Half-arsed Halloween

To be fair, we'd only arrived back from Australia three days earlier. I didn't get my shit together before our trip, which gave me very little time to prepare for Halloween after our return. I'd like to blame jet lag (at least partially) but let's face it - I've never been the type to sit down and lovingly make costumes from scratch. If I can buy it for under twenty bucks, that's what I call a happy result.

Exhibit A: Halloween 2010 (our first Halloween in the US)

The Faery's Cinderella - Target 

Miss Pie's jack o'lantern - Old Navy

Exhibit B - Halloween 2011 (our second Halloween in the US)

The Faery's cowgirl - skirt and boots already owned (Target?), flannel top from KMart for the cowgirl look,
hat and badge from The Party Store
Miss Pie's cupcake - Old Navy 

 Exhibit C - Halloween 2012 (our third)

Miss Pie's pirate princess - Costco
The Faery's pirate princess - Amazon

Which brings me to our most recent effort. In the past, I'd at least managed to carve some pumpkins, string up some fake spider webs and make a sign or two. This year, we were away for a good chunk of October, so decorating was non-existent - with the exception of one hastily carved pumpkin the night before.

I didn't worry too much about the lack of fun decorations. Our home is in a tiny side street, part of a group of just five townhouses. Neighbours had told us there was very little pedestrian traffic on Halloween, so it didn't look like we'd be getting many - if any - trick or treaters.

One other issue was the climate. With our Californian Halloweens, two of those days saw temperatures soar above 30ºC and the main issue then was keeping the kids from overheating. With absolutely no chance of that happening in Seattle (it's been COLD), we had to think about how the kids would stay warm enough during their trick or treating rounds. In all likelihood, puffy down jackets were going to be covering up their costumes anyway.

Their costumes could have been worse. I hit the lazy jackpot when Miss Pie declared she wanted to be Cinderella - we still had the Faery's first Halloween costume kicking around in the dress-up basket. It was falling apart but Miss Pie was happy to wear it. Yay for hand-me-downs, right?

As for the Faery, she wanted to be a ninja. A quick Google search for kids' ninja costumes convinced me it would be okay to dig out her old (black) Karate uniform, have her wear her dark navy hoodie underneath, and and an old red coat's belt (mine), plus a shimmery scarf (mine) to cover her face. Granted, it didn't look as 'smart' as her half-dozen male classmates' store-bought ninja costumes... but I was impressed that she was the only girl ninja in her class (there was a class Halloween party in the morning).

Allow me to present....

Exhibit D: Halloween 2013

The Faery's ninja - total half-arsed job
Miss Pie's Cinderella - lazy hand-me-down 

There is a bit of a happy ending to this unprepared Halloween. A little schoolmate's family invited us to their place for dinner, in a different neighbourhood. They have a gathering each year with other kids and their families - everyone brings a dish, the dads all take the kids trick or treating, and the mums all stay back and drink wine while handing out the treats.

Totally my kind of way to spend Halloween. We had such a great time that I even forgot to take many photos. The above one is sadly the best shot I had, taken in the chaos as all the kids were getting ready to go door-knocking.

J and I were almost delirious with fatigue - you know, since we'd only been back three days and had to get straight back into work and school routines - but we were more than glad to have the opportunity to make some new friends. It was an interesting mix - a little United Nations. Most of the families were Indian, Persian, Swedish, Brazilian, Chinese, German and Serbian... with us Aussies thrown into the mix. The evening led to more invitations for playdates and parties, and I'm happy to say I know a few more friendly faces I can chat to at school now.

For a day that had minimum effort put in, it turned out to be surprisingly fun. Who knows? Next Halloween, even I might dress up...

Who's that girl?

This is what happens when an adult - who rarely goes out - attends a
showbiz party at a club in Hollywood.

Who is she? I barely recognise her.

She looks like she knows how to have fun. How to laugh.

(Some may draw the line at squatting dancing over a large golden

 egg on the dance floor, but she thought the egg was fair game)

She looks like a bit of a lush. 

She looks like someone I used to know. 

The truth is: she was tagged on Facebook in about a dozen photos from the party. 

In most of the photos, she is seen clutching glasses of wine.

The truth is: she only had three drinks all night. 

The truth is: she was mostly caught up in high spirits, 

not the beverage kind.

The bit about having fun, though? That was true.

The Wrap(ture)

Party decor

I'm happy to report that my first preview screening and 'showbiz' party was far more fun than I could have imagined.

The main big impression from the night was how much pride everybody had for their film, Kung Fu Panda 2. I don't think I'd given it too much thought in the past, but perhaps assumed that companies churn out films with the main goal of making money, and lots of it, but not so much heart and soul - at least with the larger film companies.

I think I've been proven wrong. Sure, there's a huge financial element to the film industry but listening to the speeches made before the preview screening, the people involved were quite emotional and so incredibly happy with the end result of their hard work. It was touching to see.

A bonus was an appearance by Jack Black, thanking and acknowledging the crew for their hard work. Oh, and seeing J's name in the end credits. Exciting! And lovely to know that he's working for a company that not only treats their employees very well, but appreciates what they do and lets them know it. (He's had some pretty unscrupulous employers over the years who have a whole shite load of bad karma coming their way. One in particular - ironically - just released a major game, L.A. Noire, last week... one that J put a lot of blood and sweat into over the first few years we were back in Sydney, yet he's been given zero credit... arseholes). But enough about that, I'm just so relieved he's happy here, and our Big Move is starting to pay off.

As for the movie itself? Go see it. If you have kids, take them along. If they don't like 3D (it freaks out the Faery and she refuses to wear the glasses) then take them to a 2D session instead because the effects are pretty intense. Not only is the animation the best I've sen yet, but the storyline is simple enough for small kids to follow, without boring the grown ups. Of course I'm biased, but I really do believe it's worth a trip to the cinema for.

After the screening, the crew wrap party was just a short walk away in a beautifully decked out section of Universal Studios - all kinds of Oriental-style lanterns and parasols. Two things about me: 1) I'm a cheap drunk these days and 2) I'm easily impressed when it comes to parties. The first point was not an issue because I was designated driver and had to avoid the free cocktails but with the second point, I think even the most well-seasoned party-goer would have been impressed here.

I won't bore with details about the food - let's just say I was a little Miss Piggy because I wasn't drinking. If you'd seen the food, you understand. Hell, I needed something in my hand! Too many years, pre-kids, of partying with a drink in one hand and cigarette in the other.

Even better were the conversations I had that weren't with little people under the age of five. I met some seriously lovely people and look forward to more of that.

The other fun part was the dance floor. It's been far too long since the last time I was somewhere that had a dance floor, and despite not being lubricated by alcohol, I managed to find the boogie in me. Even my sore toes obliged - for a while. As long as no one stepped on them, I was fine.

When we finally fell into bed the following morning (when was the last time I could say that, huh?) all J and I could say was that we needed to go out like that more often. Not just the odd date night eating out, just us two, but get social. Talk to people, and lots of them. Dance. It's good for the soul.

My final lesson from the night: getting up at 6.30am, after a huge night and only four hours sleep, to sort out the little ones? Hard. In hindsight, not drinking was a smart move... it's now been confirmed that I'm no spring chicken.