Monthly Intent | October 2022

October 2, 2022October 1, 2022 bookishluna2 Comments

Hello and welcome to another Monthly Intent post where I share my reading plans and other goals I have for the month ahead. We are now officially in fall and I have already had my experiences with chilly mornings. Due to this I am in the mood for horror, knitting sweaters, and other fall activities to keep warm and get in the spirit of the season. Without some more ramblings, here are my plans for the month of October!

Reading Plans

One book I for sure want to read in October is Sundial by Catriona Ward. I am reading this with my friend Reg specifically because it is a creepy psychological horror book and it is finally the spookiest month of the year. I have a feeling it will be the perfect book to read to get in the Halloween spirit this month. Other than that I really would like to read 2 more books, but I am going to leave it up to my mood. I recently took a good look at my owned TBR books, turns out I only have about 7 remaining on my shelf, Owned TBR Shelf. Which is really exciting because I really want to get to a point where I finish a book and then pick up my next book from the library or the store.

Crochet and Knitting Plans

Color work body completed of a knitted sweater hanging on a ladder. Has zig zags near collar and bumps throughout.

Finishing Alpenglow I by Andrea Mowry. I know I really wanted to finish this last month, but turned out I did not have the 9 inch curricular in the correct size to work on the sleeves once I got to to them and was held up a few days. I am not halfway through one sleeve and only have a sleeve and a half to go! After this I would really like to finish my halloween socks, which is a yarn called Zombie Frap by Desert Vista Dye Works and I am using the pattern, Heel Toe Do Si Do by Crazy Sock Lady Designs.

Random Goals

As for random goals, I want enjoy some of this fall weather and activities before it gets too cold outside. I would really love to go apple picking this month, it is something I have been doing for years and it really is a ton of fun and afterwords I get to make apple pie! I would also really love it if I got the chance to carve a pumpkin, but this month my schedule might not allow it. One last thing I would really love to do this month is have a bonfire in the backyard with the chill in the air.

Sign Off 2020 — Sign off, thanks for reading!

Tumblr | Twitter | Goodreads

Monthly Intent

Monthly Intent | November 2021

November 1, 2021October 31, 2021 bookishluna2 Comments

Hello and welcome to a another Monthly Intent post where I am going through my plans and goals for the month in various aspects of my life including; reading, crafting and general adventures! This month I know the weather is really going to be getting cold and I am going to be trying to stay as cozy and warm as I can inside my house. Due to this, some of my ideas of the month are not as adventurous as previous months.

Reading Plans

This month I am thinking I am going to be focusing on nonfiction reads and taking part, kinda sorta, in Nonfiction November. The only offical account I can see for this month long readathon is a twitter account with the name @NonficNovember. Here you can find an accountment video and general information. Generally the goal is to read nonfiction in November. Currently on my shelf I have quite a few nonfiction novels that I am going to allow myself to pick from.

Titian by Ron Chernow
The Unwanted by Michael Dobbs
Sons of Cain by Peter Vronsky
Writing On Stone by Christina Marsden Gillis
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
How to Be a Stoic by Penguin
Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience by Nancy Sherman

Crochet and Knitting Plans

This past month I did a lot of crocheting and making for others trying to get all these presents done with plenty of time incase something comes up. Thankfully, I finished all but one present. The one that remains I just added to my list about a week ago, so there would have been no way to do it sooner. This last and final present is the Avon Throw Blanket by TL Yarn Crafts. I am really excited to make this one honestly because it is chunky yarn, but simple with a little pop. Following that I am going to focus on making my after thought heel socks. I am not really following a pattern for this I am using my own measurements so I have nothing really to share pattern wise. I will say I am inspired by

Random Goals

When it comes to other goals in my life I would really like to go to a yarn shop this month. I have not been to a yarn dedicated store in almost 4 or 5 months and I have a project in mind that I want special yarn for. I am hoping to be able to bring a friend along with me, but we shall see how that goes. Other than that I would love to have a really delicious hot coca when the weather turns colder and snuggle up with a good book.

Tumblr | Twitter | Goodreads

Monthly Intent

Monthly Intent | September 2021

September 2, 2021August 26, 2021 bookishluna8 Comments

Hello and welcome to my monthly intent post for the month of September! It is so strange to think about that fact that we are moving into the last 3rd of 2021 already. I feel like the year has just started, but is also ending so soon. Time, what a weird thing sometimes. Anyway, here are the things I hope to read, do, and maybe even experience over the next month!

Reading Plans

This month I really want to reread The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I am not sure why, but The Hobbit and Lord of the Ring Trilogy just screams fall and early winter to me. I feel like September is the perfect time to start since the weather generally starts to shift a little chillier throughout the month. The second book I really hope to finish would be to finish my current read The Domestic Life of the Jersey Devil: or, BeBop’s Miscellany by Bill Sprouse. Nothing like reading some folklore of your own state! I grew up knowing about the Jersey Devil and such, but I thought this would be a fun look at this cryptid.

Crochet & Knitting Plans

Since I took up knitting socks last month I want to finish the other sock and make it a pair. I also started working on a cowl to use this winter I would love to have completed before it is needed. Other than that I don’t really have any goal projects I feel like I MUST work on. I think I am going to be a mood crocheter when I pick up a new project from my stash.

Random Goals

I think this month I would really love to go apple picking. I am always eating apples year round, but I think it would be really nice to grab a few myself. Other than that I am hoping I am able to relax a bit and maybe get to sit by the fire pit a few more times before it gets too cold at night. I love being outside so much and I really want to milk this weather for as long as I can because once it is cold I am locking myself inside. I do not do well with the cold.

What are you planning on doing this month?

Tumblr | Twitter | Goodreads

Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | November 2020

November 5, 2020November 4, 2020 bookishluna10 Comments

Hello and welcome! Today I am going to be sharing my monthly bullet journal spreads. This month I kept my layouts pretty much the same as previous months, but changed up the theme and colors used.

Supplies

Cabin images from Pixabay: #1 and #2
Tombow #946
Sharpie Pen
A5 Garden Slither Dot Grid Notebook from Olive and Archer
Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller
The Sacred Self-Care Oracle

My first few pages of the month are the introduction pages. I have really liked making these pages to give each month a definitive space. This month I felt like having a fall cabins as my theme so on the left I used a picture from pixabay of a cabin in the middle of the woods and mountains in the distance in the fall, all the trees are either a bright orange or red. I added a piece of ripped tan paper to add some dimension. On the right I I wrote November 2020 in script and highlighted in orange.

The next spread is just of a monthly calendar. I went really simple and plain with this months spread because I knew I would be adding a lot to it as the month progresses. I also highlighted the days of the week at the top of the calendar with the same orange color.

This month I am using a different oracle deck, the card that I pulled for the month was Sync with the moon and I added a quite from the guidebook that says, “I embrace my ebb and flow, my many phases, and the cycle of life. on a piece of brown paper. On the right hand page I added a description of each of the moon phases and when those moon phases are. The dates I added on a pice of brown paper to add some color to this page.

I wanted a page to keep track of my crochet projects I am working on so I just added the word Projects in script on top to fill in later on. On the right hand side I decided to add another picture of a cabin in the woods. This time it is still in the autumn, but this one is on a lake that reflects all the rich colors.

These two spreads I do every month. On the left I have my Month Ahead spread then one half is my tbr and the other is my monthly goals. I did not fill them in before these pictures are taken, but my TBR post is live if you wanted to see it. You can find that here: To Be Read | November 2020, Using a Prompt Generator. On the right hand side I added some shelve under the heading Books Read in script. Here I will place printouts of the books I read this month. I once again used the orange color to highlight the titles and subtitles.

Lastly, we have my weekly spreads, which I only did two weeks of because I am not 100% sure if I am going to be using them or not. But, I wanted to give myself some time to decide. My weekly spreads are the same as the past few months. Monday-Friday have their own boxes on the left side of the page, along with the weekend. On the right hand side of the page is open for me to add notes and memories. I used the orange color to highlight the day of the week and date.

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | September 2020

September 6, 2020August 25, 2020 bookishluna8 Comments

Hello and welcome to my post where I am sharing my bullet journal spreads for September 2020. I don’t know about you, but September has really snuck up on me this year. I feel like it was the first week fo August and then I turned around and it was the last week already! Anyway, the only good news about time flying is creating some new spreads!

Items Used

Alphabet stamps
Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller
Tombow Brush Pen in color #912
Mechanical Pencil
Micron 01 in Black
Royalty Free Stock Photo: Pixabay
A5 Garden Slither Dot Grid Notebook from Olive and Archer
Amenti Oracle by Jennifer Sodini

Here is my dashboard for the month, as you can see by the picture on the right I am already feeling fall. I am not a huge fan of summer and the heat so I am one to always rush it out of the way. I really loved the picture of a walkway at a park with tall fall trees overhanging it and the addition of fog. I want to jump into the picture just like they do in Mary Poppins, I can feel the crisp air already! On the left I decided I would add a little script in the name of the month above the monthly calendar. I highlighted this page as well as all the others with a peachy orange color, Tombow Brush Pen in color #912.

On the left, I really wanted to keep the same month ahead spread I used over the past month. I really liked having a list of my TBR ready for me to work through as well as having a list of personal goals. I find it really motivating and allows me to focus my time instead of just wasting it. On the right I really enjoyed my bookshelf spread where I paste the picture of the books I have read throughout the month. Below you will find a picture from my August BUJO.

Here is my books read bookshelf for the month of August, this is not all the books I have read, but you can see I read You Were Born for This, The Secret River, Fever Dream (my favorite of the month), Smoke and Mirrors, The Comedy of Errors, G’morning, G’Night, After the Quake, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and The Hunger.

On the left you will see my oracle card for the month, this month I picked I spread joy. Which honestly, I love! I will say the image on the card a woman almost in a ballerina post on her toes with a few triangles behind her confuses me, but I am going to explore it more throughout the month. On the right hand side I am going to be doing a self care tracker. I have not really been taking great care of myself so I really want to make sure I leave time to care for myself in a wide range of methods. I put a square for each day of the month and when I do a form of self care I will color it in.

Last, but not last are my weekly spreads. I have been using these weekly spreads where I only put a mini calendar on the left page and leave room for notes and memory notes. On the right I have a rectangle for every day of the week, apart from the weekend, which I combine. This really works well for me because I have room to add appointments and such, but also lists to check off for the day.

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Wrap Up

Wrap Up | September 2019

September 29, 2019September 23, 2019 bookishluna15 Comments

Monthly Wrap Up

Hello and welcome to my monthly wrap up! This month was a bit overwhelming, but I read a lot more than I thought I would be able to read and I even read a few 5 star reads! I still cannot believe we are now officially into fall and within the last three months of 2019. It is time to make sure all of these yearly goals done, but before that I need to share what I have read, on to the books!

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story line was very cute and adorable. I might have audibly said awe a few times while reading this. The illustrations were great, I loved the color choices for the story as well. This was a great start to the autumn seasons.

View all my reviews

The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a brutal one, but it added a lot to the story. I am moving on to the next one right away.

View all my reviews

Night Journey by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am moving on the the next one right away, I need to know how this story ends!

View all my reviews

Coffey on the Mile by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This finally installment really had me feeling for the characters a lot more than I had when I first started reading this serialized novel. It came full circle in a way I did not see coming and had an element I did not see coming either, but a very good choice in my opinion. This was a great story even though I hated a few characters with a passion.

View all my reviews

The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The main reason I personally did not enjoy this was due to the narrator. I could not take more than a half an hour at a time listening to her. I am not really sure what to say, the idea is really interesting, but for me this is a case of a really annoying narrator.

View all my reviews

Middle Mark Books 2

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Tin Man by Sarah Winman My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Coffey’s Hands by Stephen King My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beat the Backlist 2

Current TBR: 30

Backlist TBR: 1

What was your favorite book you read this month?

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Let's Talk

#Blogoween | Character Inspired Costume

October 15, 2018October 13, 2018 bookishlunaLeave a comment

Prompt:

Monday 15th: Shapeshifter
What characters would you like to dress up as at Halloween?

For me I think one of the best book characters to dress up as would be Coraline Jones from Coraline written by Neil Gaiman. The first reason I would say this is because even though this is a kids book, it is creepy and really has halloween vibes to it. I mean other mother and a black cat? The first time I saw other mother illustrated I was spooked and the black cat is just icing on the halloween cake.

The second reason might be very obvious if you look at the picture above. Dressing up as Coraline is a comfortable costume. I can wear jeans and sweaters so I wont be too cold and if it is too cold I can wear a rain jacket as another layer and it wont take away from my costume, it only adds. Also, thanks to Comic and Cosplay you can see there are different outfits you can wear depending on your own personal style. I know I would prefer to wear the blue and white stared sweater and black jeans with blue booties. That is my comfort zone. While someone else would feel better in a red and white stripped shirt and jeans.

I have to admit that Comic and Cosplay did a great job with creating these board and helping others to dress up as this character. They really were able to look at the character at a few points in the story and find real world equivalents for people to wear. I might even use this as my costume this year, time will tell on what I decide to be.

Divider

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

#Blogoween | Book Spine Spells!

October 11, 2018October 8, 2018 bookishluna6 Comments

Prompt:

Thursday 11th: Spell List
We’re all familiar with Book Spine Poetry by now. No? Stack up your books in an order that allow the titles to create a poem. For this prompt we’re using horror or Halloween themed books only to line up and create Book Spine Spells!

Oh goodness, this was a hard one for me. I was never good at poetry. The only time I enjoy writing poetry is when it is blackout poetry. So this one was a prompt I was kind of dreading, but over all it didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would be. So without further delay here is my spooky book spine poetry!

the witches

in the darkest part of the forest

carry on

The wolf wilder

in the days of rain

carry on

from here to eternity

misery

What is your favorite poem or poet?

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

#Blogoween | Local Ghost Demand a Book!

October 10, 2018October 8, 2018 bookishluna2 Comments

Prompt:

Wednesday 10th: Local Ghosties Demand a Book!
Chose a horror, supernatural, scary, or ghost story that you’ve heard and is local to your area/home town, or a personal scary experience. Tells us about this and write a blurb too!

So in the North East there is one ghost story or local myths that I find to be really interesting and have always caught my attention whenever I hear someone talking about it. Which, with the friends I have tends to happen a lot. Ghost stories are one of my favorite things to talk about or watch on TV or YouTube, any recommendations let me know! Here are those two stories.

The Lady in White

This one is a tad bit sad, it starts with a young daughter going missing on the shores of Lake Ontario. This area can get very cold during some times of the year and cold water is never a good thing to jump into. While I am unsure of what time of the year the young girl went missing, but it is said that she went missing in the 1800s. No one knows if she was taken, murdered, or wondered and became lost or fell victim to the water. A lot of the stories I have heard revolve around her running away with a boy and he turns on her or she is taken and murdered. Whatever tragically happened to this girl, we do know that her mother was very, very upset.

The mother never gave up looking for her daughter even when her community slowly gave up, the weather turned worse as the seasons cycled through. As the years passed she was said to continue to walk around the water and the surrounding area of Durand-Eastman Park. She continued to do this until her passing, or did she really stop?

It is said that when you go to this area that you could see a few different things. A women in white walking up and out of the water onto the land searching and looking for those who may have taken her daughter, or the body of her young child. Some of the tales say that she is accompanied by two dogs who help in her search.

legend is one of many similar tales across the country. The story goes that a woman in the 19th Century lost her daughter on the shores of Lake Ontario. She spent the rest of her life looking for her, and continued to haunt the lake after her death, where she is said to appear as a white apparition. But, locals always say she is the most present during the full moon.

What is your favorite local legend or ghost story?

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | October 2018

October 6, 2018October 3, 2018 bookishluna5 Comments

This month I was a bit more relaxed with my spreads and my theme. Normally I pick one and just stick to it, but this time I decided to not be as strict with myself and just doodle what I pleased. I really love how it turned out and I love how effect the spreads are this time around. I did end up leaving off a few spreads that I have been using such as a sleep tracker because I realized that I wasn’t really keeping up with them anymore.

Supplies I Used

Tombow 0912, 992, 098, 977, 993, 946

Pigma Micron 05 & 01

Pentel Mechanical Pencil

Ruler

Stickers from SunShineStickerCo, FourCatStickerCo, and frannielambstickers

My Spreads!

This month I felt like my dashboard should be a doodlefest and I loved very min. of creating this. It was fun to just take some me time and doodle instead of picking just one or two items to focus on. What came out is something I am happy to look at often. It mixes fall and halloween, candy and vegetables, and other seasonal treats.

This is my monthly calendar page, I normally add in my buddy reads, due dates, and other things I need to put into my weekly spreads later in the month. I love the way this spread looks now. I used to jam it into one page and I didn’t really have a ton of space to add things in so I would abandon it. Now that it is larger I use it all the time. Also, I wanted to add that I got the days of the weeks headers from an etsy shop called SunShineStickerCo and the month name stickers are from FourCatStickerCo. I am never good with calligraphy so I wanted to get some stickers to make my bullet journal less messy. So far I am loving them so much.

Here are two spreads which I do every month, monthly overview and to be read. My monthly overview is just the blog posts I plan on writing or I have already written and my TBR is the books I plan on reading, but I also add some books in if I end up starting to read them. At this point you can see I finished reading Salem’s Witch House and I started East of Eden.

Here are my more fun bookish trackers. On the left is a book stack of 12 books where I write in the title of a book and color when I have finished one. I love this visual tracker and I love how it gets more colorful as the month goes on. On the right are the books I am planning on reading or have started to read broken up into chapters. As you can see I finished all of Salem’s Witch House and I read 3 chapters of East of Eden.

I wanted to give you guys a little peak into my weekly spreads, I know you can’t see too much but I am breaking my weeks into 6 sections. Each day of the week has their own devoted box and the weekend has one as well. I have really been loving these for to do lists and appointments. I also like having the stickers for my daily chore there as well. These stickers are from frannielambstickers. These are great as well.

Also, it would not be blogoween without some preplanning for my posts. Because I am writing this much content I am not really posting or coming up with blog post ideas on a whim. So I wrote down a weeks worth of prompts and I am preplanning a bit. Now you may notice that I never posted the prompt for the first, that is because I decided to post my TBR that day.

What theme do you have this month?

Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads