Black Friday 2015 Haul!

I went a little crazy on Black Friday this year... ^_^'' 

I definitely came away with quite a haul and I thought I would share it with you all! Most of what I bought was online and won't be in my possession for a few weeks as I bought a lot from smaller planner shops and one large item from an Australian-based company (can you guess which?), so a video wasn't super realistic for a haul as I wouldn't have a ton to show off. Hopefully you can get an idea of what I got through the links and photos I provided below!

Clothes & Accessories

This category definitely wasn't one that I was focused on for myself, but the majority of these items (everything from L.L. Bean!) were gifts from my parents for Christmas (we did an early Christmas this year when my sister was in town for Thanksgiving), all of which I'm very excited about! I'm feeling prepared for the winter with my cozy flannels and fuzzy slippers! :)

Hobbs Creek Flannel in Mallard (I couldn't find a photo online of the correct color, so it is shown above!)
$10.00 from Bass Pro Shops

Scotch Plaid Flannel in Gray Douglas
$44.95 from L.L. Bean

Wicked Good Camp Moccasins in Charcoal
$69.00 from L.L. Bean

Camelbak Mini M.U.L.E. Hydration Pack in Lilac/Purple Cactus Flower (needed a new one for marathon training!)
$50.00 from L.L. Bean

As well as several more items from Bass Pro Shops that I will be giving as gifts so I cannot show them here, but found some really great deals on!

Planner Goodies

Now this is where I went a little nuts. I've definitely been building up my planner goody supply over the last few months and it feels like I've grown is by a very significant percentage with these purchases! It's pretty hard not to go crazy when things that are usually $2-$3 are on sale by nearly half off! ^_^'' The photos shown below are all from the shops themselves (aside from my quick snap of my Hobby Lobby purchases!) so make sure you click on the links provided to get a better look of each item!

Hello Papercat

Hello Papercat is one of my favorite planner goody shops online, so when her Black Friday Sale was announced I went a little crazy. Her sale started at 6PM PST on Wednesday, so needless to say I was anxiously waiting its start at 9PM EST in my childhood room in New Hampshire the night before Thanksgiving!

Hello Papercat's Black Friday Sale: 50% off orders $50 or higher OR 20% off with no minimum spending. (Of course I went with the 50% off option!)

Cats in Christmas Clothes A5 Dashboard - $3.00 (originally $6.00)

Christmas Sweater A5 Dashboard - $3.00 (originally $6.00)

Fairy Tale A5 Dashboard - $3.00 (originally $6.00)

Fawn Pattern A5 Dashboard - $3.00 (originally $6.00)

"This is Me Now" A5 Dashboard - $3.00 (originally $6.00) - I already had the Tina and Louise dashboards from this shop, so of course I had to complete the set with Gene!

"Ugh... As If!" Personal Dashboard -$1.50 (originally $2.00)

Donut Stop Get It Get It Personal Dashboard - $1.50 (originally $2.00)

Zombie Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Pink Sprinkles Donut Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Santa Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Banananana Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Pink Bow Kawaii Mug Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Frapuccino Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Credit Card Magnetic Bookmark - $1.00 (originally $2.00)

Bonus Gift Items with Purchase: Bambi & Aristocat Magnetic Bookmarks

Karolina's Krafts

Karolina's Krafts is a pretty well-known shop in the planner community and rightfully so - her products are stunning and there is a relatively big selection! Unfortunately her products are also on the more expensive end of planner goodies so ordering from her isn't something I can do regularly. However, with her Black Friday sale, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to purchase some planner stickers from her! If you order from here, make sure you are super patient - with the high influx of orders she receives, it can take 3-6 weeks for you to receive your order!

Karolina's Krafts Black Friday Sale: 40% Off Entire Shop!

Glasses Stickers - $2.40 (originally $4.00)

Roadtrip Car Stickers - $3.00 (originally $5.00)

Brunette Yoga Girl Stickers - $3.00 (originally $5.00)

Lemon Paper Co.

I found this shop when the owner followed me on Instagram earlier last week and her stickers are so cute! Her selection isn't too large but she had a few sticker designs that I've been meaning to purchase for use in my planner. She ships from Singapore so it does take a bit of time for it to get to you, but I think the adorableness is worth it!

Lemon Paper Co's Black Friday Sale: 30% Off Entire Shop!

Dumbbell Stickers x2 - $1.50 each (originally $2.15 each)

Pastel Coffee Cup Stickers x2 - $1.50 each (originally $2.15 each)

Hello Cupcake Plans

I also found this shop through Instagram (I believe they liked a photo of mine) and I absolutely fell in love with it when I clicked onto Etsy to check them out! The stickers on this site are bright and vibrant and so, so cute. I went a bit crazy in this shop as well, but some of these sticker sets I know I'll use frequently so I bought multiple sheets. I totally recommend checking out this shop if you're into bright colors and kawaii desings! (And I mean, who isn't in this community?!)

Hello Cupcake Plans Black Friday Sale: 40% Off Entire Shop!

Laptop Stickers x2 - $1.20 each (originally $3.00 each)
Cupcake Stickers x2 - $1.20 each (originally $3.00 each)
Crockpot Stickers - $1.20 (originally $3.00)

Coffee Cup Stickers x2 - $1.20 each (originally $3.00 each)

Money Stickers - $1.20 (originally $3.00)

Lisa Lorene Plans

Another shop found via Instagram! She doesn't have the biggest selection if you're not an Erin Condren user (and I found through my shopping that most of the shops on Etsy focus on ECLP which can be a bit frustrating if you do not use the LP), but I managed to find a few sets that I love!

Lisa Lorene Plans Black Friday Sale: 40% Off Entire Shop!

Running Shoe Stickers x2 - $0.90 each (originally $1.50 each)

Zero Fox Given Stickers  x3 -$0.60 each (originally $1.00 each)
Plus one sheet that I will be using in a holiday planner swap for the New England Planner Girls Facebook group! :)

Hobby Lobby

Being a planner girl, it's pretty surprising that I had never been to a Hobby Lobby, and so when my mom offered to bring me to the Hobby Lobby by her on Black Friday, I jumped at the opportunity! There was a huge sale on all things from The Paper Studio, so I went a little crazy with the Washi. I also threw in a couple of glue runners for dashboard making and a whole slew of things for the holiday planner swap the New England Planner Girls Facebook group is doing!

Hobby Lobby's Black Friday Sale: 50% Off The Paper Studio items (and many other items, but The Paper Studio is what I was focused on!)

-5 pack of functional skinny Washi (Pink "important", black & white chevron, pink and white stripes, gold "noted", white and blue "to-do")

-5 pack of solid color skinny Washi (blue, lime green, yellow, orange, red)

-2-pack of Washi (triangles & arrows)

-2-pack of Washi (gold foil pineapples & polka dots)

-Deer Washi

-2 glue-dot runners - needed these to make more dashboards!

Kikki-K

Last but certainly not least is my purchase from Kikki-K! I've been eyeing this planner since it released a few weeks ago, and I've always been in love with Kikki-K's mint-and-gold color scheme planners, so when I clicked on to the website Wednesday night and saw their Black Friday sale, I knew it was time to finally pull the trigger and buy by 2016 planner! Shipping is a bit expensive as these products ship from Australia (roughly $10 to ship to the US) but with the sale, I still paid less for the product and for shipping than I would have paid for the product at full price - SCORE. I am so, so excited for this planner to arrive and to move in! (Of course, I'll be showing this off in a video as soon as it arrives!)

Kikk-K's Black Friday Sale: 20% Off entire online store!

Large Perforated Leather Personal Planner in Mint - $67.96 (originally $84.95)

I'm pretty close to being done with my holiday shopping after this little haul (I picked up several things for Brett and for friends through my shopping as well - it wasn't purely selfish! :P) but I do have a few more things I'm eyeing for Cyber Monday tomorrow (mostly a laminator and printer ink to make more planner dashboards!). I don't know what it is this year - the deal bug has bitten me hard!

Did you buy anything this Black Friday?

A Few of my Favorite Links {#16}

Hello everyone! 

It's time for yet another installment of my favorite links! In pulling this list together, I found that a lot of these links have to do with bears... Maybe I'm going into hibernation mode as it gets dark earlier each day or maybe I'm missing my graduate alma mater (Bridgewater's mascot is a Bear!) but apparently I'm really channeling my inner bear! Any who, I hope you enjoy the links below, and make sure you let me know what your favorite links of the moment are in the comments!

New England Planner Girls

First and foremost is this awesome group of ladies - the New England Planner Girls group on Facebook! In perusing Instagram, I came across one of my favorite planner girls heading to a MidWest planner meet up, which made me wonder if there was a group of just New England based planner ladies. Lo and behold - there is! I actually ended up finding out that one of my colleagues is part of the group AND a fellow Lasell alum is part of the group, so of course I had to invite my planner partner-in-crime, Brittany, to the group as well so we could freak out about how awesome it is together. I'm having a great time participating in this community, and even just organized a secret holiday planner swap for everyone! If you're a planner gal like myself, I highly recommend finding your local planner group on Facebook to feel a bit more connected to the community!

Amazing Bear Sleeping Bag

Onto our first bear-themed item - a BEAR SLEEPING BAG. How freakin' comfortable does this look?! All I want to do is cuddle up inside of this thing and nap all winter long. It's in the ballpark of $2,350 so I mean this will probably never be in my life, unfortunately, but a girl can dream. I guess I'll just wait until the knockoffs start popping up everywhere because honestly, who doesn't want one of these?!

College Humor & White House PSA to Stop College Sexual Assault

CollegeHumor and The White House collaborated on this brilliant PSA to stop campus rape
Posted by NowThis on Saturday, November 7, 2015

Out next bear-themed item is (surprisingly) this ad produced by CollegeHumor and the White House. You definitely gotta give props to CollegeHumor for this PSA. First of all, it's hilarious, but it also makes an excellent point and draws attention to a very serious issue. If you were in a situation where a bear was going to attack 1 of 5 of your friends, you wouldn't just sit idly by while it happens, so why do that when 1 of 5 people on a college campus will get sexually assaulted? Hats off, CollegeHumor. Hats. Off.

Long Board Dancing

Longboard Dancing 20151115 from hyojoo on Vimeo.
This video is absolutely mesmerizing. It shows a woman dancing - yes, dancing - on her long board while flying down the sidewalk. How someone has that much balance is beyond me, but this is super cool. I highly recommend that you watch this video if you want to be thoroughly impressed!
Ewok Hooded Scarf

And our last bear (kind of) themed is this Ewok hooded scarf from ThinkGeek! How adorably awesome is this?! Just in time for the next Star Wars movie to release in December. I'm obsessed and wouldn't hate it if it would up in my possession before the 18th so I could wear it to the movie. (Yes I'm going on the day it releases. Yes I would love to wear some sort of costume-like outfit. Cullen, Erin, and I are considering Star Wars onesies - cozy AND festive!)

What links are you loving lately?

Happy Vlogidays 2015!

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is one week away?!

Me either, but yes, the holiday season is officially upon us. I blame my busy weeks at work for making the year fly on by but we are coming right down to the end of 2015 which is crazy!

Last year I vlogged throughout the last few weeks of December and posted weekly videos on my YouTube channel. Vlogging during the Christmas season is often referred to as Vlogmas on YouTube, but because I also included New Year's I called my video series "Happy Vlogidays!" (which, in my opinion, sounds so much more like "happy holidays" than Vlogmas sounds like Christmas... but that's just me). I really loved recording my holiday season because we did so many fun things and now I can look back on them for the rest of my life. As we got closer to the end of the year, I knew I wanted to do it again!

This year I'll be starting a bit earlier than last and will be kicking my Happy Vlogidays off with Thanksgiving. My sister is flying up from South Carolina for Thanksgiving this year and because we won't be able to spend Christmas together as a family we're going to celebrate before Thanksgiving on the 25th of November instead of the 25th of December. We have some fun things planned as a family and Brett and I also have some fun events coming up in early December such as going to a Patriots Game (my first Pats game ever!) and our 3 year anniversary, so I definitely want to record those things and share them with you all as well. 

Because I don't have time in my schedule to upload on a daily basis, I'm going to record throughout the week and will be posting the videos on my YouTube channel on every Wednesday starting on December 2nd until January 6th. Make sure you're subscribed to see them as I upload them! (I will post them all as a playlist here on the blog in January as part of a holiday recap, so no worries if you don't want to head over to YouTube but still want to see them.) I'm looking forward to another fun-filled holiday season and to share it with you all!

Race Review: Colt State Park Half Marathon

Last Sunday (Nov. 8th) I ran yet another long-distance race - the Colt State Park Half Marathon in Bristol, RI! This race was put on by the same company that runs the Wolf Hollow Half Marathon which I ran last November - 3C Race Productions - and I've come to the conclusion that they do the most beautiful courses and have the most amazing medals. I definitely was not disappointed with my experience with this race.

The course itself is beautiful and right on the water for the majority of the race. The one thing that disappoints me about both of the 3C races that I've run so far is that the courses cause you to run multiple laps of the same area. I suppose that's why they choose places such beautiful scenery because you have to see the courses more than one time! This course was not an exception - you started out with two 1.5-mile laps and two 5-mile laps to make up the 13.1 miles of the race. Again, it was beautiful enough that I didn't mind all that much, but I do prefer to have a course that I don't have to see over and over again - it keeps my mind off the pain!

Speaking of pain, I was in lots of it during this race. The first two miles my chest was feeling super tight and my breathing was so out of whack that I felt like I was gasping for air which has never really happened to me before (super scary) so I took things very slowly, but once that subsided and I could finally pick up the pace, my left hip and knee started to really bother me and continued to do so until the end of the race. Needless to say, I didn't PR on this race (my final time was 2:34:46 and finished 269th out of 293... yikes) but I managed to finish through all of the pain which I am proud of myself for. I've been taking a bit of a break from running this last week and am going to try and make yoga a regularity in my life again while slowly building up my running strength again. My legs need the break!

One cool thing that did happen was I actually ended up making a friend on the course who happened to be an alum of Mount Holyoke! I was wearing an MHC Rugby shirt during the race and she approached me to ask if I was a student at MHC, and we got to talking for a solid 5 miles! It was really great to make a friend and have someone to talk to throughout the race as it took my mind off the pain in my leg.

Overall, the race was really great. Had I not been in pain, I could have enjoyed it much more, but bad races happen every now and then and it's okay! I think that 3C does a great job with their races despite being a small running company and they travel all over New England, so if you live in the northeast you'll likely be able to find a race by this company that you could participate in!

Book Review: 1984

Last month I read George Orwell's 1984  for the first time. Despite the fact that this title is considered to be a literary classic, I had never had the opportunity to read it in school even though I took countless literature classes in high school and college. I'm really happy that I've challenged myself to read more books that are considered to be classics that I missed because they are definitely classics for a good reason!

When I was considering buying this book for my collection, I kept seeing review that said things along the lines of "even though this story is based in 1984, it couldn't be more relevant for today's society". I totally agree with this, especially in today's societal climate. For example, there's been a lot of discussion of "over-political-correctness" and the prosecution of those that are not careful about what they say, which could be a less extreme version of Orwell's "thoughtcrime". If you think about our dependence on technology, especially on our phones, laptops, and televisions, is extremely comparable to the "telescreens" installed in the homes of citizens to monitor every move and every thought of the people of Oceania. It's pretty scary to think of how the description of society Orwell puts forth in 1984 is so applicable to our society today, especially when you remember that this book was originally published in 1949!

{Source}

The plot is divided into three very distinctive parts - the first is establishing the landscape of the dystopian society that the main character Winston lives in, the second is significant character development for both Winston and his love interest, Julia, and the third is the consequences of their relationship. It has a very natural arc to the story, but it doesn't make you feel like you know exactly what is going to happen. There were some points that Iwas a little bit bored, but for the most part I kept wanting to know more about this world that Winston and Julia lived in and continued to wonder if they could ever escape from their oppressive government.

I can imagine that this story was very cutting edge for its time and I can't imagine how a post-WWII, mid-cold war, propaganda-filled society would have reacted to a book like this. It is often said that this book is what ended up killing Orwell (the book was published in 1949, Orwell died in 1951) and I could totally see how that ides could be plausible. I, of course, can't imagine what it is like to live through a World War, but I can imagine that millions of people had very strong feelings toward what the war was, and it is certainly clear of what Orwell's feelings were through reading this book. I wish I had read this in a literature class to learn more interpretations of this piece because it came out in such an important and interesting time in world history.

How do you feel about this book? What are some of your major takeaways from this piece? I would love to hear more from those of you that have read this in the past. Please let me know in the comments!

Current Workout Plan {Fall 2015}

I"m going to be honest with you all - when it comes to lifting weights I generally have no idea what I'm doing. Even being a varsity collegiate athlete for four years, I don't feel like I retained anything that I learned! One of the perks of dating a Strength & Conditioning Coach, though, is that they can write work outs for you and make you feel like less of an idiot in the weight room, which is exactly what Brett is doing! Hooray! I thought I'd share my workouts that I've been doing the last couple of weeks so you all can take a crack at it if you'd like!

When Brett writes my workouts, he keeps my running in mind (I'm trying to improve my speed) and my desire to one day have arms as nice as Michelle Obama's, so there's a lot of hamstring, arm, and back strengthening going on in these workouts. I also try to integrate some cardio in before I start lifting in order to warm up my muscles. I did workout 1 for 4 weeks and I plan on doing the same for workout 2 (I'm about halfway through!). I may interchange these for a while (I mean it's really up to Coach Angel!) but if I get some new routines I'll share them later on in a winter update post! :)

Workout 1

Perk of having a strength & conditioning coach as your partner: they email you workouts so you don't feel completely lost at the gym. Yay for lifting heavy things! 💪🏻 Thanks Brett! 😘 #SAfit

A photo posted by Riley (@rmfickfack) on Sep 29, 2015 at 4:00pm PDT

Day 1

3x10 - Squats

3x10 - Trunk Twists

3x10 - Hamstring Curls

3x10 - Flutter Kicks

3x10 - Lunge Pulls

3x10 - Bent Rows

3x10 - Sumo Squats

3x10 - Dumbbell Curls

Day 2

3x10 - Dumbbell Bench

3x15 - Calf Raises

3x10 - Tri Kickbacks

3x40 seconds or more - Planks

3x10 - Dumbbell Press

3x25 seconds or more - Side Planks

3x10 - Dumbbell Side Raises

3x8 - Dumbbell Swings

Workout 2

So pumped to integrate the bar back into my workouts! Lifting heavy stuff makes me feel like a BAMF. 💪🏻🏋🏻 #instafit #SAfit #girlsthatlift #bodybyAngel #spacepants

A video posted by Riley (@rmfickfack) on Oct 26, 2015 at 2:28pm PDT

Day 1

3x10 - Goblet Squats

3x10 - Band Press

3x8-10 - Lunge Pulse

3x8 - Hang Cleans

3x10 - Ab Rollouts

3x5 - One-leg Hamstring Curls

3x8 - Lateral Squats

3x8 - Inverted Rows

Day 2

3x10 - Dumbbell Incline Bench

3x8 - Reverse Lunges

3x10 - Tri Push-Ups

3x10 - Reverse Curls

3x8 - One-leg Hip Extensions

3x10 - Dumbbell Plank Rows

3x10 - Dumbbell Front Raises

3x10 - Dumbbell Lateral Pull-Overs

If you have any questions about how to do any of these exercises please let me know in the comments! Perhaps Brett & I can do an exercise video for you all to show you how to do some of these things safely and effectively. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy these workouts! Happy lifting! 💪

Fast & Fun Fall

What a crazy fall it's been! October flew right by with craziness at work and and was jam packed with fun things every weekend. It's true that life seems to go by faster with each passing year, but I personally think it's because as you grow older life gets more and more fun! :) Anywho, here's what I've been up to these last few weeks.

We were all clearly thrilled to be at trivia. Especially Cullen.

Erin, Cullen, and I hit The Quarters after work a two weeks ago for round 2 of Harry Potter Trivia! We went a few months ago for the first round of HP Trivia and didn't do so great. I think we did a bit better the second time around (this time we were named "Gilderoy Pop and Lockharts" XD) but it was packed with people so being competitive was tough for everyone. (There were teams that got literally every question right >_>... putting my HP knowledge to SHAME!) We still had fun, though, which is what matters the most!

1. Reunited with Brittany & Matt at the Pageant!

2. The Homecoming Court in their best duds!

Later in the week I headed to BSU for the Homecoming Pageant! The Pageant is my absolute favorite event that is put on every year, and this year was extra special because I knew pretty much the entire Homecoming Court through working with them during Orientation or through PC. As it does every year, the court made me laugh with their talents and costumes, and made my heart melt with their interview answers. Bridgewater students love their university and every year the seniors in the court reflect on their time at BSU - it gets REAL emotional and I love it. I'm so happy I was able to make it back to campus for this special event.

1 & 2. Jenna toting Erin around in the Student Life wagon after wrapping up FallFest! XD

3 & 4. Staff photo day! We love Dinosaur Office - can you tell?

As I mentioned before, work's been crazy busy. I've found that this part of the year has been even more hectic than September (at least for my position) which is crazytown to think! In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Break we have multiple events on almost every Friday & Saturdthat ay, meaning the time leading up to the events is spent answering emails, holding meetings, and on Fridays and Saturdays I hang out at work til the wee hours of the morning. I'm so happy that I love the work I do, but I'm even happier that I have amazing colleagues to make the craziness all bearable! (Examples of how we laugh through the stress above!)

Birthday cake surprise at midnight!

Brett had his golden birthday last week - 27 on the 27th! Unfortunately he had to work all day, but I surprised him at midnight with a slice of chocolate cake, brought him some lunch, and we we able to have some Chinese food for dinner (our fave)! Later on in the week we were able to have some fun (Halloween weekend!!!) so having a nice low-key birthday was actually pretty nice. :)

1. I was Katniss at work on the 30th - yes that's a marshmallow bow!

2. New Found Glory at the Palladium! 3. My lovely date to the #NFGYC show!
4. Our costume for *official* Halloween - a Blue Barracuda & a Temple Guard from Legends of the Hidden Temple!

Then, my favorite part of the year, Halloween! This year was particularly fun because the holiday fell on a Saturday which works perfectly for both Brett and my schedules and we were able to plan lots of fun activities for ourselves! On Friday our office hosted a trick-or-treat for students so we all dressed up in costumes. I was dressed at Katniss from The Hunger Games and was complete with a marshmallow bow and arrow (these are the things you'll find in your office when you work in Student Activities). Everyone else had great costumes, so I highly encourage you to check out our Instagram page to check them out!

Friday evening was something that Brett and I had been waiting for since June - the New Found Glory & Yellowcard concert at the Palladium! NFG and Yellowcard both played for about an hour and it. was. awesome. It's so amazing to see such a passionate crowd and performances that had so much energy after nearly 20 years of each band being together. We had a blast belting out nearly every song of both sets and dancing around. Even though each set was an hour I wish they could have been longer! Hopefully, because NFG's 20 year anniversary is in 2017, they'll be touring again very soon!

Finally, on the 31st, we were able to hang out with Erin, Cullen, Tim, and a bunch of their friends for a Halloween party! Brett and I went as a Blue Barracuda and a Temple Guard from Legends of the Hidden Temple, a Nickelodeon game show from we were kids. True 90's kids right here! I loved our costumes this year and we got a lot of compliments on them (though there were quite a few people who didn't understand what we were, haha!). We had a really great time hanging out with everyone and having a fun, relaxing time for a change!

Clearly, things have been crazy, but they've been lots of fun as well!

How have things been for you all?

November Book Club Selection: The Hobbit

Somehow it's November which means it's time to read a new book! Going with the theme of "Classic Literature that Literally Everyone Else In the World has Read Besides Riley", I've decided to read The Hobbit this month! I've seen the final movie with Brett when it released in theaters last winter, but other than that one film, I don't know anything about this story - not even the more famous Lord of the Rings franchise! I figure that winding down the year with a classic like this.

If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) -- if you do not already know all about these things -- much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise.

I'm excited to finally read this book! I've had a copy of The Hobbit sitting on my shelf since I was in about 6th grade (the cover is actually really cool! It's not the one shown above and I couldn't find it with a Google image search, but perhaps for the review I'll take a picture to show you all!) but I've never picked it up for some reason. I'm sure I'll really enjoy it and I'm definitely looking forward to reading this story!

How many of you love The Hobbit?