For Mother’s Day Haley and Ani came over and watched the kids while Jamie and I went to eat at Wild, an Asian Barbecue and Hot Pot.
The food was so good and it was really fun cooking it in the little barbecue pit in the middle of our table. The food was so good, too!
Saturday night my mom, Ani, Haley, and I went to see Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. It was so good! They were pretty faithful to the book and the casting was excellent. The little girl who played Margaret was absolutely perfect. Definitely recommend this movie!
Last month I took my oldest two girls to the Sabrina Carpenter concert. I got the tickets for their birthdays (which were in February). I decided to get us the VIP sound check package mainly because I wanted them. I’m so glad I did. Sabrina sang two songs during the sound check and talked quite a bit which was quite fun.
After getting into place just a few rows back from the stage at 6:30, the opening act, Spill Tab, came out at 8 and performed for a half hour.
And then at 9 Sabrina began performing. She sang for an hour and a half straight. It was amazing. She is amazing. She was amazing the first time Ani and I saw her in 2016 when she was just 17. She’s even more amazing now at 23.
She performed most of the songs on Emails I Can’t Send and a handful of others. It was hot (outdoor venue at the end of March in south Texas) and we were packed in tight, but we screamed and sang and danced and had a wonderful time. Our feet were dying after four hours of standing on them but it was totally worth it. I will go see Sabrina Carpenter every time she performs in San Antonio. I just love her.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Adrian, Nicholas, and Noah took lunches to school and Fritz, Adrian, and Noah took snacks. On Thursday Mayci and Anthony also wanted to take their lunches. On Friday Zeke, Mayci, and Anthony went to a one day camp at iCode since they were off school for Good Friday. Their camps was taught by Ani and so I made lunch and two snacks for each of them (including Ani).
Last month’s Owlcrate box included this really neat apothecary type glass water bottle with a glass straw. Ani took that home with her.
There was a pair of library themed socks (Ani took them), an eternal pencil (I kept it and Mayci quite enjoys doing her homework with it), and a book sleeve (I kept that as well).
I added this beautiful hinged purple pin to my Owlcrate pin collection. The hinged pins this year are really heavy, but they are way cool.
The book was quite different last month. It’s Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz and it sounds fantastic. It’s a hardback book and the picture above shows what’s embossed directly on the covers (the page edges are gold to match). The weird thing? No dust jacket. The feel of the book cover in my hands is a little gross. It’s kind of a rubberized feel so it’ll take a bit of getting used to when I hold it to read it. Otherwise I think I like the no dust jacket thing given how gorgeous the embossing on the cover is.
For Valentine’s Day Ani and Haley got me a little stuffed capybara (I love capybaras so much). Joel has claimed it and calls it his MommyBara.
As always the Owlcrate box last month was full of amazing stuff. The book sounds like it’ll be excellent. I’m not always excited about the books they send but this one I definitely am.
There was a Dark Academia throw that now belongs to Ani. That’s one of her favorite genres.
I added another pin to my collection. Once again it’s hinged so I guess that is how they will all be this year (very cool).
There was a letter opener (that Ani took home) and a set of three magnetic bookmarks. They work great to mark my page.
This book cover for a journal is absolutely gorgeous. I held my breath opening it to see whether the pages were lined, blank, or dotted. I was thrilled that they are dotted since that’s what I use for my bullet journals. So I guess now I have my next bullet journal ready and waiting.
The dust jacket for last month’s book, Revelle by Lyssa Mia Smith, is just beautiful. The dust jackets are always beautiful, but this one is a standout.
The endpapers are equally gorgeous and as always the inside of the dust jacket is incredible. The foil stamping on the covers of the book itself is amazing.
Once again the letter from the author was bound right into the book so I guess they’ll be doing that all the time now. I am definitely a fan of that change.
January’s Owlcrate box was another great one. It came with a very heavy and nice drink cup (Ani took that home), a really, really nice totebag (I kept it), and a super nice measuring tape that winds itself back up when you squeeze it (I kept that one as well).
The pin this month is absolutely amazing. It’s hinged and opens like a book and is really heavy. It’s just so incredibly cool!
There was this light up thing that has a USB plug and a button on the cord. Clicking the button turns on a light in the base. It came with two clear inserts. One has a design in white and the other is completely clear. You can write on it with the included white dry erase marker. The light makes anything white glow yellow. It’s super cool. (Ani took that home to go on her desk and enjoy while she is working.)
The book is The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan which is the first in a planned trilogy. Based on the blurb it sounds like it’ll be a great one.
They really outdid themselves with the outside and inside of the covers are and the inside of the dust jacket. So, so beautiful. This month they printed the letter from the author right inside the front of the book. I hope they continue doing that because they always get lost and it would be nice to have the author’s thoughts to read anytime the book is picked up.
Ani, the one that started us off on this family of perfect chaos, is 23 today!
I got five regular Owlcrate boxes during the Black Friday sale. Some of the bookish loot ended up as stocking stuffers and two whole boxes were for Ani for Christmas. The rest is for me. I love Owlcrate. The stuff in the boxes is always amazing and the books are good, too.
Potions & Poisons (July 2021)
This is one of the boxes for Ani.
Go Your Own Way (June 2021)
Beneath the Waves (December 2021)
This is the other box for Ani.
Dreaming in the Dark (November 2021)
Wield Your Blade (October 2021)
Smaller on the Outside 