Adventures of Andrea

This month's theme was 'Epic' and included items from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia. While I love fantasy and fantasy series, this wasn't my favorite box. I don't like always getting small items that I can't do anything with. So that was a bit of a bummer...but here was everything in the box!

The first item, and one that will actually be useful to me, was Game of Thrones coasters. I have no coasters in my room, which usually means my books end up as holders for my drinks. (Oops!) So I was happy to get these. There's four of them, and they have the different Game of Thrones house sigils on them.

There was also a Harry Potter mini mystery funko pop! I love Harry Potter, and I'm never able to find the mini mystery ones anywhere, so I was glad to get this. I got Hagrid, which is perfect, because I also have a mini Fang. :)

Now onto the reason why this wasn't my favorite box. The other items were: the monthly Owlcrate pin (they create a little pin every month for subscribers to collect), another Lord of the Rings pin, a blank Chronicles of Narnia greeting card, and a sticker with a quote from A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Now I like all of these series and books, but it's a lot of little things that I can't really do much with. I've got the growing pin collection thanks to Owlcrate, but I don't really wear pins.

I also don't know what to do with the blank card, especially because it will probably end up getting thrown out if I send it to someone. So with these thoughts in mind and the fact that next month's theme is "classic remix" (which doesn't appeal to me too much, I've read so many retellings lately), I've skipped my renewal for January's Owlcrate.

This doesn't mean I'm done with Owlcrate! I still think they're a great subscription box, but since I was a little disappointed this month and next month doesn't sound amazing to me, I'll probably just get my next box in February.

Did you get this month's Owlcrate? What did you think?

First off, in case you don't know what TBR means, it stands for to be read. I was going to write a post about all the books I read in November, but to be honest, I got too overwhelmed with all the books I still have to read to focus on the ones that I already read!

So I thought I would talk about my current TBR pile, and you could get a peek into what I'm reading and what my reading tastes are like.

Right now I am currently reading two books: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han and This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. I'm not far enough into Jenny Han's book to really give an opinion yet, but I am halfway through This Is Where It Ends, and I'm not enjoying it.

It's a book about a school shooting, and it feels like I'm reading a dramatic soap opera YA book. It just doesn't fit the subject matter, and it doesn't do the victims and the situation justice. We will see how I feel about it when I finish reading it, but so far, I'd only give it 1 star.

My latest pick-ups from the library include The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware and Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. I'm really surprised I haven't read either of these, and I've heard pretty good things about both of them. I'm hoping I like The Woman In Cabin 10, because I always love a good mystery.

Also in my pile are:

• Of Fire And Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. I don't feel too bad about this one yet, because I just got it in my December Owlcrate. Apparently, it's a book about a princess who falls in love with the prince's sister. Can't wait! 
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. My boyfriend got me the illustrated edition of this for our anniversary, and I can't wait to read through it and look at all the amazing illustrations. 
• The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson. I really don't know much about this one, I just found it on Goodreads. 
• Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I've read a few of Shusterman's books, and this one sounds pretty good. It's about a world that has conquered death, so now there are people who become 'scythes' who master the art of taking life. If they fail, they die instead. It sounds like a pretty cool concept!
• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab. The second book in this series, and I can't believe it's taken me so long to get to it. I really like the world in these books, so I'm excited to delve back in.
• Vassa In The Night by Sarah Porter. This was my October Owlcrate...I'm ashamed. 
• Heartless by Marisa Meyer. This was my November Owlcrate. Still ashamed, but not as bad.

So here is my slightly delayed post about the November Owlcrate! The theme for last month's box was Wonderland, and it was themed around Alice in Wonderland. While I'm not a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, this box was probably one of my favorites ever.

First up, is the book itself, Heartless, by Marissa Meyer! Meyer is the author of the Lunar Chronicles which is a really cool futuristic/fairytale crossover that I have read and loved. I haven't started Heartless yet, but I already know that I like the author's writing so I'm excited to start. Heartless is about the Queen of Hearts and her backstory. I'm interested to see the villain's perspective for this!

There were three pretty awesome things in this box (there were more things, but these were my favorites).

The first was a cute Alice in Wonderland bookmark from Authored Adornments. It's a metal bookmark and the quote is imposed on the top of the bookmark. Hard to describe, but it's really cute!

Owlcrate has given a tea box once before and it was amazing, so I'm so happy they decided to give tea again! It's from Riddles Tea Shoppe, and it's called the Wonderland elixir. I still haven't tried it, but it smells amazing and it's supposed to be snowy this weekend, so maybe I'll make a cup.

Lastly, was a special cover of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. They did a special cover for the box, and it is so pretty and purple! I actually have never read Alice in Wonderland, although I've seen the movie, so this read was interesting for me! Definitely made me remember the movie, but it's a crazy read!

Owlcrate continues to be one of my favorite subscription boxes, although my Winter FabFitFun is coming soon, so we will see how I like that one!

The December box theme is "Epic" and apparently will have Harry Potter items, so obviously I signed up for that. :)

It's December! (How...) I cannot believe that 2016 has one month left and then it's on to 2017. I always like December, although I'm not a fan of the short days and less time with the sun! But December means Christmas and fun, wintry things, and I do love that.


What I'm Doing: In recent jobs news, I got a job! I won't say any more than that right now, because it really is very recent news! I'm hoping I enjoy it though! :) 

I've also been trying to keep up with my Christmas shopping since I have lots of little kids to buy for. I think I'm about halfway and it's only December 2nd, so I'm feeling confident.

I'm also excited to get together with my friends to do our annual Secret Santa exchange, to hang out with Nicole and exchange gifts and also to hold a 'Friendsmas' and just catch up with all my friends during the holiday madness.

I'm really glad I've already set aside time this month to hang out with my friends, because I know December can get crazy.

It's also my two-year anniversary with my boyfriend this month so of course, we are exchanging gifts for that and also treating ourselves to a massage! I can't wait! :D


Reading:
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen came out at the end of November, and I'm so excited to finish up this series. The Queen of the Tearling series is a must-read for any fantasy fan, and it's really well-written. The character are not your typical YA characters and it's a great series!

I'm also excited to start Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I got it in the November Owlcrate, and the book tells the story of the Queen of Hearts. It gives more background into her childhood and how she became a villain, and I love stories like that.

I think those are the two books I'm really looking forward to this month, although I'm always reading more. ;)

Watching:
I have gotten to season 2 of Gilmore Girls! It's a slow show for me, as I just can't get that into it. I'm definitely more interested in it now, and I will continue, but I'm not a huge fan like some people I know.

Next, I really would like to watch Veep. Nicole and I are watching it at the same time, and I think December would be a good time to start...I need some positive political show in this crappy political reality.


I hope you all enjoy your December and have a great holiday season! :)