What Happened To Halloween?

Let's have a conversation...

As far as I can remember growing up, Halloween has always been that holiday that you thrive on all things spooky and horror movies. The home decor was spooky, and the Halloween parties were awesome.

A big change has happened and I'm not happy about it at all! When did Halloween become cutesy? Why is this a trend? What happened to Halloween? Can anyone out there answer these questions? I would love to know your thoughts.

When I think of Halloween here's what comes to mind...

Traditional colors (black,orange,purple,green,red)

Horror movies, scary storytime, trick or treating, and so much more.

Here's what's trending:

Pink ghosts, lavender bats, blue pumpkins, and this thing is called Pasteloween. I never heard of pasteloween and I'm definitely not a fan of it. I feel like this trend is overshadowing what Halloween truly is and watering down the spookiness. I get that everyone is not a fan of Halloween and that's fine, but why we can't keep the tradition alive without watering it down? So many companies are hopping on this trend and it's kind of hard trying to shop for spooky home decor when there's no spook factor. 

I just wanted to share my thoughts and I hope you would share yours as well.

Keep Halloween Alive! 

The Disappearance Of Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito

 Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito is a 22-year-old woman from Suffolk County, New York who was reported missing on September 11th, 2021. Gabby Petito was traveling cross country with her fiance' Brian Laundrie in a cargo van.

July 2: Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie Leave

They were in Blue Point NY for the celebration of her brother's High School graduation.

Brian and Gabby were engaged to be married but postponed the wedding and decided to do a cross-country trip instead. 

The couple traveled from Florida to Kansas, Colorado, and Utah touring and camping at serval national parks and natural attractions.

August 12: Gabby and Brian Altercation

Moab City police had an encounter with Gabby and Brian, the police reported they had an altercation. A witness reported the altercation to the police. The body camera video is on several online sites.

August 13: Newlywed couple Crystal Turner and Kylen Schulte were last seen alive in Moab on August 13 the day after Gabby and Brian police incident.

August 18: Crystal Turner and Kylen Schulte Found Dead

Crystal and Kyken were found dead at a nearby campsite, both suffered gunshot wounds.

The couple told friends they had seen a creepy man and were afraid.

August 25: Gabby Petito Last Whereabouts

Gabby Petito was last known to be in Grand Teton, Wyoming heading towards Yellowstone National Park. 

August 30: Gabby Last Communication With Her Family

Gabby's mother Nicole Schmidt said the last text message she received from her daughter was August 30, but they don't believe that was her. Gabby was suppose to meet a friend for her birthday but never made it.

September 1: Brian Laundrie Return To Florida Alone

Brian Laundrie returned home to North Port Fl without Gabby Petito.

September 11: Gabby Reported Missing

Gabby Petito family reported her missing to the Suffolk County Police Department.

September 15: Brian Laundrie Is A Person Of Interest

Brian Laundrie is officially named a person of interest in Gabby Petito's disappearance.

Brian Laundrie has not spoken to authorities.

This case is very strange and it doesn't have to be, Brian needs to speak with authorities and Gabby's family. He's acting as if he is guilty.

Yarianna G Wheeler Identified....No One Reported Her Missing

 Lake Michigan Jane Doe is identified as Yarianna G Wheeler, she's 19 years old and six months pregnant.  A fisherman found her body in the water on August 15th, after she was floating for seven or twelve days....she wasn't identified until Saturday August 28th.

Yarianna Wheeler was from Bellwood, Indiana but lived in Chicago. An autopsy revealed she had sharp injuries to her body, the official cause of death is still pending. Her death is ruled as a homicide.

The Lake County Coroner's Office Forensic Odontologist using her dental records.

The strange thing about this case is no one reported her missing.

I would like to know if she had any family? 

Who is the child's father? 

Why did this happen to her?

I hope they find the person responsible for this.

White Hot Chocolate Recipe

The season is here for hot drinks during those cold months.

Hot chocolate is the number one drink around this time of year, but why not switch it up a bit and try white hot chocolate. It's a simple recipe and it's fun to make with the kids.

Here are the items you need to get started.....

1. milk 

2. marshmallows

3. white chocolate bits

4. vanilla extract

5. whip cream  

You decide how much you want to make and go from there, but if you're making enough for 2 here's what you do...

You'll need a sauce pot, fill it half way with milk.

Let your milk get hot and pour a bag of chocolate bits in the sauce pot and stir until all the white chocolate has melted. (Low fire is suggested)

Add a drop of vanilla extract and keep stirring for a minute or two.

Remove your pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.

Now it's time to pour your white hot chocolate into the mugs...don't fill it to the top. Squeeze your whip cream into the mug and top it off with marshmallows and enjoy! 

You can also add a peppermint stick but that's optional.

I hope you and your family enjoy making this recipe.

If you need a visual on how to do it...the video is down below.

New York City Tourist Hot Spots

If you're thinking about traveling to NYC, here are some hot spots that are must see!

I'm a New Yorker, been there all my life.

As the times changed, so did NYC, at one point it wasn't the hottest city to visit.

Back in the day it was horrible, the crime was high, in some areas it was dull and full of abandoned buildings. With all of that going on, it's my home and I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else. I grew with NYC, I've seen the changes over years, the fashion, the food is like no other place. As we move forward, NYC is that city that everyone wants to visit.

Brooklyn Hot Spots

The Promenade

Dumbo (Brooklyn Bridge)

Domino Park

Prospect Park

Cobble Hill Park

Queens Hotspots

Gantry Plaza State Park

Astoria Park

Alley Pond Park

Manhattan Hotspots

Roosevelt Island 

Empire State Building

Central Park

The Statue Of Liberty

Governors Island

The High Line

Hudson Yards

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Park

Fort Tryon Park

Bryant Park

Pier 15 South Street Seaport

Pier 26

Pier 35

Times Square

Stone Street NYC (Restaurant Alley)

Chelsea Market

One World Trade Center & Memorial

The Oculus

Greenwich Village

New York City is full of excitement and so many things to do, you'll never get bored vacationing in NYC.

This list is just to get you started on your journey in NYC.

Enjoy your trip and be safe.

A Life Sentence For Joel Guy Jr: Charged For The Murder Of His Parents

 Joel Guy Jr 32 is serving a life sentence for the gruesome murder of his parents Joel Michael Guy Sr, 61, and Lisa Guy, 55, on November 28, 2016 in their Tennessee home.

Joel Jr was a on and off student at LSU (Louisiana State University and at the time his parents wanted to cut him off financially.

He visited his family the weekend, which was suppose to be a family gathering but ended up becoming a nightmare for his parents. How can anyone commit these gruesome crimes against their own parents?

Joel Sr and Lisa Guy suffered a horrific death, this is something you see in movies or read about in horror films.

Joel Jr stabbed his mother 31 times and decapitated her and boiled her head, he stabbed his father 42 times and his limbs were cut off. His parents suffered deep stab wounds to their kidneys, liver, lungs and heart.

Joel Jr committed these murders November 2016. He is now charged with 2 counts of first degree murder, three counts of felony murder, and two counts of abuse of a corpse. He didn't get the death penalty but he's serving a life sentence.

Attention Halloween Lovers: The Halloween Drive Thru Coming To Orlando FL

I heard a rumor......

The Haunted Road Halloween Drive-Thru is coming to Orlando FL! 

As a Halloween Queen, I'm excited about this, over the past few months I've seen post about Halloween being cancelled. (Y'all bugging!)

Halloween could never be cancelled because it's a lifestyle that most of us live all year long. During this crazy time you have to get creative and still enjoy the holiday.

I think The Haunted Road is a great way to celebrate Halloween and to keep the holiday alive. 

For more info about the Haunted Road Halloween Drive Thru check out their website www.thehauntedroad.com

A Old School Buttermilk Pie To Die For!

 Now that Fall is here, that's usually the time a lot of baking goes down. 

I can just smell the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and all kinds of spices in the air. 

I remember a time when my grandma and mother would get together around the holidays and bake up a fierce storm, the aroma spices filled the house, fighting over who's going to lick the spoon or get the cake bowl. Wonderful memories, that was such an amazing time during my childhood. Speaking of memories, a friend of mine named Kim aka This Housewife shared a recipe with me and one of her memories of eating good food that the church ladies cooked and served from the trunk of their cars.

About a week or two ago Kim uploaded a video on her YouTube channel (This Housewife) of a Buttermilk Pie. The recipe is very simple to make, before we get into that let me share how she came across this recipe.

Me: What's the story behind this Old School Buttermilk recipe?

Kim (This Housewife): I got the recipe in one of those old school church cookbooks, I was cleaning up and saw the cookbook and started looking through it and saw the buttermilk recipe. It instantly reminded me of my days growing up in the church, in the south we would have tent revivals and the mother of the church would be serving food out of the trunks of their cars in the church yard. The food would be amazing!

So I got in my kitchen and made it and after it cooled in the fridge for a few hours my folks dived on it like they just got out of prison it was gone that same day.

I told someone in the comments on the video that it tasted like an old fashioned, sin killing, devil chasing , Holy Ghost filled tent revival 😍.

Well there you have it, the history behind that delicious Old School Buttermilk Pie.

Head over to her channel and snatch up that recipe and since the weather is cooling off, make a few pies for your family and friends. 

Make sure to follow her on IG:(This_Housewife) and tell her PhoneJones sent you.

This Housewife Channel

I would like to thank my girl Kim (This Housewife) for sharing this recipe and allowing me to write about it on my blog. 

Please share this with family, friends, etc. 

Until next time....See Yah Later!

How To Deal With Lack Of Support From Family & Friends

 Let's get right to the point, if you constantly worry about family/friends that don't support you, you're going to drive yourself crazy and you need to stop!

We live in a time where social media is booming, everything is on the internet and you may want to start a business or blog..etc. Go ahead start whatever business or blog you want, put it out there and see what happens. Tell your family/friends, your biggest support system will come from strangers, you would think people you've know for years would support you...it doesn't always happen that way.

Don't get discouraged, keep moving forward, build your brand. 

I know from personal experiences how it feels to not have the most important people in your life show lack of support. It sucks but there's nothing you could but move on and take notes on who was there for you as your business progress.

Being a entrepreneur or blogger is hard work but if that's what you want to do, go for it and make a name for yourself. Somebody will notice you and spread the word!

I hope this helped someone out there.

Mariah Carey Spills All The Tea In Her New Memoir The Meaning Of Mariah Carey

 Mariah Carey has a new book coming out and right behind that her new album Rarities will be out October 2, 2020. In her memoir she spills all the tea about her family and what it was like growing up in such a violent home.

Let's start with family: 

Her estranged sister mistreated her at a young age.  

Her sister Alison wasn't loving towards Mariah, she offered her drugs. Mariah states that her sister gave her a Valium pill when she was 12 years old. Mariah claims that her sister tried to sell her to a pimp. As we go further, Mariah also claims that her sister threw hot tea on her when she tried to give the phone to her. That's no way for a child to live at all!

Mariah's marriage:

Mariah Carey marriage to Tommy Mottola was far from being a fairytale. Mariah talked about how he would argue with her in front of colleagues. Mariah describes her home in Bedford, NY as Sing Sing....yes like the prison. Tommy Mottola threatened her in front people in the industry. Mariah claims he held a butter knife to her face. She went through hell in her marriage.

In Mariah's memoir she opens up about her life, and from what I can see it started out ugly but her life blossomed into a beautiful butterfly. 

Celebrities have a life we know nothing about and some will never tell you about the past, because of the pain or maybe they don't want to be reminded of whatever happened at the time.

Make sure to pick up your copy of Mariah Carey memoir.