celebrating halloween with value village

halloween is just around the corner;

it seemingly sneaks up on me each year.

costume planning (and shopping) is one 

of my favorite fall traditions. 

i may or may not want to admit how 

much time i recently spent browsing 'costume ideas' 

on pinterest during the month of october 

(my halloween board can be found here). 

blogs provide a great deal of inspiration, too.

 between pre-packaged and DIY costumes, 

a girl has a lot of options. 

disclosure: value village graciously provided me with a gift card

to purchase my costume. as per usual, all opinions are my own!

as september came to an end (and the weather

changed (or drastically cooled off)), pumpkins,

apple cider, and halloween costumes

were on my mind. i began asking friends and coworkers

for costume suggestions, but struggled to come

up with something original. i dressed as wendy darling

from the disney movie, peter pan, 

last year. my costume was entirely thrifted!

this year, i was eager to visit my local 

value village for a bit of halloween prep.

i had a few costume ideas in mind, 

but i find it helpful to begin your halloween thrifting

adventure with an open mind. after all, you 

never know what your local thrift store will have

in stock. additionally, i take a cursory

glance at my closet: do i have accessories

or a specific item i can style as part of a costume?

ears, a new makeup tutorial, or wig

are potential examples.

i tend to avoid the ready-made,

packaged costumes, as they lack originality. 

the costume 'section' can be helpful when thrift 

shopping, but can appear picked over. 

my strategy? walk the store. 

look at everything. consult pinterest as 

you find clothing, shoes, or accessories that 

can be used to create a costume. and

 most of all, have fun!

halloween is an wonderful holiday. 

celebrating all things spooky + costumes and 

candy galore?! that requires fun, laughter, and creativity.

can you guess my costume? sandy from

'grease' meets 1950s pinup girl. a bandana, 

high-waisted bottoms, and a glass bottle of coke

were essential. i had so much fun putting

this look together!

when browsing the racks at value village,

i was hoping to find high-waisted 

shorts and a gingham or polka dot shirt. 

unfortunately, i was unable to find shorts

but fell in love with this polka dot top. i also

stumbled upon this gem of a jacket on

my way to the shoe section. i purchased it

to wear IRL (in real life), but it seemingly goes

well with my costume, too! 

the finishing touches were a sleek pair of

heels, a bracelet, bandana, and loose curls.

photos by karya schanilec photography

t-shirt, bracelet, heels, and faux fur jacket: c/o value village.

leggings: american apparel, bandana: fred meyer

you can see previous halloween posts on my

blog here and here. i absolutely love celebrating

halloween (any excuse to dress up and eat chocolate, 

right?). do you have any fun plans this year?

what is your costume? if you haven't begun

planning, make sure to visit your neighborhood 

value village for costume ideas and essentials!

xoxo.

the perfect DIY disney costume from value village

halloween is just under two weeks away:

the pressure is on - find or make the perfect costume -

purchase (and subsequently eat) all of the candy - 

visit the pumpkin patch, or stop by your favorite local grocery store -

start the pumpkin carving -

and of course, scary movie marathons!

halloween is easily one of my favorite holidays.

my sweet tooth is stronger than ever around this time of year. 

i also love brainstorming costume ideas, trying on past years' looks, 

and shopping for or creating something unique. 

this year was no different. i am somewhat embarrassed to admit how

much time i spent scouring pinterest and searching "easy 

and creative DIY halloween costumes" on the internet; easy, right? or not so much.

after a somewhat lengthy trip to value village (i could easily spend

hours in there - i have to look at everything!), i think i eventually came up 

with something fun for this year (!!!). 

^^^ this year, i decided to be wendy darling from the disney movie,

'peter pan.' ^^^

during some of my internet-costume-browsing sessions,

i saw several adorable (and simple) disney princess costumes - 

many of which did not require sewing or a great deal of effort. 

i grew up watching the disney classics, 'the little mermaid,' 

'beauty and the beast' and of course, 'peter pan.'

one of my favorite things to play with as a child were my miniature 

plastic dolls - i had many of the princesses and other movie characters. i specifically 

remember having a small wendy doll with a blue dress and matching 

blue bow in her hair.

when it was time to start looking for my costume, i 

visited my local value village.

i skipped the pre-packaged options; those can be great, 

and very convenient, but i wanted something a bit more original. 

i looked through the miscellaneous costume items (vibrantly colored dresses,

faux fur and sparkly tops, and many 80s prom dresses). nothing

stood out to me, so i began looking in the regular clothing and dress sections. 

i actually got a bit sidetracked and found a few work-appropriate

skirts and dresses (i really do have a horrid shopping habit). i found the 

above blue dress and liked the color and fit. i decided to use the dress

as part of my costume - cinderella, belle, and wendy wore blue!

next, i found the sparkly ballet flats and teddy bear. 

to complete my costume, i thrifted the cozy grey sweater and 

found the hair bow in the little girl's section at target.

photos by kerouac photography

dress, sweater, flats and teddy bear: thrifted (c/o value village),

hair bow: target

my halloween costume came together quite easily, all thanks to value village!

you can find a store near you here and let the costume hunt commence.

when you're done with your costume (if you don't plan to keep it)?

 donate it! value village diverts more than 650 million pounds of 

clothing and goods from landfills each year. 

not only can you recycle your costume after wearing it, but

purchasing other second hand items at value village 

supports both regional and national nonprofit organizations.

you can learn more about the positive impact value village 

has on our community here.

have you decided on a halloween costume this year?

if not, be sure to visit your nearest value village as the creative options 

are seemingly endless! 

xoxo.

**this is a sponsored post. a very special thank you

to value village for providing me with a gift certificate

to purchase my costume. all opinions are my own! 

fall fashion with seattle goodwill

^^^ i was lusting after several rings, bracelets and vintage broaches! ^^^

^^^ adorable, asa, from lace & pearls, browsing glitter sale items! ^^^

^^^ goodwill gift cards and tasty cookies from dianne's delights ^^^

last week i had the pleasure of attending a fall fashion event, 

hosted by sydney mintle of gossip & glamour and seattle goodwill.

alongside some of my favorite local bloggers, 

we browsed halloween costumes, learned halloween-inspired

makeup tips from tiffany colors (talented makeup artist and cosmetologist!),

and were able to preview a few items for the upcoming glitter sale!

^^^ still putting together your halloween costume?

temporary lip tattoos (available in a variety of prints and colors)

and vibrant false lashes can glam-up any costume! ^^^

the annual glitter gala (goodwill's biggest fundraiser!) took place this 

weekend; proceeds from last year's gala provided job training and education 

programs to 8,700 community members.

every time we shop at goodwill, we support these programs!

the goodwill glitter sale runs november 5th and 6th from 9:00am-6:00pm

at the dearborn store (located here) - i haven't yet been but look

forward to attending for the first time this year!

not familiar with the glitter sale? goodwill saves the best of the best donations

for their annual sale (such as the burberry and dolce & gabbana pictured 

above) and attendees line up in anticipation!

^^^ fellow fashion and lifestyle bloggers! 

anita from under the evergreen, hilary from the cutie life, jenn from hello rigby,

lisa from story of my dress and angie from chasing my halo ^^^

photos by vivian hsu photography

a special thank you to sydney and seattle goodwill for putting on such 

a fun fall fashion event - now, bring on the halloween costume 

shopping and all things glitter sale!

xoxo.

happy halloween, gosh!

'it's pretty much my favorite animal. it's like a lion and tiger mixed.. 

bred for its skills in magic.'

'nunchuck skills.. bowhunting skills.. computer hacking skills..

girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!'

can you guess which movie our halloween costumes are from this year?!

'really? it took me like three hours to finish the shading on your upper lip. 

it's probably the best drawing i've ever done.'

--napoleon dynamite 

costumes

napoleon: t-shirt, jeans, wig, and glasses: thrifted (c/o value village),

boots: ugg 

deb: dress, sandals, bracelets and earrings: thrifted (c/o value village)

lipstick: nyx matte lipstick in sweet pink

i cannot tell you how long will and i spent brainstorming 

a couples costume for this year! 

we wanted our costumes to be fun and creative,

as halloween is one of our favorite holidays.

we made a few trips to our local value village to find inspiration

and scoured pinterest for additional ideas. 

on our third (or possibly fourth?!) thrifting adventure,

i found the above pink dress; the sleeves

and shape of the dress reminded me of the dress deb wears

to the formal dance in the movie, 'napoleon dynamite.'

after that, our looks quickly came together!

value village is the perfect place for vintage t-shirts - 

we loved the tie dye, eagle shirt will is wearing!

after adding the oversized, washed-out looking denim, 

blonde wig, and prescription glasses to our cart, 

napoleon's outfit was complete! 

for deb's ensemble, i needed the dress and a few

80s inspired accessories (those sandals!!), bright lips,

and a side pony-tail. 

these looks were so much fun to put together! 

i am still laughing over the pictures of will 

(i could barely hold the camera still)

and, of course, we wanted to include some of our favorite

quotes from the movie:

'tina, you fat lard. come get your DINNER! tina, eat. food! 

eat the food!'

'knock it off, napoleon! just make yourself a dang quesa-dillah!'

'napoleon, give me some of your tots!'

okay, okay, movie reminiscing complete.

i hope you have a happy and safe halloween, everyone!

if you need any last minute costume ideas or

accessories, be sure to check out your local value village.

xoxo.

**value village was kind enough to provide us with a 

gift certificate to purchase our costumes. i had a wonderful time

creating these looks and am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate

with them.

'i walked with you once upon a dream'

^^^ my DIY sleeping beauty costume! ^^^

dress and crown: thrifted (c/o value village), necklace: aldo, 

lipstick: kat von d everlasting liquid lipstick in 'bachelorette'

halloween is just under a week away, 

and can i tell you how excited i am? perhaps it is the preschool 

teacher with me, but i love dressing up!

as a little girl, i enjoyed all of the disney princess movies.

the little mermaid was my favorite, but sleeping beauty

and cinderella were close seconds.

^^^ this dress was made for twirling! ^^^

when i began brainstorming costume ideas for this year,

i immediately thought 'a princess!'

i went shopping at my local seattle value village and was fortunate to have 

found the perfect princess dress, pictured above. 

i added a crown, a statement necklace from my own collection, 

and a few dainty rings. to finish the look, 

i loosely curled my hair and applied my favorite

pink lipstick; voila, princess! 

while i feel incredibly lucky to have found this dress,

as i believe it completed my costume (!!!), 

i think the princess theme can easily be replicated -

tulle, lace, fluffy skirts, right?

when looking for a costume, be open minded; clothing and other pieces 

can easily be repurposed or altered in a way that

aligns with your vision. i hoped to find a feminine, 

floor-length dress when out shopping. 

i knew i would also need a crown and any other princess-like accessories. 

the best part about this costume? it didn't come in a bag,

but was put together using pieces i currently own (such as the 

earrings, necklace, and lipstick) with thrifted items

i purchased at value village. i love how everything came together! 

i have another halloween look to share with you later this week -

it was also put together using thrifted items. 

hint: it is a couples costume from a hilarious movie 

(the movie came out in 2004).

have you checked out your local value village for costume inspiration?

what are you planning to dress up as? let me know in the comments!

xoxo.

**value village was kind enough to provide me with a 

gift certificate to purchase my costumes. i had a wonderful time

creating this look and am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate

with them.

'may the force be with you'

^^^ princess leia getting prepped! ^^^

^^^ with fellow blogging friends lauren, jenn of hello rigby,

katrina of the demure muse and aika of aika's love closet ^^^

^^^ stylist, darcy camden, and makeup artist, tiffany lowery, 

created each of our looks! it was wonderful getting to work with them ^^^

^^^ gorgeous jenn getting ready! (or should i say, maleficent?!) ^^^

^^^ my princess leia costume was comprised of various household

and clothing items, all purchased at goodwill. 

a thrifted sweater, moon boots, men's baseball pants, 

and a curtain (transformed into a shawl/cape) were just a few

of my fun accessories! and we cannot forget the wig! ^^^

^^^ fellow blogging friends in attendance! ^^^

^^^ when i told my mom about the event, she said, 'can i come? and bring the aunties?!'

thank you for coming to support me! it was such a fun night together! ^^^

^^^ and then, the gorgeous snow white was turned into a festive

halloween zombie! ^^^

^^^ a very special thank you to these two ladies, katherine and sydney,

who made the night possible! ^^^

last week i had the pleasure of modeling in a halloween-themed

fashion show, hosted by seattle goodwill. 

the event was attended by fellow fashion bloggers

to provide creative costume ideas and to get everyone

in the spooky halloween spirit!

^^^ halloween has arrived at your local goodwill! ^^^

each of our costumes were created using various household and 

fashion items, all found at goodwill. 

the winning looks? katniss everdeen, maleficent, a pregnant kim kardashian,

 snow white, and princess leia! 

the girls and i had a blast getting dressed and assembled in the back room

in preparation for the show. 

as each of us were introduced to the audience, stylist, darcy camden, 

offered tips and tricks for creating a unique and thrifted costume.

a few of my favorites? 

be inspired. go to goodwill with ideas, but don't 

feel confined to the pre-packaged costumes. rather, find 

a particular piece or item that stands out to you, and build your

costume using that item. 

when in doubt, add a wig! or turn yourself into a zombie, 

as pictured above with snow white.

while i am not yet sure what i'm going to be this halloween,

i cannot wait to put the tips darcy shared to use and create

a unique ensemble. will and i dressed as juno and paulie bleeker

from the movie, juno last year; we need to find something

equally fun this year!

have you picked out a costume yet?

the goodwill halloween costume contest runs from october 20-31st!

prizes will be awarded twice daily. 

to learn more about the contest, visit goodwill's website, here.

in addition, seattle goodwill facebook fans will 

have the opportunity to win various prizes daily from 

october 19-30th. make sure to become a fan (if you aren't already) here.

and of course, happy halloween!

xoxo.

**all photos in this post were taken by the talented caroline knott.

thank you again goodwill for putting on such a wonderful event!