Still looking for a last minute Halloween costume? Feel free to borrow my idea! I was ME - just a younger version! 

We attended a last minute party last night – filling in for some missing team members in my parents bowling league (I bowled my average 103, but Brady bowled like the series of his life – almost hitting 200 one game!).

Given that it’s the week before Halloween, costumes were optional, so I couldn’t resist and took my own advice – I was #TBT (aka Throwback Thursday).

Here’s how I pulled this one off:

·         I went to the mall with a series of pictures from my youth with the intention of replicating one of my outfits.

·         My blue shapes sweater 1^st grade pic was the easiest and most cost effective to pull off, but finding a blue sweater was a pain in the butt. I finally found one at Target for $21.

·         I purchased some felt for the shapes for $3. The necklace was a few bucks from Claire’s.

·         After scoring such deals, I decided to make the Instagram frame. The posterboard was under $5.

·         Making the sweater was easy…the Instagram frame was a bit tricker. I cut printed the word Instagram on two 8x10 prices of paper and then cut it out in just a solid white.

·         I took a screenshot of an Instagram pic and then cropped the buttons, made them bigger and then glued them to the board.

In the end, it was a cheap, easy costume that was perfect for bowling!  

If you are celebrating Halloween with your ghoul-friends (see what I did there) this weekend, then you may be looking for some festive sippers to celebrate.

Here are some brews to consider:

·         Vampire they also make

·         Dracula and

·         True Blood

·         Witches Brew

·         7 Deadly Zins

·         Daddy Long Legs  - this one is expensive!

·         Scarecrow Cab – and even MORE expensive! 

Since I seriously can’t possibly add another pair of bowed shoes to my closet, I figured that I’d share a list of bowed shoes here.

1.      Manolo Blahnik

2.      Alice + Olivia

3.      Tory Burch

4.      Steven by Steve Madden

5.      J. Crew

6.      Kate Spade

OMG you guys. I don’t have any Halloween plans this year! You know what that mean? NO plans for a costume! Eek! I mean this may break a 32-year-old tradition! I can’t even think of the last time I didn’t dress up! And I’m the girl with an arsenal of costume ideas in a secret folder!

I have faith that my readers are cooler than me, so I’ll still share my annual list of Halloween ideas with you all!

(source)

2013 Shot of Brandi Pop Culture Halloween Costumes

·         What The Fox Say: This would fantastic for a group theme. One person is a fox, and the rest are the animals. Bonus points for learning the dance moves!

·         Amanda Bynes: Sorry – I know there are some sensitivities here because this kinda deals with mental illness, but once I saw her in court earlier this year with that blonde wig, I knew this would make it on my Halloween list.

·         Sharknado: The best-worst made-for-TV movie of the year. Tornado costume with sharks.

·         Miley Cyrus: I should say DO NOT do this one – it’s too obvious. Add a Robin Thicke in a striped suit for an MTV Music Awards couple costume.

·         Government Shutdown: Park rangers, zoo keepers, congressmen…dress as your favorite employee put out of work.

·         Rubber Duck: If you live in Pittsburgh, this would be a hit.

·         #TBT: Throwback Thursday – be a picture of yourself from a yesteryear!

·         Royal Baby: Diaper. Crown. Enough said. Oh and I didn’t want to mention this because I hate Kim K, but baby North West is a potential idea. 

·         Catfishing: Based on the popularity of the show and the Manti Te’o scandal earlier this year, a little pun costume could be a cat with a fishing rod!

Costumes Ideas That Need To Be Retired:

·         Black Swan/White Swan

·         The Cast of the Hangover

·         Bath Loofah(s)

Back in 2010 in my 250^th blog post, I said that macarons just may bump the cupcake off its pedestal as the “it” sweet treat.

Here we are, three years later and a popular cupcake location here in Pittsburgh closed in the last month and what opened? A French bakery specializing in…you guessed it: Macarons.

The hubs and I picked up a six pack this past weekend at the new Gaby et Jules in Squirrel Hill. While I don’t believe they are as tasty as cupcakes, they are rather adorable, make for a cute little gift AND are a bit less expensive ($13 for six). 

While Gaby et Jules doesn't have ordering information online, I'd totally look into them for party favors or gifts! 

I mean, some of these are so adorable, whooo gives a hoot about the price ; ) When you have a piece of cute owl apparel, everything is going to be owlright.

1.      Kate Spade Purse

2.      Kate Spade Clutch

3.      Anthropologie Sweater

4.      Kate Spade Earrings

5.      Marc Jacobs Shoes

6.      J. Crew Shirt

7.      Anna Sui Hat

Sorry if I’m a little late to the game on this one, but I just had to gush about my new beauty find. I’ve been looking for a good blush for about a year now and last week I spontaneously wandered over to this beauty.

Marc Jacobs, designer behind his namesake brand and Louis Vuitton, now has his own makeup line….and it’s life-changing! I’ve been looking for a blush that picks up nicely on to my brush. I tried a number of different blushes in a variety of price points – a Cover Girl, Stilla and Mac and none of them were hitting the mark. After one little brush of my finger on the Marc Jacobsto my hand, I was sold. Like seriously – this was a 1.1 minute decision.

When I was checking out, the lady at Sephora said that someone recently came into the store and fell so in love with the blush line, she bought them all.

I know the price is a bit steep on this one, but I only buy one blush a year and I wear it daily, so when you do the math, it’s a good investment (.8 cents a day!).