What I’m Loving Lately – November 2016
Happy holiday season everyone! I just adore this time of year with Thanksgiving and Advent and Christmas. Here in Pennsylvania we even had our first snowfall already!! I decorated our entire apartment last weekend and have my car stocked with Christmas CDs : ) My November was filled with wonderful things, so as usual I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer to share my monthly favorites!
TV Shows
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life – Along with the rest of the world, I was eagerly awaiting the release of these four new episodes on November 25. I spent the weekend watching all of them…and I think I set my expectations a bit too high. There were definitely moments I loved, but there were also quite a few that I didn’t. What did everyone else think?? Let me know in the comments!
The Grand Tour – Amazon Prime’s version of Top Gear, the British car show. The three hosts are absolutely hilarious and are really the only reason I watch a show about cars. They’re still going off on ridiculous adventures and coming up with crazy challenges, so I expect this first season will be just as good as the BBC version.
Movies
The Godfather – I finally did it. I watched The Godfather, much to Jay’s delight. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it and am thrilled with the number of TV, movie, and book references to it that I now understand!
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Jay and I saw this in theaters the day before Thanksgiving. Again, I had super high expectations for this and it didn’t quite meet them. The story seemed a bit all over the place? I was hoping for more information about the American wizardry school too. It was definitely fun to see on the big screen though. The beasts they created and how Newt Scamander took care of them was fascinating.
Books
Check out my latest reading update here!
Events/Activities
Disney!! – I spent four days in Disney with my parents, cousin, her husband, and their three boys in early November. It was an absolute blast and I cherished spending that much time with them all. Plus, it’s an entirely different and amazing experience being at Disney with little ones!
Gertrude Hawk Plant Tour – Once a year Gertrude Hawk Chocolates opens their factory in Dunmore, PA to the public. Let me tell ya, this was a massive event!! We arrived at 10am and waited 45 minutes to get in! It was absolutely worth the wait though. Each part of the plant was decorated with a theme and we got a sandwich bag full of free samples : )
Thanksgiving / Black Friday Weekend – This year we spent Thanksgiving with Jay’s family, which was really great since we don’t see them very often. We also went Black Friday shopping and snagged some great deals!
What I’m Loving
Ebates – With all the holiday sales and extra cash back, I’m earning a ton of money from Ebates! It’s super simple to use – you just find a store you like on Ebates, click on the link and you’ll get a % of your total sale back in cash! I opt for a check since I love receiving mail haha.
Influenster – I’m pretty new to this website, but if you sign up and review products you have a chance to win free samples! I received my first box this month which included a full size bottle of Frank’s Hot Sauce, French’s Fried Onions, and coupons for a free regular size Country Crock butter and a Smart Made frozen meal.
Doorstep Desserts – I received my second dessert box from this subscription company in mid-November. I selected a Checkerboard Cake this time and scarfed up every last crumb.
What are you most looking forward to during the holidays?
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I can’t wait to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I guess I should check my expectations though. I just re-watched all the Harry Potter movies with my husband, so I’ll have to remind myself to not hold this movie to an impossibly high standard. I’m going to be way behind on Gilmore Girls because I haven’t watched the entire series yet, but it’s definitely on my list! Also, in reference to the books you’re reading. Paris for One sounds great!! I’m not usually one for short stories, but I think I may like that with limited reading time and other novels I have going on. Thanks for sharing!!
Ha we were just talking about re-watching the first 8 movies! Too funny. I’m a bit jealous that you’re still experiencing Gilmore Girls for the first time. I just finished Paris for One and it was a delightful story. So far the other mini stories included in that collection are decent too. I found it on my library’s ebook website, so maybe they’ll have it at yours too.
I have not heard of Influenster before, but it sounds really cool, I will have to check it out! Thanks for sharing!
Here’s hoping they send some free stuff your way! If you don’t mind posting on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram then it’s definitely worthwhile.
I’m looking forward to more family time during the holidays — dare I hope for a slower pace and quiet evenings with tree lights and scented candles??
Sounds wonderful!! Definitely great things to hope for.
I’m very excited to see Fantastic Beasts. Thanks for the review so I know what to expect. My family and I love to head to Disney each year and you’re right, there’s nothing like experiencing it through kids’ eyes. It’s totally magic! Sounds like your November was full of lots of delightful things!
Hope you enjoy it! I’ve ended up at Disney about once a year for a little while now – it just seems to draw you back in : )
I still haven’t watched The Godfather, so I remain culturally illiterate. Good to hear that you enjoyed it. Maybe one day for me. ha. I’ve been leary of seeing Fantastic Beasts due to my own high expectations too. Maybe I’ll wait for DVD.
It took three full years of prodding by my fiance before I agreed to watch it haha. It was helpful to have someone there who knew what was going on…I ask a lot of questions.
I’m still catching up on the original Gilmore Girls series, so I still have some time before I watch the new series. Glad to know not to get my expectations too high!
Here’ s my own post, if you’d like to check it out: http://newberyandbeyond.com/im-december-small-goals/
Enjoy the rest of the original series! And thanks for sharing your link!