Halloween Haunting 1 - KIRKLAND'S

Alright! Now that we're into August, we can officially hunt for Halloween stuff in the stores. Today, I took a little jaunt around town, trying to see what kind of autumnal deliciousness I could discover. I had planned on just running into some craft stores while doing some other errands, but that quickly changed. 

The day started perfectly because even though it was August 3, it was a balmy 65 degrees, and overcast. And that's when I saw Kirkland's, which is always a great source of early tricks and treats.

I actually hadn't planned on going to Kirkland's because I didn't think they'd have their stuff out, yet. I was headed over to Jo-Anne Fabrics, which we will get to in the next post.

But then something orange and red caught the corner of my bloodshot eyes (bloodshot because I drank too much Zima last night. Hey, I was in a 90's mood, what can I say?). 

The flash of color were wreaths on the Kirkland's doors. After further inspection, I saw the signs and they opened up my eyes, I saw the signs. 

Instantly, I knew I had to investigate, and boy was I happy I did! Kirkland's was a virtual treasure chest of orange and black.

Upon entering, I was greeted with this:

 


I could feel the familiar tingle and chill start pumping in my veins. But I was in no way prepared for what I found. This place was a Halloween jack o' pot!

They had candles, and pumpkins, and skeletons, oh, my! 

It's kind of hard to see because it was a backlit, but the stack below are all pumpkins with initials carved into them and lit with flickering LED candles. 

This eerie collection reminded me of my dear o' mummy. It's the kind of classy "country" decorations you remember from your rich uncle's house. This display made me want to shuck some corn and strum a banjo. 

My dad used to carve wooden characters kind of like this. It instantly put me in the mood for full moons and witches on broomsticks. I swore I actually heard a thunderstorm outside.

And how adorable is this? Man's best friend dressed like his worst enemies. I love the trick or treat pumpkins.

Kirkland's is not where you want to go for gore and horror. All the decorations and mood-setters are definitely more classy than your average Walmart frights.

 

 

They had some cool artwork. It was all printed on canvas and had lights in them. I wanted one, but the cheapest was around $30.

They had numerous pieces of art, and metallic shimmering pumpkins. It's the kind of decorations you'd expect at Allison's House from the movie, Hocus Pocus (which by the way has a great soundtrack that we'll cover in a future post).

 

Finally, we got to my favorite part of any Halloween shop - the scents and snacks area. They had some great candles, some amazing liquid soaps, and some coffee, cider, and hot chocolate supplies. Seriously, the place smelled like Hallowheaven!

 There was tons of other stuff, but I don't have time to get into the rest, because we have to motor over to JoAnn Fabrics. But I did notice something interesting on the way out...

 ... Kirkland's is proud of their costumed dogs. In case you couldn't afford one of the big ones, they had a tchotchke corner and you could pick up a miniature sized one for your shelf. Tell me you don't want a tiny Scottie in a candy-corn witches hat, and I'll call you a liar to your face.  

I did end up buying some aroma satchels. They were full of potpourri and essential oils. The lady at the register told me they would last for a few months. I got Apple Blossom (which smells of apples, cinnamon, and cloves), Autumn Breeze (which smells of clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and leaves), and Pumpkin Spices (which smells of pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, and spices). They made my car smell like a fall bakery, which was A-Ok with me.

Alright. That's stop number one. Find a Kirkland's near you and check it out. I'll leave you with a pic of a creepy carnival because, why not?