Saturday, September 30, 2017

Games, Football, and My Birthday! -- My September Highlights

September is over. It's been a great month.


~The weather has definitely been feeling more like fall. The beginning of the month it was super smoky around here and for several days we had a red moon from all of the smoke. Last week it was really rainy, but this week has just been sunny, but not too hot.


~I got a new violin student. It's going well so far.
I also started my students on Christmas songs this week so that they have enough time to work on their songs for a recital in December.

~We hosted a game day at our house. It was really fun. We had friends over and everybody just played different games and visited. A few days later my sister and I went to a game night at our church.

~Two of my brothers are playing flag football. I've been going to the games that I can make and it's been fun.

~I watched a lot of Signed, Sealed, Delivered. It is such a fun show. My mom and I had a Signed, Sealed, Delivered marathon and it was super fun. I have also been watching Chesapeake Shores. There's only 2 episodes left until the season finale.

~Fall finally came! I just love fall and winter! On the first day of fall I went down to a nursing home and passed out "Happy Fall" cards that I made.

~Some friends and I had a girls night. We stayed up late and just had fun talking, watching movies, and playing games.

~I went to a library book sale. I didn't find much, but it was still fun.

~The day before my birthday my mom and I went book shopping and it was a lot of fun. Then later in the day my dad and I went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.

~My birthday was this month! :D I had a fun day!

Some of the gifts I received

The books I read:
SummerHill Secrets volume 1 by Beverly Lewis
A Question of Courage by Jesseca Wheaton
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Tea and Touchdowns by Erin Keeley Marshall
Steeped in Secrets by Susan Page Davis


How was your September?


Friday, September 22, 2017

Welcome Fall!

Fall is officially here!!! I am so excited! Fall is one my favorite seasons.


I'm going to be sharing some of the things that make it feel like fall to me!

~All of the beautiful trees. The trees around here haven't actually started changing yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

This picture was taken while on my trip to Pennsylvania 

~Fall clothes. This is the time of year wear I like to start wearing long sleeve shirts, fall colors, and boots.


~Decorations. I love decorating for practically all holidays and seasons.




~Apples. Apples really remind me of fall. Since fall is when they are in season some years my family gets a lot to make apple sauce. One year we got 400 pounds of apples and we were busy for awhile making, apple sauce, dried apples, and apple pie filling.



~Candy corn. Candy corn isn't exactly a favorite of mine, but I still always eat it each fall. ;)



~Colder days that are perfect for curling up with a good book.




What are some of your favorite things about fall?




Sunday, September 17, 2017

The Bookish Tag

My friend Faith over at Chosen Vessels, she also blogs at Stories by Firefly, tagged me for this fun bookish tag. Thanks, Faith, it was lots of fun!



The Bookish Tag Rules:
-You must be honest.
-You must answer every question.
-You must tag at least 4 people.


1 ~ What book has been on your shelf the longest? 
I’d have to say Elsie’s Endless Wait. I had borrowed this book from a friend and really enjoyed it and I was so excited when I found it one time at a used book sale.

2 ~ What is your current read, your last read, and the book you'll read next? 
The last book I read was Tea and Touchdowns by Erin Keeley Marshall (book 12 in the Tearoom Mysteries series).
The book I am currently reading is Steeped in Secrets by Susan Page Davis (book 13 in the Tearoom Mysteries series).
What I plan to read next will be either Grace and the Preacher by Kim Vogel Sawyer, Katie in Waiting by Erynn Mangum, or Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall.

3 ~ What book did everyone like, but you hated?
I really don’t know.

4 ~ What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't? 
I keep meaning to read the American Girl Kaya mystery, The Silent Stranger, but I never have. I own it, but I just never read it even when I was really into the American Girl mysteries. I do want to read it one day though.

5 ~ What book are you saving for retirement?  
I have no idea!

6 ~ Last page: read it first, or wait 'til the end?
Definitely wait till the end! I used to enjoy looking ahead, but not so much any more. I want to be “surprised and delighted”. ;)

7 ~ Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside? 
I think that the acknowledgments are fun to look through. Especially if you kind of know the author and can recognize some of the people, or if you’re in them, then that’s pretty cool.

8 ~ Which book character would you switch places with? 
I wouldn’t want to switch places with anyone forever, because I like my own life, but for a day or two I’d choose Millie Keith.

9 ~ Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (Place, time, person?) 
Well, I read The Atonement by Beverly Lewis a couple months after my trip to Lancaster County, PA. It definitely reminded me of that wonderful trip and the characters in the book actually went to a place that my mom and I went to!

10 ~ Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way. 
Well, it’s not really all that interesting or different, but I wanted to try the Christy Miller books, but volume 1 cost around $12 on Amazon. I didn’t really want to spend the money on it not knowing if I’d like the book. I almost bought it but decided to wait and a couple days later I found volume 1 in great shape at a thrift store for just under $3. I was very happy. :)

11 ~ Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?
Yes, I have. I love giving “just because gifts”. It’s so much fun. I’ve done this for my siblings before. I’ll get them a book and then set it up somewhere where they’ll find it.
I also really enjoy giving books I've enjoyed to friends for Christmas and birthday gifts.

12 ~ Which book has been with you most places? 
Not a book, but a series that’s been with me the most places is the A Life of Faith: Millie Keith books. I’ve read the series six times I think. So they’ve been to violin lessons, other peoples houses, the car, lots of different places! :)

13 ~ Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad later?
Well, in 8th grade I had to read a couple books for history that I really didn’t care for. One of them was In Freedoms Cause by G. A. Henty. I really did not like it. I haven’t read it since, so I don’t know if it wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I just didn’t care for it.

14 ~ Used or brand new?
I love new books, but I don’t like the price. ;) I’ve found some used books for great prices before and the book was in great shape.

15 ~ Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?
No.

16 ~ Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book? 
Most of the time I like the books better or I like them equally, but I really enjoyed the movie A Dog Named Christmas better than the book.

17 ~ Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks included? 
I don’t know if a book has ever really made me hungry while reading, but looking back, the series The Courtship of Nellie Fisher by Beverly Lewis could definitely be one to make you hungry. The main girl owns a bake shop and there’s lots of mention of treats and all.

18 ~ Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take? 
My friend Faith!! We have such similar preferences! :D

19 ~ Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., outside your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving? 
This isn’t a book that was out of my comfort zone, it’s just the type of books I didn’t really think I’d like. The Circle C series by Susan K. Marlow. I saw her books at a homeschool convention several years ago as my mom and I were looking through the vendor hall. We decided to get the first book in the Circle C Adventure series, but I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it since I’m not really a horse person. Well, I read Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home and loved it! The Circle C books are now one of my top favorite series.


I tag:
Shantelle @ Between the Pages of This Bookish Life
Lauren @ Lauren's Amazing World
Rebekah @ Rebekah's Remarks
Blessing Counter @ Counting Your Blessings One by One





Thursday, September 14, 2017

Chesapeake Shores Season 1 // Movie Review

My Review // About the Movie
Chesapeake Shores is a Hallmark original series. I started watching season 1 last summer and I did enjoy it, but I re-watched it this summer and I actually enjoyed it a lot more. (Not as much as When Calls the Heart though. ;))
Chesapeake Shores follows the story of Abby O’Brien, a business woman who lives in New York, but grew up in the picturesque town of Chesapeake Shores. Abby left Chesapeake Shores several years ago for the city and when she left her hometown she also left behind her high school sweetheart, Trace Riley.  Abby is divorced and has two young daughters. Through some certain events Abby and her girls come back to Chesapeake Shore temporarily during the summer. While back home Abby stays at her childhood home and all of her siblings end up being back in Chesapeake Shores together for a while. The series follows the lives of Abby, Trace, Abby’s parents and grandmother, and Abby’s four siblings. So there are lots of different story-lines going, but it’s really fun to be able to get to know everyone.
Season 2 is currently airing on TV and it’s been real fun too. :)

I give season 1 8.5 out of 10 R's




So, have you seen Chesapeake Shores before? Do you want to?