Et·som·ni·a (/etˈsämnēə/), noun, 1. a sleep disorder caused by obsessive Etsy browsing. 2. the surprising arrival of weird handmade merchandise ordered when one is only half conscious. (True story.)

Costume wise, my crew is kind of dialing it in this Halloween. As much as I love a costume opportunity, this year’s plans, while exceptionally fabulous, don’t actually require a costume. I got Bestie and I fairly simple matching custom-made horns (thanks, RepliKateIt!), and Beloved may condescend to pop in her fangs (which she quite likes), but that and some fierce makeup is really all we’re doing this year.

Initially, this felt like a relief. No scrambling around, trying to find obscure costume items that may or may not exist, no frantic, late-night sewing, no expedited shipping from China, no watching for the mailman like a terrier with a bad attitude. The horns arrived on time and were exactly what I wanted, I bought some red eyelashes, sewed some embellishments on a tunic (I had to sew something on something, after all. I’m not a complete heathen), and then I was done. But as we’ve gotten closer, I find myself pining for those days of ridiculous, complicated, over-the-top costumes.  I love my new horns, but they are low-key and minimal and, dare I say it, tasteful. I could almost wear them to work. Who did I think I was buying them for? I should have gotten something a foot tall that lights up or spins or shoots out bubbles or something!

That’s okay. We’ll look really cute, we’ll be comfortable, and I can always live vicariously through my darlings at Etsy.

By the way, one very good thing came out of my under-doing this year’s costume. I now have a new favorite band name. Ladies and gentlemen (men…men…men…), put your hands together (gether…gether…gether…) for…

As usual, links to the items for sale appear below each picture. For more Etsy fun, check out all my weekly Etsomnia™ posts. Follow me on Bloglovin!