Hello everybody! I hope you are having a wonderful day so far! Today, I’m posting a summer aesthetic! If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you most likely know that I love to make aesthetics, especially one for each season! So, here is one for summer! Hope you enjoy it! 😃
That’s all for today! I got all the pictures from Pixabay! If you want to check out any of my other aesthetics, click here! Thanks for reading! I hope you’re having a good Monday and Fourth of July! See y’all on Thursday!! 😀
Hello everybody! I know that this is my second post today, but I wanted to get my monthly wrap-up posted before we get too far into July! June was a pretty good month for me, but I did feel like it went by really fast!
Books I read
I got three books read in June.
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. This was a sweet, fun, quick contemporary read! It definitely gave me some summer vibes! I read Jenny Han’s other series, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and loved it, so I thought that I’d read this series! I loved it, and gave it 4.75 out of 5 stars!
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano. This was one that I read for my English class. I didn’t like it much, but there were some interesting descriptions and scenes. I rated it 2 out of 5 stars.
Emma by Jane Austen was the last book I read. I was assigned to read Pride and Prejudice last year for my English, and I enjoyed it a lot, so I thought that I would read another Jane Austen book! Emma was a really fun book! I liked it a lot and I rated it a 4.75 out of 5!
Writing updates
I barely wrote at all this month! I know that I was trying to finish the whole novel in June, which definitely did not happen, but I think that taking a break was good for me because now I really want to write it. I am planning to share a bit more about it once I finish the first draft!
Crochet
I got some crocheting done this month, including a summer top, and some smaller projects, like washcloths. I am currently working on another top, but I ran out of yarn, so I have to wait and get some more!
Running
I am really proud of my running this month! I stuck with the 10k training plan, and only have a few more weeks left! It’s getting so hot here, so I have been getting up earlier and getting my runs in early when it’s still cooler out, or going in the evening. Running in the middle of the day in summer is brutal. I’ve also been focusing on warming up before my runs, which I’m bad about, and cross-training, which I have done more of this month!
Definitely not a lot of posts in June, but in July, I’m going to be posting twice a week again, because school is settling down for the summer and I’m not as busy!
Reviewing my June goals
Read a Kasie West book Sadly, I did not get around to it. I couldn’t buy one, and I couldn’t find any at my library
Follow the 10k training plan Yes, I did this!
Run 20 miles (at least) 39 miles! 😃
This might be too ambitious, but I want to finish my contemporary novel Yeah, definitely not…😅
Post once a week I only missed one week this month.
Read five books Nope!
Make a summer bucket list Yes, I did!
Goals for July
Exercise every day
Get caught up (at least a little bit) on tags, awards, and nominations on my blog
Write for 20 minutes each day
Make a schedule
Hydrate more, because it’s getting super hot
Do a 10k run
Post a book review
Take more walks, and enjoy nature
Important events in June
I visited some family and relatives, which was fun!
VBS happened one week at our church, and I helped! My siblings all had fun, too!
Awaiting season 4 vol. 2 of Stranger Things!!! It finally came out today, and I’m going to be watching the first episode tonight! (I’m so scared!) Do any of y’all watch Stranger Things?
I made a new blog in May, which I posted about in my last monthly wrap-up, but I recently changed the name and the link, so here is the new one: Rambles With the Saints Please check it out, and follow if you want!
Pictures from June
We went on a little car ride, and I got Subway for the first time! (At least that I remember. There might have been a time I had it when I was younger.) It was so good!My crochet project in the car. It was a washcloth! I usually get pretty carsick when I crochet or read in the car, so I didn’t get that much of either done on the trip.Messing around with the macro photography on my phone! I kind of like how this picture turned out!Watermelon is the perfect summer snack!Yum!We got this Stranger Things Surfer Boy pizza one day, and it was actually really good!!Reading Emma on the porch on a nice cool day. ☺Another macro shot! I was working on a puzzle, and I think this picture is pretty cool!My puzzle of the Eiffel Tower! ❤ Almost done!Strawberry smoothies made with strawberries from our own garden! Smoothies are one of my favorite summer foods, especially for after I go on a run!Crocheting outside with some of my favorite yarn, Lion Brand’s Coboo! It’s the perfect yarn for crocheting summer patterns, especially tops! 💕My sister’s dog is adorable!!The theme for this month’s bookshelf display was “Comfort reads”. This includes nostalgic reads or ones that my sister and I read when we were younger…books that feel like home. She made this sign, and it’s amazing! Here are the books! Lovely War by Julie Berry, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, and The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. My sister also made the eye of Sauron (on the right) from The Lord of the Rings series! She’s so artistic and creative!
That’s all! Thanks for reading today’s post! How was your month? Which books did you read in June? What are your goals for July? I’d love to chat in the comments! 😊 Have an amazing day!
Guys!! Guess what?!?! Well, you probably saw from the title: I’m celebrating my one year blogiversary! (Blog + anniversary) 🥳🥳 Books and Hooks is one year old!
I’m so happy to have this blog and to be in this wonderful community of bloggers. Everybody’s so kind and amazing! Thank you! I have had so much fun this past year with my blog! I think that blogging is an amazing way for me to share things about my different hobbies with people, and to talk about my thoughts! I totally love blogging, and plan to continue doing it through the next few years! ❤
Here are the stats on my blog from the past year:
Total followers: 126
Total published posts: 84
Total comments: 670
Total likes: 1,212
Total visitors: 1,419
Total views: 4,507
To celebrate, I thought I would ask you guys to submit some assumptions you have about me! Please comment them down below and I will react to them in a separate post! If there is one that I don’t feel comfortable with, I am not going to include it in the post.
Also, if you’re reading this on my blog (not in WordPress reader), you might have noticed that I have a new theme, new colors, new headers, and everything!! I just felt like my blog needed a change! I also created a new blog button, so if you’ve swapped with me, you can update it on your blog if you like! 😀
I’m also going to be having a new posting schedule, starting next week: I’ll be posting twice a week again, on Monday and Thursday!
Thanks again to everyone who has been kind, and commented or liked my posts! I really love the blogging community, and I think that you’re all amazing! 🥰
Thanks for reading today’s post! Remember to comment with any assumptions you have of me! I hope you have an amazing day, and I’ll see you guys soon! 💕🙂
Hello everybody! Today I’m here with a tag I was nominated for! Thanks to Maggie and Heidi for including my blog in their posts! You should definitely go check out both of their blogs, because they post really fun posts that I enjoy reading a lot!
The tag I’m going to be doing is the “Blogger Recommendations Tag.” I really like the idea of this tag!
“The Blogger Recommendations Tag is essentially a way for bloggers to share some of their favorite bloggers with their readers. It helps the readers discover more blogs and also brings appreciation to the bloggers mentioned.” — Nehal @ Quirky Page (the creator of this tag)
Okay, let’s begin!
Rules
Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
Mention the creator of the tag: Nehal @ Quirky Pages.
List the rules.
Share one or more bloggers you think fits into each criteria.
The people you mention will be considered tagged.
Apart from the ones you shared, you can tag other bloggers and notify them.
Just have fun!!
The list of prompts
A fascinating blog theme
A lovely home page
Great book reviews
Amazing humour
Mind-blowing poems and stories
The friendliest
The most consistent
The best at sharing tips
The talented artist
Cool site name
The underrated
A fascinating blog theme:
Pearl’s blog, The Homeschooled Girl, is really pretty! I love the yellow, all the sunflowers, and I just think that her whole blog is super pretty!
I also love the blog that Sylvie @Musings of a Bookworm created! The theme is so pretty, and I love the colors and the fonts!
A lovely home page:
Miriam @Inside Miriam’s Mind created a super nice page! It looks very simple, neat, and organized, and I love that!
Great book reviews:
Suhani @Random Reader’s Rambles shares amazing book reviews! She makes them so fun to read, and I always want to go check out the book that she’s reviewing!
Victoria and Isabelle @Bookworm Hollow do some amazing book reviews as well! I always enjoy reading their reviews, because they give a detailed summary of their thoughts, but don’t end up spoiling anything!
Amazing humor:
I really like Selina’s personality and humor! Be sure to check out her blog, Simply Selina, because she shares very fun posts!
Mind-blowing poems and stories:
Stara @The Pool of Thoughts writes some amazing poems, and I love reading all the haikus she writes!
The friendliest:
I think that all of you are amazing and friendly, but here are a few people that came to mind when I read this prompt:
The first person I thought of when I read this was Maggie @Maggie’s Doodles! She’s just so nice and friendly when commenting or replying to comments, and shares a lot of amazing and encouraging posts!
Aayushi @Ash Radiance is so nice, friendly, and positive!
Heidi @Heidi Lane is also so friendly as well as helpful! Make sure to look at her blog, because she shares some great posts!
The most consistent:
Maybe Rachel @A Bookworm’s Paradise! She posts so consistently, and it seems like she reads a lot of books!! I love reading her posts!
Diamond @I Have 12% of a Plan also is very consistent with her blogging, and also her reading!
The best at sharing tips:
The Living the Blogging Life team!! They share such amazing tips, and I always find myself coming back to their blog when I need help with something on my blog!
Rajonya @Princesss World does amazing paintings and sketches!!
The Pastel Bicycle @The Paster Bicycle also makes some really amazing crochet creations that I love to see!
Cool site name:
I like the name Raegan came up with for her blog, Raegan’s Full Mind! I also love all the content she shares, so you should make sure to check out her blog!
The underrated:
I don’t see that much about Sophia’s blog, Teen Writer in SG, but she shares amazing posts about books, her poems, and other things in her life! Everyone go check her blog out!!
Nominations: Anybody who I mentioned in this post! If you already did this post, don’t want to, or are tag-free, sorry for bothering you! Also, if I didn’t mention your blog, but you still want to do it, please do! I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s posts!
That’s all for today! Thanks for reading, and have an amazing day, everyone! ❤
Hi everybody! Today, I’m sharing some bookish phone wallpapers I made on Canva! I’m sure that a lot of you have at least heard of Canva, but if you haven’t, it’s a website where you can create different designs. It’s where I make all of my featured images for each post I do!
If you want, you can absolutely use one of these wallpapers!
Thanks for reading today’s post! Which was your favorite? Would you like to see another post with summery wallpapers? I’d love to chat in the comments!
Hello, hello, hello! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I definitely did: I visited some relatives, and it was really fun!
Today, I’m posting a monthly wrap-up for May! 💕
Books
I barely got any reading done this month!
A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir was the first one I read. I already read it in 2020, when it came out, so I thought it was definitely time for a re-read, because I was going through the series again. My sister and I listened to it together, and it was just as sad as I remembered it being! 😭 If any of y’all have read this book, you probably know what I’m talking about! 💔 Of course, it’s 5/5 stars!!
Walden by Henry David Thoreau was the other book I read this month. It was an autobiography I had to read for my English autobiography class, and I really didn’t like it. A lot of Thoreau’s arguments don’t make sense, and there were a lot of really boring descriptions. I like some of the themes and ideas, such as the fact that we should simplify our lives a little bit, but not so much so that we’re living in casket sized boxes (something that he suggested in his book.) I wrote a few essays about it on my school blog. I only gave it one star, because of these reasons. Have you ever read it? Would you agree with me?
In June, I want to try to read Kasie West’s newest release, Places We’ve Never Been because it looks really cute and summery! I also want to read one that she wrote a little while that I haven’t gotten to yet, Sunkissed.
Writing
This month, I planned to just write my contemporary book, which I did, and get to 60,000 words, which I didn’t. I’m at about 40,000 words. When I finish the first draft, would you guys like to see a week long series about the book? Like, one day maybe I’ll talk about the plot, then I’ll share an aesthetic, and some quotes? Let me know if you’d like to see something like that! 🙂
Crochet
I finished a few projects this month including a top and a skirt! I also did a few smaller projects, like washcloths! I did get sooo close to running out of yarn (actually running out!!!) but I got some more, thank goodness, lol! 😌
Running
I followed my 10k training plan pretty good at the beginning, but during the last half of the month, I didn’t follow it as well, partly because we had family visiting, and I wanted to spend some time with them. This month, I’m really going to try to stick to it!
Posts
I didn’t really stick to my posting schedule this month, which I’m going to try to do better with in June!
Post every Monday I didn’t post quite every Monday, but I did post pretty regularly.
Do a book review I did not get around to doing this, because I didn’t really read any new books. I’m going to try to do a book review in June!
Follow my 10k running plan Like I said earlier, I followed it for a while, but for the past couple weeks, I haven’t really been following it, just running for how long I felt for.
Focus on writing the contemporary novel I did! I think that I only wrote this one, which really helped me get more into the story than writing all of the different books that I’m working on!
Finish reading “The Return of the King” I did not. I’m only on chapter 2 or 3. I don’t know why I’m having so much trouble reading this series. I like them, but I feel like they are books that you kind of have to take slowly to process everything, especially because of the old way they’re written.
Get to 60,000 words in the first draft of my contemporary novel I did not. I’m only at about 40,000 words
June goals
Read a Kasie West book
Follow the 10k training plan
Run 20 miles (at least)
This might be too ambitious, but I want to finish my contemporary novel
Post once a week
Read five books
Make a summer bucket list
Pictures from May
Here are a few pics I took in May!
I got some Converse!! I absolutely love them! Thanks, mom and dad! 😁Another pic! What’s your favorite outfit with Converse?I took this picture of this leaf because I thought that it looked like a heart! 💚 I don’t think that the pictures turned out super good, but oh well!Another!!!I took these pictures of this pretty purple in my yard! Do you know what kind it is?
And, some ice cream to finish it all off!!
Important events
May was a pretty amazing month! There were some great things that happened! ☺
“Stranger Things” season four came out!!! I love this tv show, and I love the season so far!! The final two episodes of the season are coming out on July first, so I am excited for those, too!! I’m going to be posting a review soon!
We had some family visiting, which was fun!!
Soccer has ended for the season. While I’m kind of sad that it’s done, I’m also kind of relieved because it takes up so much time. I think that taking a little break is good. It was definitely an amazing season, though!!
I finished my Algebra 2 math book, and now I’m on to geometry, which I actually kind of enjoy
I started a new blog called “A Catholic Girl’s Musings“. If you want to, please check it out! I’ll be posting things about my Catholic faith, my beliefs, and I’ll also share recommendations for good Catholic books, movies, music, etc.
Conclusion
May was a pretty good month for me! ❤ I had some visiting with family, which was super fun, and Stranger Things 4, which is my absolute favorite show, was amazing. I’m going to post a review for it on this blog sometime soon!
How was your May? Did anything important happen this month? I’d love to chat in the comments!
Thank you all for reading! I hope you all have a great week, and I’ll see you next week!
Hello everybody! I hope you had a lovely weekend! Today, I’m going to be posting the winners of the photography contest that I hosted! ☺
First, let me just say that everyone’s photos were amazing, and I had such a hard time choosing which ones would win. But of course there has to be a winner, so let’s get into the post! I’ll be linking everyone’s blogs who have participated, as well as their photos!
I love these flowers! The colors are really pretty, and the angle that the picture was taken at was really great! The flowers are also really clear and sharp!
Honeysuckles always make me think of spring, and the picture turned out really great! I can see a lot of little details in this photo, which is amazing!
Thank you all for entering! I had such a fun time seeing the creative and beautiful pictures you all entered! I actually got more people entering than I expected, so that was nice! 💖😊
What reminds you of spring? What’s your favorite season? Do you like photography? I’d love to chat in the comments!
Okay, I’ll see you guys on Monday with a monthly wrap up! Have a great day, and thanks for reading! Bye!
Hello! I hope everyone’s having an amazing day so far!! 😃
Tomorrow is May 20th, the last day you can submit your photo for the photography contest I’m hosting to celebrate 100 followers!! Click here to read about the rules, and how to participate!
Here are all of the contestants so far:
Maggie Stara Duo Disseminators Corrie S.P. Heidi
If you entered a photo, and I didn’t include it in that list, please comment, so I can add it!!
Thanks for 100 followers, again, and I’ll be excited to judge all of the photos!! ❤ Have an amazing rest of your day!
Hello, happy Monday!!! I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start! ☺
So, around the time I first started my blog, I wrote a post called “Five YA Book Cliches” and I’ve been meaning to do a part two for a while, but never really got around to writing it until now. Thank you to Sophia, who gave me some great ideas for this part two!!!
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#1: Grinning crookedly
I can think of soooo many books with this, where someone (usually the male love interest) “grins crookedly”. Like, what does that even mean? How can someone grin crookedly??
#2: Dreams with meanings
It’s either the main character has a dream that literally solves the whole problem (a lot of the time, they don’t notice this until later), or where the dream has a lot of meaning. I don’t know about y’all, but my dreams are so random and weird and they don’t make any sense at all.
#3: Expressive eyes/faces
It’s always where the main character is like “I can see the look of hope in his eyes”, “She smiles, but I can see the fear in her eyes”, or “The child’s face is pulled together in a look of worry”. This one’s not that annoying, because people can usually see emotions displayed in people’s eyes, but this happens in these books *all the time*.
#4: Looking in the mirror
This usually happens when the main character gets all dressed up and looks in the mirror and says something like “I don’t recognize the girl staring back at me through the mirror”. It annoys me a lot because it’s in so many books, it seems! (A lot of fantasy and dystopian, I think.)
#5: “I hear something in their voice”
This is one that’s similar to the third. It’s when the narrator is like “I hear an emotion in their voice, but choose to ignore it” or “I can clearly hear the distress in her words”. Like the one about the eyes, this isn’t that bad, but it just happens so much!
°•. ✿ .•°
Okay, thanks for reading! How many of these are in your current read? Do you have any more to add to the list? Did you enjoy today’s post? I’d love to chat in the comments!
Thanks again to Sophia for giving me a lot of these ideas! Everyone should go check out her blog because she has a lot of really fun posts!
I hope everyone has a great day and week and I’ll see y’all in a week! 😊
Hey! 😊 Sorry, guys, that I haven’t been posting regularly! Things have been kind of crazy, but I’m going to try to post more consistently in May!
Books I read
Saint Gianna: Her Life of Joy and Heroic Sacrificeby Giuliana Pelucchi. I bought this book because I wanted to learn more about this saint! The book was pretty well-written, though it did get a bit boring at certain points. (I feel like this is the case for a lot of biographies.) I definitely did learn more about this heroic saint through this book! I rated it 4.75/5 stars.
St. Maria Goretti in Garments All Redby Godfrey Poage. This is another saint biography. My sister found it at a thrift store, bought it, and read it. I decided to read it, then. I think that Saint Maria Goretti was such a brave person, and this book was also written really well. 4.5/5 stars.
I Am Margaret by Corinna Turner. My cousin recommended this book, so I decided to get it. I loved it! There were only a few things that I didn’t like, such as the unusual font, but I got used to it as I read. Another thing about it that made me not enjoy it as much as I would have, is the fact that my cousin was hyping it up a lot. I still rated it 5/5 stars, though!
The Case For Easter by Lee Strobel. I watched the movie”The Case For Christ” a while ago, so I decided to pick this book up before Easter. It definitely gave a lot of great evidence of Jesus’s death and resurrection. I would recommend it to anyone! 5/5 stars.
TwelveYears as a Slaveby Solomon Thompson. This was another autobiography I was assigned to read for my English class. I found the details very descriptive, and it was written very well. 5/5 stars!
Echoby Pam Muñoz Ryan. I started this book a little while ago and then stopped reading it. I picked it up again and finished it in a few days. I absolutely loved it! It’s a few different stories in one book, following one harmonica as it transforms three different children’s lives. I also loved the ending, because it just tied everything together nicely! I’m thinking about doing a full book review for this book! I gave it 5/5 stars!
Writing updates
I did not get much writing done this month. I feel like I’ve been busier with school and soccer, but I’m going to try and get more writing done in May! I’m just going to try to focus on one of my books, the contemporary one!
Crochet
I got a good amount of crochet done this month! I even posted a pattern for Easter bunny keychains! I’m running out of yarn now, though!!!! I might do a yarn haul soon!
Running
I actually reached my goals this month! I aimed to run 20 miles, and I did *exactly* that!
Get 100 followers and do a special post Yesss! Thank you for 100 followers! I never thought that in less than a year, I’d reach this many followers! 😊 I am doing a photography contest to celebrate! The deadline is May 20th, but I might have to push it back because no one has entered yet.
Run 20 miles (actually do it this time!!) I did! Like I said, it was exactly 20 miles!
Post a crochet pattern I did! Here is my pattern for cute little crochet bunny keychains!!!
Do a book review I didn’t get around to this. I am going to try to do one in May, though! ☺
Get some bike rides in! Yup! I was trying to focus on doing more cross-training this month on the days I didn’t run!
Do at least one lesson of Spanish a day There were some days I didn’t get around to doing a lesson, but I tried to do one lesson a day! In case anyone’s wondering, I’m learning Spanish on Duolingo.
Practice piano every day Yes!
Goals for May
Post every Monday
Do a book review
Follow my 10k running plan
Focus on writing my contemporary novel
Finish reading “The Return of the King”
Get to 60,000 words in the first draft of my contemporary nove
I’m not going to be able to add any of my pictures from April right now. I might come back and add them later!
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Thanks for reading! How was your April? If you celebrate it, what did you do for Easter? Did you reach your goals?I’d love to hear from y’all in the comments! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is having an amazing Monday! Have a great week! 😀
Books and Hooks 