"You can always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you. I must say, the mind reels." (Holly)

Sunglasses: Already had. Old Navy. One of the details that is most often done incorrectly (looking at you, Jennifer Love Hewitt) are her sunglasses. Wayfarers, not Jackie O's. (Get a life, I know.)

Hat: I bought the below hat at a costume store to use as a base, and after removing the accents, constructed the brim using felt, poster board, and a healthy amount of hot glue.

Hat scarf: Made from some sheer fabric from Ikea. It was the last thing I made and it shows as the sewing is not at all straight and there are lots of stray bits of the fabric.

"Miss Golightly is on her way to Sing Sing. Just visiting, of course." (Paul/Fred)

I opted out of making the ruffle on the bottom or wearing black gloves, which I actually own. I was going for the essence of Holly, not an exact replica. (At least that's what I was telling myself with every new person that asked who I was. The ruffle and gloves surely wouldn't have made a difference, right?)

Until next year...

Day 328: The Not So Great Pumpkin

In our house, Daddy was the carver of the pumpkin at Halloween. I remember him cleaning out all the yuck, and then us telling him what we wanted it to look like, him drawing it on, and watching as he cut each piece perfectly. When the kits with patterns and tools came out, Joey and I started doing them ourselves, though Daddy still helped with the hard parts and cleaned out all the yuck, of course. But I haven't carved one in years, and when I saw this pattern in the Daily Tar Heel, I wanted to do my own, for the first time, right away:
But October was crazy and I never got around to it. Even though Halloween is over, it's still fall, so last week I bought a small, "cooking" pumpkin from Eastern Market, and today I cleaned out the yuck, saved the seeds to roast, and carved my own pumpkin.

I didn't end up going with the Tyler pattern as it wouldn't fit, but I still managed to bring a little Tar Heel pride to it.

Day 305: If you never try than you'll never know

Today was pretty much an awesome day, with lots of good new. (Long post, lots of pictures.)

It began with my company's annual staff meeting/Halloween party. I wore a tutu that I made. Both new as I've never previously worn nor made a tutu. I'm afraid it could be addicting. I tried it on the night before and did a load of laundry whilst wearing it. Best load of laundry ever.

Making the tutu with a red carpet of tulle. Tutorial on laptop on left, Giants game on TV on right. Doesn't everyone make their tutus whilst watching football?
In progress.
Final product. My only caveats are that I couldn't find wings, and that it's too poufy, as it wasn't techinally tulle, but another kind of netting, that refused to lie down.

We had breakfast and lunch and played games, including taking the latest citizenship test. I was one of two people, out of 60 total, to get all the questions correct! Now not only am I a knowledgeable U.S. citizen, I'm also $50 richer in AmEx gift cards for my dedication! (Sadly, I don't have pictures from the party, as the ladybug had no pockets, thus the ladybug had no camera.)

After actually having to work in the afternoon, and then an almost-nap at home, I set out for the Coldplay concert in downtown D.C. This is my first concert in almost three years, my first concert in D.C. and of course, my first time seeing Coldplay.

I had great lower-level seats (also a new thing) and they played all of my favorite songs. Chris Martin has manic energy that was catching and it just got better and better. And I mean that, as a little more than halfway through the show they took off the stage and into the crowd, to perform "The Scientist" and one other song, 3 ROWS FROM ME!!!! I was second seat from the aisle when they ran by and could have touched Chris Martin. (I tried, but didn't quite make it. And honestly, I may have recoiled, as he was 90% sweat. I love Coldplay, but I don't love sweat.)

They didn't glow this much in real life, even with the sweat. And Mr. Big Head in the black shirt is not a member of the band. Had I had an apple with me, I would have thrown it at his big neck.
Overall it was an amazing night and I have so much respect and admiration for them as artists and performers. My pictures aren't great as I stupidly adhered to the "no cameras" rule on the ticket and only had my phone, but they'll do until I can get some from the guy who sat beside me.

"...and suddenly it's the weekend, break of day and stalls line Portobello Road right up to Notting Hill Gate." -William, Notting Hill

Thank goodness for weekends and their re-charging capabilities. But first was Friday, which was end of month work party day, which meant I ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off all day. It wasn't a bad day, just a busy day. But at least at the party I was able to wind down with free "vodka jellies" as they call them here, fully formed and not in ice cube trays! (You know who you are that this applies to, and I implicate myself as well.) The party was Halloween-themed, and here I thought one of the best parts of being away from America was no Halloween pressure! Wrong! But I did not dress up, not technically anyway, though I wore a new dress I just bought so I said I went as a girl who wanted to wear her new dress. I've discovered over the past few years that I don't really care for Halloween. Both times I did the whole Franklin Street thing I spent way too much money on a costume, was entirely too cold, and had my butt grabbed by way too many sketchy drunk dudes. If you aren't getting loads of free candy in a plastic pumpkin, I just don't see the point.

Saturday I got up earlyish to head for Portobello Road. But first, I turned on the television to see if I could find a weather report, but instead was greeted with the glorious sight of "Friends"! My first episode in nearly two months! It was the Pottery Barn one, an instant classic! Luckily for the sake of my Saturday plans, there was only one episode, so I set off for Notting Hill on a perfect fall day. I have been incredibly blessed with the weather thus far, and have not had any of my Saturday plans affected because of it. (Knock on wood.) I made it to Portobello Road and spent more than an hour walking from one end to the next, taking in everything. I've decided that if you can't find it at Portobello Road, than it simply doesn't exist. Telescopes, magnifying glasses, brooches, "period" costume jewelery for £5, what period I'm not sure, though it was probably bought the day before at Top Shop, "authentic" British officer jackets, Persian carpets...and that was just in the antiques section. Followed by fruit, cheese, bread, and crepes. Vintage jackets, punk t-shirts and boots, feather boas, and tacky souvenirs. I put my iPod away, and just listened to everything going on around me. Stall keepers yelling down the row at each other, one singing in a thick Cockney accent, another hawking her peaches so enthusiastically I wanted to buy some, despite the fact I don't like peaches. It was relaxing to just take my time, bought a few things but that wasn't my main goal, and just really glad I got to enjoy another piece of London. I also had my first crepe in months, for lunch. Chocolate and strawberries. I figured the strawberries helped make up for the fact that I was having a crepe for lunch.

After Portobello Road I set off for Hammersmith, where I had heard there was some good shopping. I bought a wallet at T.K. Maxx, not as cool as my other one but still nice, and then discovered the best store thus far: Primark. The cheapest clothing and accessories I've yet to see here. I bought my winter coat, exactly what I wanted, for £20! That was £30 under my budget! (Don't go thinking though the Earth will implode because I was under budget. I more than made up for it with other purchases. Whew.) I bought a few sweaters, a purse, a necklace, and a few other things, all for good prices.

Saturday night I chilled inside, fell asleep pathetically early, and then woke up at 6:30 Sunday ready to go thanks to the time change and early bedtime. I managed to sleep for a bit longer, however. Then church, lunch at a great cheap pizza place on Goodge Street afterward. On the walk back I made the mistake of "browsing" in H and M. There is no such thing as "browsing" when it comes to me and H and M, however. I then set off to find an Internet cafe near me with laptop access, which I did find one near Paddington Station, so I spent an hour downloading stuff on iTunes, and lamenting the fact that I'm not sure how much longer poor Javier can last. He can't play a whole song on iTunes without skipping, and DVD watching is made very difficult with the constant stop and go. If he can just hold on until March I will be really grateful.

Now I'm just ready for this weekend, when Mom and Aunt LuAnn finally get here. I am really looking forward to showing them around London, having time off of work, and of course our trip to Scotland. Only a few more days. :-)