Essential Halloween Tunes.

Why does Christmas music get all the attention? I know there aren't any songs specifically for Halloween but there are songs that work for the holiday. I love Halloween and I have compiled a list of songs that can help put you in a festive mood. Some are silly and some are spooky and none are the typical picks.




My Wife and My Dead Wife: Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians. 

This song is great and so is Robyn Hitchcock. If you haven't listened to "Fegmania", the album this song comes from, then go pick up a copy!


Dead Man's Party: Oingo Boingo

Beware, it is said that those who listen to this song will have it stuck in their heads for days. 

The Boogie Man: Todd Rollins

I like this song but I refuse to listen to it at night especially if I'm alone. The music is great at setting a creepy mood though.

Bark at the Moon: Ozzy Osbourne

I really like this video, I also find werewolves interesting. How could you not like Ozzy Osbourne!

Home by the Sea: Genesis

I know I'm probably going to get some flack for putting a Genesis song on here but it fits the mood. To me this song is about getting trapped in a haunted house where the spirits force you to listen to their story. There's even a whole tone scale in the song!

Danse Macabre: Camille Saint-Saens

My high school music theory teacher would play this song every Halloween. I have a bit of a soft spot for it. 

Wolf Like Me: TV on the Radio

This tune is fantastic to drive to, especially on the night of a full moon. 

Night on Bald Mountain: Modest Mussorgsky

Fantasia was my favorite movie as a child and it's my favorite movie as an adult. When I was a child I would have to leave the room when this segment came on. 

I Put a Spell on You: Screamin' Kay Hawkins

Look no further, this is the only version of this song you will ever need to hear.

What are some of your favorite tuned to listen to for Halloween? I'm always looking to add to my Halloween playlist so send me your recommendations!

How I celebrate Halloween.

This weekend was packed with activities! On Friday night Jeremy and I went to see 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and the Levoy theater in Millville and on Saturday my Sister threw a halloween party. Today is homework day, blech.


Jeremy wanted to dress in drag to see Rocky Horror and he went on the hunt for a pair of high heels at the beginning of the week. He needed a size 13 and shoe shopping was looking futile until he went to Payless. The clerk was very creeped out when Jeremy came in requesting a pair of size 13 pumps and claiming he wanted to look like a hooker. I had one day to teach this man to walk in heels. It's very interesting to teach the man you love how to walk like a classy lady. Jeremy reminded me of a newborn deer when he began to walk in heels. I told him to spend as much time as he could in them to get used to them.

He's just like June Cleaver. 

Rocky Horror is a big thing for us. The year we started dating, Jeremy bought me tickets to see the live show in Atlantic city and we had a blast. I was really excited to learn that we could see the show so close to home and we've decided to see the show every year. 

The Rowan Gay Straight Alliance put on the production of Rocky Horror and they did a fantastic job! We had so much fun doing the shout outs and dancing to the Time Warp and I was so sad when we had to go home. 

Let me introduce you all to Lola. He worked very hard on his costume. 

I helped him with his nails. Don't they look fabulous 

This photo was taken from the Levoy facebook page. The theater is beautiful!

Me being obnoxious. I chose something simple, I didn't want to upstage Lola. 

We got home late and slept in. By the time we woke up we had time to watch half a movie and then it was time to get ready for the Halloween party my sister put together. She always puts on a great party and she always has a lot of great food!

Jeremy decided to be Inspector Clouseau and I chose to be a flapper. Jeremy had an easy time putting his costume together. The only difficult part was finding his trench coat but I eventually found one at the Vineland Salvation Army. 

I had a hard time finding a flapper costume that was accurate for the time period and affordable was a challenge. Then I remembered I had a dress that could work for a flapper look. I had bought it two years ago and have only worn it twice. 

Some characteristics of the flapper look were short hemlines, drop waist or no waists and many of the dresses had ornate beading. The dresses you find at Halloween stores aren't an accurate representation of flapper fashions. It is possible to channel the flapper vibe with modern pieces. 

You can't see it in this photo but the dress has two large pieces of draped fabric on either side. The only pieces I bought for the costume were the lace headband and the feather clip I put on it. Everything else was pulled from my closet and jewelry box. 

I tried to pull off a vampish 20's style makeup with help from the book 'Making Faces' by Kevyn Aucoin. If you don't already have the book then you must pick up a copy! I got mine for 25 cents at a library book sale. It has pages of make up tutorials and they are so easy to follow!

Flapper makeup included dramatic dark eye makeup, rouge and dark lipstick. It's not that hard to do and it's super easy if you follow the instructions in 'Making Faces'. After I got my face put on, it was time for the party!

I'm amazed at what a fantastic Inspector Clouseau Jeremy makes! 

We had bought this adorable little jester costume for Ginger to wear. He acted like we were trying to murder him and it only stayed on long enough to take some pictures. I still think it was an adorable costume. 

My sister set up guessing stations to win prizes at the party. Jeremy won almost every game.

 Here's my sister giving Jeremy yet another prize. I think they had the games fixed!

 We played Halloween bingo and Jeremy won most of the games. I won once and my Mommom won a couple of times.

My sister likes to lump Halloween and Thanksgiving together, so we played pin the hat on the turkey. Here's Mommom pinning a hat. None of us came close. 

What are you going to be for Halloween? What are you're Halloween traditions? 

Megan's music Tuesday.

It's Tuesday and you know what that means! Music post! I've been a bit lax with these the past couple of weeks, sorry.

We've had a splendid 3 days of marriage so far. We have received a couple of negative comments though and I'm trying not to let it spoil how happy I am. I've had a newlywed glow the past couple of days, it's great for your skin. I'm trying to ignore the comments but they really hurt. It's sad that people try to belittle and destroy what they don't understand, hopefully one day these naysayers will learn. This is a very revealing time though, some people are really revealing their true character.

Ignorant comments aside, we're having a ball! We have a big weekend planned, we're going to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show and my sister is having a Halloween party! I know what you're all thinking, get to the music already!


Today I'm going to post some of my favorite love songs and a couple songs that Jeremy and I played at our wedding.

Let it be Me-Bobby Darin

Did you really think there would be no Bobby Darin? This is such a beautiful song and it's what we chose to be our song.

Now we're one- Bobby Darin

This is the last one I swear! This is such a happy song.

You Baby-The Turtles

The Turtles are fantastic! If you haven't listened to them beyong 'Happy Together' then you are missing out.  This is one of my favorite love songs. It's so upbeat and fun, great to drive to. 

Love you till the end- The Pouges

This is a beautiful tune and it's on my list of favorite love songs. I love that soft guitar and the build of the song. 

I hope you enjoyed this short Tuesday music post. What are your favorite love songs?

My weather is finally here!

I thrive in the Fall and Winter. I enjoy Spring and I despise Summer. I love being cozy with Jeremy, mulling cider, walking around in the cloudy fall days, I love everything about it! Fall officially started on September 23 and I have been waiting ever since then for the weather to feel truly like Fall. Today, it finally happened! The leaves are already changing color and falling and I love to see the fiery hues of the trees and I love to feel the crispness in the air. I am also happy that I can break out my vintage fall finery, and today I did just that!

I bought this thick polyester drop waist dress over the summer at the Vineland Salvation Army. I place it as being from the 60's. Drop waist dresses came back into style in the 60's, it was an echo of the 1920's. The handbag was from 'A Blast From The Past' in Vineland. It's has a plastic tortoise shell styled handle and the bag itself is furry! It's a very unique accessory and got me many stares at the grocery store today. The shoes were my Mommom's, I told you she has fantastic taste!

I thought the front of my house would be a nice setting for photos. I love Fall colors, the orange of the pumpkins and the browns and reds of the leaves. 

My Mom planted these pretty mums and look how lovely the leaves on the Dogwood tree behind me are!

Today, Jeremy and I went grocery shopping and I popped into a thrift shop. I didn't buy any clothes at the shop but I did buy Maureen McCormick's book. Yes, Marcia Brady wrote a fantastic memoir, I couldn't put it down and I'm half way finished. I recommend it to anyone who has watched The Brady Bunch. Then we went to Shop-Rite in Vineland and got a few odds and ends and picked up some essentials (wine) and the adjoining liquor store. It was a beautiful Fall day and I am looking forward to the rest of the Fall season and I am fully anticipating the Winter. 

So,what do you think of the outfit? It made me feel pretty confident but I did get one disapproving stare at the grocery store. That made me feel bad for a second. You have to wear what makes you feel good! What is your favorite season readers? Do you all share my love for the Fall and Winter?

A day in the life of a blogger, student, vintage lover, kitten wrangler, and er...ugh, fiancée

Remember my reluctance to say this word? Remember this post? I just feel so stupid saying it as it really doesn't reflect our relationship. I was toying around with the idea of using 'lover' but that just makes me think of 70's swingers, so I'm stuck. This is in no was a rant post. Please don't click away!

Since the fall semester started I've been busy, I've had a lot of homework. School doesn't leave me with a lot of time to tend to all of my interests and spend time with Jeremy. I've found that I have to do a lot more planning now. I have a planner, a blog planning notebook, a notebook for my purse, for general ideas, a diary...it's madness

This is only a smidgen of the journals I write in almost daily. 

I've started to plan dates for Jeremy and I to go on. We are both students and Jeremy works nights, so we have very little money and only a couple times a day when we are both coherent enough to spend time with each other. So, planning is key! Jeremy has off Monday nights so I planned a date for the night. I bought all the ingredients for a fantastic Japanese inspired dinner when I went grocery shopping on Friday and I planned a night around it.

I've never met anyone that enjoys Mondays and I've never met anyone that didn't wear more than one hat. I feel like I play thousand different roles each day. Yesterday,  I woke up at my Mommom's house,since I sleep there half the week and at my house the other half of the week, and I went to school. I am a Graphic Design major and I stupidly saved my general education courses for the end of my time at school. I am with a lot of people fresh out of high school and while I get some laughs out of it most of the time it's exhausting. For me, being around people is exhausting. I like talking to friends and going out but it gets tiring after awhile.

When I was all finished up at school I went home, so I could attend to kittens, Ginger, homework, the 400 programs Jeremy and I have saved on Netflix, my much neglected Yoga practice, and the headline of our evening, our dinner date! I have a big history quiz to study for tomorrow so I decided to to fit some extra study time in while I cooked the brown rice.

Sorry if I shattered any illusions you may have had but I don't study in a dress and pearls.

I got dinner ready, typed, researched my interests, studied world civilization and watched two kittens and Ginger in a frenzied two hours. I was so excited when it was time for dinner! I made something simple but delicious. I boiled some brown rice and added a bit of rice vinegar. Then I boiled the seafood medley which included octopus, shrimp, muscles and scallops. While all of this was going on I microwaved frozen mixed veggies. After everything was finished I put it on a plate separately, per Jeremy's request. I then added some sweet and sour sauce to the side of each of our plates.

I think he was just happy we weren't having tacos. Incidentally we're having Tacos tonight.

We get dressed up for our date nights at home. My Mommom told me that when her and my Poppop were first married they used to do the same thing on a regular basis. I wore a beaded dress that I picked up at the Vineland Salvation Army. I went to buy school clothes and only school clothes. I walked away with a beaded evening dress, I'm not sure what school I think I'm going to.

Where the magic happened. 

Ginger wanted to dine with his parents. 

My jewels. The necklace was a birthday gift from Jeremy from "A Blast From the Past". The earrings I've had for ages and I really don't remember where I got them and that's my engagement ring.

After dinner Jeremy went to bed, he was tired from working the previous night. So we extended our date into today. So I bid you adieu readers. We're going to watch Monty Python's Flying Circus and then have a taco dinner. 

Ah Friday, time to sit back and reflect.

It has come to my attention that there is now a 'flashback Friday' as well as a 'throwback Thursday' and I don't know about you but I love it! I think these two little social media trends are a great time to reflect on our lives what a great way to start an internal dialogue about ourselves! Alright, I guess the majority of people don't think of #tbt as a profound day of self exploration (I used a hash tag purely as an example, I never use them otherwise. I swear I;m not one of those people who says 'lol' and 'smh' in everyday conversation)

I realize that this is a vintage/thrifting blog and I've been neglecting those topics lately. For the last couple of days I've been thinking about how I came to be the vintage lover I am today.

I have always been interested in everything vintage. I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents and my fraternal great-Grandmother when I was little and I think that from the things that they taught me, and even being around them in their homes, taught me an appreciation for the past. My love for Nick at Nite and TV land did not help much either. Oh and my first favorite band was The Carpenters. When I was ten years old I was obsessed with ABBA and that solidified my love for 70's fashion So now you can get a sense of what I was working with as a small child.

Cut to 2010, in the beginning of the year I was floating through life. In fact, ever since I graduated high school in 2008 I'd been floating through life but in the beginning of 2010 I was tired of just being there. I had been looking at a lot of Bettie Page pictures and I decided I wanted to try my hand at pin-up modeling and so in July of 2010 I did my first pin-up/vintage styled shoot with Synthesis Photography.

Just getting my feet wet in modeling and giving off a vintage vibe. I was so inexperienced in pin up on this shoot so here's one from the vintage styled evening gown part of the shoot.

This shoot marked the end of my drifting period. I had something to throw my energy into and something that made me feel like myself! I wanted to learn all I could about vintage fashion and every facet of life that went along with the fashionable 20th century! 

So now I had a passion but I had not one vintage article to call my own. I also didn't have a lot of confidence to dress the way I wanted to every day. When I think of vintage I think of loud looks and I feel the need to dress up every single day. I don't understand the word 'casual' at all and when I wear my vintage duds this is amplified. In December of 2010, after months of cocooning, I gathered  the confidence to step out in a vintage inspired look. Since I am my own worst critic, I look at this outfit as a crude prototype of what was to come. 

I must say Jeremy looks all the better when he's in a suit. He doesn't look bad normally but the suit sends me over the top. 

I will skip right to 2012 since 2011 was such an awful year, it was another drifter year for me. Anyway, at the end of 2012 I started to surround myself with everything vintage. I got a fantastic black 50's dress from my Mommom that year which I wore of Christmas day. 

This is a priceless dress, and one of my favorites. 

Since Christmas day 2012 my vintage collection has grown immensely! I still have so many outfits to show to you, dear readers! I have found one of my raison d'être. I say one of since I have so many things that interest me and keep me going now. It's boring to only have one interest. 

It's awful to be floating through life but I do believe it's necessary for self discovery. As much as I wish I had everything figured out in those drifting years, I am glad I had them. I was in my own little cocoon where I could figure myself out, and I emerged as a beautiful vintage butterfly!  

So, dear readers, was there a time when you were adrift in life. What did you finally turn out to be. Perhaps you're still drifting and that's alright! To my vintage lovers, how did you stumble upon vintage? I want to know your stories, readers!

Musical motivation.

It's Tuesday and you all know what that means, music post! I know you've been looking forward to this since last week.

I have a lot of music on my iPod. If I put it on shuffle then I am forever clicking away until I find something I want to hear, so I decided to make playlists. I have a playlist for moods that I frequently experience, decade playlists, and playlists to get me in a mood. I want to share my motivational playlist with you.

I am constantly adding to a playlist I call, "I'm not down". The list got its name from the Clash song and it's a list of songs that make me feel confident and motivated. I listen to these songs in the morning on my way to school or whenever I feel small. I'm not going to give you the full list because it would take an awfully long time, so here are some highlights.

I'm Not Down-The Clash

I might as well begin the list with the song that gave the list its name. This song makes me feel that no matter what happens in my day I will be okay. That's the reassurance I often need. 

As Long As I'm Singing-Bobby Darin

"As long as I'm singing, then the world's alright and everything is swinging". Bobby Darin wrote this song and it's just so up beat and jazzy. Every time I hear this it makes me feel like everything is okay just keep going. 

I'm Still Here-Yvonne DeCarlo

I bet you didn't know Lilly Munster could sing! This triumphant tune is from the musical 'Follies'. Clearly the woman in the song has been through a lot of tough times but she's celebrating the fact that she's still kicking. 

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life-Monty Python

 

My final selection for everyone is a song that never fails to make me smile. I can be having the absolute worst day and 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' will make it so much better. This may sound odd to some people but this song really puts life into perspective. If you think you have it bad now then remember that one day you're going to die. It makes your problems seem so small and it reminds you to laugh and find the humor in life. 

Well I hope you liked the songs I listed. Maybe you have been a fan of them for years or maybe you discovered a few new tunes. Does anyone else organize their music into playlists? If so what themes do you have?