Halloween

Unrivaled, epic, memorable...some of the words that best describe our 2018 Halloween.  It was the Halloween of all Halloweens and a peak of perfection that filled me with so much pride!  Charley dressed up as Reba...1993-CMA-iconic red dress-"Does He Love You" duet with Linda Davis-Reba.  The Reba that pops up every time the one name legend is Googled. 

Rewind almost a full year back when the CMAs were on, and Reba brought the original dress out of the archives to duet with Kelly Clarkson.  Reba duets, "Does He Love You" in particular, have always been my favorites, and Charley was mesmerized watching the tv just like I had been when I watched the 1993 CMA's as a kid.  A few weeks later, she told me that Mary Ellen, her red-headed American Girl doll, has a red dress and was going to be Reba for Halloween next year.  I jokingly said, "You should be Reba next year, and let's keep that plan a secret between the two of us."  In the back of my mind I thought she could be the cutest Reba, but I hadn't had a chance to do the research.  Before she went out and told the world her grand plans, I needed to make sure it was actually possible.  After hours and hours of online browsing, I decided that it probably wasn't going to be possible.  We aren't a half-way family, and the dress had to be just right....and finding something that could even possibly work was turning out to be impossible.  Fortunately, Charley can be quite the persuader, and she begged me to keep looking.  Somehow I came across a women's size 14 prom dress from 1990 on Etsy, and it was finally a start in the right direction for her costume.  Once it came in, Amma helped me find someone to tailor it to Charley's size.  Miss Aline worked some serious magic and the outcome far exceeded my expectations!  Once I glued on diamond and red jewels, it was perfect! 

As luck would have it, I was telling John at my hair appointment a few days before Halloween about the best costume ever, and he sent me home with a red wig that ended up being the icing on the cake.  He told me to make it good, and he would make sure Reba saw a picture.  Eeekk!!  After watching the original CMA duet on YouTube, Charley asked me to be her Linda Davis.  Saying it was a honor to fill that role would be the understatement of the year!  All I had to do was hot roll, spray and tease my bangs and stuff myself into one of my dresses from high school...which was close enough to the early 90's.

Living in Nashville has its perks, and within a few hours of posting our Halloween pictures online, we had heard from a few different people that had passed the pictures along to Reba and Linda....talk about feeling practically famous around here!  Sandi Borchetta, designer of the dress and owner of Big Machine Record Label, said, "Sooooo cute...tell little "Halloween Reba" that I sent her photo to the real Reba.  She thought it was super cute!"  Up until Halloween, my only Reba claim to fame was that we used the same stall in the bathroom at J. Alexanders, but now...this story...so much better than that!  And if that wasn't enough, as I live and breathe, Linda Davis herself commented on my Facebook post.  

If the Reba/Linda Davis excitement wasn't enough, Carter actually and willingly participated in Halloween and was the most adorable Pocahontas.  For the very first time, Carter wore her costume (without adjustments or last minute changes), allowed me to fix her hair and wore makeup.  She enjoyed Trick or Treating for a little while, but as always, her very favorite part was handing out Halloween candy with Momma and Amma.