Romp in the Swamp Louisiana Halloween Party - Our Costumes

Subtitle: The FOURTH time's the charm :)

Costumes were a bit of a struggle for me this year. Way back when I picked this theme, I had intended to be a vampire hunter (or a Dark Hunter, for those who share my secret shame - Sherrilyn Kenyon novels). It was part of how I justified my leather corset for Krista's Goth Housewarming party:



I had ordered black leather pants from Ebay to wear with it, which I was just starting to fit into (thanks to my new rigorous rollerskating routine) when the cupcake came into our lives. Forget leather pants and corsets, that clearly wasn't going to happen anymore :) Plus it's hard to look badass and threatening in between the nausea and heartburn.

Idea #2 - when I was in NYC for the mermaid parade, Ryan and I spent some time exploring the Halloween store in Union Square and came up with the idea of being a bowl of Crawfish Gumbo. I got a crawfish hat like this one:



I thought I'd make a bowl to wear that said "gumbo" and make some sausage and rice and veggies poking out the top. That was a great idea, until the party kept getting closer and closer....eventually I knew I didn't have time to bust out my sewing machine or do a lot of crafting, so that idea fell by the wayside.

Idea #3: Crab - at the same time I got the crawfish hat, I also got a crab hat like this one:



and a set of matching "claws," just because they were so cute. I had ordered a red maternity dress on Ebay, which I loved...but it didn't really match the same red as the crab pieces. And I felt frumpy. I needed more sparkle. Plus the same day I tried this on, I had hubby try on his costume:



...it was adorable...but it didn't fit. The hubs is average height, but this "one size fits all" was extremely misleading. It was way too short for him, and I didn't have the time/energy to look into cutting it apart and adding any length. So the gator is hanging in the closet, and I ran off to the Goodwill in a panic the week before the party...

...And I struck GOLD! I immediately seized a purple bridesmaid gown with a velvet top and satin skirt, found that I could tuck it up under the belt (with no actual sewing) to become an empire waist gown that then fit over my bump perfectly! It was clearly meant to be. Since purple, gold, & green are the official Mardi Gras colors, I decided to make a traditional Mardi Gras Ball costume - that would give me the bling I had been craving, and required almost NO more crafting time. I hit Party City for a feather & sequin mask and a long purple wig, and I used my 40% off weekly coupon at Joanns for a silver foil iron on of a fleur de lis.



I was a little worried about the iron on, having had some trouble with them in the pat and never having used a foil one, but it went on perfect, and added just the perfect little "moment" of shine where I needed it :) For the headpiece I took an existing crown and some glittery picks from Michael's holiday floral section, wired them together, and poof - huge dramatic sparkly feather headpiece. All systems were go!



Hubby defaulted hillbilly, though it was actually kinda hard to find some overalls. After 3 Goodwills, Target, and a suburban WalMart, I finally found them in the urban Walmart (Midway - it was exciting, as usual!), paired it with a cheesy wolf t-shirt (also Walmart) and a mullet wig.



Though there was a little scrambling, I'm happy with what we ended up wearing - most of all, it was all COMFORTABLE. I actually wore the mask all night, since taking if off over the headpiece was too difficult, but it didn't bother me one bit. I could see just fine, eat, etc. Having a mask & wig meant I didn't have to worry about doing my hair or makeup, which was VERY important as I was running around like a madwoman preparing for the party.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!