Today I made some hawawshi for #FoodAndLit #Egypt

I didn‘t make the bread, we used shop bought pitta.
But these were very tasty! We just had them with some lettuce :)

https://www.egyptianepicurean.com/all/mains/hawawshi

I quite liked this.
It was weird yes. Odd cursing. But there was an interesting back story to the dwarves and humans in this, and “the horrors” were pretty cool.

I would maybe consider reading the next one, as it is part of a series so nothing is really resolved. But I didn‘t like it enough to rush out and buy the next. If I get around to it I will get around to it 🤣

#FairytaleReadingChallenge #JoyousJanuary

Taking a break from my more serious read, with this #FairytaleReadingChallenge #SnowWhite pick

This starts with true loves kiss. But when Snow comes back, she doesn‘t come back right!

Hoping this is a fun fairytale/zombie read ☺️

#JoyousJanuary

My goals for #JoyousJanuary partly is to actually get chance to read 🤣

•Finish No one sleeps in Alexandria
•Read That Risen Snow
•Start Force of Nature

Thanks @ElizaMarie and @IndoorDame for the tag

• The Raging Quiet
• The House in the Cerulean Sea
• Sunshine
• The Hob‘s Bargain

#SundaySoapBox

I have been meaning to read this for a while and I am so glad I finally got around to it!
Sharine really grows in this book and her and Titus make a great couple. And it seems to be setting some background for Illium and Aodhan who are the main characters in the next book :)

#JumpStart2022 #22Booksin22 #ReadYourRoom #SeriesRead #20in4

My January #BookSpinBingo board

#BookSpin - Devolution
#DoubleSpin - Who Fears Death

My final weekly total for #WinterGames2021!

This week was 1809 points

Thanks for the great season @StayCurious

#TeamGameSleighers

I am going to start with just one number for #Roll100 but I have worked out what the second number is incase I have a good reading month 😋

So 24 is Force of Nature (it is a long time since I read the dry but I am looking forward to this one!)
And if I feel super excited 49 is Lady Chatterley‘s Lover.

And the covers almost match the dice! 😋

My Dec #BookSpinBingo card
Close to getting 2 lines but I slowed down at the end of the month! 🤣

12 books read in total. Looking forward to a new year reducing my tbr :)

And finally my #DoubleSpin books 😋

Over half of them read!

These were my #BookSpin books for the year. Didn‘t do too badly with these and I actually enjoyed all of them!

These 3 #TBRCrew challenges had varying degrees of success!

I finished #AmongTheGods and the first half of #4Horsemen and just over half of #PosedByTheBook

I really enjoyed them all, but think I overfaced myself with challenges! 🤣

I read 11 out of 12 picks for #ThatsClassic, skipping Dec as Middlemarch seemed quite long and I wanted to fit in some more Christmassy reads!

I actually enjoyed most of these so would be hard pressed to pick a favourite. I will probably dip in and out of this next year depending on what the picks are and if they are already on my tbr :)

#FairytaleReadingChallenge is another successful 2021 reading challenge! And again I will be joining in the fun for 2022 :)

Favourites were: A Curse so Dark and Lonely, Kitsune, Girl in the Red Hood, and Stolen Kingdom.

I managed to read a book for all 12 countries for #FoodAndLit and look forward to doing this challenge again in 2022 as it has broadened my reading and culinary horizons! 🤣

Favourites were: The Mountains Sing, In Arabian Nights, and When the Elephants Dance.

Some picture spamming now as I round up all my challenges for 2021!

I completed 11 out of 12 books for #ParanormalLoveCrew #PLC

I think my favourite is a toss up between 3: Grave Witch, Anna Dressed in Blood, and Skinwalker 😋

My January #BookSpin #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo picks!

This year I am focusing more on my already owned books and participating in #ReadYourRoom #22in22 #SeriesRead #ChunksterChallenge and #Roll100 too to get that tbr down!

I will also still be doing #PLC #FoodAndLit and #FairytaleReadingChallenge as well as attempting my #OWLs #OrdinaryWizardingLevelsChallenge

Wish me luck 🤣

I have been reading this since January (trying my best to keep up with the calendar!) and it was a really interesting read!

Each month started with some info about the month and a poem, and every day was dedicated to a new and interesting woman. There is also a set of YouTube videos by Sandy Toksvig apparently which I may check out, which was the inspiration for the almanac (voxtox).

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

I enjoyed this #ParanormalLoveCrew December pick!

Years after the rift, where the skies tore and fire breathing dragons arrived in the world, people are living in a fiery wasteland in communities “protected” by militia. Dragons attack regularly, but the militia have heard rumours of a dragon tamed in another fort, and are using female prisoners as bait to try and recreate the taming.
Claudia is found by Kael, a dragon who wants a mate.

#PLC

For this #20in4 #NewYearSpecial I plan to read 20+ chapters.
I want to finish Fire in his Blood (which I have about 20% left of), and squeeze in another Christmas read if possible, before starting on some January reads ☺️

Thanks @bthegood for the tag :)

1) My greatest achievement was getting a promotion (principal scientist) that I interviewed for! My greatest challenge has been just living through another pandemic year.
2) My favourite book was House in the Cerulean Sea. It‘s definitely the one that has stayed with me but I loved a lot of books this year.
3) I hope to travel somewhere in 2022!

@AkashaVampie and @AsYouWish do you want to play?

#WondrousWednesday

Most of these are films/shows I watched last week, the last 2 I watched this evening :)

•The Muppets Christmas Carol (my fave xmas movie)
•Mary Berry‘s Festive Feast
•Christmas at Chatsworth House
•QI Christmas Special
•Home Alone
•Hawkeye Ep 6
•Simpsons Christmas Ep x 4
•Die Hard
•Home Sweet Home Alone
•Home Alone 3
•Die Hard 2
•Ghosts Christmas Special
•Travel Man Christmas Special

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

“When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.”

This was my book for #FoodAndLit #Philippines, set during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines at the end of world war 2, and inspired by the authors fathers stories of the war.

It follows a family and friends living in a basement to avoid the soldiers and links together the stories of a young boy, his older sister, and a guerrilla fighter with folktales.

#WinterGames2021

My week 4 total is 2583 points :)

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

4 war and peas comics for the Christmas season! 🤣

#HolidayLaughs #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

Classic Christmas poem to read on Christmas Eve.
This is my partners dad‘s tree (a real tree not artificial like ours) which is very pretty to read by!

#ChristmasTreeContest #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers #BlackwellsBookshelfReadathon #AVeryMerryBingo #AVeryMerryReadathon #WinterCosy

This was my #BookSpin book for December.

It was a good Christmas romance. Usual premise, but still enjoyable to read as long as you aren‘t looking for anything too deep!
I also found 201 of our wordsearch words in this :)

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers #AVeryMerryBingo #AVeryMerryReadathon #WinterCosy

For #FoodAndLit #Philippines I made some chicken adobo and garlic fried rice for brunch.
It was pretty easy to do and very tasty ☺️

#HolidayLaughs

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

My week 3 points for #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

A slower week for me. The wordsearch isn‘t applicable for my current read, and they were definitely helping me make up some points! 🤣

So I didn‘t quite meet my goals for #DashingDecember as my #FoodAndLit book is taking me quite a while to get through! (7 hrs and 24 minutes so far, its size was deceptive!)

I did however finish The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, The Snow Queen, Disney manga The Nightmare Before Christmas, and am only a few hours from finishing When the Elephants Dance, so I am happy with my progress!

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

Some Christmas related stuff I watched over the last week!

•All 6 episodes of Elves
•Christmas Never Mind the Buzzcocks
•Episode 5 of Hawkeye (before I went to watch Spider-Man: No way home! So so good)
•Last Christmas
•The Polar Express
•The Nightmare before Christmas

And now I am on holiday from work, so hoping to fit in lots of films and reading alongside last minute shopping and present wrapping!

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

I got a new Christmas shirt this year as my #UglyChristmasJumper no longer fits.
I love it so much! 🤣

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

#HolidayLaughs #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

Spotted this on Instagram

Finally took a picture of the Christmas tree!
I might upgrade it next year but it has done us well for a few years now :)

#ChristmasTreeContest #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

Week two totals for #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

I also managed to meet my goals for #AnyWayYouReadathon by getting started on When the Elephants Dance today :) squeezed in just over 3 hours and I‘m maybe 1/5 of the way through? Really enjoying it though! I also finished off The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and The Snow Queen yesterday which were my other goals!

I was a bit confused to start, as I read an ebook and still needed to move the pages left to right, but it read as a traditional manga on the page (right to left). Once I worked it out it was a quick read sticking closely to the story we know and love with some gorgeous illustrations. ☺️

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers #DashingDecember #AnyWayYouReadathon #WinterCosy #AVeryMerryBingo #AVeryMerryReadathon

I chose this retelling as my #FairytaleReadingChallenge for The Snow Queen.

It is a very subtle retelling… and while I am not averse to sex in romance books, in a few of these retellings it seems to be quite sudden plot wise (and I read a lot of paranormal romance, so this is saying something!). This has very little to do with the original tale and overall didn‘t really do it for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

This was my first time reading this and wow! I think this might become an annual read! The narration by Tony Hale was also great. He has such a calm and steady voice :)

This is an origin story for Santa Claus. A man whose only wish is to bring joy to children through his creations. The surroundings were descriptive and there was a whole cast of immortal beings that made this story so interesting!

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

I am a day late for #AnyWayYouReadathon but I am hoping to make up for it with some quality reading time over the weekend!
My goal is to finish my audiobook-The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, and I would like to get a good chunk of the way through When the Elephants Dance.

For #DashingDecember I want to finish When the Elephants Dance, The Snow Queen (by May Sage) and make a start on either my Bookspin or double spin book ☺️

I actually found a Filipino takeaway where I live! And convinced people to try it with me :)

I went for a chicken adobo bao bun, Lumpia (spring rolls), and pancit (noodles) with chicken and prawns.
It was very tasty!

#FoodAndLit #Philippines

#HolidayLaughs #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

I don‘t know why, but this tickled me 😂

I listened to the audio narrated by Stephen Fry as my commute book.

It was cute, and I thought it was a pretty original origin story for Santa! I look forward to seeing what the TV movie is like.

My favourite character was probably the truth pixie that wanted to be good but also really liked to see heads explode 🤣

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers #AVeryMerryBingo #AVeryMerryReadathon #Adventathon #WinterCosy #BlackwellsBookshelfReadathon

My week 1 total is 3191 points :)

#WinterGames #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

Did some #HolidayCraft at work today!
My first time making a wreath so pretty pleased with how it turned out! Although not sure how well I will fair getting it to my car!

#WinterGames #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

#FestivePhotoChallenge #ByCandleLight

This candle is Rosemary and Thyme scented and was a handmade gift we received last year for Christmas :)

#WinterGames #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers

Watched Belle‘s enchanted Christmas yesterday.
One of my favourites :)

#WinterGames #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers