Spooky Week 2016| Halloween Pumpkins| It'sCarenzaB

 Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to the 7th and final day of Spooky Week 2016! I can't believe it is over, but I have had loads of fun planning these posts. Because this post is the final post in Spooky Week, I thought I'd do something fun and share some photos of the pumpkins I carved this year. In no way, shape or form am I saying I'm amazing at pumpkin carving because I'm not, I just thought that this would be a nice end to the week. I won't be talking about these, only showing pictures.

A group shot

Skellington Jack from the Nightmare before Christmas

A bat design based off a stencil in a kit I bought

A mini Jack Skellington on a white munchkin pumpkin

 So that concludes spooky week, I hope you've had as much fun reading these posts as I've had making them. Just a quick heads up, there will be no Book Review Monday as I need a tiny break from blogging to focus on my school work. I will be back on Wednesday though!
Love,
Carenza x

Spooky Week 2016| Halloween Party| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 6 of Spooky Week! I can't believe how quickly it's gone! I've had so much fun writing these posts, I hope you guys like them. In this post, I am going to be giving you tips about how to have a fun Halloween Party/ showing you photos of a Halloween Party I had with my parents for fun.

Though this photo does these cute Pumpkin Fairy Lights no justice, I would say an essential at a Halloween Party is themed lights. A lot of places, like supermarkets, sell a wide variety for under £5. The ones here were bought last year from Poundland (I believe).

 I'll be honest, on a recent trip to Waitrose I went a little bit crazy on the Halloween decorations and bought some confetti. It was a small pot filled with pumpkins, ghosts and spiders for £3 and for some reason I needed it. I just think that confetti makes a fun addition to the table.

Firstly, please ignore the hideous curtains. I currently live in rented property and these are not of my choice. But the pumpkin bunting I bought from Waitrose were £2 and I thought they were fun. It allowed my to decorate my place without putting bluetac up (I used the curtain hooks to hold them up). You could always make your own if you are a creative individual.

 This boo balloon thing (not sure how to describe it) is also from Waitrose. It was £3 and didn't need helium. You just used the straw to blow it up and voila! I used bluetac  to stick these to my (my family) bookcase.

I have a whole post coming tomorrow all about my pumpkins. If, like me, you are living in rented property and don't want to use real candles, you can pick up LED ones. I got a pack of 4 from Waitrose for £3.50. This is quite cheap as I was looking on Amazon and they were around £10. I would say that no Halloween Party is complete without a pumpkin or two. Three, in my case.

Obviously at Halloween, you have to have sweets. I don't know where the bowl is from as my parents bought it and it's always been out at Halloween for as long as I can remember.
Marks and Spencers are the best place to buy sweets, they almost always go all out on the Halloween front. They also had Halloween crisps (I didn't get any) and popcorn.

You guys will have already seen my Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsums, but you won't have seen the green ball on top. I bought him from Tescos for £1. The spider cup on the side is from a company called Meri Meri, but I bought it at my local supermarket a few years back. There were 12 in a kit, but we've used 6 over the last 2 years. The Spider mug was from Waitrose and cost me £2. I didn't need these, but I bought it.

Again, like the cups, the napkins were from Meri Meri, they were also purchased around the same time. I didn't get a photo of it but we had some cocktail sticks from the same company with similar designs. The cobweb plates were from my local supermarket. I always love getting fun plates and things like that. They're just something fun and cheap to add to the table. Alternatively, you could decorate your own. I used to love doing this as a kid and would have competitions with my friends.

Firstly, thanks to my mum for taking this photo for me. Secondly, I don't know why I am holding this mug so weirdly,  I promise you I know how to hold a mug. Obviously at a Halloween Party, you got to dress the part. But, for me, the age has passed were I can dress up. So I have settled for this cool t-shirt I found in the mens section at Tesco. It was £5 and it glows in the dark. Also, my mug is empty.

I forgot to get a close up, but we had some Halloween crackers left over from last year. Inside them you got a hat, a joke and a themed toy thing. Also, next to the purple cracker are the cocktail sticks I talked about. We did have more food than this but people were getting hungry, so I thought I should get out of the way.








So that concludes this post, if you have any tips or anything themed, leave a comment. For the final post in Spooky Week, I am going to be doing a photo heavy post all about Pumpkins!
Love,
Carenza x

Spooky Week 2016| September Fairyloot Review| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 5 of Spooky Week! Today's post is probably the least spooky as today I an going to be reviewing the contents of the September Fairyloot box. The theme for September was Magic and Mayhem! This post will contain spoilers for this box, so if you don't want to be spoiled I'd advise you don't read.

So this is an overview of the contents. This box was jam packed full of goodies themed around Russian Folklore, the Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

 This is what the box looks like from the outside. I love how simple and minimalistic it is.

This is what the box looks like when you open it. It is filled with purple paper worms and has this beautiful quote from Neil Gaiman on the front. The quote is from his book Coraline.

Each box comes with a beautifully designed card which has to do with the theme of the box. On the back of the card, it has all the details about what is in the box.

 The book for the September box was Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, you can read my review here.

This gorgeous book plate was designed by Sarah Porter and she signed it. It adds a bit more magic to this already magical book.

You probably can't see this very well, but Fairyloot emboss their books with their logo. I think it's a really nice touch.

The first item in the box was this Grisha inspired notebook designed exclusively for Fairyloot by litemporium. I have been eyeing up notebooks from their store for a while and I am so glad I finally got my hands on one.

Next we have this exclusive Castle of Fables (a candle etsy store run by the owner of Fairyloot). Again, this is inspired by the Grisha trilogy and I got Materialki, it smells like banana nut bread and I will never burn this as I can't repurchase it.

Then we have this Felix Felicis sticker exclusively designed by Book Otter for this Fairyloot box. I don't think I'll ever be able to decide where to stick it, so I've stuck it up with bluetac on my wardrobe.

Then we have this amazing Second Army print designed by Good Night Kittens. I love this so much and it has definetly started me on my book themed print collection.

Also in the September box we have these exclusive A Darker Shade of Magic badges. They are also designed by Book Otter.

 Next we have this Vassa in the Night bookmark from Behind the Pages. This is also exclusive to this Fairyloot box. I have been dying to get my hands on things from her store but have never got round to it.

This is the other side of the bookmark.

Finally we have this super cute Russian Doll necklace designed by Pastel Clouds Jewelry and is exclusive to Fairyloot. I love this type of necklace and will definitely be getting more like it.

These cool Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom postcards were included as a bonus.

 Fairyloot have upped their game and their books now come wrapped in this cute draw string bags. I now use mine to protect whatever book I am reading while I am travelling and am so glad Fairyloot included these as I was planning on buying a studio pouch.

 Also new to Fairyloot is their Fairyscoop.

 Inside Fairyscoop, their is an exclusive interview with the author. It also has some book recommendations and fun activities on the back.

Also in the box we have this letter, written by Sarah Porter. I personally had trouble reading this as I struggle to read cursive fonts.

Then we have this themed card, if you've read the book then you'll understand what this is.

 Finally we have this little card which tells you about your unique hashtag. It helps you find your reading buddy.

My unique hashtag was #fairyloot2275. I didn't find my reading buddy *insert sad violin music*

So that concludes my September Fairyloot review. I was blown away by the quality and thought that was put into this box. Next month I will be doing a joint review of the October and November boxes.

Love,

Carenza x

Spooky Week| Spooky TV Recommendations| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 4 of Spooky Week, like the last two days I have some spooky recommendations for you. Instead of recommending books and films, I am going to be recommending some spooky TV shows perfect for watching around Halloween.

 My first TV recommendation is Grimm. It is about a man who discovers he is a descendent of the Grimm Brothers who slay creatures which most myths are based on. There are currently 5 series, with the 6th and final series airing in January. I would recommend you watch Grimm around this time of year as they have amazing Halloween themed episodes and it has loads of      cool creatures in it.

My second TV recommendation is The Living and The Dead. This was a BBC 2 drama that aired in June-July. It's perfect for this time of year as it is quite spooky and is all about ghosts. If you like TV shows about ghosts then this is perfect for you. I believe that it is on BBC iPlayer if you want to watch it.

My final recommendation is something that I have already talked about on here and that is Lucifer. This is on Amazon Prime and (not sure) Netflix. It's about Lucifer coming and spending time in LA. The second series is currently airing and the first series is amazing.







So that concludes this short TV recommendation post, tomorrow I am going to be reviewing Fairyloot's September and October boxes!
Love,
Carenza x

Spooky Week 2016| Spooky Film Recommendations| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 3 of spooky week. In this post I'm going to be recommending you some of my favourite films to watch around this time of year. Like yesterday's post, these films aren't necessarily scary but they are seasonally appropriate. So if you are in need of some films this Halloween, then look no further!

 The Nightmare Before Christmas is my favourite film to watch around this time of year. For me, it isn't Halloween until I've watched this film. I've always enjoyed watching it. It's a film that's perfect for all the family and isn't necessarily scary. You can probably tell that I'm not the hugest fan of scary films, but this film always gets me in the mood for Halloween. If you are looking something that is fun and seasonally appropriate, this is the film for you.

 Again, this is one of my favourite films but this can be watched all year round to be honest. If you are looking for a seasonally appropriate (I'm going to say this a lot in this post) comedy, then look no further than Shaun of the Dead. Although Shaun of the Dead is my least favourite out of the cornetto trilogy, I still enjoy watching it. If you like zombie films and want something more on the funny this Halloween, then this is the film for you.

 Now if you are looking for something on the spooky side, then Sleepy Hollow is the film for you. I watched this 3 years ago after coming back from Paris and found myself really enjoying it. I had thought that I would hate it and I would be really scared of it, but like I said, I enjoyed it. It's a Tim Burton film, like Nightmare before Christmas. If you like his films then I would highly recommend you check this film out.

Again, like Shaun of the Dead, if you are looking for something a bit funny to watch this Halloween, then this is the film for you. Warm Bodies is described as a "Zombie Rom-Com" and is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Although this film is appropriate all year round, it is a fun film to watch at this time of year.













So that concludes my spooky film recommendations, tomorrow I will be recommending spooky tv shows!
Love,
Carenza x

Spooky Week 2016| Spooky Book Recommendations| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 2 of Spooky Week 2016. In this post I am going to be recommending some spooky books that I think are perfect for this time of year. These are all YA books and are more on the spooky side rather than scary as I am not the hugest fan of scary and I'm sure there are people out there who feel the same. So here are my Spooky Book recommendations!

 Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter is a perfect book for this time of year! To read my review click here. Vassa is based of a Russian fairytale, Vassilisa the Beautiful. It has some spooky moments in it and is a really fun read for this time of year.

 Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are also perfect books for this time of year. Written by Kendare Blake, the story revolves around a ghost hunter called Cas who encounters the beautiful Anna. These books are definitely the most gruesome on my list as they have a lot of graphic violence, so if you are not a fan of blood and gore, these books are not for you. However to anyone who loves a good ghost book, I would highly recommend the Anna Dressed in Blood duology.

 The Archived by Victoria Schwab is another great book for this time of year. The book is about a girl called Mackenzie (or Mac for short) who helps return the dead to their final resting place and solves why they are coming back more and more often. Again for fans of ghost books, this is the book for you. There is a sequel called the Unbound that I need to get and read.

 The Harry Potter series are great books to read all year round, but I know that I love reading them around this time of year. They fit perfectly with the Halloween vibe and are perfect for all ages. I don't think I need to explain what these books are about as most people have read them.

My final recommendation for Spooky Books are the Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, to read my review click here.
With the movie released last month, these books are perfect to read around Halloween. If you love spooky and quirky books, then these are the books for you. The story revolves around a boy called Jacob who, after his grandfather dies, goes in search of an island in Wales his grandfather told him about.





So those were my Spooky Book recommendations, if you have any other books to recommend, please leave a comment! If you are looking for spooky films, then come back tomorrow and I will be recommending some of my favourite spooky films.
Love,
Carenza x