birthday week goodness
seven on Sunday
Dear Bookish Friend,
It was my birthday this past week which involved some of my favorite things, including a hike and a trip to Starbucks for my free birthday drink.
Today’s list of seven things includes many birthday goodies and other fun stuff as well . . .
01 - a Christina Suzann Nelson bookish week
So, this week I was reading If We Make it Home by Christina Suzann Nelson (unfortunately my library only has the large print edition, not my favorite to read from) and while I was reading it I got her newest book in the mail, can’t wait to read it!
In addition, Echoes from a Missing Generation is on sale right now, today is the last day! This is one of the few books by her I haven’t read yet!
02 - activity books for the summer
I’ve been looking at a few activity type of books for myself and my kids this summer. Probably mostly for a road trip we have planned later in the summer. Here are a few catching my eye:
The Killer isn’t Alice - this one my fifteen-year-old told me about and it sounds SO interesting! You get 18 clues and 46,600 suspects and somehow can find out the killer based on the clues?!?! I don’t quite see how that’s possible but it seems fun to try!
Murdoku - a murder Sudoku puzzle book! This sounds like fun and it looks like Clue.
Murder Among the Stacks - I shared this one in my 40th birthday wishlist, it looks so fun!
Okay, those books are all very similar in vibe, let me know if you have tried any of them or if you are curious about one and maybe I’ll start there.
In a very different vein, I’ve been curious about these dot art books, I think they would be great for me and my five-year-old.
03 - birthday gifts
Are you curious about some of the birthday gifts I got? Either way, I’ll tell you a few. :) Jared got me Considering Sparrows which is written by a guy who is into birds and theology, actually, his blog is Ornitheology (I haven’t actually looked at his site yet, but I love the name!).
I got another bird book from Raeca, this beautiful coffee table style book and Ephraim got me this puzzle which has a scene I would like to jump into.
My family knows me well. <3
I chose the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher (with no caffeine) for my free birthday drink from Starbucks and it was really good!
04 - go-to summer shorts
I recently got these jean shorts that feel like a cheat, they are so comfy they don’t feel like jean shorts at all! I’m either going to be living in them all summer or I’ll buy a few different pairs so I can wash them every now and then, cause I should probably care about hygiene.
05 - re-watchable summer movies
As someone who doesn’t re-read a ton of books and watches very few movies, it may come as a surprise that the few times I watch movies I almost always prefer to re-watch my favorites. Here are a few of my favorites that give me a summer feel that I would love to re-watch this summer:
The Parent Trap - I grew up with the older version but love the Lindsay Lohan version. It’s one of my most quoted movies.
Dora the Explorer - seriously, this live action movie had me laughing out loud, I love how at the beginning they point out how weird Dora’s talking to the camera is, glad we got that out of the way.
It Takes Two - I’m hoping to show this to my five-year-old for the first time this summer, a favorite Mary-Kate and Ashley movie!
I feel like I’m missing a movie or two, what are some of your favorite movies that feel like summer?
06 - no context book quote
I recently read the following quote in a book and it made me want to look for other hilarious book quotes I can share with zero context. Here’s the quote:
And I hope no one ever finds out that I ate a cat, and I liked it.
Haha, it’s not as morbid as it sounds. It’s from this book. I hope to eventually make an Instagram post with random quotes that make no sense out of context.
07 - posts wrap up
A few things I’ve shared around the internet this week:
filling my TBR cart for summer - I’m excited for summer reading more than ever before!
my summer ebook TBR - because I want to make sure to prioritize my ebooks too!
a flip-through of my 2025 pocket journal - dusting off this channel to share some notebook videos this summer.
a wrap-up of our homeschool year - it’s been awhile since I shared a homeschool video and it was good to look back on our year.
What have you been enjoying or been inspired by lately?
Chantel (who wishes she actually could Read All Day)
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That quote about eating a cat is very weird haha.
I grew up with the original Parent Trap and it is one of my all-time favorite movies. I only recently rewatched the Lindsay Lohan version and did enjoy it too (just not as much). I feel appreciative of it and think it is really cute that the villain and the maid in it have been best friends since the making of the film.
We watched the live action Dora movie as a family when it came out, and all cracked up laughing too. It was a fun movie!
The Killer Isn't Alice seems like a fun puzzle book to figure out.
That picture of that dessert. Wow. That looks so good.
Happy birthday! I love the gifts your family gave you. I received two puzzles for my recent birthday, a new edition of Emma for my collection, and I bought myself Murdle and The Calamity Club. I love the full size of those dot art books. I will do them when listening to audiobooks with my kids (currently the Harry Potter series). The minis look cute. It Takes Two and the new Parent Trap were favorites as a child ❤️