Turning the Page on July 2016

The Month:

*The movers finally delivered our stuff on July 1 and we were soooooo thrilled to sleep in our own bed again! The month was spent unpacking, getting the house put together, and discovering the inevitable unpleasant surprises that come with having other people pack your stuff. This time the winners were two huge boxes of my beloved picture frames completely unwrapped and crammed in together (resulting in plenty of gouges and scratches), and a champagne flute from the Air Force Academy ring dance that was packed inside a half-full box of WET Swiffer pads! Major eye roll! (See photo above in case you need proof that someone could actually be so stupid.) I was surprised that it survived its adventure of three months wrapped in sodden paper packed in a steaming hot warehouse pretty much unscathed!

*We amused ourselves during the long days of unpacking by dumping our giant wardrobe boxes out a second-story window rather than dragging them all downstairs and out to the garage. It was surprisingly fun (though the neighbors probably thought we were crazy...)!

*Our backyard had not a single blade of grass in it when we moved in, so we bought some sod on Craigslist and have been giving it lots of TLC! We also bought an old-fashioned reel mower. Just this weekend we got our patio set up, and I'm looking forward to eating dinner and reading out there!

*After seeing it recommended several times, I watched the first disc of season 1 of "UnREAL," a Lifetime show that offers a fictional depiction of the drama that goes into making a "Bachelor"-style reality TV show. It is an absolutely addicting guilty pleasure! And Jarrod and I finished up season 6 of "Game of Thrones" this month and, as usual, it was amazing.

*I had fun decorating the "study"/dining room in the front of our house, which is now known as Lindsay's Reading Room! I love the bird curtains (above) I found at Pier 1; they fit perfectly with the nature/bright and cheerful theme I have going in there.

*Every other year, Hawaii hosts a huge military exercise with 26 other nations participating, and the second weekend in July some of the ships were opened up to visitors. It was so very cool to tour an aircraft carrier fully stocked with F-18 fighter jets!

The Books:

Books read: 5
"NOS4A2" by Joe Hill
"Everything I Don't Remember" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
"The Fireman" by Joe Hill
"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi
"Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent
*"The Hike" by Drew Magary (put down... hopefully to pick back up later)
*"The Moor" by Laurie R. King (finished in August)

Favorite book: Oooh, this is a toughie seeing as I read three 5-star books this month! I think I'll go with "The Fireman." But... but... "Burial Rites"! And "When Breath Becomes Air"! Sigh. At least this is a good problem to have! :)

Biggest let-down: "Everything I Don't Remember" -- the time it took to get my footing with the unique writing style wasn't worth it in the end because of a disappointing conclusion.

August release I'm most excited about: There really aren't that many! I guess I'll go with "Curious Minds" by Janet Evanovich, the start of a new series. I've been reading a lot of serious books lately and I could use some fluff, though I'm a good ways down my library's holds list for this one so who knows when I'll get it.

Book I'm most excited to read in August: "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child"! And my advance-reading copy of "The Last Days of Night" by Graham Moore (writer of "The Imitation Game" screenplay), about the rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse. I expect it to be fascinating and educational, and I've already read some good reviews!

Books added to to-read list: 21 (*hangs head in shame*)

Books added to maybe-to-read-list: 14

Most intriguing TBR addition: "My Last Continent" by Midge Raymond. From Goodreads: "An unforgettable debut with an irresistible love story, My Last Continent is a big-hearted, propulsive novel set against the dramatic Antarctic landscape." I love everything Antarctica related, so this is a must-read!

Books read from my summer reading list: 1

Books read from my must-read-in-2016 list: 2

Favorite Bookstagram: I love this picture mostly because I am totally enraptured by those gorgeous book covers. I saw "Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field" on a blog a few weeks ago and just knew I had to have it immediately -- but my library doesn't carry it. I ordered it from Book Depository, and while I was shopping I added a sale copy of "84 Charing Cross Road" to my basket; it's a book I've been meaning to read for ages and I couldn't resist the cover art!

The Knits:

I finished my Cap Sleeve Lattice Top! I really like the way it came out, though it's just a bit too short, and I'm proud of myself for learning mattress stitch to seam the sides together. I hope to have pictures soon! The other day I discovered that my favorite online yarn shop, Mr. Yarn, is going out of business! Devastating news, but I consoled myself by taking advantage of their closing sale, and I ordered yarn for three more tops.

The Blog:

Favorite post: 2015 Travel Recap: Colorado Part 2: Rocky Mountain National Park. I had so much fun looking back through these gorgeous pictures from last September and putting this post together!

Favorite link-up post: Meet the Blogger: 10 Facts About Me. I went a more serious route with this post and enjoyed thinking about the things I most wanted people to know about me -- and compiling the pictures! (Can you tell I have a thing for photos?)

Book reviews:
"The Last One" by Alexandra Oliva (4 stars)
"NOS4A2" by Joe Hill (4.5 stars)
"Written in Red" by Anne Bishop (4.5 stars)
"Everything I Don't Remember" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri (3 stars)
"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi (5 stars)
"The Fireman" by Joe Hill (5 stars)
"Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent (5 stars)