Whoa you guys. I’m pretty sure all I did in November was sit on the couch and watch movies. Coincidence that it just happened to be the month when both Disney + and the Netflix holiday movies launched?? Did anyone else spend their month on the couch?? To be fair, we ran a 5k to help make up for all that sitting. I counted that as my exercise for the whole month. Done and done!

I also churned out a ton of blog posts since I was participating in Nonfiction November! This was my first year coming up with content for every prompt and I’m thrilled with all the new books I found to read. 2020 will be the year of nonfiction! Ok, let’s not go crazy, but I do want to fit in more of that genre.

On to my mothly roundup! Head over to See You In A Porridge for more monthly recaps from other bloggers.

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TV Shows / Movies

Holiday in the Wild – Netflix snagging big names for a holiday movie! Rob Lowe and Kristen star in this unique take on a Christmas romance. After an unexpected breakup, Kristin takes the second honeymoon she was supposed to go on with her husband to South Africa. She immediately runs into an arrogant pilot who assumes she’s just another NYC socialite here for a quick trip. However, she realizes she can put her veterinary skills to use when they come across an elephant in trouble. Kristin ends up living and working at the elephant sanctuary for the duration of her stay, but will her growing connection to Africa and the pilot be enough to make her stay forever? I completely fell for this movie since it takes place in Africa and brings attention to the serious issue of poaching. It was a pleasant break from snow filled dramas!

The Knight Before Christmas – Speaking of snow-fill dramas, up next on my Netflix queue was this…ridiculous mess haha. Another star, Vanessa Hudgens, takes the center role as a woman who finds an out of place 14^th century knight wandering around town. She invites him back to her place to stay and acquaints him with the 21^st century. Yes, it really is that far-fetched! Vanessa’s other Netflix special, The Princess Switch, was much better!

Frozen – Obviously we took advantage of Verizon’s offer for 12 months of Disney +!! I’m a huge fan of basically everything on here, so it’s on pretty much constantly at our house. Since Frozen 2 is out in theaters, it felt like the perfect time to rewatch the original.

Toy Story – Another Pixar classic! I still haven’t seen the 4^th movie yet, so I’m going to rewatch the first three and hope it won’t be too long before it gets added to Disney +.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Although there are a number of variations of Winnie the Pooh’s story on Disney +, we started with the original movie from the 1970’s. It’s a charming classic that takes you through various scenes from the books. I think Jay and I enjoyed it much more than we expected to, while Connor mostly ignored it : ) The characters are just so relatable and act like little adults. I get just as distressed as Pooh when my peanut butter jar is empty!

Avengers: Endgame – Since we had a baby right around the time this movie came out, we were the last people on Earth to watch it. I particularly enjoyed the flashbacks through previous movies and was heartbroken by the two major characters deaths. It felt like the perfect way to wrap up these storylines.

Zenon: Girl of the 21^st Century – Anyone who grew up during the 90’s and early 2000’s watched the Disney Channel original movies. Classics like Brink, Johnny Tsunami, Double Teamed, and of course, Zenon! It’s hilarious watching “the future” and what they expected life in space to look like. Plus, it has the catchiest song ever written – Supernova girl! Gotta love space rock!

The Simpsons – Jay discovered this on Disney +, so now we’re watching it. Goodie…

Books

Check out my latest reading roundup of book recommendations here! I’m currently reading:

Events/Activities

Pumpkin Run 5K – In early November, Jay and I ran the Pumpkin Run 5K in Allentown! It was FREEZING. Like, literally 30 degrees outside. Also, I pulled a muscle in my leg a few days before, so I could barely jog. Important PSA – stretch before running in cold weather. Who knew?? Regardless, we had a great time running through the city and were rewarded with apple cider and a mini pumpkin at the finish line! Also, Jay finished 13^th overall. So we were pretty excited about that. I’m done running in the cold, but we’re hoping to do more races together in the spring!

New Sliding Door – On somewhat of a whim, we decided to replace our French doors in our living room with a sliding glass door. Two months ago we purchased the door and it finally got installed last week. It’s amazing how much difference this change made in the amount of light in the room and how much warmer it stays. There was literally a gap in the bottom of our French door that you could see through, soo that wasn’t great during the winter. Connor was fascinated by all the tools and work going on, so we might bring them back each week to keep him entertained 😊

Thanksgiving – Obviously the big holiday this month is worth noting. This year we ate Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt’s house and then stayed with my parents overnight. Although both of them weren’t feeling 100%, we still had a great time visiting.

Black Friday – Our Black Friday typically consists of a bunch of online shopping plus a 10am trip to Best Buy to browse CDs and Blu Rays. This year was no different, although we only ended up with one movie.

 

What I’m Loving

Tailwind – I’ve used Tailwind to schedule my pins on Pinterest for almost a year now and it’s resulted in a 200% increase in my page views each month. I’m thrilled that I finally hit 10k views in November, so I’ll be able to apply for an ad agency to handle my blog ads rather than just using Google Ads. With a new baby and plenty of other commitments, Tailwind made it super easy to keep Pinterest going and drive the vast majority of traffic to my blog! I am definitely renewing again in January for the full year.

Vanilla Caramel Tea – This time of year it’s nice to break away from my traditional Peach Green Tea and warm up with a vanilla caramel flavor. It smells and tastes warm and cozy and helps me forget I’m sitting at work in front of a computer screen!

Aveeno Moisturizing Lotion – This is my go-to lotion to get me through the dry air that plagues our house during winter. I love that it has a very mild scent, so it doesn’t bother me throughout the day. Plus, it’s a reasonable price and doesn’t leave your hands feeling greasy.

Book Outlet – Jay and I made our first purchase from Book Outlet on Black Friday! I was shocked at the prices – all of our books were less than $5 and I bought one for $.69!! They don’t have every book, but it’s fun to browse their selection. Plus it changes all the time so you might find what you’re looking for if you keep checking back!

 

Favorite Blog Posts from November

Historical Fiction / Nonfiction Book Pairs – I found historical fiction books from various time periods in history and paired them with a nonfiction selection. Compare fact with fiction!

What Books to Read and Skip in November – Definite hits and misses last month, so check out which books I recommend reading and which aren’t worth your time.

 

What were your highlights of November?

Here’s what I was loving in October!