I've Been Thinking... - Three Spooky (Not Scary) Movies To Watch This Halloween.

Hi!!!

Today I have some movie recomendations for you. Halloween is fast approaching, and while I'm certainly not a fan of the scary and gory stuff, I do love the spooky and silly sides of Halloween. I'm sure I'm not alone on this and so, with this in mind, I've put together a list of some super fun, spooky movies for you to watch if you're a bit of a wimp like me (nothing to be ashamed of) or if you want to watch something that will be fun for the whole family, because it's far more fun when everyone is involved, isn't it? I've scoured the internet to find out all of your options for viewing these films, from DVDs to streaming services to showings on television channels so you have no excuse for not watching at least one.

Hocus Pocus.

After three centuries, three witch sisters are brought back to life on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a little girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to their reign of terror once and for all - and they only have until sunrise to do so.

Would it even be October without Hocus Pocus? It is a favourite for many, and it is very easy to see why - a Disney made, spooky comedy with an all-star cast (Bette Midler is a total STAR). It's absolutely hilarious and just the right amount of silly. I think it is a particularly good one to watch with friends - there are so many great lines to giggle at and then quote to each other for the rest of the year.
 Other big selling points are as follows: it

was directed by Kenny Ortega, who later directed and choreographed High School Musical, and it's full of autumnal colours and Bette Midler sings some jazz. It's a must see.

Get it on DVD here - it is also available on Sky Store and Netflix and is on Channel 4 at 3.20pm on Sunday 29th.

Hotel Transylvania.

Hotel Transylvania is a resort built and run by Dracula as a place for monsters to holiday away from the humans that frighten them and as a safe place to raise his daughter Mavis. Mavis is celebrating her 118th birthday with a party at the Hotel, surrounded by all kinds of famous and fabulous monsters. However, a human called Johnathon stumbles upon the Hotel, and ends up disguised as a monster so he doesn't make a scene. Everyone seems to like the new arrival, especially Mavis - but could Dracula deal with his daughter falling for a human?

This is an animated movie - I love animation as a medium and it makes this a really fun Halloween film. It's a really charming movie, full of all kinds of odd-ball characters, and Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) has a really great sense of style.

Get it on DVD here - it is also available on Sky Store and Netflix and is on ITV at 9:25am on Saturday 28th and ITV2 at 4:20pm on Sunday 29th.

Halloweentown.

This is the first in a series of films following the adventures of three children Marnie, Dylan and Sophie. Their grandmother, Aggie, comes to visit them on Halloween - she wants Marnie to start her training as a witch before her 13th birthday because otherwise she'll lose her powers for life. There is a dark force in Halloweentown and Aggie needs help to defeat it. The children follow their grandmother to Halloweentown, where they meet all kinds of supernatural creatures and where the adventure and fight for good really begins.

I am a Disney Channel child through and through and I've spent a lot of my life glued to Disney Channel Original Movies. Halloweentown was one of the first I watched when I was younger and I have loved it ever since.
It has become a firm favourite for me - there are plenty of spooky goings on, a fight to save a town, loveable characters and adventure. It's fun, it's a very entertaining story and it reminds me of being younger - what's not to love?

Get it on DVD here (U.S.A only) - it is also available through Disney Life and is on the UK Disney Channel at 11:37am on Thursday 26th.

This was such a fun post to put together, so I really hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you enjoy these movies if you do give them a try - sit down with a huge mug of tea or hot chocolate and work your way through them for maximum spookiness. 

Do you have a favourite spooky movie that I should add to my watch-list? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment and let me know.

Have a wonderful day, I'll speak to you all soon.

I hope you have a spook-tacular day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Spookly Dookly - Happy Halloween 2015!

Hi!!!

Somehow, we've already ended up at October 31st, and we all know what that means! Yes, that's right, it's Halloween! I for one am very excited as I do really enjoy Halloween and all the fun that goes along with it.
 

I for one love Halloween. I think that getting dressed up in costumes, carving pumpkins, seeing fireworks, watching Halloween-y films (I'm more your Addams Family kind of gal, than your horror and terror), catching up with friends and family and a whole host of other things, well, its just brilliant.

Whatever you are doing (if you celebrate Halloween) and whether or not you are more Team Spooky (with me) or Team Scary, I'd like to wish you a very Happy Halloween! and I hope you stay safe and have fun.

I hope that you liked this post and that you've got lots of lovely plans for a great Halloween.

Are you doing anything for Halloween? What are you going to dress up as? What is your favourite part of Halloween? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

See you all soon! 

Have a scarily good day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Spookly Dookly - Halloween - Last Minute Essentials and Ideas.

Hi!!!

Good morning everyone! I hope you're all having a good week so far! Today is a bit of a Halloween post and its one for those amongst you who haven't quite organised themselves yet.

I know the struggle. You spend the whole of October planning just how awesome your Halloween costume is going to be or trying to think of ideas and then, before you know it, you've run out of time and it's October 30th - or October 31st (it happens to the best of us) - and you're running around the shops like a headless chicken and throwing clothes around your bedroom trying to find a way of making them Halloween-y. There is a plus side, however, to me having been so horrendously badly organised for many years and that is that I can help you. I know what you need to do to salvage some of the awesome you had planned. Need my advice? Keep reading.

Advice for the "I know what I want to be - I just haven't sorted it out" people.

1. Write down a quick list of things that you would like to have for your costume and makeup.
2. Look around to see if there is anything you already own that you could use - old costumes, dresses that would look good with a cape, any makeup you already have that could be used to make you look spooky. Is there anything you could give the DIY treatment to?
3. Head down to your local supermarket, pound shop or maybe a fancy dress store (if there is one near you) and see what you can find. Charity shops can also be good if there is a specific thing you need - like a long dress, for example. Do you see anything that could look more like you wanted if you did some DIY?
4. Put all of the things you've gathered together and see how it all looks.
5. Do any of the DIY type things you may have thought of - and, if you doubt your skills, have a back-up plan.
6. Bear in mind that it may not turn out exactly like you wanted it to, but you can make it work - I believe in you!
7. Tah Dah!

Advice for the "I have no clue what to go as - why do I always leave it so late? (its October 31st and I need to leave my house in a couple of hours!)" people.

1. I've been this person, I won't judge you. You won't always have a spectacular idea in your head. Remember that this will turn out fine in the end and you'll have loads of fun.
2. If you have no form of costume and no time to go looking for one in the shops, my first piece of advice is look in your makeup bag (or if you don't have one, look in someone else's - having asked them first, of course) and start doing your face. Think spooky, mystical and/or out of the ordinary and use a whole host of colours - dark colours, colours that you'd never normally dream of putting together or colours that wouldn't normally go where you put them (like my fluorescent pink eyebrows from years back). Essentially, let your creative streak come to the foreground and have fun with it!
3. If you do have some form of costume (like an old one) then pop that on and do some makeup that goes with it or, if you prefer, opt for Step 2 and shake it all up a bit - it's Halloween, it doesn't have to look perfect.
4. Back to those of you who have not got any form of costume at all, look in your wardrobe for some dark clothes (or whatever colours would correspond with your makeup - creepy dolls may want lighter colours etc.). Pull out whatever you've got and try things on together in front of the mirror at home to see what looks best.
5. If you want, accessorize with anything that goes with your look.
6. See, you did it, you look fabulous - I knew that this would all work in then end!
7. Tah Dah!

Advice for you all!

1. It's all about having fun - bear that in mind - and I'm sure you'll all look great whatever you chose to do.
2. Don't feel bad about not having been prepared and sorting things out before now - it happens to the best of us!
3. Stay safe, have fun whatever you're getting up to and have a Happy Halloween!!!

I really hope that this has helped some of you guys out in some way, I know what it's like to have left it to the last minute, I know the panic, but hopefully some of that has been avoided with my advice.

What are you doing this Halloween? Have you found this advice useful or helpful? What are you going as for Halloween? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading, Happy Halloween!

Have an spooktacular day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

So, To Sum It All Up - October Summary.

Hi!!!

Welcome to my October Summary. I am aware it is a few days behind where it would usually be but I have been very busy! I know its no excuse, but I think that maybe it might be OK? Anyway, lets get on with this shiz.

Travelling!

During October I was travelling in Normandy for around 4 days non-stop and then came home and went to London nearly straight away!

Being in Normandy, especially in the year of numerous war anniversaries, to see cemeteries, a number of D-Day Landings museums and activities and spending time with a bunch of awesome people was really a very memorable, special and enjoyable experience.

 I was exhausted when I got home as we began our travel very, very early in the morning and basically did not stop until we got home very, very late after 4 days but it was so truly worth it.

While in London, I spent time with my brilliant family and went to see the beautiful poppy installation at the Tower of London. I had a great time and I really enjoyed myself. It was very relaxing and my sleep was "repaired".

Getting a New Follower on BlogLovin'!

I hadn't checked my BlogLovin' or my emails in quite some time and when I did the other day, I got the delightful surprise of a new follower! I now have 3 followers, which may not seem like many in comparison to some other blogs, but you have no idea how much it means to me.

Thanks to everyone who follows my blog on Blogger, BlogLovin' and everyone else who reads this blog. I hope you enjoy it.

You can follow my blog on BlogLovin' using the button on the right hand side.

Watching Charity Telethons.

I love a good charity telethon and I view it as a very easy and enjoyable way of helping out some amazing causes.

Stand Up to Cancer was on Channel 4 during October and I was watching, laughing and occasionally crying at the stories shown. It was a great night of telly and it is such a good cause to support.

To see a post about Stand Up to Cancer, mosey on over (HERE).

Appreciating a Bit of Advertising.

You guys know I love a good advert and October produced some pretty good adverts.


One of my personal favourites was the SSE advert featuring the orangutan discovering all of the beautiful things energy can do.
It was innovative, interesting and very wonderfully done.


To see a post I wrote about this advert, see (THIS).


Halloween Fun-Times.


Halloween, as I always say, is not just about creepy, spooky things. To me, it is about having fun with friends, dressing up and being silly.

This year, I spent time with the fabulous Elf Girl and some of her family, watched movies and ate too chicken and popcorn and really enjoyed myself.


To see a post about Halloween, click (HERE).


To find Elf Girl, click (HERE).


Nearly Completely Moving House.


We are finally super close to moving, with the final stages in motion and it is exciting. We are looking forward to moving in and enjoying our new home at last.


I will update you when we have made our official move and will possibly provide more updates as we enter the final stages of the move.


To see the most recent post I did on moving, see (HERE).


My Favourite Blog Posts From October.


"A weekend in the Cotswolds" on A Rosie Outlook, (HERE).


I really like places like the Cotswolds, and I love spending weekends and short breaks like this - big, long walks, pub lunches/dinners and cosy evenings - and loved Rosie's friend's home.


An enjoyable read, indeed.


"Berlin" on Charlotte's Web, (HERE).


This post included brilliant photography of the beautiful city of Berlin and a couple of very cool insights into some of the best things going on there, as well as Charlotte's personality.

A cool, wanderlust-y post.


"We liked: The Start of Autumn" on Little Winter, (HERE).


I really liked the simplicity of this post and the warmth that it gave me reading it. I too enjoy cosy evenings and trashy TV, which made this post relatable.

A nice lifestyle post which will make you want to drink hot chocolate.


"Love in Unexpected Places" on The London Project, (HERE).


This post is charming and incredibly sweet. I am a complete sucker for things like this and found this post a bit great, really.


A quirky, cute post worth a view.


See also "Postman's Park".


"5 Minutes With... Dawn O'Porter" on What Olivia Did, (HERE).


I love reading interviews and this was a quick, interesting read with lots of talk about all thing vintage and fashion.

A fun interview with a lot of Sixties moments.

So, I hope you enjoyed this post everyone. I thought October was a pretty ace month and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

What were your favourite parts of October? What did you think of what I got up to? Did you enjoy the posts I recommended? Any thoughts about this or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments. 

See you guys soon....

Have a completely great day!

GingerSnaps xxx



Spookly Dookly - HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2014!

Hi!!!

I'm having to type this up on my phone, so the joys of centralised text won't be found nor will underlining, but I really wanted to do a Halloween post for you, so here it is! And I will update this with the "cortect features" as and when I can. (Note: this post has now been updated.)

Halloween isn't all spooky, scary things - it's a very fun time.

Dressing up is something many people enjoy, myself included, as well as pumpkin carving, watching movies and answering the door to Trick or Treat-er's. 

Halloween provides a lot of fun activities and experiences for families and friends and I think that this should be valued.

It can be an enjoyable night and I hope that you have enjoyed it and stayed safe!

I hope that you liked this post and I will see you all tomorrow for a bit of November-ness.

Are you doing anything for Halloween? What did you dress up as? What is your favourite part of Halloween? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

See you all soon! 

Have a brilliant day!

GingerSnaps xxx

So, To Sum It All Up - October Summary

Hi!!!

I was actually going to post this yesterday or the day before but I didn't think I could really overshadow Halloween successfully. Anyway, October was a pretty good month for me and so I wanted to share some of my highlights. This could be a bit of a lengthy post - I suggest you get yourself a cup of tea...

 

Going to see About Time with Elf Girl.

          That was a brilliant day, About Time is my now my favourite film, without a doubt, and I

          want you all to go and see it, please, and I will be a very happy little ginger. I know it sounds weird but the film completely changed my outlook on life - you'll know what I mean when you see it. Best film ever.

          Apart from the film, we went to Hawkins Bazaar and had soooo much fun messing with

          all the toys - Elf Girl walked away with a Chinese Finger Trap and I left with a sparkly

          majorette baton.

          We went to Giraffe for lunch, I can't believe we hadn't been before but I highly recommend the Penne Margarita. It was just a day filled with lots of little happy things and I am very grateful for days like those.  

 

You can find a post I did on my excitement to see About Time (HERE), and a link to Elf Girls Blog (HERE) - I mention her too much.

 



Taking up running.  

Granted I haven't been on a great deal of runs, but making the decision and actually even just completing one run is a huge deal for me and I took some big steps last month towards changing my lifestyle for the better so I can live a healthier life for many years to come.

I also realised that anyone can do anything if they really want to and it is imperative that we all learn this.

 

You can find a post I did about taking up running (HERE).
 

Enjoying the little things.

Last month I've been noticing the little things a lot more.

I found beauty in a Sainsbury's car park and I really enjoyed my long weekend at my Aunties house. I didn't do a lot of "big" things last month but it was just a good month for me.

 

You can find the post I did about that car park (HERE) and you can see the post I did about staying at my Aunties (HERE).
 

 

Halloween Shenanigans.

Halloween this year was pretty fun and I really enjoyed it.
Elf Girl and I had another addition to our Halloween Shenanigans, as one of our friends joined us, and it was lovely to have her round.

I was very happy with my costume and my hair and makeup. The pumpkin was nice to me and, I think, looked pretty cool. Elf Girl's pumpkin went a bit mad and almost set the curtains on fire... And I'm scared of fire (no jokes, please). We watched Ghostbusters - great film... - and we ate lots of food and just had a cracking time.

 

You can find my Halloween preparation post (HERE) and my Happy Halloween post (HERE). To find Elf Girl, I'll link her a-gain, (HERE).

 

 

My favourite YouTube video from October.

 I think it might have to be...

Autumn LookBook by "Zoella" (HERE) - I LOVED THIS. It was filmed so, so, so beautifully, the outfits were stunning and it looked like something out of a movie... One of my favourite YouTube videos ever, I think.

 

 

My favourite Blog Post from October.

 

October has been a month of great blog posts but my favourite is going to have to be...

A yurt holiday and some news... by Rosie at A Rosie Outlook (HERE) - A Rosie Outlook is one of my favourite blogs anyway, if not my favourite, and this post was utterly adorable. I won't spoil it for you but I do want to say Congratulations to Rosie. Do go and have a read and be sure to leave a lovely comment for her.

 

 

Phew, that was a bit of a lengthy post but if you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not sure that I'll do these every month, but I did enjoy piecing this together and if you want to see more of these, then do let me know in the comments.

 

Have a truly lovely day.

GingerSnaps xxx

 



 



 



Spookly Dookly - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hi!!!

As I am sure you all know today is Halloween.

To me, Halloween doesn't mean scary, horrible things but rather fun, friends and fancy dress. If you're interested to know what I'm dressed as today click HERE. I don't do scary stuff - I'm a wimp, I didn't watch Scooby Doo till I was around 10... - but I do enjoy dressing up and mucking about looking cool/weird, depending on how my costume pans out. I think that at Halloween people should dress up as unicorns and pixies but you know, what does my opinion count for?

If you are someone who does get involved in Halloween, I hope you have a lovely time, that your costume goes to plan, that you get adorable trick-or-treaters and that you stay safe. Also, I hope that those tricky little pumpkins are nice to you.

 

If you are someone who really struggles with pumpkin carving, try painting your pumpkins, or using other craft materials like THIS, or THIS. Alternatively, you could just use oranges and do something like THIS. All original links are on the pages linked here.

If you are not someone who tends to get involved, have a nice day anyway.

I hope your day is spook-tacular!

GingerSnaps xxx

Spookly Dookly - Halloween Preperation 2013

Hi!!!

So, as I'm sure you're all aware, we've now arrived at October (where is this year going?). Now, the stand out for October tends to be Halloween for most people (unless you have a birthday/anniversary and such like this month, in which case, congratulations!). Love it or loathe it, Halloween only comes round once a year and so I like to make it special. Halloween isn't my favourite holiday, but I always have a lot of fun. That's what it's about for me - fun. Nothing bad, or scary. Just fun...

In recent years, I've gone as a black cat - I like to call those my lazy years - and last year as a cool, punk rock witch. Last year was a pretty cool one. I spend Halloween at Elf Girl's (blog HERE) house. We answer trick-or-treaters, get dressed up - including hot pink eyebrows - usually end up doing really stupid games - last year, crime scene obstacle course - and watching a fun (non-scary - we're wimps) Halloween film.

I've been thinking this year about what I could go as and I think I've struck gold. I wanted to use the handmade green and purple tutu complete with black cats and cauldrons from 2012, but I wanted to give the outfit a refresh. I'm a huuuuugggeee fan of N.C.I.S on TV - I don't watch it on Channel 5, it's (UK) FOX or nothing. I love everyone in it, but Abby is pretty cool. So this year, I'm going as Abby from NCIS, dressed up for Halloween. I AM LEGEND.

 

Just in case you aren't obsessed with NCIS like I am, HERE is a link to an image of the character Abby Sciuto (played by the lovely Pauley Perrette)...

Wait for the link to load fully, it will bring up an image for you... Your welcome.
 

So, I'll be using the makeup for inspiration, then doing my hair in pigtails and leaving my fringe down but will be adding to it by some supreme backcombing and a tonne of hairspray... Then my outfit will be wearing two necklaces - a choker and a massive black and silver crucifix - a black tee shirt, the tutu of destiny mentioned above, a black parasol, black nail polish and some calf high black boots that have laces from top to bottom. Ta Dah.

 

Oh yeah, and I'm borrowing a toy hippo from one of my friends. It won't fart, but it will still be Bert the Hippo - OK?

 

I'll share the pictures with you on the big day.



Right then everyone, I hope that's given you some inspiration, that this has been an interesting post and that you may now be interested in watching NCIS. If you know who/what you're going as for Halloween this year, do let me know in the comments, and if you have any questions then leave those below too, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Also, let me know if you'd like more Halloween posts/ideas etc..

I hope you're day is amazeballs!

 

 

GingerSnaps xxx