From Haunted Gardens To Pearls And Prosecco: A Soul-Soothing Weekend

#194: What if the best part of your plans is the part where nothing happens? This week, I share a soul-soothing weekend that swapped spectacle for substance: a glowing 21+ Halloween night at the botanical gardens, a book club meet-up by a fire pit, and a Pearls and Prosecco bridal shower that left me believing in big love again.

We start with the garden event..... warm air when I wanted crisp fall, neon swings, and the kind of cocktail line that tests your will to live. I found sanctuary in a shorter line and a cinnamon-kissed sangria that tasted like sweater weather. The real magic happened off the path, huddled around a fire with friends who know the power of unhurried talk. From there, we dive into my ongoing saga with audiobooks versus podcasts and what attention really means when life is already full of noise.

Then the vibe flips: a bridal shower for a friend whose joy fills the room. We fold paper flowers, lose graciously, and win on spirit. I spiral over a “dressy but casual in black” dress code, then remember the only rule that matters..... wear what lets you stand taller. Along the way, I confess my anti-horror stance with stories from haunted houses I barely survived and how choosing gentle fun is not boring, it’s intentional. The throughline is simple: small gatherings, shared laughter, and people who check on you are the real markers of a full life.

If you’re craving connection without the chaos, this one’s for you. Hit play, settle in, and let a cozy, honest recap remind you that the little moments count. If something here made you smile or think, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a quick review—it helps more cozy souls find us.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Weekend Vibe
• 1:15 Botanical Gardens Halloween Night
• 2:44 Bar Lines And Fall Drinks
• 4:20 Fire Pits And Book Club
• 6:20 Audiobooks Versus Attention Spans
• 9:20 Anti-Horror Confessions
• 9:21 [Ad] PodMatch
• 9:58 (Cont.) Anti-Horror Confessions
• 12:46 Bridal Shower Joy
• 14:56 Dress Code Spiral And Style
• 17:36 Hope, Gratitude, And Takeaways
• 22:56 Closing Thoughts And Socials

Transcript

Johnna : 0:00

What is up everyone? Welcome back to another episode of the Babbles Nonsense podcast. On today's episode, it is just going to be me babbling about my weekend because honestly, it deserves a little recap. You know, have you ever had one of those weekends that's not like wild per se, but still just feels good for the soul? That was how this one was. It was a perfect mix of cozy, girly, and just a little chaotic, which feels very on brand for me. So yeah, we went to a Halloween event on Saturday night and then a bratal shower on Sunday, which honestly could not be more opposite vibes. And I have some thoughts. So let's get into it. So we'll start with Saturday, the spectacular event. Um, we so we went to the Botanical Gardens here in Huntsville. I will be honest, I've never been, well, I can't say that I've never been. I went, I think, one time when I was in high school when I lived in Tennessee. We drove, I drove down with my at the time boyfriend's parents um all for us to break up in the backseat of the car. It was the drive-through, I think Christmas lights. And so needless to say, I don't really remember anything other than being devastated. So I'm gonna say that I was never there. Anyways, I've never walked through the botanical gardens. Um, but this was apparently their first year doing a Halloween event, and it was a 21 plus event, which was super cute, honestly. Um, the gardens were lit up, the air was not so chilly, which was kind of a bummer because when you're going to fall events or Halloween events, you kind of want that fall crisp air, but it was unfortunately a little warm. Now I'll say like two days, obviously I'm recording this after the weekend. So two days later um it became cool and it's kind of that vibe where you want that little lightweight sweater on when you're out doing um Halloween stuff. I don't know about you, but that's what that's what I like. I don't know where you live if you're listening to this, but you know, living in the fall, like or in the south, you you definitely love it when fall weather comes around because you know it's starting to be like Halloween and Thanksgiving and stuff like that. But it was a still it was still a perfect night and the vibes were a good time. Um, I will say for a 21 plus event, they definitely needed more bars. Like, definitely. There was only two. So they had a bar that was um just the beer and they had like a wine, and then the other bar was the cocktails. So personally, maybe they should like put them all together and just have a little bit more workers, but you know you never know what goes into the event. But the line was scarier than any haunted house. You could feel everyone silently debating if the drink was worth the wait. And spoiler, I wouldn't know because by the time the cocktail line got down, like where it wasn't like wrapped around, it was already 9 p.m. and I had to leave by that time um because I had a bridle shower to get to on Sunday and I didn't want to stay out too late. Um, but me and another friend headed out at nine. But I did get to try their sangria that they had at the other bar line because that was the one the so like when you go into the botanical gardens, you can either go right or left, and the cocktail bar was to the right, the um beer um tent, I guess if you want to call it a tent, was to the left. And we, I mean, obviously we didn't know which way to go because you can go either way, so we just headed to the left. Um, and their sangria, um, I did get to try it, it was pretty good, it was very fallish vibe. It had, I think, Pinot Noir, apple cider, and some spices in it because it tasted pretty cinnamon-like. Um, but that was in the beer line, not the cocktail line, which we ended up standing in, like I said, because that was the way we went and the line was much, much shorter. But then again, not everyone likes beer, so and I I don't drink beer because I'm gluten-free. Um, so I would just that would be a that would be a a little tidbit to have more beer lines or something, because I think we got there at 7, entered around 7.15, 720. And it wasn't a it's not very so if you're if you're living in Huntsville listening to this, normally if you go to the Christmas one, from what I hear, it's pretty, you know, long, like it can take you anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes to walk through. This one did not take that long. It was like probably if you're just strolling, probably would take like 20-ish minutes, maybe. If you stopped more and did some of the activities, like the s'mores, they had like s'mores sites set up and they had some cool, like glowy neon swings that you could sit at and visit. Um, but as far as like the lights, there was plenty of lights, but there wasn't like a lot of stuff to just like look at. Um, but side note with me being gluten-free, people ask me this all the time, so I'll just put it on the podcast. Do I miss drinking beer? Because I, you know, obviously once did. Um, sometimes, sometimes in the summer, you know, you'd miss that good cold, crisp beer, but not for real. Um, I'm more of a cocktail girly, or sometimes I'll do a cider, and then I also like um like prosecco wine. I'm not really big in like red wine and stuff like that, but in case you wanted to know. Um, but I'll give them grace because it was their first year of doing it, and it was still really cute and super fun to go to. But by the end of the night, we just ended up sitting by a fire pit and just talking, which I uh personally love moments like that. You go out expecting to, you know, quote unquote do something, and then you end up just being, and it's just really chill, and you just you know catch up on life. And it was actually our book club night too, so that's why we ended up going. That was um, we always host, like someone hosts because we do we meet once per month. And let's just be honest, it really is just an excuse for adult beverages and catching up with old friends for book club because let's face it, as we get older, the only way to hang out is to schedule it, and that's with our book club. Obviously, we still read books. Um, so our book this time was Practic Practical Magic to kind of you know fit the theme of October, fall coming, the spectacular event. And shockingly, I actually quote unquote read it. And I say quote unquote read because well I listened to it on audiobook. I am trying to get more into audiobooks. Um, I feel like it barely counts with audiobooks for me because I swear my brain goes feral when someone's reading to me. I don't know what it is. It's like I'm fully zoned out. Like, wait, who is that person again? Where where are we at in this chapter? And I don't know why. Because they're just so hard for me. Because I can listen to a three-hour podcast on anything, but a 15-minute story chapter, it's like I'm rewinding it 2,500 times. And I don't know if it's because I I have to pay attention and I try to listen to my audiobooks like if I'm driving or um if I'm at the gym because that's just when I have the most time to do it, because I can't do it while I'm working because I have to focus on charting and whatnot. And so it's like, why can't I just listen? Like, I can listen to a podcast all day long and tell you everything it said. And I don't, and again, I don't know if it's just that like you don't really have to pay attention to a podcast or what it is, but like I don't know. Something about audiobooks is just really hard for me. And I feel like that maybe says something about our attention spans, like we can handle real people talking, but the minute it's fiction, we're like, nope, too many words, not enough trauma, you know? So I don't know. Maybe that's just me. I know a lot of of my friends that listen to audiobooks and do great with it. I struggle and I have not figured out the science behind it because, like I said, I can listen to a podcast, and that's pretty much I I listen to music sometimes, but most of the time I'm listening to a podcast. I don't know. It's weird. But my friends were apparently shocked that I've never seen the movie Practical Magic when we started talking about it. Like, you know, jaws dropped, kind of shocked. You'd think I'd never admitted to hearing of Taylor Swift or something. Um, I know practical magic is one of those like old time, like what what's the word? Um I can't think of the word. Like you just most people like you hear it and you're like kind of like if you hit say hocus pocus, everyone's like, oh yeah, I've seen that. So I'm going to eventually watch it. Um, because it's supposed to be one of those classics. That's what I'm trying to say. Classics. It's like just a classic that everyone has seen. I'll be honest. I haven't watched it or read this book because I don't do anything remotely scary, not even semi-spooky. I'm serious. Like, I don't know if I was traumatized as a child or what. Probably. I think when um I had my friend Carolyn on the podcast a long time ago, we talked about this, but just a brief, like I um Carolyn, like yes, Carolyn's name is from I want to say the poltergeist. Don't don't cancel me if that's not the movie, but because again, I don't do anything scary. But anyways, her name is from the scary movie, which everyone has a little girl, Carolyn, in it. And she I remember used to because I've known her since like birth, like because my dad worked for her dad. So I've we have known each other for our entire lives. And I remember like being so young and her having Chucky on and like me just being so terrible. So maybe that's where it came from. I don't know. Um, but I like still to this day, I have to plug my ears and hum when a horror movie previews comes on. I'm not even kidding. And yes, I'm almost 38 years old. I know that's pathetic, but I have always been terrified of like ghosts and monsters and that sort of thing because I'll be honest, I feel like that kind of realm of the world exists somewhere, and I'm just not here for it. I'm not entering that world. Like I'm just not doing it. I'm just not. Um, and like I've never seen a Freddy Kruger, I don't know if it's Kruger, what what if Freddie Kruger, Freddy Kouger, whatever his name is, Jason Michael Myers, you can forget it. I'm not doing it. Like I have seen some Chucky movies, and I've seen like The Leprechaun, like years ago when I was a child. I think I watched Pet Cemetery. No, those are what did me in, I think. I was like, no. Um, and if we are all being honest with ourselves, I feel like people can really be like that, and I'm not kidding. Like, I even remember like when we would go um to like, I don't know if anyone knows where Lake Winamissoka is, but it's in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and um there's like a haunted house that you ride through or whatnot. And I was just like, you know what? And I I don't know why my brain goes to this. I don't know why I don't even know why there's there's not a scary movie out that does this, but like when you're going through a haunted house, that would be the perfect place for any type of scary situation, murder situation, because you think it's funny, ha ha ha. Here's these people coming at you, they're gonna stop eventually, and they don't. What if they don't? Like, that's where my mind goes, and I'm like, nope, not doing it. But that does remind me of a time in sorority in college when we all had to go to the haunted corn maze as a mixer with a fraternity, and I was like, why am I here? Like, I hate it, I always have nightmares, like I can't go to sleep. It makes me like have to sleep with a TV on or something and a light on, which now I don't have a TV in my bedroom. So I'm like, I'm not sleeping with a light on because who can go sleep with a light on? And I just remember when we were in that haunted corn maze, like I was just trying to like trying to find my way out the best I can because also like side note, like when we're talking about like like professional um haunted houses or corn mazes or whatever, and then versus like these like in the city, whatever. I know there's all like these rules, but they're not as regulated as when I say professional, I'm talking I'm thinking like Ripley's believe it or not, haunted house in Gatlinburg. I tried to go through that, I'll tell you that in a minute. But I just I feel like things can just happen, you know what I'm saying? And I remember in this haunted corn maze, I remember walking ahead of people to go up on the bridge to see how to get out, and the grim reaper came on up beside me. And I I just remember literally immediately squatting down, tucking my head between my knees, and I was like, please just leave me alone. I'm serious, I'm dead serious, I'm very scared. I don't I just want to get out of here. And it was not a good time for me, but my friends had a great laugh. And then one time when I was in, I don't know if I was in junior high school or in high school, but my stepdad, we were on family vacation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and my stepdad loves scary things, and my sister, you know, she's older than me and she's not very scared of anything. So it was me, my sister, and my stepdad. My mom wouldn't go, so I don't know if she's terrified or not. I don't recall her watching scary movies when I was growing up, but um I remember I was gonna go through it with them and I made it to literally to the first room, and I was like, and they were even like, if you're scared of this room, you don't need to press forward. And I was like, Can someone let me out? Someone just let me out right now. And they so I had to stay behind. I think I want to say, I can't remember if my mom was with me or not, if she was gonna go through it, or if I had to stand there by myself in the first haunted room, and I just remember crying. So I had to, I don't think I was in high school, I think I was in junior high. Um, all these are triggering memories. It's so funny. And um, I had to have been like maybe maybe sixth or seventh grade. I don't remember, but I just remember being young and I remember being terrified, and that person was like, it's gonna be okay. Like just sit here, we have to wait for everybody to go to the next room, and then we'll take you out the side exit. But just know there are gonna be some things that pop out at you, like at the elevator when we gotta go back down and stuff like that. And I was like, oh my gosh, like this is just awful, which literally just triggered another memory because I remember I was definitely too old to be carried, but I was um, I think it was again like seventh, eighth grade, and my sister and friends wanted, I think her friends or something wanted to go to a haunted house in our small town in Tennessee, like one that was put on at a high school or something. And I remember my uncle was going with us and he was like, You can do it, you can do it. I was like, I'm not going in there, I'm not doing it. I don't, I just I alright, I know myself, I'm not going in there. And he was like, Come on, come on, let's go. That man had to carry me the entire way through. I had my head down, eyes closed, ears plugged, because I'm serious, I don't do anything scary, but you know what? It's fine. I'm at peace with my anti-horror era. Like, I some people are, you know, these murder mystery girlies and love like being scared and whatnot. That's not me. I'm more of a pumpkin patch and home by nine, go to sleep kind of girl. And I'm fine with it. I've made peace with it. People make fun of me. It is what it is. But, anyways, um, we ended up ending the night just sitting around the fire pit um at the the spectacular event at the botanical gardens, just talking and laughing. So nothing crazy. But it was one of those little moments that felt very grounding. Like, oh yeah, this is exactly what adulthood adulthood joy looks like, feels like. It's cozy, it's calm, it's connected. And in case you were wondering, the spectacular event did not scare me. There was nothing there that was scary, but my friends did check on me to make sure I was good. So just to give you all a little fun time to laugh at me moment. Um, but then on Sunday, the next day, I had a bridal shower to go to, which again, very opposite vibes of the night before. But this was one of my old India friends that I used to work with in the ER's bridal shower. And let me just say, I have never met someone in my life more deserving to meet their person that she's marrying. She is the epitome of like one of those friends that is there for you. She is the sweetest human being I've ever met, but she is so loved and so happy. It truly just radiates off of her. When we walked into the room, she's just like this light. She is beaming and she is so happy. And of course, the theme was so adorable. It was called Pearls and Prosecco, super classy, and put together so beautifully by all her friends that hosted the event. We played some really fun games, one being a paper, um, we made a paper bouquet. It was a challenge like from each table that you were sitting at, where each team had to make, you know, this fake flower bouquet, and like the two people walked around and said, pick it before we knew what the challenge was, there there was two people and they were like, pick um something out of my hand, and you don't know what you're making. So we picked, you know, obviously they put the paper, the colored paper down, and then we picked um a pipe cleaner. So there was ribbon, tape, and a pipe cleaner. And um, so we picked a pipe cleaner, and then we made real like we got on TikTok real quick before the event started to figure out how to make a paper flower, which this is where I wished I would have paid attention to my friend Terrence and the ER a long time ago because he used to make the most beautiful paper flowers out of like he was did like origon origami. And he would like sit there and do it in front of you. And I was like, now I wish I would have paid attention. You know, like sometimes in your life when you're like, where would I ever need this? Now, now would be a good time to need this. Um, we did not win, unfortunately. But listen, I personally still think our team should have won. I stand by that. Our bacet our bouquet was not chosen, but it was then chosen to be thrown at because she was going to toss the bouquet to all the single girlies. And obviously I was standing there, but no, I did not catch the bouquet, but I still think we won. We were robbed, and I will die on that hill. But the whole thing was just so very gorgeous, so cute, good energy, fun people, good food, all the things. Um, but before we went, I will have to say that I did annoy the absolute crap out of one of my friends before the shower because the invite said dressy but casual and all black. And then of course it was like pearls and prosecco. And I was like, okay, but these words kind of cancel each other out, like black, dressy, pearls, like that's not casual. So I was like, am I overthinking this? Because dressy but casual is coded for figure it out or risk looking dumb, in my opinion. And I was like, I don't want to look crazy in front of all of my friends' friends. Obviously, when you're, you know, during a any kind of thing event like a baby shower or bridal shower, your friends are all coming together from all walks of life. And I was just spiraling. I was like, I texted her so many times, like, but what kind of black? Blazer black, black blue jeans, cocktail black, jumpsuit black, like what like what are you wearing? Like, what kind of pearls are you wearing? Is it necklace, earrings? Are you so I was just like, well, I do have this like sheer black top with pearls on it. I was like, I could put this over, you know, a sundress. Is that too casual? Is that just enough? Um, because you know, you don't want to walk into a room where you've never met people and been overdressed and look like you're hosting the shower, but you also don't want to show up looking underdressed and just wearing like blue jeans that I had picked out. Some black, I had some black, cute barrel jeans, and I was like, I could throw these on with some heels and this top, and it that would be, you know, cute but casual. But is that too casual? But anyways, it was fine. I way overthought it. It was perfect, but I swear I think I overthink dress codes when I'm going to something more than life decisions. Like I don't know what it is. I used to not care what I wore, but I think I'm just getting into more of like a fashion era where I just really like to like put things together that I wouldn't think would go together. And I attribute that all to one of my good friend Megan. Um, she just dresses so cool and swanky, like it's such a vibe, but she's so confident in it. And I truly think that's what fashion is, right? Like if you put something on and you feel good in it and you feel gorgeous, then I think people in the room are gonna be like, hey, yeah, that looks really good because you feel confident in that moment. But the whole shower was gorgeous, she was gorgeous, and I just left feeling genuinely happy for her. Like you just know when you when someone finds their person and you can just feel it. Like I said earlier, it just was radiating off of her. And she teared up several times, and we all teared up because she you just have no idea, like if you knew this person, how much she deserves to be happy because she's just been through a lot. Um, but that kind of love gives you hope again, in my opinion. Because, you know, some days, you know, I've talked about relationships on this episode, and some days I'm like, you know what, there's just no one out there for me because this dating world is trash. But then you go to a bridal shower where someone met their person and you're like, okay, maybe there is hope. Um, but I don't know. This just recapping this weekend, it just makes me feel grateful. It's funny because it wasn't like one of it wasn't like a big weekend. It wasn't huge plans, no traveling, no vacation, nothing wild, but it was filled with moments that truly just matter, like laughing and connection and having nostalgia and just remembering, you know, when you're meeting up with an old friend that you haven't seen for a while. And, you know, just maybe a little bit of chaos that I created myself in my own head with the um dress code. But I think sometimes as we get older, we forget that fun doesn't have to mean busy. It can mean sitting around a fire pit with your book club or celebrating a friend who found her forever person. It reminded me of how important it is to make time for people to keep showing up because these are the things that make life feel so full. And we honestly just don't know how much time we have on this earth if we're being real, like not to be a Debbie Downer, but like just making moments and memories and just having those to treasure. And honestly, even the little things like the audiobook struggles or the outfit panic, they're part of it too. Like that will go down as just something funny later to say, right? Like the messiness, the imperfection, it's called all kind of beautiful when you just zoom out and think about stories that you're gonna tell later in life. So yeah, anyways, that was my weekend recap. Nothing too crazy, but just a good time. And I just wanted to share it with you all. So if you're listening to this thinking your weekend was boring, I promise you the small stuff counts too. You don't have to be out doing something epic to have a story worth telling. Sometimes the short but cute is enough. Anyways, I hope you did have a cozy weekend. Text your friends, plan that outing, or just sit by your own metaphorical fire pit and enjoy the quiet. And as always, guys, thank you for listening to me. And don't forget to follow Babbles Nonsense on Instagram or TikTok for more chaos and comfort. And until next time, bye, you know, you can do that.