Books, Dancing, and a Whole Lot of Pumpkins {a look back at October and November}

OKAY I HAVE TO WRITE THIS NOW BEFORE IT GETS ANY LATER IN THE MONTH.

I mean, sheesh, I'm already a month behind.  I don't need more of this madness.

(And yes, I did take that picture.)

I'm currently sick, so if this is a bit disjointed, I'm sorry.  But that shouldn't stop my fingers from typing, so here I am to do a wrap-up that I should have already done.  Yay!


October was a month of long days, little sleep, and orange.  So much orange.  Our church pumpkin patch was in full swing, and I actually enjoyed working this year?  The weather wasn't terribly hot and humid like it usually is (we had a cool snap the week we worked which was awesome). 

We also participated in two Set Free events, one of which involved dancing on concrete (I don't recommend it) and one of which was debuting a new dance which was nerve-wracking but awesome.  I really enjoy fighting human trafficking with these girls.  We always have a great time and I think we touched a lot of people.

I also participated in and conquered my first Instagram challenge which was super fun!  And I reorganized my bookshelves which was really satisfying. 

Speaking of books, here's...

~ What I Read ~

~ Distorted Glass ~ Such a sweet little story!  It's a Snow Queen retelling, which is my favorite fairytale.  I loved it.
~ The Seer of Shadows ~ One of my favorites, a spooky historical ghost story.
~ Uncommon Criminals ~ THIS WAS AWESOME. I can't wait for the next one.
~ Lost Boy ~ This book was so interesting.  My Goodreads review has more of my thoughts, if you're interested.
~ Nightmare City ~ This was intense.  Like, wow. 
~ The Ship of the Dead ~ Yes.  Just... yes.

~ What I Watched ~

~ Spider-Man: Homecoming ~

I. LOVE. MY. SON.  That was literally my thought process through most of this film, which was absolutely fantastic and I loved it.  Tom Holland is so perfect for Peter I can't even right now.

~ Once Upon a Time ~

I'm... not sure if I'm sold on this new season but I am enjoying it.  Henry has been one of my favorite characters in the show, though, so I'm not wholly against it.

~ The Nightmare Before Christmas ~

This year was my first time watching this movie and I'm glad that now I can say I've seen it.  This is Halloween, THIS IS HALLOWEEN.

~ What I Listened To ~
 

Not much to explain here, really.  There was a ton of awesome Christian music that I started really obsessively listening to this month, which was nice to go back to after somewhat being away for awhile.  Honestly, sometimes when I put together these playlists, I just put a song or two here or there from whatever I've actually been obsessively listening to.  But this playlist I seriously had on repeat.  I jammed to this like crazy.  So this really was the soundtrack of my month.

~ What I Posted ~

 

When You're 18, Going on 19... {a post about growing up}
The Seer of Shadows {a spooky review}
The Nightmare Before Christmas {another spooky review}
Favorite Quotes ~ October {my favorite quotes of the month}
Nightmare City {yet another spooky review}

Aaaand, I think that's it for October! Now let's look at November:

November was a month of buying books, much dancing, and quite a bit of traveling... again.  We were in Fort Myers for a weekend, performing, and then up to Georgia for a week to help my Grandma move.  Life hasn't slowed down since then, and I highly doubt that it will going into December, but God is still good.

~ What I Read ~

~ How to Betray a Dragon's Hero ~ This was awesome.  And painful.  But mostly awesome.
~ The Coronation ~ Adorable, wonderful, I loved it so much.
~ United We Spy ~ I'm sad to have finished this series, because I loved it so much, but this was such a satisfying ending to the series that I was just happy throughout the whole thing.
~ The Doll People ~ This was so cute! Kind of like Toy Story but better explained.
~ Love Finds You in Frost, Minnesota ~ It was Christmas-y, it was sweet, it had great faith content, I really enjoyed this book.
~ The Mitford Snowmen ~ This was such an adorable story set in Mitford at Christmastime.

~ What I Watched ~

I finally figured out a way to keep track of the movies I'm watching by simply writing my thoughts in a notebook after each one I watch.  So maybe I'll actually be able to remember what I think about them afterwards even with my terrible memory.

~ The Finest Hours ~

I'm thinking about actually typing up the thoughts I wrote down on this film and posting a proper review.  Because this film stunned me with how beautiful it was.  I didn't think I was one for disaster films.  Clearly, I was wrong.  But this movie, guys.  It was so good.

~ Atlantis: The Lost Empire ~

Basically, I just worked my way through Disney movies I hadn't seen this month.  This one was absolutely beautiful.  I'm so glad that I've seen it.

~ Thor: Ragnarok ~

This was basically a comedy and never once was the joke "let's ragnarok and roll" made and I am disappointed, Marvel. 
But no, seriously, this movie was hilarious.  Not my favorite Thor movie (that goes to the first one, tbh), but I did really enjoy it.

~ Bull ~

I??? almost forgot about Bull???  This newest season has been wonderful and this is genuinely one of my favorite current running shows right now.  The crew is such a family and I love them.  Also look at that gif, Bull is such a Dad.

~ What I Listened To ~

So much awesome music this month!! New stuff I discovered, new stuff came out, it was a fabulous music month.  I also obsessively listened to this one.

~ What I Posted ~

The Mercy in the Madness {about God's goodness}
The Coronation {about a book review}
The Bibliophile Sweater Tag {about sweaters and books}
5 Ways I Princess & 5 Ways I Don't {about a blog tour and Disney princesses}




OKAY WHEW I FEEL BETTER!

So what do you think of the new wrap-up layout?  I thought it was about time that I switch it up.  Plus this post from Jonathan really got me thinking so maybe keep a look out for some changes soon?


Question of the Month:
Are you planning on reading any Christmas-themed books in December this year?  If so, which ones?  Let me know in the comments down below!

~ Abby