What I Wore Last Week

Posted November 5, 2018 / Currently, Lifestyle, Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

I really don’t consider myself to be a ~fashionable~ person, but I do try to put together good-looking outfits! The VAST majority of my closet consists of Lularoe or Honey & Lace (that was a long phase of my life and I acquired way too much – I don’t buy anymore but I still kept the stuff I liked!) and Old Navy. It wouldn’t surprise me if I went through and looked at everything in there, only to discover that literally 90% of my clothing came from those few brands. Old Navy will always be my first love though! I buy all of my pants/jeans/bottoms from them and most of my shirts (including sweaters, cardigans, basics, etc.) from there as well. I DIGRESS. I saw this fun “what I wore this week” post on A Little Bit of Emily and decided to do the same! We’re finally hitting cooler weather in Connecticut! I feel like it went from being super hot and humid, to just plain humid, to humid and rainy, to just rainy, and now it’s more cold and still sometimes rainy. It’s annoying because we love hiking and hanging outside in the fall, when it’s in the 50s or 60s, but everything has been so wet. In any case, I’m happy to be wearing my sweaters, scarves, and boots again! Monday October 22nd Since losing weight, I had to shrink some of my previously-air-dried clothing items so they would fit. I’m happy to have this problem! I wore […]

Some Adult Fiction On My TBR

Posted November 2, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 3 Comments

You all know that I read mostly YA fiction, but I’ve noticed a trend toward ~adult~ fiction, either contemporary or mystery/thrillers. A lot of it is because I’ve been binge-reading one author’s cozy mystery series a for a month or so, but I’ve found myself adding more books that are closer to my age target. I feel very in-between YA and adult though because so many books are about divorce or familial problems with characters 40+ years old. Someone in their late-twenties or early-thirties is more in my range of life experiences, so I’ve been excited to see some of those books coming to fruition lately. Here are some of the top adult/older fiction books on my TBR! Life on the Leash by Victoria Shade September 2018 | Goodreads Must Love Dogs meets My Not So Perfect Life in this hilarious romantic comedy about a dog trainer who’s a master at managing her four-legged friends, but when it comes to her love life…let’s just say she still has a lot to learn. Cora Bellamy is a woman who thrives on organization. She’s successfully run her own dog training business for years, perfectly content with her beloved rescue pitbull as the main man in her life. She’s given everything to her business, and her lack of social life (or slobber-free clothes) has been completely worth it. But all that changes when she meets Charlie Gill, the hottest client she’s ever had. The only problem? Charlie’s taken. Luckily, Cora has a new friend—the sweet, lovably […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | October 2018

Posted November 1, 2018 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 5 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. I’m back into my slow reading habits, as you learned in my post about playing catch-up from this month. I don’t know what it is, guys. I’m reading so much slower than usual, prioritize every other thing over reading, and hardly ever have the motivation to read. I’ve been binge-reading the Rose Gardner mystery series, which has been good and addicting at times, but I’m still just kind of slogging through everything otherwise. I was able to pull off a few reads in the latter half of the month (thank you, graphic novels and novellas) to catch up a little more. All of the books read this month: Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge 3 read this month | 37 read total | 71% NG ratio Popsugar Reading Challenge 3 read this month | 36 read total | 90% complete Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge 0 read this month | 10 read total | 83% complete None this month! Seasonal Bingo Not fully updated right now because I was too lazy, but cross off space/stars and pretty spine. Breakdown: 1 bought | 0 borrowed | […]

ARC Review: Toil & Trouble Anthology

Posted October 31, 2018 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

I recently worked my way through this anthology in the week leading up to today – Halloween! – so I thought it would be perfect to post it today. I’ve had the egalley for a while and mixed in the audiobook too. As usual with anthology reviews, you can see reviews for each story below, along with the cumulative star rating in the book info area above. The cumulative rating for the stories came to about 3.25 stars, so I decided to round up to 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this anthology overall more than my ratings may imply. There were a lot of great stories and it comes as no surprise to me that my favorites were more contemporary-oriented. It was harder for me to get into the historical ones or straight-up paranormal/fantasy. However, it’s nice that this feels super well-rounded! I think there’s a story in here for readers of all genres and types. Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia This story was actually my first foray into bruja books. I’ve had some on my TBR but I don’t often read witchy books to begin with. I loved the main character, Luna, and her interest in (or abilities related to) astrology. The fact that her story/romance involved fighting with an astronomy enthusiast was awesome. Opposites attract, eh? Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer Interesting and odd, but not for me I guess? I know it’s hard to do a lot in a short amount of pages but this one, unfortunately, felt a […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #207: Halloween

Posted October 30, 2018 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Halloween Over the Years & Some Favorites Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I can’t lie, I’m not really a Halloween person. There are a lot of movies I like to watch each year and think dressing up can be fun, but I’m not really a Halloween-ish reader or fan of super scary movies. I thought I would do a little round-up of Halloween-related posts I’ve done and highlight some spooky-ish favorites from over the years. Guest Posts for Fortnight of Fright I’ve participated in Fortnight of Fright multiple times since I started blogging and had the pleasure of posting on the blogs of all three hostesses 😉 I’ve talked about less spooky Halloween media that I love, as well as my birthday trip to Salem from last year. 2014: Halloween Movies & Shows on Tripping Over Books 2015: Less Creepy Halloween at Books Take You Places 2017: Birthday Trip to Salem, MA at Book Addict’s Guide Top Ten Tuesdays You can always count on a TTT post to highlight Halloween near the end of October! Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve done some fun Halloween-related posts over the years. Here are some highlights… Books/Movies to Read/Watch for […]

November & December TBR – Finishing Challenges

Posted October 29, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 Comments

I always do some check-ins in the middle of the year and again toward the end of the year, because you know I’m trying to finish my challenges successfully! I try to make a big TBR post that highlights all of the books I should read before the end of the year and usually writing this in November kicks me into gear. How is the year almost over?! HELP. Because I can’t decide which end-of-year books I want to read dependent on the month (and have a separate holiday TBR posting mid-November), I thought I would highlight what books I should read OVERALL between Nov/Dec to get my challenges done with. My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. October Progress Another successful TBR month! It helps that I’ve been binging that series, TBH, but still! I’ll take progress wherever I can. From left to right above… I read two more Rose Gardner books, my two book club picks for October (one early in the month and one later), one blog tour book, an egalley I was hoping to get to for the Halloween feels, and a library book. Book Club EOY TBR The Reckoning of Noah […]

No Spend November

Posted October 26, 2018 / Goals & Planning, Personal / Information / Etc. / 5 Comments

I attempted No Spend April a few years ago and it wasn’t the most successful thing ever? I like the sound of No Spend November and genuinely think I can make this happen. My weddings are officially done for the year but I do have some general spending to do for next year’s weddings and Christmas. This November I am aiming to not spend money on myself at all and limit my spending on other people, food, etc. I just developed a monthly calendar that shows all of my expenses, so I’ll include that here. Here’s my plan of attack. Budget / Expenses I didn’t disclose the dollar amounts here but I put them in order from most to least expensive. Yes, my student loan costs more than my half of our monthly rent. I otherwise have various payments for my car, streaming services, and more. Student loan Rent for the house Car loan Car insurance Credit card monthly payments Internet Sling TV and Netflix Blog hosting Wrestling-related streaming services Dropbox Premium Weight Watchers Rules (1) Only spend money I have on hand – nothing goes on a credit card I actually don’t have many credit cards in general: one store card, one regular one, and a Paypal Credit account that I use mostly for airline tickets and other expensive items like that. I hope to not use any of my credit accounts and focus on using my savings from the month on paying them down. (2) Dining out is […]

Blog Tour | The Witch of Willow Hall (Giveaway!)

Posted October 25, 2018 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I always attempt to read fall-time reads (books about witches, Halloween, and other general creepiness or mysteries), so this book seemed like it’d be right up my alley. I like historical fiction books but generally prefer that they have some kind of fantasy/paranormal elements to keep me going, so again – this was a great option for me this October! I’ll be honest, it was still mostly out of my wheelhouse. I also decided to mix in the audiobook in between reading the egalley. I kind of liked the narrator’s voice because it did seem to match the time period, but it was always a little jarring when I pressed “play” and heard it again after a while. Her voice is very unique and somewhat off-putting at times, which unfortunately can affect the characters for me. I’m glad I mixed up listening and reading though, so I could picture the characters in my own way when I finished the book off via egalley. The first quarter of the book spent a lot of time setting the stage and allowing the family to settle in to their new surroundings. They were shamed out of Boston, for some mysterious and scandalous reason that takes a while to come out, and are settling in New Oldbury, MA. They start to get some visitors (the father’s business partners) who grow close to the family and don’t seem to know about their scandal. There are weird occurrences in the house that mostly affect the two […]

Autumn Decorations and Adventures

Posted October 24, 2018 / Lifestyle, Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

I love September and beyond. Sure, summer is great, but I prefer not to sweat all of my makeup off immediately. My birthday, anniversary, and the start of football season in September bring me a hell of a lot of joy. I make big autumn plans and bucket lists every year, which usually involve many decorations, pumpkin picking, and other falltime activities around New England. I thought I’d follow up with you and share some of my decorations this year, as well as other autumn highlights and adventures! I also decided to work on the TBB Asks survey this month because it’s fall-themed (it’s supposed to be from the beginning of the month but oh well). I like all the fall colors, but I often dress in maroon/burgundy shades and lately some mustard! Apple cider should always be cold. LOVE it, especially when it comes fresh from a local orchard. Nope, I’m not a caramel kind of gal. I don’t like it when it’s all sticky (like on a caramel apple or in a candy bar), but I don’t mind something with caramel flavoring (like coffee). Hmm this should be tougher because I love all things pumpkin, but apple cider donuts are my freakin FAVORITE THING. They are so sugary and delicious. Our farmers market usually has a truck with fresh ones but they haven’t been around lately as much 🙁 I love long cardigans because I will mostly wear them with comfy leggings and a basic shirt underneath. In […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #206: Villains

Posted October 23, 2018 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 6 Comments

Fascinating & Complex Villains Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I originally wasn’t even going to do this topic because honestly I’m not REALLY one to love villains, care about them, read books from their POVs, etc… I decided to instead take the plunge and talk about some of the most fascinating villains overall: the ones I love to hate, the ones I hate that I love, the most intriguing ones – you name it. The last time we had this topic, I did “villain superlatives” and also listed ~punchable~ characters (not villains, just annoying people!). Here are some of the most intriguing villains I’ve read about… The Darkling from the Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo Catherine from Heartless by Marissa Meyer Dinah from the Queen of Hearts Saga by Colleen Oakes AIDAN from the Illuminae trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Levana from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer Ignifex from Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Basically everyone from The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Lirael from The Unquiet by Mikaela Everett The Descendants (Mal, Jay, Evie, Carlos) from The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz Legend from the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber