Happy Monday, friends. I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing, refreshing weekend. I certainly needed one after last week, especially Friday, but it's over and this is a new week.

I did absolutely nothing on Saturday except read. I've gotten sucked into a new-to-me series that I am absolutely in love with and cannot wait to share with you in the next reading roundup post. Then on Sunday, I spent part of the day working on school stuff: grading a quiz, then putting together a couple of grammar lessons for the week.

This is going to be kind of a frustrating week. We've got two assemblies this week (one of which I'm pretty excited about), and Friday is a half day, so I'm kind of struggling with my lesson planning, but we'll get through it. I've also got to get started grading all the projects from our novel study. Some turned out really nice, and I'm hoping to share them with you all in a post.

Oh, I've also been trying a new deodorant, so I might put together a post on that, as well. I should have a new outfit roundup post for y'all this week, too. I'll be starting to work on some gift guides for next month soon as well. If there's anything specific you'd like to see, let me know!

That's pretty much all I've got to share with y'all for today. Well, that's not true. There's a lot I could share from last week, but I'm choosing to let it go and not dwell. So for now, I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

As a rule, I don't read a lot of spooky stuff. Vivid imagination and all that. However, I had a lot of fun last year putting together a list of books that are perfectly suited to the Fall and Halloween season and wanted to update it for this year.

There are a few repeats from last year, but a lot of what made this year's list is not. You'll find some spookier, darker thrillers but nothing that I would consider horror. There's quite a bit of magic, a few ghosts, and lots of mystery. Before you ask, yes, I have read each book on this list. I will never recommend a book I have not read.

I hope you find something to pique your interest this fall!

Verity by Colleen Hoover - This book is getting a lot of attention right now, which is fitting I suppose considering we're in spooky season. I read it last year and must say that it's one of the creepiest, most disturbing books I've ever read, and I usually stay away from those, but Hoover is one of my favorite authors and this one hooked me despite the creep factor.

The Coven saga by Chandelle LaVaun - This is an ongoing series that I am in love with. The third season just wrapped up, and I can't wait to read what's next.

Clandestine Magic trilogy by Colleen Cowley - If you're a fan of The Paper Magician, you need to read this series. It's a magical reimagining of the women's suffrage movement. This is a trilogy that gets better with each book.

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber - This is one of those rare books that I would recommend to literally anyone. It will 100 percent be on my list of the best books I've read this year. It's not spooky at all, but there is some magic.

The Spirit Vlog series by Jarica James - This is one of those why choose series, but it's so interesting and perfect for fans of ghost-hunting shows, which is why I read it in the first place. Parts of it are very spooky, though I wouldn't say it's scary.

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher - For a standalone, this is phenomenal. I also feel that it would be age appropriate for some middle school readers.

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier - This one is for all of you who get sucked into serial killer documentaries. It's not my favorite book, per se, but I felt like it had more depth than a lot of books with similar plot lines, especially when you consider right vs wrong.

Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer - This is still one of my favorite books ever. It is incredibly detailed, and the story line is so unique. I wouldn't say it's scary, but there is one scene that is intensely gory.

The Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie - This is such a fun series with one of my favorite heroines. I love the way Annette Marie writes, especially her unique way of blending humor with seriousness in a way that doesn't feel forced or fake.

All Souls Trilogy (A Discovery of Witches) by Deborah Harkness - This is one of those series that carved a place in my soul. It's that good, especially the second book. I'll be rereading this again soon.

The Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy by Nora Roberts - This series was my introduction to Nora Roberts, and it was perfect. I love this family and how she connected past and present throughout the series.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher - This book was such a pleasant surprise. It was serious, but not in a boring way, and I honestly did not anticipate many of the twists and turns. Definitely worth the read.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - I have officially read this book four times in as many months now (novel study with my students), so I feel like I have to include it on this list. It's a murder mystery that's set around Halloween. It's got a bit of an Agatha Christie feel to it, and the end is truly surprising (the first time around at least).

The Deadly Seven series by Lana Pecherczyk - This is technically a superhero series, but trust me when I say it fits. The heroes are genetically modified to find and eradicate the seven deadly sins, but they're all ticking time bombs and could turn into mindless killing machines if they don't find their perfect balance.

Pestilence (The Four Horsemen series) by Laura Thalassa - I don't read a lot of dystopias; they're just not my thing, but I did read this one this year, and I think it's worth including in this list. For me it was a difficult read, not because it was scary, but because it was so realistic.

Court of the Underworld series by Alessa Thorn - This is one of the best Greek mythology reimaginings I have ever read. I truly like that she took the characters who are traditionally the bad guys and showed them in a new light.

All The Pretty Monsters series by Kristy Cunning - This is another of those series that won't be for everyone, mostly because of the why choose element of it, but this series is fantastic. It has so many legends woven throughout, including Van Helsing and Jekyll and Hyde, and offers a unique version of the history of many of the supernatural creatures we see in other tales.

Well, Fall Break is over, and we're back to school, but I do not feel very refreshed or rejuvenated thanks to having the flu for pretty much the entire week we were out. The silver lining, I guess, is that I didn't have to miss any days of work, other than the one and a half from the week before the break when Alexis was so sick, and I'm not having to worry about getting caught up. The downside, though, is that we did literally nothing other than walking through the annual Scarecrows in the Garden exhibit on the very last day.

So Fall Break was a bummer that I really wish I could do over.

This week my students will be finally finishing their first big writing assignment, as well as working on their final projects for The Westing Game, and we'll be working with prepositional phrases all week. They've got their first-of-the-year writing assessment this week, as well, to gauge where they are skill-wise. They'll take an end-of-the-year assessment, as well, to see how much they've hopefully improved.

Other than that, life is back to normal. I hope. I've got the end of this year mostly mapped out, but I didn't want to devote more time than I already have to that this weekend (the only time I've felt well enough to tackle planning), so I'll devote a good bit of my planning period to that this week.

I also hope to be able to finish putting together the fall-themed posts I've had sitting in my drafts the last several weeks. I had planned on doing those over the break, but we all know how that worked out. Not at all.

Well that's got you caught up on life with me lately. I hope everyone has a great week!

This is the very first work-wear skirt I bought after I was hired at the TV station. It's just a basic A-line skirt with a slip liner and back zipper. It is one of my smartest purchases, and I'm so glad I hung onto it. It can be worn with pretty much any top, and I especially love this one! It has got the cutest polka dot pattern that makes it so much more than a basic white blouse. My Oxfords are also long-time members of my closet. My students thought they looked like bowling shoes, but I'll continue to wear them.

This dress is perfect for fall, but if you know me at all you know that I'll be wearing it year-round. It's a shirt dress with fully-functional buttons. The sleeves are fluttery, which we all know I love. It's a midi-length on me. Downsides are that the material has no stretch or give at all and no pockets.

If you're looking for a statement blouse to add to your work rotation, look no further! This is such a pretty pattern and it has a bit of a statement sleeve. It comes in a few colors, too. It is on the longer side, but I thought it had a nice drape, even though I opted to fully tuck it this day. These are those Old Navy OG Chinos that I've been in love with. They're the comfiest work pants I have ever worn. The only thing that's a little off with them is the placement of the belt loops, but it's not a big enough deal for me to wash my hands of them.

I found this at Walmart and could not leave it behind. It is such a flattering cut for a dress and the colors are perfect for the season. It's got cute flutter sleeves and a tie-waist. It's midi-length on me. I paired it with some wine-colored ballet flats.

This dress is a leftover from my TV station days that I just couldn't part with. It's faux-wrap, which is universally flattering. The bodice is a bit looser than I remember it being, so I've got it pinned, and it's got the cutest little trumpet sleeves.

This is another blouse I discovered on Amazon that I'm so glad I took a chance on. It's got the coolest sleeves that I cannot adequately describe, and the neck has pleat details that add a little something extra. I paired it with white skinny jeans and leopard flats for a nod to the season. I originally was wearing a leopard-print belt as well, but for some reason it was leaving a black residue on my pants, so I ditched it.

I feel like this might be my favorite outfit from the last few weeks. This plaid blazer is one of the last things I bought for the TV station, so it hasn't had a ton of opportunities to shine in the past several years, but it's perfect for academia, especially when paired with my burgundy skinnies. My blouse is from way back in my TV days, as well, but it was the perfect understated compliment. I decided to get a little print-mixing in with my leopard flats.

In case you didn't guess, this is what I wore on the day of our field trip. These dark straight-leg jeans are a new addition. I like that they're not as form-fitting as skinny jeans, but that they're a bit more structured than my beloved boyfriends. You can't tell here, but my t-shirt is a graphic tee with a giant peace sign on the back, but it was actually pretty cool this particular day so I did not waste the chance to wear my new leather jacket from my Wantable box. It's sooooo good, y'all. It's got a detachable hoodie liner complete with hood, which I think makes it cooler. It's the kind of jacket I've been looking for and never found.

This is the outfit that got the most compliments, even though it's relatively simple. The black flare jeans are really nice, although they're about two inches too long, even with heeled boots (I've got them rolled under so they wouldn't drag the ground too badly). They're high-waisted, which I typically stay away from, but with this cut they work. My blouse is a nice pumpkin-ish color, but more tan than orange. I love the understated puff sleeves and crochet details. Unfortunately it's no longer available, but I'm linking to a similar style that's really cute.

Fall is here! Fall, and by extension Halloween, movies are some of the best, and you can bet your TV will be filled with spooky and non-scary movies for the next month or so.

Every year, I like to round up some non-scary options to get you in the spirit of the season (I am not a scary movie type of gal). So here are 13 Non-Scary Movies to Watch in October. All of these are kid-friendly and approved by my 6 year old.

Scoob! - Scooby and the gang are in a race against time to stop a plot to unleash the ghost dog, Cerberus, upon the world. This new Scooby Doo movie gives us some back-story for the gang and how they got into mystery solving in the first place.

Hocus Pocus - Undoubtedly my most favorite Halloween movie ever. The Sanderson sisters are brought back on Halloween when Max lights the black flame candle. Now it's up to Max, his little sister Dani, his girlfriend Alison, and Binx the cat to send them back.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - In this classic TV movie, Charlie Brown and the gang celebrate Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin's arrival.

Casper - Dr. Harvey and his daughter, Kat, move into a crumbling mansion that's haunted by four ghosts. Dr. Harvey has been hired to get rid of the ghosts for the new owner, who believes a treasure is hidden somewhere in the house.

The Addams Family (2019) - In this animated flick, the Addams move to the suburbs where Wednesday befriends the daughter of a local reality show host.

Halloweentown - In this Disney Channel original movie, Marnie and her siblings follow their grandmother home to Halloweentown. Marnie learns she, too, has magic and must help her grandmother save the town from the evil Kalabar.

Gnome Alone - When Chloe discovers that the garden gnomes in her new house are alive, she has to decide what's more important: being accepted by the popular girls at school or saving the world from the Troggs.

Coco - Miguel wants to be a musician, but his family has banned all music. So he enters the World of the Dead to find his great-great grandfather, a legendary singer.

Goosebumps (2015) - Zach's new neighbor is none other than the author of the Goosebumps series, R.L. Stine. Zach teams up with Stine's daughter, Hannah, after the author's imaginary monsters are set free on the town.

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial - When Elliott finds an alien, he brings him home to keep.

Hotel Transylvania - Dracula runs a high-end resort for monsters to escape the human world. When a human boy stumbles into his lobby and falls for his daughter, Dracula goes into over-protective mode.

Monsters Inc. - Monsters use the screams of children to power their city, but when one of those children manages to get into their world, Mike and Sully discover all may not be as it seems.

Descendants - Ben, the future king of Auradon, offers the children of infamous villains, Maleficent, Jafar, the Evil Queen, and Cruella DeVil, the chance to attend school with the descendants of the good fairy tales.

I have no idea how I managed to get so much reading done in September. It was a crazy month! Looking back at what I did read, though, I obviously was looking for quick reads to help me escape into fantasy for a few hours, so I apologize in advance for the overwhelming amount of shifter romances on the list for this month.

Some other things I've read this month include a Thea Sisters novel with my daughter, and Rapunzel, Rikki Tikki Tavi, and The Emperor's New Clothes with my students. I also tried a handful of books from my TBR but ultimately decided not to finish them. I'm about 75 percent finished with The Desert of Glass by Michael C. Grumley, which I've been reading since the beginning of the month. It's got a lot of physics talk in it, much like its predecessor, so it's not a quick read for me, although it is a fascinating subject. Anyway, let's dive into what I did finish!

Sinful Justice
Author: Emilia Finn

If you don't know my love of Emilia Finn by now, where have you been?! I can't really compare this to her other series of series, but it's still good. Her character development is on point, and I love the strength of the main female character. That said, the premise of this one isn't really my cup of tea, so I'm not sure if I'll be continuing the series, even though I do want to know the identity of the vigilante.

Anyway, Minka Mayet is the newly-hired chief medical examiner of Copeland City, which is pretty well steeped in corruption. As soon as she arrives on the job, Minka finds herself in the middle of a sickening murder investigation, in which she must work with the incomparable Archer Malone, who she had what was supposed to be a one night stand with on her first night in town. The two must work together to solve the case before the city's vigilante steps in to "fix" the problem for them.

Rose (Happily Never After 4)
Author: HP Mallory

Yep, I'm still making my way through this really long series. Book four is all about Snow White's lesser-known sister, Rose Red. She's been under the thumb of her evil uncle her entire life, and when he announces her engagement to a truly evil person, Rose knows she has to escape, but not before she frees her long-time protector, Huntsman Draven, who's been locked in the dungeon for treason. She's helped in that endeavor by Draven's brothers, Titus and Sabre, and learns that she is one of the Chosen. Her power is pretty cool - she secretes poison from her palms. So the overarching storyline continues. Up next, Briar, better known as Sleeping Beauty.

Shifting Fate series
Author: Tessa Hale

I read this as a boxset, and I don't really know why I finished it. It wasn't my favorite shifter series, and I don't think I would recommend it, but here we go.

After her sister is killed in a car accident she survived, Rowan's adoptive family packs up and moves to a new town. Her father has to commute to to the city for work and stays in an apartment there while her mother completely checks out, leaving Rowan basically on her own. Then Rowan learns she's a wolf shifter and meets her fated mates, and everything changes, but not all for the good. You see, Rowan's birth mother gave her up for adoption to keep her hidden from her birth father, and now he knows where she is.

Lilacs and Leather & Lavender and Lightning (Pack Saint Clair books 1 & 2)
Author: Thora Woods

This might be the oddest version of a 'shifter romance' I've ever read namely in that the characters never shift. At all. There is no explanation as to why, and maybe this is a subgenre I've stumbled into by mistake, but for all the wolf and pack traits, this one omission is weird to me. That said, I really enjoyed the character dynamics and do plan on reading the next book once it is released. Here's the premise: Lydia Anderson has been in hiding. From her abusive ex and her entire family except for one brother. As an omega, she's coveted by alphas, but Lydia has perfected the art of going undetected, until she crosses paths with the member of Pack Saint Clair. They promise protection and freedom from her past, but the pack has problems of its own that further complicate Lydia's troubles.

Author: Aleera Anaya Ceres

I read this three-book series as a boxset, so basically as if it was only one book. Forget what you thought you knew about mermaids because this series is not going to meet those standards. The mermaids in this world don't have tails a la The Little Mermaid. What they do have is a society divided down the middle based on gender. Men are warriors, while women are meant to provide heirs...until now.

Calliope Solandis is the daughter of one of Atlantis's mightiest generals, but that doesn't explain why the Oracle of the Gods chose her to attend Triton Academy, an all-male school dedicated to training the realm's mightiest warriors, the Sons of Triton. Calliope is determined to prove she's meant to be there, earning friends and enemies along the way, especially when she's chosen to compete in the Olympic games alongside the men. On top of that, someone is murdering students at the academy and trying to pin the deaths on her.

Author: Rebekah R. Ganiere

Out of all the fairytale retellings I've read, this is the first Little Red Riding Hood retelling I've stumbled across, and I'm kicking myself for leaving it unread on my TBR for so long. If you assumed this was about wolf shifters, you'd be correct. It's the first book in the Fairelle series, which is ultimately about reunifying a broken kingdom. Let me start by saying that this book had what may be the best prologue I've read, at least recently. It sucked me right in.

Redlynn is a member of the Sisterhood, a group of women dedicated to protecting their village from the werewolves that live in the surrounding forest. When Red's one remaining loved one is killed by a wolf and yet another girl stolen, Red defies the Sisterhood's leader and enters the woods seeking the were king's death. Unbeknownst to her, the wolves are not the enemies of the Sisterhood, and Red herself is destined to reunite woman and wolf, fulfilling the first in a series of prophecies that will heal their world.

Happy Monday before Fall Break! I'm not usually one to count down to a break, but, then again, I've never worked directly with kids before, and I am most definitely in countdown mode.

This past week was just a crazy as I imagined it would be, which is why I did not have any posts last week other than my start-of-the-week motivation post. I had a workshop on Tuesday, and all of seventh grade went on a field trip on Thursday. We ended up having to do a re-test on our novel due to a technical glitch, and we did not get any of the writing that I had planned on done.

This week won't be much better. I have an all-day training on Tuesday, and Friday is a half day, meaning I have three full teaching days...but at least one of those days will be dedicated to watching the movie version of the novel we just finished, and to be quite honest it will more than likely take two full days to watch the movie and do the activity to meet the standard we're covering. I hope to get at least an hour's worth of writing in for the week, but that's probably me being overly ambitious. In all actuality, we'll probably only get to do some type of writing on Monday, but it can't be our only focus because I've got to set them up for the activities they'll do while I'm out on Tuesday.

Anyway, that's what I spent a good portion of my weekend doing - planning for this chopped up week. I also got all of my grades entered for report cards. The first nine weeks officially ended last week. Our school does a parent pick-up for report cards, so I'll have to stay late on that day.

Also this weekend, we got some cleaning done and added a few fall decorations in among our regular decor. Sadly, the majority of my fall stuff is in a box that hasn't made it into this house yet, so it'll be Fall Break before I really get to go all out. We did watch Hocus Pocus 2, though, and baked some jack-o-lantern cookies. Our new neighborhood has lots of trees so we're really getting to experience the fall of the leaves for the first time in several years. Alexis loves it. And our weather actually feels like fall, which never happens this early in the season. It's not sweater weather by any means, but I can wear jeans and not feel like I'm having heat stroke.

Well, that's pretty much got you caught up. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!