Books I Received for Christmas

Hello Friends,


I hope you are doing well. I have been getting back into the routine of regular daily life after the busy and wonderful holidays. I also have been trying to cut back on sugar and get back to eating somewhat healthily. I wanted to share with you the books I received for Christmas this year. Receiving books always makes me feel excited and full of hope for new beginnings and to take something special from each one. I usually ask for both fiction novels and also books I can journal in or that inspire me to live a great life in the New Year. This year I received both books I asked for and some others that I saw in the store or were gifted to me as a surprise.

1. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I received the book Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty for Christmas and have really been enjoying it. I like the description of the house they are staying in and I love all the wonderful descriptions of both the outdoor and indoor setting. Moriarty does such a good job at making you feel like you can see exactly what is going on and it feels like a movie you can't wait to un-pause every time you pick the book back up again. I like the characters already and find them interesting and each with their own struggles and quirks.

2. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult. 

This one has been on the best seller list for quite awhile now and it really piqued my interest. The subject matter is serious of a shooting and all that occurs in that situation. I am so curious about this
book and to see where Picoult takes this topic.

3. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory 

This book is about a man and a woman who first get stuck in the elevator together, and the man is
looking for a date to a wedding and asks the woman to be his date as his fake girlfriend. It sounds like it will be really funny and heartwarming as well.

4. A Year of Living Happily: Week-by-Week Activities to Unlock the Secrets of a Happier Way of Being by Lois Blyth

This book looks like it will be an amazing tool for me to keep living positively and seeking happiness in 2019 and future years. I saw this one while Christmas shopping with my mom and sister and my mom bought it for me because I got excited about it. Thanks Mom! The book starts with an introduction on happiness which I have read a bit of on Christmas Day. Then there are activities for each week. This week's activity is "looking for happiness" and the task is to start a happiness journal to record three things each day that brings you joy and pleasure. I started this last night and wrote a few things for each day this week that made me happy and it has been a great practice. It is much like a gratitude journal, which I have found so helpful in the past in focusing on the positive instead of the negative.

5. Superfood Smoothies by Julie Morris

This book is jam packed with so many amazing smoothie recipes. It includes 100 different recipes to try and I will make an effort to try most of them. I really enjoy making the banana peanut butter smoothie I have mentioned on the blog before but want to expand my horizons with trying new
smoothie recipes. I will be trying one of these recipes out next week! My Fiance bought this for me for Christmas so I should make him one too!

I am looking forward to this year for reading because I have received some amazing new books and I always have my eye on more amazing reads. I love perusing Goodreads which I helps me to discover the next book I want to read. I love looking at the Goodreads awards at the end of the year and deciding what to read based on nominations as well as the winners. The site got me interested in Nine Perfect Strangers and A Spark of Light.

I am still knitting away at the mittens and the second mitten is almost done. I am looking forward to sharing them with you when they are finished and gifted to my mom.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! Please let me know in the comments below what books you received as gifts, purchased for the New Year, are excited to read, or are reading right now.

Have a great day!

Happy New Year!

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I am excited for the new year and what it may bring. This year will be a big year for my family and I because my sister's wedding is in September and I will be looking for a job at the start of the year. I have been thinking of what my resolutions will be and I have about five written out, but will share them with you in another blog post when I have them all. Before the new year, I like to reflect on the year that I have just had and then think of things I would like to improve on or try in the new year. I think 2017 was a great year of self discovery, knitting, and blogging. I hope that in the year 2018, I make just as much time, if not more towards working on knitting and the blog.

I received a new Happy Planner for Christmas and I am so excited to use it and start writing my plans in the year 2018. I might also write down my goals on one of the first pages so I could use it as a guide for 2018 to see if I am on track with my resolutions. My mom also bought me a home planner insert, a fitness insert, some more stickers, and washi tape. I am excited to use the home planner to keep track of my to do lists, meal plans, cleaning schedule, and budget. I am looking forward to using the fitness insert again this year to keep track of what I eat daily and my exercise.

Happy planner and inserts

I also have a couple of books which will be fun to read and work on in the new year. The first is this  book I bought for myself called Change Your Life One Day at a Time: The Ultimate Manual for Living a Long, Healthy and Happy Life by Dr Patricia Macnair and Dr Ilona Boniwell. I bought this at Indigo around the holidays because I was drawn to the idea of reading a little paragraph each day and hopefully learning something new in the process. The book is divided into the four seasons so the simple and practical pieces of advice will be appropriate for the time of year. I also mentioned that I got the Q&A a day book from Indigo so I am looking forward to answering a question each day this year. When I think about answering a question everyday for five years it sounds like a lot, but it will be so worth it in the end to see how I have changed or stayed the same in my views and ideas. I will have to pick a time to answer the questions, such as with my morning coffee to make it a habit.

Q&A a day and Change your life One Day at a Time

This year I will focus on knitting the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top as one of my larger knitting projects. I will also be choosing another one to work on as well. I bought some green bulky yarn by Patons that my mom selected yesterday to knit her a hat for her birthday,  so I will be focusing on knitting the hat in then new year in time for her birthday in February. I had also purchased some lovely purple alpaca sock yarn (that I still need to detangle) to knit socks with and the speckle happy yarn from Romni Wools that I have sitting on my shelf ready to work with. Last year I decided that in the year 2017 I would be knitting a sweater and I am so happy that I accomplished that resolution. This year I am excited to see how the Wool and the Gang top looks and what other projects I take on.

Patons Bulky green yarn and the Allegria Grande "happy" speckle yarn

Thank you for visiting my blog this year! I really enjoyed visiting your blogs too and being a part of this wonderful, caring, and supportive community of knitters and crocheters. I hope that you all have a wonderful new year's celebration today and I am looking forward to reading all that you post about in 2018!

Moo and I during the holidays

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I hope you have a great day, and all the best in 2018! x