Blog Ahead Wrap Up | Blog Ahead #30

Blog Ahead #30 (!!!)
Originally written on October 29, 2018

YOU GUYS! I DID IT!

Well, I mean, you guys knew that since by the time this post goes live every one of these 30 posts will be up on my blog, but I'm FINALLY WRITING MY LAST BLOG AHEAD POST AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I MANAGED TO WRITE AND SCHEDULE 30 POSTS WITHIN A MONTH!!! This is the last post that I'm writing for this challenge and I'm writing it on October 29th. Here's proof:

It's a post within a post! #postception

When I started this challenge on a whim earlier this month, I really wasn't sure whether or not I would finish it, but I'm so happy I took the challenge on and really forced myself to think creatively when it comes to my blog. I've produced 30 posts that I'm excited for you to read (and hopefully you have already by the time that this goes live!) and it's honestly become easier for me to just let my brain flow onto a blog post without making it ~perfect~, which I honestly think is what this challenge is all about. Just write write write! It's much easier to write when you aren't second guessing yourself at every turn.

I won't lie, there were some times where the absolute last thing I wanted to do was focus my energy on a blog post that I wasn't really in the mood to write, but once I sat down and started typing and searching for images and links to share, it was honestly so much fun! I hope this challenge will encourage me to post over here on this little blog of mine more regularly and consistently because blogging was honestly my first love on the internet and I would really love to make it more of a priority when it comes to producing content online.

If you haven't seen read seen my Blog Ahead posts, make sure you click on the Blog Ahead tag (here!) to see everything that went live over the last two months! Also, please don't hesitate to give me feedback on the posts that I did share (or any post for that matter) because I'd love to improve my blogging ~skillz~ and make this blog a more enjoyable place for readers.

Screenshots of my 30 beautifully scheduled blog posts :')

Did you participate in Blog Ahead? Have you participated in a blogging challenge in the past? 

Let me know in the comments!

2019 Reading Challenge | Blog Ahead #29

Blog Ahead #29
Originally written on October 18, 2018

As the year winds down, it's time to think about goals for the new year! It's been a while since I took on a year-long reading challenge so I thought I'd throw together one for 2019. Similarly to my 2017 reading challenge, I drew these challenge ideas from both the TBR books I currently have on my shelf and ideas that I found on already existing reading challenge lists. There's 52 challenges, so if I complete one challenge a week, I'll be able to complete the whole list! Here are the challenges I plan to take on - feel free to steal! :)

1. A book with a time of day in the title
2. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift
3. A book by multiple authors
4. A book with alliteration in the title
5. A book by an author who uses a pseudonym
6. A book with pictures
7. A book you bought on a trip
8. A bestseller from 2018
9. A book with multiple POVs
10. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read
11. A book published in 2019
12. A book set in a fictional location
13. A book with a form of punctuation in the title
14. A book with 5 or more words in the title
15. A book with a one word title
16. A book set in North America
17. A book set in South America
18. A book set in Europe
19. A book set in Asia
20. A book set in Australia
21. A book set in Africa
22. A book set in or featuring Antarctica
23. A book with a shiny cover
24. A retelling
25. A book with more than 600 pages
26. A graphic novel
27. A book with an animal on the cover
28. A book that was published in your birth month
29. A book with a location in the title
30. A book featuring a historical event that happened during your lifetime
31. A young adult novel
32. A middle grade novel
33. A book with an emotion in the title
34. A book that is the first book in a series
35. A book that has been adapted to a film or television series
36. A book by a favorite author
37. A love story
38. A book with magic in it
39. A book with a face on the cover
40. A book that has 100,000 or more ratings on GoodReads
41. A book that was picked out by a friend
42. A book with a black and white color scheme on the cover
43. A book you're nervous to pick up
44. A book with a main character you have something in common with
45. A book from an author that has written more than 10 books
46. A book you will read within 24 hours
47. A book with your initials on the cover
48. A book you heard about from BookTube
49. A book with 150 pages or less
50. A book written by an actor
51. A book that has won an award
52. A book with geometric features on the cover

Are you doing a reading challenge for 2019?
Let me know which one you're doing in the comments!

Hygge | Blog Ahead #28

Blog Ahead #28
Originally written on October 29, 2018

I feel like the holiday season is such a whirlwind and before we know it we're setting our goals for the new year and settling in for a long, cold winter. One of the things that has been getting me through the last couple of winters is a Danish concept that is known as hygge.

"Hygge (/ˈhjuːɡə/ HEW-gə or /ˈhuːɡə/ HOO-gə) is a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment."

While there isn't a direct translation into English, hygge is the idea and feeling of being cozy and comfortable. I don't think anyone can say they dislike being cozy (if you dislike being cozy, I'd love to pick your brain :P), so I thought it would be fun to collect some of my favorite hygge things on today's Blog Ahead post to remind myself the the cold months don't have to be *all* bad. ;)

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~Warming up next to a heater or a fire after being outside in the cold for a while

~Being surrounded with fuzzy blankets

~Burning scented candles

~The smell of a delicious warm snack baking in the oven while watching a football game with friends

~Holding a nice hot mug of cocoa, coffee, or hot cider in my cold hands

~Turning off all the lamps and lighting a room with candles and fairy lights

~Baking all day and enjoying your creations with your friends

~Harry Potter... the books and the movies are the embodiment of hygge for me!

~Wearing fuzzy socks & slippers around the house

~Reading a good book while the snow is falling

~Puppy snuggles

What are the things that make you feel hygge?

Childhood Christmas Memories | Blog Ahead #27

Blog Ahead #27
Originally written on October 29, 2018

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I hope that the folks that celebrate are enjoying their holiday and for those who don't that you're enjoying your Monday. :) As it's the day before Christmas, I wanted to share a list of some Christmas memories I have from my childhood with you all. It's always fun to reminisce on old times around this time of year and remember the moments and the people that make this holiday so special.

~When I was a kid, we would always bake cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. We would usually do gingerbread cookies and we had these cookie cutters we would always use - a gingerbread man, a gingerbread woman, a bell, and a boot! The best part was when we'd get to decorate the cookies using frosting bags. It was so fun to be creative that way!

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~Speaking of things we would leave out, we would also leave out carrots and celery for the reindeer, as well as notes for Santa! When we woke up in the morning, it was so magical to see the cookies and veggies eaten, and a reply from Santa himself! Sometimes he would even get one of the reindeer to leave a hoof print at the bottom of our note! I so wish I had an example to show you all because it really was so amazing to experience that as a kid!

~When the internet became a bigger part of our life, my dad found us the NORAD Santa Tracker which was just about the coolest thing ever to look at as a kid. It would track Santa's Christmas Eve flight so you could see when he was in different parts of the world and even how many gifts he had distributed thus far. This is such a fond memory of mine that I often still do this from year to year, just to check in. ;)

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~The Nightmare Before Christmas was my sister and I's go-to Christmas movie each year. I will argue to the death that this is much more a Christmas movie than a Halloween movie, mainly because that's the memories I have attached to it. I will always have a soft spot for Jack Skellington and his crew! Other favorite childhood Christmas movies include Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (both the animated and Jim Carrey versions.

~One of the most memorable Christmas gifts I ever received were these purple sleds that were given to both me and my sister. I don't know why those always stand out the most to me for Christmas gifts. I want to say it snowed the Christmas and we were able to go sledding on the hill behind our house that same day. Whatever it was that has stuck those sleds in my memory, I don't think I'll ever forget them!

~There's a funny Christmas tradition that we've developed over the years, but I'm fairly certain it started when I was a kid. We've always had a dog in our family, and on Christmas morning while we open gifts we would usually take the adhesive bows on the gifts and stick them on whichever dog is closest, to various degrees of success. Mostly they ignore them and sometimes they're shaken off, but it's always so cute and quite entertaining.

There are so many other memories I can think of, but I think I'll save those for future years. :) 

I hope you all enjoy your Christmas and make lots of new memories this holiday!

Christmas Traditions I Wish We Had in the States | Blog Ahead #26

Blog Ahead #26
Originally written on October 26, 2018

I really like to learn about unique Christmas traditions, whether those are traditions that happen in different households or from around the world! The US is unique in a way that there's many different holiday traditions based on different family heritage. Most of the people who live in this country have family members in the ancestry that were immigrants from different countries, so that definitely has had some influence in the way we celebrate here. For today's post, I wanted to do some research on some traditions that I would love to see come to the States, and maybe adopt into my own practice! ;)

Rollerblading (Venezuela)

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This is so much fun! In many parts of Venezuela, folks roller blade to Christmas mass. It's so popular in some communities that roads get closed down to make it easier and safer for roller bladers. What a fun and unique activity for folks to take part in on a special day of the year!

Jolabokaflod (Iceland)

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This, for obvious reasons, is my favorite of Christmas traditions around the world. In Iceland, folks will gift each other a book on Christmas Eve and the idea is that you will read the book all night until Christmas morning, getting cozy, reading, and eating chocolate!

Christmas crackers (United Kingdom)

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I've always been so intrigued by the idea of Christmas crackers - a little Christmas treat at your holiday dinner! I don't know why that isn't something that Americans have adopted from our UK pals, but I'm totally on board for stealing this idea from them! ;)

Advent Calendars (Switzerland)

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I love the idea of advent calendars! These aren't the most popular things in the US (some folks do calendars with really bad chocolate in them that you can buy at the grocery store), but in Switzerland and other parts of Europe, folks will buy or make advent calendars to be opened each day leading up to Christmas day. Brett and I got into this tradition last year and I absolutely love it. It's so fun to have a little festive activity to do each day leading up to Christmas!

Treats & sweets instead of gifts (India)

Coconut burfi - an Indian sweet that is traditionally made for Diwali & Christmas.
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In India, folks will give each other treats and candy in lieu of gifts. As I've gotten older I've realized that the pressure of gift giving an receiving is more stressful than fun, so something like this I can totally get behind!

Spread happiness and love (Japan)

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I also love the idea that in Japan, Christmas is more of a celebration to spread happiness and love than a religious holiday. Christmas Eve is even considered to be Japan's biggest date night, surpassing Valentine's Day! I am not particularly religious myself and celebrate Christmas more for the tradition than anything else, so incorporating the idea of spreading love and happiness is something I would love to be more of a focus here in the States.

What Christmas traditions do you wish you had in your part of the world?

Highly Anticipated 2019 Book Releases | Blog Ahead #25

Blog Ahead #25

Originally written on October 29, 2018

Now that we are nearing the end of 2018 (so crazy!!!), I'm getting super excited about the 2019 book releases that are on my radar! I'm not usually one who is necessarily on top of all of the new releases in the book world, but I couldn't help but take a peak at a few lists of what's coming out next year so I can identify the titles to keep an eye out for! I'm sure this list will grow as I learn more about what's coming out next year, but for now, these are the top titles I will be looking forward to!

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No One Here is Lonely by Sarah Everett
(January 22, 2019)

Synopsis: "Our entire lives are online, but what if the boy you love actually lives there? For fans of Adam Silvera comes a story about the future of relationships.

Eden has always had two loves: her best friend, Lacey, and her crush, Will. And then, almost simultaneously, she loses them both. Will to a car accident and Lacey to the inevitable growing up and growing apart.

Devastated by the holes they have left in her life, Eden finds solace in an unlikely place. Before he died, Will set up an account with In Good Company, a service that uploads voices and emails and creates a digital companion that can be called anytime, day or night. It couldn’t come at a better time because, after losing Lacey–the hardest thing Eden has had to deal with–who else can she confide all her secrets to? Who is Eden without Lacey?

As Eden falls deeper into her relationship with “Will,” she hardly notices as her real life blooms around her. There is a new job, new friends. Then there is Oliver. He’s Lacey’s twin, so has always been off-limits to her, until now. He may be real, but to have him, will Eden be able to say goodbye to Will?"

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On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
(February 5, 2019)

Synopsis: "Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families."

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Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
(February 12, 2019)

Synopsis: "Miriam's family should be rich. After all, her grandfather was the co-creator of smash-hit comics series The TomorrowMen. But he sold his rights to the series to his co-creator in the 1960s for practically nothing, and now that's what Miriam has: practically nothing. And practically nothing to look forward to either-how can she afford college when her family can barely keep a roof above their heads? As if she didn't have enough to worry about, Miriam's life gets much more complicated when a cute boy shows up in town . . . and turns out to be the grandson of the man who defrauded Miriam's grandfather, and heir to the TomorrowMen fortune.

In her endearing debut novel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks pens a sensitive and funny Romeo and Juliet tale about modern romance, geek royalty, and what it takes to heal the long-festering scars of the past (Spoiler Alert: love)."

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Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heart Break by Adi Alsaid

(April 30, 2019)

Synopsis: "Has heartbreak broken her for good?

Dumped by her boyfriend the summer after senior year, teen love and relationship columnist Lu Charles has hit a wall with her writing. The words just won’t come to her like they used to and if she doesn’t find a topic for her column, she’ll lose her gig at hip online magazine Misnomer, and the college scholarship that goes along with it.

Her best friend, Pete, thinks she should write through her own pain, but when Lu overhears another couple planning a precollege breakup just like hers, she becomes convinced that they’re the answer to cracking her writer’s block. And when she meets them—super-practical Iris and cute, sweet Cal—and discovers they’re postponing their breakup until the end of the summer, she has to know more.

Have Cal and Iris prolonged their own misery by staying together, knowing the end is in sight? Or does the secret to figuring out all this love business—and getting over it—lie with them? One thing is certain—if Lu can’t make a breakthrough before summer is over, she can kiss her future goodbye.

From the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost and North of Happy comes a touching exploration of love, relationships and the pain of breaking up."

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
(June 4, 2019)
***Cover not released as of writing this post***

Synopsis: "The new series centers on Alex Stern, a 20-year-old California high school dropout with a criminal past who is mysteriously offered a second chance as a Yale University freshman. Ninth House, the first book, follows Stern’s freshman year, where she is charged with monitoring Yale’s secret societies, who engage in sinister occult activities."

What 2019 book releases are you most excited about?

Things I (Begrudgingly) Like About Winter | Blog Ahead #24

Blog Ahead #24
Originally written on October 26, 2018

It's no secret - I am not a fan of winter. I hate the cold. I hate the dark. I'm not the biggest fan of the holidays or the snow. There's just not a lot of appeal to winter for me, so I dread it each and every year. The day this post goes live is the first official day of winter, and lucky for me, I'll be on a plane headed south to Florida for the Holidays. Thanks, Mom & Dad! ;) But, because I spend so much time complaining about the winter, I thought I'd kick off this terrible season on a more positive note. I thought it'd be great to share the things that I actually like about the winter time, as few and far between as they may be. :P

Hot beverages

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I love me a good hot beverage. Even though I'm a New Englander and will willingly drink an iced coffee when it's -12°, I love a toasty warm hot coffee in the morning. Hot vanilla lattes are probably my favorite coffee beverage, with hot apple cider being my favorite cold weather drink. I also can't say no to a good hot chocolate or hot toddy if I'm looking for an adult beverage! There's something so comforting about drinking something warm and feeling the warmth spread through your whole body.

Snow days

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As much as I'm not a fan of dealing with the snow (shoveling, wiping off my car, getting stuck in my own driveway, etc.) there's something that's pretty magical about having a day stuck at home while you're getting snowed in. I work in the education field, meaning I still get snow days if the college I work at gets closed... pretty awesome! I love having an excuse to stay in jammies all day, make pancakes, and watch movies! Snow days are the best and even I can't argue that!

Football & hockey

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Winter is the season that both of my favorite sports to watch are on all. the. time. I find football Sundays so cozy and watching hockey games so exciting that I definitely look forward to their seasons coming around each year. At least that's something that distracts from the face that it's winter time!

Sweaters & scarves

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Not gonna lie, my winter uniform basically consists of sweater + scarf + black pants. Every damn day in the office. It makes getting dressed in the morning so much easier and so much cozier. You really can't resist a good cozy sweater + scarf combo!

Trying new recipes

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I feel like winter is the time of year where I'm the most adventurous when it comes to cooking. I'm always on the hunt for new recipes for warm comfort foods to eat on cold, snowy afternoons. My slow cooker and I become best friends in the colder months, and I'm baking different things what seems like every weekend. It's actually so much fun, and so tasty!

What are your favorite things about winter?

Fall 2018 Book Haul!

The end of a season means it's time for a book haul on my channel! As I do my hauls quarterly, they tend to be quite large, but I've been making an effort to scale back my book buying as much as possible and as a result, my haul for this season is a bit smaller than they have been in past quarters. I'm aiming for an even smaller haul for the winter, but we shall see how that goes! 😂 Anywho, I've listed the books I acquired in the fall below, and if you'd like to hear me speak a bit more about each, make sure you hit play on the video above! 🤗

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 10-12 by Hiromu Arakawa

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Ried

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Matilda by Roald Dahl

The BFG by Roald Dahl

The Witches by Roald Dahl

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin

One Day in December by Josie Silver

No Exit by Taylor Adams

Severence by Ling Ma

What If It's Us by Adam Silvera

A Week of Surprises & Festive Fun

Another whirlwind of a week has come and gone! It really feels like the closer we get to the end of the year the fast time flies. There's just so much that needs to get done! This past week was no different.

The first major thing of note happened last Thursday when I came home to a mysterious Amazon package. All of my gifts that I had ordered online were accounted for, but I wasn't sure if I had ordered something and forgot, or that Brett sneakily ordered me something for our anniversary the next day (he swore he didn't -- I was skeptical). I finally opene dup th ebox and it turned out to be What If It's Us by Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli sent from my good buddy Michael! It was such a surprise and so fun to come home to that after a long day of work!

Brett and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Friday (!!!) and as we're trying to save up for the next step of our life (hopefully moving closer to Boston within the next year), we still wanted to celebrate, so we went out for a yummy dinner at a local Japanese restaurant for delicious sushi and scorpion bowls (our scorpion bowl was called the Godzilla - amazing). It's so wild that's it's been 6 years since our first date and it was great to have a chance to spend some time just the two of us before hoping right back into the insanity of the holiday season.

Saturday we went out to Brett's family's house for their annual holiday get together for food, drink, family, and a gift exchange! We had such a fun time hanging out with everyone. Everyone really enjoyed the gifts we got them (Sophia LOVED her books! I may or may not be conspiring to turn her into a little book worm... 😇

The biggest surprise of the evening was when Brett brought out a gift for me from EVERYONE, and it turns out that everyone came together and got me a NINTENDO FREAKING SWITCH for Christmas! 😭😭😭 If you read this year's Dear Santa post, you'll know this is one of the items that I would have LOVED to receive for Christmas this year. And welp... I got my Christmas wish! I am so grateful for everyone who came together to give me this extremely generous gift. I've already been playing it a bunch and I can't wait to continue!

This week has been my last week of work before we head down to Florida tomorrow (!!!) and as predicted it has been hectic AF. I tried my hardest on Sunday to get a ton of things done (groceries, editing, pre-filming, packing, etc.) but I was battling feeling kind of dizzy throughout the day and had to take lots of breaks to lay down. UGH. Always so frustrating when you don't feel well but also have a to-do list that's a mile long!

This week was packed with holiday festivities including two holiday parties, a night of making SO MANY COOKIES, a cookie swap (for the aforementioned cookies) and a festive readathon, all while trying to get mentally and physically prepared for taking nearly two weeks away from home over the holidays. WHEW. It's been a lot, but it's also been so fun in the mean time! Usually the busy-ness of the season really stresses me out, but this year I really seem to be enjoying it. (Although, not gonna lie, now that I've had time to breathe this afternoon the anxiety has been knocking on my mental door. 😣)

My TBR pile for the Christmas at Hogwarts readathon that is happening this week.

Blue circle: Lupita being *real* comfortable under the blankets
Red circle: Brett hanging on for dear life to the edge of the bed
Lupita's really pushing her boundaries when she sleeps in bed with us recently 😂

Enjoying one of my reads for Christmas at Hogwarts ♥️

I made chocolate covered Oreos for our staff Christmas party, both white and milk chocolate. The white chocolate are above. They were a huge hit with both my staff and Brett! 😂
You can find the recipe I followed here!

It's always so hard to say goodbye to Lupita and Poppy when we have to leave for a long period of time.
We always miss them so much! This is the cuteness we had to leave behind this morning... 😭

Today was my last day of work before a beautiful 12-day vacation! We're flying out of Boston tomorrow morning, so instead of driving all the way back to our place in central MA tonight just to drive all the way to the airport in the morning, Brett and I thought it would be smartest for us to stay with a friend in the city instead, which means he came to work with me today! I tend to get into work about an hour early as to beat traffic, so we went to one of my favorite breakfast spots in the area called In a Pickle in the time we had before the work day started.

My epic waffle at In a Pickle this morning. Leslie Knope would be proud. 

After breakfast we headed to the office, where I gave him a tour of the building that I work in and he got to meet my staff for the first time which was so much fun! He's been hearing all about my new job and my new staff for months now so I was happy he got the chance to come to campus with me for a day.

And he came on such a fun day as well! Our entire division did a Cookie Swap, which I had never participated in before, but was actually a lot of fun! The idea is that each person brings in a bunch of cookies of their own recipe, then we all set out our cookies and we get to take a variety of cookies from everyone else! We wound up with SO MANY MORE COOKIES than we brought, which was weird because I still have an entire box of cookies from what I made left over. 😂 Either way, it was a fun festive activity that I had never done before, so I was glad I got to participate.

I brought Peanut Butter Fudge No-Bake Cookies, which are some of my all time faves. I forgot to snap a photo for the blog, but you will be able to see them in my Happy Vlogidays Week 3 Vlog (which should go live this weekend) AND you can find the recipe I used here! It's actually super easy and produces the most delicious peanut butter chocolatey goodness you can imagine. YUM.

And that catches us up to right now, as I sit on our friend's couch typing this post and Brett snoozes next to me. I'll be waking him up in a bit so we can order dinner, but not before I get some Christmas at Hogwarts reading done. I may even pop open the champagne my director gifted me and sneak some of the cookies we swapped from this afternoon. The less I have to carry on the plane, the better, right? 😉 

Like I mentioned, we'll be flying down to Florida in the morning to spend Christmas with my parents. I'm SO looking forward to seeing them, Kiwi, and Mikey, and getting some sunshine. It is much needed! It'll be such a great holiday and I'm so happy it's here. 🌞 

What are you doing this weekend? Have any plans for the last few days of the year?

Let me know in the comments!

LINKS I LOVED THIS WEEK

Hogwarts House Uniform Wearable Snuggie-Like Throw Blanket from Geekologie

So Much Christmas Spirit: Video Of A Guy In A Truck Completely Covered In Christmas Lights Doing Donuts At Night from Geekologie

Home Alone Again with the Google Assistant from YouTube

Grasshopper Brownie Cookies from Oh My Veggies!

2018 Christmassy Book Selection | Blog Ahead #23

Blog Ahead #23
Originally written on October 15, 2018

Every year for the last few years I've made it a point to read a Christmassy book in December. Curling up with something festive has always put me in a great mood through the holiday season so it's become a bit of a tradition for me to pick out a specific Christmassy book each year. This year is no different! I've been saving this particular title for the holiday season and I'm so excited to finally get to it. As we're approaching Christmas, I'll be reading Landline by Rainbow Rowell. While it's not blatantly about Christmas, it is set around the holiday season and is bound to have some Christmas themes throughout. Keep reading to find the synopsis!

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Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. 

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her. 

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything. That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts... Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Have you read Landline? What did you think? 

Let me know in the comments!

Favorite Foods of the Season | Blog Ahead #22

Blog Ahead #22
Originally written on October 29, 2018

One of the best things about this time of this year, both the holidays and the colder weeks of the late-fall, is the seasonal foods! I thought I should share some links out to my absolute favorite foods that I only seem to eat around this time of year. As I was gathering photos and links to these three foods that I'll be sharing with you, my mouth was watering and my stomach was growling SO MUCH! I'm definitely ready for these seasonal foods to be back in my life! Highly recommend you get your hands on these treats this year as well. ;)

Baked Brie in Puffed Pastry

Recipe from tbsp.

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Green Bean Casserole

Recipe from Campbell's

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Foodie Crush

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What seasonal foods are you excited to eat?

Our Songs | Blog Ahead #21

Blog Ahead #21
Originally written on October 25, 2018

The day this post goes live is the six year anniversary of my first date with Brett! We've been through so much together and I know we will move forward in life together for many years to come. As I'm writing this post in advance, I'm not quite sure how we're planning to celebrate this milestone, but I thought I would share a playlist of songs that remind me of us. I'm not going to give you all any context for these as each has special meaning to me for different reasons, but click play to hear the songs that I consider to be "ours". <3

End of Semester Stress

Festive view from my bed. I love that my bookshelf looks like a little fireplace waiting for Santa!

LOL @ me for thinking that the semester ending would slow things down for me at work. NOPE. Had the opposite effect, apparently! Classes officially ended on Monday which means a lot of things were due for students in our office, including any financial transactions they wanted to make (which directly impacts my job). Of course students wait til the last possible minute to do what they need to do, leaving us to be a bit frantic about tying up loose ends on our side of things. It's been a little crazy and stressful, but we're getting through it!

That being said, not a ton of things of note have been going on in my life this week outside of work. Just really starting to get things squared away before we leave for Florida next week (!!!) and trying hard not to lose my mind through this busy time of year. Luckily people seem to be in cheerier moods and feeling festive and goofy which makes the stressfulness much more bearable. I definitely appreciate that! 😊

Monday morning brought something called the Basket of Goodness to our kitchen at work! Apparently, one former staff member (who is now retired) brings all of this HOME COOKED food into the Student Affairs suite around the end of the fall semester, including homemade English muffins, cookies, rice krispies, breads, butters, cinnamon rolls... basically any baked good you can imagine, for everyone to share! I was a big fan and this was my main source of breakfast for a couple days early in the week. Absolutely loved it, and continuing to love the family feel of being a part of the Bentley staff!

It's finals week for our students, meaning they are in full blown study mode. Our building is completely taken over by students and their books and laptops as they rush toward the finish line of the semester. I will say that Bentley does a fantastic job of supporting students throughout finals - better than I've seen on any other campus I've worked at. Yesterday morning there was free coffee and bagels for students, and throughout the week we've been pushing a Snack Cart around the building to the big study areas for students to grab some free study fuel and to-go de-stress activities like coloring books and fidget toys. I'm absolutely loving the idea of meeting the students where they're at to provide a but of joy and motivation throughout a stressful week!

I've never related so hard to something in my life 😂 #longcommutelife

Despite being busy this week, I've been able to get quite a bit of reading done! I finished One Day in December by Josie Silver on Tuesday which was the contemporary book I NEEDED to kind of remotivate me to finish my reading year strong. It was a great distraction to the stress of work! I had been reading American Psycho last week and while I'm enjoying it, it's hard to be in the headspace of an angry, psychotic main character when I was feeling so stressed myself. I definitely needed the genre change and I'm glad I was able to breeze through it!

I also finished Dare to Lead by Brene Brown on my commute into work this morning. This was the pick for our Professional Development book club at work and I am so happy that I got the chance to read it! Brene Brown always calls me out on my lack of vulnerability, being "armored up", and my perfectionism, and it is just so refreshing to hear someone speak so frankly about the big elephant in the room - we all need to be better about being honest, about "rumbling" (or having hard conversations to accomplish the goals that we've set out), and about being okay with being vulnerable because we *all* feel that way! Highly recommend you all check out this book if you, like me, suffer from anxiety induced perfectionism. 😜

Me AF 😂 Sorry, y'all - I'm not a hugger.

For some reason I keep stumbling across running mugs on Instagram that I would LOVE to have in my mug collection. I mean, I don't need them (I have approximately 85,000 mugs 😂) but the sayings are just so cute and I feel like they will cheer me up on a Monday morning as I grumble at the end to another weekend. What do you guys think?

So adorable! 😍

Speaking of things that I'm stumbling across on Instagram - THEY ANNOUNCED THE THEME OF THE NEXT SEASON OF THE CHALLENGE AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.

Brett and I are huge fans of The Challenge so I instantly screen shotted this post and sent it his way. Both of our reacations: WHAT DOES WAR OF THE WORLDS MEAN AND WHY ISN'T THIS SEASON ON RIGHT THIS MINUTE?! 😂 Either way, we are very excited for this new season. I love that this has been a show we've been able to bond over throughout the entirety of our relationship and that we continue to get excited about every season!

This weekend is our last weekend at home for a little while. Tomorrow is our 6 year anniversary (!!!) I think we'll be doing a dinner out to celebrate. I can't believe it's already been 6 years! It does not feel like it's been that long at all. I think that's a good thing! 😊 We'll be spending Saturday evening with Brett's family celebrating Christmas with them a bit early, and Sunday will mainly be doing laundry/starting to pack as I will have little to no time to pack for our trip during the week. I can't believe we're leaving for Florida next weekend but at the same time I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT! I'm already so over this cold weather and the daily grind of work every day. I'm so excited to have a break, see my family and friends, and just ~relax~. Only 8 more days!

LINKS I LOVE THIS WEEK

Chocolate Dipped Oreo Cookies from Two Peas & Their Pod

High Fiving Grandma from HUUB Design

Me AF from Viral Videos

Alpha Kappa Alpha joins BSU from Bridgewater State University

One Woman Recreated Rachel Green's Greatest Friends Fashion Moments from Cosmopolitan

Violent Dog Attacks Delivery Man from UNILAD

A real-life Mr. Clean from Nameless Network

The Teacher's Pet Podcast from The Australian

Bot Watches 1,000 Hours of Hallmark Christmas Movies and Writes a Script from Twitter

Rock-A-Bye Puppy from Twitter