It’s my favorite day and time of year – Happy Halloween! This year we decided to be Nadja & Laszlo from one of our favorite shows on FX, What We Do In The Shadows. We love this show so much and scored these amazing Victorian vampire costumes from Halloween Costumes.
We are also big fans of the original movie but the show has a completely different vibe so they can’t really be compared. I think it’s some of the best comedy on TV right now, it’s worth a watch if you haven’t seen it and is available on Hulu.
I love her little Dolly so much! I tried to find it online but no one makes a replica – just art (which is also fabulous). I decided to just photoshop her in for that extra fake hilarious look, but I really do want one in real life! This also has given me some creative ideas for my art shop – stay tuned!
Have a very safe Halloween! I’m already thinking about what we are going to be next year… If you ever need inspiration check out our costumes from years past! [ here; and here; also this; and this ]
One thing everyone should do is subscribe to newsletters of happenings in your city or town, it’s the best way to find out about super cool stuff. DO512 has a really great newsletter, filled with events, new restaurants, best patios and all sorts of neat things I would never have known about all around Austin – and that’s how I learned about this amazing ghost tour.
I’m a ghost tour fanatic. Since I was young it’s something I’ve experienced with family members on vacations and something that I’ve continued on with John as we have our adventures together. I’ve done many different types of ghost tours all over but I’ve never had my own PRIVATE HEARSE until I came across Haunted ATX in a newsletter! I’ve also never really had a ghost tour in Austin before either so I was excited for the whole experience! We started the night off first with sushi happy hour at Uchi which is definitely one of our favorite things to do.
After filling up with sashimi we had a spooky beverage at the Halloween themed bar Gibson Street, where Sarah the Hearse driver picked us up. The amazing thing about the private tour is that they pick you up and drop you off anywhere in Austin (within a 15-20 minute radius) AND you can bring your own booze and snacks! She scooped us up and off to the notorious Driskill Hotel we went! We heard all about Jesse and the child who plummeted to their death down a flight of stairs, and even had access to parts of the hotel that were blocked off to guests. Our guide was amazingly animated and thorough so I knew we were going to have a great experience. Also, many years ago I stayed in the bridal suite with my sisters before a Longhorn game and we had a haunted night (there’s even a ghost bride here).
Afterwards we visited the Clay Pit, an Indian restaurant in a historic old general store (called the Bertram building) from the 1800’s. Apparently there were underground tunnels from the general store to the capitol building where folks used to hide gold. The tunnels also kept gentlemen discreet as they visited brothels. Apparently in the late 1800’s the family lived above the store upstairs and some children fell ill with typhoid fever and one died. There is reported paranormal activity here and also the basement where supposedly a prostitute was strangled to death. I captured a weird figure in my mirror shot, above, and generally felt that this was absolutely haunted.
We made a pit stop at the Tavern on Lamar, where I used to frequent and have their delicious wings back in the day. I had no idea it was one of the most haunted spots in town! By a ghost named Emily nonetheless who plays pranks on people upstairs. Maybe she left me alone because we share the same name? Reminds me that I need to go back to the Tavern to have some of those tasty wings….
Of course we had to stop at the Littlefield house on UT campus, which was always talked about as being the scariest place at UT. Funny enough, there was another ghost tour there as well discussing a famous murder that happened while I was at UT all those years ago- so they asked me to share my memories! I felt so old but also it was neat to provide context for the piano teacher Danielle Martin, who was murdered in 2003 by her TA who believed she had a microchip in her brain. He used a meat clever to “get it out” – which resulted in her unfortunate death.
We discussed many other strange events along the way throughout our hearse ride, from other murderers like Colton Pitonyak to ghosts that taunted our tour guide Sarah, to our favorite bars in town. It was one of the most thorough ghost adventures I’ve been on and I 10/10 recommend to even the most skeptical people out there. It’s a little discouraging to do ghost tours where you live because you think you’ve heard them all, but this super interesting twist of an experience was well worth it. Plus we got some coupons to use at the Clay Pit and we want to go back and see if we can see anything else in the mirrors upstairs! (and also want some delish curry)
If you ever find yourself wondering if you should book a private hearse ghost tour, the answer is yes – yes you should. Haunted ATX also provides tours by van that fits upwards of 11-13 people, and hearse tours fit max of 6. Go out there and explore the ghosts, people!
Have a safe Halloween! Stay tuned for our costumes…
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a true crime addict, from long before Serial made true crime podcasts a thing. From a very young age I’ve been fascinated by crime and murderers. I toyed with the idea of being a Criminologist my senior year of high school and wrote an epic paper about the commonalities between mass murderers and serial killers being basically white men with similar mental health illnesses growing up with a history of abuse (no shocker this is now widely known but for a 17 year old in the early 00’s I thought I was onto something!)
I have listened to a BUTT LOAD of true crime podcasts over the years, some of them have been amazing and others not so much. To celebrate that spooky season is now upon us, here are my favorite true crime podcasts to keep you company as you countdown to Halloween.
True Crime Podcasts
The following list is broken out by standalone episode series. Meaning, they are not dedicated to a particular story. You can pick and choose the episodes you want to listen to as they are different every week. These are my favorite to pick up when I want a one-off adventure.
1. Crime Junkie – it’s no wonder this is the top of the list, Ashley Flowers is amazing at telling stories in such a captivating way that is easy to follow and digestible. She features so many stories that I’ve never heard before and her co-host and best friend Brit is the perfect balance to Ashley. Plus- I LOVE their voices (which is truly important when you pick a podcast). I love this podcast so much I’ve been a Patreon for years and will continue to do so because I believe in Ashley’s mission. She created the Podcast network Audiochuck and co produces many other crime podcasts that will also be on this list. She works with the Indianapolis Crime Stoppers unit and really wants to make a difference on spreading the word for missing persons cases. If you truly are curious about learning more about how you can help and only have one podcast you can devote to true crime, this is it. You can hear her devotion to victims and their families on their quest for answers. Also, I’m a big fan of the production and music. 10/10
2. Park Predators – co created by Ashley Flowers but hosted and investigated by Delia D’Ambra, Park Predators is a themed podcast over the last two summers around missing persons cases and murderers that have happened within national parks across America. This is something I find fascinating especially since John and I have hiked throughout much of California’s parks and even here in Texas. We listened to this podcast as we moved across country, conveniently as we drove through Utah and Colorado. Again, it being part of AudioChuck means that the production overall is great. 10/10
3. Killer Queens – sister duo Tori and Tyrella are the sweetest southern liberal ladies with a knack for telling chilling tales but mixed in with 90s references to lighten it up. They have so much content, from story overviews to mixtapes to doc jam reviews – it’s definitely worth it to be a Patreon like myself. Because true crime can be hard to discuss, their sisterly chemistry makes it lighter. The one downside is that their recordings tend to be rather longwinded (almost 1.5 hours) and sometimes come in two parts. I personally prefer more streamlined and concise narration and less straying away from the script (when it comes to true crime material), but I thoroughly enjoy their perspectives and they have a cute sisterly vibe. Also it’s worth noting that they are usually pretty biased. 9/10
4. Going West – this is a newer podcast I recently came across that I have devoured. Hosts Daphne and Heath discuss a new case each week and share a lot of stories that are not widely known. They are very precise and streamlined in their story telling which makes them engaging to follow. The production value is also very good. Episodes are around 45 minutes each and they are pretty unbiased, IMO, in their explanations. 9/10
5. Morbid – I also just recently got into this podcast though it’s been around for a while. So far I am really digging the energy of the hosts Ashleigh and Alaina – they are really fun and witty but super smart. I love their perspectives and how they try to understand different angles, but also they seem really fun, like people I would love to be friends with. Of course talking about murders and disappearances can be hard so their dynamic is a breath of fresh air. New episodes come out each week though they have plenty to choose from! 9/10
6. Anatomy of Murder – Anna and Scott, former homicide prosecutor and Deputy Sheriff, team up to dissect a crime from all angles. They share a lot about their previous process and what to do and not to do during an investigation, including all of the red flags. This is a pretty straight forward and sometimes dry angle, but every now and then I like just hearing about the facts. 8/10
7. Women & Crime – Hosts Meghan and Amy, two criminologists, cover female focused stories each episode and thoroughly discuss how women are treated in the criminal justice system. I’ve heard some outlandish cases from this podcast that are riveting. Think – a lot of Betty Broderick type material. And it’s really cool to hear women with previous experience share their insight and tips. 8/10
8. Morning Cup of Murder – Korina hosts this quick podcast where she gives you the highlights of a crime that happened on this day in history. Episodes are usually 10-15 minutes each so it’s perfect for literally making your morning cup of coffee while getting caught up on your murder history. I love the concept of this show. I don’t listen all the time but it’s nice for when you need something short. Of course, due to time, she doesn’t go too deep into anything, but you do get to hear random crimes from all over the world. 7/10
9. My Favorite Murder – ok so this might be controversial but this is my honest opinion and I had to include them on this list. I was THEE biggest MFM fan for years, and I’ve seen them live multiple times in the past. They are arguably one of the largest if not the largest crime podcast in modern age. And they do deserve that because Karen and Georgia are amazingly talented women who are hilarious. And for someone who doesn’t know much about true crime but loves comedy – this is the podcast for you. This is an excellent first touch point in the crime community. It really feels like a community – there are a lot of perks if you join in on their club or Facebook groups. However, over time, I really felt bored. At the time they came out there wasn’t a lot of mainstream true crime material that was weekly and not dedicated to one particular case. So they definitely are innovators for sure. I just felt that the more I listened the more I really wanted the facts of the crimes. I wanted to know what specifically was going on without it sounding too biased – and also, they go in and out of their own dialogue so much that it’s incredibly hard to follow most of the time. To me it feels more like a comedy podcast that chit chats about murder throughout their hangout session. And yes that is fun sometimes and I’m not taking anything away from them – I love the whole Stay Sexy Don’t Get Murdered vibe. I just grew out of casual murder chit chat and graduated to listen to former criminologists and investigative journalists provide immense storytelling quality. 7/10
The following list encompasses my favorite crime podcast series, meaning the entire season surrounds one story and the episodes need to be listened to in order to fully grasp the situation. Even though it’s nice to pick up random episodes whenever you want as you embark on a long walk, I prefer the build of a fascinating story over multiple episodes.
1. CounterClock – Of course another Audiochuck show is the top of my list, but Delia D’Ambra is the best on this series. The first two seasons are about different murders that happened in North Carolina (Denise Johnson and Stacey Stanton), while the third season focuses on an unsolved murder case in Indiana (the infamous Pelley family murders). It is riveting to listen to and completely bingeworthy. I personally listened to season 3 within a week. 10/10
2. Up and Vanished – Host Payne Lindsey investigates what happens to missing persons over various seasons. Season 1 focused on Tara Grindstead, who was missing for over 10 years when he started the podcast. What I found intriguing about season 1 was that Payne, a documentary filmmaker, had no experience as an investigative journalist, chronicled his journey on how he met various folks who helped him SOLVE THE CASE IN REAL TIME. When I listened to this it felt inspiring, like MAYBE I CAN DO THIS! And maybe someday I can! His first podcast was so successful that he has since launched multiple other podcasts and investigations, even on TV, including Atlanta Monster about the missing children of Atlanta in the 80s, additional seasons of Up And Vanished, and his newer show Dead and Gone, a unique show about the missing people who have attended Grateful Dead concerts. Definitely check him out! 10/10
3. True Crime Bullsh** – Ok, so this is an incredibly thorough podcast about specific serial killer cases that are mostly unknown to the public. Seasons 1 and 2 focused on Israel Keyes, with Season 3 on female murderer Kelly Cochran. This podcast has a large amount of detail, so if you are fascinated by either of these murderers this show definitely has tons of information, but can be a bit dry. I will say I never knew about Kelly Cochran and listened to that season while I was still living in SF, while I was on walks throughout Golden Gate Park. It’s not for the faint of heart and the episodes are very long – you really have to be in the mood for this one, but you can’t deny the amount of detail and research that goes into this outstanding production. 8/10
4. Suspect – THIS is my current obsession, and I’ve only listened to half of the episodes so far, but I am so intrigued! It’s about an unsolved murder that happened at a Halloween party in Seattle in 2008, and sort of a “whodunit” of different suspects in costumes. You think you know who did it but then you second guess yourself. Hosts Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson do an amazing job of keeping things interesting while unlocking the truth. I can’t wait to see how this unfolds! 9/10
5. The Orange Tree – I lived in Austin and attended UT while the murder of Jennifer Cave happened in 2005, and even know someone who testified in trial. This podcast came out in 2020, as new UT students Tinu and Haley wanted to dive deeper into the strange story of Jennifer’s murder, how she was dismembered and how the suspects fled to Mexico. They did a great job unraveling the story in an intriguing way, even for listeners unfamiliar with the tale. Episodes are on the shorter end and concise. 8/10
6. Tom Brown’s Body – Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly hosts the strange and mysterious disappearance and death of Tom Brown, a teenager in the panhandle of Texas several years ago. I was hooked instantly. This is an exceptional production (would you expect anything less from Texas Monthly?) and I absolutely LOVE Skip’s voice. Side note, I even bought his book The Midnight Assassin about the first serial killer in Austin called the Servant Girl Annihilator. But back to the podcast – I still talk about it to this day! Like what really happened there? 10/10
7. Bear Brook – Two mysterious barrels with four bodies are found in a park in New Hampshire, 15 years apart. Their discovery changes the course of modern day investigations, and links a man across the country through genealogy, after another death. Jason Moon covers this tale full of many twists and turns. I loved it and binged it over a week. 9/10
8. LISK (Long Island Serial Killer) – This is an unsolved case that is currently being investigated, about the deaths of sex workers buried throughout the coast of Long Island, NY, after the search for a missing woman. How are they connected? What is happening to these women? Why are there no answers? Chris Mass narrates and provides incredible detail and insight. 8/10
9. Cold – the disappearance of Susan Powell is something that haunts me to this day. When I first heard about this case, I researched it for clues. Every documentary, trial, and even this podcast – I ate up. Her story is heartbreaking as much as it is completely bizarre. This is an incredibly well made podcast about her horrendous situation. I promise you will binge this. 10/10
10. To Live And Die in LA – an aspiring actress goes missing from her Hollywood apartment and Rolling Stone journalist Neil Strauss was tasked by the family to get answers. Season 1 is the story of missing person Adea Shabani while season 2 focuses on the disappearance of Elaine Park. I got into this podcast quickly because of how compelling Neil is as a journalist. 9/10
The following are non-fiction and folklore spooky stories that are really fun and a lighter listen.
Deadly Manners – this is a few years old but I still love this show. It’s a “whodunit” with immense Clue vibes, set in the 1950s. Tons of celebrities voice the characters, like Kirsten Bell and Anna Chlumksy, and the sound effects makes you feel as if you are really there in the middle of the house and murder mystery! It’s a super fun one. 10/10
Full Body Chills – this is another project from Ashley Flowers and Audiochuck, but this time they are short stories dramatically narrated mostly by Ashley (sometimes the authors or others). Think of Are You Afraid of the Dark or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark vibes. They are about 20 minutes each and only come out in October for the last couple of years. Perfect for a fall walk while you select your pumpkin! 10/10
Lore – This is an award winning podcast about the darker side of history – true life scary stories, narrated by Aaron Mahnke. There is also an accompanied Amazon series with dramatic re-enactments, but it’s really fascinating to explore folklore behind some of the most popular wives tales. His voice is very soothing and don’t recommend for long drives though! 9/10
2020 is scary enough so we wanted to lighten the Halloween holiday mood by digging deep into our obscure 80s movie favorites: The Childless Yuppie Scum that live next-door to the Griswold’s in Christmas Vacation!
These silver sauna jumpsuits were the #1 thing that pulled this costume off. I found them by searching Amazon and there were many options, just put in “Todd and Margo” and “silver jumpsuit” and you’ll see a variety. It was also chill to sit around in these badboys and be “dressed up” without actually doing anything major.
The biggest time constraint was fixing my hair! I curled it with a tiny rod and teased it out big and put up to mock Julia Louis-Dreyfus. (Sidenote I just love JLD. Elaine will always be one of my top favorite characters of all time).
Why is the carpet wet, Todd?!
I don’t KNOW, Margo!
Because of Covid we hung back at our good pals place to watch movies and order pizza. It was a very mellow and safe Halloween.
Hope you all had as much fun as you possibly could have during a pandemic on the weekend before a major election!
If you know anything about me, you know how much I LOVE Halloween and how much I enjoy unique costumes. Some years I have much more time on my hands and can sew up an elaborate eccentric costume that wows people, other years even my “lazy costumes” I try to make as original as I can. The point is, I love Halloween and even with minimal effort you can have a BALL of a time! It’s been a few years since I recapped our Hallow-Queen efforts, so let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
Paint me like one of your French girls… [Titanic, anyone?]
I’ve posted about our previous costumes on my Ghosts of Halloweens past write-up, chock full of ridiculous concepts like the Double Rainbow (hey it was 2010) or our Best Little Whorehouse in Texas couple costume (this was John’s intro to my ridiculous costume ambitions and our first together). And here is our 2016 couple costume of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, one of my personal favorites because we went to a dance party on a boat and I walked around yelling things all night long like “I was a big fat SLUT?” and “ANDREW!” (if you love the original Overboard as much as me then this makes sense. And no, I will NOT watch the remake).
In 2017, John and I decided to be Janet Snakehole and Burt Macklin from Parks and Rec because we were lazy and just finished watching all of the seasons together. Though I will admit it’s not my most original costume – it was a lot of fun quipping off random one liners from the show to strangers in bars who got it.
2018 felt like a big ambitious year for us. We went as the fish/lady couple from The Shape of Water and turned many heads. We were even featured on the Fox Searchlight Instagram and Facebook channels! It all happened as a joke one drunken night, where John suggested it would be funny because it won the Oscar that year for best movie, and who in their right mind would do it? I then made it a reality by finding this insanely funny and ridiculous mask based off the character, found a teal onesie that he agreed to wear, and then crafted fish fins and FISH ABS out of felt that I later bedazzled. It was amazing. I just wore a plain red dress from the movie poster and also did a costume change into her denim/green apron getup so I didn’t make much sense without my fishman <3.
2019 also was a bomb dot com costume because we love John Malkovich SO MUCH we decided to go as Being John Malkovich. John was Craig (John Cusack’s character) and I was Lotte (Cameron Diaz) with my comforting chimpanzee Elijah. This one was so fun because I ordered a wig and ratted out the hair with a super tiny curling wand and brushed it out to try to make it look more like her frizzy hair. I think we did good with what we had!
This one was so much fun! We just loved making print outs of John Malkovich’s face for those sticks. What a hoot and show stopper at the party. John even made his own version of the marionette doll and we filmed “Craig’s Dance of Dispair” – L.M.A.O.
Halloween 2020 is now upon us. A weird year and not as festive as years past. We definitely have a chill costume planned, but it’s a great reference for those of you who love 80’s comedies. Check back in and see what we do, follow me on IG @djemils.
My oh my don’t I love a good Halloween and fall season! I guess they don’t call me the Queen of Halloween with my peers for nothing…
This year John and I decided to be Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole, the fun alter egos of Andy and April on Parks & Rec. It’s a pretty easy costume that takes minimal effort but is still unique, cute, and comfortable (and if I do say so myself, being comfortable is alllll the rage as you age 😉 ). I admit that it’s more fulfilling for me to put in hard work on a costume for many weeks (like the Bjork swan dress I made a few years ago) rather than opting for something simple and easy, but it’s impossible to have energy like that year in and year out. Only Heidi Klum can wear the TRUE Hallowkween crown…
This cute vintage veil pillbox hat was only $20 on Amazon! Now I have something to wear to the weddings of my mere frenemies for the future to come!
Even Beatrix dressed up! This year she opted for Meowry Catoinette and meowed all night “let them eat cake!” just like you would expect.
Look at that beauty! ❤
Fall is also my favorite time for weddings. Fall foliage makes for great scenery and a fun impromptu photo shoot. Just check us out at John’s step-brother’s recent fall wedding down in Soledad…
John is becoming quite the Instagram boyfriend if I don’t say so myself. He only learns from the best I guess!
While we only have a little bit of fall time left before winter “officially” comes, let’s remember to enjoy these beautiful moments before they slip away and I have fall fomo for another 9 months…
Halloween is my favorite time of year. Yes I know how basic that sounds and how boring that probably makes me seem. But I’ve been riding the #cornyforhalloween train ever since I can remember, long before Starbucks became a huge nationwide chain and brought pumpkin spice lattes into pop culture.
I blame it on the fact that my primary childhood memories were from when we lived in Ohio. Between the ages of 7-11 I grew up in a small town called Enon (or None spelled backwards 😉 ) and it felt very much like Stranger Things. There were actually four seasons, as kids we rode our bikes everywhere, I knew everyone in my elementary school, the town had forests on all sides, and there was a large cornfield behind our neighborhood. Even our house was built in the 70’s and had retro decor vibes. But my favorite thing about living there was the fall. The leaves changed and we experienced beautiful foliage, our neighborhood had THEE BEST seasonal decorations, trick or treating felt like a flashback in time, and on top of all of that, Enon hosted their annual Apple-Butter Festival and I always dressed up. You could churn your own butter and also tour the historic old pioneer homes. I mean, a history nerd living in a historic small town with a big deal (but small time) fall festival with costumes?! AHHHhhh! My inner theatre geek loved every minute of it. THAT is when I know my love for fall and Halloween fully blossomed.
Aren’t I cute? Here I am snuggling my cat Cotton after a long day of churning butter at the good ole’ apple butter festival! <cry laughing> (god I’m such a nerd)
This year, I decided to REALLY do it up in terms of Halloween celebrations. I’ve lived in the Bay for 10 years and surprisingly had never been to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin festival. It is the biggest thing that Half Moon Bay does all year round, pumpkin farmers from all up and down the West Coast submit their largest gourds for the chance to win the largest pumpkin award. And on top of that, there are HUNDREDS upon hundreds of art booths, food vendors, pumpkin EVERYTHING (from smoothies to pie to pumpkin chili and pumpkin mac and cheese), music and alcohol. John and I LOVED every second of it! It was worth the longer than normal drive due to high traffic for the isolated event.
Just look at those carvings!
If you live close to the Bay and love the fall as much as I do, you MUST attend the pumpkin festival next year. I can’t believe that it’s taken me so long to head there myself!
Moving on, last Friday night we grabbed some close friends and went to the Mayhem Mansion in beautiful Pac Heights neighborhood, before checking out the new Bladerunner (OMG ahhh so much so say there but not for this post)! Mayhem Mansion is the Halloween event thrown at the historic Haas-Lilienthal house, the city’s only intact Queen-Anne Victorian home that operates as a museum. I wasn’t sure what to expect other than some cute Victorian-Halloween decorated rooms, and boy were we pleasantly surprised! I don’t want to give too much away, but there are some pretty legit actors and we were pretty spooked/startled.
Our friend we met in the SPOOKeasy bar, under Mayhem Mansion.
Halloween season isn’t complete until you carve a pumpkin. I mean, even if I’m the busiest person in the world and I decide to do my version of a lazy costume, I will ALWAYS have time to carve pumpkins and roast the seeds. I just can’t live in a world where this doesn’t happen. I will be 100 years old designing my pumpkin in my head, and telling my caretaker orders for how I want it to look (MUAHAHAHA).
We have a lot more Halloween things coming this weekend, but for now, I’m just gonna keep enjoying what precious seasonal moments that I have left. I LOVE HALLOWEEN AND I AM NOT ASHAMED! Stay tuned for more Halloween updates and costume reveals (and view previous costumes here).
It’s the holidays, a time for participating in traditions both new and old alike. One of my favorite annual events is the Golden Girls Christmas drag special at the Victoria theatre! Remember when I mentioned that I djed at Daytime Realness along with Heklina?? WELL she’s AMAZING in Golden Girls as Dorothy! (And so is everyone else TBH). What a better way to kick off the holidays than to gather your friends, have a few drinks, wear a festive top, and enjoy a show chock full of innuendos?! The laughs are infectious!
Sergio and I have gone every year for the past 4 years with our own various SPECIAL GUEST STARS 🙂 And to commemorate our experience, we always take a picture with the cast along with our crew for the evening. OUTTA MY WAY – WE ARE MAKING MEMORIES PEOPLE!!! #blessed.
This was our first show in December 2013.
December 2014.
December 2015.
December 2016.
As you can see Sergio and Heklina are always in the bottom left while I stand in the back next to Blanche (Matthew Martin) cause Blanche is ONE SASSY LADY who obvi has the best wardrobe. DUH! If you are in San Francisco, DON’T MISS THIS GEM OF A SHOW!
This Halloween I fulfilled my dream of being the incredible Joanna Stayton, played by Goldie Hawn, from Overboard! I LOVE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH Y’ALL and have been thinking about doing this costume for YEARS #overboardforever. What’s great is that John loves Kurt Russell (as do I, hello HOTTIE ALERT!) and decided to be Snake Plissken from Escape from New York. We thought that it would be more recognizable for him to wear an eyepatch and go for Snake’s look because if we weren’t standing next to each other while he was Dean Proffitt, he would just be wearing plaid and would look similar to his everyday self (I guess he could have worn overalls and carried a tool box but truth be told, John doesn’t love Overboard the way that I do (HOW DARE HE) and he wanted to be Snake. COMPROMISE people! That’s what love is all about ❤ )
Don’t we look GOOD?!
The point is, we both were characters we loved while representing a real life powerhouse in the love department. Kurt and Goldie are hands down my favorite celebrity couple and a great inspiration for relationships everywhere!
We ended up going on the Sunset Sound System boat party to celebrate Halloween (on top of another house party the night before). The Sunset Crew are a great group of local underground house + techno DJs that have been throwing the best parties (that happen to fall on Sundays) for over 20 years in the Bay Area. The boat parties are a ton of fun, are usually 3 floors, and feature edgy DJs from Berlin to NYC and all over the world (talk about LEGIT). This year I was STOKED to hear Prosumer. AND since I was on a boat, all night I got to say things like:
THE ENTIRE CIVILIZED WORLD KNOWS THAT ALL CLOSETS ARE MADE OF CEDAR!
Andrew, are you gonna bring me my lemon or do I have to squeeze it from my hat?
Caviar should be round, and hard, and of adequate size, and should burst in your mouth at *precisely* the right moment.
I was a SHORT…FAT…SLUT!
I made the jacket from a white satin robe, shoulder pads, gold rope, gold tassel ribbon, and sequins.
All in all it was a pretty successful Halloween weekend. People loved our costumes, we hungout with our fun friends, listened to great tunes, and got to ride a huge boat around the Bay!
Just for fun, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite clips. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Now I have to start brainstorming what I want to be next year…
For #throwbackthursday I want to take a trip down memory lane and revisit the costumes of Halloweens past. I have always been a fan of creating quirky costumes because I like to be unique and hate anything that comes out of a bag. HELLO PEOPLE I am not a carbon copy #basicbetch over here! I don’t enjoy slutty costumes either, unless it’s ironic – like a neighbor having a slutty costume party and people come as ridiculous slutty things like a slutty hotdog or a slutty microwave (I mean who DOESN’T find micro-WAVES sexy?!). The best one I’ve ever seen was a couples costume of Benjamin Franklin and his slutty kite…HAHA. Moving along, here are some of my favorite costumes from previous years. Maybe it can help spur last minute creativity if you don’t know what to be?
The MEME. Everybody remembers the DOUBLE RAINBOW! How could we forget thee? I painted glitter tears on my face and made a headband with a thought bubble that read What does it mean? In case you are one of the few that doesn’t remember, you should refresh your memory because it was one of the biggest memes of 2010. Memes are great because they are topical, so most people get ’em.
Group Concept. This was when we did a crazy cat lady and her cats. My friend Sara and I SEWED THESE CATSUITS ourselves and I remember feeling SO accomplished! It is also versatile and worked well as a unicorn, below, that I switched up a few years later when I djed at Go Bang! for Halloween.
MAKEUP Only. Pop art make-up, anyone? This is a good one to do when you feel lazy but love Halloween parties and don’t want to dress up in the same costume several days in a row. Like when Halloween is on a Monday (as it is this year) and you know of parties Fri-Mon. (Hey, I’m a social butterfly, OKAY?!) #halloweenparties4life
Quirky Couples Costumes. My favorite couples costume ever was when John and I did Burt and Dolly from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. This was a true GEM of a costume and I’m so proud of how it turned out. John and I had only been dating for 6 months and when I asked him to be Burt Reynolds from the movie and he jumped on the opportunity. We quickly realized that we BOTH grew up watching the movie so it holds a special place in our heart. It was then I knew he would be the perfect mate to dress up alongside me for all sorts of costume situations…
And for fun, here is a throwback of John and I as a fembot and a shark with a friggin’ lazer beam attached to his head, per the BEST TRILOGY OF ALL TIME, Austin Powers! (Yes Austin Powers is really my favorite trilogy of all time. No, this is not a sponsored post from Austin Powers. No one has paid me to say this. My love for Austin Powers is REAL people. So real, that when my sister Bryana got married, she booked an Austin Power’s impersonator to DJ. #austinpowersforever). Also this costume was from Bay to Breakers and NOT Halloween, but you get the gist.
ICONIC. Last year I FINALLY sewed the Bjork swan dress of my dreams! I won the costume contest and the hearts of all Bjork dorks out there. I wanted to do this costume for years and was so happy that it came together how it did. It’s an iconic look and will keep well for future use.
I can’t wait to show you what I’ve whipped up for this year! Stay tuned…
Aren’t I cute? Here I am snuggling my cat Cotton after a long day of churning butter at the good ole’ apple butter festival! <cry laughing> (god I’m such a nerd)
Just look at those carvings!
Our friend we met in the SPOOKeasy bar, under Mayhem Mansion.
This was our first show in December 2013.
December 2014.
December 2015.
December 2016.
Daydreams & Disco 