Glimpses Of Halloween At Home

I don't go too crazy with Halloween around here.
We don't get Trick-Or-Treaters, but I do like to put out my decorations for us to enjoy.
I made a lamp into this scary-looking creature by just placing my creepiest mask over the lampshade and adding "eyes" that were cut out from a Halloween card years ago:

This little vignette is atop the dining room buffet:

I put an old paper skeleton mask into my vintage costume box and added a light behind it - this is in the foyer:

My Jack-O-Lantern has spiders in his eyes:

I found this vintage Casper game board at a thrift store - a cute and easy Halloween display item:

I always decorate my little shelf in the sunroom window:

Another Jack-O-Lantern; I love the electric ones because I can just put them all on timers. And flickering battery-operated tealights look great inside these little votives:

Here's a picture (below) of the foyer display in the daytime.
It looks better at night!
All except the pumpkin mask are vintage and were used by my husband and his brother back in the 1950's!

I even found a simple mask for my pretty lady bust:

But this guy has to be my favorite:

Wishing you a not-too-scary Halloween!

A Birthday Trip To Ashland, Courtesy Of Tina

My sister Tina treated me to a delightful trip to Ashland, Oregon for my birthday. We had such a wonderful time!
The first night, we had the pleasure of staying with some friends at their home in Shady Cove, and the following two nights, we stayed at this gorgeous place:

The McCall House Bed And Breakfast in Ashland - isn't it fabulous?

Pretty marigolds outside our door:

We were in the Carriage House, located back behind the main house.
It was really, nice quiet and comfortable:

A nice, autumnal welcome at the front door:

One of the front parlors in the main house is seen below:

The yard was so pretty with fall color:

We enjoyed our stay there immensely. The breakfasts were wonderful too:

 ....... and we enjoyed our conversation with our table-mates so much the first day that we were wanting to linger longer!
Oh, and we even had sherry in our room to enjoy in the afternoon.
Such a beautiful place:

One night we had dinner at Martino's, which was pretty much right up the street. I had the Scampi and it was utterly delicious. In fact, I ate too much because it was so good I didn't want to leave any and we couldn't take it with us.
 Every place we went was within walking distance, which was certainly convenient! It rained  only once, and we just took our umbrellas with us - no problem.
I tried to get pictures of the great Halloween decorations they had inside the restaurant:

My photos don't really do it justice:

Last of all today, here is the solution to the "mystery" I posted on October 16th. The reason why I was reading the book?
We went to see a production of "A Wrinkle In Time" based on the novel!
We were incredibly impressed at the caliber of the imagination and creativity that was used to bring this fantastic story to life on the stage.
It was spectacular:

We LOVED it.
Thank you, Tina, SO much! 

Halloween Plans

What are your plans for Halloween?

We never get trick-or-treaters here in the boondocks, so we don't worry about being at home.

I am going to get dressed up in my El Dorado Rose finery and along with Dolores, last year's Rose, and her friend Lois, visit the elderly folks at the Placerville Pines home in town. Lois is making treats for us to hand out. I am looking forward to our excursion, it will bring back memories, since I worked there as a nurse's aide about 42 years ago.

After our visit we are going down to Main Street, which will be closed to traffic so all the little costumed munchkins can beg candy from store to store. Ought to be a fun time!

Whatever your plans for this Friday, have a happy Halloween!

Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns, Tricks, And Treats

I'm starting off today's post with this cute 1938 advertisement for Karo syrup featuring the Dionne Quintuplets:

 So cute!
I often save odd scraps of paper just because they appeal to me.

The "Trick Or Treat" one you see above was, I believe, from a dog food advertisement, of all things!
 I just liked it, so I cut it out and scanned it.
All through the year, I like to pick up assorted little things at thrift shops to use for holiday decorations.
 Each of the pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns you see below sitting beneath the photo display stand were found since last Halloween:

I scanned this cute image out of a vintage child's alphabet book:

The next two images are from a 1980's Paas Brand Halloween Makeup Kit insert.
 It had a little story that went with it:

Not too spooky "haunted house":

I came home on my birthday, and after I got back, we went to the grocery store. This is my Birthday/Halloween cupcake from the bakery at Safeway:

And, one last thing - I also found a cute pair of socks for Halloween, (new with tags) at a thrift store:

If you come and trick or treat at my door, you may just find me wearing these!

Patterns From The Past: Simplicity Costumes For Halloween, Circa 1970

Today's installment of  "Patterns From The Past" is all about cute costumes!
First up, this absolutely adorable little witch in her costume made from Simplicity Pattern number 9052:

Here's the front of the vintage pattern, below - just add a broomstick, and you're off......:

And this dear little lady might be heading off to join the circus in her clown costume crafted with the help of Simplicity Pattern number 9051.
All done up in red and white stripes and polka-dots:

Take the same pattern and do it with ruffles and rick-rack, add some pom poms and patches - cute!

And on the front of that pattern, you see the two different styles, in different color combinations.
 (Boy, the possibilities are endless with this one!)

Last of all, we have the dearest little bunny rabbit from Simplicity Pattern number 9050.
 This costume would certainly keep your little one warm, if Halloween night is a cold one where you live.
It looks so sweet in white with pink......

And it looks great in pink with white, too, as seen here on the pattern front.
 She could be a rabbit at Halloween time, or an Easter Bunny come spring:

Oh, I'm feeling rather nostalgic for simpler days when children might have actually been happy to wear one of these sweet creations.
I'd like to think there are some kids who would still like them, even today.

Wicked, Witchy Women?

 This witchy woman is an illustration out of a vintage book, and she wanted to wish you a frightful start to this Halloween week.
Frankly, I was afraid to tell her no, because.......

Who knows what sort of spells she may be casting while she dances around her cauldron in the night, as the bats fly about overhead?

I found a cute t-shirt at a thrift store:

 Not so wicked, really.
And the witch die-cut vintage decoration seen below was in an envelope with some other things at a yard sale. I just stuck it onto the front of my zodiac tray.
 I found the neat black cat votive holder at a thrift shop, and the orange enamelware tea kettle at another yard sale. It's orange and black- that makes it a Halloween decoration, as far as I'm concerned!

What are you cooking up in YOUR cauldron today??

A Creepy Picture For Halloween

Just a quick post today.....
I found this spooky-looking illustration and I framed it to use as a Halloween decoration:

Rather appropriately frightening for this upcoming holiday, don't you agree?

Another Costume - A Vintage One, This Time....

I have never owned one of these vintage costumes before.
But when I saw this one in the original box, I decided I needed to make it mine:

I rationalized that I could also use the box when decorating.

I put the costume on my other, older dress form "Maddy".

I found this silly mask you see below at a thrift store, too.
I had to stick a vintage tin canister upside-down over the neck of the form in order to put the mask on. I have added some "hair", too, since taking these photos, so that now her hair hides the tin that is, essentially serving as her head.
 (Hey, you can get pretty creative when you've got to work with what you have!
I found the canister at the same thrift store as the mask.)

Crazy, goofy skeleton monster gal:

Another item for the "not too scary" Halloween decoration displays at our house!

Margot Johnson's Vintage Zodiac Prints

I discovered this artist's fabulous prints some time ago.
Since today is October 23rd (and happens to also be my birthday!), we'll start with Scorpio here, and then go through the signs of the Zodiac from that point on:

I just found all of these images on the web, so I apologize for the poor quality of some of them.
Certainly, you can get the idea of how fantastic they are, at least.
Sagittarius:

Capricorn:

Aquarius:

Pisces:

Aries:

Taurus:

Gemini:

Cancer:

Leo:

Virgo:

Libra:

These were "Hand Decorated Designs by Margot Johnson Exclusive With Soovia Janis, Inc. New York City".

Perhaps you can see why I, with my ardent fascination lately with pretty much all things 1960's and 1970's, have fallen in love with her fabulous artwork.
I love them so much that I wish I had every single framed print and I could cover an entire wall with them!
Interestingly enough, it says "the scorpion loves beauty and art". Hmm....is it any wonder I'm a collector? Seriously?
(Actually, I'm "on the cusp".)
 But I still think that's interesting.