What My Boys Read for Halloween--Preschool Books

Happy Halloween week!  Whenever a holiday comes around, I love to have a week of decorations, activities, and books to get us all in the mood.  Now that my oldest son is embracing bedtime stories ("One more, Mommy!"), I grabbed a stack of Halloween books from the public library (no sense in wasting money on holiday books when you can get them for FREE!) and started reading.

Here have been our favorites this year:

Wobble the Witch Cat by Mary Calhoun.  A cute story about a cat too scared to ride on his witch's broom.  One of the lengthier stories of the bunch.

Inside a House that is Haunted by Alyssa Satin Capucilli.  By far our FAVORITE of all the Halloween books.  It has a repetitive rhythm, and my son had the entire book memorized after a few days of reading.  This one might be a purchase for us so we can have it year-round.

 

Peek-a-Boooo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti.  A major favorite due to the flapped pages and silly sound effects that I made.  Even my youngest guy calmed down long enough to watch this one.

 

Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming.  A beautiful poem about all things Halloween.  I didn't know if my boy was interested in this one, but he asked for it the next night, so it must have been a winner!

The Costume Copycat by Maryann Macdonald.  Since I have two little boys, I loved the sibling center of this story.  A sweet ending, too!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! by Lucille Colandro.  A funny, repetitive story with a funny ending.

So what have your kiddos been reading for Halloween?  Or what books have gotten YOU in the Halloween spirit?

REVIEW--Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

Happy Monday, everyone!  Wow, what a weekend we had!  We packed up our sweet house and moved to a larger, updated home.  It is SUPER exciting to think about all the memories we're going to make in our new home.

So what do you read when you don't have a lot of time on your hands?  You read a graphic novel!  So today I'm reviewing Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks.  Let's jump right in!

• Graphic novel
• Standalone

The Gist:
Charlie shouldn't care that the principal of his school has extra money to spend.  Or that the principal isn't sure who should get the money--the robotics team for their upcoming competition or the cheerleaders for their new uniforms.  But Charlie IS stuck in the middle, because he is good friends with Nate, the president of the robotics club, and is dating a cheerleader.  And a battle is about to ensue between the groups, with Charlie's relationship with them both on the line.

What I Loved:

• If you're not a big graphic novels reader (like me), this is a great choice!  The artwork is tasteful and well-done, the plot simple and engaging.
• There are some interesting side stories within the novel--Charlie's relationship with his parents, for sure.
• This really hits on the stereotypical high school drama we so often see.
• Pretty clean...and I can rarely say that about graphic novels.

What I Didn't Love:

• I'll be honest--I just can't get super-pumped about a book with a battle between cheerleaders and geeks.  It's been done...many times.

A fun read and one that my students will probably devour!

Next up is a cheerleader-inspired outfit!

Little Boys in Plaid

Hey, fashionistas!  I cannot tell you how much I LOVE fall clothes!  The plaids, deep colors, boots...ahhh!  And this year I have been smitten with how cute my boys look in their fall wardrobes. 

We picked up some new items this year at Target, because let me tell you, my boys know how to wear out their clothes.  And this year's Target selection is full of jaw-dropping cuteness.  Let me show you a few of my favorites:

 Here's my oldest boy, and oh my goodness I LOVE this outfit!  It will probably be his Thanksgiving day outfit.  The plaid with the deep khaki pants...ahhh!  And can you catch the elbow pads?!

The boots are great, too...much cuter than his typical character tennis shoes!

A close-up of that cute cute boy.

A weak photo of his younger brother, but this is the only shot I could get of the active boy.  Look at that green plaid!  And a front pocket, too!

At the local hardware store--check out the little guy's letter jacket!  And his name begins with C, so it couldn't be more perfect.  When he outgrows this jacket, we're keeping it!  You can peek the cute maroon shirt that big guy is wearing, too.

So how are you or your kids dressing for fall?

*I have no affiliation with Target (I wish!) and paid for this all with my own money.

Glow-Inspired Outfit

Hello, friends!

So it's been about a week and a half since I posted...I know, I know!  But let me tell you about that last week and a half.  First, we closed on a new house!  I am so so excited to get my decorating hands on this new house!  Then Luke and I were both gone on different retreats (me for church, him for work) PLUS I was on Fall Break and just decided I needed time to rest and READ!

So here's the outfit that I designed for Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (I reviewed it in my last post).  I was designing for protagonist Waverly, so I wanted an outer space theme with a girly touch, and I think that's exactly what I got with this!  Here it is:

So let's break it down:

• I wanted the outfit's main color to be black because, let's face it, that what Waverly is mostly seeing in Glow--a black universe. So the majority of the outfit is black.
• The T-shirt is a solar system diagram, and it pairs so well with this girly skirt.  The two together makes a casual but sweet pairing.  And since all of the girls are being kidnapped so they can help women bear children, I knew I needed to accentuate the girly part of an outfit.
• Black tights and black boots keep the feminine touch.  However, since Waverly IS trying to escape for most of this book, she needed some kick-butt shoes that gave her some edge.
• Since Waverly and the rest of the characters are on a mission to start life over in a new universal existence, I wanted a pop of white to represent rebirth.  Hence this killer leather jacket.

And there you have it!  An outfit that Waverly could wear to express her femininity in space while also going on high-speed chases.

Jacket--Miss Selfridge
T-shirt--Fluffy Co (Modcloth)
Skirt--MSGM
Tights--Whistles
Boots--Ugg

*I am not associated with any brands/companies mentioned.

Want to see the cutest little boy clothing?  Check back this week to see my stylish boys!

REVIEW--Glow

Happy Monday, readers and fashionistas!  Today is the start of a crazy busy week for me!  We're talking house meetings (we're moving!), library meetings, church retreats, etc.  But all super fun!

Today's review is for the book Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan; it's a sci fi thriller, a perfect genre for the Halloween month.  So let's jump right in!

• First in the Sky Chasers series
• Science Fiction / Thriller

The Gist:
Waverly (girl) and Kieran (boy) are on the Empyrean, a ship that is bound for a new world in space.  Their ship is filled with non-religious people while a sister ship making the same destination is filled with religious travelers.   The ships aren't traveling together but are basically allies in their destinations.  Kieran proposes to Waverly and anxiously awaits her response.  But she doesn't have a chance to answer him when their supposed ally ship attacks and kidnaps all of the young females.  And what was once a quiet trip in space turns in to a dangerous race for all their lives.

What I Loved:

•  I really enjoy the genre of sci fi / thriller, because it throws in the unexpected in a fast, action-packed plot.
• The author did such a great job at manipulating my emotions when it came to the characters.  I would be leaning towards loving Kieran, but then his adversary Seth seemed like the nicer guy.  And this happened throughout the whole book (the ships' captains, especially), bringing up the question "is there a little bit of evil in all of us?"
• For the most part, I liked the dual narration between Waverly and Kieran.  I preferred Waverly's storyline, but nevertheless it was nice to switch it up throughout the book.

What I Didn't Love:

• The title only makes sense to me when you compare the book to the other titles in the series.  On its own, however, Glow just doesn't fit the book.   What does it have to do with anything?
• The religious vs. nonreligious issues of the ships didn't seem to make sense to me, especially when the religious ship seemed to be more evil.  Not sure why that part of the book was needed.
• I just could not grasp the look of the ship, so when the attack happened, I had no idea where everyone was, what size space they were in, etc.  I needed a better "visual" of the ships.

An enjoyable read, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series.  My confusion of the ships' set-up along with the various character traits left me puzzled most of the time, making it (as I said) enjoyable but not super fun.  Three heels for me!

 I'll have a space-themed outfit for us soon, along with some stylish kid clothes!

Life As We Knew It-Inspired Outfits

Hello, readers and fashionistas!  Last week I reviewed Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, a look at the world when the moon is knocked out of orbit (yikes!).  In the book Miranda has her entire life changed, and luxuries like clothes and food are not as accessible or changeable as before.

So for today's outfit inspiration, I chose to take one shirt and show three ways to wear it.  Because I'm sure that's exactly what Miranda was doing--re-wearing shirts/jeans/shoes over and over again.  So here's the shirt we're starting with:

 

Isn't it so cute?  And it provides warmth, which Miranda definitely needs in the book!

You'll notice that none of the outfits are very accessorized, since that was the last thing on Miranda's mind.  But I thought this shirt represented her well...even though she was going through a crisis, she still loved ice skating, felt writing was therapeutic, and even had a crush on a boy.  She wanted life to be as normal as could be, which meant going after her dreams.

So how could Miranda get the most out of her shirt?  Here are three ways:

 

Now for a big chunk of the book, Miranda has to think about staying warm, but the first third or so allows her to wear warmer clothes.  So in outfit 1, I paired the shirt with bright red shorts (you need a pop of color!) and black Vans.  Simple but chic.

Outfit 2 plays off the "I need to be warm" part of the book; therefore, it is paired with skinny jeans, a bright pink vest, and warm tan boots.  Casual but colorful and thoughtfully put together.

And of course, Miranda could always pair the shirt with pajama pants and fuzzy socks to stay warm at night.  This does make an awfully cute set of pjs!

So how would you wear something over and over?  You never know when natural disaster will strike, right?