A Long Overdue Update Post

(Linking up today with Kristen and Gretch to chat about what's new lately!)

After reading Kathy's blog post yesterday, I nodded my head and thought "yes, this." I have wanted to blog more this month, I've had plans to recap 2017 and I still want to do that, but I just haven't had the time/energy/desire to prioritize these things. I am also a bit torn as to the direction I want to go with blogging this year. I don't really have a strong desire to make this much more than what it is - which is a hobby, and a fun way to connect with other people. I have no desire to make copious amounts of money off blogging or anything like that. However, I do want to become more a part of my local blogging community and I think I want to focus more on blogging about books. We'll see though - I have a few ideas in my mind and I am thinking maybe I don't love the blog title anymore, and I want to change things around...but it's still *okay*, so maybe not. I'm just not sure. That doesn't mean I can't still write when I want to though, right?

ANYWAY, I missed this link up in January, so that means I haven't really even talked about how amazing December and Christmas were! I'll just leave it at one line: WE HAD A GREAT TIME. So much family, so many friends to visit, some new friendships formed, a lot of Lego building, a lot of books read - no complaints here at all. January has been more of the same, really. We've finally gotten some snow here (about 4 storms so far - one "shut down" the city due to loss of power but the other storms have been relatively mild). My girls are finally old enough to really enjoy sledding, so we've done that a few times. I've honestly spent most of the month getting organized around the house (AKA purging things we don't need and finding a home for every single item in the house), doing yoga, running a little bit, and reading tons and tons of books. My French class started back up with a new teacher, who is excellent, and I am really starting to notice a difference in my fluency. We've tried a few new recipes and a few new crafts. Really - life is pretty straightforward and you could almost call it boring at times but overall I am enjoying this down time in a lot of ways.

Here are some recent photos (another thing I've stopped doing is taking a lot of pictures but I would like to start taking more again because kids grow like WEEDS.

(L-R clockwise: a fun building toy from my brother, our Christmas chalkboard, the girls with my niece and brother in law, new panda pyjamas from my in-laws, our Christmas tree 2017, playing Just Dance on the Wii)

(L to R clockwise - an amazing book I listened to this month, some delicious chocolate that is so pretty from our friends, view from our deck after the snow, and out sledding and having blast)

I can't wait to chat about all the books I've read this month: I highly recommend The Beau & The Belle by R.S. Grey which releases today on Kindle for 2.99. I had the privilege of receiving an advanced review copy from the author and it was a cute romantic comedy. It was hovering around 3.5 stars for me but after thinking about it more, I did really enjoy it and I'd say it's 4 stars for its genre. It was the third of her books I've read (all this month) - and I really feel like reading one of R.S. Grey's books is like watching a romantic comedy (which is great, because I have seen most GOOD romantic comedy movies but I think there are plenty more romantic comedy BOOKS out there for me to enjoy. YAY!) If you like the genre at all, I'd pick it up!!! Two other five star reads for me this month were Last Christmas in Paris and The Great Alone <--- a Book of the Month pick if you are American and have access to that (lucky!) and out next Tuesday.

Could this cover be any more gorgeous?!

Anyway, that's about it...honestly. Not much is new because I have read 19 books so far this year so I haven't had much time for anything besides that and parenting and working part time and yoga and house organizing. Yay for February though! We have a lot of birthdays to celebrate this month in my family and a holiday and a few fun things coming up! PLUS, it's the month of love! (hehe). Hope you have a great one!!! I'll be back tomorrow with 5 on Friday :)