Friday Five

Happy almost Halloween! It may just be me and my dislike of pumpkin flavored things, but Halloween is just not my holiday. A valid excuse to buy candy, finish the bag, and buy more for trick or treaters? Absolutely. Otherwise, let's get on to Thanksgiving. 
This week seemed to be the longest in all of history and I have no idea why, but I'd appreciate next week to pick up the pace a little! I have a half marathon tomorrow which I'm oddly so excited for. Training for it has been so fun for me this time around (and way less blisters and no missing toenails - win!) and I'm hoping to finish with a new PR. 
BFFs. This article made me smile. I can definitely relate after moving a plane ride away from home. 

Devon Baer Tunic. I think I originally saw this tunic from Sydney at Summer Wind, and now I'm getting retargeted by Facebook ads and it's like Facebook is begging me to purchase it! I am obsessed. Now if only the price would drop...

In the News. This weekly installment of "Sh*t You Should Know" on Velvet's Edge has me laughing out loud every week. One of the contributors, Lori, posts it every Wednesday and I look forward to it every time! Lori, I don't know who you are, but I think we would should be best friends. 
Listening: California - Tim McGraw 
I'm pretty positive Tim McGraw hand crafted this song with me personally in mind, but I could be wrong. I can't wait for his album! And this song is pretty fitting for my trip to the Best Coast next week! :) 
Also, I will be listening to this playlist pretty exclusively tomorrow morning for about 2 hours (hopefully under!) during my race. 
Reading: I just finished the sequel of There's Cake in my Future, Keep Calm and Carry a Big Drink, that I mentioned here. I wish there was a third, they are so addicting! I just downloaded A Total Waste of Makeup, by the same author, Kim Gruenenfelder. I can't wait to start it! 
I hope everyone has a great weekend and Halloween! Thanks for reading! 

DIY Halloween Costumes (+ #TBT)

If you're anything like me, you have waited until the last minute to plan your Halloween costume. I'm running a half marathon Saturday morning and kept using this as an excuse to put it off/find something in my closet that and call it a day. But then I decided to be somewhat creative and before I knew it I was armed with a hot glue gun and surrounded by fabric last night. I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished product :) 
I thought I would bring back the two costumes I wore last Halloween (yes, two. #overachiever) because they are definitely able to be created between now and Saturday! 
Costume 1: Pineapple
This quite possibly was the easiest costume I've ever worn and was probably the most popular! I even won an in-office contest with it! I happened to already own a bright yellow dress, and all I did was cut out green construction paper in the shape of big leaves and hot-glued them onto a paper towel roll. My genius mom (who definitely was helping me the night before Halloween, nothing like the last minute!) cut slits in the paper towel roll to create tabs that I then bobby-pinned to fasten the pineapple top. Brilliaint! 

Costume 2: Mermaid

This costume was a little more involved, but still pretty easy. I got a cheap strapless bra and hot glued seashells and beads all over for the top. For the bottom, I found a cheap teal stretchy pencil skirt and my mom helped me (no, she did it entirely) sew on some tulle and glittered fabric at the bottom the give an effect of a tail. If you don't want to get as involved as sewing, you can definitely skip that step and just wear a fitted skirt or maxi skirt! This was actually a couples costume, with the guy as a fisherman, which is also an easy last minute solution if you're looking for costumes for two! I'm still kind of mad I got rid of this one... 

What is everyone being for Halloween?? 

Halloween

As promised, here is a short hump day post dedicated to my Halloween shenanigans and a little weekend recap. Friday was spent mostly dedicated to setting up our Halloween Happy Hour at work (I swear I did some work..). I love planning a good party and love it even more when it's not my my money being spent! I scoured Pinterest for a few weeks and gathered up the easiest ideas that could be executed in the office, and even put together a Halloween playlist! Some may say I have too much time on my hands.. 

We have an office costume contest every year and this year I decided to go as a pineapple. Seriously, easiest costume ever. I had this bright yellow dress already and just made the leaves by using a toilet paper roll and hot glued some construction paper cut out as leaves and rolled them down a bit to give them a staggered and realistic look. My genius mom suggested cutting slits in the bottom of the toilet paper roll to make tabs and bobby pinned the tabs in my hair and voila! It was a hit all day. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have gotten a sneak peak. 

I obviously couldn't wear the same costume to two events, so I had a different costume planned for the Halloween party I was going to - a mermaid! I've always wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween and with a little encouragement from a friend, I decided to create a handmade mermaid ensemble. I hot glued and sewed some shells, pearls, beads and sequins on a strapless bra for the top. I found a turquoise pencil skirt and my mom assisted (who am I kidding, she did the whole thing) in sewing a blue sequin fabric I found to the bottom of the skirt to create a mermaid effect. We ended up turning the skirt around and stitched up the slit that was in the back to make the "tail" be in the back of the skirt. 

Saturday was UConn Homecoming which meant waking up bright and early for some tailgating and reliving the glory days of college. What did I get out of this? I am old. And always remember to bring a hooded jacket and completely closed shoes to a cold and wet tailgate. And remember to bring tickets for the correct game. But it was fun to see a bunch of college friends for the day! 

Well, that was quite the opposite of a short post. Sorry! All in all, it was a long but fun weekend. What did you dress up as for the Halloweekend? 
P.S. In honor of the CMA Awards on tonight, here's a little hump day treat :)