Gretch Runs

Even though it's hard to believe another year is almost over, that means that it's one of my favorite times- lists of the best things of the year! I love hearing what everyone loved, from music to movies to products. It's always so fun to see how these things change each year too. Today I'll be sharing my favorites in a few categories- Entertainment, Books, Food, and Products! Let's get to it. Entertainment - movie : Everything Everywhere All At Once. I saw this on a plane ride, and I already want to re-watch it at home. This is one of the most visually interesting movies that I've ever seen, and even though the story line is really out there I was captivated! I don't think I've ever seen a movie like this, and I want everyone to watch just so I can talk about it. A runner up that I just watched on Netflix is Bullet Train, which was so entertaining and hilarious. Plus- it made me nostalgic for Japan! - tv show : According to my Sling TV roundup, I only w...

Happy December everyone! It definitely doesn't seem like it's that time of year already- and that I'm in my final month of our first full year in North Carolina. One thing that doesn't get old- the weather! It's been so beautiful out lately, so I've been taking advantage by being outside and soaking up as much sun as possible.  This was a really great month- I spent so much time with friends and went on my first camping trip since moving, as well as some Friendsgiving dinners! I also went to my first Hurricanes (hockey) game, and saw one of my favorite groups- Sons of Serendip- in a concert. The highlight, though, would have to be when my sister, nephew, and brother-in-law visited. They stayed with us a few days before Thanksgiving and we had a great time! I finally got to visit the Marbles Museum, and if you have kids you HAVE to visit. Incredible kids museum! We're almost done with annual goals, which is hard to believe, but here is how they went in Novemb...

Good morning! I'm early for once to share my monthly books, and I had some interesting picks. I got out of my usual genre a bit and delved into the world of fantasy which was fun- but also had lots of romance as well. There were some hits and misses, but mostly I'm just excited for December and some more holiday books! Here's what I read this month- Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two. But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken...

In October, I finally made it back to Europe! If you've been a blog reader pre-pandemic you might know that I love to travel and try to go on at least one international trip a year. Unfortunately that streak ended last year (we made it to Mexico in February 2020 so the streak was still alive then) but we're officially back!  This time, we wanted to keep the trip as simple as possible after hearing travel horror stories. We always travel with just carry-on items, but we also wanted to take a direct flight. For us in Raleigh, that led us to Paris, and from there we decided to take a train to Brussels and explore Belgium for a few days. Getting local trains after that was easy, and we stayed in Bruges and Antwerp, with day trips to Ghent, Brussels and Dinant. Here are some highlights from each city! Up next- our visit to Luxembourg. Bruges Hotel : Grand Hotel Casslebergh. This hotel was awesome! The location was central, right beside Burg Square. Our room was in the historic part ...

October was such a fun month! The weather was perfect, and it was great to have a house where we could actually celebrate Halloween. This was my first time decorating my own place for a holiday, and I loved it! We had so many trick or treaters and went to a neighbor's house to pass out candy- it's everything I always wanted in a neighborhood.  For my highlight of the month, it was definitely going to Europe. Dan and I spent a little over a week in Belgium and Luxembourg, with some quick stops in Netherlands, Germany, and France. I'm working on posts of everything we saw and did, but it was SUCH a fun trip and made me realize how much I missed traveling internationally.  Let's talk goals now- it's crazy to think there are only 2 more months left of the year! Here's how my annual goals are going- Spend More Time Outside 1000 Hours Outside  - 869 hours so far. Only 131 more to go! January - 54 total hours February - 52 total hours March - 97 total hours April - 103...

What a great month of reading this was for me! I had so many books that I loved, and absolutely flew through books like I've never done before. In fact- I borrowed 4 books from the library in the week leading up to my vacation and managed to finish them all by the time I left. I'm not typically a fast reader so that was insane for me! I guess there's just something about fall reading that makes it easy to cozy up and fly through some books. Here's what I read this month! (full of mostly treats...not tricks!) Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your seventeen-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed. You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son, he kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in ...