This book follows 8 boys in a small fictional town on Halloween night as they try to save their friend Pip and discover the meaning of Halloween. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud takes the boys on an adventure to find out why they’re dressed as witches, monsters, mummies and skeletons. He shows the boys not only the why and the how’s of Halloween, but how far they’ll go to save the greatest boy that ever lived Joe Pipkin.

This book has absolutely no flaws for me, being both written by Ray Bradbury, and a huge part of my childhood. I’d even say that this book has a lot to do with where I live, which is a small town very much like the book where “there wasn’t so much wilderness you couldn’t see the town. But on the other hand there wasn’t so much town you couldn’t see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness.”* Mr. Moundshroud was the first character to show me that sometimes you couldn’t be sure if someone was your friend or a villain until the end. And Pip, oh pip. I hope that by the time he’s 12 my son is just like and has friends as loyal as Joe Pipkin,’ the greatest boy who ever lived, and on the day he was born all the Orange Crush and Nehi soda bottles in the world fizzed over.”*

Final Verdict: I wholeheartedly, full stop, recommend this book. It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you love Halloween, you’ll love this book. Ray Bradbury’s words take you into the world of that Halloween Tree and you find yourself racing with all the boys, and willing to do anything to save Joe Pipkin.

I thought of dressing up in costume this week, but I honestly haven’t worn a costume for Halloween since I was 21. It’s just not my thing anymore. So I decided to wear some of my favorite cozy clothing.

I’m wearing a gray stripey sweater from Gap, Glasses from Kate Spade. Victoria’s Secret Most Loved Yoga Leggings and Pink and Pepper boots. I love this sweater because it’s long enough to cover my butt and make these yoga leggings acceptable for public wear.

Bonus: Pinterest Told Me To  blogger Sheaffer recently did a post about Mixing Black Brown and Gray and I totally agree with her. It’s an amazing combination.

There’s howl being adorable with his Owl toy from Martha Stewart’s Petsmart Line. I really love that line for dog clothes and toys.

My makeup is super simple, just Rimmel’s new Stay Matte Liquid Mousse foundation that I received from Influenster, Nars Deep Throat Blush, Rosebud Salve Strawberry Lipbalm, Nyx Skinny Eye Marker, and YSL Baby Doll Mascara.

My Necklace is a Tiny Owl that I have no clue where I got, and not pictured are my Kate Spade Gumdrop Studs in Clear Silver.

Howl decided to get into the Halloween Spirit:

He says he should totally play a Hell Hound on Supernatural. I keep trying tell him he’s too adorable and Hell Hounds are invisible.

He then said he’s not adorable, he has Fangs and is Majestic and Ferocious, and the resemblance is striking.

What are your Halloween Plans? I plan to take my son trick or treating and then come home to curl up with Bitter River which I’ll be reviewing next week. Happy Halloween.

But then there’s days like today where I’m texting everyone because unless I’m in the process of swallowing something warm, it feels like there’s a torture device from a horror movie rotating in my throat. I feel feverish and cranky and my first thought on waking up was how much dayquil can you drink before you o’d?

So I pulled on my favorite Victoria’s Secret Leggings, grabbed my favorite Gilly Hicks hoodie and scraped my hair into a ponytail with an Emi-Jay Hair tie. Skipped the makeup because my face is a bit swollen and I don’t even want to touch it (those of you with sinus issues totally get this one) and when I got a bit cold threw on my navy blue Bearpaw boots.

I adore my Jack Skellington mug that my husband got me a few days ago when I was massively stressed out over our son’s Halloween costume. It was the perfect way to remind me that Halloween is my favorite Holiday.

Detail shot on the hoodie. I bought this last year during a Gilly Hicks sale along with another one, and I definitely have plans to get more. Victoria’s secret may do the best leggings, but Gilly Hicks has them beat on cozy hoodies.

My boots are Navy blue Bearpaw boots that my husband gave me for Christmas a couple years ago. I got these instead of Uggs because I hadn’t decided yet if I wanted to spend that much on a pair of boots that I probably won’t wear out of the house all that often. However I’m full on in love with the ones that have bows on them so I’ll probably be asking for a pair in the Classic Chestnut color for Valentines day.

1,2,3,4,5

If you’re a fan of this look for laying around your house sick then then I made a wishboard of the same or similar items that are available now. Just being this cozy and surrounding myself with all of my favorite things has made me feel so much better.

Victoria’s Secret had one of their 7 for $35 sales on their bodycare products, along with 3 for $24 on their haircare products. I’ve never tried their haircare before and I adored their bodycare products when I was in high school, since I needed some things I thought why the hell not. As you can see by the big bag above I took full advantage of the sale they had going on.

First up my hair dresser keeps telling me I have dry hair. I finally decided to listen to her (meaning I finally ran out of the Ojon products that I had) and picked up their So Sexy Nourish Healthy and Hydrated Shampoo and Conditioner.

For my third item I thought about going with their deep conditioning mask from the same range but at the last second I remembered I was out of Dry Shampoo so I got that instead. It’s the So Sexy Clean and Go Dry Shampoo.

I love the way the products smell and will be doing a full review in the near future. It only takes a couple uses for me to decide if I like a hair product or not.

On to the bodycare products. Since my husband got me the Pure Seduction body spray for my birthday I decided to grab the lotion and body wash to go with it.

I also picked up the Body wash, Lotion and Spray in the scent Sensual Blush

and the body wash and spray in Such A Flirt.

I completely regret not grabbing the lotion that goes with this scent even though it would have put me over the 7 items.

All of these scents smell kinda Autumn-y to me right now, but I feel like they could still be worn all year round. I’m kinda really in love with all of them. If you’re wondering how I can use such heavily perfumed products when I have such sensitive skin, it’s because I usually develop an allergy when I constantly use the same scent over and over again. So I figure if I use several different ones then I shouldn’t have any issue with it. I have 3 that I bought here, and my Aunt got me Love Spell (my all time favorite) for my birthday so that makes 4 to rotate until the next sale when I can add in new scents. It was actually my aunt giving me the Love Spell body wash that reminded me how much I loved V.S.’s body care in high school and made me want to give it try again. What’s your favorite Victoria’s Secret Scent? Or are you more of a Bath and Body works kinda person?

Oh and did you know they make men’s scents now? I’ll be checking them out and hopefully picking my husband up some the next time he needs shower gel.

I wore a sweater from Hollister, a tank from The Limited, Victoria’s Secret Most Loved Yoga Pants, and my Pink and Pepper riding boots. Not Pictured Alex & Ani October Birthstone Bracelet. I did say I’d do an outfit where I made these pants acceptable for public. This is one of them. The only issue was my sweater kept riding up and that was irritating because even though it was long enough, it didn’t look long enough.

On My Face: Nars Sheer Glow in Siberia, Nars blush in Deep Throat, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, Benefit Watts up, Benefit They’re Real Mascara, Various Lancome Shadows. Hair pulled back in a very messy bun using an Emi-Jay hair tie.

Howl was a bit apprehensive about a carnival in the fall. He’s in good company though.

Howl wore his Worthy Dog Harness. I think he was just happy to be out and about.

A big reason why I like going to this festival is because it reminds of one of my favorite Ray Bradbury books Something Wicked This Way Comes. I know book reviews usually go up on Wednesdays, I really do recommend either this book or the movie for fall. It’s about a carnival that comes to Green Town in mid-October called Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show. Mr. Dark being the true owner of the carnival is also the Carnival’s illustrated man bearing a tattoo for each person bound to the Carnival. The Novel focuses on 14 year old boys (12 in the movie) Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade and Will’s Father Charles. The boys are excited for the Carnival that comes so late in the year but Charles Halloway is apprehensive about what it could mean.

I adore this book, and have for years. As I mentioned before it’s a bit hard for me to be unbiased when it comes to Ray Bradbury’s writing because I’ve loved his books since I was a child, and The Halloween Tree is one of the very first books I remember reading. It’s also the first movie I remember watching. I do recommend it though. Ray Bradbury is a famous Author for a very good reason and if you’ve never read his work before then this is a good place to start.

Sarah and Jennifer are really careful, trusting their never list to keep them safe. A list they created after a horrible accident, one that made them more like sisters than friends. But one night they accidently break the worst possible rule they could on the never list and it costs them their freedom. Ten years later, Sarah is still trying to cope with the fact that Jennifer didn’t make it out of the cellar with her, and that the man who kidnapped them might be getting out for parole. Sarah decides she needs to find more evidence to keep that horrible man locked away.

The Never List by Koethi Zan was released early this year and I grabbed it while I was in a hurry at the library solely based on it’s title and the cover. I had absolutely no clue what it was about when I checked it out. I enjoyed this book. It’s dark and twisted, with plenty of things that you absolutely do not expect to happen. I think what made this book a bit darker for me, is that I have my own Never List of sorts. I grew up being very aware of the terrible horrible things that could happen to me. I still follow some of those rules I made up for myself, while others have proved to be unnecessary. However, reading this book, where these girls did everything they possibly could to keep themselves safe and they still ended up in this situation, absolutely horrified me. They were so careful, and they didn’t even mean to break the rule, it just happened.

Final Verdict: I fully recommend this book, I adored it and it’s going on my books I’ve read but want to buy and read again list.

Today’s outfit is actually a variation of one that I made a wishboard for last year.

I’m wearing a sweater from Gap, and the Victoria’s Secret Most Loved Leggings, my socks are from Target’s $1 section last Valentines Day.

On My Face: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia, Nars Blush in Deep Throat, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla and YSL Babydoll Mascara. Hair tie: Emi-jay. Glasses: Kate Spade

This is definitely an outfit that is cozy and comfortable, which was necessary because I sat down with this book and finished it all in one go. I like to be really cozy and comfortable when I read thrillers or horror novels, because it’s much easier to deal with the horrors of the world if you’re safe and cozy at home. I mean that’s so obvious that even Tool has a song about it.

My birthday is my absolute favorite day of the year. I wait for it all year long and start thinking about what I’m going to wear and making a wishlist for my husband in August. I’m like a little kid when it comes to my birthday. So I decided I’d show you some of the things I got this year.

First from my son I got a Halloween themed Tumbler cup from Barnes and Noble

and an Alex & Ani Birthstone Bracelet.

I absolutely adore them both, and have already been using the cup non stop. And how lovely is the bracelet? I totally get the hype that youtube has been giving them. Thank you LeighannSays and Anna Saconne-Joly for talking about them because I’m in love.

From my Husband I got Pitch  Perfect, which we picked up on my actual Birthday. I liked it, I’ll watch it again, because I adore Brittany Snow and Anna Kendrick, but I didn’t see get the insane amount of hype it got. I wish there had been more of Becca’s style of Acapella done by the Bellas.

A Body Spray from Victoria’s Secret in Pure Seduction. I adore their perfumes and body sprays and always have a least one if not a few in my collection.

He also got me a couple pairs of their Most Loved Yoga Leggings. These are probably the most accurately named thing I’ve ever bought, and I may or may not be planning an outfit post on how to make them work in public (the trick is to wear them like leggings). It’s terrible, but these have quickly become the only pants I want to wear ever.

and one of the Supermodel Essentials Hoodies.

I’ve expressed my love for Victoria’s Secret several times in the past. I just adore their pajamas and hoodies. For me they’re less about sexy underwear and more about cozy lounge wear. I’ll admit I was starting to feel to old for the V.S. Pink line, and thought Gilly Hicks might be a good replacement for them. And I do adore Gilly Hicks, and Aerie too, but I’ll always love the Victoria’s Secret stuff just a bit more. I don’t know why but I do. So I’m super happy that their Supermodels Essentials line is just as good as their Pink line is.

Here’s what the hoodie he picked out looks like on:

And Finally Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham. Which I am insanely excited about. I adore Lauren Graham and have seen nearly everything she’s ever been in. I still watch Gilmore Girls, despite the fact that I have nearly the entire series committed to memory.

I did get some other very lovely gifts from my family that I haven’t gotten a chance to photograph, but I am still very grateful for everything I’ve received.

So today’s post is going to be different. I have the flu, and was absolutely not up to getting all dressed up to take photos.So rather than skip it, I’ve decided to show you guys what at typical sick day looks like for me. I know I did a post on how to have a good sick day and I thought I’d show you it in practice, because I’m going to be sick for at least a couple weeks.

On my face: photoshop. I was too sick for makeup so my husband kindly edited out my skin issues as he always does. Someday I’ll be brave enough to post a barefaced unedited phot, but not today.
My hair: that twist thing I do with my bangs when I decide I hate them.
What I’m wearing: Gilly Hicks Hoodie. Not pictured: H&M Striped Tank, Victoria’s Secret Star Print Pajama Pants that were a gift from Miss Cannady last Christmas.

Before I get into my essentials I’d like to talk about how weird it is to have the flu in August. I keep forgetting that its not cold outside, and my brain keeps thinking I smell Fall. And that brain trick keeps making me want coffee and sweaters and boots even more. I also really want to watch It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and all my Halloween Movies.

Now on to my Essentials, these are the things that I must have in reach when I’m sick.

I have a book, currently I’m reading Cemetery Girl, I’m only a few pages in because I keep falling asleep which has more to do with my cough medicine and nothing to do with the book, but I like it so far. Full review next week. Cough Drops, I like the sugar free Halls ones, they work for me. Find ones that work for you and stock up, I currently have 3 bags in different flavors. I have the T.V. Remote, my iPhone and iPad. Entertainment that you don’t have to focus on is super important. I get so bored laying on the couch, currently I’m killing it in the My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, if I’m feeling up to it later, I might decide to replay Costume Quest on Xbox. Water, I have mine in this bright tumbler with fun colored straw that I got from my local Hallmark store, because right now my throat hurts so bad I don’t want to drink anything. It’s a lot easier to force myself to drink if the cup is cute. And finally Puffs Plus Lotion Tissues, because a nose in need, deserves Puffs indeed. Am I the only one that loves those Puffs commercials they air in the fall and winter? I only use the Plus Lotion, because when I’m sick I have to blow my nose a lot and I quickly get that raw soreness around my nose. Not Pictured, but also super helpful is my Liz Earle Superbalm. I adore this stuff when I’m sick and I will be reordering it when I run out. Also not pictured insane amounts of Hand Sanitizer. I love the bath and body works ones and keep a couple in the drawer in my side table.

My final essential:

Howl. A cuddly puppy that keeps bringing me his Speider (watch Megamind) to make me feel better. When I had a fever yesterday he spent most of the day sleeping with me on the couch. Today there’s been lots of cuddles and puppy kisses. Also lots of stolen tissues. He sure loves to tear them up on the carpet.

Since I have the flu and will be sick for a while, what are your must haves when your sick? Also any App recommendations?

 You might also recall that I said I’d do a DIY post on how to make your self one. So here that post is. There are actually some other tutorials on how to do this if you search the internet, but I tried to make this as uncomplicated as possible.

You will need stretchy Headbands, Faux Flowers in different colors and sizes if you wish, a Lo-temp Hot Glue Gun and Glue Gun Sticks. Pictured here is my furry assistant Howl.

 First thing you’ll need to do is pull all the flower tops off of your flowers. This was Howl’s favorite part.

 Then put a dab of hot glue about a on the headband and stick on your first flower. if you’re using large flowers then I recommend putting each dab of Hot Glue about an inch to half inch apart. For smaller flowers then I would play around until you can’t see headband.

 And here’s the finished result. I’m pretty in love with it, but having made it and worn it for an entire day, I have some bits of extra advice. First make sure your elastic band fits your head well. Mine felt small so I cut two of them apart, measured my head and sewed them together. Secondly, a couple of my flowers fell off because I didn’t use enough hot glue, do not be afraid to really stick them on there with plenty of glue.

I absolutely adored making this and I plan to make another one with some smaller flowers very soon. I’m thinking of maybe using velvet ribbon and some daisies for a very 90′s vibe.

Bonus Note: In some of the above pictures you can see bits of plaid, those are my pajama’s which are from Victoria’s Secret. You guys should know by now I adore VS pj’s, they’re my all time favorite.

We only went to H&M because well have you seen my closet lately? It’s 90% H&M and I swear that percentage is climbing each time I go shopping. I just don’t seem to find anything anywhere else that I love and that’s in a price range I’m willing to pay.

I was originally only looking to get a Tee Shirt and Floral pants I’d seen the last time I was there that I regretted not buying, but I ended up getting a Dress as well.
The Tee is a super simple sheer oatmeal colored tee that’s long enough to wear comfortably with leggings, but looks great with everything. It’s the perfect easy throw on and go summer top and I plan on wearing it to death this summer. I also plan on getting more just like it because it was only $9.95.
Floral pants are super trendy right now, and I saw these the last time I was in H&M and fell in love with them. My husband said they looked like old lady pants on the hanger, but I’m pretty sure he likes them on me. Since it’s so trendy I didn’t want to pay a lot for a pair, and these were perfect because they were on sale for $9.95 from $24.95.
I had a 20% of coupon and I thought this dress was just darling. I need to wear a slip with it, and a bandeau because it’s really sheer and the arm holes are super low, but I love it anyway. It’s really lady like, and it makes me think of the dresses Emma Stone wore in The Help, but the need for a bandeau makes it feel super modern. I think I’m going to hit up VS this weekend and pick up a peach colored one to match, because I am dying to wear it. Probably this one.

I actually might grab another to go under that oatmeal colored tee. Bandeau’s never stay put for me, but I love the look so I really like the idea of the racer back bralettes. And they aren’t that expensive which is awesome.

I think the best part of this shopping trip was being with O. Usually I shop by myself or with my husband, but sometimes you need a girlfriend with you.

I have another haul that will probably be up sometime next week, that is makeup related…again. I know I have a problem, but I can’t help it.