Hello September Tag

Hello, lovelies!  I'm coming to you today because 1) I've been tagged for this September-themed tag and September is almost over, and 2) it's my birthday!  Yay!  I thought what better way to celebrate being 20 than by posting something about one of my favorite seasons - autumn!  (And since we don't really get autumn here in Florida, I'm making this post SUPER fall, so let's do this!)

Sweet Faith over at I Like That tagged me for this and I cannot wait to get into it!

~ Rules ~
>Please copy these questions (below), answer them, and then write out new questions (or just copy these) for the people you nominate below your answered questions.
> Please nominate at least 3 bloggers, but try to avoid ones that you know have already been nominated.  (Note from Abby: idk if I'll do this, considering we only have one more day of September, but if you're reading this and wanna just call it the Hello October tag or something, feel free to say I tagged you!)
> Lastly, include these guidelines in your post, and use the tag picture!

Aaand the questions!

Windy or rainy autumn? 
So far we've had a very rainy autumn, and to be honest, I don't mind it... as long as I'm inside before it really starts coming down, haha!  Windy autumns just make for messy hair and windburn - no fun.  So rainy for me!

Do you like chai tea?
Not particularly... but I'm not really a fan of tea either. *dodges angry tea drinkers*

Tea, coffee, cider, or hot chocolate?
Considering I don't really care for any of those first three, hot chocolate all the way!  It is my hot drink of choice, generally speaking.  And don't even get me started on the glories of peppermint hot chocolate... though that's technically a winter thing... ooh caramel hot chocolate, that's my favorite autumn drink, for sure!

If you could travel to one state in the U.S.A. just for the autumn scenery, where would you go?
I have been to the mountains of North Carolina several times and we've always been just barely too early for the leaves to change and goodness gracious, I wanna see those leaves! 

Do you like soup in the autumn? If so, what kind?
Not often, to be honest.  It never really gets cold enough here to justify it.  But if I'm feeling particularly autumn-y, I'll take a bowl of potato soup!

What color of leaves do you like best?
Any? All?  I don't honestly know, because all we get here is green.  So... any color other than green, haha!

If you could go to another country for the autumn scenery, where would you go?
Hmm... somewhere in Europe, for sure.  Maybe Germany?  That looks lovely in the fall. :)

Sweater or hoodie?
I love a good hoodie.  Sweaters tend to be too warm for me, but a hoodie (especially a zip-up hoodie) is fantastically cozy.

A hazelnut or apple cinnamon candle?
Apple cinnamon, definitely.

Cookies, brownies, or both?
Aaaaahhhhhh that's hard.  I think I have to say cookies, but give me pretty much anything sweet, and I will be happy.

What's your favorite fall activity?
I think I gotta say reading on this one.

Bonus Questions:

Pumpkin pie or apple pie?
Now, see, this is just cruel.  I love both of these things for different reasons, I don't think I can choose.

Have you ever had a pumpkin spice latte?  If not, do you think you would like it/want to try it?
I mean... I kinda tried one for one of our YouTube videos... I didn't love it.  But as I said, I don't care for coffee or tea, so I just don't think it's for me.

Would you rather go on a hayride or do a corn maze?
Considering I'm allergic to most hay, I think I'll opt corn maze.  I've had fun doing those in the past, anyway, so I'd totally be game for doing it again!

And I think that's all the questions, which means we've reached the end of this post!  I hope you had fun (I know I did)!  I love fall so much, don't you?  I'll leave you with this, my autumn playlist, for all the fall-music-vibes you may want:


What's your favorite thing about fall?  What song should I add to the playlist?  Tell me in the comments!

~ Abby

Sing the Wondrous Story Book Review {Orphans of the West blog tour}

Good morning, good day, good afternoon, good whatever-time-it-is-when-you're-reading-this!

Today I'm bringing to you my post for the Orphans of the West blog tour - a review of "Sing the Wondrous Story"!

Let's jump on in, shall we?



Sing the Wondrous Story

Author: Faith Blum
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Content: None

Synopsis:
Jason was kicked out three years ago. His judgmental actions and decisions caused a rift and turmoil within his family, especially concerning his sister, Jessamine. Now God is leading him to return home—a home he isn’t certain he will be welcomed back to. The last three years has led to personal growth, he still has a lot to learn. Can he overcome his past mistakes or will he always be the black sheep?
Jessamine has popularity and the attention of many in town except the two men she wants to catch for herself. She lives for those moments of attention and needs to marry a rich man to buy all the pretty things she desires. There are two men who fit that and she will stop at nothing to find a husband to make her life perfect. When Jason returns and challenges her actions, will she be able to let go of her plan? Can she find love in more than herself?

What I Thought:

Well this was nice. 
Y'all probably know by now that sibling relationships in books are my favorite everything, and this one didn't disappoint.  The way Jason and Jessa started out heartbreaking and ended up heartwarming.  So obviously, I loved it.
I liked Jason as a character really quickly after meeting him, but Jessa took me more time to enjoy.  I'm not hugely into her kind of character, but the way she arcs and changes was awesome.  God's grace was evident throughout the whole story and I loved it.
Jason and Claire's relationship was ADORABLE.  I love these two, they remind me of so many of my favorite couples from other books.  The way they relate to each other is wonderful, with the mutual respect they both deserve because they're both amazing.
I won't spoil anything, but I love how Jessa's storyline wrapped up.  I really appreciate the different take on the common tropes.
Overall, it was a little story that gave me all the happy fuzzy feels.  I will definitely be picking up more from this author in the future!  (Also, can I just mention how much I love that the titles of her books are hymns?  Because I love it a lot.)

Favorite Quote:

This quote made me laugh out loud; it's so great.

My Rating: 4 jars of preserves out of 5

About the Author:
Faith Blum is a small-town Wisconsin girl. She’s lived in, or outside of, small towns her whole life. The thought of living in a city with more than 60,000 people in it scares her, especially after some interesting adventures driving through big cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Faith currently resides in the middle of the state of Wisconsin with her husband and their cat, Smokey. She is blessed to be able to have writing as her full-time career with household work and cooking to do on the side. She loves to paint walls as long as she doesn’t have to do hallways or ceilings.
When not writing, you can find her cooking food from scratch due to food allergies (fun), doing dishes (meh), knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, or spending time with her husband (yay!). She is also a Student Mentor for the Young Writers Workshop and loves her work there. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her on her website.

You can purchase "Sing the Wondrous Story" from Amazon here or add it to your Goodreads shelf here!

There's also a GIVEAWAY going on at this link here!

HUGE thanks and many hugs to Faith for letting me read her book!  I had a great time. :D

~ Abby

Goldfish Secrets {a mini-review}

*sing-song voice* I have another review today!

Or rather, I have a mini-review.  Because it's a mini-book, of a sort.  An adorable, very small, mini-book.

Namely, Goldfish Secrets by Kellyn Roth.



Judy only has one friend: her goldfish, Marlie.
With Marlie gone, who can Judy rely on?

 This was so stinkin' cute.  Judy is an absolute sweetheart and I still want to give her a hug please and thank you.  She deserves the world.

I've read all three The Lady of the Vineyard stories, and I've really enjoyed them.  This was a perfect prequel to set up the characters and I think I may have to go back and re-read the original to see the character arcs again. 

Overall, this was really sweet and kind of too small to do an in-depth review of.  Thus, this mini-review.  If you've read the original book, or if you just like cute little stories about a girl and her best friend the fish, I highly recommend it. 

5 stars from me!

Connect with the author: her website - her blog - Facebook - Instagram

You can add Goldfish Secrets to your Goodreads shelves here, pick up a copy on Amazon here, or grab a copy from Barnes & Noble here!

Huge thanks to Kellyn for sending me a copy of this sweet story so that I could tell y'all all about it!

~ Abby