As I've eluded to in the previous posts (slash "completely stated"), I did not "do" Halloween this year. I actually ran away from the city for a long weekend in New York City. We hadn't entirely intended to miss Halloween in the Tdot, but the conference my boyfriend was attending happened to be that weekend, and I'm game for most excuses to go to New York. Also, both of us got most of a week off from work as a result of this trip, so bonus.
The last weekend in October is a lovely weekend to see the fall colours in Central Park.
After a bumpy flight and a rainy walk to the hotel the night before, we were greeted by a 20 degree day in New York City. The boy went off to his conference and I started wandering throughout the city. I had a whole list of things I had some mind to do while there, well more than half of it was thrown to wayside in favour of wandering aimlessly.
Lady Liberty way off in the distance.
A Navel Monument of some kind... I neglected to read the plaque that closely.
Tribeca in the fall, looking fantastic.
I dragged G to the Chelsea Highline one night for an evening wander, which not only worked up the needed appetite for ramen and sashimi but was also a lovely place to see at night. The Highline was a raised train track in New York that stopped being used in 1980. Jump to 2006 and it's revitalization as a vibrant, urban green space. There are some handily place viewing platforms set up directly over some of the streets to get a view a fair ways through the city.
From the Chelsea Highline one evening.
The one Halloween-y thing we did do while in NY was the one touristy thing that G wanted to do, which was visit the Ghostbusters Fire Hall. Hook & Ladder #8 was open for business and handing out candy to the various trick-or-treaters. They fully celebrate the movie fame and offer tours of the fire hall itself.
Who ya gonna call?
While most of the costumes I saw throughout the day were remarkably disappointing (sorry NY, but y'all need to step it up), Taco Dog here brightened my afternoon significantly. I am not above enjoying cutesy dog costumes.
Taco Dog!
Our last morning was spent exploring Central Park, and occassionally going around it since we didn't know that the New York City Marathon went through the park. We got blessed with amazing weather throughout the trip, and the idea that it could be a comfortable 18 degrees on November 1rst was pretty sweet.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir... and some joggers.
Cleopatra's Needle.
G photographing Belvedere Castle... and my photo being ruined by an algae bloom advisory.
The gal on the left was less than impressed by ol' Burnsie.
Random Greenery.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. There were a few things I wish I had gotten too while I was there, but life's tough. We ate a lot of great food which made up for most things, and got a lovely sunset above the clouds on the way home. Some of my finds from this trip will be making appearances in the next wee while, since I did get to a thrift shop and a flea market. I've been quietly getting into all things Christmas since I got back but holding off until closer to now to be less annoying about it. I also like fall to be fall, and not CHRISTMAS on November 1rst. It may involve copper reindeer. Just sayin'.
While falling down a youtube hole around Halloween last year, I came across this video for this fantastically creepy and classy Halloween decor DIY by Karen Kavett on HGTV Handmade.
I actually went out the next day to get the wreath and as many cheap snakes as I could find.... which turned out to be not much, despite being Halloween season. The craft store only had big expensive ones, and dollarama (the great mecca for plastic, not always 100% anatomically correct animals) only had these weird, jelly snakes that smelled awful. I know buying them online is an option, but the lack of instant gratification of finding more snakes and the usual DIY project procrastination resulted in the parts I had collected being put away for an entire year and ignored.
If a new bid to try and actually do some half done/not done projects to clean up the stashes, I started looking for snakes again this year! I trip to Honest Ed's while killing time one afternoon got a few medium sized ones and the craft store had a multi pack of snakes that nicely rounded out my pile.
All you need is a vine wreath, a 'knot' of snakes and some spray paint.
Step 1) Arrange ALL THE THINGS. I went with Karen's advice and started with the bigger guys and filled out the bare spots with the medium and smaller snakes. With Netflix on in the background, weave all the snakes together and arrange until you're happy with how they're looking. I ended up with a few heads sticking out, which gives it personality.
Hey dude!
Getting there.
No actual snakes were harmed in the making of this wreath. Well maybe, I don't know if the hot glue gun ran one over on the way to the craft store. That would suck if it did, but I can't be held responsible for that.
Hot glue certainly helps, and thankfully didn't melt my jelly snakes (which don't smell nearly as bad a year later!)
Step 2) My wreath didn't have a hanger on the back, but some stiff wire from the stash and a healthy application of hot glue solved that problem.
Step 3) After you prepare a spray painting area so as to not ruin your balcony floor and panels, spray paint the crap out of the entire wreath. Make sure you move it around and get it from all angles, and try to get a second coat to make sure you have good coverage everywhere. Let it dry for a good few hours if you can, but it will smell like paint for a while... and maybe make half of your apartment hallway smell like spray paint. Maybe.
My super sexy spray paint set up. It's outdoors with good ventilation, stop judging.
Before....
During/First pass...
Almost there...
Step 4) Hang it up and creep people out!
"Why did it have to be snakes?" Because snakes are awesome Dr. Jones. Suck it. Also, the lighting in my hallway sucks balls.
I am super pleased with how this turned out. Having it the one colour makes it kinda subtle, as much as a wreath of snakes can be, and it's creepy enough to be outside the spoopy range for Halloween. Also, this turned out to be the only thing I did for Halloween at home, so an afternoon well spent. I know I used a 50% off coupon on the spray paint, and I might have for the wreath last year, I don't remember, but I think I spent about $35 in total for the whole thing, which ain't bad for something I can creep out guests with for years to come :)
My "why I didn't 'do' Halloween this year" post will be coming up shortly, with a nice little Halloween Easter egg, and here's a bad snake pun to tide you all over.
Many things have changed since the last time I was here, on the blog and IRL. Things are still changing, in IRL and on the blog, so this space will be a bit clunky for a while. Sorry, not sorry.
I'm in a headspace where I'm more inspired to do blog posts. I'm still not good with taking pictures of events, but I've being doing some projects and excursions that at least encourage photos and writing posts. I've also been falling down some late night, binge-the-whole-backlog-in-one-night blogger holes, so I'm re-inspired to write about thrifting, crafts, sewing and adventures. I'll still be writing about cooking and food, but probably not as much. I still love cooking, but trying to document my meal while making it was something I never got used to. That, and I was never happy with how the photos looked. Despite all my training, I'm not the best photographer, and most of my cooking photos further proved the point.
A bit more fiddling is require on the blog side of life, but for now, here's a late Halloween teaser from a craft project I finally got around to doing. I didn't really "do" Halloween this year (to be explained in a further blog post), but I have been meaning to do this project for about a year now, so I'm glad I was able to around to it. Project procrastination at it's best.
Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
Has per usual in these situations, we shall see. We can but try.
