Last Minute Witchy Nails

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Are you guys ready for Halloween?! We’ve been binge watching The Addams Family from the ’60s and loving it!

We’ve got six days until our first Halloween in this neighborhood and I’m not sure if we’ll have trick-or-treaters. There’s a fair amount of families in the area, so I’d imagine so…

I also don’t know which night kids go trick-or-treating… I remember hearing a few years back that sometimes a city or school district will appoint a different night for trick-or-treating when Halloween falls on a weeknight? I feel like we always went on Halloween night when I was a kid...

Remember the excitement of trick-or-treating — choosing what you wanted to be, putting on your costume for the first time, the crazy makeup, the reflective treat bags and McDonald’s buckets (90s kid here)? I specifically remember dressing up as a Carolina Panthers cheerleader, Belle, Posh Spice, and a black cat.

When we were kids, my family went trick-or-treating in my Gramma’s neighborhood. We would start at her house — she was always in a full witch getup, had a cauldron full of candy, and her walkway was lined with spooky things. The neighbors also pulled out all the stops with creepy music, green and purple lights, vampires popping out of coffins — all the good stuff.

After we made the rounds we’d end the night back at Gramma’s to eat pizza and take turns trying on her witch wig, nose, hat, and fingers before heading home and impatiently waiting for our parents to pull out any suspicious candy.

The other day, the polish on my long nails started chipping. Instead of just removing the polish and repainting them, I thought it’d be fun to channel my Gramma’s costume witch fingers and make my real fingernails fit for the season.

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Unfortunately, I didn’t take any process pictures, but fortunately, it’s pretty straight forward.

  1. Cut your nails from at an angle from each side to form a point.

  2. File down the tips just enough so that you’re not accidentally stabbing people or yourself.

  3. If your fingernails aren’t painted, paint them any color you like.

  4. Once the first layer is dry, select a darker color polish. Grab a Q-tip and pull most of the cotton off of one end. Place a drop of polish at the base and tip of each nail and use the adjusted Q-tip end to drag polish between the base and tip of the nail. You can probably use a toothpick too, but the Q-tip allows for more smudging and can pull off excess polish.

  5. Cover with a clear coat if you want it to last longer and you’re done!

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Well regardless of whether or not we get trick-or-treaters, I’ll have my witchy nails, jack-o-lanterns, and plenty of candy to keep me in the spirit. OH — we should probably play some Halloween jams, too! The Addams Family theme song will definitely have to be on there.

xo

K

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Cheesy (Literally) Movie Night

I don't know about you guys, but I pretty much celebrate Halloween as soon as October 1st rolls around. I get some milk and Halloween Oreos, put on my It’s Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus top, and settle in for some Halloween movies.

Personally, I don’t do scary movies, so my routine of Halloween flicks includes Hocus Pocus, Sleepy Hollow, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown — you get the idea.

But other than these super tame movies, I also love the ones who master cheesy humor, cheap gore, and ridiculous plot lines. We just had friends over to watch Slice… it was worth one watch, but I don’t know that I’d recommend it. We’ll be watching Blood Fest next — *fingers crossed* for extra cheese.

But if you’re new to cheesy movies, or just looking for a few you may not have heard of, I’ve got some you need to watch right now.

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  • Attack the Block - A teen street gang fights an invasion of "big gorilla wolf mother**ckers" in a London housing project. Also, another acting side of John Boyega (Star Wars) and Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who).

  • Bloodsucking Bastards - Office Space meets Shaun of the Dead is how this film has been accurately described online.

  • Cooties - Having worked in child care, I found this one to be pretty entertaining. Though I will say it's not as strong as some of the others. But zombie children are a terrifying thought.

  • Dead Before Dawn - A bunch of college kids accidentally break an evil urn, releasing a curse that causes everyone they make eye contact with die and turn into zombie demons. These "zemons" give hickeys to humans instead of biting them to spread the virus. Can the cheese get any thicker?

  • FAQs About Time Travel - Three friends drinking in a pub use a bathroom to jump in and out of different time loops. Was really hoping for a sequel on this one…

  • Grabbers - The heroes in this movie have to get drunk to survive an alien invasion off the coast of Ireland.

  • Idle Hands - As if the IMDb description isn't hilarious enough... "A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent...," childhood bae, Devon Sawa, is the star!

  • Tucker & Dale Versus Evil - ALAN TUDYK AND TYLER LABINE. 'nuff said. But if you really need more convincing, they play vacationing hillbillies who’re repeatedly mistaken for murderers by a group of college preps.

  • Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - The fact that it’s literally a campy movie got me to press play. *worth it*

Go on, give them a whirl — you won't regret it. Just make sure you’ve got the right atmosphere — great friends, plush seating, lights off, stack of pizza, cold beer, bowl of popcorn, and plenty of candy… it is Halloween after all.

xo,

K

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Makers Guide | Halloween Edition

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and your week is off to a good start.

My previous blog included a Makers Guide category where I highlighted a few items I’ve been eyeballing from people who make and sell material goods in small batches. Since I’m super excited about Halloween, I’ve put together a spooky guide to get you in the spirit too!

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1. I have a slight obsession with skulls and this petite skull ring by Callie Jewelry is too cute!

2. Last year, artist Jared Chapman shared a series of illustrated ghosts over old images and I love the feel of every one!

3. This Trick-or-Treat tote from The Little Market is simple, yet screams fall. Even though I won’t be doing any trick-or-treating myself, I’m sure this bag would be great for apple picking.

4. Eeep! How cute are these pins by Sarah Meredith of Rock Cakes?! They’d be the perfect addition to the beanie my Gramma made me last holiday.

5. Yeti Yoga is changing the name of your favorite yoga pose with this Corpse Pose and Chill mat.

6. While I’m definitely rooting for the good side when I read Harry Potter, I must admit that the Dark Mark is a pretty wicked symbol. I guess it’s because it has a snake and a skull in it, both of which I find beautiful… Anywho, I’m loving this enamel Dark Mark pin by Victoria Jung of Potter Project

What spooky things are you excited about this Halloween?

xo,

K

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Hello

Hello and welcome to Gather Savor Dwell. I’m Keira, a South Carolinian enjoying life with my fiancé Mr. Heid and our pup Keiko in the Upstate. By day, I plan arts and cultural events for a small city. By night, I relish in gathering people together, dining on new foods and beverages, and making our house a home. Which brings me to Gather Savor Dwell.

Gather + Savor + Dwell — Each of these invokes a sense of space in which we can honor and create memories. A place where we can cultivate and curate experiences with intention. I’ve created GSD to share how I practice those notions — of course there will be plenty more goodies along the way. Take a deeper look at what Gather Savor Dwell means to me here.

So I guess a bit more about me —

I could consume sour beers, tacos, and chai tea every day. I love the act of handwriting and have been known to embrace snail mail. I love stories — I’ve just finished re-reading the Harry Potter series and am in the process of reading three other books. I have a hashtag for my dog (#keikokitch) and for my From Where I Stand posts (#fromwhereistandkk) that are mostly populated by my private Instagram, but will definitely be used on @gathersavordwell when I start posting more.

That’s it for now! I hope to learn who you are as we go along!

xoxo,
K

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