Hi friends! Happy Halloweeeeennn!! 🙂

I don’t normally celebrate the holiday with a fun costume post! I’m hoping I can plan ahead better in the future because that would be really fun but, since creepy crime-related podcasts have been my absolute jam lately, I figured I’d celebrate by sharing a list of my personal favorites! I’ve shared quite a few on IG stories but am continually asked to share them again so having a list right here for you guys will make it easier for y’all to reference in the future! So … let’s talk about this outfit real quick and then I’ll get into my list of favorite scary podcasts!

On my first full day in London a couple of weeks ago, I wore this outfit to go get my nails done, catch up with a friend over coffee and walk through the Diana Fashion Exhibition at Kensington Palace [be sure to get tickets ahead of time!]. This sweater dress is by a brand I was recently introduced to that I am really excited to incorporate into my wardrobe more called Lole! It’s a Canadian activewear brand that offers so many great pieces for myself and my fellow casual style lovers! I decided to pump the breaks for a second and just try this dress first to see how I like the quality and fit. Overall, I’m really happy with my purchase although I think the price is just a tad steep and the slit on the side of the dress is a bit unnecessary for the length that it is. I do think, thought, that because it’s warm, a neutral color and a good starting point that you can layer over when it’s cold that you could get your money’s worth if you set your mind to it!

SIZING: I ordered an XS, which is my normal size, and found that it fit perfectly. If you want it a little looser or longer, I’d go one size up.

So, the question is … if I wore these boots all over West London one day … are they made for walking? If the heel were any higher, I’d give it a hard no. But, if you’re walking multiple small increments in a big city then resting then walking again … I think you’ll be okay as long as you have socks on. I wouldn’t say they’re great travel shoes but I do think they’re a great pair of Fall boots that won’t kill your feet if you’re going to be getting a lot of rest time in. 🙂 It looks like the boots I’m wearing have sold out in a lot of sizes so be sure to take a peek at THIS PAIR if you’re wanting an alternative in the same color. 

SERIAL: This is the investigative podcast that started the craze! It’s about a girl, Hae Min Lee, who was murdered and the conviction of her killer, Adnan Syed, who is also her ex-boyfriend. The narrator, Sarah Koenig, takes a deeper look at the case as it is suspected that the attorney who represented Adnan Syed, who is no longer living, is thought to have completely botched the case and Mr. Syed has never been able to really remember what he was doing on the day of Hae Lee’s disappearance to give himself a good alibi. Each episode leaves you either believing he did it or believing he’s innocent. I would go back and forth all the time. Sarah does an amazing job investigating this case and asking Adnan the hard questions. It’s also really interested that this case is being re-opened and there’ll be a new trial sometime in the near future.

UP & VANISHED: This podcast seemed completely overwhelming at first because when you look at the list of episodes you’re like ‘ummmm is this many episodes really necessary??‘ and ‘do I want to commit to this?‘. But, now that I’ve listened to the entire thing, I can confidently say that if you start, you won’t be able to stop. This is an investigative podcast that digs into the unsolved disappearance case of a Georgia beauty queen named Tara Grinstead. The narrator, Payne Lindsey, is a film maker turned amateur podcaster / investigator and isn’t shy about interviewing every person of interest and person who knew Tara or anything about this case. It’s crazy what he is able to uncover and I promise you … it will leave you with your jaw on the ground!

IN THE DARK: This podcast explores how law enforcement mishandled the child abduction case that shook America in 1989 when Jacob Wetterling went missing at the hands of a man that his friends couldn’t identify. For 27 years, it went unsolved. It also caused the entire country to embrace the term ‘stranger danger’ and the emergence of sex-offender registries. Ultimately, the case comes to a head and we are finally introduced to Jacob’s killer. This podcast, honestly, angered me. The podcast, in and of itself, is fine. I think the story just really angers me. Obviously, no one likes to hear about what someone does to innocent children who can’t defend themselves so it was just hard to listen to sometimes. I also looked up the case online and the man that is in jail for his death is SO. SCARY! I literally JUMPED when I saw what he looked like.

DIRTY JOHN: This is the newest true-crime podcast craze that is the first to come out of the L.A. Times. It explores the relationship between Debra Newell, a successful interior designer, and John Meehan, a good looking nurse anesthetist who just got back from deployment in Iraq. However, Debra’s family felt like their relationship had maybe escalated too quickly and eventually we exposed to the ‘real’ John, the John that has this terrifying control over Debra. We start to fear John and wonder what he can do and then he shows us through the account of one of his victims. Let’s just say this podcast is a true life account of abuse, deception, denial and survival.

S-TOWN: I listened to this podcast after listening to Serial because it’s produced by the people at This American Life, who produced Serial. I thought it’d be somewhat similar to Serial so I was really excited. However, it’s not like Serial … I mean, someone does end up dead but you don’t find out for a couple of episodes WHO that is. At first, I was a little bored with this podcast but … it definitely turns around and makes you gasp! The person who dies is NOT who I expected and I was left feeling like the podcast was a really sweet way to pay tribute to that person because it unearths their unique contribution to the world and how it ultimately affected them. The method of death is a hard one to wrap our minds around, but it all makes a little more sense in the end. [I’m not saying that it makes it a happy ending but it answers a lot of questions!]

I’m currently listening to the first season of Someone Knows Something and am liking it so far.

xo.

Be sure to keep your eye out for a post I’m working on that will share the most instagram-able spots in London! I was going to squeeze it into this post but – you know me – it has to be detailed with images that make it easy for you to find the spots and they’ll likely be broken up by season. So, it’ll probably take some time to put together but it is on the list of travel posts to get out to you guys!