Mimi Takes Five - #272

ONE // The Great Pumpkin Record

This has got to be the most quintessential fall item I found. I did not have "get an orange pumpkin-shaped record" on my fall bingo card, yet here we are! It's no secret that I am and have been a Peanuts fan since childhood and always watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas every single year. These two shows have been part of my holiday celebrations forever and aren't going anywhere any time soon. I've had the green Christmas record for a few years now it's probably my most played record. It's become my tradition to play it while I decorate my tree every year. You can imagine my excitement and immediate add-to-cart reaction when I found the Halloween record this year! This was definitely not a want, but a need. The fact that it is pumpkin-shaped just makes it the most epic record of my collection. Let's just say I've played it so much these past months that my husband is tired of listening to it. 

TWO // KitKat Haunted House

Not going to lie, I wanted this KitKat haunted house kit the moment I clapped eyes in it! While I like assembling a gingerbread house kit during the holidays, let's face it, it hardly gets eaten. Am I right? With this edible house, I knew I'd be eating every morsel, ha ha! It was actually very easy and straightforward to assemble because of the plastic structural pieces. However, the icing details were much more technical. We managed in the end, but the best part was actually eating this house. Truth be told, I was uneasy about having so many chocolate bars unwrapped at once and felt a bit pressured to consume them as quickly as possible before they went stale. There are worst problems to have. Still, I wouldn't want any chocolate to go to waste. Fear not, not chocolate was overlooked and every bit was consumed in a timely fashion! Missed out on the haunted house? I see they have a festive option now available.

THREE // Halloween Pyjamas

I was due for a new set of Halloween pyjamas this year and landed on these from Giant Tiger! I love a matching set and the print of these PJs is absolutely adorable. It's on theme, but just spooky, not scary. I love looking at all the tiny details, from spiders to tiny monster candies! It's also super soft and has a great loose fit, making it as comfy as can be. I'm also tall and find the sleeves and leg lengths to be perfect. While these pyjamas are great all around, I think the best part is when I found out through our family chat that my niece and nephew have the exact same matching ones! Good taste runs in the family.

FOUR // Spooky Bath Bombs

One of the things I look forward to with the arrival of fall is taking bubble baths again. I tend to only enjoy warm soaks during the dark, cold months which means I start up again as the weather changes. Fall weather did take a while to set in this year and I've had a little stash of seasonal bath bombs at the ready for when it finally got cooler out. Well, for the last couple weeks, I've been treating myself to relaxing baths with these spooky bath bombs from Lush. This year I got the Pumpkin (which I've loved in the past), but I also decided to try out the Mummy, the Bat and the Ghost. I just love how they change they fizz, change colour of the water and fill the room with a comforting scent. It's the best thing to unwind after a long week or day.

FIVE // Spider Pup

I do not have kids, yet I found myself sewing a Halloween costume this year. It was not for me either, it was for my dog! I've gotten my dog simple dog costumes these last few years (she's been a ladybug and a pumpkin). I had spotted a few options for dog spider costumes this year, but was too late in snagging one. So, when at the dollar store, my husband and I found the perfect elements to make our own! I was looking for a rather specific decorative spider. It had to be just the right size to match my dog, it needed to be dark brown or black, it needed articulated legs and I wanted it to be furry. We really lucked out because we found exactly that! I then grabbed a black-based dog costume and that's it for the supplies. 

The black shirt had a little tulle ruffle and a rib-cage print in white. I took a sharpie and coloured in the white parts, I then removed the tulle and sewed a clean edge. That was the prep for the base. My husband opened up the body of the spider, which was luckily made with two round styrofoam shapes. Removing half was almost too easy. We then folded over the fabric covering and glued the spider to the black dog onesie with fabric glue. I then reinforced it by sewing around the entire edge to really secure it. The final step was perfectly fitting the onesie to the dog. Just one more bit of sewing and the costume was done! I'll admit that I likely spent more time making this costume than the dog will spend wearing it, but it was all worth it! She looks perfectly creepy in it, like a huge spider running around! If you don't know it's a dog, it's enough to make your heart skip a beat!

BONUS // Carved Pumpkin

Today's post has a surprise bonus item in honour of Halloween coming up! I really wanted to share my carved pumpkin with you. I'm not the most skilled in this department. Truth be told, I'll never achieve the levels of pumpkin carving my sister does. However, I am proud of my efforts with this year's autumn leaf design. I didn't follow a model or stencil. I just drew the leaves on myself. My maple leaves are far from perfect, but those leaves are hard to draw, OK? I did end up scraping some thickness from the inside of the pumpkin when I was done carving because the light coming through was very faint. Maybe I'll remember to carve more deeply next year.