January 2020: Recap + On My Shelves

January 2020: Recap + On My Shelves

Feb 3, 2020

2020 is official underway! The year got off to a great start for me – nesting mode kicked in hard, and I got so much done in January. I can't believe it's finally February and that we'll be meeting our baby boy any day now!

1. Celine Dion Concert – In April 2019, I texted my family with the news that Celine Dion had announced a new tour. My awesome dad bought tickets for me, my mom, and my sister to see her in Atlanta this January. Well, the day finally came – and we had so much fun! She is fantastic live and played all of our favorite songs.

2. Last Vacay as Family of Three – One of my goals for the month was to take one last trip to the mountains all together, and we made it happen over the long weekend. It was the perfect way to soak up these final days with our son as an only child. We ate good food, enjoyed lazing about in our pajamas, and did a little exploring, too.

3. Preparing for Baby – As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, nesting hit me hard in January! While I haven't had quite as much energy lately, I found myself so motivated this past month. From completing my pre-baby checklist (yay!) to finally tackling part of my digital photo organization project, it was nice to feel so productive. 

Read 17 Books | Favorites:

Headliners by Lucy Parker

The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Atomic Habits by James Clear

“If you're going to be with someone, they shouldn't... fade you,
You shouldn't have to make yourself less so they can be more.
I think – the people you love – when everything else goes to shit,
they should be a safe place...”
Headliners by Lucy Parker

“There is always a way out of a situation. Might be ugly.
Might leave you feeling like the earth had gone and shifted under your feet.
But there is always a way around.”
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

“Parenting is not first about what we want for our children or from our children,
but about what God in grace has planned to do through us in our children.
To lose sight of this is to end up with a relationship with our children that at the foundational level
is neither Christian nor true parenting because it has become more about our will and our way
than about the will and way of our Sovereign Savior King.”
Parenting by Paul David Tripp

“Silence has a voice of its own.”
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

“One of life's contradictions: how human beings were at once entirely resilient and impossibly fragile.
One decision could stay with you forever, and yet you could live through almost anything.”
Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Atomic Habits by James Clear

You know that productivity I mentioned in my Loved section? Well, it applied to blogging, too! It helps that I really enjoyed writing yearly recap posts, which comprised most of my January content. I kicked off the month with my December 2019 Recap and followed it up with my December 2019 Quick Lit.

Once I'd checked off those posts, I shared my 2019 End of Year Book Survey – and patted myself on the back for getting it done in a timely manner. For the first Top Ten Tuesday topic of the new year, I was excited to chat about the 2020 releases I'm most anticipating. Then, I recapped a few 2019 challenges and discussed my plans for 2020: #My10toReadin2019 + My 2020 List, What I Re-Read in 2019, and The Picky Pledge 2020.

With the new year on my mind, I couldn't wait to introduce my 2020 Goals and then to start a new feature inspired by those goals. Every month, you can expect a recap on my progress on the previous month's goals and an outline of my goals for the month ahead. Here are my January 2020 goals. And I got to complete one of those when I shared our family's 20 in 2020 bucket list. Can you tell I'm really fired up about being intentional this year?!

I shared two individual reviews in January. The first was my favorite book of 2019: Lovely War by Julie Berry. And the second was a book I loved in 2018, forgot to review, re-read in 2019, and finally reviewed in 2020: My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan. I don't write them as often anymore, but it's nice to give extra attention to my favorites.

And finally, I ended the month with So Obsessed With: The Baby Edition #7. My son shares my love of reading, and I've been meaning to write about the books we've been loving lately. This post featured 32 children's books!

Favorite Album #1: Manic by Halsey
I loved Halsey's debut album, barely listened to her second, and have really liked this release!
There are a few songs I always skip, but I've been enjoying it overall.



Favorite Album #2: On My Messy Mind by James Bay
Even though it's just four tracks, I have no idea how I missed this 2019 release.
What in the world? I made up for lost time in January and had this on repeat! 



Favorite Album #3: Little Women Soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat
After seeing this in December and adoring it, I had to look up the soundtrack.
It became my go-to anytime I was blogging. The perfect background music!

Favorite Album #4: Nightfall by Little Big Town

This randomly appeared on my New Release Radar, and I'm so glad I did!

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this band, and their new release was the perfect reminder.

The Aeronauts (2019) starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones – I technically watched this on New Year's Eve, but I'd already scheduled my December recap and decided to save this for January's post. I mostly watched this for my bae, Eddie Redmayne, and liked it overall. But it was stressing me out to imagine being in this situation! 

Unbelievable (2019) starring Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, and Toni Collette – My mom and sister both recommended this mini-series, and I'm so glad they did. I probably wouldn't have checked it out otherwise. This was so moving, and I adored watching Wever and Collette together. I can see why this has gotten rave reviews.

Younger, Season 6, starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Miriam Shor, and Debi Mazar – I had a season of this to catch up on, and it was the perfect thing to turn on while I worked on organizing digital photos. I'm getting a little tired of the triangle drama and always laugh at the publishing inaccuracies, but it's still a fun watch.

Poldark, Season 5, starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson – Ahhh, the final season of this show that I both love and hate. I just need Ross to be the best version of himself for Demelza. I felt like this season focused on a few too many threads that had to wrap up really quickly in the end, but I was happy overall with this farewell.

Indie Bookstore Purchase: Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Audible Credit: You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley

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So Obsessed With: The Baby Edition #7

So Obsessed With: The Baby Edition #7

Jan 30, 2020

When I was looking back at old posts for inspiration, I realized how long it had been since I'd done an edition of So Obsessed With focused on baby favorites. My son was about to turn two the last time I posted one – and now he's three and a half! He's technically aged out of the "baby" stage, but I decided to stick with that post name for consistency. Today, I figured it was time for an update on our favorite book since we read all the time! I shared favorite children's books in 2017 and 2018, but here are 32 books we've been loving lately:

As you can probably tell from a quick glance at these books, my son loves animals. I can't tell you how many animal figures we have scattered around our house and how much he knows about animals I'd never heard of before. Right now, he says that he wants to be a veterinarian or a paleontologist when he grows up. It's adorable!

1. Encyclopedia of Animals by Jules Howard – He just got this book for Christmas, and it's already proved to be a favorite. We both love the illustrations. He loves flipping through and describing what he sees (and where they live).

2. What If You Had Animal ______? by Sandra Markle – My mother-in-law introduced my son to this series, and he's obsessed. We read at least one a day! He loves learning about how characteristics are unique to different animals.

3. The Photo Ark by Joel Sartore – My brother and his wife gave my son this book for his birthday last year, and it's been such a hit! It's a photography-focused book, which is a nice contrast to all the illustrated books we own.

4. National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia by National Geographic Kids – Another gift from my mother-in-law. If he wants to learn something about a specific animal, chances are I'll be able find a fact in here to tell him!

5. The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library by Tish Rabe and Bonnie Worth – He checks these books out from the library again and again! If I had to pick his favorite from this list of 32 books, it would absolutely be this series.

6. How Animals Build by Lonely Planet Kids – This was a recent library find that we've enjoyed. There are lots of flaps to lift and animal homes to explore. We like that it focuses on the clever construction of animal architects!

7. Wild Animals of the South and Wild Animals of the North by Dieter Braun – There isn't a lot of text in these two books, but my son doesn't mind at all. The illustration style is very cool, and they're fun to sit and flip through.

8. Creaturepedia by Adrienne Barman – Another recent library find that we'll probably end up buying. Quirky organization and illustrations, but my son carries it around everywhere. So, there's the real testimonial!

9. An Anthology of Intriguing Animals by Ben Hoare – This has it all: beautiful illustrations paired with photographs and just enough text to teach us something new without being too overwhelming or detailed.

There are three books we've enjoyed lately that didn't really fit into fiction or non-fiction. I call them activity books because they prompt us to sit down and play with the content on the pages. From I Spy to Search-and-Find, these have led to countless hours. For example, I love taking this type of book with us to a doctor's appointment!

10. My Big Wimmelbook: Animals Around the World by Stefan Lohr – I bought this for my son in the hospital gift shop after his appendectomy. We like to play "I Spy..." or "Can you find the..." together with it.

11. Search-and-Find Alphabet of Alphabets by A. J. Wood – My son has memorized the ABCs but is still working on identifying them. This is a fun way to practice! There are 26 alphabets with so many things to find in each.

12. Today by Julie Morstad – In our house, we call this "the picking book" because it's all about choosing what to do today. The pages encourage the reader to pick what to eat/wear/do/etc. It's our favorite of the books in this section!

There are a lot of book in this section, and we don't necessarily love them all equally. A few are ones that I personally love to read aloud, but most are ones my son loves best. Many are beloved for the stories inside, but some have become favorites more for their illustrations. 

13. The Bear Series by Karma Wilson – My son and I both love these books! They're fun to read aloud because of the rhyming and repetition, and we love to follow the adventures of these forest animals.

14. Hooray for Books by Brian Won – As a book lover, it's impossible to resist falling in love with this book based solely on the title! A very cute story about the joy of sharing your favorite stories with your friends.

15. They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki – We found this at a nearby children's bookstore and were immediately charmed. Poetic text, dreamy illustrations, and a nice way to talk about colors and seasons. 

16. Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd – A short little story about all the places wild is hiding, even in a city environment. I like this one because I feel like it encourages being outdoors and exploring nature!

17. If I Had a Little Dream by Nina Laden – This is my mom's favorite on the list! She loves both the illustrations and the words, and it's so cute to listen to her reading it to my son. It's particularly great to read before bed. 

18. The New Adventures of Curious George by Margaret and H.A. Rey – My son has only recently discovered Curious George, and we love both this one and this treasury, too. Lots of laughs over this little monkey!

19. The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater – I picked this up because it's illustrated by the Fan brothers, but the story itself has since won us over. A fun book about going on adventures and finding friends along the way.

20. Counting with Barefoot Critters and Adventures with Barefoot Critters by Teagan White – I bought these because White is one of my favorite illustrators, and it was lovely to learn she's a talented writer, too. 

21. Mice Skating by Annie Silvestro – I like this one more than my son does – and yes, I initially picked it up because Teagan White is the illustrator. I laugh at the cheesy puns and love reading this one in the winter, in particular. 

22. Smoot: A Rebellious Shadow by Michelle Cuevas – The illustrations are better than the story, in my opinion, but my son loves both. I think it's because he likes imagining that his shadow has its own hopes and dreams.

23. Time for Bed by Mem Fox – For a long time, we read this book every night before bed. The text is soothing as the animals prepare for bed, and I love the soft and cozy feeling of the illustrations. A classic for a reason!

24. All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan – This book makes me feel so nostalgic, even though I didn't grow up on a farm. I love the illustrations, seeing the different family generations, and the overall theme.

25. The Lines on Nana's Face by Simona Ciraolo – I've been surprised by just how much my son loves this book, since I thought it would be more of a "me" book. We adore the grandma's stories explaining her wrinkles!

26. Roly Poly Pangolin by Anna Dewdney – My animal lover is fascinated with pangolins, so I was thrilled to find this at the library. Adorable illustrations, easy-to-read rhyming text, and a cute message about trying new things.

27. Life by Cynthia Rylant – This celebration of life – in its wonder and wilderness – is a favorite because it is populated by animals. It seems like one adults would enjoy more than kids, but my son is the one who prefers it. 

28. A Dog Named Doug by Karma Wilson – My son used to make my dad pretend to be a dog that he called Doug. So, we were excited to find this book! I prefer Wilson's Bear series, but this one has great memories associated.

29. Bunny's Book Club by Annie Silvestro – Who wouldn't love a story about animals sneaking into a library to steal books and then starting a book club?! This is one my son and I love equally, and I'm alway so happy to read it.

30. Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall – My parents brought this back as a souvenir from their trip to Maine, and I adore the gorgeous illustrations. The story itself is lovely, too, as it looks at life inside a lighthouse.

31. Loving Hands by Tony Johnston – Is this extremely sentimental? Yep. But I'm here for it! I love the illustrations and have such a soft spot for this book since it's about a mother and son. Sometimes I like being a little emotional...

32. Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue – Another bedtime favorite in our house, especially because of the animal aspect. We love reading it and then talking about the different places and ways that animals sleep.

Do you have any recommendations for us to read together?
Or spy any personal favorites on our list?

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Learning to Live with the Questions

Learning to Live with the Questions

Jan 28, 2020

When I was working on my review for Lovely War by Julie Berry last week, I took a look at Goodreads to see if I had anything else from 2019 that I hadn't reviewed. And I laughed a little when I noticed that there was only one book left on my Goodreads "to do" shelf... and it was also the only read I hadn't reviewed from 2018, too. The worst part is that I loved the book, so there was no reason for me to drag my feet on reviewing it. And so, today, I'm finally going to chat about My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan (a book I received from the publisher for review consideration).

From the second I saw this title and cover, I had to have it. I studied abroad in Oxford for six weeks one summer during college. It was an incredible experience, one that cemented England as the country I want to return to again and again. And, hello, Kelly and I have been twice in the past two years so I'm well on my way to accomplishing this goal. But let's get back to this book. The cover and title immediately appealed to me, but I was even more excited when I read the summary. It sounded like something I'd love even without the Oxford connection!

American Ella Durran has been working towards studying at Oxford for most of her adolescence and is now the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship at age 24. She’s ready to enjoy one year in the city she’s dreamed about since she was thirteen! She knows she’ll work hard for school, of course, but expects plenty of time for pubs, punting down the river, making new friends, and maybe a no-strings-attached fling. Enter Jamie Davenport. He seems like a total prick on their first meeting, and then Ella walks into her English literature course to find out he's teaching it. Her first impression might have been wrong, and the future she mapped out for herself takes a turn she never expected. A lot can happen in one year, and life has a way of surprising you...

Based on the cover of this book, I imagined a light-hearted romantic comedy set in one of my favorite cities in the world. And while it ended up being very different than I expected, I still loved it so much! I read it for the first time in 2018, and then I decided to finish off #FebruaREREAD in 2019 with this on audio. This is one of those books that worked so perfectly for me as a reader! It tapped into my love for Oxford, brought back memories of my time there, and reminded me of another British book I love (but won’t name because #spoiler).

Although I would have loved a little more character development, I honestly didn’t mind that there's a pretty big shift in tone about halfway through. I can understand how that won’t be true for everyone else, but it added depth and emotion to the story for me. It took the book from something a little bit fluffy and fun into more thought-provoking territory. Based on reviews I've seen, it's definitely a polarizing aspect of the book – one that you'll probably either love or hate. But you can count me in the love column!

I loved the romance and the heroine’s own personal journey. But my favorite part, of course, was the setting. Can I go back now?! Whelan definitely captured everything I loved about this city and left me itching to hop on a plane to head across the pond. And speaking of Whelan, I don't want to forget to mention that this is her debut novel but you might be familiar with her work as an audiobook narrator. That was another reason I was so excited to pick up this book, and she didn't disappoint me! I loved reading the book for the first time, but it was even more fun to listen to her narrate the audio for my re-read. As expected, she did an excellent job.

This was one of my favorite reads of 2018, and it remained a favorite after re-reading it last year. If you're in the mood for a romantic story about embracing life in all its twists and turns, pick this one up!

So Quotable

“Our memories of places, much like people, are subject to our own adaptation process. Once the active living is done, and they pass into memory, we assume control of the narrative. We adapt it, sometimes without meaning to. This is, perhaps, the one advantage of death: when people die, they can live on in our memory as we choose, but places continue to exist, to change.”

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

Release Date: April 24, 2018 | Publisher: HarperCollins; William Morrow Paperbacks

Pages: 329 pages | Source & Format: Publisher / Bought; e-ARC / Paperback & Audiobook

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review.

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20 in 2020

20 in 2020

Jan 23, 2020

One of my goals for this year is to nurture my relationship with Nick and our sons. It's a pretty broad goal that won't end when 2020 does, but it's something that I wanted to specifically focus on this year as our family grows. I've seen firsthand the benefits of being intentional with my time, especially when it comes to family adventures and traditions. So, I've been asking myself, "What action steps can I take to give my best to my boys? How can I love them well?" I've come up with a variety of things so far, and it ranges from date nights to limiting time on my phone. But one of my favorite ideas was to create our family's "20 in 20" – a list of 20 things to do together in 2020. 

My firstborn will turn four soon, and kindergarten doesn't feel so far away anymore. I want to make this time at home with him truly count! When he was born, I wrote about the things I learned that year – which included the fact that a baby changes everything. With our second baby soon to make his arrival, I know that this baby, too, will change everything. Time both stands still and passes in a blur with a newborn. There's a reason people say, "The days are long, but the years are short." There will be many ordinary days this year – full of chores, not enough sleep, and too much screen time. But I want to make things special, too. That's where this list comes in!

Rather than hope we'll fill our days with fun, I want to plan for it. Instead of continuing to scroll Pinterest for things to do as a family, I've been trying to pay attention to the things our family talks about wanting to do. I've seen how my husband and firstborn value quality time, so I know that this list absolutely aligns with my desire to nurture those relationships. I'm obsessed with Em for Marvelous' The Years of Making Magic project and am creating a similar long-term list for our family. But I don't wait to wait to get started, and this list feels like the perfect way to get the ball rolling. So, here are 20 things our family plans to do in 2020:

1. GO: strawberry or apple picking.
2. TRY: bowling.
3. READ: this Bible and this book about prayer.
4. PLAY: board games once a month.
5. EAT: a picnic in our backyard.
6. EXPLORE: the hiking trails near our house.
7. MAKE: a bird house.
8. RIDE: on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.
9. SEND: mail to our three great-grandmothers.
10. COOK: for someone else.
11. SEE: marine life at the Georgia Aquarium.
12. CREATE: a new family tradition.
13. DO: a nature scavenger hunt.
14. GIVE BACK: by volunteering at our church's community celebration.
15. GROW: our family savings by 20%.
16. TRAVEL: somewhere we've never been.
17. ENJOY: camping in the backyard.
18. VISIT: Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary.
19. WATCH: a movie at the drive-in theater.
20. BE: thankful. Start a family gratitude jar.
Thanks to Childhood 101 for the format inspiration!

My criteria when making the list: 1) mostly free things with a few expenses that I know will be worth it, 2) that can be completed relatively easily with a newborn in tow, and 3) were specific but still gave us room to be flexible. For example, "Cook for someone else" could mean having extended family members over for dinner or making something for a sick neighbor. I'd love to go on a summer vacation, but this might be a "day trip closer to home" kind of year. I didn't want the list to feel like a burden or become too hard to fulfill. Y'all, I'm so excited about what Nick and I landed on! I'm already thinking about how fun it will be to write My Year In: Adventures {2020}.

Do you have a list of things you'd like to do this year?

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All's Fair in Love and War

All's Fair in Love and War

Jan 21, 2020

It's been a while since I've written a long, individual review! And honestly, it's been a long time since I've loved a book so much that I simultaneously wanted to push everyone to read it and keep it all to myself. Berry's All the Truth That's In Me is one of my all-time favorite books, one that I've read and re-read in multiple formats over the years. But somehow, I didn't know about her March 2019 release, Lovely War, until after it came out. 

I read Lovely War in April of last year, fell deeply in love with it... but couldn't bring myself to review it. Why? Because I didn't even know where to begin! In Jane Austen's Emma, Mr. Knightley tells the heroine, “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” I've always loved that quote, and it perfectly encapsulates how I feel about this particular book. I've shared my 21 favorite books of 2019, and this one is at the very top of that list.

Lovely War primarily focuses on two couples during World War I. Hazel is a talented pianist who meets James, a solider dreaming of becoming an architect, at a party in London. Their feelings develop quickly but have a surprising depth. Then, James is sent off to war... Aubrey is a Harlem ragtime musician headed for the trenches as a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment. While there, Aubrey meets Colette – a Belgian refugee serving in the YMCA relief hut in France. What does the future hold for these star-crossed lovers?

That's for Aphrodite to tell you. Yes, I mean that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Thirty years after these four characters meet, in the midst of a new world war, she is caught in an affair. Her husband, Hephaestus, discovers her with Ares in a Manhattan hotel room and decides she will be put on trial. In her defense, she decides to tell the stories of these four lovers. She has a little help from Apollo, Hades, and even Ares himself. As you can imagine, there is music and death and war and brokenness – but there is love and beauty, too. How will their stories end? Well, you'll have to read to find out...

Despite being relatively unfamiliar with Greek mythology, this book sparked my desire for more. How lucky was I to have Circe by Madeline Miller waiting in the wings? I read that two weeks later and loved it, too. (Now give me more!) When I read the summary for Lovely War, I wasn't sure if Berry could pull it off. Combining historical fiction with Greek mythology seemed risky. But oh man, the end result proved that it's a creative twist like that that makes a book truly epic! I could not stop raving about it after I finished and ended up re-reading it via audio, too. It was my last read of the year – the perfect way to close 2019 and enter the new decade on a reading high.

It was the kind of historical fiction book where I learned so much – about ragtime music, the treatment of African Americans during World War I, life in the trenches and the resulting PTSD, and what it might be like to serve with the YMCA on the front. You can see Berry's research in all aspects of the novel, and I adored the Author's Note at the end where she expands on some of the things mentioned in the book. And, as with Circe, it made me want to pull out Mythology by Edith Hamilton and read all the myths associated with the gods and goddesses I just met.

So, you've got the research aspect. But what else did I love? ONLY EVERYTHING. These characters absolutely stole my heart. I was so emotionally invested in what was happening to them, and it took all of my self-control to keep from racing through the book to find out if they were all okay in the end. Because honestly, this book accomplished that rare feat of being impossible to put down but also being something I wanted to slowly savor. Berry's writing was just so gorgeous and such a pleasure to read that I didn't want to miss one carefully chosen turn of phrase.

Although categorized as Young Adult, I certainly felt that it had crossover appeal. Everything about it is so artfully crafted and beautifully written – something that I want to push on every reader I meet. Because even though it won't be the right fit for every reader, I wish that I could make everyone love it as much as I do. I wish that I could give everyone who pick it up that magical, delighted feeling I had as I turned each page and realized that I was reading a book that I'd never forget. You know how sometimes people will ask, "What's a book you wish you could go back and read for the first time?" Even in the middle of this one, I was aching at the thought of it being over. 

The story itself felt so cruel and heartbreaking while still being so romantic and hopeful. I was tearing up, swooning, laughing, raging, and experiencing every possible emotion while reading. Do I really need to keep raving? Have I said enough to convince you to read it? It was a rare reading experience, one that I didn't even expect. And since I re-read it at the end of the year, I can attest to the fact that it's even better the second time around. The audiobook was fantastic – a full cast that brought the characters to life in the best way and gave me even more to love about it. In case it isn't obvious: I highly, highly recommend Lovely War in any format!

So Quotable

“I am so often moved by souls whose first concern is not for their own lost years, but for the grief their passing will cause to those they love. It's more common than you might think. The most ordinary mortal bodies are housed by spectacular souls.”

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Release Date: March 5, 2019 | Publisher: Penguin; Viking Books for Young Readers

Pages: 480 pages | Source & Format: Bought; Hardcover

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