Monthly Musings: October 2016

October is my favourite month and I always get a little sad when it comes to an end, but this October has been particularly wonderful. For a start, the weather has been beautiful! Usually here in South Wales it starts raining at the beginning of September and doesn't stop until June, but the last few weeks have been dry, still and unseasonably warm. It's such a lovely change to hear the crisp crunch of autumn leaves underfoot as opposed to having to wade through a slimy, wet mulch. Eww.

And this year we had a Halloween party! Halloween is favourite time of year (I may have mentioned that before, just once or twice) and this month was cram-packed with all things Halloween. Making new decorations, baking Halloween cupcakes, putting together a costume, and, of course, watching Hocus Pocus.

I'm really sad to see the back of such a fun month.

Magical Moment

It goes without saying that the magical moment of this month was our Halloween party. It was fantastic! We had a creepy scarecrow and a graveyard and our bathroom was so terrifying that people were too afraid to go upstairs alone (I include myself in that). It was the best night I've had in a long time!

#FAIL of the Month

Candlelight is the best for creating spooky atmosphere at a Halloween party, but with all those cloaks,  pointy hats and bizarre wigs around, it can be a little dangerous. Since we didn't have any children at the party, we thought all our guests would have the sense to avoid the naked flames. Unfortunately, we were wrong.
One of my friends leaned against a candle and his cape went up in flames. He was fine! My dad put him out before he even noticed he was on fire, but he didn't live it down for the rest of the night. 

This month I'm obsessed with...

Peppersmith 100% xylitol chewing gum. Xylitol is a natural sweetener, which is actually shown to reduce the risk of cavities and plaque.

As someone who is terrified of the dentist, I'll do anything I can do to avoid someone drilling into my teeth. So I switched from my old chewing gum (which is full of all sorts of artificial nasties!) to a xylitol chewing gum and I don't plan on switching back.

Book

This month I read *The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I was ready to get caught up in the hype. It seemed like everyone was talking about it, claiming it was the best book they'd read in year, the kind of book they just couldn't put down.
It was not the best book I've read in years and a few times I found myself putting it down and forgetting all about it. Don't get me wrong, the storyline was intriguing and I was desperate to get to the bottom of the mystery, but it just lacked a bit of oomph. It was a quick read and easy to get through, but towards the end I started to feel like I wanted it to be over and done with already. Overall, I think the concept was great, but the execution wasn't all that.

Photo of the Month

Our back garden graveyard that we put together for Halloween. It was so spooky in the dark!

Song of the Month

Little Mix - Shout Out to my Ex

I'm a huge Little Mix fan anyway, but this song is my favourite. It's such an up-beat, sing-along-in-the-car-with-the-roof-down song and I'm sure there's not a woman among us who can't relate to the lyrics. 

Youtuber of the month...

I love Loey Lane's videos all year round, but I've been really into watching her paranormal storytime videos recently. Do they scare the living daylights out of me? Yes. Do they make it hard for me to sleep at night? Yes. But I just can't stop watching them! 

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