Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Happy Haunting, Amelia Bedelia!


Happy Halloween, peanuts!


Anyone out there fans of Amelia Bedelia? She was one of our favorite books growing up. Apparently, there is an actual Halloween story called "Happy Haunting, Amelia Bedelia" but when I was little, we had just the self titled "Amelia Bedelia" by Peggy Parish and my mother would read it over and over with me.


I absolutely LOVED (and still do) Amelia's quirk of taking things TOO literally as a maid.  She'd strip the bed linens (into pieces), dress the turkey (in fancy attire), dust the house (by adding dust as opposed to removing it), draw the curtains (by sketching a picture of them) and change the towels (by modifying their appearance - I recall her cutting holes into them?). 


She was a real gem and needless to say, the book was endlessly amusing.


Her challenges aside, she almost always baked her employers a treat. She was great at baking pies and made lemon meringue in the original. Perhaps where my mother's and my love for lemon meringue started from!?


Somehow, her treats were so good, it made everyone forget about all the stuff she ruined. Hmm...must be SOME pie to make your employers forget about their destroyed towels, furniture, dinner, and home!


I had fun putting this costume together. My inspiration hit when the director of our larger team, Sayra, brought me some goodies after cleaning out her father-in-law's house. She found two vintage aprons (with tags still on!) and brought them in for me.


Isn't this one beautiful? I cannot get over the perfect condition it is in - the red and pink details are flawless! I had trouble getting the wrinkles out completely but I also didn't want to ruin it so I went easy on it. Still, it's just precious and perfect for a twist on Amelia's uniform in the books!


Paired with my favorite pair of BAIT Footwear Hoku boots and one of my staple dresses - a navy mock wrap dress I got from Unique Vintage's Dress of the Month Club - this costume might have been one of the easiest to put together! 


Will you be rocking a fun costume tonight? If so, what will you be?


Just don't have too much fun tonight - it's still a school night, after all!