Favorite Episodes of Buffy

I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time during college. We watched many of the episodes for one of my classes and I became obsessed with it from the first couple of episodes.

Here are my ten favorite episodes of the 144. It’s funny even after all these years how many of these episodes popped into my head right away for this list. I have to watch this again sometime soon. It’s been too long. Spoilers for the episodes mentioned in this post. I highly recommend this show. 

1. “Storyteller”- Season 7, Episode 16

~ My favorite episode from Buffy without a doubt is “Storyteller.” I love Andrew’s (Tucker’s brother) take on the other characters and how funny this gets. I even have a shirt based on this episode. 

2. “Once More, With Feeling”- Season 6, Episode 7:

~ When I heard that Buffy had a musical episode, I could not believe it. I remember being obsessed with this episode after I watched it, especially the music. The music is all in my playlist again for this season. My favorite is probably “Rest in Peace” sung by Spike. 

3. “Pangs”- Season 4, Episode 8: 

~ An absolutely hilarious episode of Buffy that I vividly remember to this day. I love Spike in this one. 

4. “Hush”- Season 4, Episode 10:

~ Definitely, the creepiest episode from the show. The Gentlemen were the scariest villains from the show. The acting in this one is great, especially with the characters not being able to talk for most of it.   

5. “Tabula Rasa”- Season 6, Episode 8: 

~ Comedic gold with all of the characters forgetting who they are. The best part is when Spike and Giles believe they are father and son. Spike will always be my favorite character from the show. Also, the end scene with the song “Goodbye to You” by Michelle Branch is heartbreaking and one of my favorites.

6. “The Body”- Season 5, Episode 16:

~ Even though this episode was spoiled for me, it still hits hard. I will not say what happens but if you are a fan of the show, I’m sure you already know. The most hard hitting episode. Sarah Michelle Gellar does a phenomenal job acting for her scenes. Absolutely incredible. 

7. “Fool for Love”- Season 5, Episode 7:

~ Great flashback episode where we get to see Spike’s past, where he meets Angel, Drusilla, and shows how he became a vampire. I love any background for characters that we could get. 

8. “Something Blue”- Season 4, Episode 9:

~ There is a common link for many of my favorite episodes and that is the comedic episodes focusing a lot on Spike. In this episode, Willow casts a spell that makes everything she says come true and she accidentally causes Buffy and Spike to get engaged. Love the humor of this situation. 

9. “Becoming, Part 2”- Season 2, Episode 21: 

~ The season finale of Season 2 and another one of the hardest episodes to watch of the show. I remember this one making me tear up when I watched it. 

10. “Chosen”- Season 7, Episode 22 (the finale):

~ I love this finale quite a lot and I feel like it was a great wrap-up for the series. 

Favorite Movie Quotes

Here are my Top Ten Favorite Movie quotes. They are in no particular order. Each holds a special place in my heart along with their movies. 

1. The Parent Trap: 

Bonus:

2. Stardust: 

3. The Little Mermaid: 

King Triton: “She really does love him, doesn’t she, Sebastian?

Sebastian: “Well, it’s like I always say, Your Majesty, children got to be free to lead their own lives. 

King Triton: You always say that? Then, I guess there’s just one problem left. 

Sebastian: And what’s that, Your Majesty?

King Triton: How much I’m going to miss her. ….

Ariel: I love you, Daddy. 

4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

“Fine. Fine, take it. Because my head is filled with questions and I can assure you no answer to any one of them has ever brought me one iota of happiness. Except for one. The one. The only question I’ve ever wanted an answer to - is she the one? The answer bloody well isn’t forty-two, it’s yes. Undoubtedly, unequivocally, unabashedly yes. And for one week, one week in my sad little blip of existence, it made me happy.” 

5. A Knight’s Tale:

6. Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

7. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back/ Return of the Jedi: 

8. Home Alone 2 (have to say it like him every time): 

9. The Princess Diaries:

10. The Princess Bride:

Top Ten Lists Thursdays Introdcution

I used to do Top Ten Tuesdays every week but stopped doing them when life got hectic. It is my hope to get back into blogging more and keep a consistent schedule. Instead of doing Top Ten Tuesdays with the topics that were made in that group, I decided to make my own topics for my posts. I am going to do these lists on Thursdays. 

Starting this Thursday, I am going to be making Top Ten Lists for books, movies, tv shows, and other topics of interest. These lists are going to consist of favorites, disappointments, and many other things. I’m looking forward to making these posts. I have provided some of the ideas I have for these below. There will probably be so many more that I come up with, but these are the ones I thought of so far. I don’t know if I will do them all but I plan on doing many of them. 

Some ideas of lists: 

~ Books-

• Favorite Books
• Characters
• Influential Books for My Life 
• Of the decades (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s)- I really like the idea of doing these decade lists. 
• Of the years I have been alive (1993- present day)
• Series
• Children’s, Middle-Grade, Young Adult, and Adult series
• Graphic Novels
• Retellings
• MG, YA, and Adult Fantasy 
• Classics
• Poems
• Disappointments 
• Poetry Collections
• Nonfiction informational books
• Memoirs 
• Series I need to Finish (that are fully out) 
• Books I want to read by the end of 2024
• Terry Pratchett Books
• Book covers
• Illustrators 
• LGBT YA books
• LGBT Adult books
• Audiobook narrators 
• Special Editions

~ Movies-

• Favorite Movies
• Characters 
• Disney Movies
• Fantasy Movies
• Romantic Comedies
• Animated Movies
• Comedies
• Musicals/Deals with Music 

~ TV Shows-

• Favorite TV Shows
• Characters
• From Childhood
• Limited/Short Series
• Fantasy Series
• Favorite episodes of… (Schitt’s Creek, Friends, Reba, Buffy, Dawson’s Creek, Doctor Who, etc.) 
• Animated Series
• Comfort Shows 

~ Other- 

• Fantasy Creatures
• Video Games
• Board/ Card Games
• Animals
• Youtube Channels 
• Booktubers 

Favorites of Winter 2023-2024

❄️  My Favorites of Winter 2023-2024 ☃️

Below, I have listed some of my favorite music, movies, YouTube videos, and TV that I have watched or listened to this winter. This has been a great season for some amazing entertainment. I also wanted to share the stories I loved on A03 from this season. 

🎞️ Movies/Specials:

1. Guiding Emily

~ I highly enjoyed watching this movie with my mother in early March. She’s a big fan of the Hallmark movies, so I have seen a lot of them over the years and this is one of the best of the group. I love stories with unconventional narrators and I really enjoyed the little bits of narration from Garth (the dog). This was a heartfelt movie that I would definitely watch again. 

🎵 Music:

This year has been absolutely amazing for new music. Here are some of the best that I loved in Winter 2023-2024. My absolute favorites have an asterisk  (*) by them. 

1. “It Must Be Love” by Ty Herndon

2. “Secret Love Song, Pt. II” by Little Mix

3. “Some Guys Have All the Luck” by Rod Stewart

4. “Every Day (When Will You Be Mine)” by Hilary McRae

5. “Cars Not Leaving” by Gabriel Bruce*- My favorite song from last year and still cannot get enough of it. 

6. “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse

7. “…Baby One More Time (from Kung Fu Panda 4)” by Tenacious D- I will forever love Tenacious D and this is great!!

8. “It’s a Great Day to be Alive (Live from The Roman)” by Ben Rector- Love this cover of Travis Tritt’s song

📺 TV Shows:

1. Name That Tune

~ I love watching this show so much and playing along with the celebrities. Definitely my favorite of this type of show. 

2. Judge Steve Harvey 

~ This show is absolutely ridiculous and always has me laughing out loud. Steve Harvey is a hilarious man. 

🖥️ YouTube:

1. DanandPhilGames

~ Dan and Phil Ruin Their Careers- CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY!- Good Lord

~ Dan vs. Phil IS BACK! Switch Sports- YAY!!! Hilarious 

~ Dan and Phil React to Every Phil is not on fire! #1- Memories! I can’t believe how long ago these videos are. Oh my goodness. 

~ Is Dan Smarter Than Phil?

~ Do NOT read these cards out loud- Dan and Phil play Incohearant- Laughed way too hard at this one. So inappropriate 

~ Dan vs. Phil- FALL GUYS!- looks like a fun game

~ This game ended our friendship- Bread and Fred- Dan yelling at Phil for the whole video. 😂 

~ Dan and Phil Go Speed Dating!- Oh great. Haha

~ Dan and Phil play Poppy Playtime Chapter 2- Goodness, this is creepy. 

~ Dan and Phil React to Every Phil is not on fire! #2 - These two will always make me laugh

~ Dan and Phil React to Every Phil is not on Fire! #3

~ Phil Pushes Dan’s Button for 18 Minutes

~ Dan and Phil play Poppy Playtime Chapter 3- Good lord, this just keeps getting scarier by the chapter. I love this series so much. 

2. BooksandLala

~ Year in Review | 270 Book Reading Stats - Love Kayla’s stat videos. Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve watched one of her videos. I have to catch on the ones I’ve missed. 

~ Reading 2023's Best Books 🏆 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Vlog

~ Spotify Wrapped Controls My TBR 🎵 Reading Vlog

~ 1985 Magazines Control My TBR 📼🛼- Such a neat idea

~🎄 How to Build the Perfect Advent Calendar for Book Lovers🎁- Great video 

~ trying clay sculpting & listening to audiobooks | art vlog ep. 3- Love this series. She has so many neat ideas. As a crafty person, I absolutely adore watching these videos.  

- My hobbies that I enjoy doing while listening to audiobooks are adult coloring books, video games (that don’t require too much attention), advanced paint by numbers, and diamond paintings. Below, I have attached one of my most recent paint by numbers. I made it for my dad for Christmas 2023. 

~ Reading Until I Get a 5 ⭐️ || 1990 Books Vlog- I love her idea here. Made me want to see if I have read a book for every year I have been alive and if I have a five star read for each one. 

~ Reading 6 Books About Dinosaurs 🦖- Fun idea

~ Reading Booktuber Favorite 2023 Books- My goodness, Kayla’s ideas always draw me in.

~ Reading Instagram’s Favorite 2023 Books

~ Reading TikTok’s Favorite 2023 Books

~ Reading My Subscribers’ Best Books of 2023- I love this series. 

~ Reading Until I Get a 5 ⭐️ || 1993 Books Vlog 

~ Books with Under 1000 Ratings on Goodreads | Reading Vlog 

~ Reading My Friend’s WORST Books 👎❌

~ Reading Until I Get a 5 ⭐️ || 1994 Books Vlog- Episode 3 of this series 

3. Charlie Hopkinson

~ Qui Gon learns he messed up bad-  It’s been too long since I have watched these. 

4. The Library of Allenxandria

~Book Jeopardy, Season 2 Episode 5! | Mindolin v Tori v Anitha- YAY!! Book Jeopardy is back

Other Favorites

1. Video Games

~ Hogwarts Legacy

~ One of my Christmas gifts for 2023 was Hogwarts Legacy for Switch and I absolutely love it so far. 

~ I started playing the game right after Christmas, creating the character Tabitha Philsbury. In the pictures to the left, you can see my character and some of the other pictures I took throughout the castle and so far in the game. I have plenty of others on my Switch. 

~ I have wanted a Hogwarts game in this style for years and this did not disappoint in the slightest. Also, I enjoyed the story so far and will be getting back into it again very soon. 

2. My favorite stories on A03

~ Among the Stacks by MeinirRhos*

~ Love Thy Neighbor by snae_b

~ Sound Investments by Caedmon

~ Liquid Gold by fashioncriminal, smolalienbee, Sodium_Azide, and Tarik_giverofcookies

~ Imperfect by Nature by summerofspock

~ Reactivity by accidentaldemon 

~ It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine by Dervila and elf_on_the_shelf*

~ The Invisible Gorilla by AppleSeeds

~ Legacies by AppleSeeds*

~ Your Virtual Companion by AppleSeeds* 

~ Naughty and Nice by ddagent*

~ The Anon Before Christmas by foolislovers*

~ Till I Saw You series by curiouswriterkr*

~ The Invisible Touch by AppleSeeds

~ Everything Flows, Here Comes Another New Day by Shadow0kana

~ Cobra by angelsnuffbox and AppleSeeds*

~ Taking the Cake by Caedmon* 

~ Beyond the Barricade by CemeteryAngel725- This made my musical loving heart so happy. *

~ Across the Line by festiveeggplant, hope_in_the_dark, and mehrto* 

~ Life-Changing Phone Call by Yellowvelvetcake*

3. Puzzles

One of the activities I enjoy doing while listening to audiobooks is creating puzzles. Here are some of the puzzles I have made this winter. 

~ This Alice in Wonderland puzzle is one of the best I have ever seen. It is made to look like a stained glass window and if you hold it up to the light, it shines through the pieces. One of the most beautiful puzzles. 

~ Bits and Pieces is one of the puzzle companies my mother loves getting her puzzles from (she is a puzzle lover). They started making a series called Cloud Nine, which has pieces that are tessellations. I love this design so much and the cat puns are just great. If you are a puzzle fan, I highly recommend checking out these puzzles. It wasn’t that hard but it is definitely different than a regular jigsaw. 

Monthly Reviews- February 2024

💌  February Reviews 💝

February 1st-29th

Book 17: Poetry Comics

By Grant Snider

Read February 5th

Release Year: 2024

Pages: 96

📚📚📚📚📚

I love how Grant combined poetry with comics throughout the book. This collection is an excellent way to introduce poetry to younger readers. The poems are perfectly complimented by the stunning illustrations. They add so much to each poem. I always love Grant’s books and comics, but this one tops them all. 

I highly recommend the collection for both younger and older readers alike. It is an absolute delight. 

*I received an ARC for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. 

Book 18: Don’t Call Us Dead

By Danez Smith

Read February 5th

Release Year: 2017

Pages: 96

📚📚📚📚📚

An absolutely wonderful poetry collection. 

Book 19: The Lost Story

By Meg Shaffer

Read February 13th- 21st

Release Year: 2024

Pages: 336

📚📚📚📚📚

I have been wanting a Narnia-like adult book for so many years and could not believe when I heard about this beauty. Portal fantasy stories are some of my absolute favorites. I was ecstatic when I was given an ARC of The Lost Story. This was an absolute delight of a read! It felt like a fairy-tale for adults especially with the writing style. Meg Shaffer has created a world I wish I could travel to and I hope she will return to it eventually. This is a wonderful fantasy story with a focus on friendship, love, and the act of storytelling. 

I loved the framing device for this book and how the narrator kept giving commentary. It’s enjoyable having a narrator who is a character in the story being told and finding out who they are eventually during the plot. Also, I enjoyed the LGBT representation. 

I highly recommend this beauty to fans of portal fantasy or fantasy books in general. It is definitely a favorite of the year for me. 

*I received an ARC for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. 

Book 20: A Tale Dark and Grimm

By Adam Gidwitz

Read February 22nd-23rd

Release Year: 2010

Pages: 256

📚📚📚📚

Reread February 22nd-23rd, 2024:

I decided to reread this book so I can continue on with the companion novels and finish the series. It was just as enjoyable as the first time I read it. Adam Gidwitz style is great and I love the narration throughout. 

Read January 10th-12th, 2018:

Hansel and Gretel are a prince and princess, from a kingdom, that realize their parents are not the best of people. They decide to walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm Brother-inspired tales. Through each tale, they try to find the best new home and learn to take a charge of their own destinies.

This was so much more than I expected it to be. I really loved how Adam Gidwitz used his own style of writing and also mixed it with the Grimm Brother's style. There were times that each was so distinct but then as the story continued on they meddled together so well. Also, I really enjoyed that he used mostly fairy tales that are not well known. For instance, "Faithful Johannes", "Brother and Sister", "A Smile as Red as Blood", and so many others. There were even a few that I had never even heard of before which was quite refreshing. He not only made these tales entertaining to read but also made them his own while doing it. This is, at least I believe, a perfect way to get children to want to read these original tales and see what happened in them. 

The fairy tales in this novel were weaved so well together. I really loved how each one felt like a piece of the whole, but also their own separate entity. This was a great take on these tales that I feel that should be read by all. The narration was very entertaining. I really enjoyed the warnings throughout and also how dark this got at times. It was dark but never too much. There was a great balance between the dark and grim and also the humor. I cannot wait to pick up the companion novels to this.

Book 21: Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics: A Comical Guide to Ancient Greece and Rome, Series 1-4

By Natalie Haynes

Read February 24th-27th

Release Year: 2019

📚📚📚📚

Standup comedy and Greek/Roman Mythology are two of my favorite things. I have fallen in love with Natalie’s works over the last couple of years and was looking forward to listening to these series. This was highly entertaining and had me laughing out loud a lot. 

Many of these classical figures I did not know much about or had never heard of them before, so I was learning quite a lot throughout. There are many works that I know I will be picking up after she talked about them, especially Aristophanes’s comedies. The Frogs sounds great. Also, I want to pick up Ovid’s Heroides. 

The only aspect of this that I didn’t love was when some of the conversations were interspersed throughout. These were interesting but sometimes they interrupted Natalie’s jokes and I wish they would have waited until she was done with the joke. Overall, the conversations with the classists were very informative and added even more to this experience. I highly recommend this to Greek/Roman classics fans.