Halloween Party Pictures!

Garthe Knight & Material Ghoul

East Nasty besties:  Lana & Heidi

ENFL!

Turtle Hunter v. Donatello

Hunter & Crazy Cat Lady

Roger & Joan

Cory & Sarah

Andrews Halloween sisters

Krampf Halloween sisters

Tippi Hedren & Seymour Krelborn

Y'all, that's Notorious B.I.G. Bird!!!

Here come the brides...

Wes Anderson, represent!

Moonrise Kingdom, ftw!

Pancake Girls!

June Carter Cash & The Man In Black

End of night group shot

Alexis - hahahaha!

Alexis, me, Katie, Courtney & Rita

Mulder & Scully

Thank you soooo much, Brian Risse!!!

Full Flickr photostream here.

Weekend Wrap Up: Halloweekend Edition

I have a few Halloween traditions & one of them is watching my special anniversary edition DVD of Halloween.  1978 Jamie Lee Curtis, I love you so much.

Another Halloween tradition ("tradition") is throwing a Halloween party.  This year was our fourth party.  I spent too long cleaning, cooking & obsessively re-arranging furniture, so I was still getting dressed when our friends started arriving.  Oops!  Luckily, Jenn & Rogers were some of our first guests & Jenn jumped in & made one of my dips while I finished getting ready.  Thanks, gurl!

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This year, I decided to dress up as Material Ghoul, aka a scary version of Madonna's "Material Girl".  I finally found a pink dress, albeit one with a halter top, & my awesome friend Natalie cut that halter top off & hemmed it.  Voila!  A pink strapless dress!  Thanks, Natalie!

This picture above was my Pinterest Halloween makeup inspiration.  Seems do-able, right?  Right...

Makeup FAIL.  Well, I tried.  I needed better makeup.  Next year.  Luckily, no one else had seen the Pinterest picture, so everyone thought I looked terrifying.  I especially freaked out a couple East Nasty friends who have only seen me in running gear.  Ha!

This year's party was AWESOME!  Thank you all so much for coming.  I know I say this every time, but I swear, this was the most people we've ever had in our house.  And you all dressed up!  OMG, your costumes were so good.  I'm looking at you, Mary Katherine & Marshall.  My friend Brian took pictures & I'll post them as soon as he gets them all uploaded.  Stay tuned!

A lot of my friends brought food, which helped a lot.  Owl Katie:  thank you for the vegetarian chili!  June Carter Cash Katie:  thank you for the pumpkin dip!  I ate it all day Sunday!

Aside from eating leftover pumpkin dip, the only things I did on Sunday were watch AMC's Fear Fest & read the latest People magazine.  This in-depth investigation they did on girls who date guys who look like their dad is especially hard-hitting.  I suggest you all go out & get a copy.  Life changing.

Linda didn't do a lot on Sunday either.  Running around & getting petted all night at the party is probably the most exercise she's had all year.  She woke up & watched Cujo (Cujo!) with me, but other than that, she slept all day.  Bless her...

Happy Almost Halloween!

Television!

This is a random post about television, the joy of my life.  In no particular order, here are some shows I'm really enjoying.

Political Animals

Okay, technically, this show isn't on the air anymore.  Did anyone else watch it?  It was so good!  It ran as a limited series event on USA in July-Aug.  From USA, "Sigourney Weaver stars as former first lady & current Secretary of State who is attempting to keep her family together while simultaneously dealing with crises of the State Dept & fending off the hungry DC journalist who is bent on destroying her career.  Exploring themes that resonate in the current political landscape & taking viewers beyond the glossy ads & well-written public speeches, Political Animals will reveal a vulnerable family on the verge of falling apart."  It's the first political drama since West Wing that I've liked.  I highly recommend it.  It's available on iTunes for $2.99 an episode (there are only 6 episodes).

Parenthood
Y'all, Parenthood is RIPPING MY HEART OUT this season.  I've cried watching every episode.  I think everyone knows this, but Parenthood was developed & produced by the same people as Friday Night Lights, which I think we can all agree, was the best show on tv.  Hashtag:  Texas forever.

Homeland
Okay, we're only 3 episodes into Season Two, but OMG!  This is possibly the best show on tv.  Season One blew my mind.  If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor & spend your next weekend watching Season One.  You can thank me later.  It's available on Netflix.

Veep
I recorded Veep back when it aired, but am just now watching it.  I love it!  Julia Louis-Dreyfus, you complete me.  Unlike Political Animals, Veep is political satire.  It's a comedy series set in the Office of a fictional Vice President of the United States.  It's hilarious!

The Mindy Project
Being a huge fan of Mindy Kaling, I had high hopes for The Mindy Project & it hasn't disappointed.  Granted, there have only been 3 episodes, but they've all been hilarious, particularly the opening of the Pilot episode.  It currently airs on FOX on Tuesday nights, or you can watch episodes on FOX's website.

Friday Links

This is old news at this point, but Tina Fey & Amy Poehler are hosting the Golden Globes this year!  Hooray!  (Entertainment Weekly)

Speaking of funny ladies in glasses, did y'all know Warby Parker is currently on tour?  Believe it.  They'll be in Nashville November 28 - December 9.  (Warby Parker)

I sometimes hear people talk about games they like & I make a mental note to buy said game, but then I remember I hate games.  Well, this one I for real am going to buy.  (Cards Against Humanity)

This is a little touchy-feely, but it's true:  for those of you who don't comment on blogs.  (Chatting at the Sky)

Weekend Wrap Up: Giles County Edition

On Friday night, I got out my Halloween box & started going through all of our old costumes & masks.  Naturally, this happened.

From left to right:  Allison, Heidi, me, Melanie, Jenn & Mary Katherine.

At 6:00am on Saturday, these girls arrived at my house & I drove them to Lynnville for the Giles County Run For Others race.  It was a 5K & a 10K, but we all ran the 10K.  The race was put on by the Giles County Sheriff's Department & the proceeds go towards buying Christmas presents for kids.

This is me with Giles County Sheriff, Kyle Helton.  For those of you who have never seen me in person, I am not a midget.  Kyle is just 100 feet tall.  Sheriff Helton is a runner & when he found out I am also a runner, he asked me to come run this race, & to bring friends.

It was great!  We ran 6.3 hilly miles through the Lynnville countryside.  We got mooed at by cows, scarily stared at by bulls & inquisitively watched by horses.  I heard sounds I have never heard before.  I'm talking to you, cows.

When we got there, I teased Mary Katherine that she was going to win this race.  She looked around & insisted she would not.  Yeah, she totally won the race.  These are her amazing prizes:  glass commemorative plate, Sun Drop medal & Breast Cancer Awareness basket of goodies.  Mary Katherine winning the race made the 3 hour roundtrip drive soooo worth it.

At this point, we had all been up for 5+ hours, had run 6.3 miles & were STARVING.  So we stopped in Columbia at Cracker Barrel, like you do.  It may have been the best breakfast I've ever had.

On Saturday night, John & I headed east for the first bonfire of the season at Camp Mossy Wilson.  Heidi made Texas chili & beer cheese soup, of which I had a bowl of both, like you do.

And of course no bonfire is complete without s'mores.  I probably had a million of these.  Yum!

Yesterday we made our annual Halloween pilgrimage to Performance Studios.  Smartly, we fueled up at Thai Kitchen first.  I snapped this shot of the 12 Oaks Motel as we crossed the street for lunch.  Halloween costume shopping complete, we spent the rest of the day doing house stuff.  You know, fun stuff like painting chairs & going into the crawl space to snake out clogged pipes.

Re-Styled Entry Way Table

Months ago I found this mirror at a thrift store.  I thought it would be a nice way to tie into the bar cart in our living room.

This is what the entry way looked like pre-mirror.  Well, actually this is what it looked like way before. I apparently don't have any recent pictures.  Whatever.

Over the weekend, John hung the mirror for me, but everything I had on the table below it needed to be re-worked.  Yeah, not good.  Good thing I collect knick knacks.  Let the re-styling commence!

Here's the after!  I'm pretty pleased with it, especially since I was able to walk around the house & find everything I needed.  I guess sometimes being a chotsky hoarder comes in handy.

Here's a close-up of the table & a breakdown of the items used:

Mirror:  thrifted
Silhouette print:  thrifted
Books:  Decoded & The American President
Votive candle holder:  Target
Enchanted buck measuring cups:  Anthropologie
Gold peacock:  thrifted
White Queen Victoria silhouette:  thrifted
White vase:  thrifted
Owl vase:  Z Gallerie

Weekend Wrap Up: Oktoberfest Edition

Saturday was Oktoberfest in Nashville.  The day starts with the Germantown 5K Bier Run, which I've run for the past three years.  I love this run.  You run 3 miles, then drink beer, and you guys know I basically exclusively run races with free beer afterwards.  This is me & Lana enjoying our post-run beer.

This is a doberman named Elvis.  Elvis was really feeling the Oktoberfest spirit.  Who knew they made lederhosen for dogs?

This food truck is where I finally stopped for food.  It was really good!  Spicy Pork Shop, you win!

I put another Tattly on for Oktoberfest, but shockingly forgot to work it into any pictures, so when I got home & changed into my [Halloween] pajamas (at 4:30pm), I took this self portrait.  You're welcome.

Having slept from basically 6:00pm to 6:00am, I got up on Sunday & drove east to meet Heidi & Allison for a long run.  We had planned on running 6 miles, but none of us were feeling it & the weather was super ominous, so we cut it short & just ran a little over 4 miles.  ENFL!

A new restaurant opened on our side of town & yesterday we tried it out for brunch.  It was delicious!  John got the steak & biscuits & I got the apple cider mimosa & corned beef & sweet potato hash.  So good!  If you haven't already, get yourself to The Stone Fox.

After brunch, we hit the Goodwill on Charlotte to shop for Halloween costumes.  I was excited when I found so many options, but alas, none of them fit.  I'm not sure what's going on with my body, but all the dresses fit over my hips, but wouldn't zip over my rib cage.  Is my rib cage getting bigger?  Ugh!  Anyway, I bought none of these dresses.  The search continues....

P.S. If you happen to know a trick to get a dress that won't zip to magically become wearable, please let me know.  Or, if you own a dress in this color scheme that I can borrow for a night, I would be much obliged.

Birchbox Review: September

As I mentioned last month, I was disappointed with my August Birchbox, so much so that I debated canceling my subscription.  Well, things have changed.  Birchbox redeemed itself with the September box.  Here's what I got & why this was the best Birchbox yet.

Benefit Cosmetics | foamingly clean facial wash + refined finish facial polish

• Birchbox description:  Purify your skin with this glycerin-paced cleanser & natural clay exfoliator.  Full-size, $21-22
• My review:  Disclaimer:  I've been using Kiehl's Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser for over 10 years & have yet to be swayed by another product.  The Benefit facial wash is too soapy for me, but if you have oily skin, or are used to soap on your face, this may be for you.  Now the facial polish I like.  I love a good face scrub & this one really does the job.  It's super gritty, which I like.

Color Club | Birchbox Custom Polish

• Birchbox description:  We teamed up with Color Club to create this custom shade, inspired by the Fall 2012 collections.  Full-size, $8
• My review:  The positive:  I love these colors.  I got the grey & then got the blue from a friend who didn't want hers (thanks, Sarah!).  The negative:  the polish doesn't seem to stay on as long as some other brands do.  I'll definitely use up the two bottles I have because I do love the colors, but I doubt I'll buy more.

Dr. Jart + | Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25+

• Birchbox description:  Think of this four-in-one moisturizer, serum, sunscreen, & skin-perfecting tint as the (extremely stylish) Swiss Army Knife of your beauty lineup.  Full-size, $32
• My review:  I was happy to receive this because I've been wanting to try a BB Cream.  I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this is a moisturizer, serum, sunscreen & tinted moisturizer.  I don't put makeup on right away.  I go ahead & used all my normal products, then later apply the BB Cream when I'm putting on my makeup.  I like it okay.  I certainly don't dislike it.  It doesn't provide as much coverage as my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer.  Also, my chin broke out a lot this month, which never happens.  It's possible it's stress, but it's more likely from this BB Cream.  Maybe it's product over-load for my sensitive skin?  Bottom line:  I'm glad I tried it, but it won't replace my Laura Mercier.

kate spade new york | Twirl

• Birchbox description:  A blend of fruity & floral notes, this modern classic feels joyful & carefree.  Full-size, $18-80
• My review:  Hold on to your hats, people.  I like this!  I know the description says it's fruity & floral, but it doesn't smell that way on me.  It's got a lot more depth than you would think from reading the description.  I may buy this.  May...  There's another perfume I've got my eye on, but this one is definitely in the running.

twistband | Hair Tie

• Birchbox description:  Give your ponytail a makeover with these colorful, snag-free elastics.  Set of 12, $18
• My review:  I keep seeing these around & am so glad I received one because I would have probably never bought one for myself.  I got a pretty teal color, which I love.  It has faded a little & it's stretched out a little, but I like it.  I'd like to have one that matches my hair color, so I may buy at least one more.  My hair salon sells them, so I'll probably get one there.

LIFESTYLE EXTRA
BAND-AID | Cynthia Rowley Dress Up Band-Aids

• Birchbox description:  Be prepared for life's little emergencies with these stylish designer bandages.  Pack of 20, $15
• My review:  I haven't had the occasion to use one of these yet, but they're cute.

I'm not sure why, but I'm one of the few people who received a $25 gift card to Madewell in my September box.  I assumed it came in every box, but when I posted a picture on Instagram, I quickly realized that not everyone got it.  Oops!  Sorry, y'all.

To know me is to know my love of Madewell, so I was TRES EXCITED to receive this.  The gift card was good for $25 off the purchase of $75 or more.  I used mine towards the purchase of their Pebble Cardigan, which I've been wearing as many times a week as I can get away with.  It's my new favorite thing I own.

Thank, you Birchbox!  You've been redeemed!