Tuesday, September 5, 2017

More From Homegoods...

My Homegoods is getting a ton of stuff, but unfortunately, not much that I like.  I barely bought anything this past weekend, but I took pics to share.

First up, we have this fancy lady.  I'm sure you can tell by the photo that she's pretty sizable...and pretty costly, too.  She'll set you back $500!  The employee who unpacked her said it took forever to free her from her packaging.  I would hope it would be well packed at that price!  My husband sent a picture of her to the owner of a Mexican restaurant that he knows.  He liked it, but wasn't interested in paying nearly that much for her, and I don't blame him.  It looked to be made of ceramic, and you know some kid would climb up on her lap or pull on her arm and break her in no time.


 
A few miscellaneous items. 



 
Then we have some soapstone carvings from Africa.  Pretty cute, but not really my thing.



 
A miniature fortune teller.  They had a huge one of these last year that stood about 5-feet tall.  I wasn't really impressed with either one, but I'd love to have one of those old carnival fortune teller games.  I've priced them on eBay.  I will never afford one!

Monday, August 28, 2017

Another Victorian Trading Company Purchase

I've wanted one of those vintage paper mache jack-o-lanterns for years, but they can be kind of pricey.  You know, the ones that have the holes for the eyes and mouth but there's paper glued on the inside, so that if you put a lit candle in it (heaven forbid; I'm sure that's a serious fire hazard) then there's a glow from the inside.  Well, Victorian Trading Company has a reproduction that I purchased recently from eBay.  Sometimes their stuff is cheaper on one site than the other, so check both if you go to make a purchase.  There's the one I bought.

They also have one in white, a black cat, and a really creepy moon--and not creepy in a good way.

At Homegoods...More to Come Later



 
This came home with me:






Friday, August 4, 2017

The Cheap Version of Pottery Barn's Crow Lights

I've been doing a lot of Halloweenie online browsing lately, and I found that Target has a cheaper ($14) version of the crow-in-a-birdcage string lights that Pottery Barn had several years ago for, if I recall correctly, $30/string, perhaps more.  The PB crows appear to be cut from flat metal, giving a silhouette appearance, whereas the Target crows have a bit of three-dimensional detail.  However, the Target crow looks less like a crow and more like a...well, I don't know my birds that well, but definitely not a crow.

The Pottery Barn crow lights (no longer available):
 

Target's version:
 
Maybe it's a sparrow I'm thinking of?


I think I'll pass on those.  Instead, I'll get the other Target crow lights that look like those from Crate and Barrel that are $35 a pop:

 
The Target version, at $14 a string:


Honestly, I think I may prefer the C&B lights, but when you factor in cost...no contest.  Besides, a couple of people said the C&B lights seemed kind of fragile, and with all the cats in the house, we can't have that!

 

 

Hearse Drama and New Halloweenies

This has been a crazy week for me.  Back in September of last year (!) my hearse was taken to have some bodywork and complete repaint.  Unfortunately, the guy doing the work had numerous illnesses and now the prognosis isn't so good, and he barely did anything to it in the time he had it. (He also overstated the progress he had made, which I wasn't too happy about.)  So another hearse guy and I found someone else to do the work, which meant more money as a deposit (no idea if I'll ever see any of my previous deposit again), the act of checking out the guy's work, going to the garage of the first guy and finding that almost nothing had been done...ugh.  Anyway, this guy has promised I'll get her back in mid-September, so hopefully in time for a few October car shows.

So, on to the good stuff!  First, Michael's has their Halloween stuff in.  We went last Friday and looked over everything, then bought a couple of crows (50% off coupon * 2 of us).

 
Shelves and shelves of goodies!




 
Totally dig the zen skeletons.





You'll see these again in a minute.

I really wanted these based on the pictures online, but all the orange and purple is glittery.  I hate glitter in my Halloween!

 
I also planned on getting that "Queen of Halloween" sign, but again, glitter.
 
And here are the awesome crows, hanging out on my mantle.  They get the honor of being the first decorations displayed for 2017.

 
 
Second, today I ordered this beauty from Victorian Trading Co., except I ordered it from eBay in order to get free shipping.  Well of course, when I went to get you this link to it on their website, I find it's on sale!  It was full price only a few days ago, so I didn't think to check, thinking I would do better financially by using eBay.  Anyway, it's too late to cancel, so I sent them a message asking for a price adjustment.  Crossing my fingers, because I HATE to pay more than I have to!  Either way, I still love it and can't wait to receive it.  I'd been wanting it since last year, so I deserved it, right?
 
 

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Morgan Freeman as Count Dracula on The Electric Company

I'm going to give away my age by telling you I was born in 1973 (almost 1974), so I spent my time watching '70s PBS in the years before I went to kindergarten.  This included the long-lived Sesame Street, Romper Room, and The Electric Company.  A few years ago, I was reminded that Morgan Freeman was on TEC during that time.  At first I didn't remember him, but when I pulled up a YouTube video, it all came rushing back.  Even then, I had a great love of Halloween and the classic movie monsters (I was raised on horror movies and loved every second of them).  So with great pleasure, I give you a couple of his skits, but there are a few more on YouTube.

Dracula's Drink



Vincent the Vegetable Vampire

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Reproduction Beistle--Wonderfully Retro

I just discovered a site that has reproductions of Beistle Halloweenies.  I absolutely love the look of retro Halloween decorations and have purchased a lot from Homegoods--my Halloween Mecca.  While I'd love to have originals, they just aren't in my budget, so I was so excited to find Vintage Beistle.  They have so many items at very affordable prices, and even some free downloads.  I'll be making an order very soon. Oh, and I actually have a couple of the cutouts from my childhood in the late'70s, before I was even in school.  (I've always taken great care of anything Halloween that I've gotten.)  I have the cat sitting on the moon's nose and the jack-o'-lantern in the last picture.  Here are a few of the goodies you'll find on their page.