ONE // Bath Bombs
One of the things I love about fall is that I start enjoying relaxing baths more regularly. Nothing keeps the evening chills at bay like a warm soak - even better with seasonal bath products! My favourites are the Lush bath bombs and they always come out with the most interesting and unique designs year after year. I stocked up on my favourites from years past (the pumpkin, the ghost and the black rose). Those are non-negotiables, I love the scents and they are part of my traditional spooky bath rotation. That being said, I do like to branch up and try something new every fall. The choice was very obvious this year. Once I clapped eyes on the tiny E.T. bath bomb it was an immediate add-to-cart moment! I mean, he's sparkly, wrapped in the tiny blanket and sitting in the bicycle basket. How could I resist? I've been a fan of E.T. since I was a kid. We used to have the VHS and my older brother used to put it on for me and leave the room because it freaked him out. I still cry every time I watch it. I'm not sure who in the creative team had this stroke of genius, but I am one happy customer!
TWO // Dracula
A few months ago, I found this Penguin cloth bound edition of Dracula at Homesense. The thought of reading this classic had never crossed my mind until that moment. All of a sudden, it was a must-read for me. Not only is this a classic novel, but its cover will look amazing on a bookshelf. I was saving it to read during spooky season and it was the ideal read! I actually didn't know much at all about the story except for the usual vampire tropes. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's not a fast-pace read by any means and can be a bit anticlimactic at times. The format in which it is written was one I had never really come across before as the story is entirely told through journal entries, letters and newspaper articles. This is a fascinating way to tell the story as tiny clues are dropped along the way and the pieces all come together in the end. It's also interesting to read the inner thoughts of the characters as opposed to traditional dialogue exchanges. I was expecting this novel to be a very creepy read but I found it not too gory. I suppose the reader fills in the blanks and lets their imagination paint the mental picture, probably assisted by the myriad versions of vampires that have permeated our culture since the publication of this gothic novel. I'm happy to add it to my bookshelf and will likely read it again at some point. I can see why this story has captured people's imaginations for more than a century! I suppose you could say the count is somewhat immortal as he lives on through the pages of the book, frightening readers for generations to come.
THREE // Danny Elfman Concert
My husband and I snagged tickets to go see the Danny Elfman show put on by the Ottawa Pops Orchestra. We loved our outing so much back in January that getting tickets for this show was a no-brainer. I'm a big fan of seasonal movies and my go-to fall line-up includes many classics from the 80s and 90s. That being said, Danny Elfman was the composer for many of the scores featured in these movies. If you don't know the name, I guarantee you are familiar with some of his work. The show was perfectly macabre and chaotic - the ideal spooky season outing! The haunting sounds of movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, The Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas resonated so well in the Gothic setting. We truly enjoyed our night out!
FOUR // Puzzle
I had been wanting to do a solid-coloured puzzle for a long time now, they always seemed so challenging. Well, my colleague gave me this gold puzzle and I got to finally have a crack at it! Boy, was it hard. This is by far the most challenging puzzle I have done. Every piece is the same colour, which means you have nothing but the shapes to go by. No colour or pattern sorting to help narrow things down. Also, each shape varied ever so slightly in size, not to mention the straight edges mixed in with plenty of curves. Normally, I start by sorting the edge pieces out and doing the frame. This time, I started right in the middle because the circular piece (which I referred to as the turtle because of its five little nubs) was the easiest one to find. I underestimated the difficulty level of this puzzle and actually let my husband help me with this one. I needed all the help I could get! I'm happy I got to try a one-colour puzzle and might take on the challenge again down the line. I think I'd enjoy a colour gradient a bit more and think it would be a bit easier.
FIVE // Pot Pies
After Thanksgiving, we like to use up the leftovers by making other meals to stock in the freezer. This reduces waste and helps us plan future meals. Nothing beats taking out a home-cooked meal from your freezer on a busy night instead of splurging on take-out or less nutritious options. With leftover turkey, we like to make individual pot pies. My husband usually makes the filling and never does the same thing twice, but this year's version is delicious! We even went so far as putting a dollop of my homemade cranberry sauce in each before topping with puff pastry. No need to complicate things, frozen puff pastry is a lifesaver! We baked everything on a big baking sheet, then wrap them individually to go in the freezer. Now we have some home-cooked meals to look forward too. Our future selves will be happy our past selves took the time to make these turkey pot pies!
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