October | 2016 | right & west

The Netflix series Stranger Things is what happens when TV looks at me and says “Thank you for almost 3 decades of faithful devotion – here is everything you want in a TV show.” 80’s nostalgia, golden age Steven Spielberg feel, badass kids, science fiction, cool small town cop, a moody emo kid, science fiction, The Clash – literally there isn’t anything I didn’t like about this show. Maybe Stranger Things was TV’s way of apologizing for The Walking Dead becoming unwatchable.

Thank you, TV.

The Stranger Things character I adored most was Eleven. The mysterious new kid in town with awesome telekinetic powers. She also loves Eggos, so we actually have something in common.

I put together my costume using some items I already had and a few late night Amazon purchases. The pink collared dress was around $20 and the blue wind breaker $12 on Amazon. The dress didn’t come with the smocking on the bodice which I decided was a SUPER important detail about an hour before our Halloween party so I sewed the “mock smocking” myself. That’s the thing with costumes of characters who wear “real clothes” – the little things can make a big difference. If you want to create this look yourself but can’t find a pink collared dress you can use any pink dress and add a dickie – it’s a real thing that is a fake collar you wear under a shirt or dress.

I didn’t want to pay $8 for tube socks so I got a pair of my husband’s and drew some (totally janky) stripes with green and yellow marker. My Chuck Taylor’s weren’t true to Eleven’s wardrobe, she wears white sneakers, but I figured they were period appropriate and still had the right feel to them.

Eleven is a little girl who’s been a prisoner of a government test facility her whole life so she doesn’t wear a lot of makeup. I used my Maskcara HAC palette to give myself some fierce highlight and contour for a realistic, sullen look. (NOTE: If you’re not familiar with highlight and contour it’s when you draw a new, BETTER face on top of your old face using light and dark makeup.) I gave myself a little bloody nose with some red lip stain and wore a blonde wig. If you’re a boy, just buzz your head.

Don’t forget an empty box of Eggos – It’s a fun detail that fans of the show will LOVE and totally get, plus it doubles as a purse for holding your cell phone, keys and candy.

Happy Halloween!!!

Two weeks ago my sister, Katie, and I spent 3 days together thrifting, spray painting and even doing a little macrame all to put together a beautiful bohemian bridal shower for our sister, Liz. The long days and midnight runs to our hometown Wal-Mart were all worth it to celebrate and honor our littlest.

Once we settled on our boho theme our plans came together quickly. I think having a clear vision of the look and feel you want your for party is one of the best ways to save you time and stress while planning. The more specific you can be the better. I learned a trick while working at Anthropologie assisting with displays that I find very helpful: When defining your theme try to put into words both what it is and what it isn’t.

What it is: natural, light, feminine. What it isn’t: hippie, tie dye, ethnic.

What it is: Free People, Coachella. What it isn’t: Co-op, Phish concert.

You may recognize the space from my baby shower post . The room is on the upper floor of Dr. Christopher’s Herb Shop in Springville, Utah. The historic building is bursting with charm including the original tin ceiling. The Herb Shop rents the space for parties, classes and other events.

For centerpieces we used flower arrangements and a mis-matched collection of votives, geodes, crystals, plants and drift wood. The vases for our flower arrangements are drinking glasses from Ikea that we spray painted gold. I love how the spray paint gave the glasses a studded look. The votives are from Oriental Trading – they’re affordable and versatile. They’re a great investment if you do a lot of parties. The geodes and crystals were loaned to us.

We covered each of the tables with white linens. We were able to affordably make lace runners using curtain panels from Ikea. We cut each panel into thirds giving us 6, 19″ wide runners for just over $2 a piece.

These gold framed mirrors (they came with the space) provided the perfect backdrop for our food table. We draped the same material we used for table runners across the top and then added these cool carved wood string lights. Lastly we wired floral arrangements to the corners and center.

Kate and I thought adding some macrame pieces would be a really cool touch. Literally our only frame of reference for what this would require was our mom saying she used to do it in high school. How hard could it be, right? We definitely underestimated how time consuming macrame can be. After 2 late nights following online tutorials Katie created two amazing pieces including this wall hanging.

Every great event needs something special and surprising. We thought a “Bridal Throne” would be just the thing to be a fun focal point and make Liz feel extra special. The wicker chair was borrowed from a friend’s porch with a promise to return it in better condition than we found it. We sanded and spray painted it a crisp clean white and created a large floral spray which we wired to the back of the chair as a finishing touch. We hung a thrifted lace tablecloth ($3.99) and moroccan style lanterns for a backdrop and surrounded the throne with lots of potted plants. Can you even believe that gorgeous amethyst? (graciously loaned to us, unfortunately not for keeps.)

We were able to do ALL the flowers for under $50. How? Costco! 3 of their “premium bouquets” provided enough florals for 5 centerpieces and 6 decorative sprays. This was my first attempt at floral design and I feel like I did alright. The loose, wildflower style we were going for was very forgiving when it came to putting together arrangements.The rich jewel tones of the florals were the perfect accent to our neutral color palette.

The favor we sent our guests home with was these cute potted succulents. Did you know you can buy succulents in bulk from Amazon? Cause yeah, you totally can. They come right to your door for $2 each. A mini terra cotta pot plus more gold + white spray paint and there you have it.