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Decorating For Christmas!

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is decorating. Since my mom passed away last year, this has become a bittersweet memory for me because she loved decorating so much. Last year, I used a similar tree that we had in years past, but this year, my boyfriend and I purchased a pencil tree that is more pet-friendly. Much of my decor was passed down from my mom, other than a few exceptions.

To help get into the holiday spirit, I started by playing some holiday music. I have a Christmas playlist on Spotify that I’ve been loving and I have been listening to for the past few years.

The first thing that I did was take down all of my fall decor, which isn’t much other than crochet pumpkins. I have some knickknacks that were collected over the years, as well as a ceramic tree that I made last year, so I put those in a little display in my family room. What I love about this display versus having the tree there (which I’ve had in years past), is that it’s low-risk in case Lucy decides to jump on there. I did add my salt lamps, which are deep enough to keep Lucy from licking for an additional glow. In addition, I put my Christmas throw pillow on my recliner.

In the kitchen, I replaced our usual centerpiece with a ceramic Christmas tree that my mom made many years ago. It used to light up with a base, but because it looked questionable, I didn’t want to risk it so I turned it into a centerpiece.

In addition, I also changed up my fall signs to my Christmas Snoopy pictures that I got from TJ Maxx last year. I love Snoopy and it’s not a holiday for me without watching the Charlie Brown Christmas specials, so Snoopy is a huge part of my holiday decorating.

Finally, I changed my message board to say something more festive as well, which is seasons eatings and good spirits.

The last place that I put up Christmas decorations was the living room. The biggest one being the Christmas tree. Like I said earlier, this Christmas tree is new, because I wanted a taller tree that was more dog friendly. I also wanted it in the living room, because there is less of a chance for her to jump on it, and break anything. The pencil tree is something that takes up very little space, but is very tall. I like it because my house is on the smaller side, but it’s still fits perfectly. Many of the ornaments were my mom’s, and putting up the tree made me emotional because it was something that I did with my mom.

The last thing that I did was put up my stockings. Like I did last year, I put my mom’s stocking up, along with my stocking that I’ve had since I was born, and Lucy’s.

My decor is very simple, but every piece of it has a meaning to it. That’s what I love about Christmas. Christmas is one of the hardest times of year since losing my mom, since she was very into Christmas and decorating for the holiday.

Did you decorate for Christmas yet? Let me know in the comments below.

November Reading Wrap Ups/December TBR

I love doing the reading wrap-ups every month, and I am so glad to be continuing them again since I was taking a blogging break last month.

This month was a weird reading month. I read three very long fantasy novels, and also read (well listened to) an entire novel in a day. I also have read some of the Dash and Lily series after binge watching the series in two days.

December’s reading wrap up will likely consist of holiday reads. You can check out my holiday TBR by going to yesterday’s post. I also hope to get to the second Discovery of Witches novel (or at least start it) before the end of the year.

That said, here are all of the books that I read in November:

Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness: I gave this book a rating of four out of five stars. I loved this book, because it was Twilight for grownups with a twist. I liked the romance and the angst in the novels and flew through the second half of the book. That said, I did not find it realistic that Diana fell in love so quickly with Matthew. Unlike Bella in Twilight, she was not a complete damsel in distress. However, I didn’t believe it, because of the fact that she was a professor and she was a witch. That said, I still enjoyed the novel, and hope to continue with the series in 2021.

Presence by Marissa D’Angelo: I was gifted this book from the author, and will not rate that for that reason. The novel is about Adam, who follows in his father’s footsteps in becoming a photographer for a local newspaper. However, he is engrossed with the mystery of the local island. I will be writing a further review of this later on in the month, but in the mean time, you can check the book out here.

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout: I gave this book a rating of five out of five stars. This novel is about Poppy, who is the maiden. This means that she must remain pure and untouched. However, she is rebellious and learns how to fight despite this status. She is about to enter her Acension, which is something that she is terrified about. When she meets Hawke, her royal guard, she is challenged by a fallen kingdom, as well as the feelings of desire. I loved this book, and finished the second half of the book in a day. I loved that in the second half, there is a twist that I didn’t see coming, and I was left in awe.

Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout: I gave this book a rating of four out of five stars. This is the sequel to From Blood and Ash, and because of that, I will not give much away. I liked this book, and I didn’t. I wanted more answers about Poppy’s history, and was disappointed when there wasn’t. I did love the romance in the novel, and I still enjoyed reading it.
Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel Hollis: Remember that audiobook I was talking about earlier? Yeah, this is it. This is a great book to listen to if you’re going through something in life. I was so inspired and fired up after reading this and loved the audiobook. I gave this a solid five out of five stars.

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn: I gave this book five out of five stars. “Imagine this: you’re in your favorite bookstore, scanning the shelves. You get to the section where a favorite author’s books reside, and there, nestled in comfortably between the incredibly familiar spines, sits a red notebook.” That begins Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. I picked this book up after watching the movie and really enjoyed it. This was really cute, and I really enjoyed reading it. It was just what I needed to get into the holiday spirit.

12 Days of Dash and Lily by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn: I heard mixed reviews about the sequel, but I wanted to try it. And, I am glad that I did. I won’t give away much about the book, however, I did give it four out of five stars.

Christmas TBR

Welcome to Day Two of Blogmas! Today, I wanted to share my TBR for holiday themed reads.

I have held off reading Christmas/holiday themed books until now, because I like to save them for December to help me get into the holiday spirit.

This year, I only have a few books I want to get to, but nonetheless, am really excited to get to them.

That said, here is my holiday reading TBR:

1. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

2. Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

3. Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

4. Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

Like I said, it’s shorter than my usual TBRS. However, I am sure that I am going to enjoy each and every one of these books.

What I Love Wednesday December 2, 2020

Happy Wednesday and second day of Blogmas. I am so excited that we are now in the holiday season, because now I can listen to Christmas music and appreciate my Christmas tree. It is also the most challenging time of year for me, since Christmas without my mom isn’t easy. By doing Blogmas, it actually creates a distraction from all of the sadness of dealing with the loss of my mom.

That said, I wanted to share some of this week’s favorites.

Plastic Hearts by Miley Cyrus: I am such a huge fan of Miley Cyrus since she was Hannah Montana. In fact, I think I still have the Hannah Montana CDs in my house. That said, I really am loving her new album, Plastic Hearts. I am getting the 80s’ rock vibe from it, and I am here for this era of Miley Cyrus. My favorite songs are: Prisoner, WTF Do I Know, and Midnight Sky.

Rachel Hollis’ Didn’t See That Coming: I love Rachel Hollis’ new book. I listened to the audiobook a few weeks ago, even though I have the physical book. I am going to be honest, I loved the audiobook. It was really great to listen to. The book talks a lot about healing, and is something that is a great resource for someone that is grieving or going through something. Since I do have the physical book, I’ve been using that as a way to journal and reflect. I really recommend this book as a way to grow, and am considering getting her other two books — which I loved — on audio to serve as inspiration.

The Sopranos: I am so glad that I finally have the ability to binge my favorite shows now that I can use HBO Maxx on my Firestick (Thank you AT&T for including this in the plan.) I love this especially since I can finally watch the Sopranos in full. I am currently in season one, but I can’t wait to cross another show off of my list.

Madewell Roadtripper Jeans: I am a huge fan of Madewell, as many of you know. Nordstrom was having their Black Friday sales early this year, so I snagged a pair of these jeans. I got them the next day and wore them last Friday. These jeans are really comfortable, and they fit great. I loved them so much, I ended up purchasing a second pair actually. I can see these quickly becoming my new favorite pair of jeans.

New YouTubers: I stumbled across two Youtubers — helloxluxury and Angel Nguyen. They both talk about jewelry and luxury fashion. Even though I am not purchasing a luxury bag or item for a while, I still enjoy watching those type of videos, and they both give honest views on the products that they talk about. Therefore, I really enjoy their videos.

I Can’t Do Everything

First and foremost, happy December first. Happy holiday season. And, happy last month of 2020.

This post is to be the first in a series of 25 for Blogmas. Blogmas, for those of you who don’t know, is when I post a post everyday for the first 25 days of December. I joined mid-month last year, and it really kickstarted a year of growth for me.

I do want to talk about Blogmas and my perception towards blogging. I am beginning to experience blogger burnout.
In addition to blogging, I also work full-time. I also have other hobbies, such as reading, crocheting, and other crafts. And, I have adulting and family and friends.

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed a lot with balancing it all. However, it did dawn on me: I truly can’t do everything. There are only so many hours in the day, and there are so many things that I can do before I crash.

Therefore, I am realizing that I can’t do everything that I would like to. And, that’s okay.

Sure, it would be nice to read the amount of books that booktubers read, blog almost daily, and crochet all of the things. However, I just don’t have that luxury. And, lately, I’ve entered a reading slump as well.

So, instead of being so hard on myself, I am realizing that I can not do everything. I am not superwoman. I am simply a woman.

And, that’s okay.

As 2021 hits, I am working on creating a better balance with everything that I want to do. My main priorities will consist of work and my dog of course, but after that, I want to focus on enjoying everything more, and worrying about a goal less. And, part of that, was the realization that I truly can not do everything I would like to.

In terms of Blogmas, this means that I am going to try my best to get as many days posted as I can. If I can’t get them all, I’m going to not worry about it. At the end of the day, I would rather put out a post that is a quality read versus something that was whipped up.

And, that’s okay. If 2020 had taught us anything, it is to be gentle on ourselves and giving ourselves grace. This is me giving myself that some rights.

What I Love Wednesday: 11/25

Happy day before Thanksgiving everyone! Thanksgiving is looking a little different this year, but I wanted to take a moment to share some of my favorites from this past week, since next week is going to be Blogmas content. Can you believe that we’re already about to be in December? I can’t.
That said, this post will be the last of the week so I can enjoy a break blogging. So, without further adue, here are this week’s favorites:

Dash and Lily: I heard about this, and watched the first episode, and was instantly hooked. It is a Netflix show that is about a girl named Lily who leaves a red notebook in the Strand looking for love, and a lonely boy named Dash finds it and completes the challenge. The two begin to talk and they really hit it off. At the time of writing this post, I have binged watched six episodes, and am really looking forward to finishing the show. The show is a really quick watch, and I began reading the book as well. It is definitely a cute Christmas show if you’re looking for something to get you in the holiday spirit.

Pandora Beads and Pave Bracelet: I mentioned that I’ve been taking advantage of the Pandora sale and this is one of the things that I’ve purchased. I bought this a few weeks ago, and it came into the mail last week. I have not taken this off since I got it, and I like it that it’s a piece that I can wear with everything. I really love layering this with some other bracelets as well.

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread: My boyfriend got into Trader Joe’s this past week, and I was really excited that he did. One of the things that he purchased was their pumpkin bread, which is really delicious. I have had it with avocado and hummus, and it was delicious.

Trader Joe’s Vegan Mac and Cheese: It has been seven years since I’ve had Macaroni and Cheese. My boyfriend also picked this up, and I really enjoyed it with broccoli. I am the type of person who is skeptical when it comes to vegan items and was pleasantly surprised that this tasted as good as it was. It’s amazing, and I recommend it if you’re dairy-free like I am.

Diamonique Hoop Earring Set: I’ve mentioned my love for Diamonique before, and I got this earrings partially for myself and partially as a gift set that I will spilt to many people. I kept a few pairs to myself, and I really love them. They are lightweight but they still pack a statement. I highly recommend these for gift giving — and for yourself.

Tech Tuesday: I Bought an iPod touch in 2020. Here’s Why

I’ve been a fan of the iPod for a very long time. In the late 2000s, I was always either downloading new songs onto it, or listening to music. And, I liked every kind of genre, from rock music, to pop and country.

10 years later, not much has changed.

In that time, I have since gotten an iPhone and Spotify. I love streaming, because it’s so easy to find something that you want and transfer it to device to device. However, I do not love the fact that I have to basically carry my phone with me everywhere while I work out or even when I want to unplug from the world.

Unfortunately, the iPod Touch that I was using had died and it was 8 GB. I was gifted an iPod touch from my friends, but the battery never worked and I eventually outgrew the iPod. Then, last year, I purchased a Space Gray iPod Touch when they discontinued the previous generation and the battery life never worked from day one, despite the fact that I bought it to Apple several times. Because of the battery life never lasting, I never used it much.

I decided it was time to upgrade to an iPod Touch. As you may know, that iPod is the only one that is available now, since the Nano, Shuffle, and Classic are now discontinued.

I ended up purchasing an iPod Touch 256 GB in the Product Red color. I purchased it a week and a half ago, and so far I am loving it.

This device is a well needed upgrade for me. I love having it with me when I work out, because my AirPods work wonderfully with it, and it’s a lot better to work out with than my phone since I can just listen to the music instead of being distracted by the notifications on my phone.

Furthermore, the device also has amazing battery life. I’ve seen some reviews online that said that it was a lot worse than the previous generation and that is not the case whatsoever.

So, many of you are wondering why someone would buy an iPod when they have their iPhone. Well, for me it’s just to keep my 6,500 songs off of my phone. I can use my Spotify on my iPod, so that’s really helpful. However, I don’t want to overwhelm my memory on my phone with my music if I didn’t have to.

And, I am sure that there are many people out there who have a larger music collection and just want to keep their phone’s memory free. I can see those who were a big fan of their iPod classic loving this, as well as those who just loving the fact that you can have music to listen on a separate device.

This device is also great for someone who is active like me. Mine only has music and Audible, so I don’t get push notifications on it. This is great to take on a run, since you don’t have to worry about dropping your phone when you’re running as well.

Furthermore, this is something that is great for kids. It’s basically an iPhone without the phone, which is great if you don’t want to give a child a smartphone yet. I am sure this device is amazing for games and for watching videos.

So, overall I am really happy with my iPod purchase and have no regrets about purchasing the device whatsoever.

Do you have an iPod? If so, let me know in the comments below.

Shopping My Way Around CT: Oronoque Farm in Shelton CT

As Thanksgiving approaches, my boyfriend and I wanted to pick up some unbaked pies for Thanksgiving. Even though Thanksgiving is looking a lot different for us than in previous years, we still wanted to get a classic Thanksgiving dessert. So, we decided to check out Oronoque Farms Gifts and Bakery in Shelton.

When we stepped out of the car, we were instantly greeted with the smelled of freshly baked apple treats. We’ll get to those in a minute.

Inside, this shop had a little bit of everything — from soaps and lotions, to jewelry and unique home decor. There were also a ton of Christmas decor. Furthermore, this shop has a lot of old fashioned candy, and chocolate covered pretzels, which are my favorite. This is an amazing place to get some gifts as we enter the holiday season, and it’s a great way to shop locally.

Now, let’s talk about the baked goods. This is a great way to buy desserts for Thanksgiving. At that time, they did not recommend buying pies that were already made, so my boyfriend ended up purchasing an unbaked pie. I did purchase a pie for my grandma, and it was still warm.

Their pie selection is massive. Here is a full list of their pies here:

In addition to pies, they also sell apple cider donuts, fudge, and apple cinnamon crumb cake. I purchased their apple cider donuts, and they were outstanding. They also had cookies, and some frozen pies that you can defrost as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed going to this bakery, and despite the fact that this Thanksgiving looks a little different this year, I am so happy that we can have a small piece of Thanksgiving tradition.

Christmas 2020 Wishlist

Can you believe that the holiday season is upon us? I still can not believe that 2020 has gone by as quickly as it. And, 2020 was quite a year from everything that happened in the world. I hope that 2021 is a better year for us all.

Now, I’ve watched so many of these videos on YouTube, and I wanted to create my own, as I did last year, because I enjoyed doing so. As I said last year, I’m not expecting to get any of these from anyone, but maybe I’ll look to cross these items out to treat myself with. Or, this can also serve as a good reference for someone who is looking for gift ideas for the holiday season.

One thing that I noticed is compared to last year, my list is more simplistic and meant for the home versus for myself. I wonder if that’s something that happens when you get older, but with any case, here’s my Christmas wishlist for this year:

Ember Mug: I am a huge coffee and tea drinker. I found this mug when I was looking at getting my iPod, and I love this. What is really cool about this mug is that it is a smart mug that you can control the temperature with. I love this as well because you can keep your drink warm for over an hour, which is something that I think I will enjoy at work and at home since I love drinking tea and coffee hot.
Cutting Boards: I actually don’t have cutting boards, and I think that as my boyfriend does more cooking, it might be a good idea to have a more staple surface to chop vegetables on.
Cookie Cutters: One of the things that really helps me with stress relief is baking. When making cookies recently, it dawned on me that I didn’t have any cookie cutters. I recently bought one that was shaped like a dog, however, I want to expand my collection.
Pandora Christmas Charms: I am a big fan of Pandora Jewelry and have expanded my collection in the past year thanks to the fact that Jared has discontinued to carry Pandora, and has 50 percent off of Pandora jewelry pieces. I love collecting charms, and I want to add a few to my collection. Many Pandora fanatics often interchange them and only wear them seasonally, however, I don’t. I like to wear them regularly because it makes me think of the day/person that gave it to me. Some of my Christmas charms are actually my favorite, because they remind me when my mom used to give me charms when I was younger as well. The two that I have my eye on are the Red Nosed Reindeer Charm and the Christmas Tree Charm.
Giftcards: Last, but certainly not least, the one thing that I really want this year for Christmas is gift cards. I purchased a Kindle Oasis, and so I want to get Amazon gift cards to download books on as well.

So that is my Christmas list. Honestly, the best part about this holiday is the fact that this is the first holiday that my boyfriend and I are making our own traditions. I am really enjoying the fact that I am healthy and have a lot to be grateful for, even though Christmas is one of the hardest times of the year for me since it was one of my mom’s favorite holidays.

What is on your Christmas list this year? Let me know in the comments below?

What I Love Wednesday: November 18, 2020

Happy Wednesday everyone! How is everyone doing? I am preparing for a social distancing winter and potentially for stricter guidelines pretty much during the winter season. For me, that just means a few extra trips to Joann Fabrics and Michaels to bulk up my yarn stash, since that was something that I had a lot of trouble with during the first phase of COVID.

That said, I wanted to share this week’s favorites. They are a little bit random, but I am still happy to share them with you.

Adina’s Jewels Gothic Initial Pendent:

You can say that I was influenced by Brooke Miccio for this purchase. She wears the gold necklace with a B, and I loved it. Furthermore, Adina’s had a 50 percent off sale, and I knew that it was meant to be to grab it. The shipping was really quick, and I am really happy that I ended up purchasing it because I’ve been wearing it a lot since receiving it.

Music:

I’ve been getting into music more and more since I got my iPod Touch. Since I’ve been listening to a lot of different music, I’ll just list my favorites here: Positions (album) by Ariana Grande, Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus, and Stevie Knicks along with Fleetwood Mac. I’m sure that I’ll be listing more music favorites again now that I’ll be listening to music more frequently.

Pandora Jewelry:

I have been taking advantage of the Pandora Black Friday sale, as well as the Jared 50 percent off sale. I did purchase the Cinderella ring, and am waiting for the other packages to arrive in the mail. Furthermore, I recently redid my Pandora bracelet from when I was a kid, and have been wearing it all of the time. What I love about Pandora is that with every piece that I received new, the quality really stands up. Some of my pieces are over a decade old, and they still look new. Furthermore, many of my charms were gifts from my mom throughout the years, so I am happy to wear them again.

Disney Movies:

You can say that I have been getting my money’s worth from my Disney Plus membership this past week. I’ve been watching – binging I should say – Disney movies. So far, I’ve watched Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Princess and the Frog, Lady and the Tramp, Aladdin, and Arsitocats. I started Brave, but really didn’t enjoy that one as much. Watching Disney movies have been providing me a lot of comfort, and now I get the millennial obsession with Disney characters.