Halloween Movie Musts

To me, one of the best and most efficient ways to get in the holiday spirit is through classic seasonal movies. I love settling in with a bunch of snacks, a few drinks and a stack of films to get through. Though the likelihood of that happening anytime in the near future is sparse, I can still dream, right? If I had my way, or if Penelope was old enough, I'd dedicate a whole weekend to decorating, making pumpkin cookies and watching this entire list!

This first group is what I like to call 'Halloween Lite'. These movies are more family-friend, not necessarily scary, and just a good time!

Hocus Pocus - a true classic to me. I love this movie so much and if you just don't get why, see this list.

The Addams Family - a stellar cast and a good enough story. Plus they're scary and they're spooky!

Ghostbusters - another classic. I love both I and II but if I only get to pick one, I'd have to go with the original.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - not really Halloween per se, but it evokes that dark, spooky spirit. It's just a fun movie with pretty fabulous soundtrack which is worth watching for alone.

The next group are some classic scary movies that some deep, dark part of me really loves to watch!

Halloween - there's nothing like the original. I've seen it many times yet it still manages to get under my skin.

Psycho - it's the quintessential scary movie, the film that defined a genre. And it still puts me on edge to shower when I'm home alone.

Scream - the first scary movie that I ever saw (and in a theater!) and the opening scene is still one of my all time favorites! You know, in a really morbidly thrilling kind of way.

The Exorcist - totally over the top and let's face it, it's totally dated. But when Reagan walks backwards down the stairs with those green eyes and scarred face? Ugh I'm shuddering just thinking about it.

Nosferatu - the original Dracula and a silent film to boot, yet still manages to be quite scary in it's old age.

The Shining - just a story of a creeptastic hotel and the inhabitants who slowly go crazy there. oh and some dead people too.

And finally, since I'm always on the look out for some new things, here are a few movies that I'd love to see for the first time this year:

The Birds

In Cold Blood

The Amityville Horror

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

What are your Halloween movie musts?

Spooky Spirit

{pumpkin carving 2013}

Are you into Halloween decorating?

I definitely appreciate Halloween decorations in the suburbs, but decorating an apartment is just not quite the same. We have such limited space as it is, to add more clutter in the way of decorations is really a challenge. However, I'm a little more on top of things this year and with a toddler in tow, I think it's time we get back on the decorating train. Though we still have some work to do, we started putting some things together over the last couple of weeks. 

First up, I went scouring through our bookcase for any spooky books to display.

I can't believe I forgot about New York Noir. This is a really cool coffee table book that showcases crime photos from the New York Daily News. These photos are no joke; evoking an era, readers find the execution of Ruth Snyder from Sing Sing prison in 1928 and other grizzly crimes committed in New York over the last 100 years. It's incredibly morbid, but there's something that I find oddly compelling about it. I placed this on our entry table atop a quilted fall table runner that I sewed a few years ago.

I knew we had to have more books that would fit the bill, and I came upon a few that made the cut. The Walking Dead, Book 2; The Addams Family; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Under the Black Flag.

I love this so much and think showcasing various books throughout the year is actually a really fun way to change up your decor remember all of the great books that I have buried in our bookcase!

In other events, we bought some window clings for our terrace door.

We live in a loft and so the door to our terrace is very big and very made of glass. Perfect for little hands to help decorate!

So it's not a ton of decorations just yet, but this weekend we will finish the door and plan to do a bit of pumpkin picking to round it all out! I'll keep you posted as we add some more decor over the next couple of weeks!

How are you decorating for Halloween?

Easter Recap

It already feels like oh so long ago, but we had such a lovely Easter weekend that I don't want to let it completely pass by without a recap.

We started the weekend on Good Friday with all of us at home for the day. Penelope's daycare was closed and Shaun and I were both off for the day. This worked out well since the sinus infection I'd been trying to fend off for the previous three days hit me in full force. It was nice to be home and taken care of for the day.

We were also home to receive our new headboard and media console, both of which I'll post updates on soon.

Friday evening we headed off to church for Good Friday services with Penelope in tow. Let's just say that a 14 month old + church = complete chaos.

We arrived home later than planned and tucked P straight into bed while we enjoyed a nice dinner and a few episodes of Justified.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a busy day ahead. We started with Penelope's music class. Some of the parents in our building got together and brought in a Music Together class every Saturday.

 

This has been a superfun class for us to do with Penelope, albeit a bit pricey. She loves music and the chance to play with different instruments, her favorite being the maraca-like egg.

Right after class we went down to the car and headed out to Shaun's parents church (and the one he grew up going to) for an Easter egg hunt. There were almost 100 kids, plus story time and a sing-a-long. Though still so young, Penelope totally got into opening the Easter eggs and finding little treats inside. The eggs for her age group had stickers in them and Penelope's grandma and grandpa made some special eggs just for her with her favorite yogurt melts inside.

 

The church also had a photo booth and we of course partook in the fun.

After the hunt, we headed home for a little relaxation time. And Penelope found that the Easter bunny had made a stop at our house a little early for her!

I had bought a couple things for her over the last month and was saving them for Easter. Frozen and Tangled on DVD, two of her favorite touch and feel books, a mini gardening set and some more yogurt melt-filled eggs.

After snuggling up for family movie time with Frozen, we got ready and headed out to Brooklyn for pork shoulder fest at Kim and Nicks place.

Such a fun night of delicious food and friends, and Penelope walked around like she owned the place. Also, she ate a lot of hummus.

 

We called it an early night since we had such a long day and another one ahead. Penelope partied til she passed out.

 

On Easter Sunday, we headed back to church with Shaun's family for a lovely celebratory service.

Afterwards, we went back to their house for brunch, relaxing, and some outdoor time. Once again, Penelope got to do a little Easter egg hunt and stretch her legs in the sunshine.

It was really nice to be outdoors on a gorgeously sunny day after such a brutal winter.

 Afterwards, we took her to the park. Though she was so not down with the swings:

She totally adored her first few trips down the slide!

 

She jumped off, looked up at me and smiled. Then she tried to run right back to the ladder to go again. After playground time, we headed over to my parents for late lunch/early dinner. Linner.

We dined on a traditional Easter feast of spaghetti and meatballs, followed by lots of cakes and treats.

Penelope got after the dip yet again.

 

She's a girl after my own heart for sure.

It was such a long yet fun weekend and it was really tough going back to work that Monday! Loved having so much time with Sweet P and the whole family.

The only solace? Our girls weekend in Charleston coming up the very next week...

For more Easter fun, here's my recap on our first fEaster celebration!