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pretty little recap: 'tis the seAson...for murder and stuff!


5.13 How the 'A' Stole Christmas
It's been a long wait PLLers (especially since Baby H being born in the summer resulted in no recaps for the first half of season 5!), but the bitches are back, forgoing their usual Halloween episode for something a little merrier and more stabby. Okay, probably not more stabby, but definitely as stabby, plus there were thrills, chills, and Santa boxers (oh my) so let's get to it!

If you want your stars to look like teens, maybe don't dress them as though they're on Dynasty. Photo credit: ABC Family 

Pretty Little Highlights 

1. This episode was so delightfully over the top. It was everything you'd expect from a PLL holiday special and more. The Ghost of Mona Past (or was she Mona Future? Or all of them in one?) was great, especially her crazy, hot mess, glam ghost look. Work it, Ghosty Mona. 

2. I'm not normally one to dig anything Creeper Toby does, but the shout out to Rear Window (or as I associated it, the 'Bart of Darkness' episode of The Simpsons) was very cool. And really, that was just a general PLL decision. Not a Creeper Toby one. He was just doing what he does best. Being a creeper.

3. Umm, I'll just leave this here:


Photo credit: Lindsey Shaw's twitter
4. Hot Caleb and Hanna making with the charity. And Hot Caleb's elf costume. It's official: he's adorable year-round.  

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. I'm again weirded out to say that I can't really bag on Aria too much this week. Aside from not doing anything stupid/ill-advised, she was the only Liar who appeared to be wearing something even remotely youthful to Ali's Ice Ball. Seriously Em, what is up with that dress? It makes you look 35. Don't get me wrong, Shay looks gorgeous in it, but I am not buying her as a teenager in that dress...

2. Oh Hanna. I love you girl, but rule #1 when you break into someone's house as part of a major plot is to always keep your cell handy. How many times do you have to be attacked by crazy hooded people before you learn that lesson?

3. Am I the only one who found it super weird when the Liars and their paramours were snowed in and Ezra was at the head of the table as though he was the dad? Like, it's one thing for him to hang with Aria, but in scenes like that he's basically just some older dude hanging with a bunch of teenagers (most of whom are or have been his students!). Isn't it weird when they're chatting about school gossip and Ezra's all "Mortgages! 401Ks!" Or is that just me?

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!


1. Creepy mask staring at Hanna and Spence after Hanna gets knocked out. NOT COOL.

2. Ali's teamsters are willing to go behind her back. Or are they? Was it all part of a bigger plan? I'M ALWAYS SUSPICIOUS OF YOU ALI'S TEAMSTERS!

3. More creepy masks as Ali's minions provide a diversion. Stop with the masks and dolls already, people! But no, don't. Because we love how creepy it is. 

4. Ali definitely knew Bellamy = THEY ARE DEFINITELY TWIN SISTERS SEPARATED AT BIRTH. 

5. A decorates a mean Christmas tree. What? I found it kind of shocking. That would have taken some serious time. How did he/she manage? 

I'm certain there were more things worth mentioning, but my viewing up the episode was a bit chopped up due to teething Baby H, and now he's crying to get up from his nap, so I'll leave it at, bring on season 5b!

~PLR~

the horizon

The back half of 2014 has been, well, a bit of a blur. The idea that 2015 is only a few short weeks away seems impossible, but yeah, there it is. The bad news is, I've been lost in a haze of sleepless nights (thanks to Baby H falling into a textbook four month sleep regression) and busy days (rocking baby, entertaining toddler, trying to keep the house from crumbling around us). The good news is, things are finally looking up a bit.

I feel like I spend a lot of time waiting. No, I know I spend a lot of time waiting. That's the nature of publishing. Being on submission means waiting. Being on submission with a new book means more waiting. Having a newborn means waiting. At least with that last one, I know all my waiting will pay off.

Over the past few months, I've often found myself wondering how I not only finished a novel during my first maternity leave, but also found enough time to research and query a slew of agents (a process that ultimately matched me with my stellar agent, Marlene). Where on earth did I find the time to manage that? But now I'm remembering. Because I've finally reached the point (I hope) when things start to shift from feeling like I never have enough time to do anything, to the baby being able to entertain himself for 20-30 minutes at a time, and take longer naps, and suddenly things seem possible again. I've even managed to get in a bit of work on my WIP--enough that I'm now rather anxious to spend even more time with it. I have my fingers crossed that early 2015 will allow me the time to really dive in.

So what does all this mean? Hopefully, it means this blog will be back in business soon. Hopefully, it means I'll have a fifth novel under my belt before long. Hopefully, it means I can hit the ground running when the new year begins. It's an excellent time for it, don't you think?

And now I hear the telltale wail of a baby waking... he slept for a full hour this time. Not fantastic, but not bad. Not bad at all.