Wednesday, December 11, 2013

GReads! Interrupted: A Holiday Edition


Sometimes I want to share things with my followers that aren't necessarily a book review, so I thought I'd create a sporadic feature on my blog to do just that.  GReads! Interrupted. is a personal reflection of me -- music I'm listening to, something I recently purchased & want to show off, or even just a random thought that I feel is worthy of sharing.  This is meant to be a fun break from the usual reviews + a chance for my followers to get to know me a bit more.  Hope you enjoy!


Before you peruse the rest of this post, why don't you hit play just below and listen to my Holiday Mix I created on spotify.  I like listening to some Christmas music.  It's great background music to have on while you're decorating the tree, or baking cookies.  But other Christmas music is a little too traditional for me.  Below are a few faves I've recently discovered that aren't your typical tunes you hear playing in the mall while you Christmas shop.  Have a listen & if you like, support the artist by purchasing their music.




 
As I mentioned in this post here, I like to decorate this time of year.  Thanks to my crafty sister, she showed me how to make a Holiday wreath for my front door.  It was super easy & fun to make!  This style of wreath is very popular right now, so if you're wanting to make something similar just look up "deco mesh wreaths" and I'm sure you'll find endless tutorials.









Thanks to Jess, from Gone with the Words, I won this fabulous Holiday book giveaway from Harlequin!  When the package arrived it felt like Christmas came early!!  I've really gotten into reading holiday romances this season (a few I'll be reviewing here on the blog), so this was a great addition to that new little love of mine.








I participated in The Broke and the Bookish's Secret Santa gift exchange again this year.  I always enjoy this event because it's so much fun to receive your person & then go shopping for them.  This year my person is someone I didn't know, so it was nice "meeting" a new face in the book blogging community.









And then I received this lovely package from MY Secret Santa, Jessica at Peace Love Books. For someone who is just a follower of my blog, I felt like she got this present PERFECT!  From the adult contemporary novels, to the cookie cutters, and those adorable sticky note pads -- LOVE!  Oh and that chocolate you see in the pic?  It may already be gone, hehe.  Thank you Jessica!









I reached out to folks on twitter, asking for some cider recommendations.  Found this one in my local grocery store & decided to give it a try. LOVE. It's so delicious!  I'm still a bit new to cider, but so far it's refreshing to my taste buds.  And don't mind the adorable photo bomber, Daisy, hehe.










I have been envious of my friends up north, experiencing a true Fall with all its beautiful foliage.  Then finally, here in Texas, the leaves decided to change and fall to the ground.  I captured this shot in my dad's backyard.  Better late than never, right?











And with those leaves changing & falling has come cold weather!  Give me three straight months of 100+ degrees and I can handle it.  But send 30 degree temps and I don't know how to survive! OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.. but these near freezing temps are bitingly cold!  I'm not sure how my friends up north handle these conditions for months on end.










Grabbing my current read, snuggling up on the couch with a blanket and a hot cup of cocoa, by the light of the Christmas tree has become a favorite thing to do right now.  There's just something so soothing and magical about it.  It's definitely my happy place at the moment.

11 comments:

  1. Aw, I love this post! Your wreath is so pretty. :) And your Secret Santa gifts look amazing; I love both of those books! Congratulations on winning the Harlequin Christmas giveaway! Looks like quite the load. I'm reading the Sarah Morgan one right now, and it's good so far.

    I shall have to check out your Christmas mix! I always need more Christmas music.

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  2. Looks like you're embracing the Christmas spirit - and it's my favorite time of year too :-)

    Tanya Patrice
    Girlxoxo.com

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  3. I love everything about this post -- so festive and cute!

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  4. At least you have a purple scarf to keep you warm! And cider when you get home. :D I can't believe our temps have been so similar lately. It's crazy.

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  5. I don't listen to a lot of Christmas music, but there are some songs I love. My favorite is actually kind of ridiculous but I love it. It's called I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. It always makes me laugh. I also love Baby It's Cold Outside, All I Want for Christmas is You and Silver Bells.

    I'm from Central New York, so we have long, cold and very snowy winters. I don't love the freezing temps, but I can deal with it. But months of 100+ temps - that I couldn't deal with!

    Your Christmas tree looks pretty!

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  6. Theo chocolate! I just discovered this the other day and am completely in love ... especially with that Gingerbread one! YUM. :)

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  7. This post makes me feel the holiday spirit even more! Your wreath looks amazing, that drink looks tasty and those gifts you got in the mail look awesome. The holidays are my favorite ;)

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  8. Love your holiday post!! Your Secret Santa was my gift giving Secret Santa!! Heather got me all kinds of cool stuff! I just sent my gift out today and can't wait for the person to get it. I loved doing this blog Secret Santa last year and hope to keep doing it every year! Your wreath is adorable and I love Woodchuck Granny Smith. Stella Artois Cidre is really good too! Merry Christmas... hope your Fallish Christmas doesn't get too cold for you... it was 10 degrees here in PA last night :(

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  9. Such a fun post Ginger! Let me start by saying that I am LOVING your holiday playlist. It is the perfect background music I need while spending time on my computer. As for the holiday reads, I am going to try and sneak one or two in before Christmas (and maybe even after) but I always seem to forget about them until it's too late. I can't wait to hear what you have to say about a few of them though so I can make sure to read them BEFORE Christmas next year. I hope the cold weather isn't to tough on you. After 21 years in Michigan, I can honestly say you NEVER get used to it.
    p.s. Daisy is the cutest photo bomber I have ever seen!

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  10. Your wreath is so cute! I'm really not a skilled crafter, but I may have to try making something like that. The gingerbread chocolate you got from your Secret Santa looks good, and I love Woodchuck, so you're having a good/drink win. Also your tree is lovely. Glad you're enjoying the season!

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