{Moonlit Rambles} All of Octobers Most Worthy Binges

October is about a lot of binging.

You can binge out on the food, the drinks, the sweets.

You can binge on all its festive movies and activities.

You can binge a lot of things that make you feel warm, cozy and festive!

.

And that's why I'm here. 

I honestly would have liked for this to come out sooner but October also brings midterms....

Anyways! I'm here today to share all the ultimate October binges one could

possibly participate in. Ready!?

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_____________-The Food-___________

Hearty Foods:

-Soups! Ah, this is the time for soups. Tortilla soup, tomato soup, vegetable soup, so on and on! Soups are a must for me this time of year. They warm you up and keep you/heal you from sickness. What more could you ask for?

-Pot Pie! Mmmmm some vegetable pot pie!? Again, warm and delicious I have to have it. 

-Biscuits! Ugh, yum. Put a warm, flaky biscuit on the side of any meal and I'm sold. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...it doesn't matter. I have no preference.

-Mac-n-Cheese! Okay, so this one isn't necessarily a "fall food" but it goes with every season and I'm obsessed. Plus! There are so many different ways to make it...why not?

Drinks:

-Salted Caramel Coffees/Fraps! I'm not one of those gals completely sold on the pumpkin spice lattes. I'm not generally a fan of coffee to be honest but this one? Yeah, I got to have at least one...or two.

-Hot Chocolate! Okay, so...if I'm being completely honest...I'm not a huge fan of hot drinks in general. It's mainly cause I don't know how to drink them. I end up burning my tongue and then not being able to enjoy my drink or anything after for that matter and so...I'm not sold. That being said, a hot chocolate is customary during the season and I enjoy them...just not too hot. 

-Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail! Okay, so this one is for the people 21 and over. I thought about not adding it at all but it is sooo good and I love it! I just recently turned 21 this year and my boyfriend wanted to make me a drink (he's a bartender and my birthday is in the winter). He decided on this and its now our favorite fall/winter drink. Look it up. You won't be disappointed. 

Sweets:

-Pumpkin Pie Blizzards! (From DQ) Like I said before, I'm not huge on the pumpkin spice trend during the fall but these are way too good for my own good. I happen to work in retail at my local mall and guess whats right across from me? DQ. I have this terrible habit of buying one too many during the season...

-Caramel Apples! I have to have at least one. I prefer the ones from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory but any caramel apple with peanuts will pass.

-Pecan Pie! Yeah, that's right. Im a pecan pie type of gal. Don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin pie too, I just happen to have a soft spot for pecan. *shrugs*

-Cinnamon Apple Crumb Cake! This...I actually haven't had LOL but I was scrolling through Pinterest and found this recipe and need to try it. It looks bomb!

-Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie Cookies! Now, these. These I have tried. I found them on Pinterest last year and oh god. They're just too good. Like, no. You don't understand. They are too good. Try them out!

-Pumpkin Sugar Cookies! You know! The sugar cookies by Pillsbury (I think) that come in a package  with a cute pumpkin on the top, just ready to be popped into the oven and devoured? Yeah! Those ones!

So...Yeah. I get a little carried around with the sweets this time of year if you didn't notice >.<

_____________-The Movies-____________

 All of the above are the movies that are a must binge for me. I watch these movies every year without fail. These are movies from my childhood that I just grew up with and love. Some are Disney and cheesy as all hell but I love them. I also start my Harry Potter Marathon right about now. The first three movies have an appropriate enough feel to their production to fit within October so I usually try to start there and run them as many times I can till Christmas basically. 

Every year guys. Every year.

These are the movies I'm going to admit to having never seen. I know, I know. Some of you are going to view these as ultimate crimes but what can I say? Now that I've been shamed and judged as well as admitting it, these are the movies I vow to watch before the end of October.

_____________-The Activities-__________

 -River Walking. Here locally, there is a river that is perfect for a little morning/afternoon stroll to enjoy the changing wildlife, crips leaves crunching under your feet, and the beautiful scenery of the leaves changing color. Its quite beautiful.

-Balloon Fiesta. Yeah! Ever heard of it? Spoiler, I reside in New Mexico and every year we host one of the largest hot air balloon gatherings in the world! Its quite spectacular. If you haven't seen it or heard of it look it up! Or...maybe I'll make a post about it? I was born and raised here in NM and I make it a point to go every year. I'd highly recommend you make a trip down for it one day if you ever can. There's not a whole lot that goes down over here but this makes the year. 

 Amazing right? Imagine standing beneath all these giant hot air balloons floating above you.

Its magical. 

-Haunted House/Haunted Maze. Yeah, I enjoy the creepy and quite frankly, they are rarely that scary. The scariest one I've ever been to was the Slaughter House here locally. They at one point dragged me from a room, tied me to a table and used me as a prop...pretty freaky. I was stuck for like 10-15 minutes.

-Pumpkin Carving. I do this every year as tradition to my grandfather who passed away when I was younger. My grandma holds the activity at her house every year and we do a contest for best pumpkin. 

-Baking. This is a must. So many recipes are out there on Pinterest and they tend to turn out delicious. Its a good way to let go of some midterm stress too and have goodies to take to class!

-Movie Binging. Yeah, another must and as you can see I'm pretty busy with it. Again, another great way to unwind and destress. 

-Reading Under Blankets w/ Fireplace. Could it be any better!? Enough said. The ultimate fall aesthetic and activity. No questions.

What are some of your October musts?

Have any binging routines?

Have you ever seen or heard of the Balloon Fiesta?

Tell me your thoughts below :)

{Moonlit Rambles} BINTRR: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

"Books I Need to Re-Read"

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This is something I think I'm going to start doing every month.

I'm still in school but I'm thinking when I graduate I also want to make it a monthly challenge.

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The idea?

Every month choose a book/series I would like to re-read.

And actually re-read it.

I feel I get to carried away with all the new that I forget to go back and treasure

all the books that had already made me fall in love with.

I always say I'm going to do it and then never do because a book I'd 

been waiting on already came out.

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So I'm giving this a go as a way of holding me accountable to do this.

-

This month. In the spirit of the spooky, my book this month is:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Series: Mara Dyer #1

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 

She's wrong. {Goodreads}

...When?
The last time I read this book was the first time I read this book.
I read it (according to Goodreads) May 28, 2012. I believe the second book was coming out at the time I read it and knew I was going to love it so decided to catch up on the series.

“Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.” 

― Michelle Hodkin, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

...Thoughts before:
The first time I read it- 
"This book had everything! Suspense, thrill, romance, a gorgeous boy that I just so happen to have fallen in love with and who just so happens to be in my top 5 favorite fictional boys, all equaling the perfect horror/mystery/paranormal book!"-from my review in 2012
Before the end of this post-
I remember being completely falling in love with Noah Shaw. I remember being really creeped out by it. I started reaching back into its memory and knew I had to re-read it this month.
I remember the chemistry between Mara and Noah was on fire. I remember being completely thrown off guard by the ending. I remember I wanted to keep this series forever.

“I was warned about you, you know."
And with that half-smile that wrecked me, Noah said, "But you're here anyway.” 
― Michelle Hodkin, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

...Why?
Before I launched my blog again, I took stroll through my local Barnes and Noble, interested to see what was new, and basically all the books I had missed out on over the years. And then it happened, I came across The Becoming of Noah Shaw and my heart broke. The Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin is one of my most treasured series ever. Noah Shaw is one of those boys that completely melted my heart and set it on fire simultaneously. It took so many twists and turns and in general just gave me so many feels. Seeing a new series come out with Noah as the main character, I knew I had to have it but I also knew it had been years since I read the series that started it all.

Then came October and I was trying to prep all these spooky themed posts. (spoiler alert!) I was trying to rack my brain for some of the most creepiest books I had read to date and this popped up almost instantly and that nagging feeling of I really should re-read the series came clawing back. Then I struck gold! I figured this would be an awesome monthly series and new it was the perfect start!

“Fix me," I commanded him. "This thing, what I've done - there's something wrong with me, Noah. Fix it."

Noah's expression broke my heart as he brushed my hair from my face, and skimmed the line of my neck. "I can't"

"Why not?" I asked, my voice threatening to crack.

"Because," he said, "You're not broken.” 

...After:

So, I thought it would be a great idea to insert some quotes for nostalgia and inspiration to me and to you guys. This pretty much damn well killed me. I took a little break from a midterm paper to write this (the brain needs a break sometimes you know!) and it took everything in me to not quit right then and there and start reading. These quotes are everything and there are so many great ones on Goodreads (here is the link if you want to torture yourself too). This solidified it. I'm putting all my other books on hold and starting this book ASAP. 

Hold me to it!

Check on my goodreads stats and give me a budge.

What about you?

Are there any books you'd like to hold yourself accountable to re-reading?

Would you be interested in joining in on this monthly with me?

Let me know your thoughts on my book of choice and

your opinion on this new feature of mine!

<3