Currently: November 2024
A Heist, A Holiday, & A Hometown Visit
November Recap
It feels like November has gone by incredibly quickly, yet it also feels like the beginning of the month was forever ago!
Earlier in the month, my parents came into town for the weekend so my Dad, brother, and husband could go to a Colts game. It was great weather and such a fun weekend spending time with family.
Then, unexpectedly, we ended up back in my hometown for my great aunt’s celebration of life the next weekend. Her husband and sons did such a wonderful job sharing stories and truly celebrating her life.
While we were there, Jackson and I got to eat at Dos Bros which is high up on the list of things we miss about Tennessee. I also got to catch up with one of my best friends!
Once we got back to Indy, we were greeted by cold, wind, and snow. Yes, snow in November is apparently not that crazy of a thing when you venture out of the south.
In between, there were trips to Barnes to look at books, walks soaking up the last few warm days, errands to buy an actually warm winter coat, and of course Christmas decorations put up.
Now, as we head into Thanksgiving week, I am feeling very grateful.
Check out previous editions of Currently here!
Reading
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid: This book is less so a story about two people falling in love and more so a story about two people falling back in love. It is a story of what happens when love starts to fade. Similar to One True Loves by the same author, I don’t necessarily agree with or love all the choices the characters made in this book. However, I did really enjoy the way the author used their stories, and the other family members’ stories, to display themes of growing up, how people become family, and simply doing the best we can with every situation and role we are given.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - This is a fantasy book that was definitely out of my typical reading realm; however, I really enjoyed it! It is a found family story of six dangerous outcasts who go on this wild adventure to perform an impossible heist. They were constantly getting themselves into situations I was wondering how they were going to get out of. Reading this book felt like a movie!
Books with no spice that I am wanting to read this Christmas season!
Watching
The Holiday - Yes, this movie is almost 20 years old, but I watched it for the first time this weekend! It follows the story of two women who swap houses for 2 weeks during the holidays. I feel like its the perfect movie if you want just a little dash of holiday spirit. If you are one of few people like me who haven’t seen it, I highly recommend!
Listening
The Thanksgiving Song is a must for this week - the way Ben Rector captured a specific feeling in this song is incredible.
I haven’t seen the new Wicked movie yet, but it is on my list to go this week! If you didn’t know, I was a big musical theater kid growing up. I saw Wicked on the stage in middle school with my Mom, and it has been a favorite of mine ever since!
Phil Wickham’s previous acoustic Christmas album has been a favorite of mine the last few years, and this year, he has a new Christmas album out! These both will definitely be on repeat in December.
Thinking
The Power of a Story - I have been thinking about theater and movies and books and TV shows and songs and people sitting around telling stories. I believe God wired the human mind to relate to one another through stories, to make meaning of the world through stories, to learn through stories. Stories have been incredibly captivating to me lately, and I have been thinking a lot about my own stories and stories I might want to tell - whether through music or writing or something else.
Gratitude & Contentment - This is a given because of the holiday we are celebrating this week. But from school to church to home, the idea of being content in this season with what I have and where I am has been popping up a lot. I saw something the other day that said, “your everyday life is someone else’s dream life” and that really stuck with me. I realized my life today is also the life I dreamed about a year ago, my marriage is what I dreamed of five years ago. I am living in answered prayers, and I am so quick to forget. So much of gratitude and contentment is reminding ourselves the things we so quickly forget.
Quote
“Isn’t it nice,” he says, “once you’ve outgrown the ideas of what life should be and you just enjoy what it is?”
- From After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Thanks for reading! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Take care,
Caroline