Show Us Your Books: December

It's the first SUYB of the new year- hooray! Unfortunately, I'm off to a slow start this year, but hopefully I'll find my reading mojo soon. Last year I'd set my Goodreads goal at 25, and wound up reading 53! So this year I've set my goal to 50. So far, I've read 1 lol. But it's still January! I'm also participating in Erin's latest reading challenge (further below), so that should definitely help! Here's what I've read since last time...


Almost Midnight: 2 Festive Short Stories- Rainbow Rowell: 4.5 Stars
library hard-back

My love affair with Rainbow Rowell continues. This was 2 short stories by her, Almost Midnight and Kindred Spirits. I loved this. Almost Midnight was about two friends who meet every year on NYE for 4 years and how their relationship changes. Kindred Spirits was about a Star Wars fangirl who stands on line for the latest movie and the relationship she has with the others in line. This one fell a little short for me; I definitely wanted more. But overall it was a fast fluffy read, which is exactly what I was in the mood for. 

An Almost Perfect Christmas- Nina Stibbe: 2 Stars
library hard-back

This was supposed to be a humorous memoir. It was basically a collection of short essays. Parts of it did give me a chuckle, but overall it was just very British. Like, so British that the language often confused me and the references didn't work for me. And one of the essays, "A Christmas Lunch" I think it was called, didn't make any sense at all. It wasn't about Nina and I have no idea what happened at the end. I think had this been set in the U.S. or if I'd known ahead that the whole thing was set in England I would have enjoyed it more. 

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Here's my list! So excited to participate again!

•Freebie: The Adults- Caroline Hulse
•Made into a movie: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
•Set in Europe: It Started With Paris- Cathy Kelly
•Newbery Award Winner/Honor Book: Long Way Down- Jason Reynolds
•A friend or family’s favorite: The Bookshop of Yesterdays - Amy Meyerson
•Published over 100 years ago: Little Women- Louisa May Alcott
•Six words in the title: The Benefits of Being An Octopus- Ann Braden
•Compass or cardinal direction in the title: Into The Beautiful North- Luis Alberto Urrea
•Originally published in a different language: P.S. From Paris- Marc Levy
•Begins with the letter N: Nine Perfect Strangers- Liane Moriarty

What are you reading lately?

Linking up with Steph and Jana!

TBB Asks: Entertainment

Books you have read multiple times: I've never read a book more than once! 

Favorite Book/Author of all time: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. I think my favorite author would be Gillian Flynn because she's the only author I've read everything by, though Rainbow Rowell is a very close second! 

Favorite TV Show to Binge: Friday Night Lights (Hulu) and The L Word (Netflix). There are rumors that The L Word may be rebooted as well, which I would LOVE! 

Favorite New-ish TV Show: 9-1-1, The Good Doctor, A Million Little Things, Station 19

Favorite Movie of all time: Pretty Woman and Love Actually 

Movie you are looking forward to watching: 

On the Basis of Sex (out now- the Ruth Bader Ginsburg story) 

Glass (Jan 18- M. Night Shyamalan's follow up to Unbreakable and Split) 

Captain Marvel (Mar 8) 

Pet Sematary (Apr 5)

Avengers: Endgame (Apr 26- the follow up to Avengers: Infinity War) 

Zombieland 2 (Oct 11) 

Dark Phoenix (June 7- an X-Men spinoff featuring Jean Grey) 

Star Wars 9 (Dec 20)

First Concert you attended: So, funny story. The first concert I saw was by accident- I was at the New Jersey State Fair and David Hasselhoff was performing! I think I was about 9? He gave me a signed CD though! The first one I paid to see was radio station Z100's "Zootopia." I remember seeing Britney Spears, 98 Degrees, UB40, and Willa Ford. 

Ultimate concert (even if it can't happen): I've been extremely fortunate the last two years and already saw my favorites. P!NK, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, and Foo Fighters were all excellent!

Favorite music artist/band: I used to be obsessed with Nelly Furtado. Like, I had a "Nelly Wall" with magazine cutouts of her taking up an entire wall of my bedroom and even friends who found pics of her would give them to me to add to the wall. Now though, it changes all the time. CHVRCHES, Betty Who, and Misterwives are all current faves. 

How do you listen (streaming, CD, vinyl)? Streaming through Spotify, or via my iPod mini when commuting. 

What was the first concert you attended? 

Linking up with The Blended Blog!

What's New With Me Currently

airplane view coming into NYC from Nashville

Reading: The Adults- Caroline Hulse

Watching: A lot! Saw Aquaman in the theater- it was okay. There was a lot of CGI but I don't know how they could have produced it any other way and once you got over that it was a little long but pretty good.

Bird Box was a bit creepy but not really scary, if that makes sense? I thought it was really well done though! (Also, not sure if it matters but I didn't read the book.)

Dumplin' was adorable. 

Relatable with Ellen DeGeneres was... unrelatable. I like her as a talk and game show host but her stand up is running dry. 

The Haunting of Hill House literally scared me. I get scared when things jump out at me, so yeah. I watched the first half right before bed one night and had to rationalize with myself why I had no reason to be scared. Overall I thought it was really good until the last episode. 

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is delightful! It's like Hoarders but less disgusting and more realistic, and she gives extra little tips in each episode. 

Looking forward to: me and Blue's anniversary this weekend. We're going to see Pretty Woman the Musical on Broadway and eat dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

Annoyed at: myself for not buying a 2019 planner sooner. Of course I started looking after Christmas and Michael's is all sold out of the mini happy planner I want. I even went to 2 different stores looking for them but they were sold out there too! Le sigh. 

Choosing: a word/phrase for 2019, which I'll be sharing next week.

Tidying: my living room. I packed away my Christmas decorations on New Years Day, but then I realized I had a blank space where the tree stood so I rearranged some furniture and am happier with the results, but still not completely pleased.

Resolving: to get back in the kitchen and meal plan. I got a programmable crock pot for Christmas (with the auto warm setting when it's done- yesss!) and a crock-pot cookbook so once I hit the store I should be all set! 

Exploring: vacation idea for Spring. I'm hoping to go to a conference in Denver in March and see some friends while I'm there, but I also would like to head to a Caribbean island soon too. Maybe Aruba?

Refreshing: my skin care routine, which I stopped doing like 3 months ago? I don't even remember why or when exactly I stopped, I just did. Anyway, time to get back into the habit!

What's Going On: December flew by and though I love it because it's my birthday month, I'm a Grinch and therefore I'm thrilled that the holiday season is over. 

My mom took me out to dinner, my neighbor surprised me with wine and balloons, but the real birthday celebration was the following week when Blue and I went to Nashville. We went to museums, ate lots of Southern food, and listened to a ton of great music. Full recap coming next week!

Christmas was fine. My mom was supposed to stay over my apartment from Christmas Eve through Dec. 26th but she didn't show. I spent Christmas Eve morning opening presents with Blue. She was super excited about the classic Super Nintendo, and I love that I was able to capture her reaction above! Christmas Day I did not put on real clothes and spent the day on my couch reading, ordered Chinese food, and drank wine, and honestly it was perfect. 

Other December Things:

• Michael and I went to see Michelle Obama's "Becoming" book tour
• I passed, and finally received my Gold Certificate from a work conference a month ago
• A bunch of friends and I went to see The Roots Holiday tour
• I found a new-to-me favorite beer, Goose Island Parka Porter 
• Rang in the new year with the Mountain Mamas (I did not have to put on a coat or shoes because the hostess lived downstairs in Blue's building- huzzah)! 

What's currently new with you? 

Linking up with Anne and Kristen! 

Favorite Books of 2018

I'm doing things a little different for my favorite books post today. I found this "Mid-Year Freakout Tag" on Emily's blog, who says it is a BookTube thing. I decided to make it into a full year "freakout." In her words:

The Mid-Year Freakout Tag is an annual tradition in the "BookTube" world where people make videos to do a mid-year summary of what they've read so far. Basically, ending with everyone freaking out realizing that the year is half over and no one has read all of the books they intended to so far.

Best book you’ve read this year?

Nope... can't pick just one! 

Simon vs. The Homo Sapien's Agenda- Becky Albertalli

Elineanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman

Little Fires Everywhere- Celeste Ng

The Grownup- Gillian Flynn

The Woman in the Window- A.J. Finn

The Roanoke Girls- Amy Engel

One Of Us Is Lying- Karen McManus

Best sequel you've read so far this year?

Puddin' by Julie Murphy was the only sequel I read this year, but I enjoyed it more than Dumplin'! 

New release you haven't read yet, but want to?

I actually already have a copy of this sitting in my Kindle but I needed a break from thrillers for some light, fluffy holiday reads right now. 

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I was on the wait list for the e-book at the library since July 31st and I just got it in time for holiday break! 

Biggest disappointment?

I wanted to like this so much more than I actually did. It had a strong premise- an intimate (fictional) account of Eleanor Roosevelt's relationship with "first friend" Lorena Hickok. While some parts were really interesting, there was too much backstory about Hick's childhood and I got bored fairly quickly.

Biggest surprise?

I picked this up due to the title alone because I thought it was cute. I thought it would be a YA romance type book, but it touched on a lot of very serious subjects. I just loved the quirky characters, their completely unlikely friendship, and the ending tugged at my heartstrings. 

 

Favorite new author (debut or new to you)?

Becky Albertalli. Hands down. I want to read everything by her now! 

Newest fictional crush?

Dean Holder from Hopeless! So brooding, so passionate. I want to read his side of the story in Losing Hope next.

Newest favorite character?

Ruby from The Darkest Minds. I admired her strength as she grew in the camps, even with guards abusing them at every turn, and her eventual escape when all felt lost. She has both terrible and wonderful traits, and is written to show all the different aspects that make up a person...one of the best, multi-faceted characters I've read in a while.

Book that made you cry?
Books don't tend to make me cry, but this one broke my heart into a million little pieces.

Favorite book-to-film adaptation you saw this year?
I actually read quite a few book to film/TV adaptions this year- You, The Haunting of Hill House, The Darkest Minds, A Wrinkle in Time, Dumplin',... but Love, Simon takes the cake! 

Most beautiful book you've bought/received read?

Definitely Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi! 

      

What were yours favorite reads of the year?
Linking up with Steph and Jana!

Jingle All the Way- Holiday Music, Movies, Decor

Hi friends! This was supposed to go up on Monday but like everything else recently, I'm late. I feel like Christmas is coming up super fast this year and I'm still not ready! I finished wrapping everything at my house last night, but still have gifts to wrap at Blue's this weekend. Luckily we have an early dismissal today so I'll be able to get a bit of a head start on the weekend! Anyway, today I'm sharing some of my favorite holiday music, movies and ornaments. 

Movies

Elf

Love, Actually

The Holiday

It's A Wonderful Life

And of course... Die Hard

Songs

All I Want For Christmas- Mariah Carey

Santa's Coming For Us- Sia

You Make It Feel Like Christmas- Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton
The 12 Pains of Christmas- Bob Rivers

Decor

This is my little pre-lit tree. It sits on top of my coffee table- that's how small it is! But it's perfect for my small apartment and I love it. My mom bought it for me from Rite Aid or CVS or one of those stores on Christmas Eve a few years ago after realizing I didn't have one. I usually put it up the week after Thanksgiving and take it down around Three Kings Day (Jan 6).

The base gets covered by fake snow and some of the heavier ornaments that I'm afraid would fall and break if I tried to hang them. Below the table sit a fake present, my two goofy little gnomes, my personal shopper nutcracker, and an angel doll that I've had forever but have no idea where it actually came from. Now for the ornaments! 

This is my oldest ornament, which I made in Kindergarten (I can tell by my shirt in the picture - always ready for a party!). The footprint is from a dinosaur. I have no idea why lol. 

One tradition I've started in the last 7 years or so is picking up an ornament from wherever I travel. Here's a whiskey barrel stopper from Bardstown, KY, a little ship with lights from Mystic, CT, a light post from New Orleans, and a Christmas ball from Hollywood. 

Aside from getting ornaments from vacation spots, I usually pick one or two up in those outdoor holiday markets, like Winter Village in Bryant Park (NY). The shiny hippopotamus on skis is one of my very favorite ornaments! The two in the middle are from my mom, and of course I gotta get my Star Wars droids up there! 

I love getting ornaments from friends too. I got a set of Starbucks red cups with a mug from a coworker, the little owl from a fellow blogger in a swap years ago, this fancy Lenox one from a family friend, and "Love the Wine You're With" from one of the Mountain Mamas. 

How do you decorate for the season? 

Linking up with TBB and Girl Chat!

Top 10: Books on my Winter TBR List

I'm back from vacation and a day late with linking up my Winter TBR list! I like reading books set in the season we're in (as in, I'm not going to be reading Summer Sisters during Christmas time- it just feels weird). With Winter (and Christmas!) upon us, I've put together a list of books I'm hoping to get through this season. You'll notice a lot of light fluffy rom com type reads, which is one of my favorite genres, but one I've neglected recently. Usually I try to read books I currently own, either digitally or paperbacks, but I don't have any of these so my library will be my BFF this time around. Here's what's on the list so far. 

Almost Midnight- Rainbow Rowell
I know this is supposed to be a TBR list, but it came in to my library earlier than expected so I read these two short stories in like an hour on my plane ride to Nashville the other day. I was super excited that they had it because I'm a really big Rainbow Rowell fan and these two did not disappoint. The first was about two high schoolers who meet on NYE at a mutual friend's party, and how their relationship progresses over the next 4 years. The second was about an 18 yo fan-girl standing on line for the latest "Star Wars" movie (yaaaas!). They were both super fast reads and if you're in the mood for something quick, light, and gives you a bit of the feels, I highly recommend! 

Nine Perfect Strangers- Liane Moriarty (currently reading)
I was planning on reading this for Erin's 10.0 Reading Challenge (starting 1/1/19), but I pre-ordered it back in July (I was #99) and it just became available to me via my library over the weekend, so of course I started reading it immediately. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through but so far I'm loving it! I've only one other book by this author, but I have a feeling  she's going to become a favorite very soon! 

The Adults- Caroline Hulse
A contemporary fiction in which a divorced couple decides that's in their daughter's "best interest" to have a "normal" Christmas holiday... with both of their new significant others in attendance! As a child of divorced parents myself, it sounded pretty funny, though (thankfully) neither of my parents did this to me! It's been compared to The Break by Marian Keyes and The Rosie Project, but I haven't read either of those so the verdict is still out on that one!

Little Women- Louisa May Alcott
Ahh, a classic I've been meaning to read for years! Not sure if this one actually takes place around Christmas or if I'm just imagining it that way, but it always seemed like a "winter" read in my head. I'm reading this one for Erin's 10.0 Challenge so it's on pause until the new year, but I'm definitely looking forward finally reading it! 

The Little Book of Hygge- Meik Wiking
The idea of Hygge has gotten very popular in recent years, and who doesn't want to add a bit of cozy happy to their lives? The singular non-fiction in the bunch, I'm hoping to learn more about Danish culture and find ways to incorporate some of their practices into my daily life this season. 

Twelve Days of Dash and Lily- Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Have I ever mentioned that 12 is my favorite number? (My birthday is 12/12 and I'm my grandparents' 12th grandchild!) Apparently this is #2 in a series, but I saw that it can be read as a standalone. While I'll most likely pick up the first one afterwards, I'm very excited to check out this YA rom-com.

One Day in December- Josie Silver
The meet-cute-esque plotline totally caught my attention, and it takes place in December! I'm a bit nervous about the ending TBH, but hoping for the best for these two star-crossed lovers. 

My True Love Gave To Me: 12 Holiday Stories- Stephanie Perkins, et. al. 
I've never read anything by Stephanie Perkins or any of the other authors featured in this collection with the exception of Rainbow Rowell, but it sounds like a bunch of cute YA short stories to be sure to this little Grinchy heart into the holiday season! 

Let It Snow: 3 Holiday Romances- John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
So I just started reading John Green this year (I know, I know, super late to the party), and I really like his work. More YA romance that may not be for everyone, but I'm curious and looking forward to more light-hearted Christmassy themed stories! 

An Almost Perfect Christmas- Nina Stibbe
Oops, I just realized I listed The Little Book of Hygge as my only non-fiction of the season, but I forgot that this is auto-biographical! 

Have you read any of these? 

What's on deck for you this season?

Linking up with The Artful Reader! 

35 Beliefs

Good morning friends! Today is my birthday- wooot! I'm not one to shy away from my birthday or hide my age or worry about getting older. Nope, I fully embrace it and try to live every day as positively as I can. Here are 35 of my other "life beliefs." 

sparkly sweater F21, jeans Express, bag H&M, necklace gift

female friendships are important

freedom

the power of music to change your mood

traveling abroad is not only exciting, but necessary to truly understanding different cultures

there is much room for growth right here in America

wishing on pennies thrown into fountains

picking up (heads up) pennies in the street

taking "me" time, regardless of how you spend it

that fleece, cotton, and jersey materials are comforting

in making a wish when blowing out candles, and not just those on a birthday cake

change is necessary for growth, regardless of whether we like it or not

in speaking my mind 

carbs. and cheese.

cheap dates

living in the moment

comfortable underwear

taking time for yourself

"work hard, play hard"

surprises

cuddles

venting

having some privacy

basic workplace etiquette

having fun

having hobbies

doing what you love

making mistakes, and learning from them

karma

randomness 

finding (or creating) happiness in every day

long distance phone calls

perfect fitting jeans

paying it forward

forgiveness

"Everything happens for a reason"

What are some of your beliefs?
Linking up my favorite outfit on TBB!