Last Minute & Envious

Happy November! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend of frightful festivities!

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my last minute costume. Not sure of my homework situation this weekend, I put off putting a costume together until quite literally the last minute. The night before my friend's party, I thought of a few different ideas, not sure yet which one I'd go with. And on the night of, I decided to be Green with Envy! Taking my own little twist on this common expression, I donned a green dress (though in hindsight it doesn't come off as green in pictures as it does in real life!) and a handmade sign that took me all of 10 minutes to make. 

Overall it was a hit, although there were a few people (who obviously had already started drinking the party punch) that I had to explain this very common expression to.

When I actually went to put on my outfit, the full Rock It necklace seemed a bit over powering. Thankfully Premier is all about versatility, and I just unclipped one chain and kept it simple! Did anyone else wait until the last minute to decide on a costume? What did y'all dress up as?

Outfit Details

Gilli Dress from Modcloth (old) /  Bandolino Heels

Premier Designs Jewelry: Rock It necklace, Rocky Cove earrings

--Caroline

Halloween Porch Decor

I have mentioned a couple times now about the porch decorating contest my apartment complex is putting on for Halloween. There are 3 prizes, all various amounts off rent, so obviously I was interested! Of course, it had to be at a low cost, because I didn't want to spend too much and then not end up winning. Today I'm sharing my final design, as well as my tricks for keeping it low cost.

 

For the wreath, I used my fall wreath as the base, removed the floral spray, wrapped it in a black Halloween fabric I had on hand already from a Halloween past. I added a small pumpkin that I picked up at the dollar store, and I cut off part of my spider web and wrapped it around to finish the wreath off. 

And there you have it, the final result! Other residents in my complex went for creepy zombie-inspired porches, but I decided to go more of a cute Halloween route. In the end, I spent a total of $36. It was a little more than I was planning on spending, but I had to keep up with the competition! And the pumpkins will stay on my porch for the rest of the fall, so I kind of don't count those :)

Wreath Project: $1

Spider Web: $2

Pumpkin Garland: $2

Lights: $4

Pumpkins: $18

Pumpkin Sleeves: left over from years prior

Boo Sign: $9

The complex is taking pictures today, and then voting will be on Facebook. I will post the link on This Styled Life's Facebook page, so I'd appreciate you all liking my porch's picture! Winners are selected based on Facebook Likes.

Did you decorate your porch for Halloween? Do you have any low-cost tricks you used?

--Caroline

Five Friday Favorites

Some of today's Five Friday Favorites go back a little more than a week, since I'm playing catch-up here on TSL. But it's nice to be back into the rhythm of blogging again, now that I have rejuvenated my creative juices!

1. My apartment complex is doing a Halloween porch decorating contest, and I'm trying to win! Since I started decorating though, several other porches have stepped up their game, and since I'm trying to keep mine as low-budget as possible I am going to have to get creative. Next week I'll be sharing my final porch design, so wish me luck as I add the finishing touches! 

2. I started the Save the Date design process with Wedding Paper Divas after receiving my sample package in the mail, and I just got the email yesterday that they are being shipped. Eeepp! I'm so excited! 

3. Last weekend, my parents flew out from Colorado to spend the weekend with my brother and I, creating their own parents weekend. (The university wide one is Halloween weekend, not sure who thought that would be a good idea!) We went to the game, my dad did his thing fixing a couple things in my apartment, and my kitty Berlioz loved having more people here to love on him!

4. I broke out my tripod and took a ton of outfit pictures that you'll see in the coming weeks on TSL. I finally felt all this outfit creativity coming to me, which was so nice! It helped that the light in my bedroom was just perfect for pictures... I find that when I'm using my tripod (inside, because I think my neighbors would think I was quite strange posing for my own pictures outside in my apartment complex) the light coming in from the windows has to be just right, otherwise they come out not so great. 

5. We have, of course, started our second and final project of the semester in Studio 4. Not sure what direction I wanted to go with finishes, and because they look so different in person than they do on the computer, I ordered about 50 free samples through different companies. Some of my carpet samples came in, and they are certainly not sample-sized!! Holy cow! I could create a small rug with these guys! #CarpetSamplesForDays 

Wishing a happy weekend to all my readers!

--Caroline

Throwbacks of Costumes Past

In keeping with last week's nostalgia and in honor of Halloween being tomorrow, I thought I'd share some of my favorite costumes from my past! Not pictured is the very epic costume I came up with in 5th grade: a cat-witch-princess. I couldn't pick just one, so I decided to be all three at once! I'm sure it looked amazing. (Not!)

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's: This was my costume my senior year of high school, and after Halloween my science teacher continued to call me Audrey. So I guess that means I played the role well?

Mrs. Peacock from Clue: My first Halloween at SCAD, this is what I wore. My dad even made me a noose and mailed it to me. Bad parenting? Nah, he just was happy to play with making knots.

Queen Midas: Another look from SCAD. Let me just tell you, everyone went all out for Halloween, although I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise considering it's an art college. The gold body paint I used stained my shower floor for a couple weeks after Halloween! Such a fun costume though.

1920's Flapper: This was for a sorority date function, and I already had a dress that worked as a flapper dress, so I was pretty happy about that!

Katy Perry: Rockin' that blue wig! My friend had a Katy Perry themed party, and I was at a loss on what to wear until I realized I had the perfect sequin & nude dress hanging in my closet, and all I was missing was a blue wig!

So what did I decide to dress up as this year for Halloween? Stay tuned!

--Caroline

DIY Halloween Ideas

Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Even though I'm not 100% sure of my Halloween plans yet, I need to start thinking about costume ideas, since we are about 2 weeks away! Since I'm on a college student budget, I'd love to be able to shop my closet, or pick something I can find easily at a thrift store. I already have a blue wig, which would work for the Katy Perry costume or Thing One & Two. I can pull some white pieces together for the Flo costume, and I have everything minus a good hat for the scarecrow costume. I love the uniqueness of the Girl With A Pearl Earring costume, and that fuels my love for art. And in all my 22 years of Halloweens I haven't seen a strawberry, a Morton Salt Girl, or a recreation of the iconic V-Day photo. I'm certainly all for originality!

How will I ever decide?! What are you wearing for Halloween?

--Caroline