Southern In Law: Recent Things: Surprises and Sobs

Helloooo sweet friend! Happy Friday!!

This week has been a bit of an odd one as we had a public holiday in the middle of the week and then we had work yesterday and today - and to make it even weirder, poor Jesse is sick so the week has been a little bit crazy.

But it hasn't been all bad! I've got lots to catch you up on, soooooooooooo

Here's what's been happening in our world recently! >>

Recently Thankful For: A beautiful friend (she is one of those friends who feel like sunshine!) who surprised me with a book to read and a beautiful bunch of flowers.

Recently Watching: Avengers Infinity War.

Truth: I've never seen any other Avengers movies.. or, if I have, they haven't been memorable enough for me to remember. I'm not really a Marvel person (but I loved Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy because they're funny) as I don't like actiony movies unless they're funny or they're just a little bit actiony and mostly drama/romance.

The movie was pretty good though - but I didn't love how it all wrapped up.

Recently Loving: This daily devotional. I have way too many devotionals because I switch from year to year/when one ends - but this one is a new one and I LOVE it. And seriously, at $4.99 it's a must buy!

Recently Sobbing: Over A Man Called Ove, the movie version.

I was distraught. SO sad but so so good. My Mum didn't realise what I was watching when she came into the living room and looked at me and said "oh? What's wrong?!" and all I could get out was "He-he-he-he's going to dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

It was the perfect recreation of the book - dare I say it, even better? And it is RARE that I call a movie better than the book.

Recently Listening To: The Armchair Expert Podcast. I usually listen to music in the background whilst working - but this week I noticed The Armchair Expert Podcast on Spotify (yes! They have podcasts too!) and started listening to it and I love it.

Dax is the husband of Kristen Bell and his podcast is literally him interviewing his celebrity friends. I LOVED the episode with Ellen Degeneres - and Kristen's episode was fun too!

Recently Reading: Mixed Blessings and The Half Sister. The Half Sister was SO good - as was Mixed Blessings.

Mixed Blessings is a true story, the story of Deb Lee - a woman who found out she was infertile as a teenager, adopted three of her own children and has spent 30 odd years fostering children in Australia. Some parts of her story I didn't agree with (sometimes she came across as too entitled) but it was a fascinating story and I finished it super fast.

The Half Sister is somewhat of a thriller/murder mysteryish kind of book that sucked me in from the very beginning. Here's the blurb;

When she was sixteen, Diana left her unhappy family and set out to make a new life. Twenty-five years later, she has arrived. Recently married to Edmund, she lives with him at his family’s historic country home.

But when Diana hears that her mother has died, she impulsively asks estranged half-sister Valerie and her nine-year-old son to stay. The night of the funeral, fueled by wine and years of resentment, the sisters argue and a terrible accident occurs. The foundations of a well-ordered life start to crack and the lies begin to surface, one dangerous secret after another. And then there’s the boy, watching, waiting.

The Half Sister is a profound and haunting portrayal of those who are imprisoned by their past and by the struggle to find the words which will release them.

This weekend I'm planning on photographing the book so I can share my review of The Half Sister with you on Instagram - so stay tuned!

Recent Purchases: A new water jug for my desk, a heated throw blanket (because the temperature literally dropped all of 2 degrees and girlfriend had a panic attack that WINTER IS COMING... note; throw blanket is still in original packaging as it's not that cold) and two of these pullovers from Cotton On that are lined with the softest material. SO lush (and so cheap because they're on sale right now).

Recent Posts: This week was a double recipe week! I shared this delicious Gluten Free Salami Frittata Recipe as well as my current obsession; this ANZAC Cookie Bliss Balls Recipe.

But tell me,

How has your week been?

What's the last thing you purchased for yourself?

And what are your weekend plans?

I think our weekend will be pretty low key since Jesse isn't feeling the best - but we'll see!