Ok, I wasn’t planning on a blog post for this but I couldn’t resist! The set up was too cute and with spooky season right around the corner it seemed fitting. I bought this coffin cake pan last spooky season at Home Goods and I’ve been dying to use it (no pun intended). I’m not much of a cook but I love baking! Since it’s always been kinda of therapeutic for me, I definitely didn’t mind baking my own birthday cake the other day . 

This homemade black frosting is my absolute favorite! The key to making the perfect black frosting is black cocoa. Black food coloring just doesn’t get the frosting black enough. Although I love how a red velvet cake looks with black frosting, I was really tempted to try the black velvet cake mix I saw at Michael’s. Next time!

If you’re looking for super easy spooky treats to make, these bat Oreos are about as easy as it gets! I was so excited to find the edible wandering eyes at Michael’s the other day so I had make them. I saw the idea on Pinterest and thought it was genius!

Let me know in the comments if you want to see more spooky baking on the blog.

Stay spooky, everyone!

Shop the post here!

It’s my birthday!!! I love creating content that high school me would also love and appreciate. Hopefully she’d say, “you’ve still got it and you’re still being true to yourself.” They say your 30s are all about rediscovering what you loved as a 13 year old and doing it again without the judgement and shame. As I enter the last year of my 30s I can honestly say I’ve done that and I’m so glad because your 30s can feel a lot like adolescence sometimes. There’s still pressure to fit into a certain mold, there’s still pressure to be someone you’re not to move up the ranks and if you’re not doing what everyone else is doing people still can’t relate to you. Luckily, you’re still given the choice to stay true to yourself. Last year of my 30’s conclusion? If I can’t get to where I want to be by being myself then where am I really going?

I guess I never want to act my age, what’s my age again?

P.S. There were SO many products to link in this post that I just linked everything here!

Photography by Little Photo Fox

Whoever said “black is not a summer color” was severely mistaken. Typically I’m not all that tempted by clothes in stores during the warmer months, but this summer has been a different story. When your favorite color and print (black and white stripes) is available in light weight pieces for summer, you stock up! When we first moved to Portland, we loved the summers because they were really mild compared to summers in North Carolina and Illinois. Over the last 5 years though, Portland summers have grown increasingly hotter. Just this week it hit 105 degrees, so I’ve been in search of light weight comfy summer clothes more than ever. These t-shirt dresses from H&M have proven to be great for lounging and running errands. I’ve already purchased 3 this summer (an all black, light pink and the striped one I’m wearing I’m wearing in this post). I’m wearing size XS and it’s roomy without being baggy. I just hang them to dry instead of putting them in the dryer.

Shop my look here !
Photography by Little Photo Fox

When your photographer tells you “you look like a tropical spider,” you most definitely say “thank you, that’s the sweetest compliment!”🕷️ I bought this pink and red web print wrap dress around Valoween and knew instantly I had to style it for summer. I love adding pieces to my wardrobe where the styling opportunities are endless! This wrap dress can be worn as a dress, a glamorous swim coverup or a duster. I’m so glad I bought it before it sold out. Now that I’ve checked this styling option off my list, I’m looking forward to all the other ways I can wear it! I was so nervous when Vanessa and I were taking a few of these shots because I didn’t want the mesh to get caught on anything. There is nothing worse than wearing something for the first time and ruining it. I feel like a collector when it comes to my favorite small business brands, so I’m really careful when wearing their pieces. Typically when things sell out from these shops they’re not restocked so that’s what gets me in trouble lol. Ok, maybe there’s nothing worse than buyer’s remorse. Either way, ruining something the first time you wear it is right up there with buyers remorse. 

Stay spooky!

Wax Poetic wrap dress from Dela Deville’s Vintage / velvet bodysuit from Amazon / Floral hairpiece made by me / Wig from Annabelle’s Wigs UK (I’m wearing the Milena and I LOVE it)

Photography by Vanessa Wolf Creative

Thanks to my husband and Ancestry.com I’ve learned that most of my ancestral family tree leads straight to France. My Maternal Grandfather’s side took a bit longer to trace though…To my surprise, it led to Ispwich, Mass and the Salem Witch Trials before ending up in England. We found my 9th Great Grandfather’s handwritten testimony defending his neighbor against accusations of witchcraft. I recognized his neighbor’s name immediately because I knew her fate.

I’ve always been fascinated by Salem and the witch hysteria that broke out in 1692. Blame it on seeing Hocus Pocus at a really young age, but visiting Salem has always been on my list. Last year right before Christmas my husband and I went to Boston and I practically begged him for a Salem day trip. It wasn’t until we got back home that I learned about my ancestral connection to Witch City. Now I don’t know whether to blame my life long fascination with Salem on the Sanderson Sisters or my family tree. What I do know is this, if I were alive during that time in history I most definitely would have been accused of witchcraft and it would’ve had nothing to do with the occult.

Stay true to yourself.

H&M dress / Hat from Vixen by Mitcheline Pitt / Earrings from Mod with Love
Photography by Keri E!

It’s July, 90 degrees and Halloween decorations are hitting the stores. I’m not complaining, this post couldn’t be more appropriate and I finally get to buy home decor again! I stay spooky year round so ghosts, bats, spider webs and skeletons are always in season at my house. 

Don’t let the swimsuit fool you though, as much as I love sunshine you won’t find me out tanning. If I’m not in the shade on a hot sunny day, I’m usually inside reading or watching paranormal investigation shows. I guess you could say I really embrace my inner glamour ghoul during the summer months. The older I get the more I avoid the sun. I swear I’m not a vampire, I’m just even more grateful for hats, umbrellas and indoor spin classes this time of year. 

Stay spooky!

Swim suit from Unique Vintage/ Wig from Annabelle’s Wigs UK (I’m wearing the Milena and I love it) / Umbrella from Witchwood Bags / Bat wing sunglasses from La Femme En Noir (they come in a coffin case!)

Photography by Vanessa Wolfe Creative

 Black and white has been one of my favorite color combinations for as long as I can remember. It’s my weakness when it comes to clothes and home decor. Since I’ve been in monochromatic heaven this summer, with so many amazing all black and black & white pieces in stores, I thought it would be fun to style some summer looks inspired by my love for retro and Wednesday Addams. As a lover of spooky style and black & white, I fell in LOVE with Jenna Ortega’s wardrobe in the Netflix series Wednesday. I loved the modern twist they put on Wednesday’s classic style. Turns out I already have quite the Wednesday capsule wardrobe in my closet! Shocking, right?! My husband actually surprised with this t-shirt recently and it couldn’t be more perfect. Clearly he gets me and my style 🖤.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Shop my outfit here / Wig from Annabelle’s Wigs UK (I’m wearing the Milena and I’m obsessed with it) / Never Trust The Living handbag from Killstar / Rx glasses from Zeelool I’m wearing the Marilyn cateye frames (I love them so much, I want them in Rx sunglasses)

Photography by Little Photo Fox

I decided this look needed its moment on the blog so I decided to give it a quick post. Plus, there are so many amazing all black and black & white pieces in stores for summer right now and…it’s getting me in trouble! I’ve linked quite a few of my recent finds for you here! See I told you this post would be quick!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Photography by Little Photo Fox

A year ago I saw this top at H&M (similar here) and it reminded me of the top Gwen Stefani wore in the 1996 music video for Don’t Speak so…I bought it. Gwen’s style is ICONIC! When I think of my favorite 90s and Y2K trend setters, Gwen is at the top of list! Middle school/high school me definitely aspired to be that cool. Let’s face it, it’s 2023 and Gwen is still on top of the style game! Instead of recreating her Don’t Speak outfit, I just decided to combine ALL THINGS Gwen! I’m a huge fan of her makeup line, GXVE, so of course I’m wearing her signature red lipstick in Anaheim Shine – Original Recipe . I’m also wearing eyeshadow from the Eye See In Color – Simple Kind of Life quad and I sculpted my brows with her Most Def brow pencil. I’m starting to think I was destined to be platinum blonde because all of my style icons are platinum! Maybe all the bleach has gone to my head but I really don’t think it’s a coincidence 😆. 

Also I’m so glad it’s Friday because I had it up to…here.

Photography by my friend Keri!

“If you ever felt alone…If you ever felt rejected…If you ever felt confused…If you ever felt lost…”

I’ve probably gone to post the photos from this shoot 5 times and couldn’t. This blog post that coincides with the shoot was written long before the shoot ever took place and even it has been reworked multiple times. Sometimes I create something that’s so special to me that I have a hard time sharing it. In the words of My Chemical Romance front man, Gerard Way, “once you put something out, it’s no longer yours,” and I wanted these photos to be mine for as long as possible. 

This shoot was COLD and miserable (we’re talking January of this year, 32 degrees with wind at the top of hill) but looking back on it, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  This shoot wasn’t meant to be easy for me because of the personal connection to the concept. 

If you don’t “get” My Chemical Romance or you think they’re “gimmicky”, watch the 2006 documentary Life on the Murder Scene and then come talk to me. I love everything MCR has put out over the years but their 2004 album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge started it ALL for me. It’s the reason why I became an MCR fan. I remember hearing the first single off of the album – “I’m Not Okay (I promise)” and instantly feeling okay.

Over the years Gerard has been pretty open about mental health and overcoming alcohol addiction. In the 2006 documentary he talks about how the band saved his life and it’s there to save other people’s lives. He goes on to say the band has been pretty vocal about their message, “ just to know that it’s ok to be messed up cause there’s 5 dudes that are just as messed up as you and we’ve overcome that in order to do what we do.” 

It might sound crazy, but this is one of my comfort albums. It never lets me down and always has a way of making me feel less alone. This album has also taught me to embrace the things that make me me. The MCR Revenge Era has always been a constant source of inspiration, motivation and encouragement when I’ve needed it the most. If I could say one thing to Gerard and the members of MCR it would be thank you, so I guess this is my way of saying that.

Vintage strapless dress from Domino Vintage / Black velvet blazer and veiled pill box hat from Most Everything Vintage/ Sequin dress from Vixen by Mitcheline Pitt / Bat cinch belt from Unique Vintage / wearing eye shadow from the MCR x Hipdot Revenge palette

Photography by Vanessa Wolf Creative

Sources: Life on the Murder Scene and My Turning Point with Steve Baltin