October 2020: Recap + On My Shelves
Hello, November! It felt like October passed even more quickly than September, which is sad because this is the season I want to soak up. Give me all the gorgeous fall temperatures and perfect days spent outdoors!
1. Corn Maze + Pumpkin Patch – One of my goals for October was to go on a fall adventure as a family, and we did it! We visited the local corn maze and pumpkin patch, which also had a petting zoo, slides, hay rides, and lots of other fun activities. I love that this has become a tradition, and our big boy talked nonstop about how much he had! My favorite part was getting hot boiled peanuts – salty perfection – and getting pumpkins for our porch.
2. Animal Sanctuary – Some of the adventures we planned for 2020 had to be changed due to pandemic, so I was excited to find this animal sanctuary to visit. It's one that my family visited all the time when I was a little girl, but it had become very rundown until new owners took over this year. The weather was perfect, and we saw so many cool animals like lemurs, foxes, bears, and more. We loved it so much we walked through twice!
3. Brunch with My Boys – There were other bigger moments in October, but this delicious, spur-of-the-moment brunch was one of my favorites. After running a few errands, we were all getting hungry and decided to try a brunch place I'd never noticed before in an area we often visit. It was so good, and we couldn't believe it had been there for years. Sitting on the patio and looking at my boys, I felt so grateful for this little family of mine.
4. Happy Halloween – Our big boy changed his mind on his costume so many times in the weeks leading up to Halloween! But finally, about two weeks before, he declared that he was going to be Batman and that Lala (Nick's mom) would be making his costume. And sure enough, she did – cape and all! The baby was Robin, a $5 Facebook Marketplace find. Score! Trick-or-treating looked different this year, but it was still a lot of fun.
Read 15 Books | Favorites:
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
The Trespasser by Tana French
“They say that a person’s personality is the sum of their experiences.
But that isn’t true, at least not entirely, because if our past was all that defined us,
we’d never be able to put up with ourselves. We need to be allowed to convince ourselves
that we’re more than the mistakes we made yesterday.
That we are all of our next choices, too, all of our tomorrows.”
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
“The truth of course is that if people really were as happy as they look on the Internet,
they wouldn’t spend so much damn time on the Internet,
because no one who’s having a really good day spends half of it taking pictures of themselves.
Anyone can nurture a myth about their life if they have enough manure,
so if the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, that’s probably because it’s full of shit.”
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
“What haunted people even, perhaps especially, on their deathbed?
What chased them, tortured them and brought some of them to their knees?
And [he] thought he had the answer. Regret. Regret for things said, things done, and things not done.
Regret for the people they might have been. And failed to be.”
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
“It occurred to me then that to be a child is to know
the cradle rocks both toward the parent and away from them.
That is the ebb and flow of life, swinging toward and away from one another,
perhaps so we build up the strength for that one moment we will be rocked so far away,
the person we love the most is gone by the time we return.”
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
“A girl comes of age against the knife, Betty. But the woman she becomes must decide
if the blade will cut deep enough to rip her apart or if she will find the strength to leap
with her arms out and dare herself to fly in a world that seems to break like glass around her.”
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
“She hears all the voices from when she was little, soothing, strengthening: Don’t be scared,
not of monsters, not of witches, not of big dogs. And now, snapping loud from every direction:
Be scared, you have to be scared, ordering like this is your one absolute duty.
Be scared you’re fat, be scared your boobs are too big and be scared they’re too small.
Be scared to walk on your own, specially anywhere quiet enough that you can hear yourself think.
Be scared of wearing the wrong stuff, saying the wrong thing, having a stupid laugh, being uncool.
Be scared of guys not fancying you; be scared of guys, they’re animals, rabid, can’t stop themselves.
Be scared of girls, they’re all vicious, they’ll cut you down before you can cut them.
Be scared of strangers. Be scared you won’t do well enough in your exams, be scared of getting in trouble.
Be scared terrified petrified that everything you are is every kind of wrong. Good girl.”
The Secret Place by Tana French
“I live inside my own skin. Anything that happens outside it doesn't change who I am.”
The Trespasser by Tana French
“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives – or to find strength in a very long one.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
I finally got my blogging mojo back on track in October, so that's something I'm celebrating! I kicked off the month with my September 2020 Recap and followed it up with my October 2020 Goals, two posting staples that always help me start the month strong. Then, I shared seven things I've been loving lately in my So Obsessed With: Mini Edition #10. I read some great books the previous month and shared my mini reviews in Quick Lit: September 2020. And my sister is still tearing through books, as evidenced in her latest Tales & Tiger Lily: September 2020.
One of my favorite posts from the month was a discussion that I'd had in mind for ages! If You Don't Like These Books, Then I Have Questions was fun to write because I imagine all readers have at least one book they love so much that they question anyone who doesn't like it. And finally, I'm most proud of myself for sharing my 2020 planner lineup! This was one of my October goals, and I felt so accomplished checking it off my list. My If You Give a Girl a Planner series included my Dapperdesk daily planner, my PowerSheets goal planner, my reading journal and my bookish notebook. I love all things paper and sharing a few of my favorites!
Favorite Album: Rescue Story by Zach Williams
This album came out in 2019, but it wasn't on my radar before October.
But it was exactly what I needed! I particularly love the collaboration with Dolly Parton.
Rebecca starring Lily James and Armie Hammer – Kelly and I chose this new release for our October BFF long-distance movie night, and it was a fun selection! I read and loved the book in high school, and Kelly read it before our movie night. We both thought the movie was visually gorgeous but so much less atmospheric than the book. The book had a lot more tension and mystery! An enjoyable watch, but a little forgettable overall.
Bookstore: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Jane Was Here by Nicole Jacobsen, Devynn Dayton & Lexi K. Nilson, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, and The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Amazon Sale: A Better Man and Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, Stories of Extreme Picky Eating by Jennifer Friedman, Fable by Adrienne Young, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser, Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, Austen Years by Rachel Cohen, Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel, The Searcher by Tana French, and Stalking Jack the Ripper, Hunting Prince Dracula, Escaping from Houdini, and Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
Used Bookstore: In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, and The Witch Elm by Tana French
Audible: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (not pictured)
What a cute Batman! ;) Also, I'm happy you enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue!
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