And now... The Epic Conclusion.

10 years in cinematic making, and it all comes down to this... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Less than 7 hours until I'm sitting in Lincoln Square Cinemas for my very last midnight showing of this amazing series. I'm joining the thousands of die-hard fans tonight, along with my Potter-loving BFF and BF... and let's be honest, my new winged friend will likely be in attendance as well. :)

Thanks to Derek for this Look Back over the last 7 films... get ready for 5 minutes and 14 seconds of pure magical delight!

6 hours, 39 minutes and counting...

A Special Delivery

When I got a message that I had a package waiting for me in our mail room on Monday, I immediately tried to remember what impulse purchase I'd forgotten about over the past couple of weeks... Surely not another pretty handbag -- the kate spade sample sale did a great job of filling that void in my life. Or perhaps some new summery sandals? But no, even I have finally admitted that my overflowing closet is in need of an intervention...

So imagine my delight when it wasn't a FedEx box of bangles or baubles at all, but instead... a feathery messenger who you had better be may be familiar with...

Yes, it seems that Hedwig had been tasked with tracking me down at my office in SoHo to deliver a mysterious message.

But where did she come from? What a silly question -- all the way from Hogwarts, of course! Look, there's even an official 'H' seal and everything:

And what was so incredibly important that it required the attention of such a trustworthy owl? It seems that a certain sweet someone was hoping that I might be able to reserve time this weekend for a bit of magical fun...

It probably won't come as any great surprise that I gladly accepted the 'Harry Potter Day' invitation (especially given my handsome and oh-so-creative escort for the day)... but unfortunately Hedwig's wings were a bit too tired to make another journey all the way up town to deliver my response. Luckily, that sample sale I mentioned earlier came in handy -- who knew that kate spade made the very chicest of owl carriers?

Magic Warms My Heart

Love this. I guess a little magic can go a long way...

Rep. Gabrielle Gifford Healing with 'Harry Potter'

"We also know that [Rep. Gifford's] husband has gotten large-print pages of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book in the J.K. Rowling series, 'for her to hold and read.' In a CNN story filled with reasons to tear up, for me, that was one of them... The series doesn’t sugarcoat what Harry faces to protect what he believes in. It’s about him standing up for himself and those he fights for, and overcoming the obstacles (and man) who would stop him.

Happy reading, Rep. Giffords. If this is your first trip to Hogwarts, here’s a spoiler: Harry’s a Gryffindor. So are you."

The Beginning of the End

Among the most highly anticipated events that occurred over my aforementioned bloggy hiatus has to be something that I've been waiting about 11 years for -- ever since I finally gave in to my Grandmom's persistence and begrudgingly opened the cover of a "silly children's book" one summer at Bethany Beach -- the beginning of the end...

Yep, that's right: The first installment of the last movie in the Harry Potter series... The Deathly Hallows.

I couldn't have been more excited. Or more prepared... I dressed up as Hermione last Halloween. I re-read books 6 and 7 over the summer. I intently watched as sneak peeks were featured throughout several Harry Potter Marathon Weekends on ABC Family (even though I own all but two of the DVD's...). I eagerly awaited every single new trailer release, and replayed it until no details were left unnoticed. I spent a recent Friday night (ok, two actually) watching the 6th movie, The Half-Blood Prince, with friends. I purchased tickets to the first midnight showing of HP7.1. I nerded out with some of my favorite fellow wizard-wannabes and stood in line with all of the other crazies for over an hour on a Thursday night. And then...

I laughed. I screamed. I hid my eyes. I cried. I woke up the next morning after 3 1/2 hours of magical dreams and was quite disappointed when my thoughts of "Accio Starbucks!!" went unanswered... In short: I loved it.

Sure, some purists are upset with slight deviations from the novel. But as a loyal fan for over a decade, I think that overall the movie did JK Rowling proud. And now I'm left to find ways to get my wizarding world fix until HP7.2 is released in July 2011...

Luckily, little gems like the following keep popping up. It probably comes as no surprise that Daniel Radcliffe has been among my Top 5 celeb crushes for quite some time... and this giggle-inducing video may have just edged him closer to the #1 spot (watch out, Henry Cavill...):

I Am Harry Potter from Daniel Radcliffe

Sigh. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If loving a teenage wizard is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

Keep Calm and...

Confession: Life/Work have turned me into a little ball of stress lately. Ok... fine. To be fair, I suppose I'm often a little ball of stress. I guess it would be more accurate to say that lately, I'm just... a... a slightly bigger than my typically little ball of stress. Regardless, when I walked by a store this morning that displayed five of the below prints lined up in the window, I knew it would make the perfect post for today, if for no other reason than to remind me to, you know, breathe. At least every now and then:

from weheartit

It's nothing too earth-shattering - this "Keep Calm and Carry On" design has been floating around the blogosphere for quite some time now, but still... It's pretty. And the perfect little mantra for me to keep in mind. Well at least it was perfect... until I found THIS little gem:

from daydreamlilly

It's so true! It's simple math: Cupcakes = A Happier Bethany. And if worse comes to worst, and there's ever such an occasion in my life that things can't be made even a little bit better by a cupcake, then there's always... magic:

from weheartit

Brilliant! A Patronus Charm - THAT should surely do the trick! (Side note: This may or may not be a slightly obscure Harry Potter reference, for all of you silly non-wizard-loving PTTP readers. Which really, between Megan, Liz, and Jamie finally giving in and jumping on the J.K. Rowling Bandwagon recently, are there even any of you left??).

Alright, back to the madness and... Keeping Calm and... Such.

Happy Halloweekend!

I l.o.v.e. Halloween (more fondly known as "Halloweekend" ever since my days as a TCU sorority girl... but that's quite another story, I suppose). I guess my love for this holiday should come as no surprise - I mean, who am I to pass on a chance to play a lovely game of Dress-Up and Make Believe??

As much as I would love to kick off Halloweekend by wearing my costumes to the office, I'm just not sure Rosalie (circa '08... oh yes. Yes, I did.) or Hermione (coming '09.... oh yes. Yes, I am.) would be welcome in the working mortal/Muggle world of NYC. Next best thing though?? Year Two of J's and my trusty Target Sparkly Pumpkin shirts from our moms, of course!

I don't think I could sum up our silliness much better than Jamie just did, so with that, I give you PTTP's first Guest Bloggy feature (and really, I wouldn't have it any other way than for the first edition to be from my dear LulledByTheTrain :) ):

Happy Halloween

“Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.”

-Mason Cooley

(Not sure if sparkly pumpkin Target shirts from moms fall under "clothing" or "costume," but B and I are clearly making a statement and telling a story. A really riveting, childlike story involving Harry Potter, Theta Mix, awkwardness, WeeMees, blogs and pumpkin spice lattes.)

(*Please note: My curly-ish hair situation is in preparation for Hermione's first appearance tonight. xoxo)

Seriously, Universe?!

As though I needed any other reason to love:

A. Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliffe, or

B. The West Village...

... Now Dan goes and buys a drool-worthy place in one of my dream neighborhoods??! Yes, it's true - read all about it here. I mean, doesn't it seem pretty clear that the Universe is trying its hardest to bring us together?

Call me Professor Trelawney, but I think I foresee my Autumn to be filled with maybe a few more strolls through the colorful tree-lined streets of the Village this year than in the past...

I Want to Go to There. Now.

Happy happy Friday! Universal Orlando revealed more details this week about the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter... Oh. Yes. Needless to say, I may have spent the last few days geeking out watching the below video of 3-D renderings of the theme park on repeat...

Weeee!!! Now if only I had a magic wand so that I could make Spring 2010 get here immediately... Kidding. Kind of.

It's Heeeere!!

Can you believe it?? After all these days, it's finally here! Happy 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Premieres at Midnight' Day!!!

Astonishingly enough, I'm somehow managing to wait and see the movie with my parents when I'm in Seattle later this week (!!!!). But in lieu of joining my friends in the traditional Hogwarts-shirt-wearing, wand-and-owl-carrying fun in Times Square tonight, I thought that an appearance by the Potter Puppet Pals was the perfect way to celebrate this momentous day... Enjoy! :)

"Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

How Many Days Until July 17??

84. Yep. Just 84 short days until the long-awaited July 17th premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!! And considering I'll probably nerd out and go to the Midnight Showing Thursday night/Friday morning with Lauren and my other wizard-loving friends, I suppose we could knock it down to 83... Can. Not. WAIT!

So for your Happy Friday! Happy Video! viewing pleasure, I give you the latest and greatest trailer that was released last week. This one steers clear of all of the gloom and doom in the sixth book and instead focuses on the romantic (read as: teenage angsty) storylines in the Best. Series. Ever... Yesssss!

"[This movie is] about sex, potions and rock 'n' roll... It's a wonderfully fun, slightly rebellious, quite naughty stage of teenage life." -Half-Blood Prince director David Yates... o.m.goodness.

An Epic Debate

I saw this ad online the other day. You better believe I would've clicked through (had I not just been creeping over Lauren's shoulder when it came up and immediately demanded she send me a screenshot...)


Ha! Best. Ad. Ever. It's basically the story of my life... Edward vs. Harry?? Harry vs. Edward?! OMGoodness! I mean, how is a girl to decide between two such delightfully delicious, magically fictitious boys??

Sigh. Thoughts?? Anyone? Or maybe I'm alone in this tortuous struggle...

Reasons of the Moment Why I'm Loving This Weekend

1. This is how I just spent the last hour, jogging along the river:










2. It's ABC Family Harry Potter Weekend! Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone! Chamber of Secrets! Prisoner of Azkaban! Goblet of Fire (featuring none other than the dreamy Robert Pattinson)! And rumors of more Sneak Peeks into the upcoming Half-Blood Prince! O.M.G. (And yes, that link is to a fan site called "The Leaky Cauldron"... No shame when it comes to my love for Harry P... Sigh.)

3. I have a ton of space on my DVR, which means I'll be taking advantage of both of these glorious, aforementioned points... Starting with meeting up with a few of my favorites for Shake Shack and/or cupcakes in Madison Square Park. xoxo!