Quick Lit: December 2015

I've got quite a collection for you today! It's actually Quick Lit from November and December, because the internet kept eating my November post. (I should've saved more often.) But I'm finally getting it together.

So let's dive in!

Big Stone Gap is the first of the four books in the Big Stone Gap series, and probably my favorite of them. Just a quick, fun read. And bonus: apparently there's a movie now? I haven't seen it, but it's got Ashley Judd in it. $11.99 for Kindle

Big Cherry Holler is the second in the series, and I didn't care for it. I was frustrated by the main conflict (marital issues), but I powered through so I could keep going in the series. $11.99 for Kindle

Milk Glass Moon is the third book, and might have been my favorite. Things have calmed down a bit for the family, and I enjoyed this one the most. $11.99 for Kindle

Home to Big Stone Gap is the final installment of the Big Stone Gap series. It was a good way to end it, and I don't feel the need to read any more, should any more be released. Let's end on a good note, shall we? $11.99 for Kindle

Rococo was probably my least favorite Trigiani book of all. It wasn't bad, but I didn't particularly enjoy it either. Unless you are a big Trigiani fan, I'd skip it. $11.99 for Kindle

Beneath the Bonfire is a collection of short stories, which is something I don't read too often. It was a nice change of pace, and I really enjoyed it. A couple of the stories have really stuck with me since I finished it, which is always the mark of a good read for me. $10.99 for Kindle

We are Called to Rise was a really good read for several reasons. I enjoyed how well the author weaved the stories together, and I loved how CASA was depicted in the story. It was pretty heartbreaking, covering some touchy subjects like immigration, the foster system, homelessness, PTSD in veterans, and police shootings. Worth a read. $7.99 for Kindle

I hated Those Girls. It was graphic, gruesome, and I only finished it because I wanted to see what happened. I read the first half, and skimmed the rest. Don't waste your time, unless you're ok with horrible descriptions of rape and violence. $12.99 for Kindle

It's only been a few weeks since I read Beautiful Ruins, but the contents are already blurry. Clearly it didn't stick with me! I did enjoy it while reading it though, it seems like a good airplane or beach read. Plus it's on sale! $3.99 for Kindle

I love Kate Morton and all her books, but the Lake House might be my all-time favorite of hers. It seemed a little more mystery than the others (or maybe it's been too long since I read a Kate Morton book), but it kept me wondering and intrigued the whole time. It's a new one, so the wait might be long at the library. If you can't wait, don't! Just buy it. $12.99 for Kindle

And I finally finished the last Tana French book, The Secret Place. Not my favorite French novel, but it was intriguing and kept me guessing for awhile. $12.99 for Kindle

Of course, I'm also listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks again because they are finally available on Audible! In fact, they are the only reason I re-activated my Audible subscription. They really are that good. 

So...what have you been reading? 

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

The Big 3-0

This weekend I turn the big 3-0. 

In my early twenties, I tried to imagine what my life would be like when this milestone hit. And while I envisioned several different scenarios, I don't think I could have known what it would actually be like. For example:

I had no idea I would be almost 6 months pregnant, trying to build up my business before our little girl makes her big debut. I had no idea I would live in a house in a small town outside of OKC with a husband who was several years younger. I had no idea I would be totally happy with all of those things, including the fact that my 30th birthday is going to be a totally laidback affair involving a few close friends, dinner, and a free water taxi ride. I had no idea that I would be so excited about finding a limited edition version of the Audrey BumGenius diaper. (It's a cloth diaper, I'll explain another time.) 

None of those things would have made sense to early twenty-something Jennifer, except the small birthday celebration with friends, because those friends are the same ones I had back then! 

But it all makes perfect sense now. The only thing that might bother me about turning 30 is that I didn't finish my 30 Before Thirty List. I did some amazing things in my twenties - I traveled to foreign countries, got married, took risks in my career, pushed myself in ways I didn't know I could. But I didn't do everything I set out to. 

And that's totally ok. I had lots of plans for this fall and winter; I was going to do the muddy rough 5k that I wasn't able to do in May when it was cancelled. I was going to take a cooking class, throw a dinner party, and buy a house. Instead I spent most of this fall hugging a toilet! The idea of cooking didn't start sounding good again until November, and simply the idea of hosting a dinner party exhausts me. The house thing went out the window when I left my banking job (getting a loan is hard when you're self-employed), and obviously the 5k wasn't going to happen. 

But guess what? Life isn't ending at 30. I can do all those things in the coming years, and so much more. My twenties are coming to an end, and I'm pretty happy about it because I cannot wait to see what my thirties bring!

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

Hello, December

Well hello there, friends. I've been quiet since the big announcement, huh? I actually wrote a Quick Lit post for November, but the internet ate it. Twice. I'll just do it in December, because I've barely read anything the past couple weeks! 

So what have I been up to? Well, our wonderful little puppies have become total Houdinis and keep escaping from the back yard. The weekend before last I went chasing after Winchester (Remington came to me like a good puppy!) and ended up falling face first onto a concrete driveway. Thankfully all the damage was superficial - I didn't break anything, and baby girl Robbins and I are totally fine now. (Except for a bruised knee, sore teeth, and some scrapes and cuts that are still healing). But it looked pretty nasty when it happened. Here's my edited picture I shared on social media - I still don't to show you the pictures I took straight on. Not pretty!

This past week I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, watched OU dominate in the Bedlam game, and came back home just in time to spend Sunday with no power thanks to the ice storm. It was a great weekend; I got to go through boxes that my mom saved from when I was a baby, and I ended up with lots of things for our little girl to wear/play with. Plus I got in some orders from ThredUp, including this precious coat for our little girl to wear next winter! (Complete with matching hat and muff! Don't worry, she also has camo and pink John Deere boots so she won't be too precious :) ) 

I also got a little carried away over Black Friday weekend. I am not a Black Friday shopper - the idea of battling crowds sounds absolutely awful to me. But saving money by staying up a little late to order online? Totally cool with that! I took advantage of some amazing deals at some cloth diaper online stores, and fell down the rabbit hole of cloth diapering. There's a full series of posts on that coming soon, I promise. But seriously, how cute are these diapers? I ordered two each of the ones on the upper right and lower left (2 different sizes so when she outgrows the small one we can move to the bigger one). Can anyone guess why I chose those two? ;)

And somehow it's December already! I turn 30 this weekend and I'm still trying to decide what I want to do to celebrate. I've already accepted that lots of things on my 30 before 30 list aren't going to be done - and that's ok. 

I'll be back later this week to talk about the big 30! Until then, stay warm friends!

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...