my autumn tbr

*cough* totally did not forget about my blog post until the day before *cough*

also, I was inspired by this post by the lovely Gray Marie ;)

so, my #autumn tbr is a mixture of rereads, new books, and classics. ;)

REREADS

because no autumn tbr of mine would be complete without a Harry Potter reread! i'm actually super excited, bc my little brother and i are going to read them together ;). 

nothing says fall + halloween + cold weather like the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. ;) these are some of my all time favorite books, albeit with a few issues (language + a certain romance) maybe after i reread them i'll post an in-depth review of them :).

 another Stiefvater book! i LOVE this one so much, and it's so autumn-y + creepy with the water horses and November 1 *heart eyes*.

yess, love this one so much! i've been wanting to reread it for awhile since i enjoyed it so much the first time i read it ;)

another one of my all time favorite books. the plot, the characters, THE ENDING << my gosh, it's amazing. 

haven't read these in awhile, and i'm excited to dive back into the 19th century world of Victorian London. gaslights, cobblestones, hansom cabs, and murder mysteries ;) also, i'm a huge fan of #bbc Sherlock, and I'm hoping to binge watch all four seasons this fall (there's only twelveish episodes *sobs*) 

NEW BOOKS

y'all, i read "scythe" in less than twenty four hours, and it was absolutely amazing. so i instantly reserved "thunderhead" from my library and now i'm nearly halfway thru and loving it. ;)

nothing like halloween + fall like "frankenstein", xD. i've been wanting to read it for awhile, and hopefully i'll get to this fall. 

and y'all, TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF FALL! << so excited, xD. going to celebrate with pumpkin coffee. and this year, i've finally decided to try a pumpkin spice latte ;). 

what's on your autumn tbr?

and have you tried a pumpkin spice latte? 

<3<3, 

allison riera 

p.s. saw the captain marvel

trailer, and it actually looks 

pretty good!

although i still think black

widow should have gotten 

her own movie before capt. marvel ;)

are y'all looking forward to it?

why i will always love harry potter [fandoms part 1]

this is kinda a different + random post, but I've been rereading the Harry Potter series, and decided that yes, it's time for a HP appreciation post. also, i wrote a reflection / deep post last week, and wanted something more fluffy + fun. so yea, xD.

from pinterest

d i s c l a i m e r 

now, I know this series is controversial (especially among the homeschooling / Christian circles), as it does involve magic, etc. if you haven't read it / don't want to bc of personal convictions, I am not judging you nor will I try to convince you :D. this is just my personal opinion.

okay, on to the post + ramblings!


// also, all pictures below are from pinterest + my camera :D

I didn't grow up reading the Harry Potter series; rather, I "discovered" them exactly two years ago. I had watched the second movie (Chamber of Secrets) awhile ago when I was babysitting, and it freaked me out so much that I went home and told my dad that I would NEVER watch/read Harry Potter.

fast forward to about three / four years later. August of '16. I was bored and wanting new books to read, so I wandered the YA section of my library, and saw Harry Potter. Went home + asked my dad if I could read them. He shrugged and said sure. So I checked out the first book, The Sorcerer's Stone, just in time for our family vacation.

I read the first book in two hours on the first day. And I was officially obsessed. I talked #nonstop about it all the vacation, and could not wait to get home + check out the other books.

and so I read the Harry Potter series for the rest of the year, intentionally spacing them out bc I didn't want to finish them too fast.

I finished The Deathly Hallows on a cold, windy November night, at this hunter's lodge thing that we spend family reunions at. And I cried. I still remember that night. I was lying on the gross carpety floor, next to a crackling fire, with my loud + noisy relatives just in the other room, laughing. And I was crying bc *cough* some people died (#spoilers) and bc it was over.

I may not have physically grown up with Harry Potter, but it felt like I had. It felt like I had been with Harry, Hermione, + Ron for seven years, watching them grow up and mature. it was truly magical <3 <3

so, that's the story of how I fell head-over-heels in love with Harry Potter and the Wizarding World. fast forward about three months, and my little brother read the entire series in basically a month and a half. then my mom read the series. and then my dad. and then we went to the Wizarding World theme park, and we reached full geekdom. now my little sister has read the first book, and she loves it. my littlest brother has only watched the first movie + heard #1 on audiobook, but loves it as well.

so now, my entire family is officially Harry Potter geeks. xD

w h y  i  l o v e  t h e m

just a couple reasons why the Harry Potter books are among my favorites of all time:

~ THE CHARACTERS. y'all, the characters in the Harry Potter series are so amazing + real + vibrant. like, I literally CANNOT name a favorite characters. I love them all so much. especially Fred + George, Hermione, Neville, Luna......see? I can't name a favorite. also, I had at least two beta fish named Neville. originally one was going to be Voldefish xD 


~ also, the entire Wizarding World is so rich + deep. worldbuilding is something that J.K. Rowling is a literal GENIUS at (and yes, I realize that sentence was very ungrammatical #ohwell). just all the little details she puts in are just so amazing and funny and make it seem so real, if you get me. like Blast-Ended Skrewts (my dad's favorite part of #5) + Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans + Exploding Snap + gahhhh, so much, xD


~ the powerful + amazing messages. the power of a mother's love. sacrifice. how love can defeat all evil. no matter how hopeless + dark a situation/world may seem, there is always hope. never give up. the power of friendship. the classic battle between good and evil.


~ THE QUOTES. y'all, do you know how much calligraphy + watercolor art I've made of Harry Potter quotes? TOO MANY, xD. J.K. Rowling is such an amazing writer <3 <3


~ also, the way she writes is just....can't think of the word, xD. the Harry Potter books are hilarious and the writing style is simple and straight to the point + deep and thought provoking, and yet somehow kids, teenagers, + adults all enjoy them?? like, how??


~ the humor. the Harry Potter books are so unbelievably funny + snarky, and this is something the movies did not do justice (again #ungrammatical). like the #iconic scene: "there's no need to call me sir, Professor." <<< one of my ALL TIME favorite Harry Potter moments. also, the absolute amazingness that is Professor McGonagall.

found this on pinterest and absolutely loved it:

so, whether you're a #potterhead for ever, or haven't read this amazing series yet, hope you enjoyed this. :) and if you haven't read them + are open to, i highly recommend you do it. also, fall is the perfect time to read the Harry Potter series. tea + coffee + sweaters + crackling fire + fuzzy blanket. and yes, i'm going to reread them once fall begins :D

have you read "harry potter?"

if so, what are your favorite quotes? favorite characters?

<3 <3, 

allison riera

p.s. y'all, i read "scythe" in less than 

twenty four hours

#sendhelp

and it was AMAZING!!

i need the sequel now :P

growing up

Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days

When our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re stressed out

...

We used to play pretend, give each other different names
We would build a rocket ship and then we’d fly it far away
Used to dream of outer space but now they’re laughing at our face
Saying, "Wake up, you need to make money"

twenty one pilots / stressed out

canva

fyi, this is a different kind of post. kinda rambling + disorganized, but it's been on my mind this last week, and i feel like i should write about it. 

So, i'm a senior in high school. 

and i've been thinking a lot about growing up, college (post coming soon), + adulting. what i want to do with my life. possible careers. college majors. jobs. moving out. dorms.

and i usually end up depressed + overly anxious bc everything's changing. and i hate change. growing up means driving by yourself, getting a job, getting your own credit card (y'all i'm so scared to use it x_x), writing college essays + preparing for college.

but, growing up doesn't have to be something that scary or depressing, or something that ruins your last year of high school.

growing up means new things

new things like later bedtimes (wow xD), shows you're allowed to watch (#theoffice), more quality time with your parents bc you're getting older. almost an adult. growing up means you value these times more. growing up means you're maturing. 

growing up means that you've got this huge, crazy adventure of life ahead of you. doesn't matter if you choose to go to college or not, your whole life is ahead of you. 

which means you shouldn't focus on the fact that stuff is changing. and it is. but it's okay. change is good, although it took awhile for me to realize that (and i still struggle with it). change means that you'll make new friends, and become greater friends with those from your childhood. change means that you'll start saving more money, to purchase a car or books you want. change means that you get to develop your own worldview, to make your faith your own. it means that you'll always be a part of your family, no matter where you live or where your job takes you. 

your whole life is ahead of you

don't panic because one small part of it is ending 

high school isn't the best part of your life << took me awhile to realize that, xD. it's a great part, yes. but now it's ending soon (for me), and soon for some of y'all. and it's okay. you've got college or, if you choose, more time with your family + a job. time for you to explore your God-given talents + abilities, to choose a career that fits your personality. 

so have fun. if this is your senior year, enjoy it. study hard and write those college essays EARLY <<it helps, trust me. finish your apps. but make time to hang out with your friends. get coffee with your mom. go on a neighborhood walk with your dad. color with your siblings. 

enjoy every moment, even the small ones

and know, that even if things are changing, 

it's okay 

there's a God above who knows exactly what's going to happen 

sorry about this disorganized + rambling post, but it's something that i've been thinking about a lot. hopefully y'all liked it <3 

<3 <3,

allison riera 

p.s. yesterday was buy a book day (i've been looking forward to this 

ALL YEAR << no joke. so i bought "scythe", "love and gelato", +

"the raven king" from barnes and noble. 

hbu?

did y'all celebrate?

p.p.s. also i watched captain america: the first avenger last night,
and i forgot how GOOD it is. also i cried bc #bucky. and the 
peggy/cap scene at the end. *sobbing* 

summer '18 highlights

inspired by Mary + Mira's posts, I decided to do a summer '18 recap instead of just August. so, expect lots of pictures + random stuff :))

j u n e 

a month of vacations, taking way too many pictures of everything, finally relaxing, realizing how amazing dunkin' donuts is (seriously, y'all, their hashbrowns :P)

road trip  // polaroid pictures // listening to "hamilton" + "the greatest showman" // just had my wisdom teeth taken out so i could barely smile or talk, xD

lots and lots of canoeing + kayaking // sticky s'mores and glowsticks // playing chubby bunny until late at night // laughing till you nearly cry // sunset over the water

j u l y 

a month of swim team, waking up way too early on saturdays to drive to swim meets, lots of iced coffee + bagels, realizing how much I love fresh flowers,  and reading way too many books

a u g u s t

a month of snow balls (ice cream + sno cone = amazingness), movies, binge watching The Office, reading like crazy before school starts, comfort books (harry potter), coffee, nails done, finished my novel, college essays 

flying with one of my best friends for a week-long vacation // tubing on a river // staying up till midnight watching The Office + Bones // eating ice cream from the carton // drinking coffee at eleven at night and laughing bc we're still so tired // way too many pics + videos // finished my novel!!

r a n d o m 

so tired  one night + loopy that i was seriously considering writing a blog post about why i love bagels so much #truth 

little brother: "wow i have lots of muscles!"

mom: "uh huh really?"

little brother: "yea like ten!"

oh i got a succulent plant! it's so tiny and cute + also i named him jim xD. now i need to get another one and name it pam :D

discovered caffeinated chocolate (i literally typed that as coffee first, and didn't realize until i came back to proof read xDDD) at my community college's bookstore << it's amazing 

realized how i much i love fall bc #sweaters and hot drinks and flannels *heart eyes*. also, this is the year i will FINALLY try a pumpkin spice latte. 

the office. just, the office. absolutely hilarious. 

how was your summer? 

 and are you excited for fall? 
I AM!!!! 

<3 <3, 

allison riera