Create – A.M. Pine – Hearth Ridge Reflections

Cozy Story I Love 💗

October 20, 2026 amyofhearthridge3 Comments

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! ♥️✨

Wednesday Wonders ✨

October 14, 2026 amyofhearthridge4 Comments

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!

Favorite Korean pop stars birthday! 🎂 😅✨

What are you listening to, watching, reading, noticing? ✨🎃♥️🍁🍂

The Simple Woman’s Daybook 🍎🍏🍎

October 9, 2026 amyofhearthridge4 Comments

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…

Peek into my Public Library Stack (Part 2) and Reading Mood Shift and Random Thoughts 📚✨

October 6, 2026 amyofhearthridge6 Comments

Creepy books I checked out to try! I’m still mostly interested in ***Labyrinth*** and ***The Poe Shadow. T***hat’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.

✨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! ♥️

Peek into my Public Library Stack (Part 1) 📚 + Victober Reading Beginning Impressions 🍁

October 2, 2026 amyofhearthridge8 Comments

Good morning, friends! I’m snuggling into my sweatshirt as we woke to a chilly, but gorgeously sunny morning here! What a gift! ☺️☀️✨

I have a massive pile of library checkouts that I may or may not get to due to my Victorian reading focus this month. I thought it would be fun to share what’s in my PL basket.

Mainly, I have a lot of Sci-Fi choices leftover from Sci-Fi September. I still don’t feel totally sick of Sci-Fi, so may try to see if any of these in photo above catch my fancy! I’m most interested in Green City Wars and Scion, but my 19 yo read Scion and said it was a bit brutal and had language. I’m surprised because I’ve loved James Islington so much and hadn’t run into language before. Have you read any of these? How are they?

My second pile is cozy mysteries! I know, I know, not high literature, 😂 but just the right light reading for me, when I need a break from heavy reading or the chaos around me. 😂Think Hallmark with a side of murder. 🤣📚✨I’m most interested in Autumn at Cat Cafe! 🥰🐈‍⬛🎃☕️

My friend created a Victober bingo, so I made her grid with washi and stickers! So fun! 🤩

I bought a pack of these charming bookmarks (penpals I hope to send one your way!) and I decorated my first one for Victober on front, other reading possibilities on back. I need to add 2026, so I can keep them as a memory! Maybe I should make ones for the past Victober’s that I participated in!!! I think this is my 4th or 5th official year of participation?! It’s the 11th year this wonderful Booktube readathon has been happening! 📚🎃🐈‍⬛✨🍁

My Moleskine Daily Pocket to-do is almost filled! My 2027 version is on its way! The one quibble I have is the Monday start, otherwise I loooove these. The paper is buttery and I love how they fit in my hand and the monthly and daily set up! The spines have held up to my heavy abuse.

How’s my beginning Victorian reading going? Good! I had listened to The Importance of Being Earnest a couple of days before October and that was a perfect, lighthearted choice to get me even more excited. I found this free audiobook of The Pickwick Papers and so I’ve started tandem reading and listening and it’s just as ridiculous and full of wordsmithing wonder as I remember. Yes, I had read half years ago! 🙃😂

It would definitely fulfill the prompt for Travel and Adventure. Dickens and I are fickle friends, so we’ll see if I can stick it out! I may have to just listen 🎧 while cooking etc.

I’m absolutely loving Poems of the Past and the Present by Thomas Hardy on my Kindle. Some obtuse literature/history/places mentioned, but I’m finding it very readable! This would fulfill birthday month author as we are both June born! I thought I would enjoy his poetry due to his lush writing in the novels I have read of his. I’m hoping to attempt The Woodlanders, too. A friend gave me a gorgeous old copy of it years ago, but it’s a bit fragile so may read it on my kindle.

I also picked up at 39%? with Uncle Silas as I had started this years ago. Honestly, the first part of this book draggggggged for me. But I have it on good authority, that the next part is better and gets the sinister, atmospheric plot going! So far, the main character Maud? is traveling to live with an estranged uncle to fulfill her father’s will conditions. 😳😬

I’m 5 chapters into my local friend’s bookclub read of Dr.Wortle’s School! It’s very easy to read and I like the story. Haven’t fallen in love with any characters yet, though. You could definitely use this for a Character who Has a Secret 🤐 prompt! It’s a nice, short Victorian novel, too, which can be a relief. 😅

Reading Autumn 🍂 ~

whole worlds

leaf by –

my eyes,

heart cries

tumbling in,

passing my kin‘s

by-gone sighs

rustling, flitting

let my soul sink in.

~A.M. Pine♥️🌲

How’s your reading currently? Creating anything? What’s new with you?

Happy Friday! ♥️🥰

Oh, happy day! Victober is here! 🍁🍂🧡🤎🖤 + October Collage/Writing Challenge

October 1, 2026 amyofhearthridge11 Comments

My friends! My favorite reading month of the year is here! Victorian literature has blessed me in so many ways. It’s beautiful writing, it’s gorgeous atmospheres, it’s delicious characters, and it’s over-the-top dramatics! 🎃

I’m hoping to be posting here a bit more this month (daily?!🤞🏻) in celebration of a beautiful month here in the Midwest USA and Victober.

I love putting bits and pieces of the ephemera of life together. Whether that be in the form of a poem, collage, quilting (hope to get back to it someday), pictures, quotes, making soup, lists, journals, or sending moments through the post. I invite you to join me in whatever way you can. 🤎 Post here in my comments, write in your own journal, post something yourself in your online home, or just meditate in your heart. Let’s rejoice together about a ‘new month with no mistakes in it…yet.’ 😁

My first little verse and collage in honor of this momentous month! 🍁

Which spooky or Victorian book should I start this very afternoon? The possibilities are endless! 🍁

May your coffee be hot and your book long and wonderful!

Happy October beginnings! 🧡🤎🖤🍁🍂🌾🎃

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ✨🍂

September 9, 2026 amyofhearthridge7 Comments

New puzzle and The Silver Chair audiobook! 😍♥️

FOR TODAY~

Outside my window… ✨sunny and cool! Gorgeous! I wish I could mow/weed-whack but already have a lot going on. It’s been raining a lot and so I’m behind on yard work.

I am thinking…✨of my tween/teen girls class I’m teaching at church tonight! Our Charlotte Mason co op beginning tomorrow! Cleaning projects! Books to be read! 😅

I am thankful for…✨my new refrigerator! Even if it cut into remodeling budget. 🙃♥️👀

From the kitchen…✨I’m making sweet 🌽 corn for lunch and need to get sloppy joes in crockpot as we have church. I attempted a cake for my hubby and I’s anniversary this week. It was WAY more difficult (and too sweet) than I anticipated and was a bit of a flop. The kids ate it all, anyway! 😂♥️👀

I am creating…✨reading journal 📓 spreads and filling in September pages ~

Working on these, too! Back to Hogwarts!

My favorite readathon is COMING. I’m starting now! 🍂✨*Dr.Wortle’s School* is my first pick with my IRL bookclub! 😍

I’m never going to read those all, but fun to dream! 😂

I am going…✨ nowhere until church, working on homeschool lessons, church lessons, cooking etc.

I am wearing…✨heather gray knockoff 😅 Arirang World Tour Tshirt and green cargo pants, sandals and pearl earrings. Probably will change into something different for church!

I am reading…✨many things, but mainly excited about The Brothers Karamazov and starting Victorian things!

Here’s where I’m at in Bros K! 😎🤣👀 I’m loving it!

I am hoping…✨ to get ahead on some outside responsibilities stuff, revive my lagging health goals, and work on helping with the next step in our remodeling. 🫣😅🥵

I am hearing…✨my hubby shuffling papers in his home office. 😅

Around the house…✨messes and mayhem! 😅♥️Two children just came back from taking garbage to our dump. We have dishes etc to catch up on and the refrigerator switch out. We have more school to tackle and a little church prep, still.

One of my favorite things… ✨the golden, blues, browns, and greens of September! 🌾🍂🍃🌻

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…✨ Homeschool co op! A movie night with my 7 yo! “Relaxation” this weekend. 😅♥️

Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you…

Hope your week is going well! ✨♥️🌻

August Ends, September Begins 💜

September 1, 2026 amyofhearthridge7 Comments

Happy September 1st! We are prayerfully and slowly getting into the groove this week with our autumn homeschooling schedule which kicks into high gear next week. I’m still holding onto late summer though. September has the potential to be a favorite month, EXCEPT if we get extremely humid weather. 🥵 Like yesterday. 😂

My last read for the Keep Me in Suspense Bingo Board. It’s actually turning out to be deeper and more introspective. The mystery is a bit slow and lackluster but the interpersonal relationship dynamics between the older father and his daughter, a 40 yo nun, is fascinating!

Very sweet new-to-me series! Husband and wife in small town! The wife is a wee-bit manipulative, but I loved the first for the most part.

From Instagram! August was a great month! 🥹🥰😍♥️ I’m amyofhearthridge on there, too, if you use IG!

Hubby and I went to Chicago for a quick 1 1/2 day trip! He surprised me with a ticket to see BTS. 💜

Korean pop band! It was an fantastic show!

So proud of myself for making a half eggplant and half noodle lasagna! 😅💜 Next time I need to figure out a better way to prep the eggplant. It was a bit salty.

Hope your week is starting on a high note. I’m still holding onto all the inspiration and beauty from this past weekend. I’m hoping still to make a vision/inspiration board for our new school year! ♥️

Paper Love 💌📬📓📝🖋️

August 27, 2026 amyofhearthridge2 Comments

Decorating pages to write a little review on these two books for myself. A penpal sent me that lovely Regency-era printed paper!

Recent letters I’ve received! Just sent out a few responses! I had a big stack to catch up on. Still more to go! ♥️

Trying very hard to use a lot of the stickers and washi I have! I had those random 1920’s stickers and I thought they were perfect for *Brideshead Revisited! Glass Roses* featured letters and a rose garden! So I found some stickers for that, too!

A reread set on an island. Random sea coast type bird stickers I had.

I used up the last? I think of my Totoro cards! Need to dig deeper in my stash and see. Hopefully, soon I can get more cards.

Ephemera and paper piles make me happy. 😊

Happy Thursday! 📬🦉💌♥️🖋️📝📓✨

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ☕️🌻

August 19, 2026August 19, 2026 amyofhearthridge7 Comments

FOR TODAY~

Outside my window…it looks sparkly and sunny after a wild, gorgeous thunderstorm later yesterday!

I am thinking… of getting some laundry going so I can hang it on the line! Also about the books I found in a Little Free Library yesterday! I need to take some back to it. Do you ‘owe’ certain LFL’s books? 😂. I do this all the time.

I am thankful for…all the beautiful stories I have access to and for my little Delft mug my daughter bought me for my birthday! She found it at a garage sale.

From the kitchen… I am hoping to throw ham, rosemary, and potato soup into crockpot as we have church tonight!

I am creating… new reading journal pages! Last month, I decided to change the way I was doing my monthly spreads. Instead of printing off every book cover, I’m just making a monthly header page, a read list/readthon/buddy reads page, and then I want to do review pages for my favorites! I’d like to decorate each favorite’s review and then write out more thoughts etc, rather than just the small, teeny area around the book covers. I get a lot of inspiration from these two amazing reading journal artists: Manda Made and Michala’s Cozy Life ~

This little space dessert postcard a penpal sent to me is perfect so I made it into a “tip-in” for Sci-Fi September’s prompts. Zoom in if you want to see the darling illustrations on it!

Here’s how I set up the monthly page now. I’m trying to use all the stickers and washi I have currently before buying too much more!

Going to be printing off the Back to Hogwarts Readathon Game Board and placing it here! I may print of this Autumn Bingo Board too! My reading will go significantly down as school begins.

I am going… to my in-person bookclub this week! We are finally finished with Brideshead Revisited and I think it’s my turn to pick our next read! Now to narrow it down! I might make my friends read a Victorian novel 😈 with me since we are so close Victober! Or I could be nice and choose something lighter as we are all homeschooling moms. 🤔

I am wearing… probably my black pants and a Tshirt for the morning. It all depends if I end up lawn mowing today. The grass is super wet.

I am reading… a MILLION things. 🤭🫣 I always try to read too much right before school begins! 🙃 I really am trying to finish a few mysteries that I’m reading for the Keep Me in Suspense readthon. I’m super interested in finishing Moby Dick. You can’t read it fast, but over all I am loving it. The wordsmithing is top notch. I’m SO excited to be starting The Brothers Karamazov with my daughter. I’ve heard amazing things about it. An online friend (hi, Elizabeth! 👋) recommended A Snicker of Magic and I just started this morning after reading my Bible and ADORED the writing of the first chapter. I’m also loving my reread of The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. The little granddaughter Sophia is sorta mean to my favorite character (the grandmother) 😖🥲 and that’s bothering more this time through. It’s so, soooo beautiful though! 😌🥹🥰

I am hoping… to continue my clothing purging project! I was so proud of myself for going through my socks & underwear. Ha. Now to my two younger boys! 😬🫣 My 12 yo grew significantly this year, so I want to make a list of needs to check for at thrift stores!

I am hearing… kids getting popsicles from dad for breakfast?! 🤭🫣😂🙃

Around the house… piles, piles, piles. 😒

One of my favorite things… my deck garden, Idlewild!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… Bookclub, continuing all my class prep for various autumn teaching responsibilities. Our own homeschool, homeschool Charlotte Mason co op, local mom’s homeschool group, and church teen girl’s group! Asking the Lord for peace and wisdom for all these things.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you…

How’s your week going? Anything coming up for you? What are you reading or creating? Anything neat you are watching or listening to?

Cozy Corners 🦋✨🌻♥️🌿

August 7, 2026 amyofhearthridge6 Comments

Hello 👋 ~

It’s taken me until today (Friday) to feel a little more relaxed! 😌 I realized I was trying to “force” myself and the kiddos to relax. Ha. 🙃😂 We were able to pop into our lovely small local library and browse. A couple of my kids have been enjoying the summer reading program, so we picked up some more picture books. I’m sure missing my wonderful, curated living books which are packed away, as you know, for continued remodeling. I may treat myself later by pulling out a few bins of our history period we are studying this coming school year. It will satisfy my itch to be among my ‘friends’ for a little while. My 14 yo daughter chose after the library to get an iced matcha and my two boys chose ice cream from our little drive in diner. We love the local hippy coffee shop with cheerful vibes and the fun diner. Our area has SO much natural beauty, too, and we have a couple of places we plan to haunt soon.

Our lovely friends let us chrysalis babysit and we got to watch three Monarchs hatch this week. 😍♥️🌿🦋 Such a rewarding experience!

We spent the afternoon at a nearby lake and I truly felt myself relaxing. The cool wind and toasty sun, flickering through the trees was perfect. I’ve been wanting to reread my Summer Book by Susan Branch and I was able to slowly savor her lovely illustrations, quotes she collects, and recipes. I love her work so much! It made me excited to be a home keeper again. 😍☕️✨🌻 One of my favorite things was sitting on the fishing dock with the sun beating on me. The weather was perfect. We also saw a pair of Belted Kingfishers flying low over the water. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

I did a little journaling set up! I like doing little goals sheets, not religiously or anything, but to give myself a pretty way to track my habits etc that I’m continuing to work on. I’ve done these little symbol keys before! They are fun! ♥️

I made a massive Brain Dump List and some other to-do things because it helps me to focus and calm down without all that rattling around in my brain. I’m also figuring out a way of curating the quotes from my reading that I want to jot into my commonplace. I read a lot and mark my books up, but I want to figure out how to better choose quotes! I loved this video about recently on this topic. I’m letting Jane Austen’s Bookshelf simmer before choosing favorite quotes to add out of the ones I marked.

I’ve been on a Booktube watching break and it’s interesting how many other things I get done and how much actual reading I get in! 🤣 I finished The Opt-Out Family and I must say it may be so far one of my favorite things I’ve read this year. I’m going to slowly go back through it, as I want to note ideas and passages better. Highly recommend! ♥️✨

Finished my reread! Love Miss Austen so much! This isn’t a favorite of hers for me, but the 2nd half was such a wonderful character study. ♥️✨

How was your week? ♥️😍🌿✨☕️🌻

Monday Ponderings ♥️🌿✨ Baggins “core” (with a Side of Tookishness) Refresh Week

August 3, 2026August 3, 2026 amyofhearthridge3 Comments

Hello, Friends! 😁♥️✨🌿 We are on the other side of my daughter’s wedding! It was a lovely day. 🥰🥲♥️ I thought I’d do a cozy refresh this week before I dive full force into to my autumn planning for all my homeschool and other responsibilities. The house needs some deeper cleaning and organizing, but mostly, my younger children and I need some summer cozy and fun. I’d like to bring you along and share little bits here and there. 😍🥰☺️ What are you up to this week?