Five Favorites for Friday Five...

Every few days, I see someone post a countdown for Christmas and panic a little bit. 
Note...if you need to know the number...It's 46 days until Christmas!?!?
So, if you're like me, this post is part these are just some of my favorite things, but also a bit of hey, these might be fun gifts for the right person on your shopping list.
Either way, maybe you'll see something fun on my Friday Five for today.
SweetMint Handmade Mugs...Anyone that has followed along my instagram feed knows I'm a sucker for a good coffee mug (I try to post my current one with the book I'm reading every day). my IG link... https://www.instagram.com/christisnowauthor/
I recently discovered a fantastic mug company that I'm in love with! SweetMint Handmade
Here is the photo of my current SMH stash...
My personal favorite is the It's Too Peoplely Outside mug. (so perfect for me...yes, introvert here)
Selling points to these mugs:1. They're printed on both sides (love that)2. They don't fade after going through the dishwasher
Gift Cards...Growing up, my favorite gifts were books. Well, I have no idea what books my nieces have, so a long time ago, I began a tradition of giving them Barnes and Noble gift cards (Amazon for the one who doesn't have a local B&N like us...sigh).
I love giving these because my nieces are readers, so I know they look forward to them and the shopping trip that follows. I HIGHLY recommend book store gift cards for the coming holiday season. 

Mini Books...One thing about being a well-known bibliophile is that people share really cool finds with me. This next item is one of those. I had a friend post this article from the Washington Post about this new style of mini-books. 
I LOVE ALL BOOKS, but especially TINY BOOKS. 
So, I had to order them! OMG, I'm totally in love with this format... Literally, these books will fit into the back pocket of your jeans. They're actually about an inch smaller than my cell phone, but the font isn't any smaller than a normal book. You read them sideways and the pages feel similar to the pages of a bible. They have a unique binding (which you can see better in the bottom right corner photo of the collage above) that I think makes them tougher than your typical paperback. 
Needless to say, I'm in love and hope to see LOTS more books in this printing format. I will buy them ALL...LOL. They retail at $12/each, but Amazon has the box set priced at $27.17 (as of this morning...11/9/18). Here's the link to that... Amazon boxed set .
Antique Candle Works...I adore burning candles. Certain scents can help put me in the mood to write and Sarra Cannon recently talked about using a single scent to put her mind in the right frame to write. She chooses a set scent for each book. I love that idea and plan to implement it into my writing.
But I just recently discovered Antique Candle Works . Not only do they have normal candles, but they also have a line that they put into antique vessels like this turquoise blue ball jar (something that I just happen to enjoy collecting). I think it's a gorgeous combination of two of my favorite things.  Note that their antique candles sell out quickly so you have to watch for restocks!
(You can also buy mini-sets of their seasonal fragrances to try them out first...that's what the little tins in the photo are)
Novel Grounds...This is a great little item for the book reader in your life...or you. Novel Grounds makes pencil bags in a variety of sizes and styles at such affordable prices. (The reader, bookmark, writer ones in the photo below this were only $7/each.)
Again, she's a retailer who tends to sell out quick, so it's worth checking out her store as soon as she restocks (I think her next restock is November 16th).
Novel Grounds on etsy .

That's it from me today. I'll have news about a new release NEXT WEEK! So watch this space...***And one final photo of my girly from a fun photo shoot she did last weekend. (Although this is a photo I took with my phone, not one of the pro ones.)
Christmas is coming!
Have a great weekend, everyone!smiles,Christi