Hey guys . . .

. . .Recognize these people?

No?

How about now?

Yep, that's Roommate and me on the stairwell in NY.

And this is us on the stairwell in LA.

I was worried about going as Lydia Deetz sans Beetlejuice and then Roommate pointed out that his nickname is 'Juice' and he should probably go with me as BeetleJuice. I had to admit he had a point.

Once he was in complete costume, I was worried that people would mistake Beetlejuice for the Joker circa 2008.

I think someone (read: Christopher Nolan) is a Tim Burton fan. . .

Luckily no one thought he was the Joker.

And Roommate was such a good sport about being in-character-spastic and dancing all night.

I thought my costume was soooooo obvious. . .

. . . but when I was sans Beetlejuice some funny people asked if I was PJ Harvey, Amy Winehouse, or Bride of Frankenstein (to name a few).

I get it.

I have a strong nose.

Now stop being annoying all you 'slutty nerd' girls from the dance - you all guessed wrong! And why did all of you have the same costume? Boring!

Guys, remember how much I love the D.I?

I made a quick trip to the D.I. yesterday (in honor of Halloween and of course they had everything I needed) and it reminded me of all the good times I've spent at various Deseret Industries.

One year, Stacey and I decided we'd use the Secret and buy our future wedding gowns there.

Last December I went with Nephew and made him switch jackets with me. Nothing feels better than fitting into an 8-year-old's jacket.

This is a photo of my sisters and I in front of Grammy's favorite location: Provo, UT. She'd go and walk around for hours and everyone knew her.

There was one story where a friend picked her up from the hospital and Grammy was in a night gown and coat and asked to go to the D.I. When her friend objected because of her outfit Grammy took some scissors, cut off a good 8 inches to her night dress so the coat covered it and said 'I'm ready to go now.'

I took little Kitten to several different D.I.'s around UT,

this one was clearly the sweatiest location.

Speaking of my Little Kitten, my LA sister sent her some Missoni for Target accessories, knowing photos of Kitty in Missoni would be the only thing that would cheer me up when I was blue.

It was almost worth being sad. No, it was totally worth being sad!

And did you know Kitten's mom gave her her first haircut?

I am properly obsessed with this one. I'm dying to hear what her speaking voice will sound like one day! Like you know, when she's 30.

Guys, I've posted this before but . . .

Well, I was thinking, maybe THIS would be the best costume ever -

since it's clearly the best movie ever.

Or if I want to go the route of best couples ever -

there's always this one:

Just because it'd be fun to be in character all night.

And to find my other-half to this costume all I'd have to do is go to the dentist for a root canal (and be sure and take the drugs they offer).

Argh, I want a kid so bad

You know, for the costumes . . .

Kids really do get to have more fun at Halloween. Just ask me in 1983. I could not have had more fun that night.

Hmmm, maybe I don't need a kid since its just for that one night a year.

I'll just hire one.

A cute one, though.

Guys, I love technology

OK, I'm being ungrateful. I should be happy that video chat lets me hear and almost see my god daughter. I mean, if this were the 80's I'd be freaking out. But Little Kitten is so gosh darn adorable and I only get to see her a few times a year, so I think my sarcasm is completely justified.

So get it together Mac Book/ Video Chat / Anything else that makes Kitten so pixelated.

Guys, can we talk about my favorite holiday?

No! Not Thanksgiving/ My Birthday!

(But I do love dressing as a pilgrim.)

My OTHER favorite holiday, Halloween.

I start planning my costume at least a month before the Big Day and it usually hits in a moment of genius.

Let's review . . .

From 2002- 2005 I was either Hermione or a student from Gryffindor. I know this hints at a lack of creativity, but I was so obsessed with Harry Potter and English boarding schools, this was the only thing that made me happy. (My last year in this costume I attempted to wear it to work and realized magazines in NY are not fun like that.)

Back in 2005, Monkey was a geisha and my cousin came dressed as Me complete with a mask of my face, which I carried around most of the night. It made me feel funny. (Note: Digital cameras didn't exist in 2002 so there is no record of that year.)

In 2006 I was in love with Sofia Coppola's movie and decided to go as Marie Antoinette. This was fun to sew together because the only thing I bought was a white clown wig that I had to reshape to create a masterpiece.

In 2007 I was Frida Kahlo and again I only had to buy one thing:

the blue monkey.

In 2008 I was Hester Prynne. This was a children's costume I bought months before Halloween because it was on sale. You never know when you'll need a medieval dress for an 8-year-old. Weeks later I realized all I needed to do was wear my pilgrim hat and sew on an 'A' and Sha-Zam! Puritanical America!

In 2009 I was Karen O. Clearly. And I didn't need to buy one thing.

Impressed?

In 2010 I was the white swan to my friend Rachel's Black Swan. Rachel let me be tres bossy with her; I got to pick out her outfit and paint her face (plus I wanted to be the white swan and she let me put her in black.)

This year I was thinking of skipping Halloween altogether.

But then I remembered this:

Which led me to this:

And I ended up here:

Lydia Deetz.

Should I finally cut my bangs?

Guys, did you know I love Duane Reade?

I love Duane Reade and not in an ironic way.

I genuinely love it.

And I loved it before they all got posh and scape-age.

For those of you who haven't been to America -- Duane Reade is the greatest drugstore ever born. Holly Golightly had Tiffany's and I had Duane Reade.

So the last time I went to America I made a special trip to the new Duane Reade at 40 Wall.

They promised to make all my dreams come true.

With a promise like that I knew I had to share it with Sweet D.

I knew we were in for a treat when I saw the grand entrance

and the escalator showed us exactly how good we looked.

And who greets us?

Oh just this gem of a robot hologram lady.

Gem and the Holograms told us where to get the

important stuff, like fresh flowers.

Where am I, Chelsea Market?

Seriously, no need to trek over to 9th Ave

if I can get Fat Witch Brownies at 40 Wall.

There were so many food options but I actually wasn't

that hungry that day. I'll have to go back.

Di partook of the food and I read the about the stock market.

Then we went upstairs to the Beauty Bar and asked a computer what colors were best for us. Di found out she was naturally beautiful as is and I should buy red lipstick.

But the best part ever was that they had my favorite hard-to-find shade of nail color. Lapiz of Luxury by essie and I bought up to two bottles.

Guys, I might be back

I had to take a break for a while. But not from the internet or blogging, I've been Blogging a ton. Yeah, I haven't been able to stop - I do it everyday. Just not here.

So first I need to catch you up on a few things:

I discovered estate sales are the perfect place for birthday gifts.

Found out my mom is a little competitive and doesn't mind getting her finger dirty.

Someone's apology flowers met a sad demise.

I discovered why America is awesome

Cheesey-puffs bigger than a smart phone.

This happened and it made me mad

and fascinated me at the same time.

Come on!

@lisa decided to embrace the honey-badger inside her.

My little Monkey took a cue from me

And moved to CA with 20+ army bags.

(Mich's genius idea worked for two different moves!)

You can buy the best stuff at Costco overseas. Like a toddler.

Then I got to babysit the toddler and I taught her to tear up books and toilet paper.

We had a family mini-vacation.

And I found out what happens when you leave your nieces alone with your room key.

I learned that floods aren't as fun as they look

because they are so filthy.

Thanks a lot giant wave from New Zealand.