Continuing my tradition of sporadically remembering that I have a blog and showing up four times a year with random bits of updates…

The year is almost over! I’m pretty sure the past year has been roughly 678 days at least and that the coming year is both welcomed and terrifying. Before we ring our hands over what 2022 has to offer, let’s try to look back on this past year fondly (or at least fondly-adjacent).

Top 5 Memories of 2021

1. Finally getting to visit family back home obviously gets top marks. We hugged grandparents, put our feet in the ocean, went swimming almost daily, hung out with cousins and drank a lot of Dunkin Donuts iced coffee.
2. I got really into candles this year. I’ve literally never understood the appeal, but my tween and I started lighting one each morning at the start of our school day and we’re obsessed. I even bought a wick trimmer because I’ve used up a few candles enough to need a wick trimmer!
3. The tween learned to ride a bike (our neighborhood is very hilly and up to this year nobody was motivated enough to keep trying) and spent most of the warm weather going for bike rides with dad.
4. I found awesome watercolor painting tutorials on YouTube from Let’s Make Art and I’ve been painting up a storm. They sell subscription boxes too which hubby surprised me with this month!
5. I basically forgot to plan anything for 4th of July at all but we grilled in the backyard and set off sparklers that we’re actually way more intense than planned and one of the kids commented that it was the best night ever, so…

Top 5 Books for 2021

1. My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodie Ashton, and Jodi Meadows – the last of the Lady Jane’s, this one takes us to the Wild West and honestly by the end I was obsessed all things Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane.
2. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood is the nerdy open door romance you didn’t know you needed. I think I babbled to everyone I knew about this one and basically devoured it.
3. Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price is the first in a series of Jane Austen inspired murder mystery retellings for YA which might sound cheesy but it was SO Good!!!
4. Murder, Plainly Read by Isabella Alan – I love this series, set in an Amish town but starring a non-Amish heroine. I love the contrast between the two lifestyles and all the books I’ve read by Alan have been great ( she also writes under the name Amanda Flower).
5. Well Played by Jen DeLuca – book two of this rom com series set at the Ren faire. I loved diving back into this world and the love story was everything. 😍

That’ll do for now. What have been some of your favorite things this year?