July Favourites

July is over and it's a week till my birthday! I'm so glad that Spring will be here soon. I am tired of blank white skies, wet days and soggy walks with Molly, our pup. But anyhow, these are a few things that I loved about this month!



Books

The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels
This is such a sweet and charming book! You simply must read it! I wrote a review right here.

Brambly Hedge: Summer Story by Jill Barklem
This book and the others are meant for a younger audience but they are so cute and I quite enjoyed reading them before bed. Don't judge me, give them a read!

Music/Podcasts

How Far We've Come by I AM THEY ~ This is a really great positive song. If you need a boost, listen to this. "Look at the mountains we've climbed, Look at how faithful He's been, to deliver us, Look at how far we've come."

Abide with Me by Audrey Assad ~  I love it when modern artists take a dear old hymn and bring to life again. Audrey has a stunning voice that really freshens up this precious hymn.

Do It Again by Elevation Worship ~ This song spoke to me and has become quite personal to as it relates to certain events in my life and so I really like it.

Brand New by Willow City ~ Willow City has become one of my absolute fave artists. Their song Brand New is really cool and motivating. It's the perfect song to play in the car or while you're getting ready.




Movies

Whiskey Galore!

This movie is quite funny and is actually based on a true story. The humor is quite comical. It's like no other wartime movie I have ever seen. Set on a picturesque island in Scotland, the scenery is very appealing. Little stone houses, rowboats, and green hills. I recommend this movie if you want to have a good old giggle.


Signed, Sealed, Delivered: To The Altar

Ahhh! What all the SSD fans have been waiting for! Norman and Rita's wedding AND...another exciting event! I love, love, loved this one so much. They're such a happy, postal family that brings you smiles in every film.



A few extra things...

• Plaiting my hair
• Popcorn & caramel brittle ice cream
• Well-Watered Women
• Love God Greatly app
• Postcards by James Blunt (song) It's just cute and fun!
• Winter Sunshine

xoxo
Hannah

The Adventures of Miss Petitfour Book Review

Every now and then you come across a book that is truly a nugget of gold, such as this one, right here. Books that put a sweet smile of content happiness on your face, books where each sentence is like a little cake (a petitfour), and books that you want to read and re-read and re-read many times because they are so cute and wonderful.
This book is exactly like this and let me tell you why...

Back Cover Synopsis (from the book)

"Miss Petitfour loves baking and making and dancing with her cats, but most of all she loves to fly. All she has to do is pick up a favorite tea-party tablecloth and catch the breeze--and she swooshes off, with her many cats dangling paw-to-tail behind her."

Five utterly captivating stories of gentle adventure, delicious edibles (with cheese for the cats), occasional peril and heart-zinging warmth.

Anne Micheal's lovely writing, she uses words like eccentricity, festooning, and many more delicious words.

The names of all the characters are wonderful and unique. Names like Pleasant Patel, Mr Coneybeare, Mrs Collarwaller, and Mrs Carruther.

Her cats have adorable names too. There's Minky, Misty, Taffy, Purrsia, Pirate, Mustard, Moutarde, Hemdela, Earring, Grigorovitch, Clasby, Captain Captian, Captin Catkin, Captain Clothespin, Your Shyness, and Sizzles.

All the food (cakes and pastries)! Here's an example:

"There was currant toast squishy with butter, caramel-marshmallow squares, strawberry boats oozing custard, chocolate eclairs that exploded with cream when the cats bit into them with their little white teeth and--a special treat for Pleasant--a pie made from thick slices of Bramley apple, with just the right amount of tangy in the tangy-sweet."

The illustrations are simply adorable and enchanting!

Here I am not going to include the 'What I didn't love' section because it is not needed.

Add this book to your Goodreads

Buy this book 

There are 5 little stories in this book: Miss Petitfour and the Rattling Spoon, Miss Petitfour and the Jumble, Miss Petitfour and the Penny Black, Miss Petitfour and the Birthday Cheddar, and Miss Petitfour and the 'Oom'.

Please, please read this charming book and you will not regret it I promise! 

Hannah

xoxo

What My Quiet Time Looks Like // My Quiet Time Series

Welcome to a brand new series here on Joy & Wildflowers called My Quiet Time. In this series, I am going to cover introduction topics such as what my personal Bible reading time looks like, and the benefits of Bible reading with following posts about lessons I learned from my quiet time.
I am so excited about this series because it's something I love with all my heart and I would love to encourage you all too!

I wake up at 7am and get on with my quiet time before the business of the new day begins.

So then I get out my Bible, notebook, pencil case, prayer journal, and my tablet. I used to do Bible on my desk once I was dressed but now in the winter it's too cold(and I'm lazy) and I stay in bed.

Note: Also before I start I am trying to get into the habit of saying a short prayer before I get into the Word.

One
Currently, I am going through the book of Leviticus( I do not recommend this book if you are just starting out in bible reading!) and so I'll read one chapter a day.
I find that one chapter is just the right amount where it's not too little or too much to read. I use a highlighter colour code to highlight and organize my reading.

Two
Journaling/note-taking is next. I read sections of a study guide on Blue Letter Bible. Now with a study guide, I think they can be great. If you find a guide that you trust and use it on the side, they are very helpful. But I would not want to rely on them because when you read your Bible you want to be keeping your eyes open at what you will pick up from the passage. So use a study guide if you want some extra information and want to go deeper, but learn to go without them too.

Three
I might go deeper my searching the definition of certain words. For example, I read Psalm 139:14 once and decided to look up the meanings of fearfully and wonderfully. What I found was this:
Fearfully means- in an anxious manner, apprehensively, extremely
Wonderfully means- in a way that inspires delight or admiration: extremely well
Pretty cool huh?

Four
Lately, I have been finishing by doing 10 minutes of prayer in my prayer journal. I like to write them down because I focus better.
I'll pick one person or a situation and pray specifically for them/it. Ten minutes actually goes by quite fast!

And that's basically what my quiet time looks like. It's not always the same but it generally follows this pattern.

What is your favourite part of your own devotions?

xoxo
Hannah

Bookish Facts

Every reader has their quirks, habits, pet peeves and things they love. So I have compiled a list of my bookish habits or bookish facts about me!

I am not a very fast reader

It usually takes over a week or more for me to finish a book depending on how long it is, how captivating it and how busy I am.

Most of my books are second hand
In other words, I can't afford brand new books all the time. But secondhand books have history and sometimes they are really old.

I read mostly in bed
It's comfy and it makes me tired before I go to sleep. Also, it's practical because during the day there are things to do and I don't have time.

Digital books are not really my thing
Give me a nice smelling, papery feeling, smooth paperback any day!

I have way too many bookmarks and I love magnetic bookmarks
I have made a lot of my own bookmarks and collected a bunch of Book Depository bookmarks. I love magnetic ones because they don't fall out.

I have to start a series with the 1st book
Do I need to explain myself? It's common sense people!

I smell books
They do have a smell. Old books and new books smell different of course! Old books smell of history, musty bookshelves, and nostalgia. New books smell fresh, clean, papery and new.

I hug books
When I love a book, I must hug it.

I judge them by their covers
Sorry, but I do. That just goes to show that covers are extremely important as they are one of the very first things that make you take a second glance.

I don't like dustjackets
They are useless in my opinion. I always take them off. I mean, why wrap a book in a piece of paper that just slips around all the time? Hardbacks are hard enough to hold without dustjackets getting in the way.

I prefer paperbacks but hardbacks can be aesthetic
Paperbacks are more practical but I'll admit that hardbacks do look nice together on a shelf.

I like to match the bookmark to the book
Yep, I do that sometimes.


Do you share any of these opinions and habits?

xoxo
Hannah