What I’m ACTUALLY Doing Instead of BEA…

Where in the world have I been?!!?!?

I know, I know. I’m so sorry! May has been the craziest month for me! I read Amber’s (YA Indulgences) post about “Things to do Instead of BEA” and got inspired to create my own post explaining where in the world I’ve been and what in the world I’m doing other than blogging at the moment. To find Amber’s post, which is hilarious and absolutely accurate, click here! =)

So… Here is a small glimpse into my real life…

What I’m Actually Doing Instead of BEA

1. Running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off.

Seriously, I don’t know how I’ve survived. I’ve been living out of my car and have basically only been home to sleep. I didn’t see my boyfriend for a month and the only time I actually did see him was when I brought him to my cousins wedding…

2. Being a good cousin and bridesmaid!

My cousin’s wedding was the second weekend in May. I was there from Thursday through Saturday attending rehearsals, getting my hair, nails, and make-up done, making sure my cousin was okay, and taking thousands of pictures in cold wind. All with a smile on my face! It was a GREAT wedding and I LOVED being a part of it! I had to leave early on Saturday to go to work though…

3. Running around like a dance teacher during recital season…

Did I ever tell you all that in addition to being an English Teacher, I’m also a Dance Teacher at night? YUP! You heard that right! I actually work about three or four jobs, but only two on a regular basis. Have any of you ever had siblings or kids take dance classes and sat through a recital and all of the rehearsals that go with it? Recitals will usually run about 3-4 hours long, especially for the teachers running everything behind the scenes. The teachers also run the rehearsals which usually are longer. Not to mention working the lights, the music, the curtain, and making sure all girls and boys, ages two through eighteen, are going through their quick changes, all shoes are tied, making potty trips, etc…. You all get the point. Now imagine that your Dance director owns four studios… That’s four rehearsals, four recitals, and multiple ballet rehearsals as well. You can imagine why my first list item was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off…

4. Proctoring Keystone and AP Exams…

For anyone else who is a teacher out there, you all know that this is not only a nightmare for the students, but for the teachers as well. Our normal routine is thrown off, teachers can’t give homework, we have to get pulled from classes to proctor and close down our resource rooms, such as the library, so that large groups of students can take these tests. I’ve been proctoring for the entirety of May. The beginning was AP exams. The middle weeks were AP exams and Keystone Exams. This week and last week was Keystones and Keystone/AP make-up exams. It’s been miserable and, needless to say, I’m so happy it’s over. However, I’m now on to the fun part of the year…

5. PACKING MY CLASSROOM!

Good lord, I never knew how hard it was to pack all of my things up and carry them out to my car and find storage for all of my teaching/classroom things at home. It’s a very good thing that I have a shed in back of my house that seems to be reserved for all of my extra items and furnishings.

6. Crying, hugging, and petting all the books.

My current room operates as a secondary library for the school I work in. They provide me with a budget every year to buy some books, while I save up ARCs of my own for some of my students to borrow and for my future actual English classroom. However, because our high school got this new, awesome, amazing librarian, I’ve been told that all of the school books in my room have to be moved to the school library. I’ve been taking all of my personal books out of the classroom and hugging and petting my favorites good-bye. =( Though the school librarian is a good friend of mine, she isn’t keeping most of the books, even the brand new ones, because she already has most of them. It’s slightly heart breaking to see so many books getting sold/donated. It’s honestly hurt seeing many of them go.

7. Trying to organize SO MANY BOOKS!

I swear I’m trying to get rid of them, but I just keep getting more and more in! A HUGE thank you to The Midnight Garden for hosting a giveaway, allowing me to be the winner, and sending my name to HarperTeen for a box of ARCs! Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been trading with me and just giving me books out of the kindness of their heart! Especially those who have traded and given me books for summer signings! And, as always, THANK YOU to Britt at Please Feed the Bookworm for being THE BEST Secret Sister in the entire world and spoiling me every month. =) So much love to you, Britt! Every single one of you are awesome and I have a huge smile on my face every time I see a package on my doorstep when I get home! You all make my day so much better every day! The most exciting part of this organization is that I just went and bought a brand new BOOKCASE to assemble and put up in the spare bedroom!!! Can you see me squealing and jumping for joy?!?! I’M SO EXCITED TO ORGANIZE!!!

8. Camping!

I went camping this past weekend, after rehearsals, recitals, and weddings are all over, and LOVED IT! It’s been so long since I’ve been camping and I missed it so much. Not to mention that I had legitimately no cell phone service and had my phone turned off for the entire weekend because of it. I had no idea what time it was, who was tweeting, what calls I was getting, etc. and it was wonderful. I advise you all to do this at some point in your life. It’s so refreshing… minus the spiders and ticks… but I left work miserable and came back smiling!

9. Getting ready to write a manuscript.

Man, this is the most exciting thing for me. I’ve been planning out a manuscript for a few months now, knowing that I’d never be able to write it during the school year, and gearing myself up to begin writing it in the summer. My hope is to have book one finished by September. Who knows!! I’m just so excited to start! Myself and Lauren from Between The Pages have been bouncing ideas around and plotting and planning our own manuscripts with help from each other. It’s been such a great experience and she keeps me motivated and excited for this new chapter and opportunity in my life! YAYYYYYY I CAN’T WAIT!! Countdown to start date: 17 days!

10. A few blog surprises!

I’ve been working on a few blog surprises that will hopefully be able to be announced here in another week or two. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to get these surprises up and running! I hope that you will all join me in being as excited as I am! I’M DYING TO TELL YOU! =D

Thus is my life! It’s been an INSANE month!!! I hope you all can forgive me and understand that I’ve been running around like a mad woman. I do have a few things for you to look forward to, though:

Saturday, May 30th – I’ll be at BOOKCON! If anyone else is going on Saturday, let me know! Maybe we can wait in the same insanely long Starbucks line together. Ha! It will be my first time going and I’m really excited, but also slightly nervous! I hear it’s a madhouse!

Friday, June 5th – Review of The Gemstone by Sarena and Sasha Nanua. It’s a YA fantasy novel that I’m very excited to read and review! You can find it on Goodreads by clicking here!

Sunday, June 14th – Sunday Street Team Guest Post from Danielle Ellison, author of Days Like This. Danielle talks about the habit of running from your fears and how it not only relates to her life, but how it shows itself in her book as well. Can I just say that this guest post is AMAZING and I’m BEYOND THRILLED to post it! I read it already and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

I’m hoping to start picking up Top Ten Tuesdays again, as well. I swear, I’ll jump back on the blogging horse eventually! =)

I hope you all are doing well and that those of you at BEA are enjoying it! Those of you not at BEA can join me in crying silently and hugging your books close.

Love and miss you all!

Review: Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini

Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini:

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: August 28th, 2014

Goodreads Rating: 3.95 stars

Pages: 374

Synopsis:

“This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily’s other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.”

About the Author:

“Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. She graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.”

My Review:

Wow… just wowwwww…. I can’t even tell you how much I absolutely LOVE this book. I’m still in a coma. I started getting a headache from holding it all in, so I knew I had to write this review immediately. My headache is slowly ebbing. This book is INCREDIBLE. Let me just count the ways…

1. The world building!!!!

Oh my goodness, if there is something to die for, it’s this world. I love, love, love the way Josephine Angelini completely ripped apart our world, and created this one. Basically, the idea is that every choice you make creates an alternate universe in some way, shape, or form. This universe seemed to have branched form ours many centuries ago and still, to this day, has witches that now rule everything because they depleted science from their world. Therefore, witches must provide what for the citizens what science does in our world. The world building is seriously intense. The descriptions, the beasts, the factions of people, the buildings and general ways of living, it’s all so incredible. You get caught up in it SO easily and I was swept away within the first chapter of this world being introduced. Trust me when I say that you need to keep reading until you are introduced to this world… then, and only then, are you allowed to tell me what you think.

2. Lily…

I. Love. This. Female. Protagonist. She’s strong, powerful, passionate, determined, everything that a strong female SHOULD be and she’s not afraid to show it! Also, did I mention that this world is ruled by women? Because it totally is. Lily, though appearing weak in physical form at first, wowed me with her mental and emotional strength and determination. Throughout the book, it slowly changes to physical strength as well. Her inner strength manifests outwardly to protect those she loves above all else. Those of you looking for hidden powers, kick-ass women, and females who take control of the situation, YOU JUST FOUND HER! You can thank me later for your next favorite book and your new favorite character. She has a weakness, everyone has a weakness, and it makes her more easily relatable. Besides her one physical weakness, she doesn’t seem to have any others. Her emotional strength is so insanely powerful that it overcomes all else. You will see. She drags herself through the mud, the rough points, and against all hope just so that she can save everyone she loves and get to where she knows she has to be. The determination on her… I can only hope that I could ever turn out to be half the woman she is in this book. Seriously. I. LOVE. HER.

3. Rowan…

ROWAN!!! For those of you who have read Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas and are huge Rowan fans, you need to read this book. Listen, we all know that Rowan in HoF was based off Susan Dennard, so there will never be a romance between him and Celaena. HERE IS YOUR SECOND CHANCE! READ THIS DANG BOOK AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!! You want a hottie named Rowan who acts insanely close to the other Rowan and is just as swoon worthy, if not more… you just found him. Pick up this book ladies… PICK IT UP!!! He’s tall, dark, handsome, passionate, broken, beautiful, manly, masculine, gruff, faulted, soft, hard, rough, AND JUST EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER POSSIBLY WANT IN A MAN! READ IT! SWOON WITH ME!

4. Lillian and Juliet…

These two were just phenomenal. I loveeeee that Josephine didn’t neglect her secondary characters. This entire book is told in the third point of view so you get the emotions and scenes of all of the characters within it. She builds up all of her secondary characters which I really, really appreciated. I loved being able to get into the so called antagonist’s brain and pick her sister’s brain as well. You could sense and feel what they were all going through and the reasoning behind all of their actions. You can tell that they are human-like characters because they’re all flawed in some way shape or form and just doing the absolute best that they can. I can’t HATE any of the characters because of this, especially Juliet and Lillian. You will see, if you just read. I absolutely LOVE Lillian as the antagonist in this story because she’s just so insanely screwed up and faulted to a point where she’s crazy enough that you see her logic. Seriously. You need to read this book.

5. The science…

One of the things I thought was SO COOL was that Josephine explained all of the magic in her book with science. She used real life theorems and philosophies to help her main character and readers understand how magic worked in the other dimension. It brought a whole new real life characteristic to her fantasy and helped to support her world building. It also made Lily, her main character, seem more realistic and down to earth for me. By explaining things and trying to make sense of them with science, I found myself relating to her more and realizing that she’s really just trying to understand the basics and is learning, struggling, and fighting with the rest of them. Seeing the close relationship Josephine made between science and magic was interesting really. They’re supposed to be on opposite sides of the spectrum, one abstract and the other concrete, but instead, Josephine made them two different side of the same coin, if you can get my drift. It made me look at the world in a whole new light and start to believe that maybe the impossible is possible. She brought my inner child out with this type of relationship and made me remember what it was like to dream of a world that could have anything happen. A world where scientists could invent anything and everything and where ghosts are real and that maybe there are people with magical powers. My little kid side has been doing flips inside my mind for a while now, satisfied and re-energized.

In reality, I honestly disliked ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this book. I can’t tell you enough that you all need to read this book and please, please get back to me on what you think about it. This needs to be on your TBR and I can’t BELIEVE that I never discovered it until I found it one day on Goodreads, added it to my wishlist, forgot about it, and then found it in my Secret Sister package this past month. So, THANK YOU SECRET SISTER, whomever you may be, for introducing me to this book. I found my new book boyfriend, and a long time new favorite book and main character. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS NOVEL. KUDOS to you, Josephine Angelini. I think I need to read the rest of your books and I will be so insanely impatient while waiting for your sequel, Firewalker (which comes out the same day as Queen of Shadows… Y’all, what in the world and I to do with TWO ROWANS in a day?!?!?!).

Overall: 5 large stars!

Buy from Barnes and Noble here!

Buy from Amazon here!

Josephine, I love you. I love your book. I need more of you in my life. I’m not as creepy and stalker-ish as I sound, I swear!

❤ Kelly

Review: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie

Genre: YA Paranormal/Thriller

Publisher: Weinstein Books

Publication Date: March 24th, 2015

Goodreads Rating: 4.03 stars

Pages: 296

Synopsis:

“Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Sunshine Griffith and her mother Kat move from sunny Austin, Texas, to the rain-drenched town of Ridgemont, Washington. Though Sunshine is adopted, she and her mother have always been close, sharing a special bond filled with laughter and inside jokes. But from the moment they arrive, Sunshine feels her world darken with an eeriness she cannot place. And even if Kat doesn’t recognize it, Sunshine knows that something about their new house is just … creepy.

In the days that follow, things only get stranger. Sunshine is followed around the house by an icy breeze, phantom wind slams her bedroom door shut, and eventually, the laughter Sunshine hears on her first night evolves into sobs. She can hardly believe it, but as the spirits haunting her house become more frightening—and it becomes clear that Kat is in danger—Sunshine must accept what she is, pass the test before her, and save her mother from a fate worse than death.”

My Review:

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t really go into it with any expectations, which seemed to be the way to go! I quickly found that it had more of a contemporary feel, which surprised me. I’m not much of a contemporary reader, but I got sucked into this book more and more as Sunshine’s character started to come into focus. The dialogue and writing is slightly choppy, but within the first chapter or two, the writing gets better and you adjust to Sunshine’s thought process. She was not a hard character to relate to at all! In order to put my thoughts into more organized sections, I’m giving you five reasons I think you should read this book:

1. I love Sunshine.

I’m honestly believe you all will love her too. I just felt like I had this insane connection to Sunshine and I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was me in character form. From her curly hair, quirky personality, and outsider feel, down to her belief in ghosts and inability to ever get anyone to believe what she has experienced! Seriously, she’s my twin, clone, whatever you want to call her, and I love her so, so much. I seriously think if you’re as much of a book nerd as me, you will love her as much as I do. This is especially true if you’re a fiend for ghost stories and the paranormal!!!

2. Paige built another “world” of the paranormal.

This was SO awesome. I can’t give you too much without giving away the book, but Paige basically took the hauntings and ghosts that everyone has heard before and found a way to explain them. She took the ghosts and built layers of their world and the world of the paranormal brick by brick. When sunshine learned more about the paranormal world, you learned more about the paranormal world, and it was FASCINATING! I will tell you, most of the learning about this world will probably come in book 2 of this series which is set to come out in 2016. There will also be a book 3! It’s going to be a trilogy!! The next book will assumingly be about her exploring the paranormal world that Paige has created and her role in it… which is just plain AWESOME!!! I’m totally down for exploring ghost world.

3. It wasn’t so creepy that it kept me from sleeping every night.

I was a little wary of starting to read this book when I already knew that I was short on sleep and would be for the next month or so. I took precautions to never read this book at night. However, this book wasn’t all that scary. I was actually more intrigued than anything! It was fascinating to learn about Paige/Sunshine’s world of demons, ghosts, and exorcisms! I loved that she built this entire other world out of known paranormal experiences. I wanted to know so much more about this world and I’m impatiently waiting for the sequel to let me in!

4. There was a lot of sarcasm and some humor to offset the scary parts!

The way this book was written, it had a generally darker feel to it, but it wasn’t all gore, ghosts, and thrills. It was just Sunshine, living her regular life and trying to make it through a haunting. She was sarcastic, funny, and a seemingly normal teenager otherwise! It helped to take my mind of the scary parts where she was being haunted by demons and things that go bump in the night.

5. It reads more like a mystery.

I picked this book up thinking it was going to be more like a thriller, but I guess because I’m used to ghost stories, it read more like a mystery to me. Now, granted, after I read certain parts, I’d still see some dark shadows and hear some bumps in the night and freak out, running to my room. However, this book really read more like a contemporary mystery with paranormal parts to it. It touched on the paranormal and fantastical elements, especially towards the end, because it’s setting the plot line up for more of her role in the paranormal world to take place in the next few books. There were plenty of ghosts and hauntings in it to keep my mind occupied, but all of the information about this world was new to both myself and Sunshine. She was digging up all of this information to try and solve her problem. As she was figuring it all out, so were you. It was just a matter of trying to fit all the pieces together at the end. In essence, it was definitely a mystery. Everything comes together in the end and you have the final fight to end all, like literature should do. However, be warned, this book does end on a little bit of a cliffy!!

The one thing I didn’t like is something that I can’t tell you. It’s also the one thing that is making me not give this book 5 stars. I just have to say that there was something at the end of this story where I kind of sat there, tilted my head, and went… “What?… Why???… I mean, I get why, but I feel like that just happened to skip to the good part… I feel like there should be more of a solution or fight here? Or maybe an explanation?” It just felt like it was put in there for no apparent reason other than as a solution to the problem at hand. I am holding on to that part, hoping that it is explained more in the sequel, because I’d really like to understand why and how that happened!!!

So, all in all, would I recommend this book? YES! I think if you’re willing to give the paranormal a try, this would be a great book for both YA contemporary and fantasy readers to dive into. It’s short, fun, and a little bit of a thrill ride! It’s not too terrifying while still being focused on the paranormal just enough to keep you interested. The mystery and contemporary feel to it keep you reading voraciously through the pages while the small fantastical elements and the paranormal world keep you fascinated and intrigued. I think this book is definitely worth a shot because it appeals to so many different readers! Give it a try! What’s there to lose!! I will say, if you are easily scared and plan to actually sleep at night, I advise you to only read this book during the day. 😉

Congratulations Paige McKenzie on a great debut novel and a wonderful youtube series, which you can find HERE. Your YouTube channel is completely terrifying, by the way! If any readers want a real scare and possibly a laugh (because Paige is just adorable), go check out her YouTube videos at the link above!

Overall: 4.5 stars!!

Buy from Barnes and Noble here!

Buy from Amazon here!

Also, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York readers, Paige McKenzie will be at the Princeton, NJ Barnes and Noble on Wednesday, June 3rd!! Go see her! She’s a doll! =) Find the event by clicking here!

P.S. If you’re interested in this book, keep an eye out for an upcoming giveaway! Follow my twitter (@YAFantasyFan) for the announcement!

❤ Kelly

Spectacularly Swanky Saturday #2 – Dream Library

Spectacularly Swanky Saturday: The Dream Library

Welcome to the SECOND OFFICIAL SPECTACULARLY SWANKY SATURDAY! Today, Lauren, Lindsey, Britt, Chelsea, Emily, and myself are creating our dream libraries on our blogs! You can join in the fun by creating your own libraries on your blogs, or even just posting pictures of what your dream library would look like in our comments! We would love to hear from you!

What is Spectacularly Swanky Saturday?

You can find out more about Spectacularly Swanky Saturdays by clicking on the “Spectacularly Swanky Saturdays” page at the top of my blog, or by following this link: https://livelovereadya.wordpress.com/spectacularly-swanky-saturdays/

The following is a quick summary of what Spectacularly Swanky Saturdays is and why we created it:

Spectacularly Swanky Saturdays is a monthly blog post filled with fun and original ideas to unite the blogging community and our readers. Though it’s hosted by the “swank six”, we invite everyone to join us on our monthly journey to celebrate our love of all things bookish! Below is a schedule of our monthly events, which will be posted the first Saturday of every month. If you would like to join, please link back or tag myself or one of the “swank six” in your post! You can also post a picture or write what you would like in a comment on our blogs, if you don’t have your own blog to post on! In addition, feel free to put a link to your post in a tweet so that EVERYONE can see it and join in the fun! Just make sure to put the hashtag #SwankySat with it, so we don’t miss it! We can’t wait to see the creative ideas you all come up with! This feature will be such a fun way to interact with other bloggers, readers, and writers, so don’t be shy! Put yourself out there and join in the fun! We welcome everyone!

The “Swank Six” hosts:

Kelly

Live, Love, Read

@YAFantasyFan

Lindsey

Bring My Books

@bringmybooks

Brittany

Please Feed The Bookworm

@kalebsmome

Emily

Midwestern Book Nerd

@em_nelsonn

Lauren

Between The Pages

@BetweenDPages

Chelsea

Between The Pages

@MissyPrissy12

This Week…

I was SO EXCITED to do this post! I was somewhat hesitant at first, thinking I would be buried under pictures of everything I wanted and not be able to choose or really know what I would dream of! However, as I was browsing through some pictures, the library I dreamed of slowly came into view. Once that started happening, I was all…

Let me tell you this, creating your dream library/office space is SO MUCH FRIGGIN FUN! You need to try it! I’m ecstatic to share my dream library with you and I really hope you like it as much as I do! I’m simplistic in some ways, with modern and expensive touches here and there. I love nature and try to stay close to it. Maybe some of you feel the same!! Alright, I can’t keep delaying… SCROLL DOWN AND EXPLORE MY DREAMS! =D

My Dream Library!

Alright, so to start this off, I really want this type of space. The vaulted ceilings, the huge and endless windows, and the fireplace in the corner!! Something large, but cozy!!!! =) There would be another wall or half wall at least of windows to the left of this picture, around the corner, and possibly a door to another area on the right side of the fireplace?! P.S. The stone fireplaces that go all the way to the ceiling are my favorites!!! You can get rid of the TV in my library though! 

This furniture would definitely go to the left corner in the above picture, hopefully with windows like this instead! I would really love to have windows that open like this so that in the spring I can sit on my window seats, that will look exactly like these, and just read and work with the breeze coming in and the sun on my face. Ugh, I’m so happy just thinking about it!!

I’d definitely like this ottoman instead of the one in the above picture!! I like the bigger ones and this one doubles as a larger table!!

Across the window seats and the ottoman, I would put two couches like the ones in this picture to finish out a nice, square seating area! Oh my goodness, it would be so beautiful! I could sit, relax, look out the windows, get warm by the fire, socialize with friends, and do so much in such a beautiful setting!

I’d love to have this type of wood flooring and these white bookshelves on every wall not covered in windows or a fireplace! I just think they’re so lovely and the white will really make the space seem bright and welcoming! 

I want to be an author and writer one day. My library would probably double as my office and I absolutely LOVE this desk setting. I like to feel surrounded by my desk. I’m always more comfortable when I’m cocooned by the space around me. L and U shaped desks are my favorite! Behind me would obviously be bookshelves and the desk would face the sitting area and windows. Obviously I’d have a rolling chair in here too, because a chair like that simply won’t do!

Obviously with a library this elaborate, I’d have a loft area. I would love to have these kind of wooden steps up to my loft area! The wood and classic spiral staircase, especially if it’s close to a window just pull at my heart.

I would want my loft to be small; it would look something like this and would be placed over my desk and the door to my room. I would want a little reading nook up here in the middle of my bookshelves and a high window on the second or third floor to look out over the scenery on while I’m day dreaming, reading, plotting, etc. I could seriously probably live in this library and be perfectly happy so far… I would just have to make sure the walls and ceiling are not that red color!

I brought this picture into the equation because this would be the color of my walls and this is exactly the vaulted ceiling I would want with the classic wood and beams. A ceiling fan to shift the hot air around from the fireplace would be nice as well! Ugh, Oh my goodness, my heart is just bursting. I want this space so badly!!!

You can’t have this kind of indoor space without having some outdoor space! I’d want a door to an outdoor deck like this either off the loft or on the right side of the corner fireplace pictured in the first picture. That way I can still have my view on one side of the room and have this deck on the other! This is an AMAZING outdoor space and I just adore that it’s built around a tree!!! I LOVE NATURE!

Last but not least, my view would look something like the picture above and the picture below. I want to live somewhere in the wooded mountains. I want to be secluded and just surrounded by nature. I want to see the sun streaking through the trees and into my library on the brightest of days. I want to witness the wind howling over the mountain and moving the trees in the midst of a storm and be able to get inspiration from it all. All weather would just be so beautiful, if only I could have a view like this every. single. day. I would give up just about everything I have to be able to have this library with this view and environment to be a part of every single day.

So what do you all think? Can you picture it? Do you like it?! Oh my goodness, I JUST LOVE IT AND I’M GOING TO DREAM ABOUT IT EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE! This was SO MUCH FUN to do!!! Just following my heart and allowing myself to recognize my dreams like this feels amazing. Of course, I don’t necessarily expect this to ever happen, but wouldn’t it just be wonderful if there was such a room out there and I could have it in my future house? 

What about your dream library?!

What would your dream library look like? It can be an actual library, a house library, realistic, completely fantastical, anything you want!! What would you make it if you had the power and ability to make all of your library dreams come true?! =) Tell us! We’d love to see and talk about your dreams! 

Go check out the other girls and their blogs too! They have some pretty amazing ideas and all of our libraries are EXTRAORDINARILY different! There’s something magical about being friends with people who are so insanely different or opposite of you, and these ladies fit the bill. We’re all so different, but yet so, very the same. Please join us and we can all celebrate our similarities and differences together! I’d love to see all of your ideas! What would you put in your dream library?!

I hope you join us today and explore the fun that can be had! I HAD SO MUCH FUN!! Okay, I really need to stop rambling now and just post this! =) HA! 

Look for a review on The Haunting of Sunshine Girl coming this week! 

The next Spectacularly Swanky Saturday is on June 6th! 

June 6th – Most Anticipated Release

“What is your most anticipated new release of the summer?! Why are you excited for it?! Make this a spotlight on your blog if you would like and help the author promote their masterpiece!”

If you have any questions, comments, etc., please feel free to get in touch with me! I’d love to hear from all of you! =)

I hope you all have an amazing rest of your weekend! Relax! Enjoy life! Live your life!