Rothy's - are they worth the expense?

 What is the big deal about Rothy's?  

Well, in a word, they are awesome!  Let me tell you why:

• Sustainable - they are made out of recycled plastic bottles.  Bonus?  That means, that if you are clumsy like me, the toes don't scuff when you trip - because it's not made out of leather!  
• Easy care - they are machine washable - did you hear that?  No more stinky shoes!  Just take out the insoles, and throw them separately in the washer, and voila!  They come out clean!  Just be sure to air dry them!
• Ethical - they are ethically made in the U.S. 
• Comfortable - Rothy's really are the most comfortable shoes I've worn with NO break-in period or blisters! 
• Long-lasting - I purchased my first pair of Rothy's in April of 2019 (my red pair) and I have worn them a LOT.  Like at LEAST once a week.  And they still look great!  
• A variety of styles - you don't have to love ballet flats to love Rothy's - they have pointed flats, round flats, square toe flats in addition to loafers, sneakers, and boots! 

I now own several pairs of Rothy's - some purchased from the Rothy's website, and some purchased secondhand from Poshmark.  Shopping Poshmark is a way to get a color or design that may be discontinued on the website.  

However, you buy a pair, I highly recommend them!  If you purchase from the Rothy's website, you can get $20 off your first pair!  (In return I also get a $20 credit!). If you find a pair you love on Poshmark, you can register for a Poshmark account with COURTNEYRICOLE and get $10 off your first order.  

Which style would you choose? 

Winter Reading Challenge 2023

 

In 2022, my friend Kacey and I created monthly reading challenges and posted them on instagram.  This year we decided to change things up a bit and do three different 2-month challenges - winter, summer, and fall!  So the winter reading challenge runs all the way through the end of February - plenty of time for you to join us!  Because there are 2 months to complete the challenge, there are 9 prompts instead of 6: 

The rules are simple:  Pick a book that fits the prompt (one book can only be used for one prompt), read it, and that's it!  If you share your reads on Instagram in your posts or stories, be sure to tag us so we can see!  We love to share what people are reading - it gives others great recommendations for the prompts!  

Here is also a template for sharing your reviews of the books you read!  

Happy Reading!  

What prompt would you be most likely to start with? 

Top Books of 2022

(Disclaimer:  I've added links to Amazon in this post and if you purchase through the links I may earn some $ - however, I encourage you to utilize your public library to read!)

 Last year was a pretty phenomenal year of reading for me - I read 119 books - which is far more than I've ever read in a year.  I attribute this to 3 things:  

1. I created monthly reading challenges with my friend Kacey on Instagram and we challenged ourselves and others to read at least 6 books a month with different prompts each month! 
2. I let myself read what I wanted to read - I indulged in all the rom-coms I wanted! It was great!  If it had an illustrated cover with 2 people on the cover, I read it!  I also read all of the Bridgerton books, which were wonderful!
3. I was able to track my reading and my reading challenges in Storygraph.  I like Storygraph MUCH more than Goodreads because there are no ads.  Plus it has some really great charts and graphs of your reading statistics!  If you want to connect on Storygraph my username there is libraryladylife)

So, that being said, I read a lot of good books last year - you can see a quick look at all of my 5 star reads here.  (Disclaimer: I am pretty liberal with the 5 star ratings - I just can't help it!)

I read a ton of books about books, libraries, and bookstores - they were all so good!

I found a ton of new authors to love, including Christina Lauren, Helen Hoang, Talia Hibbert, Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez, and rediscovered Meg Cabot!  

Because of book clubs I read some psychological thrillers and discovered that while very engaging, that is NOT my genre of choice! 

At the end of the year I completed a book bracket of my favorite reads from each month and it ended up that my favorite book of the year was The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms - definitely a great read.  But I wasn't really expecting the bracket to end up the way it did!  

What was your favorite read of 2022?