Come on down

Y'all had some fantastic ideas for Halloween costumes that began with a B. I really would have loved to have been a ballerina but couldn't find any tutus in my size. As it turns out, some other party attendees had the Betty and Barney Rubble and black-eyed peas idea.

Well, I don't have a photo of The Modern Beau and I in our Halloween getup, but here's a clue as to what we decided to go as ...

It wasn't the best interpretation of Bob Barker and a Barker beauty, but it was still pretty dang funny. The MB had the suit and tie to a tee and I made him a super-skinny microphone out of a chopstick, cotton ball, yarn and black electrical tape (my middle name is MacGyver).

The hair was a bit of a challenge. The MB is balding, so we had to go with a wig, and wouldn't you know, all the costume stores were out of white crew-cut men's wigs yesterday when we shopped for one. The solution? We bought a Marilyn Monroe wig and gave it a haircut. It started out OK at the beginning of the night, but by the end, the MB looked more like Don King than Bob Barker.

For my part, I decided to play the role of Holly, the blooper-prone red-haired beauty from the '80s. It seemed like the smallest stretch for me. I found a red-haired wig that looked a bit Lucille Ball, put on long dangly earrings and ... wait for it ... wait for it. THE bridesmaid dress. Score one for the Modern Gal for getting another wear out of that thing after all.

I also grabbed a box of Chicken Helper from the pantry as a prop and cut out a cardboard sign that when flipped up revealed the price.

Actual retail price of the stuff we had to buy on Saturday to put the costume together: approximately $30 for two wigs and the roll of electrical tape. Everything else we already had.

Our costumes were funny, but unfortunately there was another Bob Barker at the party -- similar outfit but went for the white-sprayed hair style which turned out more salt and pepper. The star costumes of the B party were a couple dressed as a Wall Street investment banker and a lifeguard (ahem, bailout) and a gal who wrapped herself in bubble wrap. I wish I had thought of that.

Oh yeah, one last thought: Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.