Monthly Wrap-Up: November 2022

Hello everybody!

Today, I’m here with a wrap-up for the lovely month of November. Let’s just get right into it!

The Books I Read

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was my first book of the month. I took a bit of time to read it, as with the Lord of the Rings series, but I liked it very much.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson was my second read. This one was amazing! My sister read it before me, and she loved it. I thought she was hyping it up too much, but she was not! I loved the mystery elements a lot, so this one is easily a five-star read for me.

The Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman was my final book of the month. I previously read Doman’s other books in the Fairytale Retold series and loved them, and I liked this one a lot. It might be my favorite of the series, but it’s hard to tell. They are great Catholic fiction. Five stars!

Crochet Projects

This month, my main crochet projects have been little things, such as keychains, hats, and other small projects! I’ve also started on some Christmas gifts! 😁

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Sunflower Crochet Keychain Pattern

A Random Saturday In My Life

I Finished Draft Two of my Novel + New Posting Schedule

What’s Your WIP Writing Tag: Dystopian Novel

Reviewing November’s Goals

Finish the second draft of my dystopian book. (Write 2,000 words a day.) As y’all probably know, if you’ve read my past couple of posts, yes, I did finish it! I’m super happy about that! I wrote every day for the first…maybe half of the month? Then, I took a small break before going back through it for a third time. I’m probably going to put this project aside for a little while, while I take a small break from writing. I’ll also be planning out the second book in this duology soon, too!

Run 10 miles. No, I didn’t get around to this. I think I went on two or three runs. For some reason, I find it harder to run in the cool weather, so getting out there in the winter is a bit of a struggle. I still love running, though! I might go on a run tomorrow, too, and it’s still not the end of November, so…

Go on a walk every day. I did this successfully for about the first half of the month, and then I started missing some days. Overall, though, I think this was pretty successful!

Re-decorate the walls around my bed. Yup! I just took down some pictures and put up new ones, and my sister and I put up some hanging fairy lights!

Start getting up early and make a schedule. Umm…😅 Not really.

Less screen time. I don’t feel like I went on screens any less, but also not really any more than before.

Drink more water. I think so!

Plan and schedule posts for the month in advance. I feel like I wrote more posts in advance this month, which I’m happy about, so yes!

Try out a new bread recipe each week. I did this for the first three weeks, and I made some Italian bread the first week, whole wheat bread the second, and for the third week, I made some French bread! I didn’t make any for the final week with Thanksgiving and all, because I had a lot of baking as it was. I did make rolls for our Thanksgiving dinner so I think that that almost counts.

Goals for December

Go to bed by ten each night.

Bake some Christmas cookies.

Complete my reading goal.

Practice the piano every day and learn some Christmas songs.

Make a Christmas music playlist.

Go thrift shopping.

Get some more yarn.

Decorate for Christmas.

Pictures From my Month

I like how the lighting in this one turned out!

Italian bread! 😋 I didn’t get photos of the other ones, because my siblings devoured them to quickly!

I love this book! It did annoy me not knowing who was who, but it was also great, and I loved finding everything out!

I made some cheesy bread sticks twice this month, and they were amazing! Recipe here. (Definitely recommend!!!)

Reading + rainy days are the best!

Broccoli from our Thanksgiving! It was so good!

And, our pumpkin and cherry pies!

Here’s the cherry pie! My brother made it, and I did the lattice topping. It turned out super yummy.

My dessert plate! I should have also taken a pic of my dinner plate, but everything was too good!

Peppermint mocha. ☕ Yum!

And last, but certainly not least, my sister’s and my book tree! I love how it turned out!

What happened in November?

• November was a pretty good month, but I don’t feel like a lot happened!
• I got sick. Mostly just an annoying cough, though, which wasn’t fun, but not too bad either.
• I mostly got a lot of walks in and wrote a lot, at least in the begining of November. I loved going on a walk, and thinking about the book a lot, then coming back to write.
• We also had a great Thanksgiving, with a lot of yummy food.
• On Friday (Nov 25) we got a Christmas tree! My family always goes and hunts for one, which is actually pretty fun.

That will be all for my November wrap-up!

How was your November? What fun plans do you have for the upcoming month? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all having a good start to your week, and I hope you have a good week until I’m back on Monday!

See you later! Bye!

~ Rebekah

P.S. Please comment with any winter/Christmas related posts you’d like to see on my blog!

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Sunflower Keychain Crochet Pattern

Hello and happy Monday! Welcome to my blog if this is your first time, or welcome back if you’ve been here before! Thanks for checking out this post today. 😃

As you likely read in the title, today, I’m here with a pattern for crochet sunflower keychains! It’s very beginner friendly, so if you’re new to crocheting, you’ll likely still be able to make this! The stitches and techniques I’ll use in this pattern are a magic ring, half double crochet, chains, double crochet, and slip stitches.

Materials

• Worsted weight yarn. I used Peaches & Creme yarn in the colors Gold and Dark Taupe, but you can use any type of yarn that you like, or that you have on hand. You’ll need two colors: yellow and brown. You could also make this pattern, but use different colors to make a different flower.
• You’ll also need a 4 mm crochet hook. I’ve made this using a 3.5 mm hook as well, and this works.
• You’ll need a pair of scissors.
• And, a yarn needle.
• You will need a keychain if you want to make this sunflower into a keychain. If you don’t want to, you can just make the sunflower part, and sew it to a hat or a purse, which I think would look so cute!

Instructions

Start out with your brown ring and make a magic ring.

Into your magic ring, make fourteen half double crochets. It may get a bit tight, but you should be able to fit them all in. When you’ve made all of your fourteen stitches, pull the loose end of your magic ring to close the center. While making a slip stitch in your first half double crochet, change the color to yellow.

Now, we’re going to make the petals! In the first stitch, *chain one, double crochet, chain one.* Slip stitch into the next stitch. Continue the pattern of doing the stitches between * in one stitch, and slip stitching into the next.

Here are two completed petals.

Continue around until you’ve finished your flower with seven petals. Slip stitch into the stitch you began in and fasten off, leaving a long tail. If you don’t have a keychain, and you wish to just use your flower as it is now, weave in the ends, and you’re good to go.

If you have a keychain, stick around.

Take the long tail which you cut, and put it through the last ring on your keychain.

Take the yarn back through the stitch you’re at.

Pull tight. You may repeat this a few times to secure. When you’re done securing the keychain onto your sunflower, weave in all the ends.

And, you’re done! You have a cute sunflower keychain!

This is the end of the pattern! I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for reading! Do you like this pattern? Will you try it out? Tell me how it goes in the comments!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday! I’ll be back on Thursday with another fun post! Bye until then!

Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2022

Hey! How is everyone’s week going? I’m here today with a short recap of October! I hope you enjoy it! 😊

Books I read

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve been working on this series for a while (since last fall, actually) and I’ve finally finished it. It’s an amazing series, and I’d definitely recommend reading it. It is a bit long and hard to get through, but I still think that it’s worth reading. I love it!

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer. This book was very good! I think that it was very sad (I did cry many times). I feel like it doesn’t have much of a story, though. I think that it’s more about the characters: their grief and feelings, but I didn’t really mind that. I’d give it a 4/5 stars! Would y’all like a full book review?

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I was assigned to read this for my school. It was a bit difficult to get through, considering the old way it was written, but I think that the story was pretty interesting. I gave it 4/5 stars!

Crochet projects

This month, I made a whole lot of pumpkins, and fall decor! I also bought some yellow and brown yarn, and I’m working on designing a crochet sunflower keychain pattern to post on this blog! I’m also starting on some Christmas gifts for family! 😁

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

Things I Want To Do This Fall

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys: Book Review

Crochet Projects I’m Working On

The 20 Questions Book Tag

DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!

“Dare to Design” Contest: My Entry

The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} 🍂🍁

A Fall Poem

Reviewing October’s Goals

Write a total of 30,000 words Nope. I didn’t get a lot of writing done this month. I worked a bit on my dystopian book, but not a lot.

Start practicing piano again I did a little bit, but not as much as I would have liked.

Finish The Return of the King book Yep! It was amazing, and I loved it!

Make some fallish posts I did! I posted Things I Want To Do This Fall, DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!, The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} 🍂🍁, and A Fall Poem.

Find a running plan, and start it I found one and started it, but I didn’t like it a lot, so I stopped using it. Then, I tried making one of my own, but I never really started it. I’m going to try to get back to running jin November!

Try out a new recipe I checked this one off, but I don’t remember what I made…

Goals for November

Finish the second draft of my dystopian book. (Write 2,000 words a day.)

Run 10 miles.

Go on a walk every day.

Re-decorate the walls around my bed.

Start getting up early and make a schedule.

Less screen time.

Drink more water.

Plan and schedule posts for the month in advance.

Try out a new bread recipe each week.

Photos from my month

Reading LOTR on the way to the train ride!

It was so lovely there!

I kinda like how this one turned out.

My first knit project: a pumpkin!

More LOTR.

Reading by the lake!

I like how this one focuses on the land in the distance and not the book.

Practicing different stitches while crocheting rectangles for Warm Up America.

I like how my nails turned out!

My cat, Luna! 🥰

Iced coffee!

Iced coffee or hot coffee?

Crochet pumpkins…of course.

Working on my crochet while camping!

And, a blueberry smoothie.

What happened in October?

• I feel like October was quite a busy month!
• We had a few different things at our church, including a church picnic which was really fun, and some things with my youth group.
• I got to go on a train! This was my first time riding on an actual train, and it was so fun. I felt like I was living in the olden days! Plus, it was a very scenic route, and very pretty with all of the leaves changing color.
• My family and I went to the lake a few times, and we went camping. I had a lot of fun!
• I caught my first fish when we went camping! I’ve always thought fishing was boring, but I think that if I can have a good book while I’m doing it, it’s actually quite fun! With lots of my brother’s help (thanks!) I caught two small fish.
• I went to a fun trick-or-treating thing with my siblings and some of our friends. It was fun, except that (for some reason) I chose to wear heels with my outfit, and my feet hurt quite a bit while walking around.
• For Halloween, I dressed up as a person from the 1950’s with my sister! I didn’t really get any photos, though.
• Taylor Swifts new album, Midnights, came out. I’m liking a lot of the songs so far!
• I reached 150 followers! Thank you so much, guys! This is a really big milestone, and I never thought I’d come this far! ❤

Thank you so much for reading! How did your October go? What are some of your plans for November? I’d love to chat with you in the comments! I hope that everyone has a good rest of the week! I’ll be back on Thursday with a new post. Bye for now!

A Fall Poem

Hello everybody! I hope your day is going well so far! 😃

So, I wrote my monthly wrap-up yesterday, and I thought I was supposed to post it today. But, when I looked at my calendar, I’d written that that post would go live on the 31st of October, so I didn’t have a post for today.

No worries, though! I was looking through some old posts from when I first started my blog, and I stumbled upon a fallish poem. And, what better time to re-share it than now, in the middle of autumn?

Just be aware that I wrote this poem when I was about nine, and I don’t know a lot about poem writing, so it’s not the best. But, I do like it, and I thought I’d share it! Enjoy!

Fall Poem by Rebekah

Leaves are falling all around,

Leaves are falling on the ground,

The leaves turn yellow, red, and brown,

As they all tumble down.

The trees are pretty with their colorful leaves,

Such a beautiful picture to receive.

The firs and pines are lovely too,

Next to the maples with their golden hue.

Fall looks like a picture from a book;

It’s so pretty you just have to look.

The most gorgeous time of the year is fall,

When the leaves dance up and down like they’re having a ball.

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How did you like it? How is your fall going so far? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Thank you for reading! I’ll see y’all next week with a monthly wrap-up for October! Bye for now!

~ Rebekah

The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} 🍂🍁

Hello everyone! I hope your Monday is going well! 😀 I’m here today with a brand new blog tag: The Autumn Lover Blog Tag! This is a tag to highlight your favorite things about the beautiful autumn months, and to spread the love of fall! Here it is!

Rules

• Thank and mention whoever tagged you, or whose blog you found this on.
• Mention the creator of this tag – Rebekah @Books and Hooks
• Include these rules in your post.
• Use the tag ‘autumnlovertag’ on your post so I can find and read it.
• Answer the 10 autumn-themed questions.
• Answer the 10 autumn-themed “this or that” questions.
• Make and share an autumn aesthetic or share some fallish photos you’ve taken.
• Share a few things you want to do this fall.
• Nominate a few people, or leave an open nomination.
• Have fun and enjoy the season of autumn!

Autumn Themed Questions

• What is your favorite thing about fall?
• What is your least favorite thing about fall?
• What is your favorite fall scent?
• What is your favorite fall food?
• What is your favorite fall movie/book?
• What is your favorite fall song?
• What is your favorite fall tradition?
• What is your favorite fall activity?
• What is your favorite fall quote?
• What is your favorite fall outfit?

This or That Questions

• Hot cocoa or apple cider?
• Flannel or sweater?
• Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
• Rainy days or sunny days?
• Watch a movie or read a book?
• Sunflower or pumpkin decor?
• Thanksgiving or Halloween?
• Pumpkin patch or apple picking?
• Spooky autumn or cozy autumn?
• Pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon?

My Answers

What is your favorite thing about fall? Why did I include this question!? There are soo many! The cooler weather, cozy sweaters, more baking, the death of annoying bugs, the beautiful autumn leaves…I cannot choose!

What is your least favorite thing about fall? At least this question is a little bit easier to answer than the previous one. 😄 Maybe the fact that it’s getting dark out so early! It’s just six o’clock, and it’s already so dark outside. I guess this isn’t all bad though. When it gets dark early, you can spend a nice cozy evening inside reading. Still, it can be annoying if I’m wanting to do something outside, and I don’t get a chance to do it during the day.

What is your favorite fall scent? I love all of the apple cinnamon-type candles! We have one called “apple cinnamon bun” and it smells so good!

What is your favorite fall food? I like pies, they seem very fallish. Or, basically anything apple cinnamon or pumpkin spice! 🥧🍎

What is your favorite fall movie/book? I don’t know why, but I always think of Little Women as a movie to watch in the fall. I guess it’s not really an autumn movie, but it’s a nice movie to watch on a fall evening, with a nice warm cup of tea, and a crochet project sitting on my lap. As for a book…maybe the LOTR (Lord of the Rings) series! Again, they’re not really “fallish” books, but I sort of think of them in the fall. Maybe because I started the series last autumn, and I just finished it this month.

What’s your favorite fall song? All Too Well (10 minute version, of course) gives me fall vibes! “Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place, and I can picture it after all these days.” Such fallish lyrics. 🍂 Also, the short film is so autumny!

What is your favorite fall tradition? I don’t feel like my family has many traditions, but something we’ve done for the past few years, and which we plan to do this year, is to watch the Lord of the Rings movies on Thanksgiving (or the day before, depending on when we do the most baking.) We just have the movies on while we’re cooking, and it’s really fun.

What is your favorite autumn activity? We don’t do a lot of things in the fall (like apple picking, or going to a pumpkin patch) but I do love baking in the fall! In the summer, it’s kind of annoying baking, because it warms the whole house up, but it’s so nice in the fall when the weather’s starting to cool down!

What is your favorite fall quote? I don’t know who said this; I just saw it and thought it was so nice. “Autumn is the season that teaches us that change can be beautiful.”

What is your favorite fall outfit? I love sweaters and flannels, dresses, skirts, and comfy jeans. I really like the outfit I’m wearing now: a black skirt, an orangish brown sweater (which I borrowed from my sister), and some platform sandals.

My “This or That” Answers

Hot cocoa or apple cider? Hot cocoa usually gives me a stomach ache, so I’d go with apple cider.

Flannel or sweater? I love both, and I’ve been more into flannels this year, but I’d still choose sweaters. They’re so cozy.

Apple pie or pumpkin pie? I like both, but apple is delicious!

Rainy days or sunny days? I think that a mix of both is best, but there’s just something about rainy fall days. 🌧

Watch a movie or read a book? I like movies, but sometimes I find it hard to concentrate on them. That’s why I usually have a crochet project I’m working on while watching anything.

Sunflower or pumpkin decor? Despite all of my crochet pumpkins, sunflowers are still my favorite flower! They are so bright and cheerful looking! Keep an eye out for a crochet sunflower keychain pattern that’ll come out soon! 🌻

Thanksgiving or Halloween? I don’t get the big hype that is associated with Halloween. I think it’s fun and all, but I’d choose Thanksgiving over it. I like the meaning of Thanksgiving, thinking about all of my blessings and the things to be thankful for in my life, and I also like spending time with my family, baking and cooking.

Pumpkin patch or apple picking? I haven’t gone to either, but I think that apple picking sounds really fun!

Spooky autumn or cozy autumn? I just love to curl up with a nice book and some tea, with a fluffy blanket.

Pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon? I feel like in a lot of the “pumpkin spice” recipes, you can’t taste the pumpkin a lot, and it’s more the spices. I love apple cinnamon!

An Aesthetic

Here’s a little aesthetic sort of collage of autumn photos! I used Canva to make it!

Fall To-Do

I already have a post up of my fall to-do list, so if you want to, check that out here! 😃

Nominations

I will nominate…

Maggie

Heidi

Selina

Sateja

…and anyone else who wishes to do this!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post. How’s your fall going? What is your favorite thing about this season? How would you have answered some of the questions? I’d love to chat in the comments!

I hope everyone has a lovely week! I’ll be back on Thursday with a new post! Bye for now!

DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!

Today, I’m here with a fun DIY post! This post is my stop on Pearl’s blog tour! I’m so happy to be participating in this tour, spreading the word about Pearl’s new blog!

Pearl Christine is a Jesus-loving historical and contemporary fiction writer who writes to glorify and serve her King. When she’s not writing, you can find her lost in the woods with her camera, in the middle of another creative project, spending time with her seven siblings, running, or writing and decorating letters. You can find her at her website, pearlchristine.com, where she talks about all things creative.

Pearl’s blog posts consist of various topics related to DIY projects and inspo, photography, and writing; I really enjoy reading all of them!

With all of that being said, let’s dive into the DIY tutorial! 😃

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This project is very fall-ish: cute pumpkins, perfect for decor around the house! And, one of the best things about these pumpkins is that they are customizable! Let’s get into it!

Basics on the pumpkin design

These pumpkins are just made by sewing a rectangular piece of fabric into a cylinder, sewing up one end, stuffing it, and then creating wedges along the pumpkin with your thread on the pumpkin. All you have to do after this is sew/glue the stem on and tie off the thread!

Materials

These pumpkins can be made with a piece of fabric, a crocheted or knitted rectangle, or even a sock. If you’re using fabric, you can make it any size, but just make sure that one side is about 2.5 times as long as the other side. Same with the crochet/knit fabric: one side should be about 2.5 times as long as the shorter side.

You’ll also need a needle and thread (yarn needle and yarn if crocheting the pumpkin.) Stuffing, as well! The last thing you will need is something to use as a stem! I like the look of a crocheted i-cord, but you can also use a twig or cinnamon stick! If you’re going with any of the last two options, though, you’ll need a hot glue gun and hot glue.

Fabric pumpkin

If you love sewing, you’ll probably go with the plain fabric pumpkin! Firstly, cut out a piece of rectangular fabric. It can be any size, just be sure to make one side 2.5 times as long as the other side. It doesn’t have to be exact, but just try to get it pretty close.

Next, take your needle and thread, and (with the right sides of your fabric together) sew up the short sides of the rectangle together, making a cylinder shape. I used a running stitch. Shown in the photo below.

Sorry about the pictures. They’re not the best. I did take them during a rainy and cloudy day, so I understand the lighting’s not the best. Also, I didn’t have any fall themed fabric, so this butterfly one will have to do! 😄

Now, you’ll want to sew up one end of the cylinder, as shown in the below photo. I just used a running stitch, pulling tight to cinch up the end.

Now, turn the fabric right side out. Stuff, and then, sew up the other end, which will be the top of your pumpkin. Now, you’re going to take the needle and thread, and take it down to the bottom, coming back through the pumpkin to the top. This step is a bit difficult to explain, but I hope you understand. You’re creating wedges in your pumpkin, and you can sort of see what I’m talking about in the photo below.

Now, you can sew (or glue) your stem into the pumpkin, tie off your thread, and you’re done! ❤

Crochet pumpkin

Making a crochet pumpkin is fairly simple, basically the same as the fabric pumpkin. First, crochet a rectangular piece of fabric with one side about 2.5 times as long as the other. (Shown below.) You can use any stitch you like, but I would recommend alternating rows of single crochet and back loop single crochet because I like how the ridges look! Make sure it’s a tighter stitch to ensure no stuffing comes through.

Once you’re finished crocheting your rectangle, fasten off your yarn, leaving a long tail. Turn the right sides together, and sew the shorter ends together to make a cylinder. Sew up one end, like you did with the fabric pumpkin. This step is shown in the picture below.

When you’re done, turn the pumpkin right side out, stuff it, then begin to close off the top by weaving the yarn needle in and out of your rows. Photo below.

Now, you are going to make the “wedges” by taking the yarn across the pumpkin, and going horizontally up through the pumpkin, as shown in the photo below.

Add the stem, weave in your yarn’s ends, and you are done with your crochet pumpkin! You could also make a knit pumpkin by following these same instructions!

Sock pumpkin

Last, but not least, is the sock pumpkin! You can follow the same instructions for the other two pumpkins, the only difference being that the fabric is already in a cylindrical shape. Basically, you just get a sock, cut out part of it into a cylinder, and follow the same instructions from the other two pumpkins: sew up one end, turn the pumpkin right side out, stuff it, sew up the other end, make the wedges in the pumpkin, and secure the stem to the pumpkin!

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That’s all for today’s post! I hope you liked it, and please go check out Pearl’s new blog! She’s also currently hosting a giveaway, which will end on the 21st. Go check out this post for more info and details. It looks really fun!

Be sure to go read the post on Rosie’s blog which will go live tomorrow, the next stop on this blog tour! Also, here is the complete schedule for the fun posts ahead!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Pearl’s new blog and these DIY pumpkins in the comments! I hope you all have a blessed week, and I’ll be back on Thursday! ☺

~ Rebekah

Things I Want To Do This Fall

Hello, hello, hello! Happy October, and welcome back to my blog! ☺️

As you read from the title of this post, today I’ll be sharing some things I want to do this fall! It’s going to be sort of like a fall bucket list!

Here we go!

🍂 Drink a pumpkin spice latte

I’ve never had one, because I didn’t used to like coffee, but I’ve been drinking more coffee lately! (Especially iced coffee!) Pumpkin spice lattes sound so good! My mom also said that it’s similar to chai, and I really love that, so I definitely want to try one!

🍂 Thrift some cute fall sweaters, and dresses

Thrift shopping is so fun, and I need some more sweaters and dresses for the cooler weather! Do you guys enjoy thrift shopping?

🍂 Go on a hike

I really enjoy hiking, but I feel like my family is just so busy in the summer, plus it’s very hot! I hope to go on some hikes this autumn.

🍂 Make these pumpkin bars

They look so yummy and fallish! I hope that I can make them sometime soon! I am excited to try a new recipe out!

🍂 Bake some fall themed cupcakes

I used to bake a lot of cupcakes (mostly during the quarantine, I think, because we were stuck at home) but I haven’t made a lot recently. I want to make some fall themed cupcakes, though. I would love it if you guys could give me some ideas of what flavor they should be in the comments!

🍂 Make caramel apples

I love how so many of these are about food! 😄 But, yes, I really want to make caramel apples this year! I’ve wanted to make them for the past year or two, but just never got around to it. Hopefully, I can this year!

🍂 Finish “The Return of the King” by J.R.R. Tolkien

I’ve been working on this series for a long time, and I’m now about halfway through “The Return of the King.” I’m really getting into it, which makes my sister happy, because she is a massive LOTR fan. I think I’ll finish it in October.

🍂 Take some pictures outside

Some beautiful fall photography!! 🍁 The leaves are starting to change colors, and it just looks so lovely.

🍂 Donate to Warm Up America

I heard about their organization a while ago, and I’m always thinking “I should donate some crocheted things sometime” but I never really get around to it. I think that autumn is a good time to donate to them, because winter’s coming up, and people will need warm blankets, hats and scarves for those colder months. Autumn’s also a time I think about all the things I’m grateful for in my life, which leads me to think about those people that don’t have all the things I do.

🍂 Finish a knit project

I actually made a knit pumpkin a few days ago, which I’m really proud of, because it was my first knit project! I want to practice knitting more this fall and winter, and I hope to find and make a cute pattern! Check out this post of BetsyJane’s if you are thinking about learning to knitting!

🍂 Start on Christmas gifts early

I usually crochet a lot of gifts for my family and friends. But, most times, I wait until the last minute, then I’m trying to finish crocheting gifts the night before Christmas. I want to plan my gifts more in advance, and start on them earlier.

🍂 Start a gratitude jar

I think that this sounds like a really nice idea! I feel like, sometimes, we focus too much on all the negativity in life. A gratitude jar sounds like a good idea to think about and acknowledge all of the blessing in my life!

🍂 Post weekly on my other blog

I Have not been very consistent on there, and I’m going to resolve to post once a week!

How’s your autumn going so far? What do you want to do this fall? I’d love to chat in the comments!

That’s it for today’s post! I hope everyone’s having an amazing Monday!

See y’all on Thursday!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2022

Hello and welcome back to my blog, Books and Hooks, where I post a lot about my various hobbies! Today, I’m here with a monthly wrap-up for September. Is it just me, or did this month go by really fast?

Books

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was a re-read for me. It is one of my favorite books, and it’s one of the books that got me into reading! I loved the book just as much this time around as I did all the other times. I just feel like it’s such a well-written and thought-provoking book. Also, are you team Peeta or team Gale? (Really, though, there is only one true answer.)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games series was the second book I finished in September. This series is just the best!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins was the third book I read this month. And, the ending always hits so hard. 😭 I’d you’ve never read this series, definitely do! This whole series, in my opinion, is a five-star read!

Then, I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was an assignment for my English, but I think that it was actually pretty good. It really shows how going too far with science can become a risk. I thought that it was also just pretty sad. I gave it four stars.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys was a great book. I previously read both Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and they were both amazing. So, I had high hopes for The Fountains of Silence. Thankfully, my expectations were not too high! I gave this book five stars! I am working on a full book review for it, so keep an eye out for that!

Crochet projects

This month, I got a good amount of crocheting done! The main projects I’ve been working on have been crocheting these pumpkins! I’ve made about ten by now! XD

Posts

Monthly Wrap-Up: August 2022

Answering Y’all’s Questions

I Need Some Post Ideas!

Crochet Flower Chain: Beginner Pattern

Never Have I Ever: Writer’s Edition

My Favorite Book to Movie Adaptions

Strike-Out Challenge

How to Start Crocheting: A Collab With BetsyJane

Reviewing September’s goals

Write 1,000 words every day. I did not get as much writing done this month as I hoped, so no.

Practice Spanish lessons every day. Yes, I did! 😃

No phone on Mondays and Fridays (except for texting friends and doing Spanish lessons) Uh…no.

Follow schedule. Here’s the thing: I got sick at the beginning of September, so everything with my schedule got kind of messed up. So, I didn’t really do this at the beginning of the month, but during the latter part, I’ve been trying to get into more of a rhythm with school and everything.

Get up early & go to bed early. As I said, my schedules have been weird, so not a lot.

Read five books. Yes, exactly!

Post a crochet pattern. Yes, I did! Click here to see it if you haven’t!

Drink more water. Kind of.

Post twice a week. Yes! I kept up a pretty good posting schedule throughout the month!

Goals for October

Write a total of 30,000 words

Start practicing piano again

Finish The Return of the King book

Make some fallish posts

Find a running plan, and start it

Try out a new recipe

Pictures from September

Crochet 💕

My first knitting project!

Lemon bars!

Lol, I didn’t get the best pics!

Knitting !

Some homemade mac and cheese!!

My sister’s adorable dog, Ava!

Hot cocoa!

We went to a nature place for a field trip for our homeschool group, and learned about pollination and got to see some caterpillars which was really fun!

All of my little pumpkins! (I’ve made more since this photo.) 😄

A close up photo of one of the pumpkins!

I made donuts for breakfast one morning!

Smoothies!! 😋

Crochet flowers! Here’s the pattern!

A post-run shadow photo!

A tiny pumpkin!

I tried out a new bread recipe!

Reading The Hunger Games!

HELLO fall!

What happened in September?

• I feel like September was a pretty chill month.
• I got sick at the beginning of the month, so that was not the funnest, but I’m practically better now!
• We got started with school again. I’m having a lot of fun with my courses this year!
• A lot of things were starting up again, such as our homeschool co op, which has been really fun so far!

Thanks, everyone, for reading! I’ll be back on Monday with a fallish (is that a word?) post! See y’all then!

How was your September? What are your plans for October? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Edit: Guys, after I posted this, I got a notification that this is my 100th post! I can’t believe it!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: August 2022

Hello! Welcome or welcome back to my blog! How are you doing?

Today I’ll be wrapping up my August, considering the month is over. Now is your last chance to ask me any questions on this post, because I’ll post the answers on Monday, probably!

Books

The only book I finished this month was We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. It is the third book in the summer I turned pretty series. Despite my higher ratings for the other two books, I did not enjoy this book. I just found it very annoying, and I didn’t like the ending.

Writing updates

Considering the fact that I was traveling during the first half of the month, and I was in sort of a writing slump, I didn’t get a lot of writing done. I worked on Old Hopes and New Beginnings a bit and picked up the second draft of my dystopian book, and I’ve started writing it again! And…guess what? I’ve come up with (yet another) book idea. Now, I really want to write it, but I have to finish one of my other books first. 😣

Crochet

I have started working on some fall projects!! Yay! I made some decorative pumpkins (here’s my pattern) and some other autumn decor!

Running

Again, I was traveling, so I didn’t run during that time. I did get quite a bit done in the latter part of the month, which was great. I also did a 5k race, which was lots of fun!! My time was a little under 30 minutes, which I think was a pretty good time for me!

Posts

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2022

I didn’t set any August goals, so I’ll just go right into listing my September goals. (I can’t believe it’s September already!!! 😮)

September goals

• Write 1,000 words every day
• Practice Spanish lessons every day
• No phone on Mondays and Fridays (except for texting friends and doing Spanish lessons)
• Follow schedule
• Get up early & go to bed early
• Read five books
• Post a crochet pattern
• Drink more water
• Post twice a week

Important events in August

• As I have mentioned a lot, I was visiting family during the first half of the month, so that was quite fun!
• One weekend, my dad and brothers traveled a bit, so my sisters, my mom, and I had such a fun time! We did some shopping, got snacks, and had chick flick movie nights!
• Our fair happened, which was lots of fun!

My little brother did this puzzle while on our trip, and he wanted me to take a pic!

We got frosties on the way back from our trip! I loved the strawberry kind! It was nice and refreshing for the hot summer day!

Yummy dinner!

Just some flowers! 🌼

You won’t understand how hard I was gripping my phone while taking this photo. 😅

My younger brother found this praying mantis. It was really cool, actually!

Crocheting with lace weight yarn is tedious, but I really love it!

Post run m&m snack!

Going on a walk!

I really like how this photo turned out, with the setting sun!

Foggy morning runs!

I started rereading one of my favorite books, “The Hunger Games!”

Fall projects!

Smoothies!

I love this homemade artisan bread! Recipe here.

Thanks for reading! How was your August? What books did you read? What are your September goals? I’d love to chat in the comments! Everyone take care, and have a good rest of your week and weekend!! Also, please comment if you have any post ideas you’d like to see on my blog!

~ Rebekah

Autumn Aesthetic

I can’t believe it’s getting so chilly out! Fall’s almost gone, and I’m starting to see a lot of Christmas things! I’m sad that fall’s leaving, but I also can’t wait until the winter! Anyways, I made an autumn aesthetic! I absolutely love making aesthetics, and I’m thinking of making a winter one when it’s winter, too!

All the pictures were found on Pixabay! I hope you liked it and have an awesome day!

Edit: I’ll be doing a sort of “About me” post when I reach 30 followers! Just one more to go!!!!!