practical magic changes and something new

A few weeks ago I started to see Fall and Halloween stuff popping up in stores. It always takes me by surprise even if I can't wait to see them every year. It's a little jarring to see skeletons and pumpkins when it's 102 outside. But I love it of course.

Early this month I posted about feeling a little anxious about Fall this year. I had some very heavy personal drama last year and the worst of it was in September as I was putting the Practical Magic blog party together to be exact.

 

It took a lot to find the will to get through the blog party when all I wanted to do was not deal with the world. I was numb for a while and felt like I sleep walked my way through Halloween.

 

Maybe my heartache was a little obvious as I look back at some of the things I made then. So this year I wanted something different. The good news is that my relationship, although still fragile at times, is in a much better place now. I'm hoping that avoiding unpleasant reminders will keep it moving forward. Unfortunately I couldn't keep from associating the blog party with the chaos that was going on around it.

 

 

I've had people asking about this year's PM party since around April and honestly I wasn't sure what I wanted to do until recently. I still love Practical Magic. The house, the Aunts and of course Sally and Gillian. The movie has become somewhat of a Halloween classic which is obvious because of the witches. But the only touch of autumn is the final Halloween scene when the ladies jump off the roof. Otherwise the rest of the film is set in Spring. Sally runs off to confess to Gary on March 8 (which happens to be Aidan Quinn's birthday and yes it's my birthday too!).

So I started to entertain the idea of having a PM blog party next Spring. The creamy ivory and apple green shades are perfect for welcoming spring. Remember the trees with white cherry blossoms and the vases of ivory blooms in Sally's shop and on the kitchen table? The Aunts even return from an obviously non winter solstice celebration. It was a deliberate decision by the director and production designer to set the story in spring to go against the stereotypical dark and gloomy witches house.

For me it would be a refreshing change but I wanted to get some thoughts on this and run it by you guys. Would you be interested in a spring PM party or would you rather save it for next Fall? I know in another year I'd be more than ready to have one in fall again. I'd love to know what you think.

 

OK, then what do I have planned for this Fall you ask? Well in that same post I mentioned discovering the book The Night Circus and hinted that it inspired me to create something based on the story. I started planning and collecting black and white circus goodies. Marfi and I plotted and we got very excited about possibly doing a night circus blog party.

Then we found ourselves going down a different road. Something else clicked better and the more we brain stormed the more it felt right. So we decided to do this other thing and now it's all wrapped up and ready to go. I'll share it with you very, very soon!

 

 

Wendy at Bliss Angels is also hosting the Moonlight Party Under the Big Top in September so I'll get to have a bit of circus fun too. Yay!

Now back to Summer again. I watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics last night. It's always my favorite part. I thought it was very cool that JK Rowling was a part of it and the bit with James Bond and the Queen was unexpectedy brilliant in that cheeky English way. I also loved the way they lit the torch. I'm a sucker for production and I'm always the first one to tear up at events like that. Silly me.

I hope you're enjoying the weekend and these last few days of July.

I'll be back soon with something a little wicked.

midnight margaritas anyone?

I wasn't really sure if  I was going to do it again. I thought maybe once was enough and it was great fun while it lasted. But lately I started getting emails. Some of  you really thought it would be fun to have another one this year. And I have to admit that the cooler weather we had last week really put me in an Autumn-y mood.

Then my friend and fellow Practical Magic fanatic pretty much twisted my arm and convinced me to just go for it again :)

And that was really all I needed.

I couldn't resist the call of that blender and the echoes of the Owens women's laughter as they did another turn around that table in that drool worthy kitchen.

So if  you click on the new button up there on the sidebar
I have a little surprise for you!

Practical Magic Blog Party 2010

"My darling girl. When are you going to realize  that being normal is not necessarily a virtue. It rather denotes a lack of courage!"

That's one of my favorite quotes which happens to be from my all time favorite movie. I loved the book Practical Magic from the time I first read it. When I heard a movie was being made about it I couldn't wait. Then when Victoria Magazine featured the house created for the movie I was absolutely in love and by the time I saw the movie on opening day at the very first matinee I was obsessed.

Even if the movie was quite different from the book I still loved it. Not just the story and the characters but THAT house! Oh I loved that house. The white carpenter Gothic Victorian with its creamy vanilla, golden honey and buttery sage palette was brilliant! Of course these women with their fabulous clothes and history could only live in such an enchanting house.

After I did a post on this issue of Victoria I realized that lots of people still love the movie. Ages ago I had a Practical Magic website (Verbena) and even then I was amazed at how many people were practically obsessed with it. I thought why not have a Practical Magic blog party! And my bloggy friend Justina who also loves the movie (and who happened to do a Practical Magic post almost the same time I did) thought it was a great idea and we put our witchy heads together and with encouragement from even more PM fans we did it!

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Today I'm happy to announce the first Practical Magic blog party to celebrate this spellbinding film! We created a separate site just for the party and set it for September 25....a very witchy date I might add being the first Saturday after the first Autumn full moon!

Get out your blender, dust off your spellbook and make room around your kitchen table. If you love Practical Magic join me and Justina from La Boheme Magique. You're welcome to share your Practical Magic inspired story, art, fashion, garden, decor or real live party.

Where you inspired to decorate your home in the Owens style? Did you collect outfits to get the Sally, Gillian or the Aunts look? Perhaps you've created jewelry, a recipe or art inspired by Practical Magic or would you like to share an actual Practical Magic themed party? We'd love to see it all.

There are lots more ideas over on the party page and if you have questions feel free to email either one of us. You can grab the party button from my sidebar here or when you visit our page.

We put our hearts (in true Owens fashion) into putting this party together because we're both very passionate about this film. It's inspired so many women and though it's been over a decade since the movie came out there is no shortage of blogs and websites dedicated to it. We're hoping to bring everyone together that's been enchanted by Practical Magic to share, reminisce, create and of course party!

Here's the link to our party page.

Just leave a comment there and we'll add you to the list.

Practical Magic Blog Party 2010