Hello, Friends! 🍂✨🍁 My kids and I did some much needed yard/deck garden cleanup as well as a foul pile in our basement. 🙄🫣🤣 Feels so good to have it done! ☑️ Today is a gorgeous gray, fallish type of day with a gentle, breeze swirling the leaves. 🍂 We aren’t huge Halloween 👻 celebrators, but I did use a few stickers in my to-do list!
I’m loving working on my list, because now that those two big projects are done, I can turn to journals, penpals, and READING plans/crafting! Squee!
Starting setting up my new 2027 Daily Pocket Moleskine! I glue a lot of the pages they have in front together and use them for my purposes and will seasonally decorate the month pages. I don’t usually pre-decorate the daily pages unless I know I’m going on a trip etc! I love the little touch of creativity waiting for me each morning. ☕️
Letters going out to pen pals !! and if I could just find my packing tape, I could finish a package and letter! 😂🙄😡 I am slowly catching up and I’m so excited because I have a few new penpals in my list next! 💌📬
Hubby got me these flowers this morning! 💐 😻♥️✨what a blessing!
I’m finalizing my thoughts on Victober 2026 and hope to come back soon to chat a bit about what I read! Spoiler, I had a WONDERFUL Victober! So thankful! 🥹
Turning a calendar page…bittersweet. 🥹♥️✨Fun picture books from the public library! ♥️✨😻 We especially LOVED Applesauce Season! Thanks, Jen, for the recommendation!
Homeschooling is going pretty well, thank God! A few adjustments here or there, but we are getting into a groove. My oldest/senior took a duel enrollment class and did well! Sound Foundations dyslexia curriculum is going well for my current two dyslexics! I finished A Lion to Guard Us with one of my youngers and it brought back memories of reading it with my 21 yo old! 🥹🥹🥹 We are actually really enjoying Colonial/American Revolutionary time period. It’s a newer batch of kids this time through! 😂 The Chronicles of Narnia has been such a blessing AGAIN.
I have lots of little reading plans and hopeful ideas and dreams for writing and creating in the new coming year. Isn’t it lovely to have something to look forward to? ☺️😍😌 How are you? Anything new and neat you are creating, planning, or dreaming of? I’d love to hear! 🎃✨
listening 🍂~ my sister recommended Jervis Campbell to me and on my initial listen, I’m loving it! I can’t wait to take some time to read his lyrics and dive in a bit more. I’m STILL plugging away at The Pickwick Papers and it’s cracking me up all the while annoying me, also! 😂 Good ‘ole Dickens. I’m carrying it over into November.
watching 🍁~ Thanks to Kim 😅, I’ve enjoyed episodes of Cinderella and the Four Knights on YouTube. A wee repetitive, but over all, very sweet and funny. My littlest and I really enjoyed Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. 🎃I kind of want to rewatch it again soon! 😂 We watched a couple episodes of Over the Garden Wall, but they are CREEPY for my youngest! We’ve been keeping tabs on the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series, too! Very exciting! I’m a fair-weather Wisconsin sports fan. I only pay attention when any of them are doing well! 🤣 My 17 yo daughter is a super Brewers fan, so she is over the moon! Let’s go, Brewers! 😁✨Tonight could be the night! ⚾️
reading 🍂~ I’m most excited about The Emmanuel Promise by Summer Joy Gross. I’m a couple chapters in and I can tell it’s going to be a powerful read for me! 🥹♥️🙏🏻 I’m really enjoying a last minute Victober addition , Ayala’s Angel by Anthony Trollope! I have many piles to choose from, but my mood seems to be shifting to beautifully-written children’s literature, nonfiction, and historical fiction.
noticing 🍁~ I was so blessed to attend a women’s retreat with my sister and the weather and scenery were SO breathtaking! It was so nice to relax and catch up with her. I also saw the strangest sight near my home this past week. A heron on top of a 40 foot tree! 😂 My hubby snapped a photo as I was driving.
What are you listening to, watching, reading, noticing? 🍂🍁✨🎃♥️
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (Book 1) plus Sophie on my lap! 🥰🐈
Happy Monday! ☕️ I’ve been a bit MIA and I’ve missed poking around blog land. How are you? I’ve been thinking a lot about my favorite hobby and decided it would be fun to share my reading themes/genres/buzzwords with you! If I can I will give you an example of a book I’ve read! Many of these are mashups of others, but I’ll categorize them under the MAIN subject they fall under. I won’t be necessarily going deeply into plot or content, so please check into it before reading yourself or handing to child. ♥️ If there’s heavy content, I’ll mention that, but MOST of the books I read are on the sweet 😅 end. This of course, it’s not an exhaustive list, but a few of my favorites from recent memories. 🥰♥️📚
Historical Mystery 💕~ Matthew Shardlake Series (Tudor Time period – gruesome), Maisie Dobbs (Interwar Time period), Man of Shadow & Mist by Michelle Griep, The Mysteries of Pendowar Hall by Syrie James are a few I’ve loved! Newer-to-me The Bangalore Detectives Club!
Historical Fantasy💕 ~Green Rider Series (check content), My Happy Marriage Light Novel Series, Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst, The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse, Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw, James Rollins (check content) and Michael Crichton (content). The Will of Many was fantastic.
HistoricalFiction 💕~ Laura Frantz books, A Gentleman in Moscow, and author Catherine Richmond books, I loooved her Through Rushing Water. The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas was fantastic Biblical historical fiction. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini!
Nature/Seasonal Driven 💕~ Gladys Taber’s memoirs about her farm, Robert MacFarlane’s poetry book The Lost Spells. A lot of L.M. Montgomery’s novels has this, try Pat of Silverbush and Mistress Pat! The Summer Book by Tove Jansson! Susan Branch cookbooks/memoirs!
Character-driven Detectives 💕~ Commissario Guido Brunetti Venice Police Procedural Series (check content), Sherlock Holmes by Sir Conan Doyle (check content), Miss Silver Mystery Series by Patricia Wentworth (violence), Maisie Dobbs Series by Jacqueline Winspear (check content), and Hercules Poirot Mysteries (violence) by Agatha Christie.
Gentle, Sweet Regency Romance 💕~ Georgette Heyer is my favorite for these because they are silly and light, but generally well-written. Alissa Baxter has had a few I enjoyed! Mr. Gardiner and the Governess by Sally Britton was sweet. Unequal Affections by Lara S. Ormstrom is a lovely retold version of Pride & Prejudice that I thoroughly enjoyed. Sarah E. Ladd has some fun titles, too!
Victorian Literature 💕~ Elizabeth Gaskell is an absolute favorite here! I recommend Wives & Daughters, North & South, Mary Barton, and Sylvia’s Lovers, My Lady Ludlow, especially. After the books, there are amazing BBC film adaptations of some of her works. The Three Brides by Charlotte Mary Yonge and The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy. You have to work a bit hard at Victorian Literature, but you will be greatly rewarded! A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a wonderful place to start!
Character-driven “Middle-Grade” (genre doesn’t matter here, if well-written and character led)💕~The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter are my favorites! I recently read A Snicker of Magic and it was so good. The Worst Witch Series by Jill Murphy is so sweet and has darling illustrations. My favorite lately was The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco! Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech! The Hobbit by J.R.R.T. goes without saying. Eva Ibbotson! Kiki’s Delivery Service 1&2!
Cozyish, Magical Realism 💕~ The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (check content), Emma M. Lion Series, Garden Spells and First Frost (check content) by Sarah Addison Allen are so cozy! Leif Enger! RAY BRADBURY!
(Well-written) Cozy Mysteries 💕~ (Think Hallmark + Crime🤣) A Seaside Cafe Mystery Series by Bree Baker, Murder With a Hint of Pumpkin Spice by Laura M. Drake, Gladwynne Grant Mystery Series by Lisa R. Howeler, and the Northwoods Mystery Series by Annie McEwen!
ArcheologyAnything 💕~ James Rollins (Sandstorm!) , Dan Brown, and Michael Crichton (check content on these three), Karabos by Lyndsey Llewelyn, Kate Mosse (check content)!
Family/Found Family Stories 💕~ The Story Girl and The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery, Jane of Lantern Hill by Montgomery. Melissa Wiley’s The Martha and Charlotte Years Series. Authors O. Douglas, Molly Clavering, and D.E. Stevenson are wonderful! Carol Ryrie Brink! Noel Streatfield! Gary D. Schmidt (tear-jerkers!)!
American Midwest/West 💕~ Laura Ingalls Wilder Series, Laura Frantz, multiple Carol Ryrie Brink (Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons, The Winter Cottage)! The Native Patriot by Pegg Thomas, Leif Enger! The Virginian by Owen Wister! Maud Hart Lovelace!
Character-driven Experimental/Sci-Fi/Time-Travel 💕~ Timeless Series by Gabrielle Meyer (a few of these were meh for me, but I enjoyed the Jack the Ripper one – time travel with a unique twist), Connie Willis’ historical time travel! and the Thursday Next (check content) Literature time travel police. Orion the Starborn and Orion and the Door of Echoes by K.B. Hoyle are both great!
Lighthouses 💕 ~ jury is still out on finding a favorite! 🤩 Do you have recommendations? The Tides of Time by Sarah M. Eden was pretty good, had time travel, too! Pelican Point by Irene Hannon and Mysterious Magic of Lighthouse Lane by Erin Stewart were recent ones that were ok!
Indigenous/Native American 💕~The Brave and others by James Bird (check content), Birchbark House by Louise Eldrich, Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon (check content). The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson was fantastic.
Classic Christian Nonfiction 💕~ C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, anything Amy Carmichael, Mother Teresa, Oswald Chambers, Lilias Trotter, Charlotte Mason, Watchman Nee, A.W. Tozer, Edith Schaeffer, Ruth Bell Graham, etc!
Poetry 💕~ Wendell Berry, Jane Kenyon, Jessica Powers, Emily Dickinson, Robert MacFarlane, among many, many others!
Character-driven Thought-Provoking Philosophical/Spiritual Vein💕~ Elizabeth Goudge (A City of Bells, The Scent of Water, Pilgrim’s Inn and her children’s books, A Little White Horse, Henrietta’s House, and Sister of Angels), Jane Austen (Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Lady Susan) and Kazuo Ishiguro ( Remains of the Day and Klara and the Sun). Never thought I’d end up here by Ann Liang. Liang has several I’ve enjoyed (check content). Gabrielle Roy and Niall Williams! What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Auyama! Leif Enger!
Character-driven Literature Themed 💕~ Thursday Next Literary Detective Series (language, check content), The Invisible Library Series by Genevieve Cogman (check content) and The Great Library Series by Rachel Caine (check content)! These last two lean heavily into Historical Fantasy, too. I looooved Deron R. Hicks Shakespeare Mysteries for children !
Sweet Fairytale Retellings 💕~ Fairest Son by H.S.J. Williams (gender-bent Snow White) , To Love A Beast and Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer, Bluebeard and the Outlaw by Tara Grayce, and The Winter Prince by Constance Lopez. I highly recommend, Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham (check content). Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg, and Belle: Amish Beauty & Beast by Sarah Price was a cheesy, but fun mashup! East by Edith Pattou was a darker, extremely well-written ‘East of the Sun’ retelling. Joanna Ruth Meyer is consistently a great loose fairytale re-teller author, too! Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett was fun! Britain Kalai Soderquist’s Glass Roses: A Victorian Fairytale!
A bit of a splurge! Gorgeous hard cover of 2nd book in Kiki Series! I’m a sucker for cats! 😻
How about you? Have you ever thought about your favorite things in books? What are your favorite genres/tropes/buzzwords? 📚💕☕️
I’m a fairytale retelling super fan! My favorite fairytales are Beauty & the Beast and Cinderella, possibly due to a sense of the underdog getting a chance to be seen. I also love the idea of the wrong being made right and not being judged by appearances or first impressions. I love the idea of kindness and love shown to others can change someone’s life! I have found the older source material for fairytales can be dark, gruesome, and a bit disturbing, but with so many reimaginings, the general plot is kept, but the creativity and imagination can take so many paths!
I actually found My Happy Marriage as a subtitled YouTube? film and I was absolutely charmed by the sweet kindness the main male character shows to the female character. This is a Cinderella story with fantasy elements. The war/dystopian/fantasy violence is a bit dark, just FYI. Hopefully, you can find this somewhere with English subtitles.
After a little digging, I found that this film was originally inspired by a Japanese light novel series written by Akumi Agitogi. I just completed the first Volume and hope to slowly continue them. It has now been made into an illustrated manga and anime series, too. I prefer the light novel (more substance) and the lovely film to the manga, although the illustrations are so beautiful.
Do you enjoy fairytale retellings? If yes, what are your favorites? What are your favorite fairytales?
Manga pages are turned from left to right even in the digital versions! This was cute, but I love the novel and film the best! ♥️✨
We enjoyed this nonfiction book together after the younger boys stopped to pick some pumpkins with my hubby 🎃♥️✨
listening 🎃~
Mostly to Book/Journal Tube or The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. The rustle of dried cornfields is so gorgeous and the leaves crunch and caw of the crows, just perfect. ✨
watching🎃~
I watched a little Star Wars with my kids, but still wanting to try A Little Princess from 1995?, and been craving The Sound of Music lately for some reason.
Collaging is a messy and delightful process!
reading🎃~
Hilarious spot in My Lady Ludlow by Elizabeth Gaskell! Seen any live Dissenters in the wild? 😉😅🤣Sweet autumn picture books I read with younger kids! And maybe a teenager, too! 🎃✨
noticing🎃~
All the GORGEOUS-ness everywhere! I’m in the process today of finishing up my essay/collage for Sword & a Song , so I was soaking up inspiration here, from books, from back issues, and from 🍂 autumn splendor!
Trying out my stamps ✨Favorite Korean pop stars birthday! 🎂 😅✨Little fingers practicing ✨Loving this picture book! ✨
What are you listening to, watching, reading, noticing? ✨🎃♥️🍁🍂
I really love the daily rhythm of getting up to make coffee, read Scripture, journal, and dip into a few devotional or slow reads. It happens MOST mornings.
Here’s what’s in my bag currently, this changes constantly except for the journals and Holy Bible, those are always present.
Every couple of years, I get a new journaling Bible because I fill them up! I try new translations, occasionally. I’m really enjoying this one! The floral journal is a prayer diary etc. This is very personal, not always pretty, but I love seeing God’s faithfulness. I don’t write in it everyday because I use the margins in the journaling Bible, too. But if I need more space or want to “get something off my chest”, I use the journal.
There’s often pens and highlighters, plus I just started a new five year journal this year! I usually list a bit of the day or gratitudes! My husband’s grandmother’s prayer book! I’d like to read through this soon. That’s a print of her wedding I’m using as a bookmark.
A few books I’m slowly dipping into currently. As Kingfishers Catch Fire is new-to-me collection of sermons and I’ve never completely read Rose from Briar by Amy Carmichael. The other two are rereads, a beautiful daily devotional and a health book.
My cute tote holds it all, so I can sit wherever I need to! I had to make it mobile with remodeling.
What’s on your quiet time stack? Do you have specific times/things you like to include?
A homeschool mom friend’s amazing dahlias that she grew! 😍♥️ She gave some to us!
{Full disclosure ~ bit of a busy week, so this is a few days of answers mashed together 😅}
FOR TODAY~ Outside my window…🍁 it has been simply gorgeous! Breezy, cool, yet sunny and warm midday!
I am thinking…🍁 about so many things, Scriptures I’m reading, writing deadlines, a nature outing, relationships, and of course, what to make for dinner! 😅
I am thankful for…🍁 two local friends and our little book club! 🥰 The foliage and weather has been sublime! I’m in heaven with the sound of the rustling, golden corn fields!
From the kitchen…🍁 we tried these this week and they were GOOD, one of my children had stomach aches with too much flour.
I am creating…🍁 articles/collages for my writing project, attempting October daily blog posts (already welched this week! 🤣), have a backlog of pen pal letters to respond to, still want to make a wreath of the eucalyptus from my daughter’s wedding for her, need to begin Christmas crafting, want to keep poem momentum, reading journal, church girls group lessons, homeschool group lessons etc. 😁 You get the drift.
I am going…🍁 on a nature outing with some of my kids and friends! Very excited! ♥️
My younger sister made me this lovely candle holder! It has a flickering battery candle! How CUTE is that!? I need more! Hahahaha!
I am wearing…🍁 it’s a bit chilly, so green stocking hat, green tennis shoes, green pants?, green flannel shirt, and jean jacket? 😅🍏🌿🌳💚
I am reading…🍁I talk exhaustively here on the ‘ole blog about what I’m reading, but here ya go! 😉 Victober is still prominent! I’m slowly listening to The Pickwick Papers. I finished Uncle Silas and while I liked parts of it, it wasn’t a new favorite. I started My Lady Ludlow, the only longer Elizabeth Gaskell I haven’t read! I’m relistening to The Canterville Ghost because it’s another funny Oscar Wilde that I really enjoyed in the past. I’m actively reading another in a cozy mystery series, too. The kids and I just finished The Horse and His Boy and it was so good! 😊
I am hoping…🍁 to make a dent in some of those above creative projects later today or tomorrow and to take a walk!
I am hearing…🍁 my 17yo cleaning kitchen and chatting with my 7 yo. Birds chirping and my fan whirring. 🥹♥️
Around the house…🍁 my big porch purge is still staring at me with beady eyes. 👀
One of my favorite things…🍁 anticipating an upcoming women’s retreat with my sister. 🥰♥️
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…🍁 everything I said above! Possible coffee with my mom! I need to figure out how to wrangle all my family here at home to use a free pass we were given for a local attraction!? 🤔😂 It’s hard to get our schedules to align!
Here is a picture thought (or two) I am sharing for you…
Creepy books I checked out to try! I’m still mostly interested in Labyrinth and The Poe Shadow. That’s because the are historical mysteries with archaeological/ephemera elements. Waiting for the 3rd in Hierarchy Series so I tried the author’s backlist. Not what I want at this time!A seasonal friend recommendation and a retelling of sorts from an author I’ve enjoyed before. Cozy, illustrated reread!
✨Just like that I feel sick of my darker, adventurous mystery/sci fi titles I’ve been checking out of the library and I’m turning more to my cozy, comfortable reads. What are your go-to types of books when in need of something comforting? 🥰♥️☕️ Some books I choose to stick it out with and be disciplined. My light reading, I’m much more flexible with quitting if I’m not ‘feeling’ it. Do you read every book you start to the end?
I’m thinking classic-feeling, character-driven, children’s literature, cozy mysteries, and of course, continuing my Victorian literature selections for Victober. I have plenty of Victorian classics choices to keep me going all autumn and into winter! I also have plenty of favorite niche type book stacks around my room, many of them on my 50×50 list. Also Im a big rereader of favorites for comfort. I’m hoping I can keep this mood up for the rest of the year!
I’ve been reading the Holy Bible in New Living Translation this year and I’m loving it so much! I just finished Hebrews and was blown away with its challenging beauty. 😍♥️✨🙏🏻
I’m seriously decluttering my online stuff. I go in spurts with reading apps and social sites. It’s time to let a lot of it go. I’m truly an analog lover and my energy levels need to be turned toward home and those around me. It gives me more brain breathing space, too, to write regularly, collage, walk, dabble in photography, journal, and write pen pals, which are all things I love!
It’s a gorgeous day, blustery, and sunny here! ✨Happiest Tuesday to you! ♥️
