Celia & Disturbia

2026 is off to a rocky start.  Barely out of a huge family holiday drama and we had a big trip and a couple of medical emergencies back to back to back.  I'm kind of tired already, but such is life and we just keep going.  We drove in all the winter chill to an out of state graduation that was in a small town in the middle of no where...and I loved it!  This tiny old town had so much history, tiny little eateries, funky small bookstores, and even an antique store where I found both this lovely vintage necklace and beaded bag for a song.  I have recently tried a new-to-me brand called Disturbia and though I only purchased two pieces in total, I am very pleased with the results.    

I ended my No Buy challenge after 8 weeks, by making this purchase from Disturbia and one other dress from Unique-Vintage and just in time for this trip because I knew I might want to look at thrift or antique stores and decided to allow myself that flexibility. Also, I like to plan for success, which is why I knew I didn't want to be ratcheted down on my spending during a family trip.  It worked like a charm.  I enjoyed my time with my family, the pressure was off me financially, and  I only spent $20 at the antique shop with no regrets about the lovely pieces I found there.

As far as this Celia Moth dress from Disturbia, it's unlike anything else in my wardrobe, and since it's also been a while since I've done a Youtube review of a brand, you can check out the lengthy, long winded details  on the video below.

 Outfit Info: Celia Moth Dress from Disturbia, Use my link to get $10 off your first order of $60 or more.  (just a referral link, not an affiliate) Necklace and purse are vintage, shoes are old from SheIn

A Paw-fect Halloween

It's sort of become a tradition to wear one of these pet portrait dresses from Retrolicious each autumn.  I'm so glad they came out with this Halloween version this year.  I think it may be my favorite of all!

Outfit Info:  Haunted Hounds Fit & Flare Dress from Retrolicious, Heels from B.A.I.T., Bag is old from SheIn

My Three Draculas: Movie Review

Another movie review?  Didn't she just do one of these two weeks ago?  Yes.  Yes, she did.  However, October is the month for great movies in my opinion, and I've just watched a new vampire movie that's inspired a post comparing some of the latest and the greatest.  So, feast your eyes on my movie reviews just as Dracula feasts on virginal neck meats.  

3.  Nosferatu (2024).  This movie is a remake of a 1922 rip off of Dracula written by Henrik Galeen.  The story is as vapid as the ether where Ellen (the Mena character) and Count Orlock (obviously Dracula) meet.   It's clear in the 1922 version that they weren't really concerned about good writing, as all of their edits to Bram Stoker's work only worsened the story.  Bram Stoker's widow wasn't fooled by the changes either and won a lawsuit for copyright infringement against the film makers.  As a result, the judge ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed and only a few copies survived.  I have watched the 1922 version and loved it as a beautiful work of early film making.  However, there were a few cheap draws in it, namely the infamous boob grabbing scene, but this was pre-censorship and they were pushing the envelope. 

Flash forward 100 years and all of the changes in the 2024 release were big improvements!  This film has superb performances delivered by an all-star cast including Aaron Johnson and Lily Rose Depp.  Bill Skarsgard has established himself as one of the best creature/monster actors of all time, rivaling greats such as Doug Jones.  The cinematography also exceeds all expectations with truly breathtaking scenes from brilliant director Robert Eggers.  Heavy on gore and the creep factor, also there are a number of envelope pushing scenes as well.  This film has so much going for it and is in many ways superior to the others in my list, sadly there's only so much all this talent can do with such a flimsy story, and not every envelope needs pushing, which is why I ranked it last.

2.  Dracula: A Love Story. 2025. Directed & written by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), I truly did not expect a fresh take on a story written nearly 130 years ago, but Besson delivered a touching and elegant retelling of the classic story.  Unlike other iterations, this story is fairly low on the sex and gore aspects so frequently overused in vampire flicks, instead focusing on the devotion of a husband for his wife.  I always found it hypocritical that Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula claims to love Elisabeta more than any other while simultaneously keeping a harem and though making the journey to London specifically to find Mina, he shamelessly pursues and violates Lucy (which Mina walks in on).  Seems like he moved on from Elisabeta pretty well.  In Besson's version however, Vlad remains faithful to his wife, waiting for her reincarnation, creating female vampires only as agents of access to the closed off female world to help him search for Elisabeta.  Now this is a man who has crossed oceans of time (unfortunately, that lovely phrase never gets used) to find his beloved and redeem them both.  

The Van Helsing character, played by Christoph Waltz, is truer to Bram Stoker's original character in that he is a perfect blend of faith and science.  At one point he tells Count Vlad that God has not damned him to immortality,  but rather has extended his life in order that he may repent and reconcile with God.  Waltz is well established for his acting chops, but the rest of the cast, though relatively unknown, also deliver solid performances and the film is true to Besson's directing style.

1. Bram Stoker's Dracula. 1992. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This movie in my opinion remains the best.  What would drive a man to become a monster?  Betrayal, plain and simple.  Count Vlad loved his wife, but his love for God drove him to war. While he is fighting in the name of God, his enemies send false news of his death causing his wife, Elisabeta to take her own life.  Victorious in battle he returns to find his beloved is dead.  In his deepest moment of despair the priest (Van Helsing is an earlier life) tells him that her soul is damned because she took her life.  His devotion to God is rewarded by being separated from his true love in life and the afterlife? This gives rise to the bitterest feelings of betrayal.  He rejects God, curses him, and well, you know the rest.

This film uses only practical effects and has aged well.  The acting?  Gary Oldman always brings it, in fact I would say he carries this film.  Anthony Hopkins is solid though as the priest and the vampire hunter he always seems mad compared to Waltz's stoic steadiness.  The rest of the cast is just decent, and I truly question Keanu Reeves being cast as a Victorian dandy. The costume design was revolutionary and overall that combined with a higher creep factor is why this film narrowly beat out Besson and Eggers newer releases.

Pink Halloween

My house is in shambles.  Every single day at home since the spring has been spent renovating and it feels like we've made zero progress, It's an absolute disaster and I'm tired of working on it.  To top it all off, my laptop died suddenly with all my years of photos and passwords and bookmarks and I'm having to start over on a new machine.  I don't mean to complain, mostly because when I do some internet troll feels the need to criticize me for it (I don't publish those comments but I do get them), but I'm also human, I'm incredibly frustrated by the current state of things and I'm ready to just have my old normal life back.  To that end, and sadly once again, I do not think I will have a Halloween costume this year.  I did grab a couple of cute Retrolicious dresses from Modern Millie so I could at least attend a work party in style, but other than that, I'm afraid I have probably missed the spooky boat again this year.

Outfit Info:  Elizabeth dress in Pink Halloween from Retrolicious or Modern Millie, Cardigan from YeMak, Shoes from B.A.I.T. , Bag is old from SheIn

Witchy Wear

Two years in a row now I have not been able to think of a new Halloween costume.  When that happens, it's nice to have a back-up outfit that will work for parties or work events.  I'm so glad that collaboration came along just in time!  I love this little black cape dress from Milreason because it works for cocktail parties, special events, and it can easily double as a last minute Halloween costume by just adding the hat.  Throw in a black cat cross-body bag and a wand and I'm ready to go out on All Hallow's Eve, and I can keep it ready for wear all the rest of the year too.

Outfit Info:  Black Cape Dress from Milreason-$38.99

Outfit Collection: Halloween Costumes

I'm sure if I went back and re-read all my posts leading up to Halloween each year, I probably have said many times that I just don't have any ideas for a Halloween costume and then at the last minute, inspiration strikes and I pull something together.  Well, this year, I actually didn't come up with anything.  I mean nothing at all.  So, I thought I would just revisit all the previous years of costumes instead for this week's outfit collection.  Maybe I'll try to make up for it by doing something extra extravagant next year, but for now, let's take a look back at past Halloween faves.  Below you'll see Alice, Miss Peregrine, Fleur Delacour, Flapper Girl, Basic Witch, Marie Antoinette, and Evelyn from The Mummy. 

Potions and Such

Well, well, the season of the Witch is upon us once more and I thought if I were going to get pics in any of my Halloween themed clothes I'd better do it soon.  As many of you who've visited my blog more than once know, I am a huge fan of cardigans and sweaters.  And, as some of you may know from my Instagram posts, I recently won a contest hosted by YeMAK Sweaters.  

The prize was a $1000 gift card to YeMAK.  The card was only valid for a couple of months and only good for one use, which meant if I went there and spent $30 of my gift card on a purchase then it was over and done, so I had to buy $1000 worth of sweaters at once.  Since I'm a longtime fan of MAK, I decided to go big and just buy as much as my gift card would get me.

Of course I purchased my favorite style of cardigan in every possible color and then I decided to try a few other things like embroidered pullovers, a sweater dress, and this cute little polka dot Peter Pan collar sweater which just happens to perfectly match my Witch's Brew Skirt from Retrolicious.

I hope to have an unboxing video of my sweater haul ready for the Youtube channel by the end of the week, but since it's already sweater weather, I thought I'd break out a few now for this gorgeous autumn air.

As I sit here writing this, it has been chilly and rainy all day and I've been curled up by the window working on photos and listening to some antique Glen Miller Orchestra records on the record player that my youngest daughter wanted for Christmas, but whom I've never seen use it, so I thought I may as well put it to use and I've enjoyed this lovely music all day.

In addition to that, I've taken two naps and been busy baking lovely warm foods for such a cold day.  There is roast chicken in the oven now, beans in the crockpot, and corn bread is cooling on the rack.

It has truly been a lovely day of life moving a little slower and tasting a little sweeter and I'm looking forward to more lovely autumn days like this.

SHopping Info:  Polka Dot Pullover in Moss/Ivory-$39 from YeMAK, Retrolicious Skirt from ModernMillie

Halloween 2022: Evelyn from The Mummy

Who knows what inspired us.  I certainly don't have much rhyme or reason to my costume choices.  This year I chose Evelyn  from the 1999 blockbuster The Mummy.  Rachel Weisz plays the lovely Evie and stars opposite Brendan Fraser.  I was a huge fan of the first movie, and a reasonably sized fan of the second and third, yes I hung in there for all three, but not The Scorpion King because even I have my limits.  

I have made it a tradition to watch The Mummy each October as part of our Halloween rotation, but this year I decided to take it a step further and dress up as Evie, enlisting Mr. Bleu to dress as Brendan Fraser's character, Rick.  He usually doesn't get on board with couple's costumes, but possibly because he didn't have the time to make something else or because he didn't have any ideas, he agreed to my suggestion this year.

In order to create this costume, I started by watching the movie...again.  Then I looked at photos and finally headed over to ThredUp to see what I could find on the cheap.  I managed to find a passable skirt and shirt and located the tie and glasses on Amazon.

The Book of Amun Ra was my prop of choice. I spent a quiet Saturday afternoon working on this.  Although I intended to also make the key, I have now run out of time and steam on this costume, so it will be the only prop I use.  It's constructed of cardboard, 4mm EVA Foam, and spray paint.  I used a soldering iron to create the impressions in the foam and though my paint job is a little lacking I'm fairly pleased with the end result.

This was my inspiration board as I gathered my costume pieces:

I actually found a shirt that was a little closer to Evie's but ThredUp canceled the order probably because they noticed something wrong with it and didn't want to send it that way, and so the search began afresh.  Fortunately I found something in my size that was better than good, it was good enough.

Perhaps the thing I like most about this costume is that I'll probably wear it to work much more than just this Halloween.  It already plays to my style and unlike a purchased costume, it isn't flimsy and doesn't feel like plastic.

As much as I hoped Mr. Bleu would wear his costume with me for today's photo shoot, he is still currently gathering articles of clothing, so perhaps we'll get a few shots on Halloween.  

Shopping Info:  Top and skirt from ThredUp.  Use my link to save $20 off your first order.  Tie from Amazon, Glasses from Amazon, Shoes are Chelsea Crew