Gypsies, Tramps & Theives.....

I love Cher songs...mostly.

What made me start humming this one is the Happoween Costume Party I talked about in an earlier post this week.
I've thought about it and thought about it and I have decided on my costume. I'm going to go with an old standard- the Gypsy Fortune Teller.
And I'll tell you for why....

Now first of all, I thought Mrs. Claus would be the perfect choice for me to dress up as...A bit older, chubby woman who loves all things Christmas. Then I looked at some Mrs. Claus outfits/costumes and did a double take. Holy COW those things are expensive!!!  Then I thought, well, how hard could it be to make one? I have a sewing machine hubby bought us- and material cant me that expensive.....
So a bit more research later- making it was actually going to be MORE expensive than buying one ready made. Seriously.

Then I thought how about an elf outfit? Surely THAT cant be too expensive. And I found a really cute one for about £10...$15. Cool- so I ordered it- and while I was ordering it- I ordered all that stuff I posted about too- the tablecloth and serving platters and chargers and goblets....really cute and inexpensive.......Less that £50 for the entire lot including the elf costume.

So then I thought- well, One holiday at a time....hmmmm...I need an alternate plan.

So I got looking thru my clothing and found a black and garnet full skirt with sequins that someone had given me. The top had long been gone, but the skirt would be wicked as a gypsy Fortune teller costume. So I looked further into my stash of clothes- and I found several scarves hanging in my closet that would be perfect as a hip scarf and a head scarf...with a bit of beaded trim and a few faux coins sewn on it will be awesome! My Mother in law even got in the spirit and said she has a peasant blouse that would be perfect for the outfit if I wanted it!!  Bless her- she is becoming one of my favorite people now that we arent stepping on each others nerves in the same house.  It's true- two women cannot live in the same house for very long.

Anyway, I can pair the skirt and scarves and blouse with a pair of boots and voila!!!! An outfit that is awesome and comfortable enough to be able to cook in, too!!

Now my husband- he has an outfit that is to DIE for- he actually MADE most of it and I cannot wait to see him finally WEAR it!!! We will have photos for me to post on here!!! I cant WAIT!!!!

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In other news...
This Friday my department at work is having our quarterly Sammich Swap.

The Rules:

*1) You make a sammich. (No pre bought ones allowed- you MUST make it yourself.) Any fillings are allowed as long as they are edible. Any bread may be used....Flour/cormeal wraps, ciabatta, sub rolls, dinner rolls, baps, loaf bread........whatever suits your fancy.

*2) You name your sammich, then wrap and label it.

*3) Write the Name of your creation on a ready made tag- fold it- and  put it in the "hat".

*4) At lunch time- you draw a name from the hat and that is the sammich you have for lunch.

*5) After eating your lunch- you write a short review on it and send to all participants.

I'll be making my standard sammich. I named it. It was a joke because some of those names were REALLY well thought out catchy ones. And I couldnt compete with that- so I went in the totally opposite direction and called mine Fred. And the name stuck.
I made a bog standard Philly Cheesesteak, only I add a bit of Teriyaki sauce and cajun seasoning to my onions, mushrooms and peppers when I sautee them, Then I put them aside in a container.  I put the bread with the roast beef and the cheese. Then I add a smidge of English Mustard with 3 times as much mayo with some cracked Black pepper in it and set that to the side so the sammich doesnt get soggy. Then come lunchtime- I put the sammich together. I heat the veg mixture put it on the bread on top of the roast beef and cheese on the bread, then put the sammich in the microwave for 15 seconds to freshen the bread and warm the cheese, then when it comes out- smear the mayo-stard on it before I give it to the lucky recipient.

I was going to try something different this year- maybe a BBQ Chicken with Caramelized onions ...or a Shrimp Po- Boy, but when I said I was thinking about doing something different this time I almost caused a riot. So I suppose Fred it will be...again.
Owww- maybe I will add a bit of pastrami to it this time. Too much?