So, I am about to drop some unpopular opinion on you right now ... This 27-year-old just can't with Halloween anymore ... and here's why ... in convenient list form (which I know you've come to appreciate).
1) October tends to be cold. Costumes tend to be tiny ... Like this one.
*** Side note: This girl will definitely get ebola ***
2) I don't have the time ... or the energy ... to go to a butt-load of parties. Actually, let's be honest, I'm not invited to a butt-load of parties anymore.
3) I want people to give me candy for free all the time. Come to think of it, I want people to give me lots of things for free when I ask for it. How about booze, clothes ... How about someone just hands me a full time job when I ask for it! Yeah, give me all that ... and candy!
4) Standing in line, in the cold, to get into a crowded bar with sweaty people doesn't sound half as great as sitting pantless on your couch watching "Hocus Pocus."
5) I've already dressed up as Cinderella and Hannah Montana and a witch and a gypsy and a clown ... There is nothing else I want to be ... So why waste my time and my money?
*** Imagine there is an embarrassing picture of me as
Hannah Montana here that I won't show to anyone ever ***
It's too spooky, too spooky. It's much too spooky for me. I can't look. It's too spooky for me. (Too Spooky For Me, Halloween Song)
I don't know about anyone else, but maybe I'm simply at an age where all my friends seem to be getting engaged or married, week after week. This year alone, I will have attended six weddings. SIX! So, like any person, going to all these weddings, and seeing all the beautiful cakes and invitations, has got me thinking about wedding dresses and bouquets and rings.
And, let's be honest (especially all you ladies reading this), how many times have you looked at one wedding Pinterest board and found yourself in a downward spiral that lasted hours? Personally, I know that I get sucked in and the next thing I know, it's dawn, and I've been blown away by beauty ... and by the price of EVERYTHING. But, there's hope!
A new study may offer some relief to those who want lasting marriages, and some money left in the bank after planning a wedding.
According to the study, there are a whole slew of factors that can affect the likelihood your marriage will end in divorce, including income, religious attendance, how long you've dated, the price of the engagement ring, and the price and size of your wedding. While the findings on income, faith, and dating as contributing factors to the longevity of a marriage seem to be almost commonsense, the findings on ring and wedding spending were surprising.
When it came to the question of spending ... If you are planning on a happily ever after, I would suggest you shop around for a cheaper ring, and plan for a LARGE AND IN CHARGE, but cheaper wedding.
The study found that spending over $2,000 on an engagement ring is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of divorce. Additionally, researchers found that couples that had weddings with 200 or more guests were 92% less likely to divorce than the relative average ... but 46% more likely to divorce if they had a wedding which cost more than $20,000. So, I guess you need to go big or go home ... but not spend a whole bundle?
... Based on the weddings I've been to lately, that is no easy task ... However, I am sure there is some way to make it happen ... I mean hasn't every Disney movie and love song taught us that love can conquer all? Even a super expensive platinum, three-stone diamond, antique ring ... and a super-elaborate, over-the-top, intimate wedding on a yacht? Right? Right.
Someone tell me I'm right (or else all my dreams will be crushed).
You are the one. I think I'm in love. Life has begun. I can see the two of us together. I know I'm gonna be with you forever. Love couldn't be any better. (When You Kiss Me, Shania Twain)
