What Ana Does

As in the last few years, I'm always aiming for 100 books (including audiobooks) read each year. I like having a goal to strive for while doing something I enjoy (reading!). And, as my latest post details, I read most nights before bed, and listen to audiobooks during mindless tasks at work or when I'm driving, so the number is achievable with my daily routine.   My 2024 TOTAL books read is ... 104 books and audiobooks! This was the year of cowboy rancher books, more historical romance (some rereads of longtime favorites) and some fun, very-light mysteries. It's hard to pick my favorite by  Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage book, Folk Around and Find Out by Penny Reid and The Riley Thorne Series were standouts with characters I still think about. Honorable mention to Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey and Bride by Ally Hazelwood for being the spiciest but also the most heartstrings-pulling of the group.  Also to note: Not listed in my annual total is my Kindle Reading To...

It's time for the annual book review and tally. Lots of good books enjoyed in 2021, especially during our big move. I certainly benefited from the break from reality each night during the most stressful of times. Here's the list, with my favorites up at the top! Lore by Alexandra Bracken (took a bit to get into this one, but so exciting and engrossing once I got it) Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (finished the series, so amazing) Shipped by Angie Hockman Second First Impression by Sally Thorne Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren People you Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle (unfinished) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (unfinished ... but will pick it up in '22) Bombshell: A Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah MacLean (my favorite romance writer!) The Wisteria Society o...

 This is my last list post of 2020 ... and it's a roundup of the 10 most popular posts on my blog, which got about 10,000 views this year. Not too shabby. Thanks all you guys for visiting!  10. Christmas at My House - from 2013's celebration, everyone around the dining room table, my favorite thing ever.  9 .  Cleaning Up My Morning Routine - I had such a plan together ... then it got BLOWN UP once 2020 really hit. I do still drink my smoothie breakfast.  8. Shopping with Purpose - love a shopping list! And sustainability is one of my pet projects. Maybe it's just the cool photo of my toilet paper?  7. Formal Dress Shopping by Mail - this one had a lot of try-ons, which is odd for me. But I do like the dress I eventually picked.  6. Planning for Summer on the Patio - Midwinter summer daydreaming ... yup, it's all true.  5. Holiday Gift List Round-up 2018 Edition - odd how this one was such a popular post this year. Maybe I need to do a holida...

2020 was certainly a shopping year at our house, mostly thanks to being home and having nowhere to go since March. I had way more time than usual to notice the things around me that were in need of replacement and new things I've long thought about but haven't done much about. Here's my list of favorite purchases of the year: Match PJ Sets!  I've been buying these Dreamy Cotton Pajama Sets from JCrew whenever I got a good coupon code -- I think I now have four, the fifth is a short-set. They are super comfortable, fit great, wash well and make me feel a little more put together at night. A huge glow-up from the mismatched flannel pants and old t-shirts I used to wear to bed.  New Family Room Sofa.  We finally replaced our poop brown sectional (I swear it was a lighter color in the showroom) with a light grey u-shaped couch in the family room we can all sit on. It's done wonders to lighten the room and the fabric has proven to be kid and dog-friendly, too. This is t...

What can you say about 2020 that hasn't already been said? It was NOT a normal year. With mandates to "shelter in place" that cancelled all our travel and weekend plans, you'd think I would have gotten a bit more reading time. But, it was a pretty normal book year. I did break some of my rules about ordering more physical books than usual, thanks to the libraries being closed and wanting to help out a black-owned independent bookstore in Chicago.  I'm starting this year's list with my four favorites. Books I would HIGHLY recommend, if you're looking for something to read. Than, I'll bold other good picks, too, that are in no particular order.  To Note: As usual there's probably 30 or so Kindle romances that I read too quickly and didn't make much of an impression on me or didn't finish all the way, so they're not listed.  Fable: A Novel by Adrienne Young - my favorite book of the year, hands down. Such good world-building, incredible s...

I was talking to my brother-in-law over Christmas and I said "I've read so many books this year, maybe 80?!" And he was shocked. He couldn't imagine it. I was flattered by his amazement but then I kept thinking about the number. That's gotta be too high, right? So I went through my Kindle and Amazon account and tried to remember what I got out of the library. And, yeah, I overestimated by A LOT. Whoops. I blame my lower than average list on my eyes ... especially at night the words tend to jump when I'm reading. I finally got cheaters in August and was able to resume my usual reading rate. I read a lot more romance than usually. Most years it's a close 50-50 split, but there wasn't much new YA I got interested in. Also, I have no time for audiobooks like in past years, so that changes the list, as well. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn -- an old series that I'm now just picking up Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore -- cute!  Fix Her Up...

2020 is that year you never think will arrive. Kinda like 2000 was. It was this far-off signpost and then all of a sudden it's here. 2019 was major.  We moved home from France, sad. We renovated a bunch of rooms -- including our bathroom but also our laundry room and home office. We adopted a puppy and learned that puppies are cute but way too much work. I got to see my entire family TWICE in one year, this is crazy unusual. We vacationed in Hawaii, which has been on our vacation list forever. I went back to full-time work, which I'm pretty jazzed about, too. And a lot of little goals were reached, as well. Looking forward to what we can accomplish in 2020!

Let's look back at the top 10 posts of the year ... 1.  My Paris Purse Predicament - read it here I'm not a fashion blogger by any stretch of the imagination, but my Paris purse "crisis" was one of my most-viewed posts of the year. 2.  The Fox on the Wall - read it here There's something fun about documenting a funny craft project for a post. And this one turned out so cute. Was glad others thought so, too. 3. Cabinets Need Color - read it here Our basement remodel was fun to document, as well. Though the big things happened in 2016, there were still some outstanding projects at the beginning of this year ... and, let's be honest, there's still a little punch list. 4.  What I'm Digging at the End of January - read it here 5. and  the June edition - read it here I like putting together these roundups of my favorite things. They're an easy way to share all the 6.  Packing for 7 Days in London - read it here This post was inspired by P...

It's always fun for me to look back at the posts that got the most views of the year. Here's the 2015 list: 1 -  Throwback Thursday - Paris  (Oct. 15): That fantastic black and white picture Dave took of the three of the lovely ladies in Paris wearing scarves. Oh man, that was a great trip! 2 -  4th Annual NCY Weekend (April 29 ): Chronicled our annual weekend in New York. 3 -  Master Bath Gets Rugs (June 30): I invested in more FLOR carpet tiles and the results are amazing. To this day I still look at the floor in my bathroom and not hate it like I do the rest of the room. Little victories. 4-  My Favorite Mornings (Feb. 28): This was a picture of the coffee table in the living room spread out with all my favorite things and enjoying my Sunday morning of ME time. 5 -  New Kitchen Chairs - Perfecto (Oct. 19): We got new chairs in the kitchen that push in. This doesn't sound like a big deal but I love my kitchen a little more without having cha...