A Fairy P. and a Mary P.

Oh, Halloween was such fun! The weather was gorgeous--no parkas & moon boots messing up the costumes this year! It was so warm we didn't even need coats (a far cry from 2006 when it was about 20 degrees and snowy). We went to Trunk or Treat at our church, then came home and Maren did a little door-knocking in the neighborhood until her pumpkin bucket was too heavy for her to carry. Here's the prettiest little fairy princess on the block:
this is the look we got when we told her to "smile like a princess"
And mommy dressed up too! I knew last year that I wanted to be Mary Poppins so I've kept an eye out for costume pieces for months. The hat I bought early in the summer from this webshop. I did have to paint it black and add the daisies but I think the effect was good (although now that I see the photos I wish I'd painted the underside too, whoops). I already owned the blouse but the jacket, skirt, scarf and bag came from the thrift store. White gloves were from a costume shop (although forgotten in this photo) and I made my own parrot head umbrella. I used my vintage umbrella and found a photo of the parrot head handle on flickr. I enlarged it on the computer, printed, cut it out and taped it to the handle. Not too bad for homemade! The likeness was good enough that everyone at the church knew who I was supposed to be (even kids) and I got so many compliments! :) It was such fun and I'm already know who I want to be next year!

The Halloween decorations are all still up and I have a feeling they'll be staying that way for a while. The downside to elaborate holiday decorations is that at some point you have to figure out how to stuff them all back into the boxes in the basement, right? As much as I love Halloween, I'm definitely over it and my thoughts have turned squarely to these:Oh, my pretties. :) The thrift stores now have their Christmas items out and I have already found several great vintage goodies! Good thing, as the garage saling haul this year was meager and I was feeling a bit sad about not having more to add to my collection.

Speaking of vintage Christmas decorations, check out the gorgeous confections that the creative soul behind Magpie Ethel will be selling at craft shows this season! Don't I wish I could get my hands on some of those glittery lovelies!