Let's Talk

Let’s Talk | Best Books of 2020

Hello and welcome to a post where I am taking a moment to share some of my favorite reads of 2020. A few days ago I shared a post of the worst books of 2020, Let’s Talk | Worst Books of 2020. I also wanted to highlight a few new favorite books I found and a few new authors where I really loved their work and I look forward to seeing what they do next.


The House in the Cerulean SeaThe House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the setting, the plot, and the relationships within this story. The author did an amazing job in creating distinct and unique characters and giving them such great personalities. I felt like I was reading about actual people and not just characters. I have a feeling that this book is going to be at the top of the list for my favorite reads of 2020.

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The Death of Vivek OjiThe Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A powerful and heart breaking read that I read far too quickly. This is such a talented author, they were able to craft such a wonderfully heart wrenching novel about a family ties and LGBTQ+ treatment. This story from the first page pulled me in and I don’t cry often when I read. but this book had me tearing up. I don’t want to say too much because I feel like this book has a larger impact if you go in knowing less.

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The HungerThe Hunger by Alma Katsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a very intriguing, imaginative and haunting horror. Not only was this horror atmospheric, but it mixed “real world” horror and monster based horror. This mixed with history only made it just seem even more real. The writing was well done, the pacing, characters, and relationships were all done so well. I will be trying more books from this author in the future.

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Mexican GothicMexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is just amazing and I really think it is going to be one of my favorites for this year. It was a wonderfully written horror that had me flipping pages faster than I have in a bit. It reminded me of a few movies and novels, but even with that it was unique and all its own. If you enjoy horror I really think that this is something you might enjoy.

The writing was amazing, the main character was wonderfully written as well as the side characters. Usually side characters are just there, but Moreno-Garcia establishes them so well and they truly are part of the story. On top of the characters the atmosphere was spot on. It reminded me of crimson peak, haunting of hill house, and others. But, like I said, this is truly unique to is all the authors own.

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Before the Coffee Gets ColdBefore the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this and I really want to read more from this author. I really liked how the author mixed the magical with the mundane to create such a heart warming story.

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The LangoliersThe Langoliers by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very imaginative take on a children’s night time scary story come to life mixed with the Bermuda Triangle. It was very interesting to see how King’s characters, who were all there by accident, reacted to the situation. I don’t want to say too much because I feel like if I said anymore I would ruin it, but I will say that you can read this on it’s own or inn the short stoy collection of Four Past Midnight.

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Beach ReadBeach Read by Emily Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! I had a feeling I would because it had a few of my go to keywords, writers and not a great first impression. What really stood out to me about this book was the dynamic the two main characters had. It was fun, light hearted, but also serious. I really loved the style of this book and will read more from her  easily. 

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What was you favorite book of 2020?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Bullet Journal | May 2020

Bullet Journal

Hello and welcome to my May bullet journal post! This is an exciting one, I started a brand new notebook this month so I have more to share than just my monthly spreads. This is going to bit of a long one, so I am going to just get into it!


Items Used

Archer & Olive A5 Garden Sliter Dot Grid notebook

SAKURA Pigma Micron Pen Set  01


So, here is my new bullet journal. This time around I went for basic black and this one has a snake on the cover. One thing I love about these notebooks is the fact they have simple decoration on the cover. To me it gives off a classic and elegant vibe.

The first page of my notebook s always a general dot grid spread. I have used this n my last three bullet journals, it is really helpful when setting up new and old spreads. I always forget how many spaces go across my page and the halfway mark so this is very helpful.

This time around I decided to add a movie tracker. This spread is inspired by cyrus.serendipity14. All I need to do now is to add all the movies I need to watch. On the second page I added a TV tracker.  This tracker is inspired by @birdybujo on Instagram. I like how simple it is, at this point Outlander is the only show added. Also, you will notice I doodled herbs and plants on each page, this will continue throughout. I thought it would be a good way to tie everything together. On these pages I have rosemary and basil.

This time around I am trying to be more away of my spending and ordering online. I have a few goals this year for myself so I want to get everything in order. This wishlist and waiting on is inspired by  bulletjournal.com. Just like the previous pages, I really want to keep everything simple with these spreads because a lot will be added later on. On these pages I added lavender and sage.

Now these two spreads are a little more involved. On the left I am adding a health centered spread to track measurements and weight. This is inspired by @bulletjournalnoob. I need to still add some gray to differentiate the lines, but I am still searching for my gray highlighter. On the right I decided I am going to draw a book for all the books on my owned tbr shelf, this is inspired by @bujoandbee. I added a few plants that are a zz plant, monstera, and thyme.

On the lefthand side I wanted a way to keep track of all of my crochet projects. I decided to make a tag for each one. On each will be the start and end date, pattern, who it is for, and yarn used. On the right I put a monthly spread layout  from emerald lotus divination. I am planning on doing this spread every month so I wanted to keep it on hand to make things a bit easier. On these pages I doodled a string of pearls and oregano. 

This is a bill tracker I used in my previous bullet journal. It is really helpful when you pay your bills you can just mark it and you don’t need to worry if you forgot. I also add what date it is due and what I pay it with. On this page I attempted to draw mint, not sure how I feel about it, but I am still glad I tried.

I have had a tracker for my followers for this blog and my twitter for the past two bullet journals, but I changed the layout this time around, I was inspired by @penspapersplanner. I just do it for every five new followers, nothing fancy. I am not much of a numbers person, but I like marking it. On these spreads I drew chives.

I will be completely honest, I took the easy way out on this spread. I just photo copied  from previous bujo because I loved how well it came out the first time I didn’t want to mess it up.

On the left I migrated by temperature blanket tracker, I have very much behind and I really need to get back to it. Maybe you will see it in my next crochet update, my latest update you can find here: Crochet Talk | April 2020. On the right I photocopied a moon doodle from the book Muse with the Moon by Jo Cauldrick. It is the perfect reference I needed to keep track of the moon and the phases in order. On this page I doodled cilantro.

I love buddy reads and I love keeping track of them. I decided to continue with a buddy reads tracker and I also just migrated my top reads of 2020 spread. I left it blank when I took this picture so you all can be surprised at the end of the year. On this page I added basil.

Now onto the monthly spreads. This spread was taken by @littleolivebujo. I really loved how simple and organized this monthly introduction was. I loved the idea of monthly goals and a place for bigger events and the such. On this page I doodled some thyme.

Now, you mostly likely know I am studying Korean if you have been reading my blog regularly. I ended up taking this study spread from @jeannestudies. On the right I am keeping track to random expenses that come up. I kept these simple because they are going to be very full of information soon enough. I added rosemary and chamomile to these spreads.

My TBR and pages read spread is the one I used last month, just migrated over. I figure if it works, why change it up? On the right is where I am going to take notes and record my monthly spread that I noted earlier. I left a lot of open room so I have a lot of room to reflect and revisit as the month goes on.

This month my weekly spreads are a bit different. I added a few trackers on the sides that include habit, weekly, hours sleep and weather. Unfortunately I pinned this a while ago on Pinterest, but the link is now broken. I don’t remember where it came from so if you know who did this please let me know! I want to give them credit. On this spread I added thyme and dill.


What theme are you using this month?

What do you have planned for May?

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Bullet Journal & Planning

Bullet Journal | January 2020

Bullet JournalHello and welcome to another Bujo setup post! I am very excited to show you this months spreads for two reasons. I have cut a lot of the spreads I normally had and I added a few for the new year. Some of the cuts include my blog planning. I totally removed those pages and I now use a different planner/travelers notebook. As for the other spreads, expect to see a little consolidation and a few new layouts to mark the new year! On to a look into my bullet journal!


Since I am using the same notebook as I transition into the new year I decided to add this artwork from Shayda Campbell. I feel like this really separates and marks the new year and I thought it was important to celebrate it.

This year I wanted to add a little layout that would highlight my favorite book of the month. I thought it would be helpful and fun to reflect upon it at the end of the year. On the other page I have a Read 5, Buy 1 layout for the new year. I am excited to get back to this. But, this time I am making sure I only count books from my own shelves as thee reads, not library books this time around. So, because of this the spread is a little smaller.

This page I added a little doodle and then I also added a page with 12 books to showcase my 2020 Shakespeare Challenge, if you don’t know about it here is the post,  Blogmas | Goals | 2020 Shakespeare Challenge. I wanted to mark the play that is picked each month because it is a year long journey and I would love to see it grow. I also want to add a doodle for each play as I read them.  I thought it would be fun.

I have been working on a temperature blanket since the summer and I wanted to track my progress in my bullet journal. So, I added the month on the top and the day on the side and I am adding a dot for the days I have crocheted. I did not fill it out before taking the picture, but I will admit I am a little behind. On the right I decided to have a meal prep idea bank for when I am stumped on what to make for my meals. These are all ones I love so I will always be happy with any of them.

I picked this up from craftyenginerd, this year I wanted a pysical way to track when bills are paid. I will say I have never paid anything late, but sometimes I pay so early I freaekout and think I didn’t pay. So this will help me not freak out and rush and sign into my accounts. I also want to do a monthly one, I was thinking of adding one inspired by thatbujokid. But, I have not done it yet. I am still up in the air about it.

Here we are getting into the monthly spreads. On the left I have my January dashboard and mini calendar. On the right I added a place to add an affirmation that I can look back on. At the time I did not add one because I wanted to take the time and add a meaningful one. These are both from Shayda Campbell. The one on the right I took her other artwork and used it to complete the spread. I will say this month I didn’t use a ruler and I am kinda feeling the messy lines.

This month I really wanted to continue with the messy lines and the brown paper so I brought it through to me book tracker and to be read. These are spreads I have every month so I won’t go to much into it, but if you want to check out my TBR you can see that here: To Be Read | January 2020.

My weekly layouts are very similar to what they have been the last few months, but I added a tracker into my weekly spreads instead of just its own page. I really wanted to downsize my monthly spreads and get rid of stuff that was fluff and condense everything if I could. This layout has really been working for me and I have loved using it.


QOTD: How to do keep your schedule organized? Do you use a planner, bullet journal, or a monthly calendar? 

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