Photo Post for "Nothing Bad - A Werewolf Rock Musical"

So, I wasn't able to share all the photos from our Rock Musical during Fringe because I didn't want to give anything away but since we're not doing the show for a little while, I feel like it's ok to share.  It's out of context, right?  And you'll still be totally surprised if it re-opens and you come see it...it'll be brand new!

Welcome to Perfection, California!

Mayor White and some pretty amazing Werewolves!

It was a challenge to do the make-up so quickly, I only had 20 minutes to change everything and Kenni designed a really interesting look for the werewolves. I loved being able to play the opposite of what I was, although in constant control and power.  It was totally different than any role I've ever played before.  I started with a 50's vintage make-up style after perusing some different hair and make-up looks and settled on something glam but classic.  It's something I could easily do day to day and still look natural.  The 80's werewolf make-up was rocker-esque, especially my Joan Jett wig!

We did have a professional photographer come and shoot photos at our preview and then closing night so hopefully I'll have some more Werewolf photos to add to this post later on :)

Party on Wayne! Party on Garth! Happy Halloween :)

This year for Halloween I had picked out my costume a couple weeks earlier since I knew I was going to a 90's Themed Halloween Party!  Thankfully, Rachel decided to be the Garth to my Wayne from 'Wayne's World' and we were all set.  Excellent :)

Wayne & Garth

Neil and Chris have their Annual Halloween Bash and spare no expense...the house is decorated with spider webs, pumpkins, Halloween posters and more.  There are libations of every shape and kind, some snacks, a killer play-list (90's music this year with some Halloween favorites - you have to groove to "Get Down Goblin") and everyone is dressed in costume or they don't gain access to the party.  This year I made my Salsa (Healthy Salsa Recipe) along with some Cupcakes and also came up with a Shot that we called Sangria De La Muerte or Blood of the Dead.  It was similar to a Margarita with a little Strawberry and then Grenadine to create the blood.  Both the Salsa and Shot were a hit!

Party on Friends!

Rachel and I had a blast playing Wayne & Garth, using some of of our favorite lines from the movie, which we had watched the week before as a little refresher course for the costumes.  'We're not worthy!'  'Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?'  'Schwing!'  All night longSamantha came as Rachel from 'Friends' and was the perfect blonde Rachel.  Jamie was 90's Catwoman, aka the Michelle Pfeiffer era, and was sensational!  The costume fit her like a glove and she rocked it!  There was a Buffy & Angel from 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer,' dead Jack Dawson from 'Titanic,' (seriously incredible make-up skills) Poison Ivy also from 'Batman' and the two lovelies who created post it's, that would be Romy & Michelle (totally great and random costume idea)!  I knew we'd see some people from 'Clueless,' there was Mike Ditka, a little 'Terminator' action, Chris was Jeff Jeffries from 'Rear Window' and Neil was Marilyn Manson from three different time frames, changing costumes, wigs, and make-up.  It was by far the quickest I've ever done anyone's costume make-up so thankfully he had some photos for reference.  And of course Neil had three costumes...it wouldn't be Halloween if he didn't!

It was nice to hang out with my friends all together, take pictures of everyone throughout the night, serve up the House Shot to all the new arrivals (seconds and thirds for some of us), make some new friends, and celebrate Halloween 90's style!  Party on Wayne!  Party on Garth! 

Catwoman, Rachel, Ditka, Garth & Wayne
Ditka, Jeff Jeffries, Marilyn Manson, and Benny Mardones

Well, that just about wraps us up...see ya next year and Happy Halloween :)

July Karaoke

July was a really busy month for Karaoke!  We had one week that was a little bit more quiet but most of the weeks we had lots of singers and lots of songs.  In fact, on the last Wednesday in July, Justin celebrated his Birthday at Gabe's, and he filled the room with friends, all dressed as someone or something with a 'J' theme, and the rotation was so long most people only got to sing once!  That's what I call a party!

*I have now written this blog twice and lost it both times trying to add a photo to it, so unfortunately, since I deleted the songs I sang from my list, I only have the new songs and a few others from the past month.  I guess that's technology for you :)  I'll try to add a photo in later after I've saved and posted it!*

Mandy Moore "Candy"

Ashlee Simpson "Lala"

Alanis Morrisette "Ironic"

The Eagles "Hotel California"

Oasis "Wonderwall"

Spice Girls "Say You Will Be There"

Dishwalla "Counting Blue Cars"

Blues Traveler "The Hook"

Kings of Leon "Sex On Fire"

Pat Benatar "Shadows Of The Night"

Pat Benatar "Treat Me Right"

Joan Jett "I Hate Myself For Loving You"

Joan Jett "Do You Wanna Touch"

Our first week in July was really busy as I only sang a couple songs that night and it was an all female song night for me.  My new one was Ashlee Simpson's "Lala" since I heard someone else sing "Pieces Of Me" also by her.  The following week I sang all 90's music except for my new song, which came from the 70's.  "Hotel California" is a very popular Karaoke song and I really liked singing it; it works well for my voice.  When I was heading to Gabe's that next week I heard Dishwalla's "Counting Blue Cars" and since I rarely hear that at Karaoke I thought I'd try that for my new song that evening.  It's definitely a song I'll sing again!  That night there was also a Spice Girls super-set and I closed with another fun song by Kings of Leon.  Since I had seen the 'Romeo & Juliet: Love Is A Battlefield' at Rockwell Table & Stage the previous Sunday before Karaoke on the 4th week in July I decided to sing "Shadows Of The Night."  I can't believe I hadn't sang that before!  It's such a great song (aside from the chorus repeating three or four times at the end which gets a little repetitive) and I love Pat Benatar!

The last Wednesday of the month was reserved to celebrate Justin's Birthday and there were lots of 'J' themes going on, like Jackelope's, Justin's Jurassic Park, Jasmine, Jewish Grandfather's, Jocks, JFK, the Joker, and more.  I decided to double up and do Joan Jett.  I had to sing my favorite Joan Jett song but my new song was "Do You Wanna Touch."  It's a fun rock song and I loved having Maya there to do a little back-up and dance with me :)  Justin and I also sang "Another Day" from 'Rent' and had the whole CAC Crew singing along with us...it was a great moment!

Costumes and Craziness for Justin's 'J' Themed Karaoke Birthday :)

It was a really busy month and sometimes I look forward to the more quiet nights when friends come in so they get the opportunity to sing more.  But I do love the vibe when we're busy and everyone is singing along to all the songs, cheering each other on, and enjoying the atmosphere!  Overall, it's nice to have a mix of the two kinds of nights throughout the month.  On to August!

My Karaoke Anniversary!

I can't believe it's been over four years that I've been Hosting Karaoke at Gabe's!  I still remember Carolyn and I being in Gabe's on St. Patrick's Day and Aimee mentioning they needed someone to fill-in and Carolyn said I should do it since I was always doing Karaoke at Saint's & Sinner's.  I'm so glad that I decided to do it because it's been a blast Hosting Karaoke there for these past four years!

Costumes, Friends, Saint's & Sinner's, CAC and GOOD TIMES!

We celebrated by doing a Musical Theme since we were also celebrating nearly six months until Halloween, so a bunch of people came in costume!  Since I loved my Axl Rose Costume from Halloween a couple years ago I decided to recycle it, always improving, and it turned out great and once again, super comfortable!  Jamie came in rocker gear, Khad was all dressed up, Heike was Catwoman, we had Weird Al, Garth Brooks, Jazz & Country music, and happy singers all around and a night full of amazing songs!

Backstreet Boys or Double Entendre?

I opened with 'I Touch Myself' by The Divinyl's since I was wearing my leather pants and everyone needed to get warmed up to the night.  We got busy almost right away and so the next song I sang was with Jamie, and we did 'Take Me Or Leave Me' from "Rent."  There was a Double Entendre performance of 'I Want It That Way' by the Backstreet Boys and with so many talented singers in the house it was one of the best performances I've seen of it!  My new song of the night was 'Welcome To The Jungle' and I had so much fun with it, and the bruises on my knees proved it.  I had watched the music video for it and when the high part comes in Axl goes to the ground and just kills it in his falsetto!  Since I was singing Guns & Roses, Marty sang 'Sweet Child of Mine' and Scott did 'Mr. Brownstone.'  There was Pat Benatar, Sara Bareilles, Poison, and more!

Sha na na na na na na knee's knee's...and when you're high you never ever wanna come down...YEAH!

To close out the night, I ended with 'November Rain' which is my favorite Guns & Roses song and lucky for me there was a whole crew of back-up guitarists just waiting to rock out with me!  A special thanks to everyone who made it for my Karaoke Anniversary, joined in on the fun by singing, dancing, and toasting to another fabulous year of Karaoke.  I can't wait to have another night like this again soon :)

Thenardier's Inn Extension :)

Showtime!

I've been a part of Creating Arts Studio's production 'Thenardier's Inn: A Les Miserables Cabaret' which is an immersive theater experience.  We opened back in November for a weekend, sold-out, so it got extended for two more weeks.  We sold out the show again and found out in December we would be re-opening for a second extension that would run for four weeks in January and end on Valentine's weekend.  Needless to say, all of us were so excited to be doing the show again as it's an absolute blast!  In fact, we had sold out before we even opened!

Although the cast has gotten a little smaller, the sound of our voices has grown, and we've made the show tighter, and also added more comedy and humor throughout.  We had a change of actors for some of the roles, created new cocktails for audience members to sip on during the show, and just really honed in on the story.

I just wanted to share some more photos from this run of the show and thank all of my friends who made it out to Santa Monica to see the magic we're creating!  Thanks to Nick, Sam, Scottie & Nicole, Michael & Jordan, Neil, and Khad & Heike for supporting the show and laughing with all of us during our second run :)

Jean Valjean, a Lovely Lady, and Fantine before the show!

I said it at intermission during our first show and I'll say it again now, I really hope we can do this for forever and right now we are! #notlesmisforever

Lovely Ladies!

To read more about the show check out my original blog from November right here: Thenardier's Inn - A Les Miserables Cabaret

Halloween at The Wellsbourne

Since my Cher costume needed more air-time after Karaoke at Gabe's, Jamie and I decided to hit up one of our favorite places, The Wellesbourne, during Halloween Weekend.  She dressed up as my Mod Mistress, and we hit the town in our awesome wigs!

The Wellesbourne was having a Halloween Party there with a Photo Booth, awesome DJ, Costume Contest, and sponsored cocktails by Selvaray Rum!  The bar had the perfect amount of people, busy enough to do some people-watching, but quiet enough to find a seat at the bar and enjoy our cocktails and conversation.  Plus, our favorite bartenders were there, dressed in costume as well.  We had to try their house drink for the night, the Selvaray Rum Punch, but then I switched to my typical drink after that, a Vodka Gimlet, because Johnny makes me the best one I've had!  Jamie is always adventurous, trying whatever Remi makes for her!

The only blonde I truly love <3

I'm not quite sure how we missed the Costume Contest (I'm really thinking it didn't happen) but I think Jamie and I would have won it ;)  I suppose, I'm biased on that though.  We had a great time filled with plenty of candy, yummy cocktails, and great company.  I always look forward to going back!

Playing Maleficent in 'Sleeping Beauty'

"Sleeping Beauty" is at the top of my list of Disney movies and it's always been my favorite!  Aurora has been my all-time favorite Princess, too!  She's the only Princess to have violet eyes and I always thought she was just classical beautiful.  So I was very excited when Creating Arts decided to do this as our Pint-Sized Play during the Fall Season.

My Maleficent Costume!

For this production of "Sleeping Beauty," I'm playing Maleficent, the evil fairy who has magical powers and can turn into a winged dragon.  After seeing "Maleficent" in theaters this past Summer, I fell in love with the story even more.  I won't give away the storyline of "Maleficent" but I like the hybrid character I created to play the role with a mix of evil from the original Disney movie, and that air of confidence, an edginess, and a little humor from Angelina Jolie's role.  Plus, I've got my Guard to make me look more sinister and mean, and she gets to play it off more goofy.  As much as I'd love to play one of the Princesses for a show and not be the villain, this gives me more room to grow as an Actress and a better opportunity to delve deep into character work by doing some research and analysis.  And obviously, I'm not an evil person so this is truly acting...muah ha ha ;)

All the Fairies in "Sleeping Beauty"

We put this show together in just two weeks and it's got a six week run (with one weekend off, which was this weekend).  Right now, we've already had two weekends of shows at the Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica where we do most of the Children's Shows.  I think one of my favorite things about the show is how different each audience reacts.  The first week I made a lot of kids cry, I heard them wailing after my first entrance and exit (and that seriously tugs at my heart) but then the following day, the kids were more brave.  When King Stephan asks what he should do now that I've cursed Aurora some little boy yelled, 'kill her!'  We've had children with Birthday's in the audience so our next show we could barely get through our lines because all the kids were talking the entire time.  And our last show we did was probably the hi-light so far because when the Prince asks if the audience wants to forgive me for trying to hurt Aurora after they banish me from the kingdom, all the kids said yes, and as soon as I got on-stage they mobbed me, about 15 kids, hugging me, saying they forgave me, told me 'You're beautiful, you're evil, but you're beautiful.'  So cute!

The costume for the show is just incredible!  It's this long sequined one-shoulder dress with a wing on the one side, and I'm wearing the green glitter shoes from "Wizard of Oz" and of course the Maleficent horns, and later on, get a ginormous set of wings!  They are literally magical.  I came up with a make-up plan doing shades of purple, with winged liner, glitter, and then lots of contouring, plus no CAC show is complete without glitter lips!  As the villain I really do get some of the best and most beautiful costumes.

We've got four more weeks of shows lined up for "Sleeping Beauty" and a lot more fun to be had!  Each week brings a new challenge of scaring the kids but winning them over in the end, and finding myself in my character to bring out something new and different for every show.  I always look forward to those challenges!

An October 33rd Halloween!

Halloween landed on a Thursday this year and I got plenty of costume time in with the Jersey Shore Costume for the Afterbuzz TV Party, my 6 costume changes of R&B stars Aaliyah and Ciara for Karaoke at the Gabe's Halloween Costume Contest, and then on Saturday for Neil's Annual Halloween Party where I dressed up as Lilah (Megan Fox's character) from Jonah Hex.  I did a mini-version of Snooki while I worked at Irish Times on Halloween Thursday but spent the rest of the night hanging out with a girlfriend while she got ready for a Party and then I stayed in and cleaned my room.  Rockstar.

Screen Engine Family

After taking the Costume to the tailor to do some minor alterations, already having the perfect boots, and finding some lace gloves, I was ready to go!  Halloween music was playing, everyone attending was in costume, I had made some fun Halloween cupcakes, and we had plenty of goodies to eat, not to mention a liquor selection to be rivaled!  We took a few pictures before everyone else arrived, took our Purple People Eater shots, and I was even in costume before our first guest walked through the door.  Hooray!  Neil was dressed as Ash from 'Evil Dead' and and had completed his look with a full-on Chain Saw for an arm...super cool!

It was great to see Aimee and Andy from Gabe's, who brought along a couple of their friends, one of which was dressed as the famed painter on TV, Bob Ross, while they dazzled as Little Bo Peep and her Sheep.  Tom and Basia came as Marty McFly and Ariel with Legs from 'The Little Mermaid,' both of which were super thoughtful.  Jamie and Spark came a little later dressed as the Red Queen and Mad Hatter, with stunning make-up from Jamie!  Emily and Shane were dressed as Tim Tebow and his Little Emily Football :)

Halloween Party Time

There were Superheroes, Brett Michael's, Wolverine, Katy Perry, a Gatsby Girl, Masked Heroes & Ladies, and some incredible make-up'd faces!  People even requested to hear and see 'The King Of Halloween' music video.  I just wish there was more sour candy at the party.

The Ladies on Halloween!

The party was a blast and it's only 350 more days till Halloween so you better start planning next years costume soon!

Halloween Costume Contest & Party at Gabe's!

Last week Wednesday was the Eve of Halloween and when Gabe's was doing their Halloween Party and Costume Contest, right at midnight!  Slowly but sure we've built Wednesday Night Karaoke during the week of Halloween and last Wednesday was a busy night, with lots of costume changes, prizes, and tons of dedications and Karaoke songs.

Justin & Ciara

My Costumes for the night were all fashioned after Aaliyah and Ciara with their hip hop vibe and style; some costumes were certainly better than others but I sang each song, 6 total, in a different costume.  Neil and Chris also came dressed to impress as Neil had different looks for Justin Timberlake as well as Eminem, and we even did a duet together.  Chris was dressed in the 'Humpty Dance' costume and waited to perform his song till we had a full crowd and sure enough, he won our Costume Contest that evening!  Second place went to Jerry who was dressed as a Domino's Pizza Delivery Boy and 3rd went to Neil for once again, completely changing his look throughout the night.  There was a Pirate Carebear, Jessica Rabbit, Ghouls & Goblins, and dead Witches and Zombies in costume as well.

I started off the night with one of my new songs, 'Try Again' by Aaliyah, wearing my new wedged sneakers (which by the way, are super comfortable, and give me an extra 3 inches; I highly recommend them).  Next up was 'Are You That Somebody' with a costume super similar to Aaliyah's in the music video and I even pulled out some specific dance moves with each song.  Another favorite part of my first two costumes was getting to wear a chain that was connected to a wallet in my back pocket; I kind of want to wear it all the time!  From there I switched from Aaliyah to Ciara and started off with her hit, 'One Two Step' which was another new song for me.  I wore these shiny pants I had bought in college that still fit (YAY) and my outfit matched Ciara's perfectly!  I loved that it got people that were totally involved in their pool game up and dancing with me :)  After that I switched it up, putting on my fedora for 'Like A Boy' and thankfully I had gotten in some practice of the song since my last performance, and that was highly necessary with all the quick raps and melody.

'As long as I've got my suit and tie...'

Halloween Karaoke

During all this Neil had performed 'Like I Love You' and 'What Goes Around Comes Around' by Justin Timberlake and then went into Eminem mode for 'Lose Yourself.'  It was back to Justin for 'Suit & Tie' with a little help from McCracken who was dressed as a Michael Buble/Josh Groban hybrid, and thankfully was wearing his suit and tie.  It was time for Neil and I's duet of 'Love + Sex + Magic' and another perfectly matched costume like Ciara's from the video.  I had forgotten to change the key and lower it but we managed to make due and had a lot of fun with it, even though it was a new and quite difficult song for both of us!  There was more N'Sync happening from Neil and McCracken singing 'This I Promise You' and both duets with Neil were new songs for McCracken.  Everyone definitely got an A for effort in trying all the new music and putting in thought and detail to specific outfits.  I closed out the night with 'Goodies' by Ciara, another new song for me, and got some help on the rap from Chris, who surprisingly new the song pretty well.  Guilty pleasure?  The song was a blast to sing and once again had people singing along and dancing!

It was a fabulous night for Karaoke and a great Halloween Eve!  Carolyn and Matt even came in to celebrate their recent engagement and dedicate songs to each other which was super cute!  There's just 358 days till Halloween so you better get started on your costume soon...

See ya next year!

Afterbuzz TV Halloween Party

Last week Saturday kicked off the first of my Costumes for Halloween this year at the Afterbuzz TV Halloween Party which was at Rock & Reilly's on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood!  There was a suggested TV theme since Afterbuzz is all about After-Shows for TV shows.

With the theme in mind and an idea I've had for years it was the perfect time to bring out Snooki from 'Jersey Shore.'  To complete my look, I brought along Neil aka DJ Pauly D!  Pauly D normally spends nearly a half hour getting his hair perfect but I didn't need that much time, I got Neil's hair perfectly coiffed in 10 minutes.  There was lots of bronzing going on before we left for the party, some eye-liner and lots of black eye-shadow and mascara.  T-Shirt Time...with costumes on, the look was complete and a pretty darn awesome costume put together in about an hour!  Cabs are here!

DJ Pauly D & Snooki from 'Jersey Shore'

Head Phones & Pickles in Hollywood

We got to the party just after 9 pm and hung out for a couple of hours with some of the Hosts and Crew from Afterbuzz TV.  Most people at the bar weren't in costume but at least our peeps were in costumes from 'Breaking Bad', 'Arrested Development' and my Co-Host, Tom, dressed as Jack Bauer!  I got plenty of questions about the famous Snooki Poof but it was all hair, no bump-it's here; I even had my very own jar of pickles I carried around a'la Snooks!  Pauly D was decked out in neon and completed his look with headphones and sunglasses.  We kept our catch-phrases going all night long...oh yea!

Our friend Cory was working next door at Pearl which is a New Orleans/French style Restaurant and Bar with 2 stories, the bottom being an upscale and elegant restaurant with the upstairs being a Secret Garden theme and in the front over-looking Sunset blvd is another open-aired area to dine or dance.  Talk about gorgeous!  We got compliments on our costumes (thankfully we were recognizable...I love the Jersey Shore, B*tch) and after a quick shot with Cory we were on our way back to the Valley to make one more stop at The Snug in hopes of more costumes.

Unfortunately, there weren't many people dressed up anywhere we went so that was kind of disappointing but it was the weekend before Halloween and since it fell on a Thursday we weren't sure what to expect...wah!  Overall, for us and our love of Halloween it was a great start to the festivities and a chance to try out a new and fun costume idea :)

'The King Of Halloween' Music Video

Halloween is here and it's the perfect time to bring out the Halloween Music Video 'The King Of Halloween' that Neil and I had worked on the past few weeks!

Neil had told me he was going to record a Halloween Rap and make a video for it and then asked me to sing on it, in the style of Eminem and Dido.  He recorded his rap part and then we recorded my vocals in his studio and I was able to play around with my final part which was fun!  Then a couple weeks ago we recorded my scenes in a set that Neil created.  He put so much time and effort into making this video really special and totally Halloween.  His rap is smart and very quick; super impressive for a singer/songwriter :)  There's even a cameo by Diego who plays the piano solo for the song!  You can see the video right here!

The video was a blast to shoot and it came out awesome!  I can't imagine editing all those images and scenes into the video, matching up the vocals with the singing shots, and the video is seamless from beginning to end.

90's Hip Hop Artists ready for the shoot!

Hope you enjoyed and Happy Halloween!

A Costume Fiasco Fix

I'm a pretty organized person; I don't like to procrastinate and I hate being late, so I try to stay on top of things but when it comes to Halloween, I always feel like something will fall into place and work out just in time.  I don't plan months in advance what I'm going to want to be but after this past Halloween, I think I'm going to make sure I'm ready to go in the first week of October so I don't have another Halloween Costume Fiasco.

My idea this year for the Saturday Halloween Party was to be Silk Spectre from 'Watchmen' and figured I'd be able to pick up the costume at any of the Costume stores that I'd find a coupon or discount for and be good to go.  I already knew what I was going to be for Halloween Karaoke, and had picked up the one item I needed at a thrift store and cut it up so it was perfect for my character!  (But I also couldnt' wear that for Saturday because I wanted to keep it a surprise till the unveiling on Halloween.)  Well, it was about a week and a half before my Saturday Halloween party and the month had gotten away from me so I went to try on the Costume at Aah's in Santa Monica and the Small Silk Spectre Costume was HUGE on me, not just a little big, not baggy, so huge that I could have practically fit another person in the Costume with me.  They tried to find the Costume in an XS at another store but that was proving difficult and I had to make a decision on what I would want to be.  So the next day I went to a few different places to get some ideas, and came back with Gypsies, Pirates, and Fairy Princesses, but I also wanted to find the best deal.

As I made my way home, I thought about the cute Coin Skirt (for a Gypsy) that I had found and that I could easily put together a Gypsy Costume of my own, but after talking to Mr. Halloween himself, he was right, I would feel more excited about something that was brand new and that I didn't pull pieces from my closet.  So I decided to start over and I looked through pictures of costumes and figured that this weekend we would go shopping and buy my Costume after price checking.  I had found this website called Costume Discounters that gave an awesome first price and then gave an additional 25% off, so most of the Costumes ranged from $30 to $50 which was awesome because they were all the Costumes that any lovely lady would want to wear on Halloween.  

That Sunday as we were out Halloween Shopping, I tried on more Costumes, and also found a Jonah Hex Costume (that was Megan Fox's character) and I thought that could be fun.  The store I tried it on in did not allow you to try the Costumes on in a dressing room, you had to put them on over your clothes, so out of sheer purpose, I wasn't going to buy it there, not to mention it was $75 and I could get it on-line for $44.  At least I was able to figure out a size and have an idea.  We actually did find the Silk Spectre Costume at another store in an XS but it was still big, even over my clothes, so that just wasn't going to work.  I started to get overwhelmed with all these ideas and just not knowing what to do so I decided on the Jonah Hex Costume and I would order it on Monday.

The Costume was ordered on Monday night and I paid $10 extra for 3-Day Shipping to ensure that it would be here by Friday, so I would be able to figure out hair and make-up options, and that way even if it didn't come till Saturday, I still was set for the party that night.  As I watched the tracking info, I noticed it wasn't really getting anywhere as the first two days went by and next thing I know, it's Thursday night after I get home from work and the Costume is in Illinois, the office at Costume Discounters is closed, and I have to call first thing on Friday.  When I called on Friday, they blamed UPS saying that they had missed the package, to which I on-line chatted with UPS who blamed Costume Discounters, saying that they didn't drop the package off.  I didn't care whose fault it was, I just wanted the Costume.  As I spoke with a higher-up person, she said they would send the Costume out today and over-night it for me, for Free, so that I would have it for the party.  She said they would e-mail me with the Shipping Information and Tracking Number, and I asked her to call me with the information as well, no matter the time.  She thanked me for my patience and at this point it was a waiting game.

When I got home from work on Friday night at 3 am, I saw I still hadn't received an e-mail with the Tracking Info, so I went to bed and made sure when I got up on Saturday morning to call again and see what was going on.  The first woman I spoke to said that my Costume hadn't shipped and they couldn't call because it was too late.  I couldn't believe that I would be without a Costume for my Party tonight, and not that they would care, but that they weren't trying to fix the problem was driving me nuts!  As I spoke with a Manager, and then her Supervisor, the best they could offer me was that when the Costume arrived on Monday, they would give me an additional 20% off of it.  I said that wasn't good enough because my Party was Saturday, which is why I got 3-Day Shipping, which would have gotten it there by Friday, with an extra day, just in case, and the fact that they never Over-Nighted the Costume, I had no chance for any Costume at this point.

*Side Note: Unfortunately, with Hurricane Sandy I have been unable to reach Costume Discounters and am pretty much out the $44 for the Costume.  I will update this if Costume Discounters decides to put Customer Service and Satisfaction first, but at this point, I am extremely disappointed with their ability to fix the problem.

After that I tried not to feel defeated and started pulling out any Costume ideas I had, and actually came up with something I could be really proud of and that I've always wanted to wear as a Costume because I couldn't ever wear it outside of my job.  I was excited about it, there would be a Costume change, and it didn't cost me a dime!  I also know that I'm getting ahead of the game next year and buying a Costume early so I can prep everything and not have to worry about any mishaps.  

Stay tuned for my next blog to see my Saturday Night Party Costume as well as my Halloween Karaoke Costume!