Friday, December 24, 2021

My Weekly Bookishness ~ 12/24/2021


All things bookish!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I Read:


You can read my REVIEW HERE!

~~~~~~~~~~

What I'm Reading:


Blurb:

Lauren Richmond isn’t a fan of Christmas.

Which is why she rarely makes the trip home to the Midwest for the holidays. After all, she has plenty to keep her busy—namely, her duties as a set decorator on a TV sitcom.

But this December, Lauren's brother and his wife are expecting a baby, so her brother arranges a ride home for her with his good friend, Will.

Unfortunately for Lauren, she’s been trying to forget college baseball coach and childhood crush Will Sinclair for more than ten years.

Now, thanks to her fear of flying, she’s stuck in a car with him from California to Illinois.

She’s circumspect and organized. He’s flirty and spontaneous.

She’s convinced that people don’t change. He’s trying to prove to her (and himself) that he has.

On this cross-country road trip, they’ll both discover that history doesn’t exactly repeat itself. . . but like any good Christmas carol, it does have a second verse.
 


First Lines:

Spending a few days along in a car with Will Sinclair was just about the worst way to kick off a holiday.

56%/Page 56

She tucked her phone away and clicked the lamp off, pulling the sheets up to her chin, but within seconds she started to feel like something was crawling up her leg.

~~~~~~~~~~~

What I'll (Probably) Read Next:


Blurb:

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bare their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

~~~~~~~~~~

Book Haul:




   ~~~~~~~~~~

Book Blogger Hop:

Q.   What's your favorite Christmas book-to-movie adaptation? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) 

A.  Ooops.  I don't really have a Christmas book-to-movie adaptation favorite, but White Christmas is my all-time favorite Christmas movie :)

~~~~~~~~~~

Bookishly Yours,


Linking up to: 

   


https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/

http://www.fredasvoice.com/  http://www.rosecityreader.com/


Thursday, December 23, 2021

The Good Stuff ~ 12/23/2021


~~~~~~~~

~ Merry Christmas Eve Eve!  All is ready in anticipation of the big day.  Presents are bought and wrapped.  Cookies are baked and...eaten (some anyway :).  Decorations are a go.  Now to enjoy...



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!


What has you thankful/smiling/exited this week?  Tell me all the good stuff! 

Colletta

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Book Review ~ Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes


~~~~~~~~~~~~



Title:  Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Series:  
Pages:  352
Date Published:  October 20, 2016
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

 Blurb:

In this poignant, hilarious and deeply intimate call to arms, Hollywood's most powerful woman, the mega-talented creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder and Catch, reveals how saying YES changed her life - and how it can change yours too. With three hit shows on television and three children at home, Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say no when invitations arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. And to an introvert like Shonda, who describes herself as 'hugging the walls' at social events and experiencing panic attacks before press interviews, there was a particular benefit to saying no: nothing new to fear. Then came Thanksgiving 2013, when Shonda's sister Delorse muttered six little words at her: You never say yes to anything. Profound, impassioned and laugh-out-loud funny, in Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes reveals how saying YES changed - and saved - her life. And inspires readers everywhere to change their own lives with one little word: Yes.
My Thoughts:
With this book read, I have now completed 12 books this year.  Such a sad, low number for someone who used to read at least 3-4 books a week!  But, I feel my reading slump deteriorating as I make time for the joy of reading once again :)

Now, the review:

I don't want to give too much away as this is the inaugural book for the Kindred Readers Book Club.  I did want to document it here on my blog for the sake of getting that 12th book read, though!

My goal for 2022 is to read outside of my "comfort" zone and this book definitely did that for me.

I enjoyed the writing style and found myself actually laughing out loud multiple times.  Do I agree with everything Shonda stands for?  No, I don't.  But, there were so many similarities in character between her and I that I understood where she was coming from.  On most things.

I definitely learned a lot about myself while reading this book.  I may even start saying "Yes" to more now too!

I can't wait to really dig in with the other members of the Kindred Readers Book Club and discuss this book!

Onto the next book!

Monday, December 20, 2021

Tuesday 4 ~ Christmas ~ 12/21/2021

https://mytuesday4meme.blogspot.com/

Head over to Tuesday's Place for the questions and to visit everyone's answers!


1. Is your tree up? How tall... what color lights? Is there a color scheme you use?

Our Christmas Tree has been up since the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The tree itself is 6 feet and the lights are multi-colored.  We don't have a color scheme.  We do have our memorable Christmas ornaments on the tree though.

2.  Got a menu for Christmas Eve and Day?

On Christmas Eve, we'll be going to my brother's house so it is pretty much their show :)  Christmas Day, we're having ham and deer roast, mashed potatoes and the sides along with pie :)

3. When does it go up and how long does it stay up?

I guess this means the tree???  If so, then it goes up right after Thanksgiving and comes down right after New Year's Day.

4. What is your favorite Christmas memory. When do you open your gifts?

I don't know if I have a favorite Christmas memory.  There are too many good ones to pick just one!  We open the majority of our gifts on Christmas morning after reading the account of Jesus's birth in Luke 2.


Colletta

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Happy Homemaker Monday ~ 12/20/2021


Come join Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, and Happy Monday !


The weather outside is:

It doesn't look like a White Christmas here in Southern Pennsylvania :(  But...I'm still hoping!




On today's to-do list: 

After a busy weekend, I'm looking forward to a quiet Monday :)

Happening this week:

We're putting on a play at Church this year.  We had enough people sign up that we can do a real, honest-to-goodness, 9 scene play!  We've been practicing for a month or two and our final run-through is Thursday evening.  We'll be putting on the play Sunday so we really NEED a dress rehearsal!

Of course, Friday is Christmas Eve and Saturday is CHRISTMAS!!!!  We're done shopping and have everything wrapped and ready to go :)

Currently reading:

The Kindred Readers Book Club book for January 2022 is "Year of Yes" by Shonda Rhimes.  As I'm a co-host of the group, I'm reading the book ahead of time to get a feel for the book and get discussion questions ready for the weeks I'm assigned to.  There's still time to join in!


On the TV:

Hallmark Christmas Movies!!!!  Yay!!!!
Home Alone
Happy Feet


Listening to:

This week for "Songs on Sunday" I featured "Miracle of Love" by Chris Tomin.  I hope you'll check it out :) 

On the menu week:

I haven't worked on the menu yet.  I really need to get back into the habit of working on the menu over the weekend instead of leaving it until Monday morning before getting groceries!

Monday ~  
Tuesday ~ 
Wednesday ~ 
Thursday - 
Friday ~ 
Saturday ~ 
Sunday ~ Potluck at Church

In the Craft Basket:

The Sage Afghan I'm working on has gained a bait in length.  Again, this is the Attic 24 Cozy Stripes pattern.



Picture from the Camera


Memory Verse

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”

15 When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  Luke 2:6-10



Have a great Monday!

Colletta

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Friday, December 17, 2021

Sewing Saturday ~ 12/18/2021


I've decided to start featuring my sewing, crocheting and crafting projects on Saturdays.  Some weeks this will include a finished project, a FNSI or FNWF or just a WIP.

~~~~~~~~

My Friday Night  Sew-In Project was to continue working on the Sage Aghan that I'm trying to finish by the end of December.  

Here is where I started the week:


I didn't get a lot accomplished because I chose to spend some time with the family making M&M Cookies.  It was good quality family time that we needed very much!


And here is where I ended Friday night:  (thanks hubby for holding it up for me!)


I got about 8-10 rows done over the day.

What project are you working on this weekend?


Colletta

My Weekly Bookishness ~ 12/17/2021


All things bookish!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I Read:



You can read my REVIEW HERE!

~~~~~~~~~~

What I'm Reading:



Blurb:

In this poignant, hilarious and deeply intimate call to arms, Hollywood's most powerful woman, the mega-talented creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder and Catch, reveals how saying YES changed her life - and how it can change yours too. With three hit shows on television and three children at home, Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say no when invitations arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. And to an introvert like Shonda, who describes herself as 'hugging the walls' at social events and experiencing panic attacks before press interviews, there was a particular benefit to saying no: nothing new to fear. Then came Thanksgiving 2013, when Shonda's sister Delorse muttered six little words at her: You never say yes to anything. Profound, impassioned and laugh-out-loud funny, in Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes reveals how saying YES changed - and saved - her life. And inspires readers everywhere to change their own lives with one little word: Yes.


First Lines:

I'm a liar.

And I don't care who knows it.

56%/Page 56

This is what joy looks like to a woman with genius.

~~~~~~~~~~~

What I'll (Probably) Read Next:


Blurb:

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bare their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

~~~~~~~~~~

Book Haul:

 



   ~~~~~~~~~~

Book Blogger Hop:

Q.   How many books have you read this year? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews) 

A.  It is shameful how little I've read this year!

It is shameful because I remember a time in my life when I would read a book every 1-2 days.  When I couldn't stand not to be reading a book.

Growing up, I remember my Mom telling me to "get your nose out of that book"!   :)  Good memories :)

All that to say that I'm now reading my 12th book of the year.

Pitiful...

~~~~~~~~~~

Bookishly Yours,


Linking up to: 

   


https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/

http://www.fredasvoice.com/  http://www.rosecityreader.com/


Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Good Stuff ~ 12/16/2021


~~~~~~~~

~Christmas Reads!  I read "The Christmas Escape" by Sarah Morgan and "Christmas at Cozy Holly Inn" by Meredith Summers.  I enjoyed both books but think I preferred "The Christmas Escape"!  Either way, I'm excited to be reading again!

 

~Gingerbread House Making!  The hubby and Laken made a Gingerbread House together.  I was the photographer.  It was a small house so there wouldn't have been room for another set of hands in the project.  They had fun even if it didn't turn out the best :)


~Old Bedford Village!  Saturday evening we went to the Christmas event held at Old Bedford Village.  The decorations were gorgeous.  Kaylee was able to go with us so it seemed like old times but we missed Shawn who wasn't able to go along.  It was nice to have some family time :)



~Kona and Lilah!  Kona and Lilah got decked out for Christmas with matching bandanas!  Laken also decided that Lilah need socks and antlers.  That poor, old dog lets her do anything to her :)



~Kindred Readers Book Club!  I'm STILL so excited to be co-hosting a brand new book club.  We have 20 members so far!!!  Our first book (for January 2022) is "Year of Yes" by Shonda Rhimes.  Click HERE to come check out the facebook group and, hopefully, join in :)




What has you thankful/smiling/exited this week?  Tell me all the good stuff! 

Colletta