July ’18 Recap

Ah, a rather boring title, but logical. ;)

 

 

I find it both crazy and a tad bit thrilling to see July pass by. It actually went quite fast, which brings us one more step closer to fall! ;) And the latter half of this month has actually been manageable weather-wise. The first half was ridiculously hot and humid and yeah. But lately we’ve had some cooler days, which is surprising for July, but I’m not complaining! In fact, one day last week was 65 degrees. Sweatshirt weather. The mornings have been chilly as well. I know August is still to come, and with that more hot hot hot weather, but I’m enjoying this respite for now. ;)

 

 

In life updates….

 

 

We had to clean the tubs of the butcher chickens and transfer a few over to a new, less crowded one. And let me tell you, the smell was nasty. Like, horrible. Sometimes I think  still can smell it…And then another week later they were all transferred again to the larger pen, which is more spacious and nicer, and easier to feed them in. Whenever you step in there though, your feet are swarmed and pecked at because that’s how they are. XD I used to wear jean shorts to do chores in the hot weather, but now it’s long jeans only because eww. XD

And we also added 8 new layer chickens to our flock (except one disappeared and became some predator’s dinner, very sadly).

I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that my favourite mail carrier might just be done delivering our mail and I need to adjust to our new one. Yes, mail is a bit of a big deal to me. Our old MC was very orderly and always placed the mail in a nice stack, with any letters that might be addressed to me sitting on top. Packages arrived in a careful manner. ‘Twas nice.

But now…So sad. I do actually quite like our current mail carrier; she’s very nice. But maybe not as OCD me when it comes to mail ;)

In July our town has a bit of a celebration thing with various events. We went to the kiddie parade (for my nephews of course ^.^), the book sale, and the regular parade. It was all quite a bit of fun!

Also in July, we made a day trip up north and it was fabulous. an almost 4 hour car ride both ways, but so good to get up there and see my grandparents if only for a few hours.

 

 

I’m sure other stuff happened this month (in fact I know it did), but I’m moving onto the book section of things because I like books. ;)

 

 

These are the ones I read this month:

 

          

 

By clicking on their covers you will be brought to my reviews of the books. :)

 

 

And these are the books I acquired:

 

 

 

And let us not forget my new book cozy!

 

 

 

 

 

Other posts of this month include….

 

 

 

 

 

 

How was your  July? Have you read any of the books I read or received this month? Any recommendations? :)

And so January has come to an end.

 

January is over. And I guess I am kind of sad…I really like January. ^.^ Good thing I like February too. I’ll start crying or panicking when the end of March rolls by….and my precious Winter slips away….

So! How was your January everyone? Did the first month of the new year start out well for you? I hope so. :)

The month found us slowly trying to slip back into a semblance of a routine. As life quiets down some, it takes a little bit of time to really adjust to a routine, but I’m happy we’re finally finding it. I’m not a fan of chaos. :) I know sometimes we can’t avoid it, and we must find God through the chaos, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thankful for a quiet routine.

Some highlights of the month….well, I adopted a new cat into the house. Yes, yes I did.

(This is probably true…)

 

Why would I do that, you might ask if you knew our current tally of indoor cats? Well, dearest darling Pirate Kitty (yes, you read that absolutely correctly. I mean, I assume you did. I’m not actually hearing your pronounce it because of the internet and all that, but we’ll go with it) is a blind kitty. She was an outside cat, whom I loved. But her eyesite kept getting worse (it started out with her just not seeing out of one eye. Hence her name), and she could barely see her food bowl and therefore wasn’t eating much. So after prayer and consideration, I decided to use my saved up money and brought her in to the vet, and now she’s inside. She’s a bit….umm…wild. But adorable. And terrified of life and our other cats. Because frankly, two of our other cats are mean to her, poor dear. So our month has been filled with a lot of kitty-issues….but I’m so glad she is inside where it’s warm and she can have food whenever she wants. :)

 

I had a bit of a slow reading month. Only four books. I was really hoping to squeeze more in there, as I’m woefully behind on my review-book-pile, but I’m also learning to give myself grace especially in this aspect. The books will all get read. All reviewed. It just might take a bit of time.

These are the books I enjoyed:

 

        

Clicking on their covers will bring you to their reviews, if applicable. The first three have been reviewed/posted, but I am still working on finishing the review of the last one. :)

 

As for books I added to my collection….

 

The three standing up on the left are books I got in a couple swaps, the five lying flat are review books, the three standing on top of those and the one on the right are books from our library-book-sale, except for “Hearts Entwined” which I won in a giveaway. :)

I want to read allllll of them. I just need more time to fit them all in. XD

And I realized I never posted the pictures I took of the books I got LAST month…so I guess I’ll include them here, because I love pictures of books. ^.^

Bottom four were book trades, Jen Turano was a giveaway win, I purchased the next 4 Indie books, Jane Eyre thrift store, and the next three are review books, and the top two: one was a give-away win, the other I purchased on CBD. :)

Got these through CBD’s 99cent sale!

Book I received for Jolabokaflod in Mesu Andrews’ BFF team group. :)

 

So, there we have it. Books, books, books. Plenty of reading to last me till I’m 50! ;)

 

ALSO! Before I leave off… you might remember this post from a few days ago:

 

In that post, I mentioned upcoming posts, and I want to announce that I’ve devised a posting schedule which is quite new for this blog! God-willing, I shall post every Monday. These posts will be varied, and most likely not reviews. My review posts will go live during the week as I have them ready to post.

And this coming Monday, February 5th, we start off the new schedule with something very, very exciting!!! An… Author Interview!! Yessiree. So stick around for that, because it’s a good one. :D

This is what you can look forward to from my new posting schedule:

First Monday: Author Interview

Second Monday: Character Post

Third Monday: Devotional 

Fourth Monday: Open-catagory – this is the day where I will post whatever random thing is on my mind. ;)

 

So, February is my trial-run for this schedule, but I do hope to make it a permanant thing. I’m pretty excited about it, and I hope you are too! :)

Comment and tell me about your January!

I’ve been readin’, I’ve been writin’, I’ve been singin’.

Ehh, not entirely true, but I felt a random title was in order, and that’s what came to mind first. :D I mean, I have been reading, and I have been writing, and I guess I have been singing (This is Not a Test, baby. TMac.), but that is not really the point now, is it? “I’m not quite sure,” you say in a British accent.

Alright, onward and forward!

 

Yes, books! I said I’ve been reading, after all. :) I just finished “Light of the Last” and it was beyond amazing!!!! I will be sharing my review with you very soon, God-willing! I just adored the book :) I will be beginning “Miriam” today, and looking forward to it. And then, as the third picture shows: I have a bit of Biblical fiction to be reading! Besides “Miriam” I have “Risen” by Angela Hunt, and “The Prophetess” by Jill Eileen Smith. I am very interested to see how they are.  Hopefully I’ll get all of them read in a good amount of time!

As for writing, I’ve just been writing in one of my stories :D When I started it a few months ago, it was meant to just be a quick, side-story type thing, but it’s turned into more, which is always fun. :)

Also in news of writing, the Love is in the Heart contest has ended and the two winners were announced on Valentine’s Day. I was so pleasantly surprised to find out my story was second! It really blessed me :) Lesa did a GREAT job hosting this fun writing contest and I’m looking forward to future contests! :)

What are you busy with, readers?

My Mail-Ordered Boyfriend

You read that right. I’ve got a mail-ordered boyfriend. I’m not even pulling your leg…well, mostly.  (“You’ve got to be pulling on my leg” – said in Gru’s voice from Despicable Me)

So you want the story, don’t you? Well, the first time we ‘met’ was in the movies. The Lego Movie to be precise. We didn’t get to talk though. But then, I saw this guy later at Barnes and Noble – perfect place to fall in love, no? But all we could do was gaze at each other and move on with our lives. Then…oh goody-goody. I was able to find him again, in the form of a mail-ordered boyfriend. He came the other week and it has been glorious ever since. He and I really are smitten. We like to hold hands a lot. He often says, “Let’s hold hands, Babe”.

Do you want to see us together? Sure you do!

 

:D Yes, that’s right. My mail-ordered boyfriend is Batman, specifically from the Lego Movie. Since Wildstyle has Emmet…well, Batman and I are now able to be together.

(I should also say, I do not watch the regular Batman movies, or read the comics, or really have much to do with any DC/Marvel stuff. Just this Batman)

So yes, we are quite happy. We even like to dress alike, if you can’t tell from the above photo, here’s a better one:

And though you can’t tell, this shirt actually has a real cape on the back. It’s pretty cool. :D

And now you know my current boyfriend. :)

“Chivalrous” and Me

You’ve heard a fair bit about “Chivalrous” by Dina L. Sleiman by now, right? :D Why not just one more post? For now at least… ;)

If you read my last review of it, you will know that I really liked the book. And the cover is gorgeous.  So, when I received my influencer copy, I took a picture with the book…and I dressed up to resemble to cover as much as I could. So I thought I’d share that with you all today. :D It was hard to keep a serious face like Gwendolyn on the cover, so I just didn’t…I was laughing. ^.^ And of course I don’t have any chain-mail, which is quite a shame, but I had to make do!

So, first, the book cover:

 

Annnd, my rendition of it:

 

 

It was quite fun to do that. I may be nearly 20, but I still enjoy dressing up. Especially as a Knight. ;)

Have you ever dressed up like a book character, or book cover?

 

If you haven’t heard what “Chivalrous” is about, here’s the blurb (you may also click on the book cover photo to go straight to its page on Amazon):

Strong and adventurous Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be a knight like her chivalrous brothers. However, that is not an option for her, not even in the Arthurian-inspired Eden where she dwells. Her parents view her only as a marriage pawn, and her domineering father is determined to see her wed to a brutish man who will break her spirit.

When handsome, good-hearted Allen of Ellsworth arrives in Edendale searching for his place in the world, Gwendolyn spies in him the sort of fellow she could imagine marrying. Yet fate seems determined to keep them apart. Tournaments, intrigue, and battles–along with twists and turns aplenty–await these two as they struggle to find love, identity, and their true destinies.

CBD.com
Amazon.com
Barnesandnoble.com

Pinterest Favourites Friday Week 16

Happy Friday Folkes! :D
How has your week been? Good, I hope. I personally enjoyed the cooler weather over last weekend and early week. =) It also made gardening easier.
So, this weeks pins are as follows:

 

Beautiful isn’t it? I love tiaras/crowns.

Some beautiful Indian Fashion. It says it is a bridal outfit, and you can see why – lovely!

I love this – quite funny!

This bag is amazing, isn’t it? I would love to own it!

Another gorgeous masquerade mask!

I’m currently reading:

It’s not a great picture of me, but it shows off the book! I was sooo pleased to win one of the copies of “Brothers-in-Arms” on Jack’s blog. You might remember that I entered THIS short story for the give-away/contest. The book is amazing, trust me! Franz and Japhet…their friendship is amazing. It’s very emotionally investing though… XD

So with that I shall depart! Comment and tell me what you’re reading/pinning/etc.! Have a good weekend. :)

Novella Cover Reveals for Faith Blum’s upcoming releases! And a give-away!

Today I am delighted to share in the cover reveals for three of Faith’s new novella’s! So…

Check out the covers for Faith Blum’s three new novellas, I Love Thee, Pass Me Not, and Redeemed. They will all be published this summer! Instead of doing three separate reveals, she chose to do one reveal for all three. To learn how these novellas came into being, check out Faith’s blog post today. Read on to see the covers and learn about each of the stories. Don’t forget to enter to win the novel that started it all!

Publication Date: June 26, 2015

 

Synopses

I Love Thee

Mom and Dad dead STOP Please come STOP Gage

Confirmed bachelor, Cole Baxter, finds himself raising his sister’s four young children. After one week of leaving his ranch in the hands of his foreman to take care of the grieving, needy children, he has to admit the task is beyond him and he needs help. But hired help won’t suffice: those children need a mother’s hand. Cole needs a wife.

Approximately 17,800 words.

Click on image to order now.

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Pass Me Not

Let me at Thy throne of mercy/Find a sweet relief/Kneeling there in deep contrition/Help my unbelief

Timothy is at his wit’s end. His twelve year old half-sister has run off five housekeepers in almost a year. Since their parents died, she has grown wilder than ever. What can he do? As he looks for a new housekeeper, his eye catches sight of a mail order bride advertisement. One young lady has a younger sister and sounds like a God-fearing woman. Could this be the answer to his dilemma or will Louise run her off, too?

Approximately 15,300 words

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Redeemed

Mail Order bride seeks wealthy Western man. Write Mona Sommers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Alexander Granger is tired of his father’s lectures and sermons. It’s time for payback. His plan is to pretend to marry a woman and scandalize his father when he finds out they aren’t really married. Will Mona accept his offer? Can Alex get away with his plan?

Approximately 11,600 words.

About the Author

An avid reader, Faith Blum started writing at an early age. Whether it was a story about the camping trip that summer or a more creative story about fictional characters, she has always enjoyed writing. When not writing, Miss Blum enjoys reading, crafting, playing piano, Captaining on the Holy Worlds Historical Fiction Forum and playing games with her family (canasta, anyone?).

As a history enthusiast who has been fascinated for years with the Old West, Faith has endeavored to create a clean, fun, and challenging Western story. Faith lives with her family on a hobby farm in the Northern Midwest, where she enjoys the many cats they have.

You can find Faith on her Website, Blog, Facebook, and Twitter

Giveaway

How would you like your very own copy of the book that started it all? Well, at least started it all for the novellas. Enter the giveaway below and you could win a signed paperback copy of Amazing Grace.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Or, if you would like another chance to win a signed copy, you can also enter the Goodreads giveaway that is open today through July 2nd!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Amazing Grace

by Faith Blum

Giveaway ends July 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to Win

Other Bloggers

See what everybody else is saying:

Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections

Jaye L. Knight

The Antrim Cycle

God’s Peculiar Treasure Raechel (that’s me – so you’re here! :))

Wildflower Acres

Shanna Hatfield

Letters from Annie Douglass Lima

Read, Write, Laugh, Dance

Zerina Blossom

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Valerie Howard Books

Rebekah Lyn Books

Shannon Pemrick

Amanda Tero

The covers look delightful, do they not? Congrats Faith!! I wish you the best success with your writing. :)

Book I read during 2014

Another year is coming to a close. Seems so soon, doesn’t it?

This past year I’ve been able to read quite a few lovely books! In fact, I’ve read over 50 this year, which is a new record for me. :) I thought I would share what books I read this year, and which ones absolutely touched me and remain on my ‘favourite’ list!

 

                                                         (If you click on the image of each book, they will lead to my review of it, if applicable. The last one “At Home in Last Chance” will be reviewed in January).

 

So that is it – or at least most of them. These are the ones I added on Goodreads (and the images are from that site as well); there were a couple others that I read, but forgot to add to GR…

As some of you may remember, a good percent of these were review books. I liked more than half of the books I read, which is always a good thing! As for my favourites, it is really hard to choose, and the list might be too long, so I will try to keep it short and list one the ones that I super loved (in no order):

“God’s Daughter” by Heather Day Gilbert

“The Well” and “The Thief” by Stephanie Landsem

“Visible Threat” by Janice Cantor

“Pearl in the Sand” (though I’ve read it numerous times before), and “In the Field of Grace” by Tessa Afshar

“For Such a Time” by Kate Breslin

“Daisies are Forever” by Liz Tolsma

“The Cross Centered Life” by C.J. Mahaney (oh my word was this amazing!! Everyone should read this)

“The House of Mercy” by Alicia R. Ruggieri

“A Broken Kind of Beautiful” by Katie Ganshert

“A Distant Melody” and “A Memory Between Us” by Sarah Sundin

“Kingdom’s Dawn”, “Kingdom’s Hope”, and “Kingdom’s Edge” by Chuck Black

“Love  Amid the Ashes” by Mesu Andrews

“The Crown of Anavrea” by Rachel Rossano

“Destiny Defied” and “Destiny Delivered” by J.A. Marx

“Ransomed” By Elizabeth Ender

Like I said, there were many!! I truly adored each of these books and they made huge impacts on my life. :)

So, what books did you read this past year, and which made it to your favourites? I’d love to hear!

Sorella Bella Review – Cassy Red Dress

I was extra pleased to be able to review this Cassy Red Dress from Sorella Bella – it is such a lovely dress, and looks 1940’s which, as you probably know, I have been looking for clothing as such!
The dress arrived very quickly, and I of course tried it on immediately. It fit well, and I love it!

The company is fantastic as well, and I received very quick and super kind and helpful response.
I really encourage you to check out their site, Sorella Bella. They have ADORABLE clothing, I am serious. I had a really hard time choosing which to review, because there are soo many lovely choices.

This is the dress on the site I chose:

Cute, yes? I thought so. The colour is bright and the black bow is so perfect for it. I love the material, as it is stretchy and not too clingy. I have a couple pictures to share, of me wearing this lovely dress.

 

 

 

 

I was going to put on red lipstick to compliment the colour, but I kinda forgot. :)

Anyway, I was really impressed with this dress, and am very thankful for the chance to review it! I would most definitely recommend this company to others – it is splendid!

 

Thank you,  Candace, and all from Sorella Bella for your kind help and generosity! I am so very pleased and would easily give this dress 5 stars! :)

19 in the 1940’s

One would think, by that title, that I am going to share some historic post, etc. But I’m actually not. So I do apologise for any hopes being dashed.
What this post is really about is…well, just come along for the ride and you can see.

Two days ago marked the date I was born 19 years ago. Commonly known as a birthday. To quote Dug the dog from the movie “UP” – “Today has been a very good birthday” – only put that to two days ago. Yes, ’twas a lovely day indeed, for many reasons. Excellent surprise, lovely time spent with my kindred spirit, Ken, and some pictures that made me feel like I was the heroine in my current favourite time era books. You getting the connection? Yes, the 1940’s. I love that time period. And WWII Christian fiction is some of the best fiction out there. Specifically Sarah Sundin’s books. Wowee. Walter in “A Distant Melody”? Yep, he was smashing.
The only sad thing about my birthday, is he didn’t show up…hmm…

But still, it was a marvelous day. And for a day, I got to be 19 in the 1940’s (Ah, there is the title!) for a little bit. And I wanted to share the pictures with you – just a couple at least. I also want to share them with you, because there are a couple of items worn in it, that are just lovely, and mayhaps you might be interested in getting your own. :) This lovely gal made me a messenger bag with green and brown, and the flight wings and cross, as well as a white lovely snood – both of these shall be pictured below! She also made me super snuggly slipper socks that are just…lovely. Yep, it is all lovely. If you like what you see in the pictures, or are just curious to see the gal’s blog, I will have her link below. She really has been super kind!

And without further ado, the pictures:

See the white snood and darling bag? I am soo thrilled with them!! Excellent birthday presents, I tell you.

 

 

 

So, there it is. I am trying to slowly find more 1940’s inspired outfits, because I really love that look. :) Oh and did you see Sarah Sundin’s books in the first two pictures? :D Those were birthday gifts as well, and I couldn’t be more pleased. If you haven’t read “The Wings of Glory” series yet, you really ought to!

Now to share the link to the blog belonging to the lovely gal who created the snood, bag and slippers (sadly the slippers are not pictured here, but they really are nice!).

ASC Book Reviews (ASC Photos and Designs)

Even if you don’t wish for a snood or bag, do check out her blog – Amada has a nice one! And good book reviews. :)

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Do you have a favourite time period? I’d love to hear from you. =)