Stiletto Lawyer: Expanding the Pumpkin Pie

One of the biggest challenges of being married is that you are expected to compromise. However, it turns out (from a negotiation perspective, anyway) that comprise is the worst alternative--as essentially, no one gets what they want. In fact, in college, when I took a negotiations class, I learned that the goal of negotiations should never be compromise; instead, you want to try to "expand the pie." That is: you have to think outside the box and try to find a solution that makes both people happy.

I've given it some thought, and I have decided to put my negotiation skills to the test for Halloween. The challenge is a simple one: . . . my husband wants to be dress up as something scary or funny, while I prefer to look cute or, if I can swing it, sexy. While this usually means that we end up picking our own costumes, and not doing the "couple thing," this year I was determined to find a couples costume that met both of our goals. While my first thought was to dress up as a sexy version of Marie Antoinette (yes, I am easily swayed by "The Girls Next Door"), I realize that my husband's idea of a good costume isn't dressing up like prince charming.

So, I have been spending most of my Internet time searching for a solution. Thankfully, now-a-days, almost anything comes in a "sexy" costume, so it turns out there are lots of choices out there.

We haven't decided yet which one we're going with, but I did get my husband to agree to the couples concept! Since I figured that others might be faced with the same issue, I thought I would share some of our findings:

Working Beer Keg and Beer Garden Girl (The keg costume actually pumps beer, though I have to admit, I am not sure what a Beer Garden Girl is):