Happy Halloween! Hope everyone is having fun and staying safe~ Here’s a still from a beautiful yet scary (and sometimes hilarious) movie, Kwaidan. I watched this at my friend’s house, and even though I wasn’t scared while watching it, I had nightmares about it that night and apparently woke up shouting “No!” in the middle of the night. That’s the thing about Japanese horror movies – they’re psychological.

No good photos of Marie Antoinette yet, but here’s a sneak peek:

And my boyfriend went as one of the Monarch’s Henchmen from Venture Bros.

This year, I ran out of spending money and couldn’t create a new Halloween costume, so I’m revamping my Marie Antoinette costume from last year.

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This morning, I made an impromptu double-boiler out of a couple of pots and dipped a couple of bananas in dark chocolate. For those interested, here’s the easiest way to do this:

Makeshift Double-Boiler
1. Stack one small pot (with a handle) in a larger one on the stove.
2. Put a few cups of water in the bottom pot and be careful not to fill too much, or the water will boil over.
3. When the water in the bottom pot boils, put a bit of cooking spray or oil in the top pot to keep chocolate from sticking to pan and burning.
4. Put desired amount of chocolate in top pot and stir while chocolate melts. Continue stirring to prevent chocolate from burning.

The rest is just a matter of dipping or drizzling your favorite fruits and desserts with the chocolate! For those of you who want your chocolates to dry, heat your chocolate to 80-85° and maintain the temperature, then place your desserts on wax paper.

I used to work at Godiva, so although these look a bit shabby, I’m actually an experienced chocolatier, and I can’t wait to try out more complex recipes.

Go check it out!

(This Kiki’s Delivery Service couple was one of my favorite cosplays!)

Upon arrival my boyfriend and I staked out the closest In-N-Out and had our first In-N-Out meal in 2 years. So incredibly satisfying.

Homoerotic Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Bowser

My “convention face” two days in: runny makeup, breakouts, and messy unbrushed hair

My boyfriend playing my parents’ out-of-tune piano. He plays keyboard in a local band

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In a few months, I’m visiting Los Angeles to attend Anime Expo, the largest anime/manga convention on this side of the planet. Having attended three times already (and having enjoyed myself immensely), I’m stoked to go! Mentally I’m prepared, but as for my costume, I can safely say I’m cutting it close. As usual, I’m planning to cosplay Asuka from Evangelion, although this year, I’ve decided on a much more complex outfit of hers! This morning, my latex arrived, and with less than a month before I leave, I’m very nervous to finish it in time!

Unsanded, unpainted bolts made out of craft foam

5 yards of latex

Since I’ve never worked with latex before, I’m excited to try it out; however, I’m definitely preparing myself for failure, and I know this is going to be a valuable lesson in patience. Luckily, latex is made out of rubber, and therefore is very forgiving in terms of fit (with something like a 120% stretch ratio, I believe?), but rather than sewn, latex is glued, so I know that this is going to be interesting. Hopefully it turns out alright!

As almost everyone knows (since I’m the worst secret-keeper ever), I went as Marie Antoinette for Halloween. Over the next week or so, I hope to get some nice, well-lit pictures of it, but until then, here’s my Halloween report.

It really all started on Friday, when Mark and I went into Dallas to pick up his Rocky Balboa costume. Of course we stopped at Godiva (where I used to work) and picked up some treats!

My new favorite truffle: a remake of the old Godiva hazlenut praliné truffle. Although Godiva generally prides itself on meticulously-decorated truffles and chocolates, this particular piece sets itself apart with a haphazard lumpiness.

My favorite seasonal: the Pumpkin Spice truffle. Isn’t it adorable?

A brand-new item – pecan caramel bark! As an addict of the pecan caramel cluster, I made a b-line for this in the store as soon as I saw it in the catalogue. Mark and I have been munching away on it constantly.

Oh hell yes. Just look at that! Pecans and caramel smothered in milk chocolate and marbled with dark. Is there anything more decadent?

Friday night, Mark’s Dungeons and Dragons friends were taking part in Denton’s Rocky Horror Picture showing (by Los Bastardos), so we showed up. We were lucky enough to be planted next to three cougars who were WASTED. They bought this twenty-four-year-old guy dressed as Rocky (in a gold speedo) a drink, and then proceeded to take pictures of him sitting in their laps. They kept shrieking things like, “DON’T POST THAT ON MY FACEBOOK OH MY GOD!!!!” as they attempted to find their inner twenty-year-old. They ended up leaving early after one passed out.

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, but the costumes were CRAZY – french maids, some store bought Mad Hatters, and tons of people dressed as Rocky Horror cast members (though NONE of them knew the characters that they were dressed as! Embarassing!) We’ll definitely go again next year.

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Saturday was sewing, from the moment I woke up. Although I’d been sewing here and there for a week and a half, I had apparently not prepared nearly enough.

Finally the night arrived, and although I hadn’t finished all of the details, I decided I was far enough along.

First we went to my friend Marcus’ house to watch he and his brother perform in their band, Sacco & Vanzetti. Their décor was AMAZING – everything was black with neon purple/green/orange paint, with black and strobe lights. By the end of their show I was already drunk off of pumpkin ale and insisting to Mark that I was Godzilla (not Marie Antoinette). Hmmm….

Then we headed to the Fry Street bars. I got really tired really fast, but I nonetheless enjoyed the surreal atmosphere. Everyone was full of energy (save for me, by that point), and I just loved seeing all of the costumes.

Overall, I had a great time! What did you go as for Halloween??