Halloween Decor Part 3

 Okay, this is only two last minute items (it was supposed to be three, but my last item was cancelled and I'm kind of sad about it because it was really cute), but I really liked them and wanted to mention them. They're both from HomeGoods. I really wasn't going to buy any more Halloween decorations, but I was looking for decorative shelves and they also had pet stairs (Bogart is getting older and it's not as easy for him to jump on my bed anymore), so I figured while I was at it...I would pick up these last couple things. Especially since I planned on making one an all year decor piece.

First is this Night Sky Pumpkin by Neck of the Woods ($24.99). It's 14 inches, so it's a good size for a pumpkin. They also have it in an almost turquoise color. Personally, I don't really like blue for Halloween, but that's just me. I really like this pumpkin because first of all...It's so cute with the bat and the moon and the stars. But also because I don't really like carving pumpkins. I mean, I have one here that I probably will carve, but I'm not good at it. And I also really hate touching everything inside the pumpkin, so this is a nice alternative because I don't have to do anything and it's already cute.

And lastly...Unless I'm able to find the other item that got cancelled...I bought this Skull Table Clock by GTS ($29.99). When I ordered this, I stupidly assumed this was going to be a tiny clock that I could fit on the shelves in my room, with all the other skull decor. When I took it out of the box, I was shocked and I immediately thought, "What can I take a picture of this with to show how big it actually is?" There was only one option.

An accurate depiction of my two personalities.

If you've ever seen a PS5 in person, you know those things are ridiculously big. Obnoxiously big. This clock is bigger than my PS5. So it doesn't fit on my shelves. It doesn't really fit anywhere, actually. I have no idea where I'm going to put it. I love it, it's beautiful. It's heavy, the detail work is nice, it has glitter on it (I know some people hate glitter, but I'm not one of them). I just don't know what to do with it.

Halloween Decor 2021 - Part 2

 So...I was done shopping for Halloween decor. And this post was going to be only three more items. But I spiraled and now here we are.

It began with Bath and Body Works. Just like in July. I was on there checking to see if they had added the 3 wick Pumpkin Bonfire candles to their website yet (they did) and I saw a really cute bat cosmetics bag (which has been sold out forever now). What could I do? I had to buy it. They also had a really adorable cat pocketbac holder that is not Halloween, but I bought it anyway.

The problem with the makeup bag is that it's extremely small and nothing really fits in it. (Makeup for size comparison.) So it's been sitting on my desk. Empty. Because I have no idea what to use it for.

Something worse happened after this. They restocked some of their Halloween candle holders. The Witch Hand was back. I ignored it, I don't like that thing. But...They also brought the $60 Light Up Monster Pedestal back. I just wanted to see what would happen if I tried to check out with it, you know? Because after my experience with Bath and Body Works over the past couple months, I figured this was another item that they listed as available when it really wasn't. Well.

Look who lives with me now. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about this. $60 is a lot of money. And yeah, this is cute, but it wasn't something I was dying to have. And I regretted my choice to tempt fate like that. Okay, if it had been like...$30, I wouldn't have felt so bad. But $60? After I already spent so much money there? Yeah, I felt guilty. Every time I looked at this monster for the first few days, I hated myself. I thought I would never like it because of the guilt I felt over spending that kind of money on it.

I should talk about it, right? It looked cheap online. It kind of reminded me of like...Have you ever seen anything with a sort of spray on silver top coat that flakes off really easily? That's all I could think of when I saw the monster pedestal online, I thought it was going to feel like really lightweight, cheap plastic with a silver topcoat sprayed over it. And I don't know why I thought that because the cemetery pedestal they released is absolutely beautiful.

In person, it looks really nice. So much nicer than it did on their website. It's heavy, too. It takes 3 AAA batteries and when you turn it on, it has a bright green light that flickers on and off. I still feel really bad about paying $60 for it, but I've grown to love my monster. I still don't think it's worth that much though. To be honest, everything I bought from Bath and Body Works was overpriced, even if it is nice. I would never spend that kind of money on their accessories if they weren't Halloween themed. The other complaint I have is that the switch for the light is underneath the pedestal. The globe pedestal has a switch on the back, I wish the monster did, too, it's much easier to turn it on that way.

I also ordered the Haunted House projector from last year during their Labor Day sale because it was 50% off and I had a reward code for a free item that cost up to $16.50, which was perfect because with the sale, it was $16.25. This was the one I really wanted, but I settled for this year's Conservatory plug in because every time I tried to order the Haunted House online when it went up over the summer, my order wouldn't go through.

I just want to mention again that I don't use the Wallflower refills in these projectors because I have cats and it could be harmful to them. These are purely for decoration purposes only. I also want to throw this out there. I saw someone on Reddit ask if it's safe to use the plugs without the fragrance. A lot of people said they do it all the time and have never had an issue, but someone said they asked someone who works there about it and that person said it's not safe. I don't know if that's true or if they wanted to make a sale, but I thought I would mention it.

The last thing that was supposed to be in this post was from T.J.Maxx. It's a throw with "holographic" skulls on it that was priced at $16.99 (compared to the $28 they said it usually costs). And guess what? With shipping, that's what I ended up paying, $27.45. Not a great deal. But I really wanted a Halloween throw. Mostly because my cats are always on my bed and I want something that they can sleep on that I can take off my bed when I go to sleep.

I was looking for a throw from T.J.Maxx for a while, but the only Halloween throws they had were Peanuts. You know. Snoopy. And I didn't want that. The thing is, they all look cheap online. Not cheap as in affordable. Cheap as in poor quality, bad material, like the print will be blurry. I wasn't 100% sold on the skull throw when I ordered it, but in person, it's amazing. (The cats approve, too.)

I bought a couple things from Michaels, too...I'll skip over the issue I had with that order. We'll be here all day.

I bought this bat because there are hooks in a couple rooms and I never hang anything from them. Actually, that's not true, I have something my boss gave me hanging from the hook in my bedroom. But other than that, there's nothing hanging from the rest of them. I'm not into plants, I don't even know what else I would put there. When I was watching a Halloween decor video on Youtube, I saw a similar bat from Michaels and I was like, "OH! That's what I can hang from the hook!" I should have read the description...

This bat is basically a rubber chicken. I expected more for something that normally costs $25. Also, look at the tag. I couldn't cut it off completely because it's stuck in the rubber like that and I didn't want to put a hole in the bat. So now if he turns around, you'll see the tag and it looks bad. The bat is 14" so it's a good size, I just...Thought it would be nicer.

There was also a candelabra on the Michaels website that I had been going back and forth about for a while. I loved it, but it was $30 ($40 normally) and I felt like I couldn't justify it. And yes, I'm very aware that I spent $60 on the monster pedestal from Bath and Body Works. Anyway, I ended up caving and buying it because I saw a video where someone else bought it and it was huge so I was like, okay, it's worth it.

This is probably the most disappointing thing I bought for Halloween and I wouldn't have even paid $15 for it if I saw it in the store. When I took it out of the box (by the way, these things were thrown in an envelope inside a box, there was no bubble wrap or anything), one of the hanging pieces had already fallen off because it's held together with the thinnest, tiniest piece of wire. (Luckily it didn't snap and I was able to put it back on.)

The worst part, though, is that everything is uneven and it's tilted. It's not supposed to be. It looks terrible with candles in it. The candles I bought from Michaels fit inside snuggly, so they aren't the problem and you can see just by looking at the candelabra that it's extremely uneven. If you're considering buying this, I suggest going to the store so you can hopefully find one that's made better.

I ordered red taper candles, but Michaels makes you order 12. You can't order less than that. So (with 20% off), I ended up spending like, $19 on these candles and I never would have done that if I didn't just want everything to come all at once. I don't need 12 taper candles. I was debating over which color to get. I didn't want black because I thought you wouldn't be able to see them well. And I didn't want white because it's too plain. So I had to decide between gold and red. Gold would have looked really pretty, which is not really the vibe I'm going for with my Halloween decor, I wanted something more creepy/gothic and that's why I ultimately ended up going with the red candles.

It doesn't look as bad when it's surrounded by other things, but I'm still really disappointed. I thought the candelabra would look incredible and it was really poorly made.

Here it is lit up at night. It would be so nice if it weren't so uneven. That's not even the word I'm looking for, but you know what I mean.

I was so frustrated by the quality of these items and Michaels [online] customer service that I was never going to order from them again because I was worried that if I did and my order was lost again (in their own warehouse), that they would refuse to help me. But then the skeleton hands that I'd been obsessively searching for appeared online and same day delivery was offered. I'm pretty sure the way that works is that it ships from the nearest Michaels location that has the item in stock, because it was in stock there and out of stock online. I figured if it was coming from the store and not their warehouse,  maybe it would be okay. It was a risk I was willing to take and I'm so glad I did.

I don't know if I've said it on here (I've definitely said it on Twitter), but I love things that are horror themed, but also cute. Pink skeleton hands forming a heart? That's my style. It's something I'll leave out all year. This was on sale for $9, but same day shipping was $9.99 and after tax, it cost me around $20-ish, but I don't even care because I love it so much. It took less than two hours for them to deliver it to me and that's the only way I want to shop with Michaels from now on.

My mom gave me this cute little pumpkin and I thought he would look adorable inside the skeleton hands, so I think I might keep him there.

Back to the damn candelabra...

Before I say anything else, no, I obviously did not leave the candles in here like this. Moving on. I checked out Joann (I always want to call it Joann's) and I found these skull taper candles immediately after ordering the red candles from Michaels. They were on sale for $9 for 2 candles and I had 20% off, but after shipping and tax, 6 candles cost me $32 and I'm not sure it's worth it. They're cool, but again...This was a purchase I didn't feel good about because I had already ordered the other candles. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use these ones or the red ones or a mixture of both. These candles don't fit snuggly inside the candelabra (which is half the reason they look like that), but you could always pour some wax in there and stick the candle into it so it holds.

Next up is Target. I originally only bought one thing from them, but then...Well. You'll see.

This is a sign. A cat sign. Obviously. I wasn't going to buy it, I had talked myself out of it. But when I went to pre-order Alan Wake, the cat was still in my cart, so I was like, "Okay, fine." It's really cute and I love the face it's making. Like it's judging all of us. And I don't really think this has to be a Halloween decoration. He's wearing a scarf, this can be for all of winter, too. It was only $15 and it's really big, so I'm not mad about it. It's made well, the only thing is the stand isn't very sturdy, so I would suggest hanging it instead.

And after I ordered that...I went back on Target's website. I can't stop.

I went back on there and I saw more decor with that cat design. I love it so much that I ordered a mug ($5) and a little figure ($5). I have no regrets because...

Now I have the entire family. You know the story Wait Till Martin Comes from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?

Same thing.

I went to CVS looking for a few things I saw in a Halloween decor video and I couldn't find any of them at the CVS by me, so I ended up buying a few other things instead.

The first thing I bought was a 19.5" LED skull ($34.99). It seemed like a good purchase at first because it's sparkly (that's an automatic yes for me) and it's huge so I thought it would be a good centerpiece. But when you really look at it, it's kind of a mess. The hat has hot glue all over it, the sequins/glitter are definitely going to fall off. The hand on the hat will probably fall off, too. I thought the price was great for the size and detail, until I really examined it. I still like it, it's fun. But the quality isn't the best. The lighting on this one kind of reminds me of a disco ball, too. Not sure if I love it or hate it.

I also bought a tiny LED Jack-O-Lantern ($3.99). I love this. The paint job is pretty questionable, but it looks vintage, so it works. This one has more of a strobe light effect, it blinks really fast.

The last thing I bought at my CVS is something else I really like. It's the Spooky Cat on LED Skull ($14.99). By the way, I'm copying the names straight off the tags, in case it wasn't obvious. The lights on this one change slowly compared to the tiny cat and I kind of like that better. I don't have anything negative to saw about this one, it's well made and the cat looks perfect. Kind of creepy, but still cute.

That wasn't the end of my search for the other Halloween decorations, by the way...

I did end up finding the dog I wanted from CVS. You know, the one that's supposed to cost $4.99, but I had to pay $12 (plus $5 shipping) on Mercari because scalpers suck and I couldn't find it at my CVS. And then, when I went to Sleepy Hollow, I found the other two dogs, plus the one I overpaid for, and I was so annoyed.

The glitter on these dogs gets everywhere, so if that bothers you, stay away from them. My hands were covered in it by the time I left CVS. I do prefer the dogs when they aren't lit up, so I'll probably keep them turned off. I just like them as cute little statues.

And then, because there is really nothing to do in Sleepy Hollow, I went to another CVS in that area and found the rest of the decorations I've been looking for. The Lighted Resin Pumpkin is $12.99 and the LED Haunted House is $14.99. These were absolutely worth the money and I'm so happy I found them because I really like them.

I didn't buy any decorations in Sleepy Hollow, aside from what I got at CVS (and that doesn't count). It's weird, they don't even have one store dedicated to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I'm not even sure they realize their town is famous. And there are only a couple shops that have anything related to the story, mostly magnets and shot glasses. I was hoping to find a Headless Horseman statue somewhere, but there was nothing. That was disappointing. But I definitely have enough now anyway and unless I find something amazing between now and Halloween, I think I'm done shopping until next year.

Nail Kits and Nail Polish for Halloween

 Continuing on my quest for all things Halloween, I found some nail kits from Ulta. I need to start this post off by saying I haven't had fake nails since prom. I keep my nails short because it's easier to apply my skincare/makeup that way (plus my nails would break at work anyway), but IN THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN, I decided to give these ones a go. There are a lot of other designs available, these are just the ones I liked the most.

These nail kits are from Kiss and they cost $8.99 each. The nails were easy to apply, until I got to the last nail and then the difficulty increased by 10. They're nice, but I can't function in them. In either set, even the medium sized nails. Aside from makeup/skincare, I couldn't type and I need to be able to type for work. They also worry me because I'm afraid they'll pop off if I put any pressure on them. They scare me in the same way false lashes scare me. I don't want to lose one when I'm out. I lasted in these for an hour before I took them off.

No big deal though. I had a feeling I wouldn't last in them, so I also bought these gel strips from Dashing Diva for $7.99 each. After I took the fake nails off, I applied these. They were easy to get on, but they kept lifting around the tips of my nails. I did everything the instructions asked me to do, I removed all the oil from my nails (my nails are now in awful condition between the fake nails and these strips), I filed the excess off the correct way, I didn't get them wet...And still...They peeled off. Lesson learned, I will never buy press ons or nail polish strips again, I'm sticking with regular nail polish from now on.

Sorry I can't give a better review. Truly, the nail strips suck. That's my review. They just kept peeling off, there's no way they would have lasted two weeks. I doubt they would have lasted two hours. As for the fake nails, I can't say if they actually stay on for a week because I only made it through an hour before I couldn't stand it anymore and took them off. (That's my own issue though, it's not the fault of the nails.) If you're like me and you know that you cannot function with long nails, save your money. You know what pushed me over the edge after that hour? I realized, "Oh no, I have to feed the cats, how will I open the cans?" That's when I officially gave up.

There's some good news though!

I found a dupe for China Glaze's Zombie Zest! Roses are Red, Zombies are Green from Moon Shine Mani. Zombie Zest was released for Halloween 2010 and I've never forgotten it. That was my favorite polish of all time and I'm so happy there's a dupe for it. Is it an exact dupe? I don't know, that was 11 years ago, my original bottle is long gone. But it's at least pretty close and I'm excited about it. This nail polish is pretty pricey, it's $12. In comparison, Essie's Gel Couture polishes are $11.50 and those last on my nails forever, so I can justify the price. This isn't a gel polish, so hopefully I can get at least 5 days out of it without it chipping. I haven't tried it yet because like I said...I kind of destroyed my nails with those kits. Hopefully they'll be in better condition next week and I can test this out. I also just want to say that there was a plastic ring, a sticker and a Twizzler included in the package, so that was really cute. Twizzlers are my favorite candy, so extra points for that.