Nevermore

I have an unnatural obsession with Halloween. Which considering I loathe scary movies, gore, etc is pretty odd... OK, maybe it isn't...Basically, I just like having an excuse to throw a party, eat candy and dress as ridiculously as possible.

Gwen has long had an unnatural obsession with seagulls. When she presented her plan to me this year, that we either be a seagull and a fish, or Angry Bird and a pig (one guess who got the awesome job of being the pig), I knew I had to talk some sense into her. I suggested both of us being Cleopatra and throwing a Mummy themed party, or being Snow White and the witch and having a candy apple bar. All of these suggestions were pronounced lame. Then Chasing Fireflies catalog came - our Halloween bible -  and the raven costumes looked perfect. Gwen could still get down with her bird weirdness and I could have an excuse to try a new Halloween theme for our party - Edgar Allan Poe!

Neveremore! Yes, I am aware that my winged fascinator is AMAZEBALLS and that Gwen's wig is ridiculous. It is Halloween, get on board!

I wanted to try and make a spooky gothic library... but things like having to go into work the morning of the party, and the fact that my backyard looks nothing like a library... kind of prevented that vibe from translating!

The "manuscript" page table decorations seemed cooler in my head I promise!

Skulls, ravens and books oh my!

Can you tell I ran out of time setting up, and started just snapping pictures in a hurry as people arrived? Horrible shots!

Dictionary... open to Edgar Allan Poe... oh the things I waste time on! I wish the cute little raven cupcake flags showed in this shot!

Jack O' Lantern pizzas

Spooky eyeball lollipops, marshmallows and chocolate fingers

We invited all of Gwendolyn's school class (thank god not everyone could come! although we do like you all!), her friends from church, and my friends with kids... it ended up being a bit zany in our backyard... especially by the bounce house. What is it about bounce houses that turn kids into demons? I swear, at one point I went to help a kid who was crying in the bounce house and it was like Skid Row in there. I wish I had more lights in the backyard (those twinkle lights, and votive candles sure didn't cut it) and that I was less frantic trying to talk to everyone... I would have loved to have gotten more (and better) photos of all the great costumes, and to feel like I actually chatted to some of you. Rather I feel like I was in a mad dash to race home from work in SF, set up and then I blinked and everyone was gone and my backyard was thrashed!

Army dude, Joker

Most adorable little Cinderella!

Tooth fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa... adorable!

Cat princess... my kind of girl... why only wear one costume?

Ravens

Skunk, cowboy... totally normal combo

Spider web and spider... amazing!

Lenore made all of her costume, even the clay jewelry. So impressed.

Stop it Rainbow Brite, stop it right now. I loved this!

Oh, did you notice the Englishman is NOT in costume? I cannot talk about my disappointment but he gets a pass... we will get to that later.

Came to our bird party and showed us up in their bird costumes - which were also homemade! Amazing!

Adorable!

Too gorgeous to be evil!

Raven or Liza Minelli? The wig makes it hard to tell!

And then some more pictures of us in our raven costumes... because well, because I love looking at myself, I mean my darling daughter! Happy Halloween!!

Fly little birdy fly!

It is like an awkward prom shot - if you want to prom as birds?

 We ended up having a great time, despite all my pre-party stress and are so glad everyone came! Major major props to the friends who came in from SF, adults who wore costumes and the Englishman. He did not wear a costume, which basically means we are not compatible daters - how can you dislike COSTUMES? - but he did pretty much save the day. He cooked the FOUR pizzas, refilled all the party food every five minutes, took care of all the drinks, trash, photos etc... and basically dealt with psycho party planning Bronwyn, who, let's be real, is not the best of all the Bronwyns. He also did not flinch when he arrived and Gwen and I were in costume, looking, let's say, pretty ridiculous. You're the best and I adore you - next year though the bar is going to be raised... you'll have to pretend to think our costumes are cool, be my party assistant AND come IN COSTUME!

*all photos filtered with VSCO cam app - "Spookier" that way no?