It’s been a while since I did one of these posts – about a month in fact, so there’s a lot to catch up on! I really do love the format of the Little Loves posts for summing up what’s been going on, as it covers all angles, as well as getting to join in with a fab linky from the (recently rebranded from butwhymummywhy) lovely Coffee, Work, Sleep, Repeat. It’s been quite a hectic month with lots going on, as December tends to be with Christmas coming close and a million things to do! We’re getting all sorted with only a few days to go until the man in red arrives, presents are wrapped, Santa has been visited, Secret Santa presents exchanged and family visited. So without further ado, here is what we’ve been up to, and what we’ve been loving so far in December.
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Read
For such a hectic month, I actually got a lot of reading done at the start of it – I was thrilled to discover a kindle sale on biographies at the beginning of the month which contained some which I’d been looking out for to buy. First up was the incredibly inspiring but intense tale of Michelle Knight, one of the three women who were held for more than ten years by Ariel Castro in Cleveland until their rescue in 2013. It wasn’t an easy read – there were definitely details which stay in your brain that aren’t at all nice, but it is the honest story of how she got there, how she got through it and where life has brought her to now. I have spotted that the other two girls, Gina De Jesus and Amanda Berry also have a book out about their experience too since reading this.
Tina Fey’s BossyPants had been on my list for a while so I was thrilled to see it included in the sale. It was as good as I’d expected, which was great, as I was praying that it hadn’t been overhyped. She tells a very honest tale of life as a woman in her industry and shares anecdotes which I found really interesting. I really liked the chapter about her thoughts on juggling parenthood and her career – also seen here in her New Yorker column. Some fantastic feminist views wrapped up in a whole lot of humour and understanding. Anyone I know who has read it has recommended it but just in case you haven’t been told to read it yet, go read it – you won’t regret it.
I’m currently working my way through Alan Sugar’s biography Unscripted: Ten Years in Television which tells all about his tv career with the show The Apprentice. I’m finding it interesting, even if I’m not finding certain parts of his personality very appealing – but it does have a lot of backstage gossip as such and has made me want to watch all of the previous series!
I’m sure next month will be full of reading (in particular kids books) too, so this I hope is just the start of getting into a rhythm of getting a lot of reading done.
Blogwise, this guide to what women REALLY want for Christmas from the lovely Bumbles of Rice stood out to me as very helpful – hints most certainly dropped. I also related very much so to The Post Modern Mammy in the thoughts had while shopping in Penneys…
Watched
A whole lot of winter finales! As predicted, I was left shouting “Oh my god what is going on” after the end of How To Get Away With Murder, while also left hanging for Criminal Minds and SVU in the New Year.
I’ve also gotten to check out some fab Christmas movies. Love Actually never gets old, so it was lovely to check out on RTE recently with himself – even if Emma Freud’s comments re: Alan Rickman’s character lately did somewhat make that bit even sadder than usual! (Spoiler; DO NOT CLICK if you haven’t seen and don’t want it to be spoiled!). The Santa Clause was another one I hadn’t seen in years – while festive, it is also quite sad in parts which I hadn’t noticed in younger years when watching! I’m looking forward to chilling out for a few more Christmas movies over the season with a selection box and some sparkling grape and elderflower juice.
Heard
I’ve gotten majorly into Podcasts in the last few months and was always a big fan of the Shondaland Revealed podcasts, so when I spotted that Afterbuzz TV did one for How To Get Away With Murder, I was hooked! It’s also shown as a youtube show, but I found it great to stick in the headphones leaving the house and have enthusiastic discussion of one of my favourite shows to listen to – it’s great to have others mentioning theories that I had in my head, or giving new ones altogether – I think I’ve gone through their back catalogue in less than a week. The Afterbuzz podcast for Law and Order SVU is actually what introduced me to the format, I’m now a really big fan – it’s like having friends as into these shows as I am (maybe a tad obsessed) to discuss the show with whenever it suits me!
On the music end of things, the fantastic Storm Desmond report by Teresa Mannion made a fantastic dance hit when in the hands of the group Super Ceili – if you’ve not heard this, get ready for it to be stuck in your head. So catchy!
Made
This month I took part in a wonderful Craft Advent Calendar, hosted by Where Wishes Come From, and for it included my “craft” – chocolate chip cookies in a jar. You can check out the recipe here. I made the cookies this week – they didn’t quite turn out as I planned, but they were devoured! The rest of the calendar, conducted the whole way through December, contains contributions from lots of amazing bloggers who are a whole lot better at crafts and recipes than I am, so it is well worth checking out!
Wore
A whole lot of rainwear – it’s been really wet here in Cork over the last few weeks, and windy to boot, so my raincoat is never far from reach! I’ve discovered that my Skechers, as comfy as they are, are in no way near waterproof – they’ve gotten waterlogged twice in a week, which even for December is a bit harsh! On one of those occasions I was just passing Penneys, as you do, and came across these boots which were reduced from €21 to just a tenner – so of course, wound up buying two pairs, one in tan and one in navy – it would have been a sin to leave them there. I picked up the gel insoles they stock for €3 and they’re now super comfy and much more weather appropriate!
And Lastly…
I’ve been trying to get the blog sorted out and a bit shinier lately – adding a lot of graphics to older posts and retuning them to make sure they’re all looking somewhat uniform. I wrote a post on creating the title graphics which a lot of people have said they found helpful, which feels good!
So, that’s me – what have you been up to and loving this December? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!
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