Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Podcasts, Books and Looks of December

So I know I said I was going to retire the "looks" portion of my monthly recaps but I had some cute'ish looks thanks to holiday parties that I thought I'd share. Here's how the last month of the year shaped up for me.

Podcasts:

Birthful on Gestational Diabetes - This was a timely podcast to drop in December since I just got diagnosed with GD. It was interesting to listen to and I learned some new things. I wasn't too surprised to hear that the registered dietician that was interviewed often tells her client to ignore the GD diet protocol as it's too many carbs for many and results in high blood sugars, but it made me wonder why it's the protocol in the first place if it sets people up for failure? Hmmm.

Books:

December was another strong reading month for me as I read 7 books. My favorite was definitely "We Were the Lucky Ones." I'm a sucker for a great WWII novel and this one did not disappoint. Check it out if you like that genre.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - 4 stars - This is a WWII novel about a family of war refugees in East Prussia that is trying to get on a boat in search for freedom. I liked this book but sometimes got confused by the multiple narrators.

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter - 5 stars - Another WWII novel, this time about a Jewish family in Poland. It's based on the true story of the author's family.

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard - 4 stars - I read this to fulfill my goal of reading 6 books I already owned. It's about 2 girls born on the same day in the same hospital. The story follows how the 2 girls as their lives unfold.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - 4 stars - This book almost made my top 10 list for 2017. It's a great story about a young girl who is the car when her friend is shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. Both are African American. This is a timely read given the high incidence of police violence on people of color.

My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul - 3 stars - I was drawn to check this book out from the library as I listen to the author host the NYT Book Review podcast every week. This book is about "Bob" - the author's book of books where she has kept track of all the books she has read since she was a teenager. It was a fun approach to a memoir.

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor  - 3 stars - I bought this book when I visited my friend Nora in St. Louis as I couldn't resist a book about Paris AND Christmas. It's written in epistolary form as it features letters between a British soldier and a girl back home in Britain during WWI.

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan - 2 stars - I won this in a gift exchange with my college girlfriends. It's a light read set in a coast village in England. I knew it would be a light, breezy read but it was just a little bit too cheesy for me.

Looks:

I went to 2 holiday parties this month and wore dresses to both. I got both dresses from Pinkblush.

This is the dress that I wore to my work party in early December. I don't love the excess fabric around the belly but I know it's needed for when my belly expands and the girls at work said that I looked great, so I will take their word for it!


Later that week, I went to Phil's work holiday party and wore a pink dress. It has short sleeves so a wrap was necessary. I know some women say they are hot all the time when they are pregnant but that has NOT been the case for me.

12 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I really enjoyed Salt to the Sea, but I can see how the changing narrators was confusing! I liked it because I actually did not know the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff, so this was a fun way to learn something new about WWII.

I love your pink dress; it is very festive! I only had one Christmas party this year and I went straight from work so I just wore my work clothes, which is pretty boring! Usually the holidays are my one chance to dress up, but no fun dresses for me this year!

Marlys said...

I love the dresses! I didn't dress up to much this holiday season, except for our Office Party but that is pretty laid back. Now it is so cold that I wear pants whenever I can! I did wear a dress for Christmas Day Mass!

I haven't read much in December, but did start a book this past weekend so hope to get back on track!

Missed seeing you over the weekend - hope you are feeling better!

Carolina John said...

We got dressed up a bit for a holiday party at my workplace. It's nice to get dressed up (and you look fabulous as always), we don't do that very often.

Jeanie said...

Your pink dress is great! And you look so happy -- I know it's been a bit of a road but still smiling! I'll check out some of those books.

Gracie said...

Hot pink is a great color on you! I can't wear it - I look like I'm playing dress-up for some reason. The first two books you read were in my Little Free Library this week, so I took them home (perks of having your own LFL: first dibs!). Glad to see them highly recommended!

San said...

Can you believe, I've never been to a holiday party? My work doesn't do one (government is cheap, they won't pay for anything out of the ordinary!) and since J doesn't work, there is no party to attend there. Bummer, because I'd love to have an opportunity to dress up!
You look great in your dress. Such a flattering dress for a pregnant lady!

P.S. Phew, finally caught up... I am sorry, I always do this batch commenting, but as I mentioned before, I can't really comment from work, because Chrome blocks Blogger and then I often don't turn on the computer when I am home during the week.

Happy New Year, friend!

Stephany said...

You look so adorable in BOTH your Christmas party dresses. I opted out of my work Christmas party because it can just be very depressing to go to them as a single person. And they take so much out of me, since my work goes all out with games and a DJ and an open bar and things get... crazy. I needed a break from it this year!

I have We Were the Lucky Ones marked on my TBR list, so hopefully I'll get around to it soon. It sounds so good!

missris said...

Oh my goodness look how cute y'all are!

Nora said...

Pink is such a great color on you. Love the dress and Phil's hand on your belly. <3

katielookingforward said...

You look beautiful! I am going to have to check out the poland wwii book, that is right up my alley!

Amber said...

I love both of those dresses on you! I think the extra fabric "ruche" look is kind of in right now, even if you aren't pregnant! I hope I get We Were the Lucky Ones from the library in time for our blogger book club! It's coming from another library so taking awhile.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I love that pink dress! You look great!!

I've read a couple books since Christmas, as has Christopher, so we're off to a good start on our goal to read more.