A Victorian Halloween

My dear friends,

Won't you pour some tea and let us sit a spell? I'm making some lemon verbena tea with honey and having a few cookies. The gardener is home with bronchitis and the flu; consequently, I am striving to stay hydrated. Did you know that the law of attraction is much like what Christians call faith? I remember being a little girl, and my momma would always say, " Raquel don't own that sickness, honey." I liken the Law of Attraction similarly. My mother taught me as a little girl, without her recognising that she was teaching me energetic vibration. If we think something continuously, we will ultimately create that "thing." We create our reality. I am also drenching myself in essential oils and keeping a good bill of health. The doctor musn't become sick. {wink, wink}

I must confess I've been vacant from ye olde blog, feeling quite overwhelmed. I've spent many days sleeping in an attempt to bring myself into alignment. The ol' truth of being a self-employed entrepreneur, to make something pleasant and extraordinary is arduous. It takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are brands and businesses. I'm learning so much about myself, and beliefs on work versus ease and flow. I am reminded I must put self-care above all else. There was a time I would overlook this and just keep going like the energiser bunny. That eventually caught up with me, and now I make sure to put myself and health at the forefront. The difference these days is that I am transparent with you, my dear friends. I strive to hold myself accountable and authentic.
Creating a brand and a business is a so much work. I spend so much time behind the scenes, writing and curating.  It's the long nights, weekends, and the in-between. I want to continually document my voyage because there will come a day that I will want to look back and reminisce. It is a tangible way to remind myself of my improvements. A reminder that I am a powerful creator, and can do anything that I set my mind to. It'll be monumental. Thank you for swimming along with me on this journey. I really appreciate you. You're a genuine community of love.

Now let us get on with the fall decor.

In the last few years, I've been minimal with decorations on the holidays. Last year I did very little for fall. Halloween is my favourite holiday for ALL holidays.

To give a bit of the mermaid aspect to the decor, I draped some Aboriginal shells along the shelf.

I've been knee-deep in Victorian restoration, research and architecture literature. The Victorians highly favoured silhouettes. I thought that placing a profile on a pumpkin would be an interestingly different approach to the traditional orange pumpkin.

The Victorians were admired for the use of an oval frame. My oval frame is from Walmart. You can find them in the dollar section for four dollars. When I purchased mine, the gold was hideously bright and looked like plastic. I sprayed Krylon gold paint and then brushed over it with a walnut gel stain to give it an aged look. The creepy picture and skull are both from the Dollar Tree.

I've got a collection of hand~made wispy brooms. I'm planning to add a few of my raven paintings, and I believe this year decorations will be complete.

Do you decorate for Fall/Halloween?

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx