November 18, 2022
Dear Friday!
Whooooo hoooo, you are here. However, I can’t say I am heading into a calm and relaxing weekend. Nope…not even close. While I hope to squeeze in some reading time and hopefully a few long walks, my focus will be grocery shopping and Thanksgiving meal planning. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite, and I am fired up in the best possible way to cook and entertain this holiday! Bring on the pumpkin pie. Bring on the homemade gravy. I CAN”T WAIT!
In addition to Thanksgiving, next week also brings THE 5TH ANNUAL DEAR MR. HEMINGWAY HOLIDAY BOOKS & PAIRINGS. This year I am doing it a little differently from years past. I will have a MINIMALIST GUIDE and a super cool ONE-CLICK guide. Be on the lookout for these handy dandy shopping guides for the book lovers this holiday season.
In the meantime, enjoy all this week’s fabulousness!
xoxo,
Kelly
SHHH…CAN’T YOU SEE I’M READING
I am chipping away at Caroline Kepnes’ YOU series this year. I am very disciplined with these books, reading each before watching the corresponding NETFLIX season. THIS IS SO HARD TO DO! I say this not because the books are bad. Kepnes’ writing is freaking fabulous, in my opinion. I simply love a binge-able show, and so far, NETFLIX has delivered. I love Hidden Bodies, which is the second book. There are three published books in this particular series, and a fourth is coming in 2023. I am pretty pumped that the publishers sent me an advance reader copy, and my goal is to finish all four books before the new year PLUS watch all the shows! Be sure to check out what I had to say about YOU…book one on GOODREADS RIGHT HERE. Stay tuned for my thoughts on book two very soon!
I CAN’T HEAR YOU…I’M WEARING HEADPHONES
Have I ever mentioned my friend Dara Levan to you? Dara is a gorgeous writer and a beautiful soul I met in the ZIBBY MAG writing community. Though we have never met in person…YET, we have had a few morning coffees over zoom and lots of fun online conversations. Dara has an incredible podcast called EVERY SOUL HAS ITS STORY, which is an absolute gift to its listeners. I LOVED the recent episode with author Rea Frey. They talked all things books and writing, balancing life, social media, and my favorite…walking barefoot!!!! Be sure to give this episode a listen RIGHT HERE!
I WRITE THE SONGS THAT MAKE THE WHOLE WORLD SING
Still no songs, people 🤷♀️! This week, I have been finishing my famous Holiday Books & Pairings Guide. This year I am shaking things up with two smaller guides that are perfect for anyone suffering from DECISION FATIGUE! Can anyone relate????? While you are patiently waiting, be sure to check out all my past Holiday Guides!
DEAR MR. HEMINGWAY HOLIDAY BOOKS & PAIRINGS 2018
DEAR MR. HEMINGWAY HOLIDAY BOOKS & PAIRINGS 2019
DEAR MR. HEMINGWAY HOLIDAY BOOKS & PAIRINGS 2020
DEAR MR. HEMINGWAY HOLIDAY BOOKS & PAIRINGS 2021
NETFLIX & CHILL
OH MY GOD…THE ENGLISH is something pretty amazing to watch. My husband read an article in the NEW YORK TIMES about this series on AMAZON PRIME and convinced me to watch it with him. I’ll admit that at first, I wasn’t that interested. Frontier life, cowboys and Indians, blah, blah, blah. If I wanted to watch a story from the late 1800s, I would tune into LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Seeing that Emily Blunt was the leading lady sealed the deal for me. Goodbye, Emily from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, and hello, Cornelia Locke. Staking claims, ancestral homelands, revenge, and so much more happen in this gorgeously shot western mini-series. The characters are raw, the landscape is stunning, and the stakes are life or death. This show hit me in all the emotional places, and I can’t stop thinking about it. There are six episodes, so the commitment is super light. Episodes one and two flowed pretty well. Episodes three and four were a bit confusing because the show packs in A LOT (a tad too much). Episodes five and six tied everything together, leaving me with a wicked sad hole in my heart. I HIGHLY recommend checking THE ENGLISH out RIGHT HERE. We also found it very helpful to watch with English subtitles. Some accents are thick, and reading the captions helped a ton! I would seriously ride horses with Chaske Spencer ANYDAY! You will see why!
WHAT THE HELL AM I MAKING THESE PEOPLE FOR DINNER AGAIN?
Even though I am gearing up to make the BEST TURKEY of the year next week, I haven’t forgotten about the good old roasted chicken. Now that I am knee-deep into Fall with Winter getting ready to knock down my door, my roast chicken game is STRONGER THAN EVER! This week I roasted two whole chickens stuffed with a sweet Italian sausage and apple mixture that elevated this meal to a new level. I am a massive fan of the food blog, CHASING THE SEASONS. Nikki Marie’s recipes are classy, elegant, and easy to make. Check out her roast chicken with sausage and apples RIGHT HERE! I can assure you that this meal came out phenomenally. I served it with crusty bread and a ginormous green salad! Nikki was also a guest writer on DEAR MR. HEMINGWAY. Check out what she had to say to the big guy RIGHT HERE!
MY BODY’S A TEMPLE…BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!
OK. So this is the workout I have been following most recently. I’ve shared in the past that I am a big fan of BEACH BODY home workouts. 6:45 is AWESOME. Tons of weight lifting, but more importantly, lots of mobility work. The program is six days a week, 45 minutes long, and lasts twelve weeks. I AM OBSESSED! I feel like I am getting stronger and even a bit more flexible. I will also add that I do not work for BEACH BODY and never plan to. I am just sharing what workouts I enjoy with anyone interested.
FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE
I am so excited about my new Christmas tree. I have always wanted more than one tree for the Holidays, and I finally made it happen this year. Our main Christmas Tree is a freshly cut beast from a local Maine tree farm that brings me all the holiday feels. This second one is a “fake” tree, and I love it with all my heart just the same. It is decorated with picture frame ornaments containing a snapshot of my kids on their birthdays. My boys pose each year on their birthday with their cake or special dessert, and I happily frame it in a monogrammed ornament with their name and the year. As of right now, there are 43 picture frames on the tree. My goal is to do this until everyone turns 18 (maybe even longer 🤷♀️). My next plan is to frame a small picture of my hubby and me as a tree topper. How fun is that? Seeing my babies on it through the years, I can not express how full my heart is.
*Book links provided in today’s post are affiliate links. Dear Mr. Hemingway makes a tiny commission through books purchased in our storefront. Even better, 20% of purchases made through the Dear Mr. Hemingway storefront go towards an independent bookstore. Thank you so much for all of your support!
