Something Wicked This Way Comes...

First things first, I must apologize for my extended absence in the blog world. It has been a rather craptastic few weeks for me, and I have only just now been able to wrap my brain around anything creative again. That being said, I have had some time to come up with quite a few future posts, so please keep checking back and I pinkie swear I won't go missing again.

Since we last spoke, it has officially morphed into Halloween season. Forget that it is still hovering around 100 degrees in Los Angeles. No bother. At this point, nothing can quell my Halloween itch. I have even decided to throw a little Halloween soirée this year for a few of my favorite Angelenos...and this means major decorating. Major. Like the kind where you have to hide all your normal decor pieces to accommodate the onslaught of all things gothic or ghoulish. The kind where I seriously consider spray painting pieces of my furniture matte black so it better compliments my creepy tableau. Because really, I have come to realize that somewhere deep inside of me, there is a goth chick just dying to get out. I'm a little past the dying my hair purple stage, so at this point, her only method of escape is through decor....and black nail polish, which is so bourgeois at this point it doesn't really count.

So I ventured to the Valley and found my fantasyland of all things frightful, aka Michael's Craft store. Halloween season is the ONLY time I ever venture into Michael's. To say I'm not a supremely crafty person would be a gross understatement. Craft projects make me break out in hives....I just can't. I don't do DIY. I much prefer to have someone else, hopefully a professional, do it for me. There's always too many steps, and too many torture device looking tools needed. The instructions are maddeningly vague. For some reason, the concept of a glue gun makes me very nervous. Martha Stewart I am not.

I went with my party theme in mind. Party Rule #1: Always have a theme. This year, mine is "Murder at Marie Antoinette's Court." It started out as "Hauntingly Hitchcock," but ultimately, the need to keeps things strictly cinematic felt too constraining. Other top contenders were, "Parisian Pied-à-Terror" and "A Nightmare in New Orleans." I know. Lunacy.

I did, however, keep my Hitchcockian costume intact. Yes, I decided to save my headless Marie number for another year to avert a possible overkill situation. Instead, my inspiration came in the form of the lovely "Melanie Daniels"...


Just picture more birds and a lot more blood on that snowy white dress...

Anyway, I digress. I found nothing. NOTHING. What I did find was a plethora of goofy pumpkins and light-up haunted houses that groan and growl and cutesy plastic signs and fake rats (not so funny when you've had the real thing). I became utterly perplexed at the concept of candy molding (How do they get all the colors to go to the right places when you just pour the melted candy into the molds? No, really. HOW?) Three peanut butter pumpkins, 2 packs of ghost shaped Peeps and a caramel apple lollipop later, and I was still at a loss. I took to the internet and didn't even find much inspiration there...


This is cute but needs to a gothic touch...


Love this look but what are the odds my cookies would actually resemble these? Slim to none...

Next stop: Necromance on Melrose. Screw the schmaltzy made for Halloween stuff. I'm headed to the true dark side now. This party is definitely a work in progress. I'll keep you posted...