December Favorites

Here are some of my favorite things in the month of December: 

Christmas themed washi tape. I used it on my Christmas planner this year and any other time I could find an excuse to use it. It is so cute. 

Inkjoy pens

 I have loved these for a long time but I used them a LOT in December and these really are my favorite pens I have ever used. 

Television: 

Doug and I started watching An Idiot Abroad on Netflix. It is about a man, Karl Pilkington, who doesn't like to travel. He is a homebody and really had no interest in leaving England. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant send him around the world to see the wonders. His reactions are hilarious. 

And you also get to see the seedy underbelly of most of the places we only see the good side of so that is interesting as well. I will eventually do a full review on Scones and Crackers.

 Movies: 

I finally got to see Mockingjay Part 2 with my mom and my Aunt Maureen and I loved it. They did so well with adapting this series to the screen and I now want to re-read the whole series and then marathon the movies when this comes out on DVD. 

I have been waiting on Age of Adaline for months because I had it on hold from the library. I finally had my turn last week. I had high hopes for this film and it did not disappoint. It was so good. 

It is a romantic drama about Adaline, a woman that does not age. 

It was well acted and an interesting story. Blake Lively pulled it off really well as she has a level of elegance that was needed for a woman that was living in 2015 but would really be from the early 1900's. It also had a moment that I swooned over. 

I think it is one of the most romantic movie moments ever. I don't know if I should give it away on here or not so I will just say it involves books and flowers. 

Books: 

I read 13 books in December. 

My favorites were Letters from Father Christmas, Mr. Lemoncello's Library, The Life of our Lord, The Thirteenth Tale, The Fairy Tale Girl, and the Christmas Carol Pop up book. 

And speaking of books- one of my favorite things this month was given to me by my sister in law. It embosses my books with this: 

Clothes: 

I love my Christmas pajama pants. They are reindeer leggings I bought at Shopko. They are seriously so cozy. They feel like you are emerging your legs in warm water. Strange description but that's the only way I could think to describe them. 

And the socks I am wearing in this picture are from Target. I have four pair of these socks now. These plain gray ones, some gray and white striped, navy blue and gray striped, and navy blue. They are the most comfortable socks I own. They come in packages of two pairs of socks and are about $5.

My sister recommended buying leggings at Victoria's secret after I asked her where she bought hers (after buying several from different places and never liking them). She was right! I got these gray ones with a light gray stripe from the VS pink store in the mall for about $35 dollars and they are really comfortable! They feel really thin but then they are quite warm and are not see through. I love wearing these around the house. 

After returning my Dr. Marten boots I went to Target and bought these boots for $35. I wasn't sure how they would do but they have been fantastic. They look cute and are extremely comfortable. Plus they zip up the side so I only have to tie them once! 

More December favorites would be all the family get togethers, watching Christmas movies, drinking cocoa, reaching my Goodreads challenge, and Christmas! But more on those in later posts!!

*What were some of your favorite things in December?

November Wrap Up

Today I will be doing a November book haul and November Favorites rolled into one! 

Let's go!

November was a very small book haul. 

I have only two books to show you. 

First, I got a Living Social deal for 3 months worth of Audible for $8. 

That gives me 3 audio books (one per month) for $8. Sweet deal. After I bought it I received the email with the code and it said for new customers only. Oh man. So I just ended up signing up for a new account since I had already paid the money. 

For my first book I used my credit for:

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

So far I am LOVING this book. 

I decided to try The Book Depostitory for the first time in November. It is a discount book website (like Amazon, it might even be ran by Amazon) but it has worldwide free shipping no matter how much you order. 

There was a book I really wanted to check out and it wasn't on Amazon so I checked their website and there it was for a really good price!

I got: 

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

This book has been delightful! I am loving it at this point. 

(review soon to come on Scones and Crackers)

So that is it! Those are the only two books I bought in November. 

As far as what I read in November.... it's a lot. 

I finished 11 books in November. 

 1) The Brontes at Haworth by Ann Dinsdale (review to come on S&C)

2) Ramona the Pest by Beverly Clearly with Abi and Maddy

3) I finally finished The Old Testament in The Holy Bible. That was a rough go for me. It's been over a year since I started reading it. That is pretty pathetic but I just didn't have an easy time getting through it. 

4) The Marvels by Brian Selznick

5) The Brontes, Wild Genius on the Moors, The Story of a Literary Family by Juliet Barker (this one took me most of the month as it was HUGE. Review to come on S&C)

6) You're Never Weird on the Internet (almost) by Felicia Day

7) Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

8) Christmas Joy by Susan Branch

9) Christmas from the Heart of the Home by Susan Branch

10) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

11) London: A Visitor's Guide by Craig Cross 

My favorite reads from these eleven were: 

The Brontes, Wild Genius on the Moors

and 

Ready Player One

Other November favorites include: 

Clementine oranges. 

I love it when these start popping up everywhere. We keep a huge vase full of them. We are down to two. 

These boots were my favorite thing for one day. 

I have wanted Dr. Marten boots since I was 14 so I have been saving up for them for a couple of months. I finally went to buy them. Brought them home and they were unwearable. Apparently you really have to EARN the right to wear these things. They are the most uncomfortable things I have ever put on my feet- but if you stick it out and ,according to YouTube and blogs, have blisters and bruises all over your feet for a few weeks they will become the most comfortable thing you have ever worn. I wore them around the house for my first break in session and could not feel my toes. 

The next day I went to put them on again with two pairs of socks on and it was too painful to even put them on. I decided they had to go. I bought a nice pair of comfortable, similar looking boots at Target for $35 instead. 

But, for two days I owned a pair of Dr. Martens. 

 

I did a ton of sewing in November. 

My favorite apron has a washcloth attached to it so I decided to make a Thanksgiving apron and a Christmas apron that had one as well. 

I have had the Thanksgiving fabric since last year and finally got around to using it!

 

I made a few more things but I won't show them until after Christmas. 

 My favorite purchase this month was probably this candle from Deseret Book. 

It is run by batteries and it flickers so that it looks like a real candle. 

It is timed. So every day at around 6pm it automatically goes on. 

A few hours later it turns itself off. 

If I had visible windows in this house I would have one in each window.

Yesterday we drove by this park close by to see their Tree of Life. It was their lighting ceremony and there were tons of people there but we just drove by and looked at it from the warmth of our car. 

 

And finally, one of my favorite things from the month of November is also something that just happened yesterday. 

It was the anniversary of Lucy Maud Montgomery's birth. 

The google animation was dedicated to her book Anne of Green Gables, depicting three different scenes. It made me so happy every time I used google. 

 

I had to enjoy my peppermint tea out of my Green Gables mug straight from P.E.I!

What were your favorite things in November?

October Favorites

I am a little late posting this but here are some of my favorite things from last month!

Makeup/ Clothes/ Beauty:

1. Cover Girl's Super Sizer mascara. 

I like this stuff so much that I have the waterproof and non waterproof versions. 

This stays in place, makes my eyelashes stand out more, and it curls them too. 

I haven't used an eyelash curler since I started using this stuff. 

And it is under $10. 

2. elf's HD Lifting Concealer.

I don't know how this would work with any real serious concealing needs but for some dark circles under my eyes and some dark spots on my cheek that I have had since having kids it works great. 

In fact, this is my favorite concealer I have ever used. Since I am an extremely pale person I use their lightest color, Fair. 

It is $3. 

(FYI I also use elf eyeshadow, bronzer, blush, and brushes. I love their stuff and it is so cheap!)

 

3. Studio 35 Moisture Recovery Lotion.

I buy this at Walgreen's for 97 cents. 

I love it. 

It is small enough to fit in my makeup bag but it actually lasts a long time. 

Now that the weather has started getting cold again my need for hand lotion is increasing again. 

This stuff goes on really nice and then dries fast. It is lovely. My favorite hand lotion by far. 

 

4. Revlon Colorburst lipstick.

This has quickly become my favorite kind of lipstick.

My favorite shades are these two. I wear the lighter pink (Honey) almost every day and the darker shade (Sultry) when I am dressing up a bit more and want a little more color. 

Under $10.

5. Scarves.

I have always loved scarves but I always feel like they are wearing me when I try to wear them. 

I feel so self conscious in them. But last month I decided I needed to start wearing the ones I have bought and try to get used to them. I ended up really loving this black and white striped one from Target. 

 

6. The colors!

I love fall colors, especially yellow. It goes so well with my favorite shoes!

 

Food: 

Celestial Seasonings Peppermint Herbal Tea

 This stuff is so good. It has a relaxing aroma so I feel better when I am just holding it. 

The taste is really subtle. I love it. 

 

Movies: 

Hotel Transylvania 2. 

I went to this in the theater with my parents and Abigail. 

It was so much fun and I thought they did a really good job with the sequel. 

 

Television: 

1. The Great British Bake Off- you can see my review of this on Scones and Crackers. I watched the first season on Netflix. It is such a fun show!

2. Addams Family- after hearing the song at the girls' school, they were interested in the show. I loved it when I was a kid so I pulled it up on Hulu and Abi started watching it. I only watched the first episode but it was so much fun to watch with her. She liked it so much that she has been watching it ever since. 

3. Gilmore Girls- this is one of my favorite television series of all time. I usually re-watch about once a year but in October I started my second go through for the year. I just couldn't help it. I've had so much fun watching it while I work on projects. 

4. Leverage- This is a show that Doug watches. During October I watched a few more episodes with him and really enjoyed it. It is a fun show with some great characters and it is very entertaining. 

 

Onto books!

In October I read 10 books! 

 

My favorites were The Fellowship, The Literary Lives of the Inklings by Philip and Carol Zaleski, The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and reading Ramona, the 2nd Princess in Black, and Fablehaven with the girls. 

and finally:

Audible

I signed up for a free month of Audible in October and then downloaded the app on both my phone and Ipad. I love to go for a long walk after dropping the girls off at school now that they are both in school at the same time. While I walk I plug in the earphones and have been listening to the two free books I got on Audible last month. I finished Dracula on Audible last month. 

What were your favorite things in October?