Category Archives: blog segments

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

IT’S FOR THE BOOKISH’S BIRTHDAY!!! + MY FIRST GIVEAWAY

April 3, 2015 Emily 27 Comments

It’s SO hard to believe I’ve been blogging on For the Bookish for ONE WHOLE YEAR! It feels like just yesterday I asked my dad to help me set up my blog URL and find a good design for it. (I still think my blog design is the coolest ever. It pays off to have a web designer for a dad.) =)

When I first started blogging on For the Bookish, I wanted to talk about books I was reading and meet girls with similar book interests. That’s still the main purpose of For the Bookish, but I would have never guessed how much I would have grown to love blogging. In my mom’s words, it’s become sort of like my outlet.

I love talking to everyone who comments on my blog, and following other book blogs like mine. Because of For the Bookish, I’ve found so many great books to read and so many great friends, all over the world! (Including getting my first pen pal through the blog- which is so awesome because I’ve always wanted one and now I have the best pen pal ever!)

So thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave a comment, or read a post. Thanks for telling me about great books to read and giving me a place to ramble and be silly and still take me seriously. 🙂 I’ve had a fantastic year blogging on For the Bookish, and I hope I will for many more years to come!

To thank you all, I’m hosting my FIRST EVER giveaway on For the Bookish!! I’m giving away a $15 Barnes & Noble gift card to the winner. Enter below! =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you guys so, so much! Until Monday!!

blog segments, discussions, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

for the bookish’s one year blogoversary tag!

April 1, 2015 Emily 23 Comments

Hey, guys! As promised, today is For the Bookish’s one year blogoversary TAG! That means I’m tagging myself, and YOU! Answer the questions I answered below on YOUR blog and don’t forget to add your link way at the bottom of this post. 🙂 And if you don’t have a blog, but follow and comment on For the Bookish, I’ve got some questions for you, too!

When did you start your blog? I started my blog on April 3, 2014. (THAT’S ALMOST A YEAR AGO. HOLY COW.)

What the purpose of your blog? Has it changed since then? I started my blog to talk about the books I was reading and rant about authors and characters and post book reviews! I’m still doing that and having a blast with it.

Did you blog on another blog before then? I’m adding this question ’cause believe it or not, I blogged for a good four years before I started For the Bookish. (‘Betcha didn’t know that, now did you?) When I was eight, my dad helped me get a domain name so I could blog about anything I wanted. I mostly talked about my cat and what I ate for lunch… (who am I kidding, I still talk about my cat and recipes/what I ate recently! Haha!), and then I kind of stopped. For the Bookish is more about books and reviews and authors (and anything bookish!) than it is my personal, what-I-ate-for-lunch boring kind of stuff, even though I do post on Saturdays sometimes about what’s been happening in my life.

Why did you start your blog? I sort of answered this in the last two questions, but I wanted a blog specifically for talking about bookish things! It’s been really fun getting to know everyone who follows my blog in the comments, and since starting For the Bookish I’ve discovered more books and book blogs than I ever would have.

What made you first think writing a blog could be fun? (Did you follow other blogs, did you know someone who wrote a blog, did you want to make money off of it?:) Well, like I said, I blogged on my other blog for four years before I started For the Bookish. (That was great, because I was already really familiar with WordPress and I knew what I was doing, for the most part. And besides, my dad is a web designer!) I only followed 3 or 4 other blogs, and only one of those, I think, was a book blog. I think a girl from a Taylor Swift fan club I joined a couple of years ago had a blog, and she nominated me for a Liebster award. That’s when I realized there was a whole little community of different blogs, and there such things as blog awards and guest posts and memes and tags and all!

How did you come up with your blog name? Is there a meaning (quote, life lesson, etc) behind it? Actually, I came up with ‘For the Bookish’ as a name for a bookstore, not a book blog. I would like to own a book store someday, and so naturally, in a story I was writing, I gave a character my dream book store, but I had no idea what I should call it. I don’t remember the other ideas, but For the Bookish was my favorite. If I own a book store one day, I think I’ll name it For the Bookish, too. Or The Shop Around the Corner. 🙂

How/when do you get ideas for your posts? In the shower, in the car, while reading a book, when I’m supposed to be doing Latin. You get the picture. I don’t really know how to answer this. Ideas just pop into my head when I’m not even thinking about them. Sometimes I’m a little stuck, and I don’t know what I’m going to blog about. That’s where tags, guest posts, and even book reviews come in handy.

When do you type up your posts? Usually on Sunday. Since December or January, I’ve started blogging consistently every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and sometimes on Saturday, for random rambles/goings on in my life. But most Sundays, I’ll type up the next three posts and schedule them to automatically post, so they’re already up on the blog before I even wake up. Sometimes I’m running a little behind, and I know what I’m going to blog about, I just haven’t actually written the post. (That’s why sometimes I post a little late in the day.) Right now, I’m typing this on Saturday, and you won’t read it till Wednesday!

So now it’s YOUR turn! Answer the questions on your blog and tag everyone else to join in. I can’t wait to see your answers!

If you don’t have a blog, I’ve got some questions for you, too (and even if you do, feel free to answer these questions in the comments!)

How long have you been following For the Bookish?
What are your favorite kinds of posts?
What kind of books do you read?
Are there any books I’ve reviewed on FTB you wouldn’t have read otherwise?
Who are your favorite authors?
What would you like to see more of on For the Bookish?

I hope you guys all like this tag! I hope you all join in! I can’t wait to see your answers. Add your link to your post below:

‘); // ]]>

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

interview with anna banana // animal lover, novelist, & coolest little sister

March 27, 2015 Emily 24 Comments

Hey, guys! So here’s another post for For the Bookish’s one year of bookishness coming up (April 3rd is my ONE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!) I’ve had this idea for a while and thought it would be fun for For the Bookish’s birthday posts. You can read the interview below, or listen to it below! Sooo, finally, meet my little sister!

To start things off, Anna, why don’t you tell a little about yourself? Well, I like to play with our cats… and we’re taking care of our friends’ dog, Olive, for three weeks, and I like to take her outside. Hmm… what else do I like to do?

Don’t you take a martial arts class called Arnis? Yes, I do! Oh, and I like to play on Animal Jam (animaljam.com), and my username is acope321, if you want to buddy me. (Anna is obsessed with Animal Jam!) and I home-school…

You mentioned playing with our cats and Olive, the dog we’re taking care of for a few weeks? You like animals? Yes, I LOVE them.

What are your favorite animals? My favorite animal would probably be a snow leopard. I love arctic wolves… I have one on Animal Jam named Princess Icy Wolf. Anyway, I really love exploring outside, and stuff like that.

Do you like to read about animals? Yes, I love reading about animals.

What are your favorite books? My favorite book… well, I love all books, but my favorite book – there’s this magazine called Zoobooks, and I love Zoobooks. I also like books that have animals. And I love, love, love these books my dad has. They’re like puzzle books and crafts…

What are they about? They have different things, like about people.

They’re like brain teasers, right? Yeah, some are like brain teasers.

So what kind of chapter books or novels do you like reading? Well, I like The Boxcar Children, that is like my FAVORITE books!

You LOVE The Boxcar Children, don’t you? And I’ve read books 1, 2… and now I’m on book 3, and they’re epic! They’re epic books. You can order them on Amazon, they’re really good.

Do you have a favorite author? My favorite author would have to be Dr. Suess, though he’s dead. (That’s okay! Jane Austen is dead, too, right?) Lots of my – most of them – of my favorite authors are either dead or in jail!

We don’t know that one guy is in jail! (Some kid told me in the 4th/5th grade Shell Silverstein was in jail. He died in 1999!) Who was your other favorite author, who wrote those poetry books? Shell Silverstein.

What kind of books does he write? Well, he writes like poem books. There’s this one I can repeat:

“I made myself a snow ball as perfect as could be.
I thought I’d keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for it’s head.
Then, last night it ran away.
But first — it wet the bed.”

And that’s just one of his many poems! I love that.

So you really like poetry, like Shell Silverstein and Dr. Suess. Yeah!

So, Anna, do you consider yourself a bookish person? 🙂 Um… well, sort of. Not really, I more prefer playing outside, but I do love books. There aren’t a lot of books that I like, but if you find the PERFECT book, I… love it. If you find the perfect book, I LOVE IT.

So you like to read, and a couple years ago you started writing, is that right? I believe you spent nearly two years writing a book! Yes, actually! It’s, uh… three years.

Three years! Wow, that’s dedication. Yeah, I started it three years ago.

So three whole years ago! That’s what, you started it when you were 7… now you’re 10? I think it was like 5 or 6… I think I was 6. I started it in the first grade, it’s called Journey to an Unknown Land.

“Journey to an Unknown Land….” It’s not published… I still have to make it better (add better adjectives… and stuff), because I started it in the first grade! And you can tell what grade I was in when I was writing it, on certain pages.

Yeah, because your writing got better! It’s 61 (Front and back on notebook paper!) pages, it’s the longest I’ve ever written – longest I’ve ever finished, actually.

So what was the writing process for you like? How did you start writing it? How’d you get the idea…? Well, I like journey adventures – oh, my favorite movie is Journey to the Center of the Earth.

So you kind of got inspiration from that? Like there’s a part where they’re in this ocean and I have this book, I can read you a page from it.

That’s okay. So your story, Journey to an Unknown Land was kind of inspired from Journey to the Center of the Earth? Yes, and like when I was writing the story, I read other kinds of books like it, so it could give me inspiration.

Yeah, that’s a pretty good piece of writing advice, to read the kind of genres that you’re writing. So what is Journey to an Unknown Land about? Well, there’s this little girl named Lizzie (I’m probably gonna change her name), annnd… she is kind of a… brat, but there are these bullies that bully her everyday and then she gets in a fight with her mom at dinnertime, ’cause she’s always just being rude and stuff… when she goes on a journey to an unknown land, she realizes there’s more to life. Annnnd there’s this little thing named Emily – like she’s a little furry square with a tail, that’s all it is. And there’s like this unicorn thing, it’s not full unicorn, it’s like just a beautifully colored horse, and I forgot its name, but she meets them, and on the way she meets others, and so it’s more than just them, but they go along with her on the way. Not the others, she just help the other things out, but the horse and Emily, they go along with her on an adventure.

So for three years you wrote this book – how long is it? It’s about 60 pages long.

Wow! That’s impressive. Do you plan on editing it any time soon? You mentioned having to add adjectives, and things… because you started it in the first grade! Yeah, I need to edit it a lot.

Well, that sounds fantastic to me! I can’t wait to read your finished novel, I’ll definitely have to share that on the blog. 😉 So that’s it for today! I enjoyed interviewing you today, Anna Banana! Mm… please don’t call me that. I go to Arnis (my martial arts class), and there’s this girl, and eeeevery time she calls me ‘Anna Banana.’

It annoys you? YES.

Well, I’m going to call you that anyway. Bye, everyone!

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

share the love challenge!

March 20, 2015 Emily 23 Comments

Suuuuper exciting stuff today. I was tagged by one of my favorite bloggers, Audrey @ The Measure of a Book for the Share the Love Challenge, her very own tag created to spread the love around the blogosphere! When you’re tagged, you don’t just thank the blogger who tagged you (though I’m gonna do that, too!), but you share the love by following your favorite bloggers (Pinterest, Bloglovin’, the likes!), commenting on their blogs (they always make my day!), etc., etc.

Sounds like fun? It is! Makes me think of “I love you, you love me. We’re a happy family…” Hahaha! Anyone?? SO. Now onto the rules…

1. Display the tag on your post along with the instructions. (Check!)
2. Display the link to the blog whose author tagged you. (That would be here!)
3. Insert their ‘about me’, biography, or profile text (unless they don’t have one). And if you wanna go all-out, add their picture too (if they have one)!
4. List or talk about some things you LOVE about their blog.
5. Mention your favorite post by that blogger.
6. Tag as many bloggers as you can! Share the love! (And remember, the more you tag, the more people will hear about you and your blog.)
7. And don’t forget to let the bloggers know you’ve tagged them.

The Blogger Who Tagged Me: Lovely Audrey from The Measure of a Book!

About the blogger: According to Miss Audrey’s about page… She is a reader, writer, chocolate addict (aren’t we all!), and an old book smeller. She loves rainy days and thunderstorms, living in pajamas or yoga pants (when she does get dressed, skirts and dresses), she’s a farm girl, she belongs in the 40’s, and most importantly, a follower of Jesus Christ. =)

Things I love about this blog!: I love the fact that Audrey is a Christian, and so all of her book reviews are clean and I can trust her opinion. I know that we have a lot of the same favorite books in common, so I love her posts about books and her reviews most of all! One thing she does that most of the other blogs I follow don’t do is her writing prompts. Ohhh my goodness, but the writing prompts!! She has a whole category for them, and whenever I need to get my creative juices flowing, I check our her latest prompts.=)

My favorite post(s) by this blogger: I really liked Audrey’s post in February with resources and ways she picks out names for her characters in her writings. The first thing I do before writing a story (besides coming up with the plot, of course), is look for character names, so I thought that was really helpful and neat to see how other writers find names. I also LOVED another post in February that was, albeit strange, a really cool writing tip… obviously, I love Audrey’s posts about writing! =)

And now for the victims! Er… blogs I tag! 😉 Haha!

Trisha @ Forever Trisha, Samantha @ Bookish Serendipity, Olivia @ Writer’s Digest, and Bella @ Ciao Bella!.

I hope everyone I tagged can join the tag and share the love! =)

blog segments

stacking the shelves

March 14, 2015 Emily 12 Comments

‘Ello everybody! I haven’t done very many Stacking the Shelves lately because I don’t always buy books every week. But when I do, I buy several! =) This week I got five new lovelies for my shelves – two from a used book store and three from a consignment sale! Because my mom brought in some books to trade in, we had a store credit so two of the books were free! (Although we will not be doing that again because we only got about 50 cents each out of about 25 or 30 books.)

There’s my stack! I’m so, so SO excited to be reading all of these. (It looks like my cat, Maisy, is too! I was taking the picture and she decided she wanted to love on the books… and then after I took the picture, knocking them all off my desk to lay down!)

On the bottom is How my Private, Personal Journal Became a Best Seller (what a mouthful!) by Julia DeVillers. If you’ve never heard of the book, you may have heard of the Disney movie, Read it and Weep (I believe it’s on Netflix!), which is based on the book. I’ve seen Read it and Weep countless times, and when I realized it was actually a book I really wanted it! I’m excited to see how different the movie and book are.

The next book up is Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. I’m really not a big fan of Eggs, but I think I’ll like the one by Jerry Spinelli. (And apparently my cat, Maisy does, too! Isn’t she adorable??) I’ve read Stargirl and Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and loved them! Both of the books were really sweet and poetic, and I think Eggs will be, too.

Once was Lost by Sara Zarr is the next book. I got it at a local consignment sale, and recognized the author’s name. But it wasn’t until just now I looked up Sara Zarr, and she’s also the author of the The Lucy Variations, which I just traded in at a used bookstore today for Eggs and How my Private, Personal Journal Became a Best Seller. I was never able to get through The Lucy Variations because it was very slow and dull, but I hope Once was Lost will be different!

I also got Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton! I actually have the book on my Kindle, but decided to get the physical book because I love Bethany’s story so much. (The movie is awesome, too!)

And finally, I got Ida B by Katherine Hannigan. I’d seen this book before, and it looks so cute!

Have any of you read any of these books? What books did you guys get this week?

blog segments

the book lover’s questionaire

February 17, 2015 Emily 19 Comments

Hi, guys! First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t post yesterday. I did absolutely nothing and procrastinated everything. 😉

Any who, Samantha from Bookish Serendipity tagged me in the Book Lover’s Questionaire tag! I love doing these types of things, so here goes!

1) Do you have a specific place for reading?

Honestly, no. It’s usually on my bed, but I really like reading next to a window. It just depends. I prefer reading in silence, so if there’s a spot in my house that’s quiet with no one around, I like sitting next to a window to read. But sometimes at night, while my mom and dad are watching Jeopardy or the news, I like to sit on the couch next to them and read.

2) Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Oh, gosh, for the longest time I dog-eared. (I know, I know!! So sue me.) I remember once a few years back, when I had to have four teeth removed, every time I went in for my check-up or whatever, I’d bring my book in with me and the lady would see me dog-earing pages and every time she gave me a sticky note! 😉 It wasn’t long before I started my book mark collection. I keep a little tin full of them on my nightstand! I almost never dog-ear anymore, haha. Even when I go on trips or somewhere, I have several book marks, but I’ll grab anything. Receipts, sticky notes, napkins. I try to have something other than dog-eared.

3) Can you stop anywhere in a book or does you have to finish the chapter?

I can stop anywhere, but it seriously bugs me sooo bad. I have to stop at least at a line break or something! At night, when my dad comes in to turn off the lights and kiss me goodnight, if I’m reading a book, I have to finish the paragraph I’m reading or until the next line break!

4) Music or TV while reading?

Instrumental music – YES. I turn on suspenseful classical/instrumental music when I’m reading an intense book, but no instrumental music to a song I know the words for, otherwise, I still get the words in my head. As for TV, it depends what show’s on. Shows like “Jeopardy” or “Downtown Abbey,” yes. They’re soft and low, and I can easily block them out. But really intense shows/movies, or ones with lots of background music, I really don’t like to.

5) Do you eat or drink while reading?

As C.S. Lewis once said, “Reading and eating are two pleasures that combine admirably.” Foods and books are both connected to memories for me. (If that makes any sense at all… lol!) When I read the Selection series by Keira Cass last summer, I ate about 2 dozen lime Popsicles!

6) One book at a time or several?

Ohhhh…. my goodness, that’s a loaded question! I really, truly, really try hard not to read more than one book at a time… but… you know me. Hehehe. (Especially when I’ve recently bought more than 1 book at a time! Or borrow them from the library. How do I CHOOSE??!)

Don't rely on that "Now Reading" thing on the sidebar. Sometimes I forget to update it, and sometimes I have too many books I'm reading! — Don’t rely on that “Now Reading” thing on the sidebar. Sometimes I forget to update it, and sometimes I have too many books I’m reading!

7) Reading at home or elsewhere?

I read all over the place! I bring books to restaurants, in the car, to my friend’s sleepover, anywhere! I try not to read somewhere in a public place or at a party or something, because I don’t want to seem rude. (Plus I get interrupted… what can I say? It’s a life beyond words. Hahaha!) It just depends on how much background noise there is, and if it will seem rude or not. As far I’m concerned, it’s not as bad as your phone though. 🙂

8) Read out loud or silently?

This is a very gray area for me.

9) Do you read ahead or skip pages?

I want to say no. But I… I. Well, OCCASIONALLY I look at the very last page, and glance at a word… or two. But most of the time… no?

10) Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Uh… keep it like new. (Thus why I’m reluctant to lend books. That, and not getting them back.) But back in the day, I was a HORRIBLE spine-bender. It’s a habit I’m proud to say I’ve given up.

11) Do you write in your books?

Only in devotionals or like American Girl advice books or something. But anything else – NO WAY, JOSE!

Now for who I tag! Audrey @ The Measure of a Book, Daisy @ A Bookish Flower, Olivia @ Writer’s Digest, Bella @ Ciao Bella!, and Lindsey @ Books for Christian Girls. I hope everyone can participate! I can’t wait to see your posts if you do. 🙂

What about everyone else? What are your answers to some of the questions? 😉

blog segments

january 2015 recap

February 2, 2015 Emily 16 Comments

Hey, guys! Whew, January went by fast. I can’t believe it’s February already! … but can you believe it? I’m already pining away for summer. That’s not supposed to happen until at least March! 😉 I was definitely happy with January’s “WordPress statistics.” I haven’t really looked at them in a while (mostly because they sometimes disappoint me, and I don’t like comparing numbers to numbers. Pssh, so what if I only have some 15 subscribers? That just means my awesome blog is still undiscovered…) but I thought it would be neat to share some of them with you.

The two days For the Bookish got the most views was January 23rd and 26th, when I posted “Why I Write” (the second ‘Friday Ramblings’) on the 23rd and my first recipe post for “Chocolate Cereal Cupcakes” on the 26th. I’m pretty happy about that, since I was very excited to publish both posts. However, the post with the most views in January was “My Top Three Favorite Styles.” (!!!)

The top referrer to my blog (meaning, the place which directs most visitors to my blog), is search engines! 102 clicks from Google, 9 from Google Images, and 1 from Ask. What are these visitors searching for, you might be wondering? Much to my bewilderment, the top search was “wendy mass theme of leap day.” (?) I’m curious as to how my blog popped up for this search, since I’ve never posted a book review by Wendy Mass, nor have I read Leap Day. I picked it up from the library once, but never read it, so maybe it was featured in a Stacking the Shelves…? The second search was “gifts for the bookish,” which I would assume links back to Audrey’s (from The Measure of a Book), wonderful guest post back in December.

What can you look forward to this month? Two guest posts from some awesome bloggers, Valentine’s day themed posts, more book reviews, and possibly more recipes. (You seemed to like those, right?) Stick around for more, okay? And leave a comment below! What are you looking forward to this month?

xx, Emily

blog segments, friday ramblings

something to say // friday ramblings

January 2, 2015 Emily 8 Comments

Hi guys! Welcome to a new segment I’m starting called Friday Ramblings. On Fridays, I’ll talk about anything – anything and everything that’s on my mind. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Friday Ramblings, as well! Be sure to drop me a comment. xx

I’m always talking. Always. Sometimes I talk out loud, and sometimes I talk to myself, and sometimes I talk to my imaginary friends who tell me all about their world and life and I write their stories down. I always have something to say, in my head, at least.

But every time I sit down, be it at the computer or journal or whatnot, it seems I have nothing to say. My mind goes completely blank. The cursor or blank page stares at me, and I can’t thing of a darned thing. Why is that? I have plenty to say. I know for a fact that my mind never stops working; the wheels never stop turning in my little brain.

Does this ever happen to you? I tried doing some research on why our little minds go blank, but everything came to social anxiety or standing in front of crowds. Which, let me assure you, I have neither. So why, oh why, can I NEVER thing of a single meaningful word to say when I want and/or need to?

Maybe it’s because I’m intimidated by what everyone else has to say. I’m surrounded by brilliant people. My parents and sister, friends, blogs I follow. Everyone has something important to say.

Maybe it’s because what I do have to say doesn’t seem important to me. What is deemed as important, anyway?

I think everyone has something important to say, whether they say it or not. But no one will know what it is you have to say until you say it.

xx, Emily

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

christmas tag!

December 8, 2014 Emily 11 Comments

Hi, everybody! Today, Daisy over at Estrella’s Trendy Teen tagged me in The Christmas Tag!

Of course, I couldn’t say no, now could I? Christmas is the best time of the year! It’s my savior’s birthday! (and the presents don’t hurt, either… hehehe.) So, thanks a million, Daisy!

And now… the rules.

Post the picture on your blog. (Check.)
Answer the questions.
Tag up to 12 bloggers.
Make up questions for the bloggers to answer!

Alrighty… these are the questions that Daisy came up with, and I will now answer:

1. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Every year, a few weeks before Christmas, my mom and dad host a “greens party.” My grandma started doing hers several years back with my great-aunt, and it wasn’t long before my mom started doing her own. Basically, my parents begin collecting greenery and stacking them in piles in our yard. On the day of, we set tables and clippers and baskets and such out in our driveway and invite all of our friends and friends of friends over to make wreaths and greenery arrangements! We have soup and yummy treats inside and the kids run around and play. It’s a blast! =)

2. What is the best holiday memory?

I remember one memory that always makes me bust out laughing! About two or three Christmases ago, when my cousin Sawyer was two or three, my whole family was sitting in our living room while we all took turns opening presents. When it was Sawyer’s turn, he tore open the wrapping paper and said… “I got a box!” He was tickled pink! Of course, he was even more excited when we opened the box and he got a train set!

3. If you could give one present to someone less fortunate what would you give or do for them?

Oh, tough one. I guess it depends what sort of situation the person is in. Every Christmas, my family helps a family in need or buys Christmas presents for some kids who live nearby. My old elementary school has a “dolphin tree” (the mascot is dolphins =) ), and my family still gets a dolphin to buy presents for the kids in the school, even though my sister and I don’t go there anymore. If I knew of someone who needed help, I’d try to do whatever was in my power to do for them.

4. What is your Favorite Holiday Song?

I love “Mary, Did You Know” and the Glee version of “Up on the Rooftop.”

5. What was the best present you ever received?

Oh, now this is a tough one! =) I’ve always been so blessed every year with everything I want (and more), but I can think of several big presents I’ve gotten over the years… a cell phone, a tablet, a bike, several American Girl dolls, a “cottage play house” … and so many more.

6. Do you decorate your house for the holidays? How about your room?

Oh, absolutely!! Our living room has a really high ceiling, so my family always puts up a ten-foot-tall tree and deck it out in our ornaments. I always love going through the homemade ornaments! My mom hangs mistletoe, we have stockings, and Christmasy-smelling candles, and snowmen figurines, and Santa pictures everywhere… my sister and I put mini Christmas trees in our room and I hang up pictures from past years in my bedroom.

7. Favorite Christmas Movie?

ELF! Is that even a question?

8. Do you stay at home for Christmas day or does your family go out to parties?

WELL. On the 23rd, my family and I go to my grandparents’ house a few hours away for a family get together at some distant cousins’ house, and cousins and distant, distant cousins and great-aunts and all of my extended family on my dad’s side gets together. My sister and I also get our presents from my grandma and grandpop and aunt. Then on the 25th, my cousins and grandparents on my mom’s side and some close family friends and sometimes my cousin’s grandparents come over in the afternoon. Somehow, we always end up having quite a group. This year will be a little different, though, because my cousins are going to Minnesota for Christmas. So my parents were thinking we could go see a movie in the afternoon or invite some friends to hang out!

9. What was your most embarrassing gift?

Hmmm… I don’t usually get embarrassing gifts. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten underwear! 😛 When I was younger, however, I hated getting clothes! 😉 (It’s definitely different now, haha!)

10. Post your favorite Christmas Gif. or picture!

Here is a picture of my cousin (and best friend =) ), taken today, actually:

See our matching sweaters? Jealous? 😉 I also worked some of my magic and curled both of our hair…

(My other cousin caught that one!) Just thought I’d share those two with you 😉

Now, are ya’ll ready for the bloggers I’m going to tag? I nominate Ana @ Butterflies of the Imagination, Cait @ Paper Fury (previously at Notebook Sisters!), and Rachel. =) (Sorry, I couldn’t reach 12! On a side note, any blogs you guys reccommend reading?)

Go check out those lovely ladies’ blogs! You sure won’t regret it!

Here are the questions for the three bloggers I tagged:

What is your favorite Christmas treat?
Are there any special traditions that your family has to celebrate Christmas?
What’s on your Christmas list this year?
Favorite Christmas carol?
How do you normally celebrate Christmas?
Do you enjoy getting presents for your friends and family? Do you buy your gifts or go the homemade route?
What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Do you decorate your house for Christmas?
Is it cold where you live? Have you ever had a white Christmas? =)
What is something nice someone has done for you around Christmas that made you smile?

So those are the questions! I hope that the bloggers I tagged can join in! =)

Merry Christmas!

xoxo,

Oh, and one more thing! I joined Pinterest! Maybe you can check me out! (I’m kind of obsessed…) =)

blog segments

stacking the shelves // the first one in ages

December 6, 2014 Emily 11 Comments

Hey, guys! How have you been? What have you been up to? What have I been up to? WELL.

You know, just lounging around… trying to get out of catching up on schoolwork… getting grounded in the process… and then once I was un-grounded just being lazy and moody and bawling over white elephant gifts.

Anyway! Are you ready for this week’s Stacking the Shelves? Well, I’ll get into it, but first I gotta tell you… Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews in which I talk about the books I’ve read in the past week and the books I’ve gotten. Pretty exciting stuff, right?!

Yep. That’s the “stack.” Pretty puny, but I don’t mind. I re-read these lovely pals of mine every year at Christmas and bawl my eyes out when it’s way past my bedtime and I really ought to have put the book down hours ago.

The first one way up there is The Christmas Shoes by Donna Vanliere.

Oh my holy night, ya’ll.

Like….

It’s a very, very short read. I finished it in one sitting last year, and one day this year. But even though it’s the shortest read I’ve read since the Magic Tree House books, it really gets a lot through. Plus it’s enough to make me bawl my eyeballs out every single year, even though I know what’s coming. The book was based on this song that I LOVE, and you just have to listen to the song, even if you don’t read the book.

The song even makes me cry.

So the next book, of course, is the sequel. It follows the little boy in the first book when he’s in college to become a doctor. (Obviously, he’s not a little boy in this one.) It’s called The Christmas Blessing, and… well… just read the blurb.

In The Christmas Shoes, young Nathan Andrews was a child who lost his mother to cancer. Now his deepest wish is to become a doctor. When a stranger named Robert gave him the money to buy his mother a pair of shoes for her last Christmas, both Robert and Nathan learned the deepest lessons of love and giving. Now a medical student in his third year, Nathan realizes there are still things to be learned about faith, blessings, and sacrifice. Lessons he will learn from Meghan Sullivan-a young woman born with a hole in her heart that has not kept her from becoming a champion runner. And lessons learned from a young boy named Charlie, who teaches how to live a life of true courage. Together, they will help guide Nathan through the darkest period in his life. The Christmas Blessing is an inspiring about hope existing in the darkest places, and love is always the greatest gift of all.

Yep. Another book that should come with a box of tissues. It’s a love/hate relationship, books and me. They’re so abusive, you know? Forcing me to stay up late and cry and cry and cry… yet I still love them, and KEEP READING THEM!

The last book is a book my grandma bought me a few years ago (or maybe more… I don’t even know!), and it always makes me a smile. (I know… after all the feels I got going on, it’s good to SMILE. You know?) Basically, everyday leading up to Christmas, you read a true story about Christmas acts of kindness, tradition, love, etc, etc. Like a family helping an elderly woman put up her Christmas lights outside her house. Or a little girl using all of her money to buy a gift for a needy child. Pretty grand stuff.

Soooo that’s it for this STS! What are you guys reading? Any holiday book recommendations for me? I must know! Tell me in the comments below! Go, go, go! ha… ha… ha… that rhymed.