So I really don’t feel the need to write a review for HP because I’ve read them all 3-4 times and I don’t think it’s a secret that they’re my favorite. But I did want to mention that I really enjoyed reading it this time because it’s been a while. I have seen the movies a lot since the last time I read them and it was certainly interesting to see all the differences. I always thought the first movie was the closest to the book, but I didn’t realize there were still a lot of discrepancies. I also thought it was pretty comical that some of the discrepancies I noticed were so minimal. Like, in Snapes opening monologue for the first potions lesson, in the book he ends with “…or even stopper death.” But I know, plain as day, that Alan Rickman says in his creepy voice “…or even put a stopper in death.” Isn’t funny how you remember those things. 

Ok I wasn’t really impressed with this book. And I feel like that’s a very uncommon opinion. It’s even more uncommon for me to say that. I love books and I love reading and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably way to easy when reviewing most books. I give everything 5/5. And I also generally love non-fiction, self-help types of books. But I just wasn’t feeling this one.

Admittedly, my opinion of Rachel’s book may have been influenced by the fact that I’m just not a Rachel Hollis fan. I don’t necessarily dislike her or anything she does or says. I’ve just never really gotten the hype. She’s not on my list of “big bloggers/influencers that you have to follow.” And that list is pretty big and not exclusive!

So anyway, I struggled through it. It was due back at the library and I hadn’t even gotten through half so I made myself speed read it and I just didn’t love it. And I practically skipped over the motherhood chapters. Don’t get me wrong, there were some great insights, I just think it didn’t match the hype. It was a bit of a disappointment because I had such high expectations.

Blog Posts/Articles:

• This month I discovered Amanda Warfield’s blog, Live Simple, Live Organized and I love it!
• Brita (of Belle Brita) of course, wrote a great post about the mid-terms.
• Brita also blogged about Brett Kavanaugh, Rape Culture, and Feminist Fatigue
• This post by Teresa, of Simply Made Fun, has me itching to go to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party: How you can do it all at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
• I absolutely LOVED Amberly’s (of A Prioritized Marriage) post earlier this month about self care and mental health!
• 5 Ways I’ve Invested in Myself This Year
• Things I Do Regularly for my Mental Health
• 30 in my 30’s Bucket List
• Chelsea of The New Wifestyle wrote this very raw and real piece: The Downside of Comfort

I just want to say first that I am watching several shows that I don’t want to review until I get a few more episodes in. So I’m only talking about one this month because Pearson and I binged it in one weekend!

Y’all! The Haunting of Hill House was absolutely amazing! So of course it’s a bit scary, but there aren’t to many jump scares. It’s the kind that makes you think. It goes back and forth between the past and the present, kinda like This is Us. And I absolutely love all the symbolism and representation of mental health. It’s very similar to The Babadook on Netflix which I absolutely loved too. Like I said, we binged all 10 episodes in one weekend because we kept needing to know what happened next! There were some jaw dropping and aha moments. I just can’t give it enough praise!

Venom – 5/5 stars

You guys. This movie was so much better than I ever expected. Like, I don’t know why but I was kinda expecting it to either be silly and hokey (like Sony’s Spider Man attempts) or super scary. But it was so freaking good! I definitely recommend it to anybody and everybody. It honestly didn’t get too much more scary than any other comic book movies out there. In fact, I think it was less dark than the whole Fox/DC universe tends to be. It has some language and a lot of violence.

Into the Dark: The Body – 3/5 stars

So Hulu is doing this thing called “Into the Dark” where, starting in October, they’re releasing a scary “movie” (about an hour and a half long) at the beginning of every month for a year. Each month’s movie will have to do with that month. So Octobers episode, “The Body,” was about Halloween and November’s episode, “Flesh & Blood” (which is already available to watch as I write this on 11/5), takes place on Thanksgiving.

Anyway, to be honest, I wasn’t impressed with “The Body.” It was sort creepy, but I feel like they could have done so much more with Halloween. For most of the episode I just kept waiting for something to happen. And the ending was also pretty predictable. I do plan to watch all the others just because it’s only 90 minutes per month and they don’t have anything to do with each other. I think the concept is fun and I hope some of the others are better.

The Ninth Gate – 4/5 stars

We watched this thriller staring Johnny Depp the weekend before Halloween. I was intrigued because I love Johnny Depp and I loved The Secret Window which seemed to be the same type of movie as this one. Well, that turned out to be true. The movie was slow to get started, but I think I’ve been conditioned to want lots of action right off the bat with all the blockbuster movies we have these days. But I’m trying to get myself to slow down and enjoy some old classics. Anyway, this one as all about books with some suspense so what’s not to love!

Hocus Pocus – 5/5 stars

Specials:

You guys I thought this special was perfect! I loved that it was only an hour long, yet they sang all the most important songs, showed some behind the scenes action, paid tribute to the show around the world and even had some fun trivia here and there. I thought the guests they had on the show were perfect (including Pentatonix and Ariana Grande). I loved that Idina and Kristin got to sing their most popular (pun intended) songs. And Kristin’s was hilarious. And I LOVED that they had all the Glindas and Elphabas from Broadway join them for “For Good.” Basically the entire thing was perfect and I cried.

In stark contrast to the Wicked special, the Hocus Pocus one was quite a let down. It was too long. Mary (Kathy Najimy) was the only Sanderson sister represented in person. I guess Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler were too busy. The kids and Billy were represented by their respective actor, of course. But the whole thing just seemed awkward with jokes that didn’t land and some standing around. There was a costume competition that went on for way too long. There were so many costumes it took three segments to get through them all. I did like the behind-the-scenes documentary-style stuff. But most of the rest just seemed overdone and like they tried too hard.

You guys probably know that I love Jordan Dooley from Soul Scripts, The SHE Refined Project and Bible Study Bootcamp. I joined The SHE Refined Project back in the summer and am LOVING IT! Anyway, Jordan started a podcast this month and it is gold just like everything else she does. She talks about all kinds of things that women face today. Some are deep and spiritual and some are somewhat silly and fun. My favorite episodes so far have been “Practical Ways to Stay Active with a Crazy Schedule” and “Overcoming Imposter Syndrom”

Mannheim Steamroller Halloween Music

You guys, I love Mannheim Steamroller. If you don’t know them, they’re an “American Neoclassical new-age music group” and they’re known for “blending classical music with elements of new age and rock.” I think their Christmas music is probably the most popular. They’re a lot like Trans-Siberian Orchestra but a little weirder. Anyway, they have 4 Halloween albums and I basically listened to them all month! They’re great!

My Halloween Playlist

And lastly, was my Halloween playlist. I spent a while creating this play list a few years ago and I love listening to it every October!

What have you been reading, watching, and listening to lately? Have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

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