Super Fun Lazy Halloween Movie Marathon Night! ...With S'Mores!

Happy Halloween!!!

This has always been one of my favorite holidays (and if you've followed the blog in the past I'm sure that was glaringly obvious with all my Poe decor), but tonight for the first time in a long time I'm staying in with my honey and just vegging out, watching scary movies and eating good junk food.

Super Scary Movies List

My Two Picks:

Stephen King's It
"Do they float?"
"Oh yes, they float, Georgie. They float. ...And when you're down here with me, you'll float too!"
This movie is like a Halloween tradition for me. I have to watch it. Seth Green, John Ritter, and Tim Curry as a freakishly scary clown with humor? What's NOT to love?!

Pet Sematary:
"First I play with Judd, then mommy came, and I play with mommy. We play daddy, we had a awful good time! Now, I want to play with you..."
Seriously, nothing is creepier than little dead Gage Creed coming to play with you. This movie scares the heck out of me, but it's still an all time favorite! And I even love the sequel with good old Edward Furlong when he was an awesome actor and not on drugs.

Zack's Picks:

Hellraiser:

Unfortunately, I don't have any good Hellraiser quotes because I've only seen it once, years and years ago, but I was a little preoccupied making out with my boyfriend at the time (now hubster). #NoRegrets

Rose Red

Again, no quote on this one either but only because I've never seen it. Actually, I never even heard of it until Zack mentioned it for tonight. But I'm pretty excited, because obviously I'm a huge King fan :)

The rest of our night will be spent making some NO-BEAN chili (because beans are nasty) with cheese and sour-cream and eating S'mores. I'm really excited about just getting to snuggle up with my husband and relax with some good old gore and carnage.

I hope all of you have a safe and funtastic Halloween! 

In the meantime, here's some of mine and the hubs Halloween pictures throughout the years! Enjoy!

Yummtastic Recipe: Special K Chicken!

As part of the new blog "make-over" I've decided to feature some of my favorite recipes! Since I still consider myself a beginner in this area, I'd love for you to post some of your own favorites as well! The Rainey household could definitely use some variety in the kitchen!

Today's recipe comes from my Mom. Well, technically she got the idea from a friend of hers and modified it. It's by far my favorite thing to eat and I could probably have it every day. Seriously.

Name: Special K Chicken

Level: Easy

Prep + Cook Time: One Hour

Ingredients: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Butter, & Special K Cereal

Prep: 

1. Set aside one glass casserole pan and two medium sized mixing bowls.

2. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in one mixing bowl. 

3. Pour a large amount of Special K cereal in your other mixing bowl (enough to coat each piece of chicken you have. I usually use one bag for every six pieces of chicken).

4. Crunch up Special K with your hands. It doesn't need to be fine, just small enough to layer on the chicken.

5. Dip each piece of chicken into the melted butter. Cover it in butter. I'm talking Paula Deen style.

6. Then dip the buttery chicken in the Special K, covering it completely top and bottom. I usually have to just grab a handful of cereal and hold it to the bottom as I place it in my glass pan.

7. Once you've coated all the pieces in Special K, you may want to just throw some more in the pan. Mine always ends up looking like a casserole at this point. Any extra butter you have left, sprinkle on top of the chicken.

8. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the chicken.

Great Side Dishes: Suddenly Salad Bacon Ranch Pasta or Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes.

River Update- Week Nineteen!

How I'm Feeling: Great! No morning sickness (which Mommy thanks you for little River!). Energetic and HUNGRY all of the time.

Cravings: Chocolate, Milk, and Cheese.

Crazy Dream of the Week: I dreamed that no one showed up for our Baby Shower and that I caught my hubs cheating on me with some blonde chick. Then, my cousin came over and brought me some kind of awesome S'Mores gooey deliciousness. I woke up extremely angry and upset (the irrational kind) and texted my hubs that I was mad he dream-cheated. I also still really want that S'mores thing.

Weird Non-Gross Body Stuff: Hip PAIN. Or "Round Ligament Pain". Super annoying, but supposedly normal. 

Latest Doctor's Visit: During our last visit we had the "big" gender ultra-sound (GIRL!). Personally, we didn't really care one way or another. While I love getting to hear little River's heartbeat and seeing her on the screen, I always get super anxious beforehand. I guess I'm going to be one of those constant worriers, which isn't surprising if you know my own mom. Because my first question for the ultra-sound tech was "Is there a heartbeat? Is she/he okay?" instead of "What is it?", she let us look for a little bit longer than normal, which was awesome. During the ultra-sound River had her face turned away the entire time, with her hand by her head- Zack said she was already a full on girly-girl hiding from the camera and "swooning". We also found out that she's 10 oz and is showing one week ahead. Personally, I think it's just because she's going to be super tall like her daddy. Her little legs looked so long in the picture!

Most Researched Topic This Week: Breastfeeding. Seriously, I'm all over it on Pintrest. Any helpful tips or links that you have to offer me, send em' my way!

Most Coveted Baby Item This Week:

Found HERE. 

Ten on Tuesday!

One:

In the spirit of changing up the blog, I've decided to alternate Top Ten Tuesday (strictly bookish) and Ten on Tuesday (general life fun). 

Two:

Wednesday my doctor confirmed the gender of Baby River- it's a GIRL! Both, Zack and I were super thrilled.

Three:

Saturday was my sweet little cousins 4th birthday party! Because she's so awesome, it was done in Alice in Wonderland. We all made "Mad Hatter" hats! ...Don't ask me what kind of face I'm making here though.

Four:

Sons of Anarchy Season 6 finally came to Netflix!!! I totally forgot how intense this show is.  ***SPOILER*** I don't know if my pregnant hormones can handle Jax cheating with some skank.

Five:

Someone totally needs to buy me this for River. It's from Doctor Who ;)

Found HERE

Six:

My "new-old" favorite thing in the whole world is leggings. My blue jeans are getting super tight and uncomfy on my belly, but leggings are awesome. And anyone who says they're not pants can just jump off a mountain.

Seven:

My MamaB gave me homemade pickles from her garden Saturday... they're almost all gone. #ItsOkayImPregnant

Eight:

Can I have both? Sorry, Zack.

Nine:

Speaking of Gilmore Girls, I've decided that I want to be the Lorelai kind of mom to River. They just have the best mom/daughter tv relationship.

Ten:

I tried to listen to BBC dramatization of Pet Semetary on my way to work today... I got too freaked out and had to cut it off. If you're gutsy though you can listen to it free for a limited time:

Under Construction!

Hi guys!

So I am making some major changes to the blog. During this time, things may be a little wonky, but I still plan on posting reviews until I get things 100% done.

 Since the beginning this has been strictly considered a book review blog, but now I feel like it's time to expand on that. Don't worry though! The majority of my posts will still be book related, but with time comes change. Now I will also be posting brief updates on my pregnancy, family life, and other passions that I may discover. But let me say this once again, THIS IS STILL A PLACE WHERE I WILL DO REVIEWS! Books are my number one passion and that's not going to change anytime soon. I'll still be hosting giveaways, doing interviews, Zack will still be posting his reviews, and of course I will continue reviewing for publishers/ authors/ Netgalley.


I hope you continue to follow me, and I hope to follow more of you as I expand my interests into other areas as well!

"Horns" by Joe Hill (Movie + Book Review)

Genre: Thriller/ Paranormal
Publication: January 1, 2010 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Format: Kindle
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars
Links: Goodreads, Amazon,Book Depo, Facebook Movie Page


From Goodreads: At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

But Merrin’s death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It’s time for a little revenge. . . . It’s time the devil had his due. . . 


My Thoughts: This is my first Joe Hill novel, but it certainly will not be my last. The guy has talent. What I loved about Horns was that it actually made you think and connect the dots with all it's symbolism and theological debates, while at the same time keeping you entertained. I could totally see myself sitting in one of my old Lit classes picking apart this book with the professor.

I'll admit, I was a little thrown when I started it. I'm not a HUGE Stephen King fan, but I do enjoy his works that I've read (Carrie, Pet Sematary, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, etc). So naturally, I expected something spooky and freaky from his son, Joe Hill. He didn't really deliver on the horror part. At least, not in the obvious way. While this book is full of "sin" and "evil", it was more... natural. No creeptastic shivers, running to jump in the bed from keeping your feet away from under it. Instead, we get a heavy dose of wonderment at how evil and villainous we as human beings actually are.

I could honestly go on and on about how much I enjoyed this book with all it's coming of age, mystery, and the age old question of good vs. evil, but I think you get my point. Ig Perrish is a fascinating anti-hero, and Joe Hill is a superb writer that will keep you entranced in his story until you're turning the very last page.


My Rating: 

Movie Review: 

As it usually goes, the book was by far better than the movie. BUT, the movie still had it's redeeming qualities:

For one, the cast was an amazing choice. Daniel Radcliffe was Ig Perrish. And I am not just saying that because I fangirl over him superhard. He just did a phenomenal job of playing the tortured, anti-hero.. I also really enjoyed Joe Anderson as Terry. In the book, I had a hard time imagining who they would choose to play him. I couldn't think of anyone well known that could pull off that swaggering, selfish, charm. But when I found out Joe was in it, I knew right away he would play Ig's older, more successful brother. The only character I wasn't sold on was Max Minghella as Lee. He was just too flat and there wasn't enough back story for the guy. 

Also, the soundtrack was SO EPIC. David Bowie, Pixies, and Marilyn Manson's cover of Personal Jesus. I mean, come on. You can't top that. I haven't bought a CD in years, but I will definitely be purchasing this one. Whoever did the music for this movie should have gotten paid more because they really set the mood in each scene. 

My problem with the film was really only the ending. It was rushed, cheesed, and just overall WTF-ness. You spend almost two hours watching this good movie, and then you're left hanging with some sillyness. If it had been done right, I would have loved it just as much as the novel.

Overall, I would completely recommend watching the movie... but probably not paying $20 + to go see it in theaters.