Angel’s Monthly Wrap Up ~ July 2026

A peek into the Nook: July’s magic and mayhem.
Grab a cozy drink and settle in for this month’s highlights.

The first weekend of July officially marked the 250th ❤️🤍💙 Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence! We celebrated by cooking out and chilling at home while watching soccer. The Golden Gate Bridge had 🎆 fireworks, but in classic San Francisco fashion, our famous 😶‍🌫️ fog rolled in, so it wasn’t quite as spectacular as other places. Can’t help the weather!

Now that the FIFA ⚽ World Cup is winding down and we’re into the Round of 16, there are only 2️⃣ games a day. Because of that, my mornings are finally free again, and I’ve been diving back into my 🎧 audiobooks while working on the blog. It’s been so nice spending my mornings listening and then catching the games in the afternoon.

As for the rest of the family, the kid spent the week playing 🎾 tennis in the mornings and doing 🏃 cross country in the afternoons—relaxing for me, and incredibly productive for him! Hubby is also back home, which is great, though we’re not entirely sure if he’ll have to head back to Chicago to help out again soon. On a heavier note, Grandpa is still in the hospital following another fall, so we are keeping a close eye on him. Aside from the World Cup, I also started watching Phantom Lawyer on Netflix to unwind.

The ⚽ World Cup has officially come to an end, and the final game was an absolute nail-biter! What a fabulous match. I like both 🩵🤍🩵 Argentina and 💃🏽 Spain, so I was incredibly excited going into it, but I’m thrilled for Spain’s big win—though honestly, either team winning would have been great. Aside from the soccer drama, it was a busy week of appointments; we had an ꨄ︎ orthodontist visit for the kiddo and a 👩🏻‍⚕️ dental cleaning for me, and thankfully, everything checked out great for both of us. He also pushed through another productive week of afternoon 🏃 cross-country workouts.

It was also a double-birthday 🎉🎂✨🍰🥳 week in our house! My hubby celebrated on the 12th and mine followed on the 17th. We both got to do exactly what we wanted for our special days; he even took me out to a fabulous hidden gem in our area that he stumbled upon while a friend was visiting us. By Saturday the 18th, things shifted as my husband and the kiddo flew out to Chicago. We had spent the week debating what to do, but Grandma has been under a lot of stress with Grandpa frequently getting hurt and ending up back in the hospital or rehab. Ultimately, we decided it was best for my husband to bring our son along this time. We’ll see how long they’re gone, but of course, it means the kid is missing his final week of summer cross-country workouts right before school starts and team tryouts begin in August.

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Well, hubby and the kiddo changed their flight plans and decided to stay another week in Chicago, the last week. The house has been so quiet, and I’m really missing my family! To pass the time this last week, I jumped back into playing Valheim on Steam. I created a brand-new character so I could take my time, explore, collect resources, and craft without feeling rushed like I did when playing with them. Reading-wise, I listened to two audiobooks and started a third this month. I also received emails with dates for Freshman Orientation and sports tryouts—school is starting so soon! With only two and a half weeks of summer left, I’m excited for this next big adventure and all the new challenges ahead for my kiddo. Plus, we’re officially signed up for another season of Fall AYSO Soccer!

📚 Be sure to peek at the sidebar before you go! It’s packed with all my 🎉 current giveaways—there are some amazing prizes up for grabs right now.

Congratulations to all the winners of the giveaways hosted on the blog last month! 🎉

Shelly P. won the Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop and picked a $10 Amazon GC.
Barbara M. won the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop and picked a $10 Amazon GC.
Sophia R. won the Mid-Year Library Love Check-In and received a $5 Amazon GC.

[15 Jul] A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn ★★★★
[22 Jul] Undertow by Willa Blackmore ★★★

🌟 That Library Girl did the Mid Year Celebration Tag and Bookish Jessie did too.

🌟 Our 2026 Library Love Challenge is officially calling your name. Grab your library card and join the fun! 📚✨ Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to get cozy with a new book—sign-ups stay open all the way until December 2nd, 2026!

🌟 Story seekers, if you’re enjoying the content, please consider supporting Angel’s Book Nook! Even a small donation goes a long way in keeping our library growing and the Library Love Challenge thriving. Thank you for being part of the journey. Support here!

🌟 Make the switch to Libro.fm and support indie bookstores. You’ll get two audiobooks when you sign up!