November Happenings

We had a busy second half of November, and because I fell off the blogging wagon, I'm going to share it all in one post, ha.

Work lunch when one of our teammates from Cincinnati was in town!

Annual A Christmas Affair shopping

Annual Book Club Dinner at Maggiano's with our White Elephant gift exchange - this year we had a theme with trucker hats!

The Gurley Gurls (including the OG, my mother-in-law) went to see Wicked. To say it was AMAZING would be an understatement - full review coming soon!

My cousin, Hagan, came into town at the beginning of Thanksgiving break, so we were able to get together at my parents' house AND celebrate Patty's, my dad's, and her son's {Luke} birthdays.

The Swopes!

All the desserts!

Swope cousins

And of course we put up our tree!

I also took the girls to see Kacey Musgraves with our friends, Dez and Hattie! We had a BLAST. The concert was incredible, and it was such a fun experience.

The girls and their souvenirs

And, of course, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Gurley family {no pics though, oops} and the Lindemanns!

Sawyer - just shy of 1!

Our whole crew!

So much fun but exhausting too ha! And straight into December with all the amazing holiday adventures.

November 2024 Book Review

Oops, inadvertent blogging break, but I'm BACCCCK! Going to try to catch up with some stuff from November that I missed but there's always a lot to share in December too! BUT I can't miss a book review, so we're going to start with my November reads.

I read 9 books this month and spent a lot of time finishing up the Throne of Glass series. Lots of non-fiction this month too!

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls - I read this to help Drew answer her English questions - surprisingly, I didn't read this in school. We both thought it was good but super sad.

Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter - This was a sequel to Better Than the Movies and was equally adorable. Predictable YA rom-com {exes where one is trying to get the other back}, but there was some extra oomph to it - I think Lynn Painter excels at making you love her characters.

Wordslut by Amanda Montell [audiobook] - I LOVED this. There isn't much to say that the title doesn't cover, but I found this fascinating. I told a lot of people about it and thought about it obsessively for awhile.

The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon [audiobook] - This was so delightful. And I read it at a time when I needed a little infusion of hope and goodness {after the election}. I love Sharon McMahon and thought she found some great unsung Americans to highlight.  

The Assassin's Blade [audiobook]/Empire of Storms/Tower of Dawn/Kingdom of Ask by Sarah J. Maas - I finished Throne of Glass! I listened to the prequel short stories {that do tie into the main story but isn't REQUIRED} and then read the last 3 books. This is such a great fantasy series! I cannot say enough great things about this one. Sarah J. Maas is amazing. {Also a small cheat - I finished Kingdom of Ash on December 1 but figured it was easier to put it here for review purposes ha}

Scenes From My Life by Michael K. Williams [audiobook] - It was so super sad but also really interesting to listen to this memoir after listening to Matthew Perry's last month. There were a lot of similar themes and thoughts related to their addictions, and it's just so darn sad to read these books after these talented men passed away from their addictions. I really enjoyed Michael's insights and thought he sounded like a really great guy. Brent and I have never watched The Wire, so it's definitely on my list now!

Never Enough by Jennfer Breheny Wallace [audiobook] - This was absolutely fascinating and right up my alley. I made really good grades in school {but Brent didn't despite being smart}, so we've had a lot of talks about what our expectations are for our kids knowing that grades aren't everything {but can open or close a lot of doors}. This book has made me think a lot about the message I want to be sending to my kids about success, and I definitely don't want to prioritize grades/college/salary over their mental health. I think this should be required reading for parents!

That wraps up my month! My total through November is 112 books, I'm guessing I'll end up around 120, which seems to be a sweet spot for me. My average for the month was 4.39 compared to my yearly average of 3.9, so this was a solid month of reading for me, quite a few 5 star reads! Looking forward to finishing the year strong.