Following fall, the winter season is also a favorite of mine. I love the cold and getting cozy. Plus, it really is the most wonderful time of the year. It's not about the presents and maybe only a little about the food (okay, a lot about the food), but the feeling of the holiday season and winter in general just feels *good*. It's something that's so difficult to really explain, but you probably know what I'm talking about.

Even though it's the time of the year I have the most time off from work, it's one of the busiest times because there's so much I want to do and see. It's also flu season, so it's important to stay well so I don't have to miss out on anything.



Favorite Winter Festivities & What I'm Looking Forward to This Year



Holiday shopping - I don't love that Black Friday shopping has become Thanksgiving shopping, but if I'm being honest, we're still there before the doors open, standing outside in the cold with bellies full of turkey.

Christmas sweaters - yes, plural. I own 13 vintage Christmas sweaters and I wear every single one of them each year (some multiple times). I don't wear them to be ironic. I truly love them and think they're really beautiful. (I also have multiple pairs of Christmas socks and Santa shoes).

Pine scents - I love the smell of pine, though it feels odd to burn it all year long, so I stick to the holiday months for making my home and office totally smell like a pine tree.

Yummy hot drinks - I don't drink tons of hot coffee, hot tea, or hot cocoa when it's still warm outside, but once the weather cools down, I am all for those warm and yummy drinks. You can almost always find me with a warm drink in hand.

Holiday lights - who isn't a fan, am I right? They can get pretty costly for a whole family to go, but we usually end up finding gorgeous lights in local neighborhoods to go check out. There's one fairly close to us that is so amazing and I don't even know how the folks that live there pull it off.

Winter travel - we recently went out to Vegas for some winter travel and it was a blast. It was our first visit for both hubby and I, and our first time flying together, so it was quite the experience. Travel in itself is always a treat, so visiting the Bellagio during the holidays was amazing.

Donate toys - one of the things I do every single year is donate toys to children in need and I don't plan to stop doing that any time soon.

More time to read - I love this time of year because I get days off from work that I can spend reading and catching up on my reading goals.

Hit up the tree farm - I've never visited a tree farm or had a real tree. While I'm fairly certain we'll stick with our artificial tree, I'd still love to visit a tree farm and smell all those wonderful pine smells.

Watch my favorite holiday films - there are some real gems out there and I love everything from the emotional to the goofy.

Go ice skating - will this be the year? I try every year and I always chicken out. I'm honestly so scared I'll fall and someone will run my fingers over.

Holiday parties - hubby's work throws the best holiday shindigs and I cannot wait to see where this year's party will be held!



But here's the thing. When I first moved out of my parent's house to move-in with hubby (who was my boyfriend at 19), I wasn't quiet sure how to take care of myself. I wasn't really proactive in my health, and every winter for about three years, I would get really sick and end up in the hospital. So now I'm much more mindful of how I'm feeling so I don't have to try to fix myself afterward. I also try to be a bit more proactive when it comes to my health, as well.





Instead, I take care of myself right away, and luckily Kroger has everything I need for all my flu season needs. And beginning on 12/9/18 through 1/26/19, you can get $1 Off any Theraflu Product and $2 Off Theraflu Power Pods, 12ct Powders, 40ct Caplets, and Syrups Twinpack. On Robitussin products, you can find a $1.25 off coupon through 1/4/19!







AbrevaⓇ Pump Cold Sore and Fever Blister Treatment is fantastic for getting rid of cold sores and can heal them in as little as 2.5 days*. Keep in mind, Abreva is not a temporary symptom reliever, but can heal cold sores fast**!

One of my biggest issues, not just during flu season but pretty often, is nasal congestion. I really struggle with it, especially during the night - I tend to wake up with my nose fairly stuffy. BreatheⓇ Right Extra Clear Nasal Strips provide relief for nighttime nasal congestion due to colds, allergies, or a deviated septum. The strips even reduce snoring caused by that nighttime congestion, so you're welcome. Breathe Right is drug-free and safe to use with sleep medications. Mostly it works by gently lifting the sides of the nose and opening the nasal passages, making it easier to breathe through your nose! I prefer the clear nasal strips because they're easier to remove, which is easier on my sensitive skin.

When a cough sets in, I try RobitussinⓇ Maximum Strength Honey Cough & Chest Congestion DM. The maximum strength liquid sooths sore throats on contact and provides cough relief for hours. The new Honey formula uses True Source Certified honey with no artificial colors, and it's gluten-free.

Remember, Theraflu Power Pods Daytime Severe Cold and Robitussin® Maximum Strength Honey Cough & Chest Congestion DM should not be used at the same time.

And now, Theraflu is so easy to use with the Theraflu Daytime Power Pods Severe Cold. The pods can pop right into most single-serve coffee makers, making it easy to drink. The pods temporarily relieve multiple cold symptoms and temporarily reduce fevers for a powerful relief without a prescription.

I also use tons of CloroxⓇ Disinfecting Wipes to wipe away 99.9% of the most common allergens***. I use CloroxⓇ Disinfecting Wipes on all my non-porous surfaces at work or home to get rid of the ickies and feel a bit better about my clean space.








I plan to keep myself well this winter so I can see and do all the things I've been looking forward to. And so far, so good.






Theraflu - ©2018 the GSK group of companies or its licensor. Theraflu is for use in adults 12 years and older. Use products only as directed. Read and follow label directions.

Abreva, Breathe Right, Robitussin - Use only as directed. Read label and follow directions.

*When used at the first sign, median healing time was 4.1 days; 25% healed in 2.5 days

**Among OTC cold sore treatments, when used at the fist sign.

***Use Clorox products as directed for removal of non-living allergens like pet dander, dust mite matter and pest matter on hard nonporous surfaces in your home. Keep out of reach of children.

Brief synopsis: There are four Gold children - Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon. As children, they visit a fortune teller who privately tells each of them the date of their deaths. The novel hence follows the four siblings in chapters of their lives, and how each of them lived in various ways because of the fortune they were given. It's a story of family, but ultimately it's about the things we wish to believe and how they impact our futures.




I heard so many truly amazing things about The Immortalists and was so excited to finally get the chance to read it. The premise of the novel sounded amazing, and I was expecting the novel to be more thriller than literary fiction, and even with that I had a hard time placing it into a genre.

I won't talk about what each sibling is doing with their lives as the book follows their individuals stories, because even though the actual description breaks it down, I was much more excited to learn about it as I wove through the chapters.

I think Simon's story was most fascinating to me, though I did read Klara's story on the plane to Las Vegas and that had me super intrigued, as well. Unfortunately, even though there were entire sections of the book dedicated to each sibling, I felt character development was lacking and we were only able to meet each sibling on-the-surface. I didn't love the timeline and how, for each sibling, it was set in a mere amount of weeks (or so), but would jump back to the past to follow-up on the story - it seemed confusing and I would find myself flipping back to make sure I didn't miss the transition period.

I really wanted to love this book, and I really did love the idea of it - but the novel fell short for me and it all seemed too abrupt.

You may really love it though, because a ton of people did - I just wasn't one of them.

Brief synopsis: Anna Crawford, a high school English teacher, was recently suspended for an outburst in her classroom. So when a school shooter terrorizes the school, killing and wounding several students and teachers, Anna was the first to take blame because she had motive. Her live falls to shreds and the sun falls from the sky. This novel accounts for the year following the shooting and Anna's month-to-month life.




TW: school shooting, but doesn't fully go into the scenes - it's not graphic.


Full disclosure - I'm not sure where this book came from, but I'm fairly certain I received it through the mail unsolicitedly several months ago from a publisher (which I don't mind, but also don't feel compelled to supply timely feedback if it was not sent at my request). All opinions are my own.

I really thought I would like How to Be Safe more, but I did not enjoy it. Before reading it, I thought it was a factual text, but then realized it was classified as a novel. Oddly enough, it read like a memoir, but the writing was choppy and nothing flowed throughout the book. I just couldn't catch a grip on the purpose of the storyline and there was no big climactic scene. Mostly I was bored.

The prologue began to make me sick to my stomach because it talks about the shooter before the event, however, it didn't flow into the actual event (thank god).

The rest of the story follows Anna and the after-effects on her life, which is full of depression and guilt, understandably. The story is told from her POV, but I'm never really a fan of male authors writing as women characters.

As can be assumed, the novel is extremely political in more ways than one. It is a very quick read and reads like YA, which is never a problem. But I was able to get through it really quickly, even though I wasn't enjoying it.

I wouldn't recommend this book, but it may be of more interest to you.

November seemed extra long but to go by so quickly, too. I found myself stuck with tons of end-of-semester assignments, but I got through four books, with two of them being extra long. I've got less than 10 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge prompts to go for 2018, then the 2019 challenge will start up. I'm confident this could be the first year I actually complete the challenge, and I've already started planning for 2019. Keep reading to learn more about my November reads!






Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them: the Original Screenplay by JK Rowling ★★★★★
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A past Goodreads Choice awards winner
Brief synopsis:  When Newt Scamander arrived to New York in 1926 with a suitcase full of magical creatures, an accidental suitcase swap causes many of the creatures to escape into the city. Simultaneously, there's a force wreaking havoc about the city. Is it one of Newt's creatures, or is something more sinister happening that's threatening to break MACUSA's statute of secrecy revealing the wizarding community to the non-Maj population?
See full review here.





The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath ★★★☆☆
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book about mental health
Brief synopsis: After returning home from a summer scholarship in New York, Edith discovers she wasn't chosen for the competitive writing class she was hoping to enroll in. Instead she plans to write a novel. But her life isn't quite what she thought it would be, and maybe she doesn't truly know who she is or what she wants in life. This novel is a haunting look at mental health in the 1950s through Edith's journey of a mental breakdown.
See full review here.





Lethal White by Robert Galbraith ★★★★☆
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym
Brief synopsis: When a young man with some obvious mental health-related issues storms into Cormoran Strike's office claiming to have seen a child murdered, Strike becomes determined to find out what really happened. Is the child murder somehow tied in with the paid case Strike and his partner Robin are on - one involving major political figures? Meanwhile, Robin marries her longtime boyfriend Matthew but things aren't all rainbows and butterflies - not to mention Robin's still reeling from the previous injury received on the job.
See full review here.





Duma Key by Stephen King ★★★★★
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A best-seller from the year you graduated high school
Brief synopsis: After Edgar Freemantle's near-death experience featuring Reba's Fancy and a crane (the machine, not the bird), he loses his arm and his wife and decides to spend a sabbatical on the Florida coast in Duma Key. While there, he gets back into creating art - a small hobby he had as a child. But something's not quite right about his artwork. And something's not quite right about Duma Key either.
See full review here.

Brief synopsis: After Edgar Freemantle's near-death experience featuring Reba's Fancy and a crane (the machine, not the bird), he loses his arm and his wife and decides to spend a sabbatical on the Florida coast in Duma Key. While there, he gets back into creating art - a small hobby he had as a child. But something's not quite right about his artwork. And something's not quite right about Duma Key either.



Reading Duma Key has been one the most enjoyable (and frightening) reading experiences for me this entire year. This isn't a Stephen King book I've heard a lot of praise for. In fact, it's not a Stephen King book I'd really ever heard anything about, but I once bought it (along with about seven other King books) at the Goodwill, and a first edition nonetheless. Apparently a King fan had recently had a purge of books. Anyways, when I got to Googling best-sellers for 2008, Duma Key was on the list and on my bookshelf, so it was the perfect chance to get to reading. Plus, at 611 pages, it's a pretty tame Stephen King novel, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, I immediately connected to Edgar. The writing was smooth, the story intense. Honestly, I was a couple hundred pages into the book wondering if it was actually a horror novel, or even a thriller, before the terror started to set in. There was definitely supernatural terror, but there were also some truly realistic type fears within the book, which I think made it that much more frightening. Stephen King really drives it home with his writing, and this one was no different.

I've since read some reviews about this not being quite like older King, but I thought this novel was absolutely fantastic. It's been days and I'm still thinking about it. I'm still missing the characters - Edgar and Wireman, such great buddies. The book made me actually laugh-out-loud and cry, not (just) from fear, but also because the relationships in the book and the feel-goods, too. The novel also gave me nightmares (why must I read immediately before going to sleep?). There are scenes within the pages that are monster-scares, but there are other scenes that are terrifying in their own way simply by the two words ending a chapter.

Look, I really loved this book (if you couldn't tell), and I'm so surprised it's not a more well-known King novel. I would really recommend it, though, but it was truly a fantastic read.