Thursday, March 11, 2021

Product Review: WhitePaws Run Mitts

Disclaimer: I received a pair of WhitePaws Run Mitts to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!


Over the last few weeks I've had the opportunity to test out a pair of Whitepaws Run Mitts! As y'all know, I live in chilly New England and if it were possible I would 100% abolish winter. I'm always looking for ways to stay warm during the chilly months, and when the opportunity presented itself to give these babies a try, I immediately jumped on them!


These gloves have a unique design. They're kind of like mittens, but there's no thumbs! I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to feel about them, but WOW - do they keep your hands toasty warm! It must be because your hand is nestled all into one compartment, but I honestly have never had a warmer pair of gloves to run with (and I've tested MANY!). The tops of these gloves also flip open so you can easily get your hand out without having to take the glove completely off in the middle of your run. Super handy if you need to check your phone or cool off your hands!

I honestly have nothing bad to say about these gloves. I'm very critical about my winter gear and its ability to keep me warm, and the WhitePaws Run Mitts gets a 10/10 on the warmth, comfort, and practicality scale (which are the only scales you need when it's 15 degrees outside). I would 100% recommend that you add these gloves to your cold weather running arsenal. They were honestly a life saver as I rode out these last few cold, wintery weeks!

If you're interested in supporting this incredible Black-owned, woman-owned business and snagging a pair of WhitePaws Run Mitts for yourself, head over to runmitts.com and use code "BIBRAVE5" for $5 off your order through March 31st!

Friday, March 5, 2021

📥TBR In & Out 📤 // February 2021

Even though I read a decent amount of books in February, the majority of them were audiobooks from the library so my TBR stayed pretty stagnant 😅 The good thing is that so far in 2021, the only books that have been coming into my TBR have been my three BOTM books each month, which means that at least keeping my TBR at the same number is easy enough, haha. I'm trying to keep myself to *at least* reading as many of my owned book as I acquire in the month, and in my mind I've been telling myself that if I don't do that, I will not be able to buy books in the following months. Honestly it's a pretty low bar to set 😂 but we're gonna roll with it! Here's my stats for February:

TBR # ON FEBRUARY 1, 2021:
145

BOOKS ACQUIRED:
+3

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell'Antonia

OWNED TBR BOOKS READ:
-3

Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

OWNED TBR BOOKS UNHAULED:
-0

TBR # ON MARCH 1, 2021
145

OTHER BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY

Becoming by Michelle Obama
SLAY by Brittney Morris
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Monthly Reading Wrap Up 🖤 February 2021

For being the shortest month of the year, I actually had a really successful month of reading in February! Because February is Black History Month, I really wanted to prioritize reading books about Black characters and by Black authors. The only book that didn't fit this criteria was Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe which I finished early in the month (February 4th) and I had been working on since July 2019. This book has been hanging over my head for so long and I was thrilled to finally finish it! After that, every book I picked up was by a Black author with a Black-centered story. I, of course, want to make this a priority year-round, and will continue to track the identities that I'm reading from throughout the year.

Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe
2/5 Stars
818 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Year: 2009
Age Group: Middle Grade
Format: Physical

 

Becoming by Michelle Obama
4/5 Stars
426 pages
Genre: Memoir
Publication Year: 2018
Age Group: Other
Format: Audiobook (Library) 


The Color Purple by Alice Walker 
4/5 Stars
302 pages
Genre: Classic
Publication Year: 1982
Age Group: Adult
Format: Kindle


SLAY by Brittney Morris
4/5 Stars
323 pages
Genre: Contemporary
Publication Year: 2019
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Audiobook (Library)


Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
5/5 Stars
380 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Year: 2019
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Audiobook (Library)


Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
3/5 Stars
298 pages
Genre: Contemporary
Publication Year: 2021
Age Group: Adult
Format: Physical


Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson
2/5 Stars
336 pages
Genre: Contemporary
Publication Year: 2020
Age Group: Adult
Format: Audiobook (Library)

READING TOTALS

Total Books: 7
Total Pages: 2,883
Owned TBR Books Read: 3
New-to-me reads: 7
Buddy reads: 0
Re-reads: 0

GENRE STATS

Classic: 1
Contemporary: 3
Fantasy: 1
Historical Fiction: 1
Memoir: 1

BOOK FORMAT STATS

Audiobook (Library): 4
Kindle: 1
Physical: 2

AGE GROUP STATS

Adult: 3
Middle Grade: 1
Other: 1
Young Adult: 2

PUBLICATION DATE STATS

1980-1989: 1
2000-2009: 1
2010-2019: 3
2020-2021: 2

RATING STATS

5 Stars: 1
4 Stars: 3
3 Stars: 1
2 Stars: 2
1 Star: 0