Trick or treat!

Just wanted to share some pics of my Halloween!

Yes, that's a pug Beanie Baby in my hand. It's PUGSLEY. Get it?!

I went as Wednesday Addams. Halloween falling on a Wednesday? Purely awesome coincidence. 

With the ladies at the office. SO GLAD I work with people who share my passion enjoyment of dressing up!

 Then, of course, we need the gratuitous pics of my dogs, because if I didn't have them you'd be like, "Who killed Mary and took over her blog?"

My boy is so cute!!

Recycled the bee costume...again. Millie's turn this year!

 I also got two AWESOME Halloween cards...I may or may not have a pug problem.

HALLOWEEN, DARTH VADER, AND PUGS?!? This is the ultimate card. From my Dad.

From Beth. ♥

This adorable gift basket is also from Beth. She surprised me a couple weekends ago by a) coming home for the weekend, and b) showing up COMPELTELY UNEXPECTEDLY (but in a good way) to my soap show! She came bearing Halloween gifts, including a pumpkin with a BFF smiley painted on it, Hello Kitty stickers and a mug, and an adorable basket filled with candy. She's so sweet. =)

I wanted to end with what may be the most terrible hilarious Halloween-related video EVER. My brother introduced me to this and I've been like, "YOU SNEAKY MOM!" ever since. I realize I may be a little (like, a year) late to this party, but at least I arrived!

Hope you all had a safe, fun, and FABULOUSLY spooky Halloween!

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

There comes a time when all good cars must go on to the great Junkyard in the Sky. They've served us well, they've served their purpose, and they've lived a good car life. 

My blue car reached that point last weekend. 

It was so sad. That was my first car. It hauled me through the end of high school, all through college, and almost the entire first year of my "working, adult life." I would still, even recently, get a thrill driving it and being like, "Wow, it's my car." And I was stubborn to admit it was dying, because it was paid for. That's like, a GOLDMINE when you're working and making *insert pitiful number here*. But it was time. It was BEYOND noisy. We took it to the mechanic, and we were like, "Drive it and see what you think." He came back and he's like, "No way in hell would any girlfriend of mine drive that car on the highway." It was doing okay around town, but when I had to get on the interstates to go to work, it made a cacophony of almighty noises in all pitches and tones imaginable. I've had people tell me it was "like a tank," and "a rattlebox," and a car Big Joe Turner would like because it shakes, rattles and rolls. Nice. 

Lately, though, it wasn't just loud. It was...unsafe. It broke down on the highway and suffered quite a few more not-as-major-but-equally-scary issues. It got to the point where I was literally like: 

I may or may not be guilty of uttering those exact words. 

And other people, when I drove them, would be like:

And then I'd be like: 

because that was my baby! But secretly I knew they were right. The time had come. And the trip to the mechanic just confirmed it.

So today, I watched them take it back and I didn't see it again. And I will neither confirm nor deny that I teared up.

BUT.

I went over to a nearby dealer because their website had a few great cars that I'd been looking at once we'd gotten the news that repairs on the Neon would cost more than the worth of the car. I fell in love immediately with one, a Toyota Avalon, because it's kind of like a granny-pimp car. It's an older car, but it's a lot better quality (older and better quality...kind of how I like my men. Or how I would like my men if I had them. *_~). Low mileage, within my price range...perfect.

It sold last night. And I died a small death inside when my mom told me this afternoon.

BUT!!! The person who wanted it didn't get their credit approved, so it was available to me today. I drove it and just knew. It's like when you go to the pet store and you know which dog is going to be your companion for the next 15 years. It was just that feeling of "this is right." So I didn't bother driving any other cars on the lot, and everything flew without a hitch.

So let me introduce to you....my new vehicle.

It's SO POSH. I mean, a tractor might be posh next to what I'd been driving before, but it's got everything. I don't want to brag about features and stuff (I also don't want someone to figure out where I live and come steal it...yes, I really am that paranoid, deal with it), but suffice to say it's awesome. Literally the only problem is that split in the leather on the console, which should be an easy fix. And even if it's not, PUH-LEASE. I can deal with that.

SO EXCITED! I feel like I have a "grown up" car. And I did all the paperwork and everything myself, so I think I get Grown Up Points for that. 

HOORAY! SO VERY EXCITED!!!! 

Until the payments start coming in. Then I'll be reminded that, oh yeah, I'm poor. *_~

Splish splash.

In a move of shameless self-promotion, I wanted to show you guys my latest hobby: soap-making!

I love soap. I have always loved soap. And so one day (after I went to the Star Wars convention...a post for another day), I was trying to think of a hobby other than "wallow in self-pity," "read 120 pages of Tumblr at a time," "play with pug" or "read," and I was like, "Why have I never tried to MAKE soap?" There was no real logical answer, so I decided to give it a go.

Naturally, my Mom got all up in this because it's artistic, and she's like the Midas of the Arts. She can do it once, just barely touch it, and it turns to gold in her hands. 

So here are some pics of our soaps!

Apricot scrub soap.

Brown sugar/vanilla/honey almond soap.

This is actually the same soap as above, but made with a different base. All the other ingredients and scents are the same!

Japanese Lotus Blossom soap.

My "Ice Blue" soap. It smells like tea tree oil and peppermint and has sea salt (for scrubbing) to make it look icy!

Oatmeal scrub soap. Looks like a cookie, is not edible.

Himalayan Pink Salt soap. It's made with actual pink rock salt mined at the base of the Himalayas. And it's pretty to boot!

So anyway, I'm pretty proud. I have a blast doing it. I'm not as good as Mom is, but I'm learning. I am good at mixing the scents though, and that's really my favorite part. I love deciding how much of what oils are going into each batch and which smells balance each other out, and what aromatherapeutic effects each scent has. 

If you're curious, we're having a show on this Friday and Saturday at my neighbor's house. She and my Mom make greeting cards and with the hols coming, this is a great time to stock up! My neighbor's daughter makes stained glass (including custom pieces made out of photographs), and a friend of my Mom's sells hand-made jewelry from Guatemala. It's going to be quite the artsy-craftsy gathering, so if you're into that, please come out! And don't feel obligated to buy ANYTHING...we'd love to just chat! And we have little tiny soaps we're giving away as FREE samples (not as pretty, but they're made from candy molds, so that's cute, right?), so stop on by if you're bored or into that kind of thing. 

:) :) :)

Glampiracy.

So, a while back a friend of mine (who has such a charming blog...you must go there NOW) coined the term "Glampirate" as a nickname/verb (we go "Glampirating," often to Steak'n'Shake and Goodwill and/or Plato's). I think this came about the time that everyone thought that a "Vampirate" (being a vampire-pirate) was the best thing ever, and she just made a clever play on words. Anyway, the other day I came across this editorial featuring Kirsty Hume in Elle, and it EPITOMIZES "Glampirate!"

Photo credit.

I love the whole aesthetic. I like the sparkly-girly-glam bit and the rough-and-tumble, just blown in from the high seas look. 

I also totally wish I could dress like this every day in real life and get away with it. Alas.

Just thought I'd share! I found it inspiring/cool, especially since I have a history with "glampirating." *_~