Happy Halloween!

We don’t usually get many costumed kids knocking on doors in my condo complex on Halloween, so I plan to take to the streets tonight to enjoy the spooky decorations on some of the old Victorian homes around the block. As you can see, I’ve already taken steps to ensure that my evening will be filled with delicious and festive treats, not tricks.

Children of the Corn

Aeppletreow Winery, under slightly more sepia-toned skies than when we visited last weekend

Is this image sufficiently scary? I’m hoping that it will set the tone for this weekend’s trip to the middle of (kinda) nowhere, when we have plans to drive through cornfields, sleep in a renovated barn, watch scary movies and eat caramel popcorn. You never know though, a side trip for some shopping in Madison might be made. A girl can’t live on fear alone.

Hope you have an equally creepy weekend!

Spiders & Skulls

My wax-bottomed Maker's Mark glasses and skull cocktail picks are perfect to showcase on the bar this time of year

I don’t really hold back when it comes to the holidays. By this point in the month, my packages of sparkly spiders, flock of crows, bags of cobwebs and arsenal of skulls and pumpkins is out in full force.  Unfortunately, I haven’t really mastered the art of interior lighting for my photography and I still hate the yellow walls that we inherited, so I’ll spare you most shots of my decked out bookcases.

That said, I couldn’t resist an opportunity to show you a few of the creatures that are currently haunting our place. You’ll have to forgive me for leaving out the picture of our apothecary jar of grotesque gummy worms—we either have really hungry ghosts, or my boyfriend’s been over-serving himself.  

The "Webster's Visual Dictionary of Curiosities" always gets a prominent place on my desk in October

Look closely at the hallway mirror and you may find that a spider nest has claimed it

My inner mad scientist can't resist displaying specimens under glass

There's now an infestation on our condiment tray

Thinking about leaving this one up year-round. Bonus: it glows in the dark!

See You September

An ethereal sunset during an evening walk around the neighborhood

We had so many things planned this weekend that I didn’t get around to any of our routine chores. Even though I feel slightly guilty about the piles of shoes in our front hallway, the basket of un-ironed clothes, and the not-quite-clean bathroom, I know in my heart of hearts that these things can wait another day or two if it means that we got to enjoy a few more 80 degree days!

The weekend harvests at the Farmers' Market seem to get more colorful with each passing weekend

Putting this adorable mini honey bear souvenir from my sister to good use on Saturday morning

Jumping the gun on Halloween decorations with my web table runner and glitter spider collection

Enjoying these seasonal treats from Harner's Bakery at an Oktoberfest party in Naperville

Seasonal Afflictions

It’s a sure sign that the seasons are changing when I begin to suffer from allergies. Although I’ve literally been a bit under the weather the last few days, my mental fog hasn’t prevented me from noticing that Halloween decorations are now hitting shelves. Though it may be a bit early to unearth my pumpkin, spider and skull collections, I may use my sister’s upcoming visit as an excuse to start prepping for what might be my favorite holiday.

This year, I’ve already added a few things (like these and these) to my ever-expanding arsenal. After seeing these pictures, I’ve also started to realize that other creepy DIYs involving ghosts, bats, mice and snakes really need to be incorporated into the mix too. 

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