What I got last month
Bought
Boxes
- December “Oh So Regal” FairyLoot
- Flick the Wick “The Life of a Bibliophile” box
Merch
- The Trees Speak Latin zipper pouch by Dorothy Reads
- Nevernight & Manon Blackbeak woodmarks from Ink & Wonder
- Grindelwald tote bag (BST group)
- Deathly Hallows pocket watch, Loot Crate exclusive (BST group)
- Reading in Bed candle from Meraki (now closed), Illumicrate exclusive (BST group)
- Valar Morgulis & Obscurus candles from Reverie Library
- Christmas at Hogwarts candle from Flick the Wick (use JESSI10 to save 10%!)
- Candles from FaerieTales Candles: Hogwarts, Hedwig, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Butterbeer, Caraval, Juliette, Warner, Katniss, & House Targaryen
Books
- Renegades by Marissa Meyer (regretting this purchase now since it came in SLC)
- Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
The ONLY reason I bought these two books was because they were B&N special editions and I thought they were signed -____-
- Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
- Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kari Maniscalco
- Wires & Nerve volume 1
- Scythe by Neal Shusterman
I got all four of these for $12 on Amazon’s major sale!
- Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff, Goldsboro signed special edition w/ blue sprayed edges
Freebies
Rep/promo stuff:
- November “Fight the Power” Shelflove Crate (use my code NOVELH when you subscribe!)
- Postcards from The Twinkle Canvas (I haven’t had a chance to take photos yet but will soon!)
- Nemo Rising by C. Courtney Joyner (thank you Tor!)
- Blackbird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel (Storygram Tour)
Gifted/won:
- Gifted: GORGEOUS galaxy book sleeve, hand made by my bookstabestie Katie (@readerrewind)! THANK YOU KATIE!! (this isn’t pictured sadly, because I’ve been using it so it wasn’t in my pile to unhaul so I forgot to include it. But you can see it in this photo!)
- Won: Occamy Funko, Fantastic Beasts Cinematic Guide, Gryffindor bookmark & necklace – from @allthings_bookish on Insta (thank you Ada!!!)
- The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell – bought with B&N credit & gift card!
December Recap
December posts:
- Review: A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber
- Review: All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater
- My Most Anticipated Releases of 2018
- Books I Didn’t Finish in 2017
- 2017 End of Year Book Survey
What I’ve been up to:
December was literally the worst month of my life. Work was busy for the holidays and extremely stressful, and it seemed like one thing after another went wrong in general. Between stress, lack of sleep, and all the family hardship, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, my grandma went into the hospital. She was refusing her medications and meals, and said she was ready to go and she had lived her life. She wanted us to let her go. (She was 88.) Shortly after going into the hospital, she went into hospice because she was no longer capable of taking care of herself. The day after she went in, so did her brother (my great uncle). A week later, he passed away, and a week following that – two days after Christmas – my grandma went, too. I loved her dearly and I will miss her, but I’m happy she’s finally at peace.
Aaron’s great aunt died as well in the same week’s span.
My mom also went into the hospital the day after Christmas. She’s doing better, but won’t be released in time for my grandma’s funeral (which is her mother). It’s been a really rough time for our family :(
Aaron and I went on “vacation” for the week of Christmas – we were supposed to spend the whole week on the beach in New Smyrna, but because of my mom’s health issues we cancelled. Aaron and I bounced around various hotels all week because we didn’t know what our plans were. After mom went into the hospital we did get to stay a couple of days on the beach, so at least we got some semblance of vacation. Other than that we just did a lot of running around sadly, so it was a stressful vacation.
Things are thankfully calming down now, though! Grandma’s loss hit hard, despite it being expected. But other than that things are mostly going back to normal. I’ve been trying to keep stress levels low and get caught up with everything, as well as set goals for myself for the new year to keep myself motivated. I may do a resolutions post going into more detail, I haven’t decided yet!
What’s in your mailbox, loverlies? Link me up!
Sorry to hear about your grandma and great uncle and Aaron’s great aunt :( I hope your mother gets well soon and can be released from the hospital.
So sorry to hear of your losses last month Jessi! Hopefully the new year will be brighter for you and Aaron! Hope your mom feels better quickly too!
Nice haul though! See lots of shiny new pretties! Hope you enjoy your newest additions!
Here’s my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Oh, Jessi, I’m so sorry about the losses your family has suffered. It is always tough to lose loved ones, but even harder near the holidays. I hope your mother’s health improves. Hugs!
So sorry for all the losses in your family in December.
Okay, I LOVE that Grindelwald bag! So cool!
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