Pages and Patterns

*I received a galley of this book from the publisher, but this review and opinions are entirely my own

The last line of the official synopsis summarizes Britt-Marie Was Here perfectly:

“Zany and full-of-heart, Britt-Marie Was Here is a novel about love and second chances, and about the unexpected friendships we make that teach us who we really are and the things we are capable of doing.”

Britt-Marie is a cleaning machine. She eats dinner at 6pm every evening like a civilized person, believes in only one way to organize a cutlery drawer, and baking soda can solve any problem. She finally walks out of a loveless marriage after 40-years, to end up in a tiny town called Borg, with a population of a few hundred and a rat as a confidant, working at the recreation center as its caretaker. The post is only supposed to last three weeks, but what an eye-opening three weeks.

Borg is full of children who are obsessed with soccer, a subject Britt-Marie’s absolutely loathes, and are in need of a coach. She reluctantly agrees to coach them, and increasingly becomes more vital to the community. She grows attached to these kids and can’t help but begin to become attached to the rest of Borg.

Britt-Marie is haunted by an old news story of a woman who had been dead for weeks before neighbors found her due to the smell, because no one knew her; she does not want to end up like that. This prompts her to seek a job, which lead her to Borg. For the first time in her life, she’s on her own, left to make decisions about her life, her wants, her needs. While she continually wants to go back home, to her previous life, she continues to work with what she has. But mostly, she wants people to know she was here. She does not want to be left for the neighbors to find.

While I’ve heard good things, this was my first book by Fredrik Backman. I truly wasn’t sure what to expect when going into this one, but I’m so, so glad that I gave it a chance! Britt-Marie was hard to like as a person at first, but then I just adored her. And the city of Borg and its people! It’s hard not to fall in love with this one. It will make your heart hurt, but it’s so entirely worth it. I didn’t want to put it down! I laughed out loud, and cried, and couldn’t believe it was over by the end. I will definitely re-read this one and would highly recommend.

So this is my very late February recap! February was hectic for me, was it for you? The weather here in California was all over the place with some weeks in the 70s and some in the 40s-50s. Mother nature can't seem to make up her mind.

Bookish things
I managed to get quite a bit of reading done last month! 11 books total, and managed to review a handful.

1. Queen of Shadows

2. Defy

3. Someday, Someday, Maybe*

4. Rebel Belle*

5. The Enchanted*

6. Washington's Lady

7. Snow Falling on Cedars

8. Catalyst*

9. Shades of Milk and Honey*

10. Queen of Tomorrow

11. Boneshaker*

I think my favorite reads were Queen of Shadows, Rebel Belle, and Queen of Tomorrow. I'm excited to be caught up with Aelin's story, Rebel Belle was a fun quirky read, and Queen of Tomorrow helped get me out of a reading slump. Those marked with an asterisk were audiobooks and are part of my Audiobook 2016 challenge!

I started The Orphan Queen but just couldn't get into it. I managed to get through about 57%, but finally had to set it aside. I'm planning to come back and finish it, but not yet. It has such great reviews, and maybe it's just me, but I really don't think it's living up the all they hype. Maybe when I take a look at it with fresh eyes, it'll be better, no?

I also received my order of Harry Potter and Throne of Glass bookmarks from Magic Bookmarks on Etsy. They had to come all the way from Spain, so shipping too a while, but they were definitely worth the wait. I ordered Harry, Hermione, Ron, Celaena, Dorian, Choal, and threw in Jack Skellington for good measure.

Crafty things

I made some real progress on my Hogwarts crest this month. You can check out my progress updates on instagram too :)

It's definitely been slow going, trying to squeeze in time between work, family, and reading, but I'm getting there. Almost done with page 2 of 12 of the pattern. My Gryffindor Lion is starting to show and the crest has a top! I also bought my first needle minder from Needlegoods on Etsy. When I saw the Claddagh design I knew I had to have it, and I couldn't resist the "I drink and stitch" thread holder.

The thread holder actually started to rub off after about two weeks and the shop owner was so, so nice about it, she replaced my thread holder right away.and even gave me a pair of scissors for free. I've had no issues with the replacement. So not only does she offer cute, affordable items, her customer service is top notch and I would definitely recommend her shop!

Non-bookish or crafty things

My stress fracture was finally healed enough the first weekend of February that I could start running again after being in a boot for 6 weeks. It helped that the weather had been so nice. I used to be able to run almost 7 miles at a time, but having been forced to take so much time off, I'm hitting my wall around 3. It's frustrating, but I'll get back there. Here's a picture of me all sweaty after 3 miles in 61 degrees. It was glorious. Pretty sure I was listening to Boneshaker during that run.

I also discovered my new favorite coffee creamer! This stuff is seriously amazing. No chemicals or artificial sweeteners, just natural cream and salted caramel deliciousness. If they sell this in your area, you should definitely pick some up!