I’m having a wonderful weekend filled with family, witches hats and fake spiders. I have been working on Halloween preparations at our home and also preparing for Christmas right after that. It’s so intense how this time of year moves so quickly, and as someone who enjoys planning ahead it’s hard for my brain to keep up. It’s my favorite time of year!
1. After my last post and all your recommendations, I ordered the Whirley Pop and I already tried it. It’s AMAZING. I will be doing a blog post about it soon.
2. We’re about to have our first guest in our new guest room. I’ve been working really hard on setting it up. I love these makeup washcloths and I remembered this hair dryer bag from my bnb era. I even got this little WiFi card so they don’t have to ask us for the password. I love trying to make it feel like a fancy hotel. Would you like to see a blog post about setting up a guest space?
3. Currently reading Demon Copperhead. It’s really heartwrenching. I’m loving it, but I will probably do a palette cleanser like Paris: The Memoir as soon as I am done. I’d love to hear your book recommendations (anything from spooky, to funny to guilty pleasures).
4. I love this snail mucin essence and this. It’s my favorite Korean skincare I have tried. Oh yes, and I also like the snail mucin eye patches.
5. I am having SO much fun writing recipes for the blog. A few of my personal favorites recently are the classic margarita and classic old fashioned. And I loved creating shot recipes lately like the green tea shot and the cinnamon toast crunch shot. It’s fun learning new recipes and photography skills.
6. I just added this fire pit to our yard along with these chairs and it feels so cozy.
7. I just added a bunch of these shelves to our basement and I am so excited to get organized (and finally unpack our remaining boxes!).
8. The one fall recipe I really want to make with my kids is caramel apples.
9. I bought Emma the Anthro Beauty advent and I can’t wait to give it to her! For the kids, I decided to make small toy advents this year since I feel like small toys get overshadowed on Christmas. I thought this way they would get more attention. For the girls, I did their favorite characters like princesses or superheroes and for Oscar I did Paw Patrol and cars. I love the idea of advents and how they can spread out the fun of receiving small gifts! Btw, here is my heirloom advent calendar DIY.
10. Did you see this? Halloween Crafts for Adults (so fun!)
P.S. Here are some recent posts in case you missed them!
Yes to the guest room post please!! I love seeing your guest spaces.
And it’s cheesy, but when I need a good palate cleanse, I read an Anne of Green Gables or Chronicles of Narnia or Kate DiCamillo book (or something else that’s technically a “children’s novel” lol). They can still be sad (especially DiCamillo’s books!) but they’re not harrowing like adult novels and usually have heartwarming endings! And they’re a faster read lol.
Just finished Home Before Dark by Riley Sager which was a great spooky book with a book within the book (it’s about an adult woman who’s father wrote a book about their haunting in her childhood home) that alternates each chapter. Currently halfway through Small Game by Blair Braverman about a group participating in a survivalist reality show that I am loving!
Paris’ memoir is not a palate cleanse. Her story is harrowing.
I started listening to it and you’re right. Damn! It’s incredible.
I would love a post on setting up a guest room. Thank you! I love all your posts.
Can you link your adorable dress in your witches pic please?
Yes to the guest room post!! Such a fun subject. Part of my job is to order things and then set up for guests for my employer. Guest rooms and whole guest houses. I just did a guest apartment last week and had a blast. I wish it was my sole job description lol.
Books: I am almost done reading The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil. It’s on Libby! True story of Clemantine’s flight from Rwanda and aftermath as a refugee. Highly recommend.
And I just ordered a WWII true story Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre from Thriftbooks because I couldn’t find it on Libby. My BFF was a librarian for many years and recommended it to me. Excited to read it!
For children the picture book Nour’s Secret Library by Wafa’ Tarnowska is so good! And a true story. The illustrations are unique and bold.
Book recs:
– A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
– Ciao Bella! by Kate Langbroek
– I haven’t read it yet but the Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall is next on my TBR pile
Demon Copperhead was such a hard read, but I loved the ending. It felt hopeful while keeping things open ended. Currently reading the Light Pirate (thanks for the rec!) But also thinking I’ll need to switch to something lighter soon.
I had to bail on Demon Copperhead, it was so so sad (extremely beautifully written but I couldn’t handle it at the time, maybe I’ll try again some day). I’ve been instead listening to a lot of non-fiction. Outlive by Dr Peter Attia and Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman are a couple of examples. I felt like I could get back into fiction again this week and picked up The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton – I’m only a little ways into it but I’m enjoying it a great deal. It’s a murder mystery with a really weird twist. I try not to read summaries when I pick up a book like this so I’m still figuring out what is going on (it’s more fun for me this way).
I’m excited for advent calendar time this holiday season – I have to plan the one I’ll do for my husband! Ideas for dudes who are hard to shop for are welcome.
For my husband I would probably do something edible like little snacks (cute tiny hot sauces etc) for an advent. I also wish they had a men’s version of the Anthro advent because I think he would like that since it has a lot of fragrances. Maybe you could collect a bunch of sample size stuff? I guess it depends on what your husband is interested in as well! xx
These are great suggestions, thank you! The tiny hot sauces idea is a really good one. The sample size idea is a really good one. Thanks again, have a great week!
Book rec: An Unkindness of Magicians, by Kat Howard. Loved it!
Thank you Silvia!
Yes please to a post on setting up a guest room! That’s a project I’m starting soon and would love to know your thoughts!
Ok yay! Good to know :))