Besides the holidays, December was a pretty quiet month. Team Outlaw came in second place in the regular season of fantasy football but tanked in the playoffs. My sister won, though, which was a nice change from all the boys winning!
We had a really great Christmas. First there was the annual party with my stepmother's family. One of my brothers was in charge of planning everything and he did a great job, especially with a fun game of Family Feud. During the party, Santa drove down the street on a firetruck, and we kind of chased him. Wine may have been involved, on my part at least.
We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house and Christmas Day at my dad's. We hosted Tom's family the weekend after. One of the best parts of this year was seeing my niece open her gifts. She's almost 3, so she's starting to understand everything. She kept yelling, "Presents!" and would gladly open them, but she almost didn't even care what was under the wrapping paper. Some of the gifts came in brown boxes and she would gleefully yell, "A box!" Oh, the little things.
Lastly, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! Personally, this past year had some unexpected trials, but I am hopeful for what's to come in 2019 - there is so much to look forward to. I hope this new year brings you much love, joy, and laughter!
The Books
The Dollhouse (review to come) // The Coincidence Makers (review to come) // The Hunger // The Masterpiece (review to come)
Dear Mrs. Bird (review to come) // Love à la Mode (review to come) // Sous Chef (review to come) // Valley of the Moon (reread)
The Posts and Reviews
Quotables #11
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Lost Girls of Paris
Review: The Light Between Worlds
How Do You Define Success as a Book Blogger?
Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books from the 2nd Half of 2018
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Fairest Kind of Love
Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: Women With Extraordinary Jobs
2019 Retellings Reading Challenge Sign-Up and TBR
Cake Flavored Books Tag
Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter TBR
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Huntress
Mini-Reviews: Library Purchase Suggestions
Royal Reading Challenge 2019 Sign-up and TBR
My Favorite Wanderings of 2018
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Binding
Backlist Mini-Reviews: Survival Stories
2019 Beat the Backlist Sign-Up and TBR
2018 Blogging and Reading Goals - How Did I Do?
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Lost Girls of Paris
Review: The Light Between Worlds
How Do You Define Success as a Book Blogger?
Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books from the 2nd Half of 2018
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Fairest Kind of Love
Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: Women With Extraordinary Jobs
2019 Retellings Reading Challenge Sign-Up and TBR
Cake Flavored Books Tag
Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter TBR
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Huntress
Mini-Reviews: Library Purchase Suggestions
Royal Reading Challenge 2019 Sign-up and TBR
My Favorite Wanderings of 2018
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Binding
Backlist Mini-Reviews: Survival Stories
2019 Beat the Backlist Sign-Up and TBR
2018 Blogging and Reading Goals - How Did I Do?
The Posts I Loved
Marie at Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about how hard it is to avoid hyped books
Lindsey at Lindsey Reads lists the ways book blogging has changed her life
Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner gives some tips on shaking up your book club
Suzanne at The Bookish Libra talks sentimental attachments to books
Sam at We Live and Breathe Books wonders why anyone would read the last page first (I do it! #sorrynotsorry)
How were your holidays (if you celebrate)? Do you have any personal New Year's resolutions?
I'm so glad you had a lovely Christmas! It really is nice, isn't it, when kids get old enough to understand what's going on at Christmas? My nieces are getting to that age, and this year they were so excited about all the presents, and it was so sweet (one of them kept shouting 'again!' every time they opened a present!).
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful 2019! :)
Thank you, Laura! Yes, it was so much fun watching her, especially when she really liked a gift, she wanted to play with it immediately!
DeleteA quiet month is good! Glad you had a fun Christmas, as well. Your niece sounds adorable :) It's nice that she's still at the stage when she doesn't mind what's under the wrapping, haha ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
Thank you, Amy! Haha, I could have saved a lot of money on gifts and just wrapped up empty boxes!
DeleteWonderful wrap up!! I really need to get my hands on a copy of The Hunger again! I checked it out from my local library but had to return it before I was able to read it.
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting book, not a favorite though!
DeleteGlad it was a quiet month with a lovely Christmas! Looks like a great bunch of books. I really want to get to Love a la Mode. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grace, happy new year to you, too!
DeleteI’m glad you had a good Christmas! I totally would have chased Santa. I bought a bunch of presents for my nice, too. She’s not born yet, so my sister had to open them, but I was excited anyway. Happy 2019!
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thanks, Aj! Kids are so much fun to buy gifts for!
DeleteYes, I can confirm wine was involved in your Great Santa Chase. And the bronze pig fantasy football trophy looks great in my house.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I only had like one glass! Maybe two.
DeletePerhaps the pig will be mine next year!
Sounds like you had some great times during the holidays. I have been utterly miserable with my daughter. This whole big thing that she is so disrespectful I don't even know how to put it into words.
ReplyDeleteDid you catch Santa? lol
Happy New Year! Here is to a better year!!
Mary
LOL, we did catch Santa down the street!
DeleteI'm sorry about your daughter, Mary, I hope she comes around soon.
Playing Family Feud with your fam sounds like so much fun! And that's so random that Santa drove down the street in a fire truck, haha, I love it. I'm glad you had a quiet month and a great Christmas! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteSantas on fire trucks are actually really common around here! They drive around neighborhoods and hand out candy. This Santa was visiting a first responder's family, but he was kind enough to play along with us!
DeleteWoo! Congratulations on your sister winning! Santa going down the street in a firetruck sounds like fun. Happy New Year, Angela! Hope 2019 will be well for you! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Sophia! She's pretty proud of her win.
DeleteSounds like a great holiday time, Angela! Aren't little ones cute when the unwrapping is the biggest pleasure. Take care and let's have a great 2019!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Kay! Happy New Year!
DeleteLOL at chasing Santa down the street! It definitely sounds like you had a fun Christmas. Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Suzanne, you too!!
DeleteI miss having little kids at Christmas. They really keep it magical. Thanks for mentioning my post. Your side note made me chuckle.
ReplyDeleteYes, kids opening gifts is way different than adults.
DeleteYou're welcome!
Your niece is so cute! That Christmas party sounds like so much fun. I wouldn't cal that a quiet December at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see what you think of Love a la Mode and Sous Chef. I love foodie reads. I hope you have a wonderful new year!
She is adorable!
DeleteBoth good reads! Reviews coming soon!
I'm glad to hear you had a lovely December and yay for your sister winning! I'm happy to hear you had a lovely Christmas, too. I wish you an amazing 2019 and may this year be incredible for you <3 <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Marie! All the best to you in 2019!
DeleteI have a little niece who just turned three. She kept going around the room telling everyone Merry Christmas. I saw her New Year's Eve and she still has shaken the habit. I hope you have a wonderful 2019!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love when kids grab hold of something and can't let it go!
DeleteHappy new year, Alicia!
You had an amazing month, Angela! Look at those reads! I have to make sure I’ve read all the reviews. Happy New Year to you, too, and I loved hearing about your Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Jennifer!
DeleteIt sounds like you had a wonderful holiday! I think that you also had an amazing month of reading as well. I hope that 2019 is another fantastic year for you! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
Delete