Hello friends, and welcome or welcome back to the blog!
Quote for today
““You must make choices, or the world will make them for you.” – Witchcraft for Wayward Girls”
Hello friends, and Happy New Year 🥂❤️🌟! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are easing into the new year with a good book, plenty of water, lots of rest, and dreams of an amazing 2026 ahead.
Friends, I took a little time away to decompress and truly enjoy the holiday season—but now it’s time to get back to it. I’ve got some great posts planned that I’m excited to share. That said, sometimes life be lifin’, and I have to step back for that much-needed adulting.
Each year, I try to practice what I preach, but for 2025 I’m not just turning a page—I’m taking a whole chapter. This was hands down the most stressful and busiest holiday season I’ve ever had. The pressure to get everything done—caring for my home, juggling work events, blogging, and keeping up with the podcast—was simply too much for what’s meant to be a slow-down season. Lesson learned.
Because of that, I completely missed wrapping up November, so today you’re getting a little two-fer with both November and December. With that, let’s unpack these winter holidays.
***November – December Blog Roll!***
Click on the image to link to the post.
*** November Post Highlights***
📚My 2026 Goodreads Challenge!
I’ve finally curated my Goodreads Challenge for 2026. [POST SNIPPET] … To get ready, I’ve been combing through my TBR to clear out the disappointments and those long-sitting titles I know I’ll never actually read. For 2026, I’m setting a few new parameters for myself: more mysteries, plenty of horror, a little women’s lit, some pop-culture picks, and a handful of books that are at least 15 years old. Check out the full post here!
*** December Post Highlights***
🦌🎄12 Days of Christmas (Day 2-4)…No Wait Holiday Gifts for Everyone!
[POST SNIPPET] Today I’m rolling Days 2 -4 of the 12 Days of Christmas series into one and sharing a few no-wait gift ideas. These gifts might still require a store visit, but with a little strategy, they can be just as easy (and faster) than ordering online. Check out the full post here!
Holiday Fun
Here are a few of my holiday style boards. Check out my Christmas Holiday decor post for the link to all the ornaments.
What I Watched This Winter Season
October brought a wave of movie madness, perfectly fitting for the spirit of the season. I’ve seen all the movies in my 31 Days of Halloween (over the years). However, I did catch a fun mix of old classics and new finds this year.
The Residence, Netflix [💯🎯]
IT: Welcome to Derry, HBO MAX [👍🏽]
Stranger Things 5, Part 1 [💯🎯]
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix [pretty good]
Wicked: For Good [ hmm]
Red One [meh]
Christmas With the Kranks [meh]
The Family Stone [ so-so 🤏🏽 ]
Happiest Season [so-so 🤏🏽 ]
All the ensemble Christmas movies are pretty much the same, with different people, great for the season, but do I find them to be good movies? I’ll keep my comments to myself.
November and December in Books
Keeping that momentum going, I still managed to finish a few books during my downtime.
✅ COMPLETED TITLES ✅
🎧 Alice Isn’t Dead, Joseph Fink [review]
🎧 Man, Fuck This House, Brian Asman [review]
BOOKISH UPDATES
📰 October Bookish* Newsletter! 📰
📰 November Bookish* Newsletter! 📰
📰 NO DECEMBER Newsletter 📰
🏆 My 2025 Year In Books! 🏆
My 2026 Good Reads Challenge
📓2025 Book Reviews 📓
💵 PURCHASES/GIFTED 💵
A House With Good Bones, T. Kingfisher
Silence for the Dead, Simone St. James
The Film You Are About To See, Haley Newlin
🍂 PENDING ARC TITLES 🍂
✮⋆˙ A Box Full of Darkness, Simone St. James ✮⋆˙
✮⋆˙ Head Cleaner, David James Keaton [approved] ✮⋆˙
Updated Pages
I’ve finally updated my lifestyle pages here on the blog. See... I can be productive when I have time off and use it wisely.
2026 Book Tracker [in progress]
2026 Book Reviews
Public Domain Art Printables
Lifestyle Printables [updating]
Blogger Resources [in progress]
Calendar Archive [Updated for 2026!]
Season 4 [???] or 5
I never got back to my podcast to finish Season 4, and I haven’t even thought about Season 5, but I’m committed to completing something, so a January update is coming.
Well, friends, I think I’ve covered everything for October. Thanks so much for stopping by today. It means the world to me. Don’t forget to follow and subscribe to my little piece of happiness. — Peace
