Halloween Emerges Quietly at Target & Other News

So it is finally September....Hooray! I had wanted to do a "First Day of September" post...but alas I am late as always. September 1st signifies that we are just one calendar month away from the glorious month of October...woo hoo! And in Florida it means that the stores can officially start putting out their Halloween wares. True enough....some renegade stores have had theirs out for awhile now....and oh how I love them for it too. But many are hold-outs until September when it is officially safe, and a less likely target of the scorn and ridicule of the 'Unbelievers'! You know the ones....."those who don't believe in the Great Pumpkin"!! Tsk Tsk! Now I'm not sure how it goes down, in other parts of the nation, but in Florida.....it seems that Target is always the last holdout.
BUT....I went in there this week and actually found small signs of Halloween emerging. They had the Halloween T-shirts out, which is usually the first thing to arrive in our stores. And there were a few Halloween items in the Dollar Bins up front, but not many. But surprisingly, they also had a Halloween Music section, complete with an audio box to listen to all the spooky selections. The Fall candles were out and smelling good, as well as children's Halloween books. There were NO signs of the 'School Supply Section' being converted over to Halloween yet however. Oh Target....why do you taunt me so? This excursion to Target was exciting to me though because....well because I am easily excited I suppose. But it was almost like Easter egg hunting in a way. As these little sections of Halloween were hidden amongst the regular merchandise with no real signage or fanfare to mark their presence. And I just happened to stumble upon them as I made my way around the store. That's always fun. In juxtaposition to Target of course...is the Spirit Halloween Store that officially opened it's doors. Ours is decorated really spooky and has all kinds of props and costumes. It's 100% 'in your face' Halloween there....no searching necessary! As the 500 neon orange signs they have out front does a more than adequate job of alerting you to their presence!

And Home Goods, which was previously not impressing me much so far this season....just upped their game! I went in, because it is my weekly Autumn routine to go in and see if anything new and spectacular has arrived. And much to my delight, the Halloween section had grown exponentially, AND it was swarming with people. This did cause me a moment of slight panic as I thought of them encroaching on my holiday. For I'm usually the only one haunting those aisles this early in the season. Where did all those folks come from? HomeGoods had a lot of new items that were not there just a few days ago. So now I proclaim my love affair with Home Goods to be officially rekindled. Oh how I love thee HG! Oh....and, JoAnne's had begun getting their Halloween merchandise out as well, and I scored my first sighting and purchase of Martha's Halloween line! I liked it....but then I always do. There was a 'Witchy' line of stickers and decals that I especially liked. But it was all good in my book!As for us....well, we are enjoying our Labor Day weekend by decorating the inside of the house for Halloween of course. And we've managed to watch "The Good Witch", "The Halloween Tree" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to kick off the season. Hope everyone else is getting out. or staying in and kicking off the Halloween season as well!

Open Letter to Mischeivous Martha

Oh Martha, Martha, Martha! You teasing lil' temptress you! As much as I love you and your minion of fab designers, I must say that your trickery is just not polite. It's really uncool to trick those of us who love Halloween into buying yet another one of your Halloween 'Been There, Done That' magazines by putting a brand new cover on it and calling it a Halloween Handbook. Yes, you almost got me again with your same old tricks. How many times do I have to fall for that before I quit taking the bait? Either come out with an entirely new mag or don't put one out at all next season, capiche?!

Actually...I must confess, I didn't fall prey to your sorcery this year, because I was given a swift 'heads up' from a fellow Halloween Head who warned me there was nothing 'new' about this 'new' magazine of yours. I did of course have to thumb through it myself just to verify, but she was right....just a new cover.

So I left the bookstore and drove to Michael's with a scowl on my face while cursing you under my breath....only to discover that they just put out your new Halloween line of stickers, papers and goodies. And all it took, was just one look and you were back into my good graces. There were so many nifty items I had a hard time choosing. (Did I mention that I am addicted to paper goods, stationary and office supplies....it's a really strange illness that dates all the way back to my childhood. So for me, going into Michael's is like a Rx Drug addict hanging out at the Walgreens Pharmacy.)

So anyway, I thought I'd post some of the uber cool stickers I scored. There were basically two themes working there....a 'Vampire' line and a 'Sort of Retro' looking line. Can't decide which ones I dig the most. But I can think of a lot of fun projects to make with these. As for you Martha? You are nothing but an 'ENABLER'!

Martha's October Magic

Hello again! This is my second post of the day. I decided to go ahead and put this one here because I wanted to share this news with anyone who might have been hiding under a rock and not seen Miss Martha's 'other' magazine for this month. Martha Stewart LIVING magazine for October is fabulous. It's titled the 'Magic of Fall'! I had already picked up her Hallowe'en magazine of course, but I have to be completely honest and say that I like this one better. The cover is great. I would imagine most of you have picked this up already, but if you haven't, then you should. It has some wonderful Hallowe'en ideas in it, plus is chock full of gorgeous photos of pumpkins and gourds, scary looking plants and the most beautiful gravestones. I've had mine for awhile, and I did thumb through it and look at the pretty images, but I had saved it to read more closely on the plane today. So I guess I will curl up in my bed with it tonight. Go grab one while you can.

Update #2: Okay, first of all, thank you so much for all of your well wishes and bids of sympathy for our canceled trip. I am dressed in all black as a public display of my mourning...ha! We took our daughter to the doctor. And we were told that yes she has flu of some sorts, and most likely it is H1N1 (aka Swine Flu) only because everyone that is walking in their door is testing positive for it right now. She said it is everywhere here, in all the schools. GREAT! So they offered to give her the rapid flu test to confirm, and if it were positive for H1N1 Flu ONLY, then they would give her the antiviral Tamiflu.

However, my daughter knows what a horrible test this is and refused to take it, as her 6 year old brother was given the test when he had strep earlier in the year just as a precaution, and he said it 'shocked his brain'! Ouch! So the doc said to just take her home and treat it as you would any flu, and if it gets worse come back. So we all came home and took naps. Her fever jumps back to 103 when the meds wear off. I also have a low grade fever of 99.8 and am extremely tired with upset stomach, but I am not feeling like I have the bad flu that she has yet. So now that she has suffered a while, she is ready to go back to the Nite Lite clinic and get the test in hopes of getting the Tamiflu to make her better. So off we go again. Thanks again for your well wishes and don't forget to pick up this magazine. I will be posting something new and un-Flu related tomorrow in hopes of a better day! The positive to all this is that now I have this weekend to do my Hallowe'en decorating that I haven't had a chance to get to yet. Assuming that I myself do not get any sicker. So see...always try to think positive! :o)

She's Come To Haunt the Party!

OMG....IT'S HERE! Well maybe not officially in your neck of the haunted woods, but the first sightings of the Martha Stewart Halloween Magazine have been reported. So start checking your newsstands and bookstores now. It's already out in some areas according to other blogs, so I'm just passing along the exciting news. I could not find it on her website though. I have my hubby checking the bookstore on his way home from work today, but my guess is, it won't be out just yet. I love the cover because I myself had been throwing around a 'Victorian' witchy look for this year, so I can just bet I'm going to love this issue. Speaking of Hallowe'en costumes, if any of you ghouls and guys has any suggestions or ideas on how to create a 'Victorian' witch costume...please offer them up here, or give me links to places with images or items that could be used. I'd be much obliged! Happy Hump Day!

Martha Madness

Well, it appears that your good friend and mine....the ever clever Martha Stewart....is slowly taking over Hallowe'en. Let's face it...the lady is as smart as she is crafty, and she knows a good opportunity to cash in, when she sees one. Yep, Hallowe'en is the best insider tip she's gotten thus far, and the holiday is hot, hot, hot! Second only to Christmas in sales and swiftly catching up. And honestly, Martha can do Hallowe'en like nobody's business. I for one, look forward to her Hallowe'en magazine all year long and can't wait to see what goodies she sends to Michael's stores for the season.
But to me, she really seems to excel at the paper products and stationary and party supply kind of things. (And YES, I do realize that Martha is not actually my friend, (though she should be)...... and that all those fab ideas don't come from Martha herself, but rather from those uber talented designers that she has chained up in the basement of her office building, doing all her evil bidding.) And believe you me, I wish to the Great Pumpkin that I was one of them.....second only, to being an Imagineer at Disney World.
So I wandered onto Grandin Road's website, into their Hallowe'en Haven, and lo and behold, I find Martha in all her evilness, sneering from the page. And I wonder why Countess Martha is hanging out there in the Halloween section. Then I quickly notice it's because she is hawking her Hallowe'en wares....that's why! And the 'Martha Madness' ensues!That cunning little minx has been busy brewing up her 'Martha Magic' and spreading her 'brand' across the land. First K-mart, then Michael's...now Grandin Road. From a $150 glittered skeleton, to some mondo fab invitations and labels, to a nifty pumpkin clock....she has officially begun her campaign to become the Queen of Hallowe'en! And of course to get a heck of a lot richer in the process. And although I do love most of Martha's Hallowe'en merchandise, especially paper goods...I still don't know if she can beat Bethany Lowe in the Hallowe'en department....but that is just one good witch's humble opinion, and I adore her. So check out Martha Stewart's offerings at the Grandin Road website and pay homage to the Queen.(All photos from the great GrandinRoad website in the Halloween Haven section.)