WEEKLY UPDATES: COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS…

On By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Weekly Updates

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

The week was full of activities:  coffee with a friend on Monday; running around to complete and send out docs to finally relinquish my ownership of my time share; home to write some blog posts and read some books...total books read and reviewed:  Three.  Read the Books You Buy Challenge Total:  Purchased Books read so far in 2017 – 116.

On Thursday, I enjoyed some pampering at the nail salon, and changed up my color:

New episodes have arrived on Netflix for The Ranch.  I hope to settle in and binge-watch this weekend.  I did finish The Crown earlier this week.

What else?  Well, let’s grab some coffee and take a look.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Musing Mondays:  Experiencing My Reading…

Tuesday Sparks:  “Sing, Unburied, Sing”

Tuesday Potpourri:  Book Release Day, Tidbits, & Obsessions…

Curling up with Good Books…

Coffee Chat:  At Home and Abroad…

Thursday Sparks:  Forever Connected….

Bookish Friday:  “Snap Judgment”

A Morning of Coffee Mishaps…

Review:  Little Broken Things (e-book), by Nicole BaartReview:  A Season to Lie (e-book), by Emily LittlejohnReview:  A Hundred Small Lessons (e-book), by Ashley Hay

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Empty mailbox!  But…I downloaded four (purchased) e-books:

If You Only Knew (e-book), by Kristan Higgins

Cruel Winter (e-book, County Cork Book 4), by Sheila Connolly

I Am Watching You (e-book), by Teresa Driscoll

These Violent Delights (e-book), by Victoria Namkung

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Currently Reading:  Sing, Unburied, Sing (e-book), by Jesmyn Ward

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And then, more possibilities:

Snap Judgment (e-book, Samantha Brinkman Book 3), by Marcia Clark

Dead of Winter (e-book, Lily Dale Mystery), by Wendy Corsi Staub

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That was last week…and a peek at next week.  What does yours look like?  Let’s hope you’ll settle in, enjoy the upcoming holidays, and savor something delicious.  I found a photo of last year’s Christmas cookies.

 

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73 thoughts on “WEEKLY UPDATES: COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS…”

  4. I really enjoy Kristan Higgins’ books so that title stood out for me. Lovely nail color too. I baked a bit this week and had a mini cookie exchange with my sisters. I hope they last until Christmas!

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  5. carolesrandomlife

    I love your new nail color! The cookies look yummy 🙂 I haven’t read any of your new books yet but I do need to get back to reading Wendy Corsi Staub. Have a great week!

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. Greg Hill

    I should watch The Crown. I’ve heard good things. And I Am Watching You looks good! I always seem to be drawn to those kinds of covers, with someone on a beach and/ or storm clouds in the background, ha ha.

    Mmmm I need Christmas cookies. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Greg, and when I first started watching The Crown, I had no idea how addicted to it I would become. Now I can’t wait for more!

      I love the cover on I Am Watching You, too…gives off a creepy vibe. She is enjoying the beach, but there is a target circling in on her!

      I always forget how much I love cookies until I get a batch of them…and they disappear so quickly!

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    1. Thanks, Katie, I was aiming toward festive with the nails. I really like my salon…they make the experience fun.

      I love the book covers, too, and I’m eyeing them and deciding which ones to pick first.

      Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Evelina, and I hadn’t been in my career very long before I started thinking ahead to retirement! The stress was high…and toward the end, I wasn’t sure I would make it. Now I can ALMOST put that thirty year career behind me.

      Enjoy your week! These days, I love being pampered and enjoying my books.

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth, I enjoy hearing that (well, I guess I’m READING it!). LOL. I do have fun arranging and rearranging my rooms.

      I am happy with my nail color, too…and I really love the cover on I’m Watching You.

      Thanks for visiting…and have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah, I love that cover, too, but the blurb won me over.

      I am enjoying my glittery nails…and thinking back to all the years when I never had a manicure unless I was going to a wedding or some other festive event. Now I believe in pampering myself regularly. (Retirement helps!).

      Enjoy your week and thanks for stopping by.

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    1. Thanks, Yvonne, I hadn’t had manicures in ages…and then I discovered that gel polish lasts. That was just the impetus I needed to make a regular thing of it.

      I am also eager to begin I Am Watching You. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Deb, glad you are enjoying your e-book deals. When you read on your tablet, are you talking about an iPad? I don’t have one of those….my Kindle suits me fine, and the laptop fills in for whatever else I enjoy.

      Have a great week.

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  23. Your tabletop mini tree is cute. I am such a sucker for Christmas cookies; sadly I haven’t baked any yet this year. I’m tempted to go to Safeway or Lucky’s and get that Pillbury sugar cookies where there are images in the middle for each holiday. I will probably work on my book post tomorrow; this weekend was all about sewing. My beginner self did lots of seam ripping which is why it took me a while.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks, Stefanie, and I love cookies, but for me to enjoy them, they don’t have to be homemade. LOL. The Save Mart in my area has a nice bakery.

      Enjoy your reading, sewing, and even baking…if you enjoy it. Thanks for visiting.

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  24. fuonlyknew

    I just did my paws and claws in a similar color. Probably won’t last long with work. LOL Nice haul of awesome looking books. I spy a few I would like to try. I didn’t make any cookies, but….I bought some!

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    1. Thanks, Laura, and since I use gel color, my nails last longer than they once did. I’m loving the new books, too…and I always buy my cookies in a neighborhood bakery; baking them is too messy! LOL. Enjoy your week.

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    1. Thanks for visiting (and hosting), Kathryn, and I often have to check Goodreads to see if I’ve read a book! Sometimes even the titles are changed.

      I wanted to read the KH book you featured, but thought I should start on her earlier list.

      Enjoy your week, and have a wonderful holiday season.

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    1. Thanks, Cheryl, I have three miniature trees, but only brought out two this year.

      I love the County Cork series, and Cruel Winter is the fourth book. I can’t get enough of the Ireland setting.

      Have a great week!

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  27. Nice to visit with a friend. Your nails look lovely. I need to take time to get mine done. I just put on clear protector as the ends and sides had started tearing.
    Your reading past and current looks good. The Kristan Higgins puts me in the mood to read one of hers.
    Hope you have a lovely week and Happy Reading!

    Liked by 1 person

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  30. The Cue Card

    Hi Laurel, how did you like Season 2 of the Crown? We hope to get to it in January. Is it better than Season 1? I hope you have a nice week. We head to southern Calif. on Tues and will be there 10 days. It should be fun — away from the fires luckily. I look forward to your thoughts on Sing, Unburied, Sing. Enjoy your cookies. Aren’t Christmas cookies the best?!

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    1. I loved Season 2 of The Crown! And I can’t wait for more. Stay safe in Southern California, and enjoy the holidays, Susan.

      Sadly, I ditched Sing, Unburied, Sing….despite the fact that it has all the themes I usually enjoy. I just didn’t connect with the narrators….Too bad, since I usually love award-winning books.

      I do love Christmas cookies….more, more!

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  32. Kathy Martin

    Nice looking new books. I wish I could fit in more books that I own but I keep getting offered review books that look so intriguing that I can’t turn them down. I end up with a calendar filled with books to review and no time to fit in my own books. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  35. I love the nail color! I’m ridiculously hard on nail polish so I’ve given up lately but I love all the pretty colors! The Crown is on my To Watch list. I’ve heard it’s amazing! Enjoy your reading! I have the Sheila Connolly on my TBR and I really enjoyed Dead of Winter. And Kristin Higgins never disappoints! Have a great week!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks, Katherine, I’m also hard on nail polish, but the gel polish works out well for me.

      I loved both seasons of The Crown…and hope there will be more.

      I’m looking forward to Dead of Winter and the Kristan Higgins book, which will be my first by this author. Enjoy your week!

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  36. Your nails look great! I love the glitter!!

    I loved the Kristan Higgins book If You Only Knew. 🙂 And we watched the first episode of The Ranch, and I was really impressed by Ashton Kutcher’s acting during a pivotal scene, the one with Heather. I am looking forward to watching the rest.

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    1. Thanks, Erin, I am enjoying the glitter, too.

      As for The Ranch, the Ashton Kutcher character is much more pleasing than the Danny Masterson one, whom I can barely stand to look at or listen to…lol.

      I love Debra Winger and Sam Elliott. So…I keep watching.

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