Booked up

Note to self: you could always take a moment in between books it update your reading log.... or at least more than once every 5 months 🙃

Well I'm here now and here's what I've read since April (yikes!)

36. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

37. The Castaways (Nantucket, #2) by Elin Hilderbrand

38. Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1) by Pierce Brown

39. A Summer Affair (Nantucket, #1) by Elin Hilderbrand

40. The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

41. Here's to Us by Elin Hilderbrand

42. The Perfect Couple (Nantucket, #3) by Elin Hilderbrand

43. Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2) by Rebecca Ross

44. Funny Story by Emily Henry

45. Swan Song (Nantucket, #4) by Elin Hilderbrand

46. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

47. A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

48. Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3) by Abby Jimenez

49. So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park

50. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

51. Dating Dr. Dil (If Shakespeare Was an Auntie, #1) by Nisha Sharma

52. The Guest List by Lucy Foley

53. Thank You for Listening by Julia  Whelan

54. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

55. The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise  Williams

56. Icebreaker (UCMH, #1) by Hannah  Grace

57. Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2) by Hannah  Grace

58. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

59. Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

60. The Deja Glitch by Holly   James

61. Nothing but the Truth by Holly   James

62. What Happens in Paradise (Paradise, #2) by Elin Hilderbrand

63. Fangirl Down (Big Shots, #1) by Tessa Bailey

64. Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

65. Name Your Price by Holly   James

66. The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

67. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

68. Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch, #1) by Lyla Sage

69. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

70. This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

71. Happily Never After by Lynn Painter

72. Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

73. Swift and Saddled (Rebel Blue Ranch, #2) by Lyla Sage

74. Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

75. Daydream (Maple Hills, #3) by Hannah  Grace

76. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

77. Payback's a Witch (The Witches of Thistle Grove, #1) by Lana Harper

78. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

79. We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

80. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

81. Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane

82. How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

83. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

84. Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

85. The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex, #1) by Erin Sterling

86. The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

87. A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

Name Your Price by Holly James

One of the things about small town living is you get pretty accustomed having to go "to the next big town" to get what you want. 

Shopping? Next big town.

Health care? Next big town.

Emergency Vet? Next big town.

So much so, that the next big town is often where my search for something starts. So imagine my surprise when I was looking at upcoming author events and saw one happening right at my local bookstore. Needless to say I was ecstatic! I reserved my spot and preordered the book right there and then.

Until that moment I hadn't heard of Holly James so I picked up her first two books and dove in. Holly is a Romance/Fiction writer that lives in LA but guess what? She grew up in my small town. My local bookstore was her bookstore growing up! How cool is that?

I devoured her first two books while waiting for the third to release. Nothing But the Truth and The Déjà Glitch are both light-hearted fun reads. Both of these had a little magical aspect to them that I really enjoyed. 

I picked up Name Your Price right on release day (thank you local bookstore!) and jumped right in. It was different from her first two books as there was no magical aspect to it at all but it was a little on the spicier side. 🌶️ This book also had a lot of heart to it and I loved the daughter/granddaughter relationship we got to see. 

The book signing turned out to be so fun. First, when I walked into the bookshop I felt like I had just crashed a family reunion. A lot of Holly's family and friends are still in the area and they turned out to support her. It was so cute and sweet! I really enjoyed getting to hear about what the writing and publication process is like for her. Kudos to any authors out there- it does not sound like it's for the faint of heart! Holly was nice and generously signed all three of my books. And she's a Swifite! 🫶It was so funny to ask her about this book being spicier and what it's like to have your family reading it..... awkwaaaard. Just skip that chapter grandma!

It was such a fun little event and I was excited to hear details for her next book coming out in 2025. Can't wait! 

Aug 10

So it begins....

 

And just like that, Harvest 2024 has started!

Wish me luck! 🫠

Play ball ⚾

 This past weekend we caught the Dodgers while they were in Oakland with the family!

Though we live in Northern California, Gray and his family are big Dodger fans. And while Oakland isn't exactly close, it's a lot closer than LA.

Me? Oh I came along for my truest of loves: a soft pretzel 🥨 Kidddddin! Mostly 😬

I've been to a few Dodgers games at this point and they're always an event! It doesn't matter if its a home game or an away game- Dodgers fan turn out! As you can see our section was a sea of Dodger Blue.

My second must have baseball food is a helmet of nachos (or fries depending on the park). I'm not about buying an overpriced hot dog when I'm a Costco Executive Member 😂 

Two games. Two pretzels. Two wins. Two days with family.

One great weekend. 

Little Free Library Tour

Everyone knows their local library is a great resource to get books but did you know your neighborhood might have many "secret" libraries? Come along while I tell you more about Little Free Libraries and show you some of the ones in my area!

Little Free Libraries (LFL) are hidden gems that can be found all over the world and, likely, right in your own community. LFL is a nonprofit based in St. Paul, Minnesota who's mission is to build community, inspire readers and expand book access.

 

There's a good chance you may have passed a LFL and not even know it. They could definitely be overlooked as an oversized mail box but often look like little homes.  

 

The best way to find LFL in your area is to visit their website or to download their App. The app is actually great because not only can you find the LFL based off your current location but you also have the option to get directions to them. 

 

What I also love about LFL is that anyone can start one! You can purchase a prefab LFL off their website or build your own. The ones in my area are pretty standard but I've seen a few really unique ones online!

I would love to have my own LFL someday. Logistically our road isn't the best place for one. One side is a ditch and the other is vineyard... and let's just say out mailbox has encountered a tractor once or twice! So right now I'm just a dreamer and a donater : ]

 

So how good are they? Honestly, I think that depends on the steward and the community. Some I visited were bursting with books but one I visited seemed to be completely abandoned : [

However, I would like to note that I've seen some of my favorite authors donate their books to LFL. Some even before their official release date! So all that to say it can be hit or miss. 

 

 

There is a little bit of etiquette that comes with LFL but I think the overall motto is "Take a book. Share a book". The point of these is to expand access to books right? So it's nice if you are able to exchange a book while you are there. I have a box of "donate" books in my car that comes in handy when visiting a LFL.

 

My hot (not so LFL related) tip is that your local thrift store can be a great place to snag books at a great price. My local goodwill sells $1 paperbacks and $2 hardcovers. Sometimes if I see a great title that I already own I snatch it up for my LFL donate box!

I encourage everyone to check out their local LFLs! It is like a fun scavenger hunt and you might even get a great read out of it!

Garden loading █▒▒▒▒

 I think the last time I mentioned the weather I was excited about it being 100°. Welp, since then it's been 100 plus degrees everyday and I am definitely less than excited about it 🤣 But you know who is (mostly) loving it? The garden! 

We've already got blackberries starting to ripen!

This year I wanted to do some flower rows. I bought a TON of seeds off amazon. I am honestly so pleased and surprised by the success I'm having. My sunflowers  just started blooming and I can't wait to see when everything is in full bloom. 

I'm spotting new little friends in the garden each day. 

Speaking of friends, we've also seen evidence of Tremors in the garden... But seriously, we have no idea what left this gigantic mound behind 🫢

Very excited to see my strawberries coming back strong 💪We planted them three years ago and they just keep getting better every year. This year they even sent out runners and took over another barrel on their own. If you can get your hands on the Albion varietal I highly recommend them!

Happy little squash plant! We *thought* this was a pumpkin but evidence is starting to suggest otherwise. 

I am more confident that this one actually is a pumpkin 🤣 And yes right now there is only one, single pumpkin. I don't think we'll be opening a pumpkin patch anytime soon. 

And now for a bunch of sunflower photos because I'm obsessed! 

The sunflower seeds I got were a mixed varietal packet so it's really neat to see some of the darker ones bloom!

This was one of my first blooms. My little mutant sunflower!

It's still really early in the garden season but with this heat who knows how fast things will grow. I'm eagerly waiting for more berries to make a pie and our Zinnias to bloom.