happy birthday to me

First order of business: Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee.

So. With that in mind, yesterday Mom and I went out Halloween hunting. It was a mixed bag but since every store I went to had something Halloween there (even the grocery store had mini cinnamon brooms), it's probably the biggest birthday time Halloween hunt I've ever had. :D I didn't go nuts buying stuff because for most of the stores they either didn't have a lot or what they did have was insanely overpriced, but let's discuss.

First up was *thinks* TJ Maxx, I believe. They didn't have a lot, though I did see some Halloween on their stocking carts and I did find this little collection, which happened to include one of the items I wanted to see for myself this year:


Sorry, too lazy to make proper thumbnails, so please click and enjoy the cutest little ghost couple you ever did see. ♥ Love them, but didn't want to blow my budget right away and also I'm not sure these aren't things I would love just as much from afar. Still, Halloween!


Went next door to HomeGoods and found that they way overcharge for the ugliest and most uncomfortable chairs and some more Halloween stuff:

There's my little Salem from last year and the ghosts are cute, too. I'm supposed to go back tomorrow (today) and grab HK if she's still there for the goddaughter. Loved the mugs but would hate to clean them so they stayed there. I also really liked the fake out vintage book as I will always love a hollow book due to Claudia. They also had some cute tea towels but again, budget. Still, Halloween makes me happy and I really do like how that display looks.

I also fell in love with a pitcher not sure if Widget would kill it so I'm still debating.


Then I went to Michaels where they were either still putting stuff out (likely) or it was super picked over (also possible) but I did get to see the Hippie Hollow (Hallo?) stuff in person. Well, some of it. It was so weird seeing so much Halloween at Michaels before my birthday, btw. For as long as I can remember, this particular store hasn't put their stuff out til after my birthday beyond some jacked up wreaths and maybe Funkins, but this year as soon as you walked in you saw the Halloween village stuff and other Halloween goodies.

I thought I'd be more meh about the Hippie line but it's actually kinda cute. I admit I don't love a good chunk of the flocked stuff (not sure it's pictured at all) but the skellies hanging out with kid skellies? Cute! The ombre ghosts? Yes, please. I wanted that little ombre ghost dish but didn't like the price. I also really liked that one ghost there. Fell in love with the cat blow molds but holy fuck, Michaels makes JoAnn look cheap. o_O Also LOVED the ghost garlands. Mom liked the pink/orange/lighter orange ghost set and I loved the little ghosts with feet but I can see Adora attacking and killing both, so I left them behind.

Mums used the bathroom and I felt a little obligated to buy something but also found two things I wanted and then dithered between them. Ultimately decided against the moon wreath form (for now) and went with my first official Halloween village piece, which was the Spooky Town Crow Club which I think will fit in nicely with my Target Halloween village. Also, crows!

Speaking of JoAnn, went there next but didn't take pictures. Just enjoyed the vibe. Nearly bought a glow in the dark tumbler but decided against it. Wanted a crow ornament but wasn't sure it would survive the cat. Desperately fell in love with this ghost spinner but I don't know that it would actually work outside of tropical storm conditions and that price just says no. But loved them. Still not sure if the store was picked over or still setting up, but given how other stores got their stuff in so early, I'm thinking picked over might be closer to reality. Still happily riding high on the Halloween vibes, I slapped my sunnies on again and headed next door to Marshalls for the final leg of the hunt.




So cute. The more I looked, the more I fell in love with the witch though.


But I have a grey haired witch like this so do I need this one? Part of me says yes, duh. Collection! Also, grey witch has the Ozma stand in and this one would have the Adora Boa stand in. But because the witch is so tall, she can't be put away with the other Halloween stuff so I have to consider storage space. I might go back for her or send my brother. We'll see.

I wandered to see if I could find any cute bedding (a few fluffy blankets) and then wandered down the bath towels for some reason and found some stupidly soft towels that were also really cute and trying to find them online to show you has been a PITA, but I finally found the towel I bought: CaroHome mushroom towels. Obviously didn't spend anywhere near that on the one towel, but I admit I'm kinda wishing I bought two.

I nearly picked up the last pink cherry towel but it had a small defect and I didn't feel like standing in line just to ask about a small price reduction that might or might not happen. Marshals has the world's longest lines every time I go, so I rarely buy anything. I first fell for how these felt and actually found myself liking the design/colors, for which I blame Julie and the Hippie Hallo/Hollow thing. They also had a white background with red cherries design that I liked, but again, the mushroom design was calling to me more. Had I known what a bitch it would be to find them online, I might've made a different choice. As in bought one of each, not forgone the toadstools.

Anyway, new towel and crow club!

Was gonna take my chances and swim in the evening but we apparently had hours of thunderstorms that knocked the power out. Didn't notice the power outage because I must've finally dozed off, but I did know about the storms. Note to self, have Widget check the shed.


And Halloween hits Target on the 14th! :D :D :D Gonna have to stay up and see if things go live early because village!