Edgar Allan Poe Halloween Costume (the Last Halloween post of 2013)

Good morning!

I know, I know, you're like....enough with the Halloween costumes! We get it, we get it! But I have just one more I have to share, as I'm just bursting at the seams to tell you all about it now that the event is over. Behold, Edgar Allan Poe (plus bonus raven):

I know I kind of spoiled the surprise last week by mentioning that I really wanted to dress Matthew up as the dark bard of Baltimore, but I was sure my attempts would be thwarted by lack of raven (where is the murder of them I have hiding in a box in the attic? I couldn't tell you). I swallowed my pride and went to the Dollar Tree on Dickerson Road to grab a pair of the birds, affixing to the better of the two a word bubble to make sure everybody got that it was specifically EAP and not some random 1840's ghoul. The bird was attached to a piece of cardboard stand by two metal wires, which I dutifully attached to the shoulder of the jacket. I used a kohl pencil to darken in Matthew's eyebrows and give him a little mustache. The coat is a straight up tuxedo-jacket-with-tails that I forced him to buy at Southern Thrift off Charlotte a dog's age ago.

The shirt and tie was surprisingly the easiest, and maybe the most identifiable as mid 19th century, part of the costume-- by buttoning a regular white Oxford shirt all the way to the top, and then pulling the collar up to far higher than our modern millennials would wear the neck of their shirt, all I had to do then was take this cloth dress belt and tie it like the cravats of the time. I have to say, just looking up stuff like this "neckcloth" tying chart from I think about sixty years earlier than our goal makes me want to run out and study costume design. How great is it that you can recreate the ties of the colonial period right at home, with the proper knowledge and a piece of cloth?

Not too bad a likeness, huh? PS I LOVE HALLOWEEN DRESSUP. I wish I could do it at least five more times a year.

I told you Matthew had to work Thursday night, so when I got home and the house was dark, I switched on the light in the kitchen, set down my keys, and was surprised to find this completely adorable little Halloween vignette set up on the table, especially for me! Matthew had wrangled a lot of different skull-themed items from the house (we have more than I thought we did!), plus the books I told you about last week, as presentation of the new little skull (the silver guy in the middle-- his eyes light up different spooky colors!) and some candy and a card. Please note that while I love to be spoiled upon holidays possibly more than any adult woman should, the table tableau had caught me completely off guard! And what a nice surprise for a wind-howling, particularly creepy Halloween night to be home alone!

La carte, dans son intégralité:

How sweet! And a special message on our little markerboard we use to remind the other we're out of toothpaste or spinach leaves:

SO CUTE! A trio of little ghostie type people wishing me a Happy Halloween! I was so pleased I actually called my mom before I started dinner. "Youwon'tbelievewhatmatthewsetuponthetable!" I eeked. And that's not everything! We had a ball at Kate's party Saturday night, though I thought my envy of her THREE, count 'em, THREE full sized Halloween skeletons might actually kill me. Favorite couples costumes of the year-- Kate and Trey as Swayze and Chris Farley from the SNL Chippendale's skit; Kimmie and Jamie as SONIC AND TAILS NO JOKE OMG; and Ciciley and Bobby as Freddie Mercury and Brian May (you wouldn't think a girl could pull off La Mercury in his mustache period, but she's a stylist! Where there's a will, there's a way, and it worked!). I spent most of the night goading Audrey into doing her (spot on) WC Fields imitation for the 1,000,000th time (at my behest). GREAT. TIME.

                          

So! Halloween 2013 is dead ! Long live Halloween 2013! Did you have a good weekend? See any hilarious costumes or make any grand gestures in the holiday spirit for your loved ones? Let's talk!

I promise, PROMISE PROMISE, to stop talking about Halloween as of tomorrow. Get ready for more fall mayhem and much in the way of vintage weekend finds as soon as possible. See you back here Tuesday! Til then.