Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

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What I Read // February + March 2025

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Turns out reading is different with a baby! I’m reading just as much as ever – I still pick up a book every night before bed and at lunch most days, but I just haven’t been able to fit audiobooks in the same way I used to. That’s OK! I still had a few good reads these past few months.

So far, I’ve read eight books in 2025; my goal is 35.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston • ★★★☆☆

Who doesn’t like a quick thriller once in a while? I feel like it has been a minute since I’ve picked up one of these. First Lie Wins isn’t the best domestic thriller in the world, but it’s entertaining.

“Evie” is sent by her mysterious boss to get close to Ryan. “Evie” isn’t real, but maybe her feelings for Ryan are. And maybe no one is who they say they are? The shifting identities in First Lie Wins were fun to keep up with, but I won’t insist you read this one.

Read if you liked: Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix • ★★★★☆

No secret here: I’ve loved ever Grady Hendrix book I’ve ever picked up. My feelings for Witchcraft for Wayward Girls are no different, though I do think his latest book is pretty different than the rest.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, set in 1970, follows Neva (who goes by Fern for most of the novel) as she takes up residence in a home for unwed mothers. While there, she discovers a book on witchcraft. She and a few friends dip their toes into the witchy waters, but Fern dives in more deeply with some unintended consequences.

Yes, there are the delightful bits of campy nostalgia, terrific world building and well written relationships, but Witchcraft for Wayward Girls feels a bit more serious than Hendrix’s other novels. Maybe that’s because I’m a new mom and all things maternity and baby are more sensitive. Maybe it’s because the inspiration for this book is more serious; Hendrix wrote in the author’s notes about how members of his family were sent to these homes for unwed mothers and how harrowing those experiences were. This book tugged at my heartstrings, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Read if you liked: Grady Hendrix’s other books, The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy, City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill • ★★★★☆

I felt like the first 20 or so pages of When We Lost Our Heads were a little tough for me. The writing seemed a little rigid to me; maybe the sentences were structured too similarly?

Whatever the case, I’m glad I stuck with it. When We Lost Our Heads follows the lives of two wealthy girls growing up in 1880s Montreal. Marie is blonde and charming, and Sadie is brunette and very clever. Together these two are quite devious. When Sadie gets sent away after an “accident,” their lives diverge – for a time.

As O’Neill weaves in more characters, like baker Mary and midwife George, the story gets interesting. How all these characters come to inhabit the same spaces was pretty exciting to see. Also, I loved the setting! I want to Montreal years ago, but was able to place a few of the settings throughout the book.

Read if you liked: Sex Wars by Marge Piercy, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, books by Mona Awad

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle • ★★★★☆

I picked up Darnielle’s Devil House several years ago and have Wolf in White Van on my TBR list. His second novel, Universal Harvester, totally escaped me until just last week.

With a synopsis that mentioned late ’90s video stores and comparisons to The Ring, it was a must-read for me. In Universal Harvester, VHS tapes start showing up to the local rental shop with strange bits of footage spliced into the film. Nothing truly gory, but some unsettling snippets. Video clerk Jeremy wants to get to the bottom of it. Or does he?

For me, this book became less about Jeremy solving some small town mystery and more about the writing. I find Darnielle’s voice to be really compelling and unique. I can almost hear him narrating his work. If it didn’t come in paper form, it could have been transformed into an album.

Read if you liked: The Devil House by John Darnielle, We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

See you next month! And remember, I’ll be over on The StoryGraph this year!

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On Grief and Joy

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It’s been nearly a year since my mom died. It still feels unreal. Often, it feels like she’s just absent, but might walk in the door at any time or be on the other end of the phone. She feels as immediate as ever; after all, I’m surrounded with memories of her, gifts from her, thoughts of her. But at the same time, when I try to connect with her, I don’t feel her there. When I try to push through the ether to send her a prayer, I feel like I’m leaving a voicemail. She is all at once there and not.

And when I think of the joy my son is missing by not having her, I break. My mom was the most fantastic mother on the planet. She was born to it. She always made me feel loved, she was so fun, she was so kind, she was straightforward, she was soft, she was tough, she knew how to get things done. To think my baby won’t know her laugh is soul-crushing. To think my mom won’t know his coos is heartbreaking.

But I also know that in some way, she knows him, that maybe she held him before he was born. After all, I had dreams of her: a dream that I told her I was pregnant, a dream where she told me what name she liked best. She is there, but not in the way I most wish her to be.

Losing my mom makes every moment precious. It makes me quick to express joy and also grief. Every moment with my son is wonderful, something to cherish. I also grieve every passing second knowing he will never be so small or fragile again. I am at once enjoying every moment in the moment, trying to soak it all in, but at the same time I feel those moments fleeting. I wonder if my mom ever felt that way, if she tried to wring every ounce of happiness and wonder out those early months. How did she carry the burden of motherhood with her grief? After all, she lost her mother not long after my sister was born (and years before I came into the world).

Knowing that we both have trod the same path feels like some sort of curse, but I also feel some comfort. My mom gave me all the love and happiness and joy I could have asked for without her own mom to turn to. Now, I’ll do the same for my son. I hope, like me, he feels so loved by his mother.

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What I Read // January 2025

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Welcome to a new year of reading! My goal for 2025 is to read 35 books. That’s fewer than usual, but I don’t know what my reading schedule will look like as a parent.

This year, I’m doing things a little differently; I’ll be keeping track of my reads on The StoryGraph instead of Goodreads. As any reader knows, Goodreads is obnoxious to use. The StoryGraph offers the same tracking capabilities, plus more like stats on the types of books you read, the length and the themes. I think it’s worth giving it a go!

Now, onto my January reads, including a Christmas book that took me a while to wrap up.

Christmas Island by Natalie Normann • 🎧 • ★★☆☆☆

This is a repeat author for me. I read The Hygge Holiday by Normann a few years ago. It was wonderfully cozy. This read from her, though, just didn’t really click with me.

It had many of the same elements — a newcomer in a small town (this time a British woman in Scandinavia instead of a Scandinavian woman in the UK), the concept of hygge and a little bit of romance. But in Christmas Island, I didn’t find myself really liking the main character, Holly, as she navigated a tiny town in Norway and subtle sparks with the town loner Tor. She wasn’t an unlikeable protagonist, but she didn’t have much going on. Neither did Tor. Points for the cat being a major player in this, though!

Read if you liked: Christmas books by Jenny Colgan

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell • 🎧 • ★★☆☆☆

Another swing-and-a-miss by an author I’ve read before. Last year, I read The Golden Spoon by Maxwell. It had its flaws, but overall I loved the murder mystery-meets-GBBO vibes.

In I Need You to Read This, Alex lands a job taking over a longtime advice column after the death of its original author. I love this since I’m an avid reader of Dear Prudence and its Slate spinoffs. But after taking the job, Alex learns that the previous author was murdered and that there are some fishy characters at the paper. Maybe someone there is responsible?

Overall, I found this one to be kind of meh even though I did like the dual perspectives here: one as Alex in the present day and the other as an unnamed advice seeker from the past.

I think there are better mysteries out there for your time.

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon • ★★★★☆

Is it even winter for me if I don’t read some Romanov-related book? I think not. In the past, I’ve read The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne, The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport, The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers by Kerri Turner and Russian Winter by Daphne Kolotay.

I Was Anastasia is like many of my previous reads since it follows the Romanovs as the family goes into exile. But this book is different since it also picks up another historical thread: the story of Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia starting in the 1920s. Anderson was actually a Polish factory worker named Franziska Schanzkowska, but that takes nothing away from this dual-perspective story. It was interesting to read how the fictional Anastasia presumably maintained this charade over many years and even had some of the real grand duchess’s connections believing she was the genuine article.

Read if you liked: The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne, Fever by Mary Beth Keane

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix • ★★★★☆

Grady Hendrix gets it right every time. I love how each of his books takes place in a different era with different horror elements. In We Sold Our Souls, he dives into the world of late ’80s/early ’90s metal music, fame and demons (?).

In We Sold Our Souls, Kris, the former frontwoman for a mildly famous metal band, is living a low key life — until she hears about a former bandmate of hers, Terry, is now hosting a mega farewell tour. She feels a need to reconnect with her other bandmates and her music, but in doing so she learns the real reason they’re all living life under the radar and Terry is a rock god.

I’ll say that metal isn’t exactly my thing, but I still read this book in about three days.

Read if you liked: Any other Grady Hendrix book

See you next month! And remember, I’ll be over on The StoryGraph this year!

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What I Read // November 2024

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I’ve included a bonus book this month. I originally read Like a Mother all the way back in May, but wasn’t ready to share my pregnancy news. I included my review for it in my November reading list for kicks.

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks • ★★★★★

At the tail end of spooky season, I squeezed in a spooky-adjacent romance. In Morbidly Yours, Galway undertaker Callum is looking to get married so he can secure his place as the owner of his family’s funeral home. The problem: He’s got only a few months to fulfill the requirement of his grandfather’s will — and he isn’t even seeing anyone.

Meanwhile, Texan Lark moves to Galway to work on an animated film after the death of her husband. She’s definitely a fish out of water but does her best to befriend her shy next-door neighbor Callum (and everyone else she meets).

Despite their reservations about their situations, Callum and Lark strike up a solid friendship — and maybe more!

I loved this book. I loved both main characters’ unconventional jobs. I loved the setting. I loved the spice. I loved the intergenerational friendships. I loved the satisfying work drama. Don’t sleep on this one!

Read if you liked: One Night on the Island by Josie Silver or Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow.

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak • ★★★★☆

I’ve had Seven Days of Us on my Kindle for at least four years. I’ve picked it up and put it down so many times. Sometimes I missed the Christmas spirit window. Other times what sounded like a family drama seemed too serious. And back in 2020, a book about a doctor fighting a pandemic was just too close to home.

But let my loss be your gain. In Seven Days of Us, the Birch family is set to reunite in their English country home for the holidays. The catch here is that the family has to isolate together for a week since the eldest daughter, Olivia, has been treating a contagious disease in northern Africa.

During this time, secret after secret is revealed, including the existence of an additional Birch sibling (that’s just the start and is revealed in the first few pages).

Seven Days of Us isn’t exactly the most Christmas-y Christmas story, but it was a good way to ease into the season (or out of it if you pick it up in January!).

Read if you liked: The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict (not because Seven Days of Us is a murder mystery but because it’s an easy-to-read, non-romance holiday book).

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh • ★★★★☆

I love when a $1.99 Kindle deal is worth every penny and more. Holiday Romance was a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

This rom-com plays into an accidental holiday tradition. For the last decade, Molly and Andrew have been catching the same flight from Chicago to Dublin for the holidays — first by coincidence and later by choice. This standing appointment is their opportunity to catch up on the year.

Well, this year, the flight to Dublin is canceled and they’re forced to find a different way home by way of Brazil, France and England. This travel snafu stressed me out, but it was a creative way to lay out the pair’s lives (like their individual dating history, what’s up with their families, and more).

Of course, since this a rom com, the two find out that for the first time in years that they are both single — and maybe something more is there.

Also, I’ve got a soft spot for this book now. I finished it right before going into labor with our baby!

Read if you liked: The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller and All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox.

Like a Mother by Angela Garbes • ★★★★☆

Without my mom, I felt really lost in the early days of my pregnancy. I had no idea what to expect, no idea how to really care for myself and no idea how I should approach the coming months. I started with Like a Mother because it was heaped with praise by NPR and featured a blurb on the cover from Lindy West. What else could I ask for?

I made my way through this book incredibly quickly. While I knew (some of) the biological basics of pregnancy, I found Garbes’s explanation infinitely more informative and compelling.

Her chapter on the placenta was 99% new information to me — and it proved how incredible and complex the human body is. Also, the fact that you gain around eight pounds alone is just blood? That your kidneys double in size? That your body grows a whole new organ to support life and then just dispenses with it after birth? Absolutely insane.

I will say, that while very much a facts-based book, Like a Mother is also full of a lot of anecdotes from the author about pregnancy and birth. Some of these are very helpful! Some I found best to ignore, including how some mothers opt to drink on occasion during pregnancy. I know that this recommendation is very American and pretty recent in medical history, but not something I was willing to compromise on.

Read if you liked: Cribsheet and Expecting Better by Emily Oster.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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30 Days of Thanks 2024 // Week 3

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In less than a week it’s Thanksgiving. What a month! One thing I’m grateful for that’s not on this list is that I get to spend the holiday with my family this year (provided our baby doesn’t make an appearance!) and that I get to get a break from all of the work. Don’t get me wrong, I love making Thanksgiving treats, but right now I think I love sitting on a comfy couch even more!

Day 16: Food

After I left Taste of Home, there were still bits of me left behind, including my mom’s paczki recipe that was featured in the February/March 2024 issue.

My mom was really proud to see her recipe in the magazine, and I’m glad she was able to appreciate it. We celebrated by making a batch to share with the family for Fat Tuesday.

Day 17: Seasons

I’m grateful that the timing of my pregnancy aligns a bit with the seasons. I spent spring and summer watching this life grow in incredible ways. Now, in fall, I’m starting to wind down. I’m moving slow, doing less, and preparing to settle in for the winter.

(Above is a photo looking out at Lake Michigan from my doctor’s very nice waiting room. When I first started to visit, the trees were full of new leaves and flowers. Now, it’s deep into fall – and deep into the third trimester.)

Day 18: Adventure

Despite only living about an hour away, I’d never spent much time in Lake Geneva. This year, I visited twice! I spent a weekend with my family back in February, and then Michael and I had a short babymoon there this summer.

It was fun to explore somewhere new in very different seasons.

Day 19: Love

After her mom dies, Fleabag turns to her friend and says, “I don’t know what to do with it… with all the love I have for her. I don’t know where to put it now.”

I felt like that for a while after losing my mom and my great-aunt. But as time goes on, I realize that all that love is still there and it isn’t going anywhere. I’ll love my mom (and aunt!) for the rest of my life.

Day 20: Books

I hit my goal of reading 40 books this year with over a month left! I’ve read more duds than usual this year, but I’ve discovered a few new reads that I cannot stop recommending, like Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks and anything by Grady Hendrix.

Also, I’m grateful for finding a new reading buddy at my workplace. It’s always good to have someone to get recs from!

Day 21: Hobby

While I might have slowed down on crafting this year, I’m thankful I always have a needle and thread to come back to.

Day 22: Memories

About this time last year, I finished up a major quilt project: a memory quilt for a family friend. This friend dropped off a heap of Christmas sweaters with my mom, but my mom wasn’t ever up to the task. I was, though!

This project of preserving memories in a practical and festive way was really soothing for me. I found a lot of meaning in the project (and I love how it turned out).

Now, I’m finding meaning in making memory-based items using my mom’s old fabrics and clothes. My dad has already been the recipient of a pillow made of her favorite shirts. Certainly there will be more on the way!

I’ll be keeping up with this series for another week. Share what you’re thankful for below, and stay tuned for more!

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30 Days of Thanks 2024 // Week 2

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I’m a little slow on the updates this year but know that I am still counting my blessings.

Day 9: Friendship

This year has been wildly challenging. I am so grateful to all of my friends for supporting me during all the twists and turns that 2024 threw my way.

I can’t express the immense gratitude I feel for friends who reached out after my mom died or showed up for her funeral. I feel the same way now for the friends who have been helping me out as we prepare to welcome our baby.

Even though I may not be on top of my text game or able to drag myself out of the house, I appreciate all the kindness and grace my friends show me.

Day 10: Nature

Even though we live in Milwaukee, I feel like our home is very outdoorsy. I’m grateful that our neighborhood gives us glimpses into nature thanks to some overly friendly deer and foxes (not the turkeys, though. I’m also thankful for the rare days we get snow like this. I feel like our house is at its most homey.

Day 11: Health

This is what advanced maternal age looks like! Despite being in that category, I’ve been very fortunate with my pregnancy so far. It hasn’t been without some hiccups, but I’m thankful to have a really great healthcare team and family to support me.

Day 12: Work

Preparing to welcome a baby is a lot of work! I am extremely grateful to Michael, my dad and my father-in-law for getting the baby’s room ready. Painting, installing lights and unpacking all the heavy stuff is no small feat. I’m grateful to them for making sure it all happened in time for our baby’s arrival.

I also know that taking care of me and readying the rest of our home, yard and garage for this baby is a lot of work. Michael put in so much effort, and I’m so thankful (and happy that we’re more ready than ever!).

Day 13: Kindness

I’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of kindness this year, and assure you that even if I wasn’t in the headspace to fully express my gratitude, all your efforts were not unnoticed.

To the friends who wrote my mom touching birthday cards earlier this year, thank you. To colleagues who delivered dinners after my mom died, thank you. To family who brought us baby gifts (even before our shower!), thank you. To the strangers who have made room for me in public to sit down, to skip the line, to take up more space, thank you. To my newest sister-in-law, sisters and aunts who put together a spooktacular party to celebrate the baby brewing, THANK YOU.

Day 14: Change

2024 has changed my family and me irrevocably. Over the course of a few months, I lost my mom, my great-aunt, and our cat. These are losses that have changed me forever.

And at the same time, this year is full of positive change. Despite mourning, I’ve also been able to embrace the absolute joy (and anxiety and hope!) that comes with expecting a child.

I am not grateful for the losses this year wrought, but I am grateful for the positive changes that help temper them.

Day 15: Music

Michael and I have seen the Decemberists every time they’ve come to town since we first met. In May, we saw them again.

This was our first big outing after my mom died, and it was nearly a spiritual experience for me. I felt joy for the first time in weeks, I felt optimistic, I felt hopeful. It was probably the first evening I had where I didn’t feel completely burdened by grief.

I’m grateful to have this memory, and to add it to the list of great experiences we’ve had at these shows. Almost every concert we’ve seen of theirs has preempted some wonderful change, like starting to date or getting married. We can also add expecting a baby to that list!

I’ll be keeping up with this series all November long. Share what you’re thankful for below, and stay tuned for new editions every Friday.

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Oh Baby! Sewing Projects for Pregnancy

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Some people get the urge to clean or nest during pregnancy. I got the urge to sew, sew and sew some more. Here’s what I’ve made for our baby’s arrival (and a few projects I hope to get to later).

Baby Quilt (+ Matching Pillow)

I would describe myself as an enthusiastic (but far from experienced) quilter. I got into the hobby a few years ago with small projects, like table runners and coasters, and picked up steam by making baby quilts for friends and a memory quilt for a dear family friend.

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make a quilt just as special as those projects for my own child. Right away, I knew the theme would be woodsy and earthy. After a few browsing sessions at Patched Works not far from home, I settled on a combination of deer, mushroom, feather, star and plant-printed fabrics.

And because all the patterns were just so perfect, I didn’t want to over-complicate the design. I opted for this simple checkered quilt pattern from Cotton Studio on Etsy. It was easy to modify the size and a relief to just cut the same shape for the whole project. I even had enough leftover for a small pillow.

Burp Cloths

My mom was a prolific burp cloth maker. She loved buying cute flannel fabrics and turning them into this nursery essential. My mom’s burp cloths have been used by her friends’ children, her friends’ grandchildren and even my friends’ kids. She just really enjoyed making a cute, functional and easy project.

That’s why she had a small stash of burp cloths and bibs hanging out in her sewing room. You never know when you might need a shower gift! Well, I took all those extras, and then went on to make about a dozen of my own (plus some for two friends who recently had babies).

I also want to shout out my friend Irina who returned a batch of my mom’s burp cloths to me at my baby shower. It’s really touching to have a project my mom made and one that was so loved by a good friend.

Flannel Blanket

I found this super cute animal flannel at Joann, so like any sewist with poor impulse control, I bought the rest of the bolt. Some of that fabric became burp cloths, but the bulk became a simple whole-cloth quilt.

I made this by just sewing two pieces of flannel together and binding them. It’s thicker than a basic swaddle or receiving blanket but not as heavy as the quilt I made. This one is going to the hospital with us.

What I might have enjoyed most about this blanket and the quilt was getting to sew in these “Made by Mom” labels from Sarah Hearts on Etsy.

Maybe More Projects!

I had hoped to tackle a few more projects before the baby’s arrival, but, as you can imagine, I’ve run out of steam in these final weeks. Here are a few things I have planned for the future:

  • Mobile: I cut out the shapes and began to hand stitch some figures for a baby mobile, but it’s a lot of work at 37 weeks pregnant. I know the baby won’t sleep in his room for a few months, so maybe I can tackle this by the time he’s ready for the crib.
  • St. Nick stockings: My goal was to make new stockings for the whole family (including the cat). I love holiday fabrics, and I have a good amount at home to pull from, but some things just take time (after all, it took me three years to make a very simple set of Bob’s Burgers ornaments for our tree!). This will be a 2025 project.

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30 Days of Thanks 2024 // Week 1

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I’ll admit it: This week doesn’t make me want to jump up and down with gratitude. Life feels unbearably heavy, and the dread I feel thinking about the political landscape over the next four years is insurmountable. I know that feeling is shared by (and is so much more pronounced for) others. Know that I feel the difficulty of this moment and those to come acutely.

That all being said, I know there is still a lot of good to be cherished in the world (Tammy Baldwin will still be representing Wisconsin in the senate!). To help me put one foot in front of the next in terms of gratitude, I’m going to continue a November tradition of mine: the @positivelypresent Gratitude Challenge.

Since 2018, I’ve dedicated space on this blog to reflect on the year with this gratitude series. As hard as this moment is, I don’t want to stop now. I know there are still wonders to behold and moments to be grateful for. So let’s start.

Day 1: Comfort

In hard times, in busy times, in times when you need some rest, take your comforts where you can get them. Lately, those comforts have been very literal (like finding a pair of very cushy Allbirds shoes at Nordstrom Rack), but sometimes those comforts are nice routines like picking up a mint mocha and taking a minute to read. I try not to let these small treats to myself go unnoticed.

Day 2: Animals

Each year I am thankful for our pets. I still am! But this year, I want to extend my feelings to Daisy, my mom’s cat. After my mom passed away, there was a lot of discussion about what would happen with Daisy. My dad wasn’t up to keeping her, but we all wanted her to have a good home.

I’m very grateful to my aunt who took Daisy in. I’m so glad that Daisy is still part of our family, and that I get to see her whenever I visit (even if she never wants to sit by me).

Day 3: Time

A thousand years wouldn’t be long enough to spend with the people you love, but I’m grateful for every minute I spent with those I love best this year (especially my mom).

Also a major thanks to my friend Brianna of Alternative Bride Photography. She gave a major gift of her time to make lovely photos like the one above happen.

Day 4: Routine

I have off every Friday with my current job. It allowed me to create a routine, for a while at least, of visiting my parents every Friday.

Until my mom died, I spent Friday afternoons playing cribbage with them. While this routine didn’t last as long as I hoped, I’m really grateful that I got this time to enjoy with both of them.

Day 5: Hope

This year has been so so hard. But expecting a baby is giving me a lot of hope for what is to come.

Day 6: Weather

This summer, I had one mission: to float on a raft in an outdoor pool with a good book. That was it!

To make this happen (and to get some much-needed time away from work), Michael and I went on a short trip to Lake Geneva. While it was a pretty rainy trip overall, I’m so grateful the weather held out enough for me to check a good float off my list. I’m also very grateful for taking the trip in general. It was a really good way to spend some time together.

Day 7: Creativity

After my mom passed, I really struggled with creativity. Without my mom around, who was I going to make things for? Who would I talk crafts with? Who would look at what I made with such kind eyes?

But having a baby on the way has re-energized that part of me. After the tiresome work of the first trimester, I felt really excited to tackle all kind of baby sewing projects, like burp cloths, a receiving blanket, and a small patchwork quilt.

Making will never be the same without my mom here, but she definitely still inspires me. I’m grateful that her spirit is never far!

Day 8: Growth

I’ve found a certain amount of calm in surrendering to the physical changes of pregnancy. So much of the process is beyond my control, including the size of my belly and how much rest I need. I’m grateful that during this stage of life, I can just sit back and be grateful for what on its way.

I’ll be keeping up with this series all November long. Stay tuned, and please share what you’re grateful for in the comments.

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A Baby Is Brewing!

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There’s definitely magic in the air over here! We’re expecting a baby this December.

We’ll be keeping our baby off the internet, but I couldn’t help sing the praises of my incredible family (in particular my sister-in-law Kate) for putting a Halloween-themed shower together. Also I have to shout out my girl Brianna of Alternative Bride Photography for doing the most by being a great friend and a rock star behind the camera.

After an incredibly difficult year, it is a joy to feel so much love.

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What I Read // October 2024

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Normally I’m neck-deep in scary stuff all October long. This year is very different. While I still love all the spooky vibes, this particular season of life requires focus elsewhere.

That being said, I don’t have as many scary tales to recommend as in the past. I But you can check out my list of Halloween books and some great Halloween podcasts.

The September House by Carissa Orlando • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

FINALLY. A GHOST STORY WITH LOTS OF GHOSTS (AND NOT JUST THE IDEA OF GHOSTS).

This is not a spoiler. In the first chapter of The September House, you learn that each September, Margaret and Hal’s house is haunted by a coterie of noisy ghosts, regularly drips blood down the walls and absolutely rumbles with rattles and moans.

The mystery here is why does Margaret stay? Why did her husband decide to suddenly leave even though the house is perfect 11 months out of the year? Why has her daughter never bothered to visit until this September?

The September House layers on the ghosts and mysteries chapter after chapter, and then does a great job peeling them all back. I highly recommend this one—particularly in audiobook form!

Read if you like: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy • ★★★★☆

This is my third Paulette Kennedy book. Every time I pick up one of her novels, I don’t recognize I’ve read her before. I think that’s because while her writing is consistently good, she doesn’t tie herself to a single genre or setting. With that in mind, The Devil and Mrs. Davenport is very different from The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil. It also might be Kennedy’s best work yet.

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport is set in 1950s Missouri. Loretta is a stay-at-home mom to two children. Her husband teaches theology at a nearby college. After a severe fever, Loretta finds that she has a second sense about certain events and people—in particular a recent murder in town. Essentially, she’s discovered she’s a medium of sorts.

Her husband, being extremely religious, finds this to be blasphemous. Loretta explains that she thought her visions were a gift from God. Of course he says that’s wrong and she should repent.

This dynamic sets up the tension for the rest of the novel. I don’t want to spoil it too much because the way it builds and falls apart is really a wonder.

I will say, this book might not be a good fit for everyone. As noted in the book itself, there is mention of domestic abuse and violence. So be aware as you go in.

Read if you like: Empire of the Wild by Cherie Dimaline

Let Him In by William Friend • ★★☆☆☆

I find movies like The Babadook pretty scary. Essentially anything that has to do with imaginary friends or terrifying childhood visions creeps me out. That’s why I thought Let Him In would be a good fit when I saw it at the library. (It wasn’t.)

After the death of his wife, Alfie’s twin daughters start to play with an imaginary friend called Black Mamba. Black Mamba is sometimes a man but he can take animal form too. The twins are obsessed with their friend, so much so that Alfie consults his sister-in-law Julie (his dead wife’s twin)/psychologist to counsel them.

I was 90% through this book and debated putting it down. I wasn’t getting any heebie-jeebies. The plot was going in circles with no chill factor whatsoever.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.