10 Things I'm Loving This May

I'll be honest, this month has been a struggle for me. I got sick at the beginning of the month for two weeks and also found out we have to move at the end of our lease. In order to fund this unexpected move, I've been selling a large chunk of my Halloween collection. The whole month feels like one long battle against being sick and then another battle of purging belongings. I don't share this because I want pity, but just to show that life can throw us some curveballs sometimes and I just wanted to share why I've been so absent from here and social media. I know it will all work out in the end and I'm excited for a change of scenery, but it sure has been stressful.

Still, this month hasn't been all bad - I feel like even more than usual I need to focus on the positive and savor the little things I sometimes take for granted. As per my monthly tradition, I'm sharing 10 things I'm loving this month below, which encourages me to reflect on things I'm grateful for this month as well as sharing some cool things with you!

Check out 10 Things I'm Loving This May below:

Spooky Summer Goth Essentials to Survive the Sun

With Memorial Day behind us, I can't believe summer is almost here! I'm already in shock of how long the days are stretching and I am already dreading the warmer temperatures. Summer is the last season before the glorious return of fall, and all we need to do is survive summer to get to the best season, autumn! And of course, summer can be fun if take the time to stock up on some necessities that make it so much more pleasant for us darklings...

I have to say that summer is usually a struggle for me (and many other fellow fiends who wear black year-round), so in preparation I've rounded up some spooky summer goth essentials to help me and my fellow spookies survive the summer. Below I'm sharing clothes, accessories, pool floats, parasols, swimsuits, makeup, sandals, and more with a spooky twist to make summertime more bearable.

Drklght Clothing "Disney Goth" Pop-Up Shop

Drklght Clothing makes rad Disney Goth clothing (along with wrestling, horror, goth, LGBTQ, straight edge, workout, and more clothing) and this Saturday they are hosting a pop-up shop in Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland, right before Bat's Day!

They will be selling t-shirts, spirit jerseys, candles, pins, and more and are offering a free "Death Certificate" to the first 25 customers. This pop-up will be held at The Doll Hut at 107 S. Adams Street in Anaheim, California from noon to 4 PM this Saturday, May 4th, 2019.

I have the Disney Goth tee and I love it so much!! It is perfect to wear to the parks and turn some heads, and especially fun to wear on Bat's Day, which is this Sunday, May 5th and is a gathering of spooky fiends who love Disneyland!

If you can't make this pop up, you can buy Drklght Clothing on their website, www.drklght.com!

Stay spooky!

Fund the Future of Fashion With Legends and Vibes

I am not the most fashionable person by any means. I prefer my look to be like the vampires from What We Do in the Shadows, "dead but delicious." Or rather, distressed, tattered black clothing like I just rolled out of a grave (so maybe not as delicious as I'd envisioned!).

Nevertheless, I am always looking for new, eco-friendly clothing brands that are vegan and ethically conscious. I'm glad to say that a new brand, Legends and Vibes, has caught my eye, and they are currently fundraising to make all our fashion dreams come true!

Creep It Cozy: Comfy Clothes for Horror Fans

Brrrrrr, this February has been cold, even here in Southern California. It even snowed in LA, which only happens once every 10 years or so! I know in other parts of the country it is much colder, especially with the polar vortex that made temperatures plummet in many states.

The chilly temperatures are a perfect excuse to bundle up at home in comfy, cozy clothes and watch some horror movies (which is what I've been doing all winter long!). I've rounded up some comfy clothes and accessories for horror fans that are great for lounging around the house, check them all out below:

10 Things I'm Loving This February

Hello darlings! I hope you are having a spectacular February! Valentine's Day is behind us (did you see my goth love songs playlist, spooky love decor ideas, creepy cards, and ghoulish gift guide posts?) and hopefully you've all been celebrating Black History Month and Women in Horror Month! As for me, I've been watching a new horror documentary, listening to gloomy tunes, reading a thrilling book, eating delicious vegan sweets, and more. As I've been doing on a monthly basis with these "ten things" posts, I'm sharing with you 10 items I'm loving this month, which encourages me to be grateful for the little (and big) things while also passing along cool things for you to check out. See the 10 Things I'm Loving This February below:

13 Krampus Gifts For Those On The Naughty List

Merry Krampusnacht to you ghouls and boils! Krampus has been around for centuries, but just seems to keep gaining in popularity here in the United States. If you're not familiar, Krampus, or the Christmas Devil, is a horned, cloven-footed monster that punishes naughty children on the night of December 5th, or Krampusnacht (Krampus Night). He is kinda the anti-Santa Claus, or more like Santa Claus' evil counterpart. He collects naughty children into his sack, then whips them as punishment.

The Christmas season is typically filled with sweetness and light, so I always welcome a figure that represents the darker side of the holiday. And I'm not the only one - lots of people have taken to Krampus and treat him as kind of the dark lord of the holidays. As a result, there are so many fun Krampus-themed gifts available, from toys to clothing to candles to books to decor and a whole lot more!

I've put together a list of 13 gifts to get yourself or your favorite Krampus-lover:

Spooky Christmas Sweaters

Looking for some spooky Christmas sweaters for the horrordays? Nowadays it is so easy to find Christmas sweaters adorned with bats, skulls, skeletons, monsters, and your favorite horror characters! Every holiday season I love hunting for new Creepmas sweaters (I've found some incredible ones in past years - check them out here, here, here, here, and here!), and every year it seems we have more and more scary sweaters to choose from. I especially love the ones I found this year, some of which are gorgeously gothic and others that are just creepy-cozy.

20 Goth Gifts for Darklings

Let's face it, sometimes shopping for gothlings can be a difficult task, even if it is for yourself or someone you love. Luckily, I've scoured some of my favorite spooky shops and picked products that will delight the recipient. These items range from adornments to home decor to art to bath and body products and more! I've also made sure to include a wide range of prices, from small stocking-stuffers to more extravagant presents. As always, all items I've selected are vegan and cruelty-free.

Whether you are shopping for yourself or your significant other, check out the 20 eerie items below that are perfect for the strange and unusual.

11 Eerie Articles of Clothing + Odd Accessories to Creep You Cozy This Winter

As the temperatures finally start to drop, I've been thinking a lot about comfy clothing and accessories that will creep me cozy the remainder of autumn and into winter. The standard autumn-colored or (eeeeek) Christmas-colored clothing just won't do, so I went on a search for some gorgeously gothic pieces of comfy clothing that will keep you looking fabulously strange and unusual through these cooler months.

Here are 11 eerie articles of clothing and other odd accessories that will creep you cozy this autumn and winter:

Halloween 2018 Tees and Sweatshirts at Target

I just shared some tees and pajamas Target was starting to stock in-stores last week (see the post HERE), but I went back to Target a few days ago and found even more Halloween t-shirts in the women's section as well as a few sweatshirts. There are some pretty creepy-cute ones (ummm, the one that combines tacos and Halloween is brilliant!). You can see all the new clothing items I spotted below:

Halloween 2018 Tees and Pajamas at Target

Last night I went to Target to check out their dollar section again (wow, it was completely decimated and picked clean of Halloween items!), and while that was a bust I did see some of the brand new Halloween t-shirts and pajamas they had out in the women's and pajama sections.

It looked like most of it had just been put out (UPDATE: they put out MORE new designs - check them out HERE!!), as there were only a few items of each design, but there were some adorable tees, cozy sweatshirts, long-sleeved shirts, and even pajama sets! Once Target has more sizes out, I can't wait to get my claws on some of these! Check out what I saw below:

Halloween Bootique in Costa Mesa, CA

We are certainly lucky here in Southern California to have an abundance of year-round Halloween stores, from Halloween Club in La Mirada to Halloweentown in Burbank to Traditions in Canoga Park, plus many more! One of those is Halloween Bootique in Costa Mesa, California, located right here in Orange County. For some reason I had never checked it out, despite driving by and seeing the signs for a looong time. This changed this past weekend when I needed a little Halloween pick-me-up, and decided to pop-in while I was in the area. Check out photos from Halloween Bootique below:

The Spooky Vegan Shop Now Open On Amazon

Do you ever wonder what kind of things I shop for on Amazon? Do you like discovering new products that I personally recommend? Looking for that spooky something to get yourself or that special someone? Are you interested in what cruelty-free and vegan products I use daily? Wanna check out my favorite vegan snacks? Have you ever wished to get your hands on the black nail polish I use or get a peek at what movies and books I'm into?

Well, fiends, lucky for you I've curated a spooky shop on Amazon full of product recommendations so you can find all of these eerie items collected for you in one place! I thought this would be a fun way to show off some of my favorite things and show you what items I use regularly (for example, what hair dye or face wash I use, which I get asked about a lot!). Also, when you purchase items via my Amazon shop you are helping me earn referral fees, which go toward keeping this blog running, especially since I do not use ads, only Amazon affiliate links.

So take a look at my spooky shop, filled with treats like Halloween decor, horror movies, books, accessories, cruelty-free and vegan beauty/makeup/skin care products, and even some of my favorite vegan snacks and food!! You just might find some must-haves or new favorites! I'll be updating the spooky shop regularly with new and old favorites, so check back often!

Visit The Spooky Vegan Shop on Amazon!

Stay spooky!

Spooky Summer: 20 Swimsuits for Darklings

I cannot believe it is already June! I don't know where the first half of the year went, but the days are getting hotter and soon we will be in the wicked throes of temperatures that soar above 80 degrees (my preferred temperature is around 65 degrees at the max). While I generally like to remain indoors during the summer, there is something about this year that actually has me looking forward to long, languid days spent lounging near a pool, beach, or other body of water - in a killer swimsuit perfect for darklings, of course.

Lucky for you, I've scoured my favorite online haunts and scoped out their swimsuit collections for spooky swimsuits, from Halloween-inspired prints to vintage-styled black swimsuits. I've found 20 swimsuits in various cuts, styles, and prints that are just perfect for those of us that have gothic inclinations. The bathing suits I chose all have a certain dark flair and I am certain you will find something to adore for summer below:

Spooky Summer: Eerie Items For A Goth Pool Party

Summer is basically here and though I'm not usually a fan of this season, I'm trying to make the best of it this year. That means putting a goth spin on traditional summer activities, like pool parties or beach visits, because you can maintain and show off your darkling style even in the dreadful heat. I have been preparing for the hot weather and sunny days by browsing for goth summer products, from swimsuits to pool floats to beach towels to flip flops to party accessories...and want to share my fiendish finds with you, so you can make your next pool party (or backyard barbecue, or beach outing, or lake retreat, etc.) spooky!

Below you'll find eerie items you need to have a killer goth summer party:

Goth Guide to Summer: 31 Goth Essentials to Survive the Sun

Temperatures are heating up, the days are getting longer, and we are going to be in the middle of summer before you know it! In my opinion, the only good thing about summer is that Halloween season will immediately follow, so I just have to get through it.

If you are a darkling like me who wears black year-round and hates the heat, you are probably looking for ways to keep cool while still staying spooky. Lucky for you, I've been on the hunt for goth essentials like fearsome fashions, eerie accessories, and so much more that will make summer a little more bearable for us spooky kids. I've found 31 macabre must-haves for surviving summer the spooky way, check them out below:

Goth Gifts for the Strange and Unusual

Many darklings (myself included), struggle when telling our families and friends what kind of gifts we would like to receive during the holidays. Now, I know we should be grateful for whatever we receive (even if it is your millionth copy of The Nightmare Before Christmas), but wouldn't it be great if we could nudge our friends and family in the correct creepy direction?

I created this gift guide for goths the past couple years to not only share some fiendish finds I wouldn't mind having for myself but to also to make it easier on those that are shopping for strangelings. This year, I've listed items that are mostly from small independent shops and artists with a few products from larger companies. You will find something for everyone, including art, t-shirts, totes, banners, perfume, wallets, pillows, games, accessories,  hoodies, and more! As always, all items listed below are vegan and cruelty-free to the best of my knowledge.

Check out my Goth Gift Guide for the Strange and Unusual below:

Wear These Ugly Christmas Sweaters to Scare Your Family this Creepmas

Have Yourself a Creepy Lil' Christmas Sweater

Ugly Christmas sweaters don't have to be tacky disasters adorned with tinsel and snowflakes - now you can find ones that are tacky masterpieces adorned with skulls, monsters, bats, skeletons, and Krampus!

Of course, there have been some rad Creepmas sweaters the past few years (check 'em out here, here, here, and here!), but it seems that every year there are even more eerie options for us spooky fiends. This year, I found some gorgeously gothic sweaters that are perfect for scaring the holly-jollies out of your neighbors, little old ladies, and your family when you sit down for holiday get-togethers.

Ghoulish Gift Guide for Halloween Lovers

Are you looking for the perfect holiday gift for a fellow Halloween lover or a little something to add to your own Creepmas wish list? I've spent the last few weeks keeping an eye out for spooktacular Halloween-related items that would make perfect presents for those that like to keep it creepy! I've rounded up everything from macabre club memberships to eerie artwork to creepy kitchen items to terrifying t-shirts to boo-tiful bags to spooky jewelry to horrific housewares and much more, making it easy for your to choose an unforgettable holiday gift for that spooky someone.

Check out my Ghoulish Gift Guide for Halloween Lovers below: