Author: Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

I try to create a culture of celebration in our home. For life, for the little things, for wonder and for whimsy. I try to find the beauty around us and teach my son Wyatt to find it, and appreciate it and love it as well. We are a homeschool family, and we love it. We love the freedom it gives us to explore a topic or idea more deeply, and I like that I can adjust our schedule around Wyatt’s other needs. Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and his week often has therapy, doctor’s appointments, naps peppered throughout which would make a traditional school schedule difficult. He is also an asynchronous learner, and I love that I can tailor learning to where Wyatt is at that moment. We have a house full of animals and will probably add more because we like a zoo. We have one cat, Miso, who is a rescue. She is 14 years old and my little floofy girl. We also have one leopard gecko, Luna, a pictus gecko named Harlow, a pacman frog named Freddy, and two crested geckos, Applejack and Oliver. We love all of our little friends! My husband Billy, Wyatt, and I are all curious, creative, stubborn humans which makes for some fun times around here. We love the outdoors, except we are not made for high temps so we retreat inside when the temps start to soar. We are nature lovers through and through. We are trying to downsize our lives too, to live more simply, to buy things that last and eat real food from small local farmers. (and of course Goldfish crackers) We live seasonally and are always up for adventure. We love books and reading, and can be found at the library at least once a week!

My Last Christmas Coffee Catch Up of 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized24 Comments

Hello everyone!! This time in between Christmas and New Year is always so weird. I never really want to start anything new and I feel sort of stuck. Lol. It’s like a limbo time. It isn’t helping that it is super gloomy out these past few days (weeks?) Anyway, we had a wonderful holiday with family the past week.

Last Saturday we spent Christmas at my dad’s. It is always so relaxed and chill. They order food, we all sit around and watch the kiddos open their gifts, and that is about it. The kids sort of have the run of the house and do what they want and make messes and play and eat all the candy…

It was a wonderful day!

Then the next few days I spent in a flurry of baking and cleaning, as I am sure many of us did.

Christmas Eve, we went to Billy’s brother’s house for dinner and to hang out with everyone. The kids opened their gifts and played together, and it was a blast. I have awesome pictures but they do not wish their kids to be on the internet, and I am more than happy to respect their wishes.

Christmas Day started early, at 6:30 am when Wyatt got up. Billy and I stumbled out the family room with Wyatt and watched him happily open his gifts. We also exchanged our gifts to each other as well. ( He got me two of the books that I wanted!)

Then we had a little time to sit around and relax because my family wasn’t coming until 4. We were making a slow cooker pot roast, macaroni and cheese, cresecent rolls (I even made a baby size one for the Hurricane), and a winter fruit salad so we didn’t even have to spend the whole day cooking. The winter fruit salad was amazing by the way. Pear, apple, clementines, pomegranate seeds, and it was supposed to have kiwi but I didn’t get them with my order and forgot to get them later. I would say though that it didn’t need it. I am probably going to make it all winter long.

Before long my other nieces descended upon us, along with my brother and SIL, and my mom. We ate, the kids opened gifts – you guys know the drill. It was a lovely evening and I had so much fun with the kids.

I fell into bed that night, full of happy feelings, joy, and exhaustion. I had big plans for the next day – to do not one thing. And I didn’t.

I totally relaxed 100% on Thursday. Wyatt played with all of his new stuff, and I did too. I flipped through my new books, played with the new markers that were in my stocking from Santa, and just totally goblinmoded out. Wyatt was cracking me up taking photos of his books….I wonder who he was emulating? Lol.

Friday Billy was home! He took a few extra vacation days, although we have no idea what we are going to do. Maybe nothing! Yesterday we drove down to an antique store in Ohio and I picked up some cast iron rabbits and sent a bunch of pictures to my friend Kelly who also wanted to go to this antique store. She had a few things she was looking for. We also went to my favorite plant store, The Conservatory, but didn’t pick anything up this time, although they did give Wyatt a few stickers. Next we went to our favorite local fish store, to buy some little plants for the frogs, Hurkle and Durkle, and then ended up at the local book store down the street because of a certain little boy’s request. He picked up a used copy of an Avi book because to him when we say we are going shopping he thinks that means for books.

We were hoping to stop at the zoo but it was cold and raining so we opted for home and pizza instead. I painted my nails with the very sparkly polish Wyatt gave me for Christmas, we watched some tv, and that was that! Which brings us to right this very moment, Saturday morning, typing this up.

I hope that you all had a wonderful week, and that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile.

A Look Back at 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized28 Comments

Hello everyone! I apologize in advance for what may end up being a very rambly, disorganized post.

This year, I made some much needed changes. First of all, I decided I was not going to let my anxiety run my life anymore, and found a good therapist who worked for me and also a prescription that helps as well. At the beginning of the year, I was in a very terrible headspace, and by the end of January I knew something had to change. So, I did. It wasn’t easy but I am so much better now, and I feel like I have my muchness back!

Once that was all out of the way, I hit the year running. I knew I wanted to build community for my boy, that was of great importance to me. And I wanted to build a community for myself as well. Our lives can be rather isolated, with homeschooling and also the degree of difficulty we began to have just leaving the house as Wyatt grew and it was harder for me to carry him outside. That was my next task, building friendships and community everywhere. I sooo appreciate all the friends I have made on my blog; you guys don’t know it, but your comments make my day a lot of times. I have many quiet days and it is so good to just chat with you all on here – and I am very much looking forward to the zoom crafting afternoons in January and February. Thank you so much for being part of my community!

We are regulars at the library, and everyone there knows Wyatt and he is getting to know them all as well. I consider them very much a part of our community. I also try to shop at the same local stores often, and the people at these stores know Wyatt, and he knows them. The woman who works at our local fish store is always so friendly and kind to Wyatt when we stop in – and usually pick something up to bring home with us – to the point where she wanted us to come back after Halloween to show her photos of Wyatt in his costume. He loves the woman who cuts his hair, who is also a neighbor, and we also go to the same pizza place every Friday, where he feels completely at home.

However, one of the biggest things I did to build community for Wyatt was start our Cub Scout pack. I am not going to lie, starting it from scratch was really difficult! I had no idea when I started how much bureaucracy went into it all, all the forms and committees and meetings and hoops to jump through to get it started. But I persevered and my friends did right along with me, getting this pack off the ground, because it is was so important to me to get this started for our kids. I am proud of myself guys! And we have reconnected with old friends from preschool, and even Wyatt’s old preschool teacher. Wyatt absolutely loves going to meetings and we have some really cool field trips lined up for January and February!

We did some pretty cool things as a family this year. Small things, but good things.

We visited some cool independent book stores and ate at a few new restaurants!

We had some new experiences and revisited some old ones we enjoyed too. Winter lights at the zoo, a train ride in a vintage domed car, seeing some very famous (and cool) works of art in person. Wyatt and I went to see the Wild Kratts and the Halloween lights at the zoo, Wyatt went back to RicStar Music Camp, Billy was in an art show. Wyatt bowled for the first time, got the fish tank (and a few more) that he wanted, and attended his first baseball game. We also went to a dark sky park for Wyatt’s birthday and it was a moment I won’t forget.

Wyatt has been working hard on walking, and Billy and our friends and family built a ramp that so many people donated to, that I was overcome.

This year I also decided I was going to make myself feel better about myself. Lol. I was just feeling so grungy all the time. So, slowly but surely, I started to increase my skin care routine, step by step and product by product. I had to learn what I was doing in part, because forever and a day I was a wash my face with whatever and move on kind of person. So having a multi-step process was new and I have enjoyed it. I also – gasp!- added makeup to my repertoire. I don’t usually do that either! I splurged on some Blur cream, mascara, and lipstick (Kylie Jenner brand. You should have seen this fish out of water at Ulta.) and I am enjoying this newness as well. I don’t do it everyday but if I am leaving the house I do. I love the lipstick the most. I learned that during the World War II, women wore red lipstick because Hitler hated all makeup, so it was like a subtle fight against fascism. So red lips for me!

I also indulged my creative side quite a bit this year, which has also been fun. My stepmom made me a jewlery-making kit at Christmas which I am super excited to start, and I am working on my embroidery all the time. I have also been painting some, when Wyatt does. I am not great at that, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Because it is not about being good, it is about having fun.

Overall, it was a year. It had its ups and downs, like any year, but we definitely made some great memories together.

Thank you again for hanging out around here with me!

My Favorite Reads of 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized51 Comments

Hello everyone!!! I hope you are all doing well – and finding time to read!

Ok – I am calling it now. It is close enough and I don’t foresee a bunch of reading to happen between now and the new year!

I had a hard time deciding on my favorite reads this year. I feel like this year was all about trying new genres and new authors that I loved; I went through different reading phases and my read list this year is just a hodgepodge of titles and genres. I didn’t read nearly as many books as other people, I am just slower now that my lifestyle is different! Pre-Wyatt I read over 100 books a year – now I read nowhere near that, and that is ok. Wyatt and I are making memories together everyday, and more importantly, I have turned him into a giant bookworm and library lover just like me. The library loves when he comes in (or so they say!) because he is so excited about getting books and reading. His favorite this year was The Phantom Tollbooth.

I tracked my reading in a hand drawn little chart this year!

I also started making these little journal pages.

They are not anything fancy but they are fun to do.

And I have digressed enough! My favorites, in no particular order:

A Dark and Secret Magic || A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking || The Teller of Small Fortunes

A Dark and Secret Magic was just the perfect autumnal spooky season read. It had everything. The atmosphere, the setting, the characters, the traditions – I really loved it and I hope the author writes another one in this world with these characters. I have a feeling that she is going to.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking really surprised me with how much I absolutely loved it. I loved the message regarding heroes, which was a more serious message hidden within these rather whimsical and magical world. It also touched on intolerance as well, another serious message and theme. However, it was handled in such a way that it didn’t feel heavy – sort of like when people make the perfect bread. I loved the little gingerbread man and of course Bob. I have been telling my husband nearly every day since I read this to read it. So come on Billy, let’s get to it!

The Teller of Small Fortunes is just a small, easy little read but it was so heartwarming to me. I love found family stories, I love adventures, I love magical tales, and this book had it all. It had Wheel of Time vibes but low stakes and cozy instead of huge and world building.

The Blue Castle || Tress of the Emerald Sea || The Berry Pickers

The Blue Castle: Lisa from Boondock Ramblings gifted me this book this year and I absolutely loved it!!! The imagery, the nature writing, Valancy just kicking butt and becoming her own person and taking her life into her own hands. Just all of it. I also learned that there is more to Montgomery than the beloved Anne. (I love Anne too though)

Tress of the Emerald Sea: Another kickbutt heroine. I love Tress so much. Sanderson and his wife watched The Princess Bride on day together, and his wife wondered what the story would have been like had Buttercup just not given up on Wesley after she heard he was dead, and instead which searching for him. And then, this book was born.

The Berry Pickers: This book was not light and fluffy or cozy. In fact, it destroyed me for personal reasons but it was still such an amazing book. I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to give anything away, but I do highly recommend it.

Miracles on Maple Hill || Kildee House

I went through a time in February/March when I just wanted to read some wholesome, old fashioned kids books. So I did. These two were my favorites. Miracles on Maple Hill was a touching story of a family that was struggling through some issues and when they move to the country, find what they needed to make it through to the other side. Kildee House is also about someone moving to the country, and finding a whole new life that suits them much better. This one has wild animals that live in the house which I of course loved, but it also had some parts that made me sob so be prepared for that. I asked Billy if I could have some foxes and a possum for Christmas but he told me no. What a stick in the mud he is. Maybe just a possum then? Think I could sneak one in this new year?

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers || What You are Looking for is in the Library

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a cozy little mystery with found family and most of all, hope. I love the love in this book.

What You are Looking for in the Library really started me down the path of translated fiction/Asian fiction/healing fiction. I could read this book over and over again. Instead of a little synopsis, I am just linking my review here.

And that my friends is a wrap! I learned that I love cozy fantasy and translated fiction. I fell down the Riley Sagar and Lucy Foley rabbit holes (if there was an 11 and 12 on this list, they would be The Only One Left by Sagar, and The Midnight Feast by Foley). I gave myself permission to indulge in all the middle grade fiction I want. I also read a lot of books with absurdly long titles, but that is another story. Overall, it’s been a good year of reading!

Top Ten Tuesday: : Books I Hope Santa Brings

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized35 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s prompt: Books I Hope Santa Brings List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!

I am always grateful for anything I receive, so these are just books I have had on my wish list and if I do get a few for Christmas from Santa, that would be cool. If not, then that is ok too! I plan on granting a wish or two today! (wish list)

I have a few John Lewis-Stempel. I love his work and I am building a collection of his books.

Woodston || La Vie || Nightwalking (ok my husband just told me that I am getting this one…lol)

These all look fabulous to me! I love his nature writing, and his observations.

I am also working on a collection of L. M. Montgomery books as well!

Jane of Lantern Hill || Emily of New Moon

These two are on my wish list.

Watercolor in Nature || A Psalm for the Wild Built

I am not a great artist and I think the watercolor book looks like something I can handle and something that will be a good resource. I read A Psalm for the Wild-Built and I just really enjoyed it so much that I want to own it.

The Rainfall Market || The Baby Dragon Cafe || Secrets of the Bees

I love Jane Johnson, so I am super excited about Secrets of the Bees. And The Rainfall Market – that cover… I love it. Then, The Baby Dragon Cafe! I saw this on another blog on another TTT, and just have to read it. Dragons are so cute – and I have so many tiny ones in my house! (ok they are geckos but as close as I will get! )

And with that, I wish you all happy holidays and happy winter reading! I am looking forward to my own little bookworm opening the books that Santa brought him for Christmas this year!

My Sunday-Monday Post!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized31 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I hope the last week has treated you well. I know that this can be a fun time of year, but it can also be a very difficult one as well. If you are struggling and need someone to chat with, my Instagram chat is always open. (@foxandfirthco)

We celebrated Christmas with my dad last night, and we had such a fantastic time. The kids had a blast which in turn made all of us adults happy as well. They were just perfectly kids at Christmas, you know? Eating all the junk, playing, making a mess, laughing.. all those good things.

Wyatt and the Hurricane. She wanted to draw just like her big cousin. It was adorable.

My reading has been in the bin this past week. And I have read nothing Christmas! However I did read this one.

It took place at the time of Winter Solstice so it maybe counts. I love this series and I think young Erin would have definitely connected with this character.

Reading this Week:

I am slowly reading. It may take me two weeks with the holidays and all the things I need to do still. And at bedtime I just zonk out I am so whipped. But I am reading! And oo, I just realized it is Christmas! So I am reading a Christmas book!

This is such a cool series.

Posted Last Week:

Christmas Coffee Catch Up: Gingerbread and Zoo Lights!

Comfy Cozy Christmas: What We Have Been Watching

Top Ten Tuesday: My 2024-2025 Winter TBR

And I am woefully behind on visiting blogs. I hope to do that tomorrow morning!

Watching:

Billy and I have been watching a lot of Christmas movies lately. When we don’t, we are watching Murdoch Mysteries or the Great British Bake Off. We have two movies left on our list, the Muppet Christmas Carol and Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas. I can’t wait!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are planning some Cozy Crafternoons on Zoom in January and February, to beat those winter blahs that happen late winter after Christmas. We are thinking we will have maybe two per month, so four in total. We will just all meet up on the date and time, and individually work on whatever we want – embroidery, coloring, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, etc, while chatting or you could even have the sound off and just feel part of the group without the chatter, if you like it quiet. It is sort of open and flexible but also social. I will probably be stitching away – my friend has requested a small pillow with an embroidered possum on it, so I will be working on that in January for a while. Anyway, if you are interested in learning more send an email either to me at crackercrumblife@gmail.com or to Lisa at lisahoweler@gmail.com. That way we will also have your email for the zoom link! Our first scheduled crafternoon is January 11th at 1 pm EST.

And that is it from me today! I hope that you are all doing well, and I wish you a happy week of winter reading and a wonderful holiday season!

Christmas Coffee Catch Up: Gingerbread and Holiday Lights!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments

Linking up with my and Lisa at Boondock Rambling’s

Comfy Cozy Christmas!

Hello everyone!! We have been making merry in our own way over here! I was trying to not overwhelm all of us with activities this year, and have a slower Christmas and it has been really nice. However, now as we are getting closer to the big day, I am staring to freak out just a bit! You know, all the usual things: Did I buy enough? Did I remember everyone? Will people like what we did get for them, or made for them? Maybe I took it too slow this year, did Wyatt get to do enough? Will it ever snow? What do I need for Christmas dinner? I never did get that Christmas photo of Wyatt that I wanted… And the list goes on…. I am trying to keep it all in perspective though, and enjoy the things that we are doing and not compare them to anything else.

Let’s see. Since I last posted one of these, we have done a few things.

On Saturday, we made gingerbread! I love gingerbread, Billy loves gingerbread, Wyatt loves gingerbread. We are a gingerbread kind of family! The recipe I use is from @ofbeeandbear. This recipe is amazing, and she is a wonderful, beautiful soul. Her recipe calls for types of flour, spelt and wheat; however I use all purpose and wheat, which she says is perfectly fine. Or you can make them using entirely all purpose flour. Anyway, I think her recipe is the perfect balance of the spices and chewy vs. soft, if that makes sense.

We started that morning off right as well, with pancakes, some of them plain, some cinnamon, and some ginger. It was a delicious start to the day!

After Wyatt’s medicine and nap, and a quick trip to the library, the baking commenced!

We danced and sang along to Christmas music as we baked, in the glow of our little Christmas tree, as the day itself was very gray and gloomy. We made our own sunshine though as we all had our jobs to do. I made the dough and also rolled it out, Wyatt cut the shapes, and Billy kept the assembly line from table to oven and out again rolling!

They turned out delicious, if I do say so myself. We enjoyed a few all nice and warm and freshly baked on the floor in front of the tree, and I am pretty sure Oliver was giving us the eye because he wanted some too. Sorry Oliver, geckos can’t eat gingerbread!

On Sunday, it rained all day long. Like all day. Nonstop. We had had plans to go to the Detroit Zoo for the Wild Lights, but there was no way we were going in the rain. So instead we just caught up on things around the house, which was way less fun. Our tickets were open ended thank goodness, so we decided to go to the lights on Tuesday instead. Billy worked from home that day, and when quitting time rolled around, we headed to the zoo!

We had so much fun. It was a chilly night, but not too cold, and thankfully, it was dry. Since it was a Tuesday, there weren’t even too many other people there, which made it nice, especially with a wheelchair. We really did have a blast!

I packed up a few of those gingerbread cookies before we left, and we happily nibbled on those, and shared hot pretzels as well, as we strolled through the zoo, marveling at the lights on disply!

We were enchanted right off the bat! Everything just looked so magical!

We all loved the Enchanted Trail.

There were animals made of lights surrounding us on the trail, larger than life, and glimmering, twinkling strands all overhead. I took a lot of video on the trail and not as many photos, but these are a few of the photos I took.

After we walked the Enchanted Trail, we continued around the zoo. I just loved wandering around and seeing what they had created.

We are making more cookies today and tomorrow, as well as watching a few more Christmas movies all the way up until Christmas Eve. Saturday we have Christmas with my dad, and we always have such a nice, chill, relaxed time. I am looking forward to it!

I hope that no matter what you are doing this December, you do something that makes you smile!

Comfy Cozy Christmas: What We Have Been Watching

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone!! It’s that season again, to get all settled in with a bowl of peppermint popcorn and some tea, and watch holiday movies! (well, maybe not everyone needs the peppermint popcorn but I sort of do)

I always feel there are so many from my childhood that I want to share with Wyatt. He is not a kid who has many television shows he likes, or is even super interested in movies most of the time, but when Christmas rolls around, he will snuggle up between Billy and I and watch them with us. I of course have a giant list and I am not sure we will get to them all, but I am making sure to hit some of our favorites off the bat.

We started with Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. I was surprised when I mentioned this earlier that it wasn’t widely heard of. I adored this movie as a child, so much so that my favorite Christmas song that year was Feliz Navidad and I even asked for the er..record.. for Christmas. My parents also surprised me with a version of the movie on record, and I would fall asleep to it, in my little yellow Holly Hobby bedroom. As an adult, I can’t make it through this movie without tears. I just remember all my Christmases as a child, with my parents and my brother, being little and the magic of it all, and I just feel so much love in my heart, thinking of it and my mom and my dad, watching this movie and singing along with my mom. My husband says my mom has an encyclopedic knowledge of songs and jingles and rhymes and he is not wrong, she totally does. I am sure she could sing along today, if I mentioned them to her. I know I could, and did. This song in particular, tugs at my heart and makes me teary.

Sesame Street was just such an amazing show, it really was. I don’t know what it is like today, but as a child growing up with it, I loved it. (and Oscar and Grover were my favorites!)

That was Friday. On Saturday we revved things up and went modern and new with the new Amazon Prime movie, The Red One. And we loved it! Wyatt watched it with us until he fell asleep about midway through, and Billy and I kept watching because we were hooked. I have to admit, I love The Rock Dwayne Johnson and also Chris Evans. so.. that worked for me. It was just a fun movie, a bit cheesy, but overall, it was really just pure entertainment. Every actor in it gave a good performance, from the two I already mentioned to Kiernan Shipka as the evil villain to J.K. Simmons as a rather athletic and buff Santa. I also really loved Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus. I thought it was very imaginative and Billy even said he hopes that they do more with M.O.R.A. and make more movies. (and although I love Chris Evans, I could also see Sam Rockwell, one of my all time favorite actors, playing his role. I actually almost felt like Chris Evans was playing Sam Rockwell playing Jack)

After all that flash and pizazz, we switched it up again on Sunday, an appropriate day to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Billy and I had such feels watching this one. Billy said he remembers thinking that Charlie Brown was new to us, when it had already been around at least a decade before we watched it. This movie is just so charming in its simplicity and message; to remember the reason for the season, and for peace on Earth and goodwill to men. Not the flashy glitz of bright pink aluminum trees! Or in our day and age, all the technological and digital presents, the social media aestheticism for those picture perfect holidays (and homes!) piled high with gifts.

We have enjoyed such great classics already and I know we have a few more left to watch. I also added two movies to our lineup we don’t usually watch, one that might be fairly unconventional as a Christmas movie, and another that I was recently reminded of by a fellow blogger.

Before I go, I also wanted to share that I was asked to give a quote about my favorite movie to an article published in an article on Rent. It is a super cool article, with lots of suggestions that pair some of your favorite Christmas movies to interior design styles.

I was named an expert in a Rent. article.
Read the full article here: Design Styles to Try, Based on Your Favorite Holiday Movie

Rent. is a subsidiary of Redfin.com

Top Ten Tuesday- My 2024-2025 Winter TBR

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized58 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s prompt: Books on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List

I might have more than ten! We will see at the end since I didn’t bother counting. Lol.

First up, the middle grade picks.

Caddie Woodlawn and Heidi! Two different tales of two different girls, but both are classic. I can’t believe I haven’t read either of them before.

Then two modern reads, Ghosts of Greenglass House and Dead Voices. I can’t wait to dive into these two. I have both of them at the top of my list!

A couple nonfiction reads:

The Book of the Barn Owl, A Mudlarking Year, and Wolfish. I just think these three books look interesting. Not really much more to add there!

A few witchy reads, because I love a good witchy story.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells and Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. The Grady Hendrix is going to be a scary horror read, I know it but I think the Rachel Greenlaw book is less scary and more… fantasy, romance, and magical realism.

I will definitely need some cozy fantasy as well.

I have both The Crescent Moon Tearoom and This Will be Fun waiting on my shelf! I got one for my birthday and the other at a really cool book store in Cleveland on a trip.

And of course, I will need something atmospheric and creepy, something soothing, and maybe some academia.

I really have high hopes for Darcy Coates. I have so many of her books marked to read, but I am going to start with Dead of Winter, hopefully. And I love soothing healing fiction like Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, another birthday book that is on my shelf, along with A Study in Drowning. I actually have one of those cool versions of the Ava Reid book, with sprayed edges. I want to try to collect more of those this year, they are just so pretty!

And there we have it! I am sure this list will change as the weeks go on. I am not good at sticking to a reading plan, as I am a mood reader. As of now though, this is what I am hoping to read in the next few months!

Cozy Crafternoons

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am so full right now… both from good food and from the good moments I have had this weekend. We had so much fun, just being together, making cookies and hanging out and playing and reading and watching movies. It was just a wonderful little weekend.

I need more cozy in my life guys, and winter has two more months, at least, here in Michigan and in Pennsylvania, where Lisa from Boondock Ramblings hails. We have decided that we needed a little something to help us get through those long months, and we thought it would be so fun to have a few cozy crafternoons with whoever wanted to hang out with us virtually!

It’s a bring your hobby of choice kind of thing to a zoom craft together, complete with whatever else you need to get all cozy. I will probably be working on my embroidery projects, with my cat Miso asleep next to me (or batting at my floss!), probably a cup of tea as well. We will be chatting as we work on our projects, whether it is sewing or coloring or jewelry making or painting or whatever you want to do.

Our goal is to have two meetings a month, and in January we are thinking about having them on January 11th and January 25th, both starting we think around 1 pm EST in the United States. We do have some bloggers participating from other countries which is very exciting so we are playing with times to make it work. The plan now is 1 pm, but if you are interested in crafting with all of us, send me an email at crackercrumblife@gmail.com so that you are on the list for final details, including the zoom link!

I am super excited! Now, we do want to keep things light, so we will avoid potentially not fun topics like politics (ugh!!) No one needs that during relaxing time if you know what I mean. Lol. I am really looking forward to chatting with everyone and meeting you all virtually – although I should warn you I can be a bit awkward at first. Lol.

Again, I am really looking forward to this, to an hour or two hanging with fellow bloggers, chatting and crafting and talking about books and movies and what we did over the holidays or just whatever!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized45 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! We have had some pretty good days over here lately. I was hoping to go to the Zoo lights tonight but the weather is rainy and cold – I am hoping it stops before evening so we can go!

Read Last Week:

I just finished The Teller of Small Fortunes and it was just so warm and cozy. I love a found family trope, which this book had, and the whole vibe is just feel good. I will definitely be looking for more books by Leong in the future.

Reading This Week:

This week I am reading The Vanishing of Aveline Jones and hopefully A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry.

Posted Last Week:

Christmas Coffee Catch Up

Top Ten Tuesday: Books for a (Snow) Storm

Watching:

We are watching The Great British Bake Off, and also we are starting to watch all of our favorite Christmas movies! Last night we watched a new one though, The Red One starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans and, it was actually pretty good! Sometimes you just need an action movie and this one was really fun. We also watched Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, and I cried a few times out of nostalgia and remembering watching it with my parents when I was little. Tonight we are going for another nostalgic movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas. I am hoping for some snow before we watch A Muppet Christmas Carol, Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, and Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, but you never know! It could be a green Christmas this year.

Speakng of Christmas, Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I have our linky up for Comfy Cozy Christmas! You can find it at the top always, but this is the link! Feel free to post any seasonal fun! We are trying to keep up with commenting on everyone’s posts but y’all are having so much fun and have so many ideas that we are a bit behind! So we apologize if we haven’t gotten to you yet.

And that is it from here today! I hope you are all well, and that no matter what you do today, that you do one thing that makes you smile!