Happy December 15th! Just checking in on everyone. I know there are only 10 days left until Christmas, and shipping deadlines are coming up fast on us all. Do whatever it is you have to do to get those boxes out (or in) in the next few days, and after you’re done with that move onto the next, more local, urgent tasks. My domestic Christmas cards are waiting until next weekend so I can focus on things that will require me to go to the post office or to stores.

And while you’re doing them, our host for today, Constance at Staircase Wit, has a way for you to calm your mind, with some memories from her time at Duke.

See you back here tomorrow.

A new season is coming up on us quickly, and planning the reads to accompany it (particularly one set to be as emotionally and physically dark as the coming one), is a joy. (I wrote “job” there first, which maybe gives you a sense of how tired my brain is.)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl asks a favorite question: What are ten books you’re planning to read this winter?

1. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (How can you not love this title? It’s waiting for me at the library.)
2. One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite (Romance and I are getting along well this year.)
3. Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev (I’ve been wanting to read the second book her Austen re-tellings since it came out back in the spring.)
4. The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson (More romance.)
5. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (People seem to be loving this historical fiction sci fi story)
6. The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde (Karen suggested Fforde’s world was a little too close to our current dysopia, so I put off starting it.)
7. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (A Pride & Prejudice retelling.)
8. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (I’ve been on the holds list for the second in this space trilogy since the library added it.)
9. The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jiminez (On the audiobook holds list after Dad recommended it this summer.)
10. One Life by Megan Rapinhoe (Megan and Sue Bird are my celebrity couple crush.)

How about you? What’s on your winter TBR pile? And while you’re waiting to start your winter reading, why don’t you stop by our Virtual Advent Tour and share in our holiday joy?

Happy Monday! Happy December 14th! Should you be lucky enough to be reading this from South America, Happy Solar Eclipse!

This weekend, the weather was more like October than December, which allowed me to get out and take some photos from the neighborhoods near my apartment. One of the best things about living in a city is getting to peek (literally, but in a non-pervy way) into people’s lives. I can see who has tons of artwork on their walls and who has built-in bookshelves. Who leans classic in their decorating style and who is more whimsical. Who uses their yard or balcony. Who has put up holiday decorations, and how extensive they are.

Since I am your host again today, I thought I’d share with you how one house in particular has decorated for the holidays. First, a little scene-setting. Dupont Circle has, historically, been a gay-friendly neighborhood. In the two decades we’ve lived here, it’s gotten more upscale, which means that some of its … campier … aspects have gone away outside of Pride Month. But not all, as these pictures of one house will show. (more…)

Happy third Sunday of Advent! I will be honest: Gaudete Sunday is the only one of the four I routinely remember, because it’s, to my knowledge, the only one with a carol specifically associated with it. For a song that charted in the U.K., there are surprisingly few versions of it. But I found this fun version of four Greek teens singing it in a stairwell:

Now, off on the tour! Jo Kay of Beyond Strange New Words has today’s post, featuring another event from the Christian calendar.

See you back here bright and early tomorrow!

For those who have been keeping track, Rudi will be home from Salt Lake next Friday, marking 10 full weeks he’ll have been away. We’ll both have to quarantine once he gets home, so whatever shopping and shipping I need to do prior to Christmas needs to be done in the next week, because there’s no being around people after that. But even with all that, Corey and I are going to be so glad to have him home.

Today marks the halfway mark of the Virtual Advent Tour. I hope you’re enjoying it, whether you’re sharing a post of your own or just taking in all the excitement. I definitely have been. As one final piece of housekeeping, I have four unclaimed dates for the second half of the tour (14, 18, 21, and 22), if anyone was thinking they wanted to share one more post. If not, that’s a completely manageable number for Rudi and me to polish off. (Rudi’s already informed me he has one more draft ready to go.)

I really think you’re all going to enjoy the post behind today’s door. It comes from kathy b at Compassionknit and it has to do with Christmas picture books. I suspect you will have opinions.

See you back here tomorrow!

Hi there! I don’t want to cause anyone panic, but did you know that Christmas is in two weeks? Take a deep breath, pour yourself a cup of cocoa, and re-evaluate your to-do list this weekend. Mailing deadlines are coming up fast for getting gifts elsewhere, which means those of us making things should probably clear most of this weekend’s schedule and get ourselves in a good rhythm. And those of us who aren’t might want to get some wrapping or card writing checked off.

Lucky for us, Bridget at The Ravell’d Sleave has us covered. Behind door #11 on the Virtual Advent Tour, you’ll find a post with some of the lesser-recalled Christmas specials she and The Tim like to watch each year.

See you back here tomorrow!