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...from hermione granger + puss in boots + a (semi-reluctant) mouse.
more soon. without apology. if you are opposed to halloween or costumes or small children, thou shalt kindly avert thine eyes. :)
have a fun + safe holiday!
p.s. dear readers, am thinking about redesigning the blog to accommodate larger photos. worth the trouble? or you like the faster page load of smaller photos? your thoughts please.
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edit: costume details for hermione granger + puss in boots + a mouse
After sort of a wild week featuring the birth of one sister’s baby, the impending arrival of another sister’s baby, a nephew’s major surgery, and my own ill-timed health issues—I was really hoping this party would go off without a hitch. And almost without exception it did.
We had written on the invitation,
“a party + baby shower (but mostly a party)”
and that’s what it was. Guests brought gifts for the new parents, but we didn’t open them at the party. And, as promised, there weren’t any “girly” games. The guys kept joking with each other about “it’s not a shower!” and “turning in their man card”, but I think if you ask them they’ll tell you they actually did have fun. A few men came without their wives, even. And stayed! So that’s saying something.
We had a couple of campfires going (hello, what’s more manly than that?) and people roasted marshmallows and made s’mores and ate and laughed and mingled.
With the twinkle lights and candles, it was sort of a magical setting. (Meredith called it “Campfire Chic”.) The yard is my friend Diana’s, and it is pretty much the perfect party yard. It’s super private, with mature trees all along the property line. K hung a screen in the trees and set up his projector to play The Princess Bride during the party. We left the sound low so the movie was really just there for ambience, and it was one of my favorite parts of the evening.
K did the lights himself, and we put a couple of tables under them in case people felt like sitting, but hardly anyone did, preferring instead to congregate around the fires and the food. And speaking of food--
We set up a buffet table on the deck and served s’mores and popcorn. Guests chose from three kinds of marshmallows (chocolate, caramel, and HUGE) and three kinds of chocolate (traditional milk chocolate, peanut butter cups, and cookies and cream). We also had three kinds of popcorn (butter, cheese, and homemade caramel). Some of the photos were taken just as the very first guests were arriving and before we had finished putting out all the food, but you get the idea.
I have to say—and I’m glad I’m typing this next part instead of saying it face to face because I am likely to embarrass myself by getting teary--I have been planning this party in my head for a loooong time. Before Ryan and Meredith were expecting this baby, even. And it was such an honor and privilege to do it for them. Congratulations to our best-est friends, R + M! Over the years we’ve shared a lot of campfires together, even more laughs, and, yes, some tears. We’re so happy to share your joy with you now. And to little Baby Girl Mullen—you’ve made your parents so happy already. We can’t wait to meet you.
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what are you up to this weekend? we're throwing a little pre-baby bash for our friends ryan and meredith who are expecting the arrival of a little girl in just a few weeks. (yay!)
i think every new baby deserves to be celebrated, but this one especially. :)
cross your fingers for perfect sweater weather! we have music + a bonfire + s'mores + lots of twinkle lights planned for the evening. i'm excited! and nervous. i hope people come!
(i know that guy-girl baby showers are not the norm. have you ever been to one? what was it like? i hear that some of the guys are a little wary--maybe they think we're going to make them eat baby food or something?--but i think it's going to be fun!)
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it's impossible for me to ever feel prideful about being a "fun" mom because, well, dad is always funner. (more fun?) see! case in point. they'll always remember him as the kind of person who took them to the park and thought up tying a rope between two trees so they could climb them (drawing a crowd of other eager kids + families in the process). meanwhile, i fully expect to exist in their memories as that woman with the large hair and the weird obsession about the rules of grammar.
in other words--
yeah, i co-parent with this guy. and it is kind of awesome.
(also, go climb a tree today if you can.)
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i decided to make browsing our past halloween costumes easy by putting them all in one place. i hope it's helpful to someone, or at least mildly interesting. :)
2004: chicken
2005: butterfly
2006: dorothy + toto
2007: princess leia + yoda
2008: pig + chicken
2009: woodland fairy + batman + polar bear
2010: witch + vampire + spider
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2011: hermione granger + puss in boots + mouse
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i wish i had a better photo, but here's another example of what you can do with tights and a bodysuit + some accessories.
stay tuned for a roundup of all our past halloween kid costumes, coming up!
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that's olivia in the top photo and asher in the bottom. scout will get her turn too, i hope, but, even though she's 2 like they were, she still has some growing to do.
costumes at this age are great, aren't they? so many possibilities with the right embellishments + just 3 easy-to-find basics: tights/leggings, a bodysuit, and a pilot cap.
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here's a project for the junior sleuth, spy, writer, artist, list-maker, etc.
keep a favorite pen handy at all times by making it into a necklace!
choose a pen with a lid. screw a small metal eye into the pen lid. (you can find these at any hardware store.) the eye should go right in, but if you have any trouble, try drilling a tiny hole first. thread a piece of string or ribbon through the eye. cut the string to your desired length, knot it, and wear your new pen necklace proudly!
[note: we made these as a craft + party favor at olivia's ghostwriter party.]
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i'm still sort of surprised this worked!
to make these secret message ice cream floats for olivia's ghostwriter birthday party, we first wrote a message on clear plastic cups with a turquoise permanent marker. then using a red marker we drew a series of x's over the message to obscure/encrypt it. (i like how the result is sort of an argyle pattern.) at the end of the party we revealed the secret message ("happy birthday olivia") by filling each cup with red soda + a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
[click the photos above to enlarge them + see the effect more clearly.]
for another execution of the same effect, see the party invitations here.
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her hair + that expression just kill me.
princess leia's costume: my mom made the dress. (note for other DIY-ers: she used a pattern for an angel costume.) the belt is a DIY by k. i believe a wide piece of elastic, grommets, and aluminum foil were used.
yoda's costume: this one was a store purchase. (i was intimidated by the ears.) and just like toto's ears, they still remain in pretty heavy dress-up rotation around here.
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