Spending my #HyggeHour finishing my cards for the #NaturalLitsy #MidwinterSolace card swap while listening to one of our #buddyreads ❄️💙❄️

#HyggeHourReadathon

Had a brunch to attend & a bunch of errands to run today, but at least I got to listen to one of my #BOTM selections this month in my travels. So far, the tension & “creep factor” are escalating & it‘s set over Christmas, so seasonal.😉

And in other news, I tried the peppermint chocolate cold foam over a vanilla sweet cream cold brew & it was quite the holiday flavor explosion. 😋

#DecemberDreams

For the most part, I like my holiday music on the mellow & melancholy side of things, so Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is my #FaveHolidaySong 💙🤍🩵 There‘s more than a dozen versions on my holiday playlist including the classic by Judy Garland from Meet Me in St. Louis.

The tagged book is the 2nd in a series on my TBR.

#DecemberDreams

A #WhiteStack of some of the cookbooks in my collection with white covers. 🍽️🧂🍚🥚🧄🥛🤍

My goals for the #20in4 #Readathon are to read as much as I can over the weekend especially & to make progress in the pictured books.

Not going to lie, I do have some FOMO around not participating in the #WinterGames fun but as much as I enjoyed #Scarathlon it‘s going to be busy at work & I need a gentler holiday. I‘ll be joining in on several buddy reads & some of the #NaturalLitsy #MidwinterSolace events

Here is my December TBR: some lighter books, cozies, thrillers & a couple of holiday-ish books. I‘ll be knocking out my #BOTM challenge & sneaking in some #SeriesLove2023 ⬇️

#DecemberDreams

I had too many #Advent calendars last year so this year I limited myself to two—this marshmallow one that has a different flavored marshmallow behind each door (& a clue about the flavor with the reveal behind it) that I‘m starting tonight. My 2nd one is a 12-day sticker calendar that I‘ll start later in the month. ☁️💙☁️

Pretty happy with my November reading as I finished 17 books! 🎉📚🎉 They weren‘t necessarily the books in my November TBR as I made a mid-month decision to try to complete the #BOTM challenge & the #OnceUponABookClub 40 book challenge this year & switched out books. I am on track to finish both in December.

I finished my #SundayBuddyRead #JaneAdjacent & #ChildrensClassicsRead2023 #NancyDrewBR books & one for my virtual foodie book club too.⬇️

#Rushathon #SeriesLove2023

My last book of November-a YA mystery adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. It was a light & easy read & enjoyable even if (noted by the author) not truly accurate to the era. I liked what the author did with the characters & the mystery was good & had a few different twists. I‘ll read the other books in this Jane Austen Murder Mystery series. (Sense and Second-Degree Murder & Manslaughter Park—gotta love those titles!)

#Rushathon

Finished this one a couple of weeks ago but it took me time to make a dish to go with it for my virtual foodie book club. I enjoyed this starting over story of a baker who leaves the city for a small town/community in Vermont. I paired it with this simple potato & spinach soup, not because it was in the book but because it‘s what I‘d want if I were staying in a repurposed sugaring shack in the fall & winter in rural Vermont.🤷🏻‍♀️⬇️

#Rushathon

3 books to go to finish my #BOTM challenge! 🎉 This is one of those “hug in a book” stories, sweet & touching while still exploring some deeper issues like grief & childhood traumas. It gave me all the feels& made me root for Lucy, as well as the other characters. I only wish it had been a little longer so the characters were drawn a bit deeper. Still, a great book when you need a little comfort read.💫🖤⭐️

#HumbleHarvest

5 of my favorite contemporary romances that I read this year, so 5 books about #FallingInLove ❤️❤️❤️

#Rushathon

One more #BOTM read completed for the challenge, although I listened to the audiobook of this one. A really unique premise-a woman is cloned after being murdered & tries to find out who killed her. Bit of a slow start but the ending was tense & good. I had to go back & listen to the end again to make sure I understood everything that happened so it might have been easier reading instead of listening, but the narrator was excellent.

#Rushathon

Read for the #Pemberlittens #JaneAdjacent buddy read, this is not my favorite Austen retelling/Northanger Abbey adaptation (it was a bit too angsty YA with some characters that annoyed me) but overall, I enjoyed it, especially reading along at 2 chapters a day with the group. I thought the haunted boarding/high school aspects & ghost hunting were the most fun. A soft pick. Thanks to @StayCurious for the always great hosting.💙

#HumbleHarvest

What‘s better than wishing on a star? 💫 The cover of one of my current reads & the bookmark I‘m using with it are full of #Stars ✨⭐️✨

#HumbleHarvest

Three #Window titled books on my Kindle TBR.🪟🪟🪟

#Rushathon #NovelNovember #Readathon

Made a bit of a left turn off my November TBR to knock out another #BOTM book for the challenge (5 to go, midway through 2 of them! 🎉) but I‘m not mad about it. Although it started a little slow, I ended up enjoying this magical tale & the world the author created. I liked the characters & thought the story good for a debut. It could have gone deeper into the relationships but I‘d spend more time with them.

I am happy with my #NovelNovember #Readathon results even if I switched out some planned books to try & hit a couple of challenges before the end of the year! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Nothing like a little procrastination pressure to get me going! 🤷🏻‍♀️

I finished the 6 books on the right side (a couple reviews are still coming) & made good progress in the books on the left.

Thank you @Andrew65 for hosting!

#HumbleHarvest

A favorite book #Family of mine is the Waverly family. These two books about them are both magical & heartfelt. 🍎❤️✨🍏💚

#Rushathon #NovelNovember #Readathon

So, “someone” decided in October that it was “doable” with a little effort to actually finish the #BOTM challenge (for once) this year. (I have 6 to go with 2 in process to finish Book Boss). Anyway, I was going for shorter books & debuts to finish up & found myself pretty intrigued by this dystopian tale set in the not too distant future where climate change has wrecked the earth. Not perfect, but I liked ⬇️

#HumbleHarvest

Two ARCs with #FallInTitle that have been sitting in my Kindle TBR for a while now. 📚📚📚🤷🏻‍♀️📚📚

#Rushathon #NovelNovember #SeriesLove2023

Thank you to Sara at St. Martins Press who always so kindly sets me up with #ARCs from this favorite cozy series. I can‘t believe we are at book 18 in the Bakeshop Mystery series! This one will be out in Feb 2024 & takes place between the Christmas & New Year‘s holidays with Ramiro‘s family visiting from Spain & lots of festivities on Mount A in Ashland. There‘s the murder of a shady-acting tour guide ⬇️

#HumbleHarvest

According to GoodReads, it‘s been 10 years since I read this book but I always think of the title & the lovely cover when I think of #Tea 🫖🩷🍵

#Rushathon #NovelNovember

Finished earlier in the week. I read about this book in the back of Radar Girls by Sarah Ackerman & had it transferred to my local library branch from our main library. An informative & insightful look at the Women‘s Air Raid Defense (WARD) a civilian organization that operated from 1941-1945 in Hawaii providing air defense after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Worth seeking out & reading if you like WWII/women‘s history.

#Rushathon #NovelNovember #Readathon

Finished earlier in the week, I finally made the time to listen to the audiobook & I LOVED it! The narration was stellar (despite my being slightly weirded out that the narrator sounded EXACTLY like an old coworker of mine) & it drew me into the story. Loved the humor, heart, science & humanity combination & it even had me all teary at the end. For sure on my top reads of 2023. 🖤💛🖤

#HumbleHarvest

I enjoy a good #Novella 📚 These are the last two I finished back in August. We‘re getting ready for another #ChloeGongReadaling soon!

#HumbleHarvest

The Gratitude List by Laura Foley is a poem in this little book of poems of #Gratitude and hope.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating & Happy Thursday to those who are not. I am grateful for all of you. 🧡🧡🧡

#HumbleHarvest

A #RedStack from my cookbook collection. I think I could have kept going with this one. So many red cookbooks out there, especially from back in the day. ❤️

#HumbleHarvest

Three #Baking related books are on my November TBR. The tagged book I‘ve finished & my review is pending & the other two are foodie cozy mystery ARCs, one new & one I have had for a while. Hoping to finish both of them before the end of the month. 🥐🥣🧈

#HumbleHarvest

I did a book tour for this gorgeous book about #Trees a couple of years ago. 🌲🌳🌲

#Rushathon #NovelNovember #Readathon

I had hoped that after watching the Netflix series when it came out & disliking Rachel so much, this book explaining her “truth” would improve my perception of her. It did not. The whole book is basically her justification for her actions & why she fell for Anna Delvey‘s con, but she ends up making herself look even worse. She just tries WAY too hard to be likable & relatable & she‘s just NOT. And after ⬇️

#Rushathon #SeriesLove2023

Finished during the week, I was going to read this next month since I just finished the last book, but library holds…🤷🏻‍♀️So, with book 4, the Green Creek series has come to an end. I like that this book wraps things up well for most of the Bennett pack while giving Carter & Gavin their 💜story. Klune made me care about all of the characters & I love the “packpackpack” found family theme. Lots of smiles & tears too.

#HumbleHarvest

Since we are getting closer to the season, I thought this retelling of the nutcracker story would be a good match for today‘s #Nuts prompt.

#HumbleHarvest

Two books with titled with #Birds from my TBR stack. 🐦🐦

Joining in the #NovelNovember Readathon hosted by @Andrew65

My goals are to finish up the left side & my Project Hail Mary audiobook & to start & finish the other books shown (unless another book jumps inn& grabs me). I have some PTO next week & a quiet Thanksgiving so I think I can get a good chunk read.

#HumbleHarvest

I would say I like #Corn but this is the title of one of the cookbooks in my collection. 🌽🤷🏻‍♀️🌽

#HumbleHarvest

A #Moonlight title from my stacks.🌙

Thank you @Eggs for the #WondrousWednesday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ The weather is finally cooling a bit & I even slept with a (light) blanket on last night! 😅

2️⃣ Graduation for my 3 leadership cohorts is Friday & then I get a bit of a break from it & the weekly work reading & sessions (& graduation planning!) 🥳

3️⃣ PTO & Thanksgiving holiday Tuesday-Friday next week. I‘m looking for some self-care downtime-it‘s been crazy.🙏🏼

Care to join in? 😊

#HumbleHarvest

For today‘s #Harvest prompt. It‘s been a while since I‘ve read this one (my audiobook was on CD) 😉 but I love Jane Goodall & this book has some good thoughtful information on eating for health & our planet‘s health & wellbeing. 💚

#HumbleHarvest

Read this one a couple years ago & had to pick it for the #Berries theme because there are blueberries on the cover, the titular cafe is famous for its blackberry pies & those blackberry pies have another (secret 🤫) berry ingredient.

The early morning mood lighting of the airline lounge. 😉 First of two day trips to Hilo this week. Today to watch a group presentation & to prep for leadership graduation on Friday. Festive sugar cookie oatmilk latte & impossible breakfast sandwich to fuel me. I‘m hoping to get a chunk of this book done—it‘s for my bi-monthly virtual foodie book club.

#HumbleHarvest

A #Kindness title from my TBR 🧡

#Rushathon #SeriesLove2023

I fell into Abby Jimenez‘s books earlier this year after seeing her TikTok posts about her dogs (Stuntman Mike,pictured, is in this one). I enjoyed her Part of Your World Series earlier this year so I gave this prior series (The Friend Zone) a try. This is Book 1 & while I didn‘t love the MC always & a plot twist bummed me out & made me😭overall, I enjoyed it & will read the next 2 as my library e-book holds come in.

#HumbleHarvest

This trilogy of foodie novels are old favorites and all about #Bread 🍞🥖🥐🥯💛

#Rushathon #SeriesLove2023

I confess that I was always slightly more a Trixie Belden than a Nancy Drew girl, but it was still fun to take a trip back through #ChildrensClassicsReads2023 & #NancyDrewBR A little fashion (we always get to hear what outfit Nancy is wearing) & a good mystery thrown in. I‘m convinced these YA mystery series helped set the tone for today‘s adult cozy mysteries. Good fun! 🔎 🩶

#Rusthathon #SeriesLove2023

I got into this series after finishing Klune‘s other adult books & while I don‘t love them quite as much as his standalones, they are good & draw me in. But also because I love the Bennett pack, they make me so angsty when I read them. This is book 3 & I swear if this family doesn‘t finally get rid of the big bad & get some lasting peace & happiness in book 4 (I think it‘s the finale) I am going to protest. 😤

#HumbleHarvest

My pick for today‘s #Veterans prompt is not quite accurate as the Women‘s Air Raid Defense (WARD) was a civilian group, but it‘s a fascinating piece of history & the tagged.book (I got a copy through my library) is part of my November TBR after reading about it in Radar Girls.

#HumbleHarvest

If you are planning a #Feast you can‘t go wrong with this aptly titled Nigella Lawson cookbook. I have made a variety of recipes from it, some pictured here. 😋

#HumbleHarvest

I haven‘t read this #Hayride title or this series (Otter Lake Mystery) series, but I recently enjoyed the first two books in the author‘s Evenfall Witches B&B series. I‘ll tag the first book of each series below.

Mahalo for the #WondrousWednesday tag @Eggs

1️⃣ 1.Packing up & moving to Hawaii in 2001 2.Helping open the 1st Int‘l Starbucks store in Tokyo 3.Buying a house on my own 4.Having 2 recipes published in cookbooks 5.Leaving a toxic job situation, finding a new one & thriving.

2️⃣ 1. Catch up on correspondence & other personal things I have been avoiding 2. Reignite wellness & get into a walking & better eating routine.

Anyone want to play? 🤗