Hello Saturday, Volume 4

Hi friends, Happy Saturday & Happy Halloween!

Spooky season comes to an end tonight — are you sad about it or glad to see it go?

Personally speaking, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing people’s creativity shine through costumes and spooky decor, but I hate scary movies with a dying passion and anything creepy, witchy, or haunted completely freaks me out, so I have a hard time getting into the spirit of Halloween except to hand out candy to the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. With the ongoing pandemic however, Halloween will look a bit different for us this year as we won’t be partaking in trick-or-treating festivities; instead, we’ll be hanging out inside the house frosting the Halloween cookies I baked last weekend, watching PG Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get around to carving our two pumpkins. How are you celebrating Halloween this year?

However you choose to celebrate, be sure to keep your eyes on the sky tonight as an All Hallows Eve full moon will be visible in all time zones for the first time in over 70 years! The last time a full moon was present on Halloween was 2001, but it was only visible in Central and Pacific time zones. According to the experts, a full moon on Halloween only comes around every once in a blue moon, so be sure to enjoy it while it lasts (Alex is going to kill me for that pun, haha). All puns aside, I wish you good weather tonight so you can see this rare Halloween blue moon for yourself. But watch out for the witches!

Since our last Hello Saturday chat a few weekends ago, not much has changed for me. Due to stress, the impending election, and a bit of pandemic and quarantine fatigue, I’ve been feeling quite mentally exhausted the past couple weeks. On top of the mental exhaustion, I haven’t been sleeping the best either, so there’s a bit of physical exhaustion tangled in the JB personal problem pile too.

Thank goodness for weekends though, amirite!? This weekend, I’m planning to keep a low profile, so hopefully that means there will be lots of time to read, write, relax, and indulge in some much needed self care. A couple weekends ago, Alex and I went to Eno River State Park in Durham and had a picnic down by the water, so I’m going to finish writing a blog about that trip along with another post I have in the queue recapping some of my favorite things from the month of October. Later this afternoon, Alex and I are planning to work with Mogul on an agility course we bought for him (it’s been so fun watching him learn what to do), but for right now, I think I’ll watch a Halloween movie and try my hand at making a homemade pumpkin spice latte!

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Highlight of the Week: Adding fresh eucalyptus to the shower!

I stopped by Trader Joes last weekend and bought a fresh bunch of eucalyptus to hang in the shower to create a little at home spa. A known r/lifehack, hanging eucalyptus in the shower is something I can’t believe I’ve never done until now. The steam from the hot water releases the most amazing, healing, stress relieving scent that makes shower time the most relaxing experience. Paired with my Stress Relief Eucalyptus & Spearmint Aromatherapy body wash from Bath & Body, I’ve been in shower Heaven all week long.

What I’ve Been Watching:

  • The Bachelorette. Sigh, I don’t know why I watch this show, but here’s my popular opinion for you… This season has been such a doozy. Bring on Tayshia!

  • Gilmore girls & Gilmore girls — A Year in the Life. I finished Gilmore Girls a couple weeks ago and now I’m in tv show limbo. Help!

  • Schitt’s Creek Season 6. This week, I finally binged the last season and now I’m sad it’s over! The show’s humor is everything the world needs right now. I really liked the ending — it felt like closure without being too dramatic or lingering on too long.

  • Married At First Sight Season 9. I’ve never watched this show before, so let’s see if it sticks. I love a good reality show.

What I've Been Listening to — Music & Podcasts:

  • Leave It Beautiful by Astrid S. The opening track, Marilyn Monroe, sets the tone of the album. Such a good listen. Love the song Airpods too.

  • Cherry Blossom by The Vamps. This album is so groovy — a great surprise find for me!

  • Better Than That - EP by Matt Stell. His song Prayed For You made the radio waves last year, so I was really excited to see a longer project finally drop from him. From my first listen, I really enjoy the songs Better Than That and Sadie.

  • ballerini by Kelsea Ballerini. I gave this album another listen the other day and I liked it better than my first listen through. I saw Kelsea perform love and hate on GMA which inspired my decision to give it another try.

  • Better Than We Found It by Maren Morris. I adore this song.

  • This is Halsey playlist on Spotify. Sometimes you just have to listen to an artist’s entire discography, you know? I’ve had Halsey songs perpetually stuck in my head lately, so it seemed like the only logical choice.

  • Hannah Brown Pt. 1, podcast episode from Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe. Kaitlyn talks to the former Bachelorette about life, the spotlight, and her time on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I love listening to Kaitlyn’s podcast every week. Also check out her Bachelorette recap podcasts, they’re good listens too!

  • How Laughter Can Be The Best Medicine, podcast episode from Deliciously Ella. I truly believe that laughter is the best medicine, so I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.

From Around the Web:

Since it’s Halloween, I thought it'd be fun to share some Halloween and October inspired articles today!

Wishing you all the best weekend. Happy Halloween!

Enjoy!

JB

Hello SaturdayJennifer Brandlhello saturday, weekend, saturday, personal1 Comment