My Birthday Week Was Perfect

I turned 39 on the 10th. Eeek! Forty is creeping around the corner…

But I digress.

I took vacation the week of my birthday because we had big plans – a.k.a. a concert (of course). Before the headlining event, though, my best friend and her husband spoiled me for a couple of days.

Night one involved dolling up and going to Barnes & Noble and Spirit Halloween. We were going to take some pictures; however, a storm rolled in, so we headed back to the house and had a dinner that consisted of chicken fajita nachos and Mexican street corn pasta salad.

The second night we went to 2nd & Charles, then we had a mini photo shoot. We binged horror movies while having dinner.

Tiff and I spent the next afternoon in the pool. We both burned pretty badly, but it was a really good day with 90s music and ham sandwiches.

I headed home and slept for about 12 hours. I did nothing except laze around reading until I decided to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law for the evening.

And then, it was concert day! My brother and I drove up to Nashville to see Pierce the Veil and My Chemical Romance.

Back story: I saw My Chemical Romance in 2007 with Muse, touring for The Black Parade. My brother didn’t get to go. So as soon as I heard they were hitting the road for the 20th anniversary of The Black Parade, I knew we had to buy tickets.

Y’all…it was phenomenal! I mean, obviously they performed The Black Parade in its entirety, but their B set also kicked ass. Definitely worth the money, the drive, the heat, and standing in line for 45 minutes for a tour shirt.

I had another do nothing day before we loaded up for another show. This time, it was me, my brother, my sister-in-law, and their friend JD. We hung out with The Velcro Pygmies, and it was soooo much fun!

The last bit of celebrating happened on the 19th, when my brother and I went in for our heartagram tattoos.

Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures!

Mine is the watercolor; Rick’s is the embroidered patch

My Top 10 Favorite Slasher Flicks

Scream (1996)

Halloween II (1981)

Urban Legend

Cry_Wolf

Trick ‘r Treat

Halloween (1978)

The Final Girls

Terrifier

House of 1000 Corpses

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Off-Topic: My Favorite Spooky Small Businesses

I know 99% of my posts are about music and I randomly throw out a few things about books or movies, but I really wanted to give a shout-out to some small (online) businesses that are killing it. And it’s not entirely out of my wheelhouse — all of these shops, save one, sell items that are horror- or Halloween-themed.

Not Your Average Babe

I stumbled across this shop on Instagram and fell in love with basically everything I saw. Unique clothing at an affordable price (if you don’t get too carried away), NYAB sells must-haves for any fall/horror/Halloween lover.

Here are just a few items I’ve ordered.

Twisted Allure

Another Instagram find. Twisted Allure often collaborates with NYAB and contributes various bath and body items to NYAB’s monthly boxes. Every single thing I’ve ordered from Twisted Allure has been spookily themed and positively delightful – and doesn’t irritate my super sensitive skin! Their Easter line just dropped, so treat yourself!

Twisted Allure goodies

Honey Butter Bath Co.

When my best friend moved away last year, I was depressed and decided to treat myself with some bath bombs and body butters. I found a fall/Halloween line from a shop on Etsy and ordered two of the body butters. Best choice I’ve ever made. I have since returned for multiple items, including one of her soaps (lemon and blueberry), and I ordered part of my mom’s Christmas from Honey Butter. I’m only going to link her Etsy shop because I think the IG profile is actually personal.

“Better Not Pout” is one of my favorites. It’s orange and cloves.

Vera’s Eye Candy

I found this site because of someone I follow on Instagram. This one is a little more pricey, but the clothing is very unique and includes band shirts/tanks/dresses along with the horror and Halloween themed items. The shop owner is nice and handles any issues swiftly. I highly recommend checking them out.

Wicked Ghost Co.

I love, love, love this page! The selection isn’t huge, but the designs are wonderful – and a handful of shirts are being brought back soon, so I’ll be ordering some stuff when that happens.

“You’re Cute When You Scream”