Christmas at Hogwarts Readathon TBR!

The Magical Readathon is back next week with yet another amazing reading challenge - the Christmas at Hogwarts Readathon! This readathon will be taking place between December 17 and December 23 and it's just what my little HP loving self needs during the week leading up to Christmas. This readathon is both Christmassy and Harry Potter themed (if you couldn't tell from the title), but I think my favorite part about this readathon is the concept that you need to follow a map to know what book you'll be reading next!

I really love these unconventional readathons. They help me stay interested and keep me motivated to complete as many challenges as possible! Major props to G over at the Book Roast for absolutely killing it in the creativity department with the readathons she's been coming up with over at the Magical Readathon.  If you haven't checked out the Magical Readathon, I would highly recommend following the Twitter account. I feel like there's a new idea for a readathon about every other month and I'm always so excited for each other them!
Find out which books I will be reading for this readathon by clicking play on the video above! :)

Dear Santa... | Blog Ahead #20

Blog Ahead #20

Originally written on October 26, 2018

It's finally time for my favorite post of the year - my Dear Santa post! For those that may not be familiar, every year for the past few years I've taken a moment to think about the things that I would like to receive as Christmas gifts this year. Over the years this has changed a bit for me as I'm in a position where I can buy most things that I want for myself and it's getting harder for me to think of things that I'd like to receive as gifts - things that I wouldn't normally buy myself. I really do have most things I could ever possibly want/need! I still managed to think of a few items that I would love to see under my Christmas tree this year, and I thought I'd share them with you all today! :D

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1. To Kill a Mockingbird, the Graphic Novel! | I saw this advertised to me on GoodReads and I immediately had to drop everything I was doing to add this to my Amazon wish list. To Kill a Mockingbird has always been a favorite book of mine, and seeing it adapted into a graphic novel is something I never knew I needed until I heard it existed.

2. Black Hobonichi Cover with "Hide and Seek in the Forest" Cover-on-Cover | I'm getting back into the #plannergirl game recently and I've always wanted to have an official Hobonichi cover. I do have some knockoff planner covers that I use periodically (I have an ice blue one on my bujo at the moment), but I'm very interested to use a genuine Hobonichi product to see if it compares! I like a lot of their designs, but for some reason I would really love to have a black cover with this adorable "Hide and Seek in the Forest" cover-on-cover!

3. Tickets to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter | I've been DYING to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (or, Harry Potter World for those like me who are too lazy to say the entire name) since it opened years ago in Orlando. Now my parents live SO CLOSE which makes it so much easier to go. I'm hoping someday soon I can svae up enough money to take a little bit of a touristy vacation to check out the HP parks!

4. DJI OSMO | This is something that I've had my eye on this year as I've been wanting to vlog more of my running adventures. Vlogging while running is inherently difficult because you're moving and shaking, making it nearly impossible to get a steady shot of anything. This handheld tripod keeps your camera steady and makes vlogging while running so much easier! I would be so excited to receive one of these as a gift.

5. A nice cozy electric blanket | I freaking hate being cold, and unfortunately that's difficult to avoid when you live in New England during the winter. I had an electric blanket as a kid and have no idea what happened to it, but I do remember absolutely loving it. I would be so thrilled to have one in my life again. They just make winter so much more bearable!

6. Nintendo Switch | I've always been a Nintendo fan. I just find Nintendo games the most fun out of all of the other video games out there! I've tried a few of the games on the Switch and have had so much fun playing them. I know Brett really wants a Switch as well and I think it would be so much fun to have a console that we could play on together.

7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, illustrated edition | This was actually on my Dear Santa list from last year, but I actually haven't gotten around to picking this book up for myself yet! It's hovered right at $35 dollars on Amazon for the longest time and for whatever reason, I never prioritize buying it. If this so happened to make it's way under the tree with my name on it, I wouldn't be mad. ;)

8. Money toward flights and race registrations for my 50 Marathons in 50 States challenge! | I don't know what it is, but whenever I think of what I would want for a gift I usually think of *items*. But when I was thinking about it this year, I had an epiphany. I'm trying to be a little more aggressive in my 50 Marathons in 50 States challenge in this upcoming year, so what I would *really* love to get as a gift above anything else would be help with flights and registration for these races I'm attempting to run. Marathons and traveling are both expensive, so any financial help I could get to work toward this goal would honestly be the best thing ever.

What are you asking Santa for this year?

TV Shows I NEED To Get To | Blog Ahead #19

Blog Ahead #19

Originally written on October 23, 2018

I am the actual worst about staying on top of new releases when it comes to TV and movies. I definitely prefer TV to movies - there's just something about consuming small bits of a story over time! But I'm still terrible and making time to watch the shows that I'm interested in and they pile up so quickly! I thought I'd share 5 of the shows that I'm most interested in getting to sooner rather than later in the hopes that I'll actually make time to watch them!

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GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling): This is a show that I started watching during a round of ViewAThon, LOVED, and then never watched again. I don't know why I did that because I really enjoyed watching the pilot episode! I definitely want to get back into this, especially now since I've been getting more into watching the ridiculousness that is the WWE!

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Heathers: Over the summer I watched the '80s movie starring Winona Rider and I've since become obsessed with Heathers: the Musical, so now I NEED to watch this new adaptation! I have no idea how to access the Paramount network, but I am pumped to get my eyes on this modern Heathers adaptation ASAP!

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Riverdale: Similar to GLOW, I watched the first episode of the series, loved it, then never watched it again. I know a lot of folks really enjoy this show and there's a lot of twists and turns that are involved in it, so I know I'd probably really enjoy it. I just gotta get around to making time to binge it! I know once I start watching this I won't be able to stop!

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The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: As of writing this post, this show hasn't been released yet, but I'm assuming it's a huge hit! I absolutely loved the Sabrina the Teenage Witch sitcom from the '90s and y'all know I love me some spookiness, so I'm excited to get to this show as soon as possible! I also know the starring actress as Peggy from MadMen, so it will be fun to see her in a more mature role. Fingers crossed that I enjoy the series!

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Stranger Things: Probably the biggest bandwagon I haven't gotten on yet, but I feel like I would love this series as well! I don't know why, but I'm a fairly hype-averse person, so I'm always hesitant to check things out if they're really talked about and Stranger Things blew the fuck up. So, I clearly haven't watched it yet. But hopefully sometime soon I will finally watch it and understand all the references every makes to this show all the time.

What TV shows are you hoping to get to soon?