BOOKS I READ IN 2018

I'm sharing the books I read in 2018 with you today! For the first time in a VERY long time, it was a fairly consistent reading year for me. I don't know if I will ever be one of the people who reads 30-40 books in a year (just thinking about that gives me the hives. How can you even remember it all?). Prior to this year I had not really read consistently since my high school days. Entering college and then motherhood just pushed reading for pleasure to the side for quite a few years. 

Back in late 2016, I had a tiny baby and a strong itch to read something amazing. So I asked my wonderful, book-loving husband to pick something out for me that would hopefully jumpstart my reading life again. He did and that's where this list starts off today. Wait, wasn't that 2016, you say? Yes. This first book took me OVER a year to finish. But that one book that took foreeeever to finish really kicked me back into reading mode. So here we are now at the start of 2019 and I have an actual list of books I finished last year and I'm feeling quite excited to share them with you. 

As a side note -- if you are like me and sometimes struggle to find the motivation to read regularly, making a completed book list as I went was a HUGE encouragement to me throughout the year. It was a visual reminder of Yes!! You CAN finish books, Emily!! I thought I would just mention this little tip as 2019 begins with (hopefully) another year of reading ahead. (I say hopefully because there will be a newborn added into the picture in February this year, so I will hold my plans a little loosely.😉)

Books of 2018:

February 

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I started this book when Charlie was an tiny infant.....and finished it when my son was 1.5 years old. Probably not the best season of life to try and finish a new book, but it DID get finished eventually. Samuel picked this first book of the year to get me back into the swing of reading, and he picked a good one. McCarthy's style of storytelling really pulled me in because I haven't read anything quite like it before. It's totally unique. The Road is not the most action packed story, but their story of togetherness, loss, survival, and determination completely force you to keep reading until the end. I really enjoy it a lot, and I'm so glad I kept working at it.

March
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I didn't want this book to end, you guys. It was so beautiful and descriptive. It also may have started an obsession with reading WWII historical fiction this year which I neverrr would have expected. One of the main characters is a young girl who is blind, dealing with the effects of the war. Her blindness creates such an interesting aspect to the novel because the author tells such a strong story through all of the senses. I loved this book and have thought about it a lot since finishing it.





April
The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield 
This was the first Rosaria Butterfield book I had read and, man, can she write. I was so interested to read how she and her family show hospitality in their community and challenged to find ways that I can do the same.









Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling on Audiobook (finished in July)
Harry Potter will be read over and over and over in my life, I do believe. I will read it repeatedly for myself and hope to read it to my children one day. It's just always a good idea. Now, The Deathly Hallows was the only HP book that I had only read through once so I decided to change that this year! I listened to this on walks with Charlie and on many of our road trips to Kentucky and back. Loved every minute of it.





May
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
I loved this book SO MUCH. It was by far my favorite fiction book I read all year. And I'll be the first to admit that I cried multiple times reading this one. This was the second of three WWII historical fiction book I read last year. It's a story of women in wartime, finding and losing those they love, and doing everything they can to survive the Nazi's taking over their home.









June
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
And for my third WWII book, I kept seeing people talk about this one for months. One night we were out for a walk as a family and we came across a little free library in someone's front yard and wouldn't you know this little book that I had been wanting to read was inside! I was delighted to borrow it and bring it home. It's the story of a pregnant girl who runs away trying to find her long lost cousin who ends up  uncovering the life of a war hero. It was a fun, quick read.





August
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 
I wanted to really like this book. But I just didn't. It was sad from the very beginning. It just carried a broken tone through it all, especially about the role of marriage and promise in today's society. I did enjoy the side stories about their family, career, and race, but the marriage depicted in this novel just left me heartbroken and aching for a happier story. Didn't love this book.








September
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
If you like a good thriller, you will enjoy this one! I used to read thriller a lot more before becoming a mom and just loved it. Now....let's just say I was a little nervous to read this one, totally expecting to be such a scaredy chicken. I can't handle scary like I used to, yall! But it was way more suspenseful and just slightly scary so that it was the right amount of thriller for me. I didn't really love the final ending/resolution, but it does have some pretty great and surprising twists and turns.




October
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Wow. This story was pretty amazing. This story gives a fictional insight, loosely based on real events, to the life of refugees living in America. However, it was another book with a questionable line of decisions made by married couples (I feel like has been a theme in the books I've read this year, unfortunately). I would love to know the main character, Little Bee, in real life. Her personality and perspective were so gripping and felt so real. I would definitely recommend this book.






December 
Educated by Tara Westover
This was SUCH. a. great. book. After almost every chapter I found myself thinking, "Did that really happen?!" And yes, yes it did. This memoir was so unreal at times I could not put it down. Her retelling of the ridiculous injuries she and her family suffered alone are enough for me to want to read this again. Pretty unbelievable things happened in this family of Mormons who believe they are preparing for the end times at any moment. Tara's life story is one of shelter and "faith" on a secluded mountain and her struggle and fight to succeed when she enters the rest of the world as an older teenager. Highly, highly recommend.




Overall I was really happy to have finished all of these books at the end of the day, with really only one exception that I didn't love.

I think I will make reading one book a month my goal for 2019. So y'all keep me accountable on that. Here's to another year of reading!

Emily

FAVORITES FROM 2017

2017 absolutely flew by. Was it like that for you? I know people probably say that about every year that comes and goes, but really, THIS year FLEW by more than the others. I'm going to blame having a one-year-old growing right before my eyes and our big move to Illinois, but maybe it's just because I'm getting OLD? Could also be a three-way tie...

As a big wrap up, I thought I would blog some of my favorite things from the year. Favorite memory, kitchen item, book, make up, food, candle, vacation - just all across the board new favorites from my 2017. I love reading these kinds of blog posts. So in no particular order, here are my 2017 favorites.


Music: Audrey Assad
This was the year of Audrey for my husband and I. We took countless road trips to and from Louisville and Chicago and she was a regular on every trip. If you're looking for someone to listen to during your Bible reading time or just some new worship tunes, go listen to her Inheritance album right now. I listened to these three over and over this year and I linked them to Youtube for you: Abide With Me, Good to Me, and Holy, Holy, Holy. 

Vacation: Gatlinburg, Tennessee 
In May the three of us traveled from Louisville to Gatlinburg for a family vacation with my husband's whole family. We had just accepted the job at Crossway so it was such a relief to go on this trip and relax with family before coming home and preparing to move. This place has such a special spot in my heart.  We stayed in a huge cabin on the same street as the Apple Barn (if you've never been to GB or The Apple Barn, seriously GO). Needless to say, it was a great location!

Charlie's 1st Birthday 
On August 4th our baby boy turned ONE. We had already moved to Illinois by that time, so we traveled back to Kentucky for the weekend to celebrate with almost 40 people for his birthday party! It was so special to get to see so many of our family and friends to praise the Lord with us for the first year of Charlie's life. You can read my post about the whole party here. He took his first steps the same weekend as his first birthday, and he's been nonstop ever since.

Kitchen Tool: Immersion Blender(and Homemade Mayo)
I bought myself a Kitchen Aid Immersion Blender with a birthday gift card and it's becoming my favorite kitchen thing! I really got it to attempt a recipe for Whole 30 Mayo and let me tell y'all - it's the BEST mayo you will ever taste and so much healthier. I'll drop my recipe below. So far this mayo is all I've used the stick blender for, so if you have other recipes you like to use an immersion blender with send them my way!

Podcasts: Risen Motherhood 
This year I finally got on the Podcast train. The first one I listened to was Serial (I know, I'm only like years late but whatever). Serial was interesting but I was a little disappointed with the ending to be honest. My favorite podcast is definitely Risen Motherhood! Two sister-in-laws talk about a Christ-centered view of motherhood and daily life and often invite guest speakers on. I usually listen to a podcast while doing dishes, cooking, or in the car on road trips. What are your favorite podcasts of the year??

Concert: Ellie Holcomb(and getting to meet her!!) 
This is one of my most favorite little memories of 2017. So, on August 17th (the day after my birthday), I was just scrolling through Instagram stories while I was waiting for dinner to come out of the oven, when Ellie's came up. She said she was in Naperville for a free concert for women starting at 7 p.m. at a local church. My Naperville, IL? Free? In 45 minutes? I flipped out - could I make it in time!?  No worries that I had to scarf some food down (I didn't even have time to wait for the hot dinner I had cooking!). I rang up my new neighbor friend and she sweetly came along to the concert with me! It was one of those once in a lifetime, last minute, super fun things. And I got to meet her, hug her, and thank her for her music after the concert! 

Book: Wonder by R. J. Palacio 
When I was in college, I had several friends read and recommend this book (especially since we were becoming teachers), but I just never got around to it. Yall - it's amazing! It's a quick and easy read that every student, teacher, and parent needs to read. So glad I finally did! 

Make Up: Tarte Shape Tape
This is the BEST concealer. And it smells weridly good too (like licorice!). It retails for $27 at Ulta which I know is more expensive than what you would find at Target, but it lasts for a long time and is worth every penny if you need some coverage and eye brightening. 

Candle: Target Sun Kissed Soy Candle
Before this year I had exclusively bought Bath and Body Works candles for yearssss. I got this candle for a friend and then went back and got one for myself because when I smelled it burning in her house I had to have it! It's a soy candle (Bath and Body are not soy), and it burned so pleasantly and not super loudly (unlike Bath and Body, also). My only complaint was that it didn't burn evenly at all, but I was able to continue using it with a candle warmer. 

Day Trip to Chicago
About a month after we moved to Illinois we took our first train ride into Chicago! The train was a super fun experience but the hour long ride was about Charlie's limit. We walked around downtown, visited Millennium Park, ate Potbelly, and just enjoyed the great weather! Definitely want to go again when it warms up with a list of places to visit in mind. There are some amazing donut shops that I'm dying to try. Hopefully will do that in 2018 ;)

LUSH Sleepy Lotion
This is the most wonderful lavender vanilla lotion EVER. It's also a really pretty purple. I love to put this all over my hands, arms, and legs before bed. The smell really does soothe and make you sleepy. I just ran out and I've been missing it at night so I need to stock up on that again soon!

& being a momma!
Are one-year-olds not the most fun thing in the world?? GOSH. It really is true that becoming a parent opens up a whole new part of your heart that you didn't even know was there and could love another person. Next month Charlie will officially be one and a half. He talks ALL the time. He loves any kind of ball or cooking thing. Some days I feel like we already have a two-year-old on our hands (the independence and the tantrums!!!). Since his first birthday he has cut all 4 pre-molars and now 3 canine teeth, but he's such a good sport about life even though I can tell his gums hurt him A LOT.  He's a little trooper. 

2017 was the first full year of being a parent, and boy am I happy to be called Mom. :) 

I wish you all the best 2018! 

Emily