If there is one thing I love about welcoming back the holidays, it’s dusting off all my favorite holiday books. Some of you may know I was an English major at Berkeley and the best part about being an English major was reading all the time. Since having a little one to chase around the house, it has been so much harder to get in that quality reading time I was getting back in college. However, having Augustine around has helped me rediscover my love of children’s literature, and I’ve been able to make to fit in reading through audio books. Such a life hack!
One of my favorite books I read growing up was Harry Potter. In order to celebrate the spookiest time of year, and my love for Harry, I thought I’d reacquaint myself with this wonderful novel at the most fitting place!
As luck would have it, Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach was receiving all the Harry Potter vibes I was sending out and designed an entire portion of their nursery for customers to walk through and discover oddities.
I decided I would go and really dive into it by listening to Harry Potter via Audible on the way. What I found was a fun alleyway and room full of Harry Potter-inspired Halloween decor. I loved how Roger’s Gardens had gone all out by creating a platform 9 3/4 wall, too! They even had the music playing as I wandered through an archway of floating parcels. So cool!
I love how magical this season is with all the fall feels and hopefully, soon, some cold weather to lead into the holidays. Nestling up with a good book has been a favorite pastime of mine but now I’m gong to keep that tradition going by listening to my favorite books with Audible. Harry Potter, Goosebumps and even A Series of Unfortunate Events are all on my list to listen to as I’m cooking, driving, or working. And I can’t wait until Augustine can listen to some of them with me.
I haven’t been to Harry Potter World yet at Universal Studios, so this was a fun and easy trip to get in before Halloween. I loved seeing all the cute knick-knacks that they had to decorate for the season. This would also be a great place to buy some gifts for people that love Harry Potter or just love fall decor in general. They even had some wands!
A great way to get into the Halloween spirit is by going somewhere spooky! If you’re looking for some other fun spots to explore in the last week of October I’ve put together a list of places that might be fun to visit! {Sorry non-California friends, these spots are all state local}
A Great Way to Get Into the Halloween Spirit in California
1) Winchester Mystery House – SAN JOSE – a spooky old house that has multiple tours and routes you can try! I always wanted to go here when I lived in the Bay Area.
2) The Mystery Spot – SANTA CRUZ – This eerie cabin in the edwoods makes you question what you know about physics.
3) Mickey’s Halloween Party – ANAHEIM – This is a super fun activity for the whole family plus there is a lot of candy!
4) The Hotel Del Coronado – SAN DIEGO – The Ghost Roast is a scary story event just make sure you don’t offend the resident ghost!
5) The Queen Mary – LONG BEACH – This ship has all sorts of haunted affairs going on! I think this would be a unique date night idea!
Let me know if you have any other favorite Halloween spots! If you’ve been to Roger’s Gardens for their Harry Potter exhibition let me know what you thought! I love finding new locations to check out. Even if I have to wait till next year.
xox
P.S. If you are interested in trying out Audible you can get your 30 day free trial here, it’s a life saver!
DISCLOSURE: Thank you Audible for partnering with me. All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own. I love working with brands like Audible that I genuinely love!
outfit details: jacket . sweater . jeans . heels . bag
