Monday Musings & Merry Christmas

Mele Kalikimaka!

My week: It was a fine week here. I feel like it was a busy one, but I can't actually remember why or what I did. I had to work all day on Saturday, but I made the best of it by wearing reindeer antlers and a Christmas shirt. Sunday we went to the beach; Jarrod goes surfing at least once a week, but it was the first time my toes had been in the sand since October!

I actually managed to snap a good picture of Alohi and me this week! We're driving home from her afternoon at doggie daycare here... but what you don't see is the desk leg she chewed into a thousand shards in the morning!

Reading: I finished "Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery" by Jenny Colgan and enjoyed it well enough. I'm soooo jealous of the protagonists' pet puffin, as well as their quaint English village. It's the third in a series and I do think I want to go back and read the first two.

Then I read and LOVED the first Rat Queens volume. It was so different than I expected. I knew it was about some spunky, badass girls, but I had no idea it was also a sort of medieval fantasy! I already checked out the second volume from the library.

After that I read the sequel to "The Bear and the Nightingale," "The Girl in the Tower." It took me for-ev-er to get into it -- I actually fell asleep reading three times in a row before making it to page 100 -- but once it clicked, I blew through the rest. I enjoyed being back in magic-tinged medieval Russia.

I felt like I needed one more holiday read, so I grabbed "Last Christmas in Paris" from the library. It's a WWI book told in letters -- right up my alley -- and I'm enjoying it so far.

Watching: We watched the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie this week. It was ok, though I started losing interest toward the end. I didn't really watch any TV this week, or movies, but Jarrod has to work all day today (yes, on Christmas) so I'm planning to catch up on all those Hallmark Christmas movies on the DVR!

Knitting: I didn't do a single bit of knitting this week, but I did snap a picture of the bird ornament I knit for my work Secret Santa last week. (The bird is from the Flock mobile pattern on Ravelry -- my go-to pattern for knit birds.)

Buying: Tickets to see Luke Bryan! One of the things I hate about living in Hawaii is the utter lack of decent people coming for concerts, so we were thrilled when we heard Luke Bryan would be here in March!

Baking: Some really tasty cranberry-white chocolate-pecan cookies with brown butter icing! The recipe is from Taste of Home, and I was very pleased with the results. Plus I was excited to find a recipe for fresh cranberries! I highly recommend it.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Holiday Q & A
The Grinch Book Tag

Looking forward to: My upcoming three-day weekend!

Merry Christmas to you all!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday Musings

Alohi's birthday hike!

My week: Alohi turned 1 on Saturday! To celebrate we took her on a hike. She got a little bored and bratty in the middle (in her defense, it was nearly 5 miles), but I think she had a great time! And my mantra is a tired puppy is a happy puppy, and she was definitely contentedly tuckered out.

My husband's and my Christmas roles seem to be reversed this year. Normally I'm the super-festive one and he's the Grinch, but I just haven't been feeling it this year. He actually had to convince me to go cut down our tree (I was all, "Ugh, it's soooooo much effort just to take it down in a couple weeks"), when usually I'm the one saying, "Let's go, let's go!" We had some lighted garland around our front door and I finally gave into the trend and bought a blow-up Rudolph this year, and honestly I felt like that was enough; it's ok to take a break once in a while! But no, Jarrod has been bitten by the Christmas bug and after this week our house looks like the Griswold's and our electical sockets look like the ones in "Christmas Story" that keep blowing the fuse. And, happily, I'm finally feeling a bit more festive -- I'm actually listening to Christmas music as I type this.

Reading: I stayed home from work last Monday with a cold and I spent hours and hours reading -- and blazed through "Magpie Murders." It was really two mystery novels in one -- one set in the '50s, one in present day, both in England -- and I loved it!

Then I read "Big Mushy Happy Lump," the second Sarah Scribbles book. I didn't find the comics in this edition to be quite so "OH MY GOD, that is SO me!" as the first one, but it was cute and fun nonetheless.

Next up was "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng, one of the most hyped books of the year. It was deserving of all the hullaballoo, though not perfect -- I gave it 4 stars. I will say, though, that it was one of those books that sucks you into a situation that's obviously spiraling out of control, and you just can't look away -- or put the book down! It was the first book in a while that got me to stay up way past my bedtime reading.

And now I'm reading "Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery" by Jenny Colgan. It's cute, and I love that it features a PET PUFFIN(!!!!!), but I'm 2/3 of the way done and it doesn't feel quite as Christmas-y as I'd hoped. It's actually the third book in a series (though the other two aren't necessary to enjoy this one -- there's enough background) and I do think I might go back and read the first two. I want more of this charming island off Cornwall!

I've now read 95 books this year -- fingers crossed that I make it to my new goal of 100!

Watching: We watched the movie "Get Out" this week. It didn't seem like something I'd like and I had no intention of watching it until I saw Allison Williams talking about it on The Tonight Show and then a co-worker recommended it. It was... definitely a unique plot. I didn't hate it, but it certainly wasn't my favorite. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Also: a couple Hallmark Christmas movies. One, "A Gift to Remember," was pretty much made for me in all its cheesy glory -- it involved a bookstore-working bibliophile who likes to make crafty displays in the shop, and a cute dog.

Knitting: A Christmas-y bird ornament for my work Secret Santa. I finished it yesterday but it was too dark to get a good picture, so here he is partially completed.

Eating: I discovered this reeeally yummy peppermint-white chocolate caramel corn at Target. Peppermint is pretty much my favorite flavor, and I am now addicted.

Dreading: Going to the post office after work today! Ughhhhh! I'm usually the early bird as far as Christmas shopping and mailing, but this year I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the books I ordered from Book Depository for my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa to arrive. A month later, they are still not here, and I'm now going to be the crazy lady braving the post office a week before Christmas. And I have a ton of stuff to mail, too (the joys of living far, far away from family and friends!).

Blogging:
Monday Musings
The Book Series I Started in 2017 -- And Which Ones I'll Continue
I Judge Books By Their Covers: Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery
Christmas Song Book Tag

Looking forward to: Taking Alohi down to the Honolulu City Lights to see Shaka Santa and Mrs. Claus. And finally doing some Christmas baking this week!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Kimberly of Caffeinated Reviewer for Sunday Post.

Monday Musings

Our Norfolk pine Christmas tree!

My week: It was a pretty good week here, other than the cold I've come down with. I had been busy at work the past couple weeks getting stuff together for a bookish ornament-making program at the library and we had it on Wednesday. It went well and I think the kids really enjoyed the ornaments I came up with! Plus we gave second life to some books that were victims of the big book-weeding we're doing in advance of getting new carpet.

Saturday we cut down our Christmas tree. We got a Norfolk pine again this year -- the only kind you can get in Hawaii if you want to chop down a fresh one -- and we took Alohi with us to pick out her first Christmas tree.

Reading: I finished "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann, and it's a book I would highly recommend. It was definitely not a happy book, but it taught me about some disturbing and sad events in our country's history that I'd never even heard of before, and in Grann's typical style it was fast-paced and readable.

I also read "Escape From Mr. Lemoncellos' Library" by Chris Grabenstein for the kids' book club at work. It's about a super-cool library and a game to find a secret route out by using literary and library clues. My co-worker and I actually came up with a similar (much abbreviated) game for our book club kids to play at our meeting this week.

Then I blew through "Young Jane Young" by Gabrielle Zevin. I read it in just over a day -- it was a very fast and easy read -- but it was pretty disappointing. It was absolutely nothing like Zevin's previous book (which I LOVED), "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry." Pretty much every single thing I enjoyed about that book was missing here.

I finally finished "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I had intended to read a chapter a day during Non-Fiction November, but it got pushed to the wayside. Overall it was a good book and I learned a lot, though I'll readily admit some of it was over my head!

Now I'm reading "Magpie Murders" by Anthony Horowitz, which is a mystery story within a mystery story. The second story reminds me a bit of one of my favorite PBS shows, "Grantchester," which is involves solving crimes in an English town in the '50s. So far I'm really enjoying it!

I'm up to 92 books read, and I think I'll be able to meet my new goal of 100 books in 2017!

Watching: We watched "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and I really liked it! A lot of people like the Toby McGuire Spiderman best, but I've actually enjoyed each iteration more than the last, and this is my favorite so far. I liked that Spiderman acts like an actual teenager, and he's just learning -- not always flawlessly -- how to use his special abilities.

Knitting: I finished the hat for my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa!

From the Field of Wildflowers pattern by Joji Locatelli.

Receiving: The package from my TBTB Secret Santa! Once again, I was totally spoiled. My wonderful Santa sent two books ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ultimate edition, and "Vicious" by Victoria Schwab), socks to go with my "Hitchhiker" book, personalized notepaper with a knitting theme, the adorable "This is How We Roll" library-print pouch from Out of Print, some bookish postcards, and a canister of Starbucks peppermint cocoa. I love everything!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
10 Book Settings I'd Love to Visit
Turning the Page on November 2017

Looking forward to: Kicking this cold! And then baking Christmas cookies!

I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday Musings

My week: It was on ok week here... a little hard to get back into the swing of things when I was still on vacation brain from our trip to Colorado. I just wasn't feeling work, and then Saturday I had a several-hour CPR/first aid training for work. At least I learned some useful information, though I was a little sad to give up a Saturday in December! I did at least get my Christmas decorations out, so the house is nice and festive!

Reading: I finished and loved "The Heart's Invisible Furies" by John Boyne, which I guess could best be described as an epic portrait of one gay Irishman's life spanning several decades -- and at the same time it's a portrait of Ireland itself.

I also read "Artemis" by Andy Weir, my most-anticipated book of the year, and found it to be just-ok. I had such high expectations, but it was nowhere near as good as "The Martian."

And I finally read "Adulthood is a Myth," a compilation of nerd- and introvert-centric comics by Sarah Andersen. It made me chuckle and I could totally relate to most of them. It only took about an hour to flip through and I closed the back cover wanting more; luckily I also checked out this year's installment, "Big Mushy Happy Lump."

Now I'm reading "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann. It's a fast-paced narrative non-fiction book about a string of (disturbing) events I'd never even heard of before. I'm about halfway done and I'd definitely recommend it so far!

Watching: We finally finished up this season's "Sherlock," and overall I wasn't all that impressed. I miss the first season when it was all about solving individual cases.

Movie-wise I watched a few Hallmark Christmas movies, and together we watched a DVD of "2:22," which was ok... it had a twisty-turny plot that kept me interested, but I was kind of confused by the whole thing.

Knitting: I took a break from the Newt Scamander scarf I've been working on for a friend to knit a hat for my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa swap partner. Hope she likes bright colors!

Receiving: The dictionary-print Toms I ordered (could there be better shoes to wear to work at a library?!).

Blogging:
Monday Musings
My Winter 2017/18 Reading List

Looking forward to: Getting our Christmas tree this week! Here in Hawaii we like to go to a local farm and cut down a Norfolk pine. They look kind of Dr. Seuss-ish, but it's the only way to get a locally grown Christmas tree rather than one that traveled in a container on a ship from the Mainland.

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday Musings

We found snow!

My week: Jarrod and I spent the week with my parents and brother in Colorado! The only way it could've been a better Thanksgiving is if Alohi were there.

Reading: I'd been looking forward to the latest novel in Samantha Shannon's Bone Season fantasy series, but my library in Hawaii never got it in. So I had my mom get it from the Colorado Springs library for me! It was pretty good, though I didn't love it as much as the second book. I was worried I might not have time to finish it on the trip, but I actually read it in just over two days.

After that I read a book my mom already had checked out, the new Stephanie Plum novel. These books haven't been good in several years, but they're bookish comfort food and I'll keep reading the series til the end. The last 10 or so installments have been ok 3-star reads for me, but this one just fell flat. I didn't really enjoy it at all.

And now I'm back to the book I had been reading, "The Heart's Invisible Furies" by John Boyne. I got a decent amount of reading done on the flight from Colorado to Hawaii and I'm hoping to finish it in the next couple days. So far I'm really liking it, even though it's pretty heartbreaking at times.

Watching: I finally made it to the movie theater! We saw "Murder on the Orient Express" (good) and "Wonder" (fabulous!!!).

On the plane back I watched the first four episodes of Netflix's newish Anne of Green Gables series, "Anne With An E," and I'm totally in love! I know it got mixed reviews, but it's been years since I've seen the movies and I've never read the books, so I didn't really have any expectations going in. (P.S. Did you know you can download some Netflix stuff to watch without an internet connection? I didn't until very recently, and it was a lifesaver on the looooong flights.)

Knitting: I'm making great progress on the Newt Scamander scarf! I'm probably two-thirds of the way done now and I'm sure I'll do a lot of knitting this week -- gotta watch everything we recorded on the DVR while we were gone!

Eating: A bunch of the restaurants we don't have in Hawaii and miss: Red Robin, Chickfila, Rudy's BBQ, Pei Wei, Firehouse Subs and Jimmy John's. Plus a delicious and nostalgic Thanksgiving dinner. I hadn't eaten my mom's holiday feast since 2008!

Deciding: To try to read 100 books this year! I just hit the 85-book mark (more than I've read since I started keeping track) and it's soooo close to that nice, round number that I figured I might as well try to make it! I did cheat a tiny bit and requested a few graphic novels I've been meaning to read. But since my current book is almost 600 pages, I guess it balances out!

Buying: 23andMe kits for Jarrod and me. I'd been looking at them forever (from there and from Ancestry) and I couldn't resist Amazon's Black Friday deal! We ordered the ancestry + health kits since they were 50% off, and I can't wait to see our results.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Non-Fiction November Week 5: New To My TBR

Looking forward to: Ugh... not sure. I'm still firmly in vacation mode and I'm not looking forward to going back to work -- and to the grocery store -- today! Plus it was so nice to be home in Colorado and off this island, and I'm honestly not all that jazzed to be back in Hawaii. I'll just have to console myself with copious amounts of Starbucks peppermint mochas and Hallmark Christmas movies!

*I'm linking up with Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jarrod and me with my dad, mom and brother. I'm so glad we were able to spend Thanksgiving with them!

Monday Musings

My week: Goodbye Hawaii, hello Colorado! Jarrod and I left Saturday night to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado with my family. It's so nice to be home for the week! And to be wearing boots and sweaters! And playing in crunchy leaves! (All that's missing is Alohi -- gosh I miss her!)

Reading: After a few really productive reading weeks, I got hardly any reading done at all last week. I had actually hoped to be finished with "The Heart's Invisible Furies" before our trip, but that sure didn't happen -- I'm only 100 pages in! I also squeezed in a few more chapters of "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" for Non-Fiction November. It's well-done, educational and interesting, but still over my head at times.

Instead of either one of those books, though, I'm reading "The Song Rising" by Samantha Shannon, the new book in the Bone Season series. The library in Hawaii is apparently never going to get it in, so I had my mom pick it up from the Colorado Springs library. Luckily it's only 350 pages, since I have less than a week to read it!

Watching: "This Is Us" and "Poldark." I also watched two delightfully cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.

On the plane I watched an indie movie starring Chris Evans called "Before We Go," which was pretty good. I had actually downloaded the first three episodes of the British show "Midsomer Murders" -- something I'd been wanting to see forever -- to watch on the plane, but I was so bored! I gave up 30 minutes into the first episode.

Knitting: Making good progress on the Newt Scamander scarf! I've knit more in the last week than in the last year!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
10 Books I'd Want My (Hypothetical) Kids To Read

Looking forward to: Spending time with my family, going up to the mountains, shopping at stores we don't have in Hawaii (like craft stores!!!), and eating tons of yummy food! And tomorrow we're going to see "Murder on the Orient Express," which will be Jarrod's and my first movie at the theater in a whole year, if you can believe that.

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday Musings

My week: Monday through Thursday was a bit rough -- it was just one of those weeks -- but who cares when I had a three-day weekend?! Friday we ate lunch out, ran some errands and took Alohi to the vet (always an adventure). Saturday it rained all day long, and while I had a million things on my to-do list I ended up being supremely and completely lazy.

Reading: It was a great reading week for me! I'm blazing my way through the list of 2017 releases I want to read by the end of the year, and so far they've all been really good books. I finished and thoroughly enjoyed "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine." I liked it so much I convinced a patron at the library to check it out this week!

Then I read "The Blinds," a sort of speculative fiction story about a tiny community in the middle-of-nowhere Texas full of heinous criminals whose memories of their misdeeds have been wiped clean. For eight years the Blinds has been a peaceful little settlement, but all of a sudden things start falling apart in quick succession.

After that I read my first book for Non-Fiction November, Lauren Graham's quick and funny and "Gilmore Girls"-filled memoir, "Talking As Fast As I Can." It was pretty much book fluff, but there were definitely a few good takeaways.

Then I positively blew through "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I started it Saturday morning and, as mentioned, it rained all day long, so I spent hours immersed in the glamorous (and not-so-glamorous) world of '50s (and '60s and '70s and '80s) Hollywood. I fell in love with the characters and I just could not put this book down!

Yesterday I read the first few pages of "The Heart's Invisible Furies" by John Boyne, an epic novel set over several decades in Ireland. Several of my real-life and online friends have given it 5 stars and I'm hopeful I'll love it too -- and that it sucks me right in. It's almost 600 pages and I don't want to lug it on an airplane with me just to finish the last bit, so my goal is to get it read before we leave for our Thanksgiving trip on Saturday!

I'm also reading my second Non-Fiction November book, "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. It's short and sweet (though still a little over my head sometimes), and I'm reading a chapter a day.

Watching: "Stranger Things" season 2, "Broadchurch" season 3, "Poldark," "This Is Us."

We also watched the first episode of "American Gods," and it was soooo weird. But I'm intrigued! I was planning to read the book before watching, but our DVR is in desperate need of some space and I was chatting with a patron at work who was telling me about the show and convinced me to go ahead and start it.

Movie-wise, we watched "The Dead Poet's Society," a 1989 movie starring Robin Williams as a delightful and unconventional teacher at a stuffy New England prep school. It's one I've been meaning to watch for-ev-er, and I finally got to it as part of our DVR clean-out!

Knitting: It feels so good to have knitting needles in my hands again! I'm chugging along with my Newt Scamander scarf for my friend Jessie. I've made more progress in the last week (after ripping out and starting over) than I did in almost a year! It's definitely been an off-year knitting-wise for me, but every hobby needs a break now and then.

Listening to: "Faking It" by Calvin Harris, etc.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
The Book Releases I'm Most Looking Forward to Oct. to Dec. 2017
Non-Fiction November Week 3: Be the Expert, Ask the Expert, Become the Expert

Looking forward to: Our last-minute trip to Colorado for Thanksgiving! I haven't spent a holiday with my parents since 2008, and I'm soooooooo ready to get off this island for a week!

Monday Musings

My week: It was a good week here. Wednesday I got a much-needed haircut and highlights. Then my birthday was on Friday and it was pretty great! I had the day off work, and I spent the morning reading and hanging out with Alohi, then Jarrod and I got a couples massage, took Alohi to the dog park, and went out to dinner at a restaurant I've been wanting to try for ages. For my "birthday cake" I got an absolutely divine chocolate souffle (with vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry sauce -- and piping hot out of the oven; this place bakes your dessert when you order it!), the perfect end to a good day!

Reading: I was so very excited to read "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielweski, a book that's supposed to scare the pants off me. But I found it to be odd, boring and ramble-y, so I set it aside for the moment -- I do want to get back to it, though.

Instead I read the new Dan Brown novel, "Origin." Not my favorite Robert Landgon book, but I blew through it all the same.

Then, just as quickly, I devoured "The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn, a dual narrative set in WWI and WWII. It was allllmost a 5-star read. If you like historical fiction, definitely pick it up!

I really should go back to "House of Leaves" now but instead I'm going to read "The Keeper of Lost Things" by Ruth Hogan because it's due back at the library in a couple days. I tried to read it a few weeks ago and couldn't get into the first chapter, but I think I'm more in the right mindset for it now. After two page-turners, I won't be as antsy with a slower pace.

Watching: We watched the movie "Eddie the Eagle" this week; I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into but it ended up being adorable and inspirational. It's set in the '80s and based on the true story of a quirky British Olympic ski jumper who had a dream and followed through despite the relentless obstacles in his path (helped along by rather dashing ex-jumper-turned-coach Hugh Jackman).

Also, "Stranger Things" season 2, "This Is Us," "Poldark," "Grey's Anatomy."

Eating: Cake!

Baking: Chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

Buying: On my birthday, I finally ordered these bookish earrings from Etsy that I'd been lusting after for YEARS.

(Etsy shop: Coryographies)

Receiving: My Amazon UK order! I really wanted the British version of the illustrated "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and while I was at it I bought "A Close and Common Orbit" by Becky Chambers (the sequel to "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet," which I loved); the British covers of the Wayfarers series are so much better!

Resolving: To take up scuba diving! It's something I've been tossing around and, even though I'm fairly nervous about it, I've decided that during my 32nd year I'm going to get dive certified. What better place to start diving than Hawaii? Also, I've made birthday goals to straighten my hair more often, start jogging, and get up early enough on workdays that I can walk (jog?) Alohi before I have to leave. We'll see how all that works out -- but, hey, I have a whole year to get it right! ;)

Blogging:
Monday Musings
11 Book Titles That Totally Grabbed Me
2017 Releases I REALLY Want To Read By The End of the Year
Non-Fiction November 2017 + Reading Goals
Non-Fiction November Week 1: My Non-Fiction Reading Year So Far + About Me

Looking forward to: Wearing my book fairy Halloween costume to work tomorrow! Also, trick-or-treaters! I love seeing the kids in costume, and we get TONS of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday Musings

Since it was a pretty quiet week here, I thought I'd share another picture from my family's visit. My brother snapped this family photo for us on Round Top Drive, which has several pretty overlooks. That's Honolulu, Waikiki and Diamond Head in the background.

My week: It was an ok week here. My mom and brother headed home last Monday night, and Tuesday I was definitely still on vacation brain when I started back to work! We had some ever-so-slightly fall-like weather here and it was a nice treat. It was super windy, a little rainy and a couple degrees cooler than usual.

Reading: I finished "Rabbit Cake" and ultimately was underwhelmed by it. The cover and title are a pretty dead giveaway that this is a quirky book, but it was just a little too out-there for me, and it also felt more like a middle-grade novel than an adult one.

Then I finally finished "One Summer," Bill Bryson's portrait of the 1920s. I realized last week just how appallingly overdue it was and finally got my butt in gear to finish the last 250 pages, which I blazed through in three days. If you like the '20s, read this! It was so interesting and I learned so much, and Bryson's writing style keeps 450 pages of history from feeling dry.

After that I read "Setting Free the Kites" by Alex George. It's not something I'd pick up on my own -- I've learned coming-of-age YA stories are not usually my thing -- but a good friend with similar reading tastes gave it 5 stars earlier this year and I decided to give it a try. I liked that it was set in Maine in the '70s, but it was just a little boring and kind of grim.

Now I'm reading something that should be the opposite of boring -- people say it's terrifying -- "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski. I'm not far yet, and this is a whopper of a book, and an odd and uniquely constructed one at that, but so far I'm very intrigued.

Watching: "Grey's Anatomy." Jarrod had to work until midnight on Friday so I took the opportunity to watch the entire season of "Grey's" so far. It's a show that I've been wishing would just be over already -- but I'll most likely see it through to the end. This season, though, hooked me in right away and I'm actually excited to watch the next episode, something I haven't really felt about "Grey's" in a while. (P.S. Did you know they're making a spin-off of "Grey's" about the Seattle Fire Department? Ben is going to move over to become fireman. I think I'll pass!)

We also watched "The Circle" on DVD. I never got around to reading the book, and I heard mixed reviews about both the book and the adaptation. But I actually liked it well enough. It had a good satirical message about our over-reliance on technology and social media.

Eating: Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler. It's reminiscent of a chocolate pudding cake and super-yummy. I discovered the recipe last fall and have been waiting for a good time to make it again this year!

Making: These adorable ghost lights for Halloween! They're made out of ping pong balls, cheesecloth, Mod Podge and Christmas lights. (Here's the tutorial I worked off of.) They were super-easy -- I threw them together in about an hour late Saturday night. I wanted to take a better picture but I didn't have a chance to hang them up yesterday (I'm hoping to put them on the front porch), but you can get the idea. Does your neighborhood go all-out for Halloween? Mine does, more so than anywhere else we've lived, and I totally feel like we're lacking in outside decor compared to my neighbors with their giant spiders and blow-up pirate ships and scary window decals!

Missing: Drive-thru Starbucks! I met up with two other boxer moms and a co-worker with her two dogs at the dog park after work Friday and on the way home all I wanted in the world -- to accompany my sleepy puppy and peaceful house with a book waiting for me -- was an iced caramel macchiato! But I was not about to leave Alohi in the car by herself, and the only drive-thru Starbucks here is across the island. So... no iced coffee for this dog mama. Please enjoy your drive-thru Starbucks for me. And your pumpkin scones, too. The Starbucks here never have them in stock!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Half-and-Half: 5 Books About Food and 5 Books That Made Me Hungry
Book Review: Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Non-Fiction Review: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson

Looking forward to: My birthday is this Friday! And "Stranger Things" starts back that day! I'm also expecting a package that day from Amazon UK with the British version of the illustrated "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," plus the sequel to "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet." (The British cover is so much better!) Birthday + good show + book mail = happy day!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?