My favorite time of year is finally here: Halloween.

Preparing for Halloween is something I’ve enjoyed since I was a little girl, and I’m so excited to have free range to be as extravagant as possible in a home of my own.

I’ve already started my outdoor decorations for the season. To begin, I purchased a series of faux indoor/outdoor pumpkins from Hobby Lobby back in July — for the simple reason that, if I’d waited any longer, I would’ve missed their autumnal offerings altogether. (For example, I went there just last night and it’s already decked with Christmas knick-knacks.)

This year, my house decided to forego the garish orange that often accompanies the Halloween season for a more refined color palette of black and pastel pink. I spent weeks painstakingly hand-painting little harlequin clown faces on each one and sealed them so they’d withstand the elements.

In addition to the pumpkins arranged on the front porch, another addition to the decor is my bats. Arranged so it looks like they’re swarming out of the wreath on my door up and into the night, I’m praying they make it to Halloween without being blown away.

Perhaps the most exciting upcoming addition to the Guizerix Halloween Spook-Tacular is my spooky ghosts.

Inspired by a tutorial on Pinterest — as most of us are — I went out to Home Depot this week and bought some tomato cages and zip ties, as well as styrofoam balls and some inexpensive white fabric. I’m hoping they’re as easy to assemble as they looked in the video, but if y’all hear me swearing on Saturday morning, just turn the TV up louder and know I’ll be done in a little bit.

And maybe, just maybe, say a little prayer for my husband, because once this is all said and done, he’s the one who has to find a place to store all these little extravagances.