10 Things I'm Loving This July

By the time I post this, I'll be just a few days away from leaving behind Southern California and moving up north! I've been selling off a lot of my items and packing up the rest for what seems like months and I cannot wait to hit the road and start my new adventure with Mister Spooky and my cat Havoc!

As you can imagine, it has been another bananas month, I'm so glad I had some items that brought me joy this month. As per my monthly tradition, I'm sharing 10 things I loved this July. This monthly practice encourages me to reflect on things I'm grateful for this month as well as sharing some of my favorite things with you.

Here are my 10 Things I'm Loving this July:

Only 100 Days To Halloween!

Whoa, I cannot believe there are only 100 days to Halloween (technically even less than 100 days to go by now)!! Even though Halloween is so much more than just one day a year for some of us, there is so much joy in realizing that the actual Halloween season will be here soon! Soon we will be surrounded by gorgeous autumn colors and everyone will be in the spooky spirit (and I couldn't be more ready!)

Have a Haunting Half-o-Ween and a Witchy Walpurgisnacht!

Today, April 30th, marks halfway to Halloween and Walpurgisnacht (aka Witches' Night aka Hexennacht). Walpurgisnacht is known as the "other Halloween", where the veil between the worlds separating known and unknown is thinnest, allowing all manner of spirits, witches, otherworldly creatures, demons, devils, and so forth to push through into our world.

Ancient tales of witches, devils, and spirits gathering high in the mountains on this night seems to have its roots in Germany. Brocken Peak in Germany's Harz Mountains has two rock formations called Devil's Pulpit (Teufelskanzel) and the Witches' Altar (Hexenaltar), where these legends originate from. Nearby the Brocken Peak is the Hexentanzplatz, which literally means Witches' Dance Floor, where many pre-Christian rituals were performed, including the rites of old Saxon cults honoring the forest and mountain gods and goddesses.

Celebrate Half-o-Ween With These Halloween Movies Streaming Now

Halloween Movies and Where to Watch Them for Half-o-ween

Can you believe it is almost halfway to Halloween?! April 30th/May 1st marks the halfway point to October 31st, and every year I like to acknowledge this milestone with a little mini Halloween celebration. In past years, I've recommended ways to celebrate Halfway to Halloween, how to bring Halloween into your home, shared the history of Walpurgisnacht (aka Witches' Night, which occurs on the same date), and many more spooky spring-time shenanigans!

This year, I'm craving some Halloween films and TV shows to help spark that spooky spirit, so I thought I would share all the Halloween films currently streaming on Shudder, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime (if you are looking for more suggestions for Halloween movies, check out my Ultimate List of Halloween-themed Movies). These movies are set on or around Halloween, but I've also included TV shows that have memorable Halloween episodes as well as a few other titles that give me a spooky vibe even though they may not be set on Halloween (like Goosebumps or The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell).

Note: Listing is for US-region only. Also, I have not seen all of these, so I cannot speak to the quality (and I can't even guarantee the quality of the ones I HAVE seen, haha). However, I have noted all the ones I do recommend with an asterisk (*).

Here are Halloween Movies and Where to Watch Them for Halfoween:

Only 200 Days To Halloween!

As of today, there are only 200 days left to go until Halloween! That doesn't seem very long, right?

I am so looking forward to this year's Halloween season - in just a few months we will start seeing orange and black in stores again, haunts being announced, and all manner of spooky goodies coming together. I can't wait and already have a long list of to-do's this upcoming Halloween season, like hitting up all my favorite stores, getting up more decorations, going to pumpkin patches, and checking out a bunch of haunts!

Do you have any plans yet for Halloween 2019?

Stay spooky!

Only 250 Days To Halloween

No clowning around, there are only 250 days to Halloween! Have you started planning yet?? I have already made my Halloween bucket list, and can't wait to plan further for this upcoming Halloween season...it's going to be spooktacular!!

If you've started making your plans for Halloween this year, I want to hear all about them! Let me know in the comments below if you already have a wish list going for all the tricks and treats you want to do this year!

Stay spooky and smile, because there are only 250 days to go until Halloween!

Halloween 2018 Bucket List

Happy October! Our favorite time is here, the spooky time when windows and doors are decorated with jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, ghosts, black cats, bats, witches, and monsters of all shapes and sizes. When fun-size candy beckons to us from the aisles of grocery stores. When horror movies and spooky stories abound. When Halloween decor is displayed in every store you walk into. When the nights are longer and cooler. When the leaves start to turn orange, yellow, and red, and the crisp air smells of mulled apples and spiced pumpkin. When the veil becomes ever thinner, and it makes it feel like anything is possible. This is our time, Halloween-time!

And not only that, but today is the first day of October and that kicks off the annual Countdown to Halloween, a blogging event I've been participating in since 2010 that celebrates 31 days of Halloween! During October, a creepy collective of spooky bloggers (find us all HERE) share Halloween-related content all October long. I'll be sharing all sorts of Halloween treats with you, from dreadful decor to eerie events to to-die-for recipes and DIYs to macabre movie lists and morbid music and so much more!

To kick off the 31 days of Halloween, my tradition is to share my Halloween bucket list for the year. I am really spoiled here in SoCal with so many incredible events and fearsome festivities during the Halloween season that I couldn't do them all if I wanted to! However, I do like jotting down my haunting hopes and spooky dreams for the month of October - this is like my wish list of all the stuff I want to do to really revel in the season! I am trying to take it easy this year, and enjoy small pleasures, like watching Halloween movies, eating pumpkin treats, making it out to a few haunts, and spreading the Halloween fear here as well as on my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! You can check out my list below...

Only 100 Days Until Halloween!

Eeeeek, there are now only 100 days until Halloween! I can barely believe how fast time is flying by this year, I feel like this autumn is going to creep up on me and take me completely by surprise! Still, I am soooooo ready for Halloween season! I made a few graphics to celebrate that there are only 100 days until Halloween - feel free to use them on your social media accounts if you like, and don't forget to tag me so I can see your posts!

Happy Halfway to Halloween: 13 Ways to Celebrate

Happy Halfway to Halloween! Today marks six months from last Halloween and only six more months until October 31st, 2018! I like celebrating Half-o-Ween on April 30th, since the date coincides with Walpurgisnacht, or Witches' Night (find out more about that and more ways to celebrate HERE!). It's the perfect date for a second Halloween and to celebrate all things spooky!

I like to think of Half-o-Ween as a mini Halloween and celebrate accordingly. You don't have to do anything big (though you could!) but even small things can help invoke the spirit of Halloween! Dim the lights, light some candles or burn some incense, turn on your favorite scary movie, pop on some spooky tunes, crack open a creepy book, and just enjoy a little bit of Halloween goodness before we head into summer. Beside those things you can do, I have 13 more to share with you to celebrate halfway to Halloween - check them out below!

Only 200 Days to Halloween!

Today marks only 200 days to Halloween!! Not much longer now, right?!

I haven't started planning much for this year's Halloween, besides starting to think about things I want to do when September and October come around. On my list are the usual suspects like the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, Delusion (if it happens this year), Disneyland, Knott's Scary Farm, The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor, etc. I also want to get to some attractions I've never been to, like the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride.

Have you started planning for Halloween 2018?

Stay spooky!

250 Days 'til Halloween!

It's that time of year again, when there are only 250 days 'til Halloween!!

I haven't really started planning for Halloween 2018 yet - I have an idea of all the events I want to go to this year and some fun traditions I do every year, but other than that I haven't planned anything definitive yet.

How about you?? Do you already have set plans for 2018's Halloween season? Are you having a party or looking forward to any other events this upcoming autumn?

Eeeeek, all I know is that I am STOKED Halloween keeps getting closer!

Until next time, stay spooky!

Autumn 2017 Bucket List

Happy October 1st and happy first day of the 31 Days of Halloween!

If you've been a follower of mine for past Halloween seasons, you know that October 1st kicks off the 31 Days of Halloween event, hosted by Countdown to Halloween, where a collective of spooky blogs (like me) share Halloween-related content all October long! I've been participating since 2010 (!!!) and it is one of my favorite Halloween events that I look forward to every year. I not only love sharing my Halloween experiences with you, but I also adore reading other blogs. I highly recommend you take a look at the list of other participating blogs on Countdown to Halloween to fill your October with maximum spookiness!

Per tradition, I'll be sharing my autumn bucket list today, the first day of October. I love kicking off the month with my wish list of activities and preparing for everything I want to do. There is always so much going on in October, but I hope to have a low-key celebration where time slows down a little so I can enjoy the spirit of the season. I've already done a lot just in September, but I'm going to include those items here as well so I can keep a track of all that I've done when I revisit this list at the end of October. Here are those items as well as others I want to do this Halloween season:

Only 100 Days to Halloween!

I don't know about you ghouls and boils, but I am freaking out that there are only 100 days to Halloween!! It just seems to be going far too fast, and in a way I hate countdowns because they just re-emphasize how little time is left to celebrate the glorious Halloween season!

Let's face it, for Halloween fiends like us, Halloween is so much more than just one day a year, and while I celebrate it everyday, there is just something special about the actual Halloween season when you are surrounded by lovely autumn decor and everyone has the spooky spirit!

Halfway to Halloween + Happy Walpurgisnacht!

Happy April 30th, which not only marks Walpurgisnacht (aka Witches' Night aka Hexennacht) where the veil is thin and witches can be seen flying through the skies to their sabbats, but also marks the halfway point to Halloween - only six months to go until the best holiday!

If you haven't read any of my previous posts on Walpurgis, it is a holiday that was, and still is, celebrated in Germany where tales tell of witches taking to the skies on the way to the region's tallest peak, Brocken, to gather in dark celebration. In honor of these legends, people light bonfires to drive away evil spirits and welcome the arrival of spring with dancing, feasting and frolicking (very much like the pagan Beltane festival tomorrow, on May 1st). If you are interested in learning more about Witches' Night, I wrote more about it last year.

13 Ways to Celebrate Halfway to Halloween

This Sunday, April 30th marks the halfway point to Halloween as well as the celebration of Walpurgisnacht, or Witches' Night! I've already talked a lot about Walpurgis in previous posts, but I also wanted to highlight how excited I am that we are only six months away from my favorite holiday, Halloween!

I always get so pumped for Halloween this time of year that it is just natural to want to do something special to mark the halfway point! Last year I shared a list of ways to celebrate Halfway to Halloween, so this year I thought I would do it again to continue the tradition.

250 Days To Halloween

Eeeek today marks 250 days to Halloween!! 

Have you started planning yet for Halloween 2017? Will you be having a party or attending any other events this coming October? I already made my Halloween wish list for 2017, I hope to visit the places I've listed there this year!

Who else is excited for Halloween 2017?!

100 Days 'til Halloween!

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, it will mean there are exactly 100 days until Halloween (right now at 9AM Pacific it is about 100 days and 15 hours)! Can you believe it? I can't wait for autumn colors, pumpkin carving, Halloween music, creepy stories and movies, pumpkin patches, the cooler weather, shorter days, pumpkin-flavored EVERYTHING, and all the spooky activities!

I've already been invoking the Halloween spirit by watching Halloween-themed movies, obsessively checking out Halloween collections from stores online (and in-store when possible), planning how to decorate the house, burning pumpkin spice wax melts and autumn-scented essential oils, and waiting for big announcements and opening dates of Halloween haunts, pumpkin patches, and special Halloween events (I'll already be attending the Halloween convention Midsummer Scream next weekend)!

Halloween 2016 at Cost Plus World Market

Wood Framed Skeleton Silhouettes

I always look forward to Cost Plus World Market's Halloween items! They always have some great spooky stuff at reasonable prices, not to mention Halloween noms and beverages (some of which are vegan, others sadly not - always check the labels!).

They have started posting their Halloween 2016 selection online, and I think most of it is now up on their site! I did some virtual browsing, and they have a good mix of old standbys and new blood! I am more interested in the new items, so below you will find my faves of Cost Plus World Market's Halloween 2016 collection:

Halloween 2016 at Grandin Road

HOCUS POCUS NEON SIGN

Grandin Road has unveiled some new items over at their Halloween Haven online storefront! I have never purchased anything directly from them, but they certainly have some items this year that have me ooooooh-ing and boooooo-ing! As stated in last year's post, Grandin Road kinda has a bad reputation around the Halloween artist and haunt communities for what appears to be stealing designs without giving proper credit...so keep that in mind if you are considering purchasing anything from them! I can't deny that they always have boo-tiful Halloween decor, though! Here are some of my favorites from Grandin Road's 2016 Halloween collection:

Halloween 2016 at Pottery Barn

"BEWARE" BAT BANNER

Pottery Barn has started rolling out their 2016 Halloween collection online, and some of the pieces are really neat! They have a few items from past years, but for the most part their Halloween offerings are new. This year the popular trends seem to be skeletons, skulls, and silver, with some bats thrown in for good measure.

After taking a look at their new items, here are some of my favorites from Pottery Barn's 2016 Halloween collection: