The Spring Joy Photography Tag

Hello everybody, welcome back to my blog, and happy first day of spring!

I saw this tag today on Lily’s blog, and I thought what better day to post this tag on my blog than on the first day of spring? It definitely feels like spring today, and I knew that I needed to get outside, so I took my phone out and did some fun photography! Thank you, Lily, for leaving an open nomination!

Also, I really feel like I need to start planning and writing more posts in advance! Any tips are very much appreciated.

Now, let us begin this tag with the rules!

The rules:

  • First, thank the person who tagged you and link back to their site.
  • Second, take the photos using the prompts!
  • Third, tag (about) six people and link to their sites.
  • And, nominees (or whoever does this), feel free to change up any of the prompts or rules for yourself or for those whom you tag.

My photos:

I love doing macro photography and saw this tiny flower, so I thought that this photo would work well for this prompt!

Something miniature.

Another macro photography-type photo!

Something all green.

My sister’s cat, Buttercup, came and visited me while I was taking photos, so I figured that I’d include a picture of him in this tag!

Something with a living creature.

At least it looks like they are! (Maybe they’re just enjoying the bit of food I sprinkled out for them, so I could get a photo.)

Somebody enjoying nature.

I had a bit of trouble with this prompt because I couldn’t really find any photo opportunities that reminded me of a story. This photo reminds me sort of like a story I want to write someday, so does that count?

Something that reminds you of a story (and say what story it reminds you of.)

Two large rocks in my yard. I don’t think of rocks as being very photogenic, hence this photo going with the prompt.

Something non-photogenic.

I like how the black and white looks with this photo of moss-covered bricks!

Something black and white.

I am not sure that this photo technically goes with the prompt, but nothing is really holding onto winter still here, so I had to just photograph something that reminds me of winter.

Something holding onto winter.

I love the angle of this daffodil photo!

Something sunshiny.

These flowers are so pretty! Flowers are one of my favorite things to take photos of, and to me, they scream spring.

Something just plain beautiful.

I took this photo and thought that I’d add a bonus prompt (at least for myself; not everyone I tag needs to include this prompt in their posts): something colorful! I love the brightness of the flower paired with the blue in the background.

Something colorful.

The prompts:

Something miniature

Something all green

Something with a living creature

Somebody enjoying nature

Something that reminds you of a story (and say what story it reminds you of)

Something non-photogenic

Something black and white

Something holding onto winter

Something sunshiny

Something just plain beautiful

Something colorful (optional/added)

I tag:

Heidi

Lydia

Mayim

Raegan

BetsyJane

Corrie

and YOU!

I decided to tag these bloggers because I figured that they’d enjoy sharing their beautiful springtime photography. However, if I tagged you, and you are not interested in doing the tag, don’t worry about it! And, if I didn’t tag you but you wish to do this tag, totally feel free to do it on your blog!

I hope that you all enjoyed this (last-minute) post! I had a lot of fun getting outside today and doing some interesting photography following the prompts!

Does it feel like spring where you live yet? Have you taken any good springtime photography lately? What photos of mine were your favorite? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

That’s all for today’s post! I hope that you all enjoyed it very much. Thank you for reading, and have a lovely week! Bye for now!

~ Rebekah

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Monthly Wrap-Up: February 2023

Hello everybody! As the second and shortest month of the year draws to an end, I figured that this week’s post could be a wrap-up, consisting of all that happened this month. I had a pretty good (but busy) month, and hope you did as well!

Books I Read

Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch was a sweet, yet meaningful contemporary novel. I love the sibling aspects of it, and it made me want to visit Ireland as well! I don’t know if I enjoyed it as much as its companion novel, Love and Gelato, but it was still really good!

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson was a very wild ride of different emotions and surprises! I think that it was a good ending for the series, yet the final book of a series is always a bit sad to read, knowing it’s the end.

Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly was a very good book! It was one of those books to me that really made me think a lot, and I would definitely recommend it to you!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was a book I was assigned to read for my English class. I liked it quite a bit, and I enjoyed the overall meaning and message of the novel.

Lovely War by Julie Berry was a reread, and it is one of my all-time favorite books, something I realized even further as I read through this amazingly well-written, sweet historical fiction novel. I love almost all of the aspects of this book, from the characters and relationships, to the writing, and the themes. Definitely check it out if you haven’t yet!

Crochet Projects

I am starting on some Easter and spring-themed projects (and, hopefully, the patterns will be released soon). I also finished a few smaller projects.

Blog Posts on Books and Hooks

The Seven Word Story Tag

My Favorite Book Couples

What’s Your WIP? Writing Tag #2

Reviewing February’s Goals

Go through clothes and get rid of stuff. I did go through all of my clothes, and I have lots of things to get rid of. I haven’t gotten rid of anything yet, but they’re all ready to go!

Keep consistent with running and run at least 20 miles. My consistency was sort of nonexistent throughout the beginning of the month, but toward the end, I found a training plan and have been following that. I did not run 20 miles.

Start biking again. I did not. 😕

Start making a playlist for my book. Again, I did not get around to this one.

Read at least four books. Yup!

Post at least once on my other blog. I did! Check it out here if you want. It was a collab I did with my sister covering a few ideas for Lent, if you’re interested!

Post once a week on here. I did stay consistent with this!

March’s Goals

  • Organize my closet shelving. 😬 It’s very messy! The shelf I’m speaking of is basically just the place I store anything random without a specific home: coloring books, old notebooks, games and puzzles, etc. It definitely needs to be cleaned up, and it’s a spot I’ve been dreading for a while now.
  • Design and post a spring-themed crochet pattern. I sort of have one designed, but I’ve yet to write down the pattern and share it with y’all. Keep an eye out for that!
  • Continue with my running plan, and add biking in as cross-training. The new running plan I’m using is one I found online to improve 5k time, because I hope to do a race in the spring. I’m liking it so far, but sometimes, creating the consistency is difficult. I also want to start biking more this month!
  • Try out some new recipes. I’ve been baking a lot lately, and I’ve saved a few really yummy-looking recipes, so I’m going to try them out soon!
  • Start practicing piano again. Because I haven’t in…a while.
  • Spend more time outside. I’ve been trying to do this more lately, and the lovely upcoming weather is for sure helping me to get outdoors more often!
  • Buy some books on ThriftBooks and do a haul. I have a gift card for ThriftBooks from Christmas, and I haven’t used it yet. In March, I hope to buy a few books from their website, and do book haul post.

Photos from February

What Happened in February?

  • February seemed to pass by very quickly! That’s probably partly due to the fact that it was a few days shorter than most months, but I feel like in general, I was pretty busy throughout the month.
  • I signed up for soccer again this spring! Practices haven’t started yet, but I am excited to start playing again in March!
  • I spent a lot of time outside and started trying to run consistently again. It’s always hard after taking a break like I did during the majority of winter, but I’m starting to get back into it!
  • I started experimenting and baking a lot more this month, especially bread!
  • What have you been up to this month?

That’s it! How was your February? What plans do you have for March? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

I hope that you enjoyed today’s post! I also hope that you are having an amazing Monday, and I’ll see y’all back here next week!

New Year Q&A: Answering Y’all’s Questions!

Hello everybody! If you’re new here, welcome, I hope you enjoy today’s post! If you’re not new, thank you for coming back and reading this Q&A of mine! Let’s get straight into the post!

Anna asked:

What’s your favorite book series? I have so many, and it’s tough to choose just one! The Lord of the Rings series, set in a very intricate world with well-developed characters, has to be one of my favorites! The Hunger Games is another series that is at the top of my list!

How long have you been blogging? I started a blog to post school essays for my R.P.C. classes at the beginning of 2021. I don’t know if that would be considered blogging, as I was just posting school stuff. However, I loved the community and was interested in starting a blog to share posts about my hobbies, so I started this blog, Books and Hooks, during the summer of 2021! I have been blogging on here for approximately a year and a half, which is hard to believe!

BetsyJane asked:

What’s your favorite crochet project you’ve done? There are so many! I have been crocheting for a long time. There are some that I am very proud of, such as my first amigurumi doll, or the first pattern I followed, which was a baby blanket for my little cousin. It’s kind of difficult to come up with my favorite crochet project, considering there have been so many, but there have been a lot of cute amigurumi animals, dolls, and toys that I have made, and those are some of my favorites!

Who’s your favorite singer? I like listening to a lot of Christain artists and bands, such as Colton Dixon, Francesca Battistelli, Jeremy Camp, PJ Anderson, and For King and Country. Their songs are just so uplifting and inspirational! I also like listening to Taylor Swift, and I’ll often listen to instrumental pieces or movie soundtracks while I’m working on school.

Heidi asked:

What are the top three books you’ve read this past year? I feel like I didn’t read a lot of good books this past year, but there were some that stood out. My three favorites would have to be Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (check out my book review here to learn more about my thoughts concerning this amazing book), The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, and…maybe I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys. I do realize that two of these are by the same author, but she just writes really good books, and I would recommend them to anyone who wants to read something historical. I always learn more about history through Ruta Sepety’s books, and I love how she writes about little-known times in history, and events that I had almost no previous knowledge of before reading the book.

Top three movies you watched this past year? I am not a big movie person, and I don’t really keep track of the movies I watch, so this is a bit of a difficult question for me. I first watched the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series on Netflix this past year, and I think that it was well-made, and I probably like them better than the books. I also watched the second Enola Holmes when it came out, and I liked it better than the previous one. As for a third movie…I don’t know. I do a lot of rewatches, so I didn’t watch a lot of new movies this past year.

Top five memories from this past year? There were some pretty great things that happened this year! My siblings and I went to visit family for a couple of weeks in the summer, which would have to make it onto this list. I also made my Confirmation, which was a big memory for the year. I finished both the first and second drafts of my dystopian novel, which…really surprised me, considering I didn’t ever imagine completing both of those. I ran seven miles continuously, which I never thought possible either! A lot of good times with family, too!

Top five to ten pictures from this past year? This is difficult, because many of my favorite photos are of me or my family, and I don’t feel comfortable sharing those on here. But, I did go through my camera and pick out a few of my favorites that don’t contain faces or anything! ☺

Anoushka asked:

If you could choose only one book to read for the rest of time, which one would it be? This is such a difficult question to answer! I cannot imagine just reading one book over and over again, because I like variety in the genres and books I read. I might go with Little Women, but that answer may just be because I recently finished it and it’s still fresh in my mind.

Book/movie characters you see yourself most in? I’ve never really thought of this before…🤔 Basically any quiet or shy book-loving character. I cannot think of any at the moment, but I’m sure there are a lot. There are a few characters in the books I’m writing that are very similar to me, but I’m not sure that counts toward this question, because it was me who created the characters.

Five tv shows/movies that define you? This is another one I haven’t really contemplated before, and, to be honest, I don’t quite understand it. Movies or shows that define me?

Story ideas you’re most excited to write about? Okay, so there’s this story idea I have, and I don’t know how good it is, but I think it would be interesting to write. The basic idea is that there is one character who was in a house fire (Landon is the name I’ll give him for now) and lost almost everything. Another character (whose name will be Magnolia) donates a crochet blanket to the hospital, and the blanket ends up going to Landon who is at the hospital. The blanket is one of the only things he has in those dark times after losing his house and everything, and when he gets out of the hospital, he sets out to find who made the blanket. That’s the general concept, but I don’t really have any further ideas and I’m not sure where the story would go. I am not going to start writing it yet or anything, because I already have a couple of books I’m working on at the moment, but I will save the idea and maybe use it in a later novel! I also like the idea of writing a historical fiction novel, but I know how much research is required to write one accurately, and I do not particularly enjoy researching…maybe someday!

Favorite genre? I like reading a variety of YA genres and am always in the mood to read from different genres. My favorite, though, are between contemporary (like Kasie West’s books!) and historical fiction.

Pertsfarms asked:

What are some of your favorite memories of 2022? I listed a few of them earlier in this Q&A. Visiting relatives and meeting some of my newest cousins were definitely some of the happiest memories from this past year. I also feel like I completed a lot of goals, and got really far with blogging and my other hobbies, which is amazing and definitely produced some of my favorite memories of the year!

Lydia asked:

Do you think we owe Aragorn, son of Arathorn, our allegiance? Yes, I think we do! 😄

Polka dots or stripes? Polka dots!

Who do you look up to the most? I look up to both of my parents, and a lot of my older family members, such as my nana, aunts, and you, my older sister! There are a lot of saints that I look up to as well, drawing inspiration from their stories, and looking at their lives and the examples they’ve set.

What is one of the saddest deaths in a book or movie/tv show? I know that there are many, but I just can’t think of them right now. I guess that there were many deaths in A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir, and they were heartbreaking. Also, (spoiler warning for anyone who has not read The Hunger Games series) Prim’s death in Mockingjay is just so tragic, especially considering all that Katniss did for her, and how Katniss responded. Finnick, too. I think that his death, unlike Prim’s, was sort of unnecessary. Salt to the Sea also had a lot of sadness. The Book Thief as well…there are just so many sad books! 😢

Least fav book of 2022? Probably the Summer I Turned Pretty series. The first one was okay…nothing great, but not horrible either. The second and third books were just awful, and I hated the ending!

Jan asked:

Who is your favorite author? I have read all of Ruta Sepety’s YA novels, and I’d have to say that she’s definitely one of my favorite authors. Her books are very well-researched and historical, yet contain interesting characters that drive the plot forward. As I said earlier in this post, one thing I like about Ruta Sepety’s books is that she chooses to write about occasions in history that I don’t hear about a lot, which makes them very interesting and educational. I like the characters, and…yes, she’s just an amazing author! I hope she writes another book soon!

What made you start blogging? I started a WordPress blog at first to just share school essays, but after following a few other blogs and interacting with other bloggers, I decided to start a blog to post crochet patterns and book reviews!

Who is your favorite fictional character? There are many different characters that I like, but one of the first people who comes to mind is Peeta from the Hunger Games series (preferably the books, but he’s not bad in the movies either.) I just really like his personality, and contrary to what the majority of my family believes, he is not a wimp! I also like Laia’s character in the Ember in the Ashes quartet and I like watching her character development throughout the series.

Diamond asked:

What is your favorite family memory? There are so many! I don’t think it’s possible to choose just one! 🥰

What made you start blogging? As I said earlier, I started this blog as a space to share patterns for crochet and book reviews! I have always been interested in talking about my hobbies, but it wasn’t until I started a blog to post school essays that I realized how simple it was to start a blog, and I created Books and Hooks!

Where do you see yourself in five years? I will likely be graduated by that time, and maybe be pursuing a career. I’m not sure what else. I don’t exactly know what I want to do when I am older, so this is a bit of a tricky question.

Mayim asked:

Favorite breakfast food? I love bagels with cream cheese, especially when the bagels are homemade! Smoothies are another favorite of mine!

Favorite store? I don’t do a lot of shopping, so…does a thrift store count? That’s the main type of shopping I do. Ooh, used bookstores as well! 😁

Cheese or supreme pizza? Supreme pizza!

Favorite song? There are so many! I am always listening to different types of music depending on my mood, and what I feel like listening to at the moment. I really like Taylor Swift’s lyricism in her songs, but I don’t know how I could decide on just one song. “Miracles” by Colton Dixon is one of my favorite upbeat Christain songs, and “Love Will Heal” by PJ Anderson is a calmer song that I find myself listening to a lot. So, my basic answer is that my music tastes are always changing and it is hard for me to choose just one song! These two, though, are some of my top picks.

Are you a Starbucks fan, and if so, what’s your usual order? I have actually never been to Starbucks because there is not one very near to my house. 🙁

Sophia asked:

Favorite movie? I am not a big movie person, because I often find it hard to sit still and concentrate on a whole movie. With that being said, there are some that I really do like. The Lord of the Rings films are amazing (as are the books). It’s a Wonderful Life, I’m Not Ashamed, Miracles from Heaven, the Hunger Games movies, and the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy are some of my favorites!

Favorite show? I do not find myself watching a lot of tv shows, but my favorite is no doubt the Stranger Things tv series! I like many of the characters and a lot of the themes relating to friendship and courage. I am also going through The Chosen, which is really good! I am only on the first season, but I want to finish the series soon. I would definitely recommend it, based on what I’ve watched so far.

Favorite holiday? I love both Christmas and Thanksgiving! In the end, I’d probably go with Christmas, but Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday as well, with food, family and friends, and being reminded of all to be thankful for. However, on Christmas, we are celebrating Christ’s birth, which makes it my favorite holiday.

Where do you want to go on vacation? If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d probably choose somewhere in Europe, such as Italy or France. They seem like they have such good food, as well as many historical landmarks that would be interesting to see. Ireland would be another interesting visit!

That’s it! Thank you so much to the amazing bloggers who asked questions; I had lots of fun answering them and writing this post! How would you have answered these questions? Were you surprised by any of my answers? I’d love to hear from y’all in the comments!

I hope that you enjoyed this post! I also hope that you are having an amazing start to your week! I will probably be back next Monday, though I know I haven’t been the most consistent blogger lately, so we’ll have to see. 😄 Thanks for reading, and bye for now!

Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2022

Hey! How is everyone’s week going? I’m here today with a short recap of October! I hope you enjoy it! 😊

Books I read

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve been working on this series for a while (since last fall, actually) and I’ve finally finished it. It’s an amazing series, and I’d definitely recommend reading it. It is a bit long and hard to get through, but I still think that it’s worth reading. I love it!

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer. This book was very good! I think that it was very sad (I did cry many times). I feel like it doesn’t have much of a story, though. I think that it’s more about the characters: their grief and feelings, but I didn’t really mind that. I’d give it a 4/5 stars! Would y’all like a full book review?

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I was assigned to read this for my school. It was a bit difficult to get through, considering the old way it was written, but I think that the story was pretty interesting. I gave it 4/5 stars!

Crochet projects

This month, I made a whole lot of pumpkins, and fall decor! I also bought some yellow and brown yarn, and I’m working on designing a crochet sunflower keychain pattern to post on this blog! I’m also starting on some Christmas gifts for family! 😁

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

Things I Want To Do This Fall

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys: Book Review

Crochet Projects I’m Working On

The 20 Questions Book Tag

DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!

“Dare to Design” Contest: My Entry

The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} 🍂🍁

A Fall Poem

Reviewing October’s Goals

Write a total of 30,000 words Nope. I didn’t get a lot of writing done this month. I worked a bit on my dystopian book, but not a lot.

Start practicing piano again I did a little bit, but not as much as I would have liked.

Finish The Return of the King book Yep! It was amazing, and I loved it!

Make some fallish posts I did! I posted Things I Want To Do This Fall, DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!, The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} 🍂🍁, and A Fall Poem.

Find a running plan, and start it I found one and started it, but I didn’t like it a lot, so I stopped using it. Then, I tried making one of my own, but I never really started it. I’m going to try to get back to running jin November!

Try out a new recipe I checked this one off, but I don’t remember what I made…

Goals for November

Finish the second draft of my dystopian book. (Write 2,000 words a day.)

Run 10 miles.

Go on a walk every day.

Re-decorate the walls around my bed.

Start getting up early and make a schedule.

Less screen time.

Drink more water.

Plan and schedule posts for the month in advance.

Try out a new bread recipe each week.

Photos from my month

What happened in October?

  • I feel like October was quite a busy month!
  • We had a few different things at our church, including a church picnic which was really fun, and some things with my youth group.
  • I got to go on a train! This was my first time riding on an actual train, and it was so fun. I felt like I was living in the olden days! Plus, it was a very scenic route, and very pretty with all of the leaves changing color.
  • My family and I went to the lake a few times, and we went camping. I had a lot of fun!
  • I caught my first fish when we went camping! I’ve always thought fishing was boring, but I think that if I can have a good book while I’m doing it, it’s actually quite fun! With lots of my brother’s help (thanks!) I caught two small fish.
  • I went to a fun trick-or-treating thing with my siblings and some of our friends. It was fun, except that (for some reason) I chose to wear heels with my outfit, and my feet hurt quite a bit while walking around.
  • For Halloween, I dressed up as a person from the 1950’s with my sister! I didn’t really get any photos, though.
  • Taylor Swifts new album, Midnights, came out. I’m liking a lot of the songs so far!
  • I reached 150 followers! Thank you so much, guys! This is a really big milestone, and I never thought I’d come this far! ❤

Thank you so much for reading! How did your October go? What are some of your plans for November? I’d love to chat with you in the comments! I hope that everyone has a good rest of the week! I’ll be back on Thursday with a new post. Bye for now!

Never Have I Ever: Writer Edition

Hello and happy Thursday! How’s everyone doing? I hope your week is going well!

I’m here today with a fun post! I saw this on Isabelle’s and Victoria’s blog, Bookworm Hollow! They nominated any writers who see it, so I’m doing it now because it looks like fun! Thanks!!

Rules:

  • Link and thank the blogger who tagged you.
  • Include the graphic somewhere in the post (or make your own!) 
  • Answer the questions truthfully and honestly.  
  • Tag 3 bloggers. 

Never have I ever:

Started a novel I didn’t finish.

Yes…many! Especially when I was younger, because I’d start on different books and then have new ideas, and I’d stop writing the current one I was working on.

Written a story completely by hand.

I did when I was younger. It was a short book about a girl whose town gets attacked, so she has to live on this island by herself. I gave it to my mom…I wonder if she still has it. 🤔

Changed tenses midway through a story.

I don’t think so. I normally just write books in the present tense, so I don’t have a problem with changing tenses! I just feel like writing in the present tense is more normal for me.

Not researched before starting a story.

Yes, I think so. Then, when I was writing, I’d have to stop and research. 😄 I’m better at researching before now, though!

Changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft.

How about changing the name when starting on the second draft? Because that’s just what I did. In my dystopian novel, one of the narrator’s names has changed…😅

Written a story in a month or less.

I’ve written some short stories in less than a month, but not a novel or anything. I think that this novella for my English was written in about a month.

Fallen asleep while writing.

I don’t think I’ve done this one. I don’t normally write a night.

Corrected someone’s grammar irl/online.

Yes. I’m that annoying person who will correct grammar a lot.

Yelled in all-caps at myself in the middle of my novel.

I don’t think so! Sometimes, though, I’ll write notes to myself in my book.

Used “I’m writing” as an excuse.

Guilty. 😅

Killed a character that was based on someone I know in real life.

No, I haven’t, lol. I don’t really base my characters off of real people in life. Sometimes, I’ll take inspiration, though, from people. But, I have no real enemies, so I haven’t killed anyone based on a person in real life. Do be warned that you could be incorporated in my novel, though, everybody. 😄

Used pop culture references in a story.

Yeah, I think so, but not a lot. I have used some specific brands and people (actors, bands, etc.) in my writing.

Written between the hours of 1:00 am and 6:00 am.

I’m not one of those crazy writers who are up in the middle of the night writing, but I do get up sort of early. I usually get up at five, but I don’t always write when I first wake up. I probably have written before six, though.

Drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.

I don’t really drink coffee.

Written down dreams to use in a potential novel.

I don’t think I’ve written them down, but I have remembered some to use in a novel.

Published an unedited story on the internet/blog/wattpad.

Last year, I wrote a short novel for my English class and published that on my school blog, chapter by chapter. I think that I published them unedited. I went back and edited them afterward, though.

Procrastinated schoolwork because I wanted to write.

I’m not one to procrastinate a lot. I usually like to get my school done first, so I don’t have it hanging over my head while I write.

Typed so long my wrists hurt.

Yes.

Spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.

Nope! I share the computer with my family, so I would probably get in a lot of trouble. That’s why I’m not allowed to have drinks by the laptop while I’m using it.

Forgotten to save my work/draft.

I use Google Docs, so I think it automatically saves. That would be horrible if I lost all of my writing! 😢

Finished a novel.

The first draft. I am currently working on the second draft of my dystopian novel. I don’t think I’ve ever fully finished a novel. (I did the historical fiction for my English, but that was a novella, so I don’t know if it counts.)

Laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.

Yes…

Created maps of my fictional world.

Yes, but it was no work of art. I just used a pen to draw a simple map.

Researched something shady for a novel.

I don’t think so, but I have researched a lot for my writing. I don’t know about shady but definitely some weird and random things…

I nominate any writers who read this post!

Thanks for reading! Are you a writer? How would you have answered these questions? I’d love to chat in the comments! Hope you have a good day, and see y’all on Monday!

Crochet Flower Chain: Beginner Pattern

Hello and happy Monday! How’s the start to everybody’s week?

As I mentioned in my last post, today I am posting a crochet pattern! It is for an easy, quick, and simple crochet flower chain! 🌸

Made using Lion Brand Coboo yarn! One of my favorite yarns!

You can make this chain as long as you want, and use it for many different things. You could turn it into a garland, a bracelet, a curtain tie, a clothing accessory, a headband…so many possibilities!

Materials

  • Yarn (the size and amount depends on what you’ll end up using it for)
  • Coordinating crochet hook
  • Yarn needle

Instructions

1: Chain 5. Slip stitch in the first chain to create a loop. *Chain 2. Do 2 double crochets, a treble crochet, and two more double crochets in the loop. Slip stitch in the loop.*

2: This creates one petal. Repeat the instructions between * four more times to create five petals, and to finish your first flower. The stitches will get a little crowded toward the end, but that’s okay.

3: When you’ve finished this flower, you’ll want to chain 10 or 15 ( depending on how far apart you want each flower to be). Then, you’ll slip stitch in the fifth chain from the hook, creating a loop.

4: Repeat the stitches between * five times into this loop to complete your next flower. Then, just keep chaining 10, slip stitching into the fifth chain, and completing the stitches between * five times into this loop. When you’ve made it your desired length, fasten off, weave in the ends, and you’re done!

As you see, this pattern is super easy! You really just repeat a series of stitches for each flower, and make as many flowers as you desire.

I hope you liked this pattern! Do you like crochet? Will you be trying out out? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Have a wonderful day and week, everybody! ❤️

~ Rebekah

Answering Y’all’s Questions

Hello! I’m back with a new post this week! I’m going to be answering the questions you guys have asked in this post!

Thanks so much to Addie and Maggie for asking some questions! Be sure to look at both of their blogs, because they share some great posts!

Let’s get into the questions, now!

Addie’s questions:

1. Have you ever been out of the U.S.? If so where did you go?

I actually haven’t ever. I think it would be really fun to travel sometime, though! I just don’t like plane rides.

2. Do you have any pets? (you may have answered this question before I just can’t remember lol)

I think I did before, but I don’t mind answering it again!! I have a cat named Luna! 🥰 Here is a pic!

3. What’s your favorite hobby?

Uhhhh…this is a hard one, considering the fact I have so many hobbies! 😅 Writing, crochet, and running have to be my top three. I don’t think I can choose just one!

4. If you could live anywhere you wanted in the world where would you go and why?

I would really like to visit Italy or France! If I had to choose one, though, it would probably be Italy! I’d love to go there for many reasons, one being the food! Pasta, pizza, gelato…yum! I don’t know if I’d like to live there, but just for a visit would be fun! To live…I’m not sure! I don’t have a very good understanding of different places, because I haven’t traveled a lot, so I don’t know if I would be able to answer that!

5. Any college/future plans?!

It’s funny you ask this because it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. I plan to become a doula when I’m out of high school, and then maybe go to college to become a midwife if I like that career area!

Maggie’s questions:

1. Would you rather visit a library or a bookstore?

I like them both for different reasons! I love bookstores because I can actually buy the books, whereas at a library I’d have to return them in a few weeks. I also really like the library, especially if I don’t have any money to spend on books. Overall, though, I’d have to go with a bookstore!

2. What’s your favorite savannah animal?

Elephants! For some reason, I’ve just always loved them, and I don’t know why, but that’s definitely what I’d choose for this question!

3. What are a few countries you’d love to visit?

Like I said earlier, Italy and France are two countries I’d love to visit! I also really like Ireland!

4. Do you prefer lemonade or tea?

I like both, but lemonade is my favorite!

5. What were some of your favorite games to play when you were little?

When I was little, I really loved to play Monopoly and Risk! I love the games that rely heavily on strategy, instead of just luck. These games sort of combine the two, so I really enjoyed them! I also liked Scattegorites, I think, though that was a bit later.

6. How would you describe your art/decorating style?

I like really simple and cute decorations that are bright and cheerful! 😊

7. Do you prefer drawing or painting?

I don’t do much of either, because I’m not the best at it, but I do like drawing better.

Thank you all for reading! And, thanks again to Addie and Maggie for asking some questions! I had so much fun answering them! See y’all Thursday!

Bye!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: August 2022

Hello! Welcome or welcome back to my blog! How are you doing?

Today I’ll be wrapping up my August, considering the month is over. Now is your last chance to ask me any questions on this post, because I’ll post the answers on Monday, probably!

Books

The only book I finished this month was We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. It is the third book in the summer I turned pretty series. Despite my higher ratings for the other two books, I did not enjoy this book. I just found it very annoying, and I didn’t like the ending.

Writing updates

Considering the fact that I was traveling during the first half of the month, and I was in sort of a writing slump, I didn’t get a lot of writing done. I worked on Old Hopes and New Beginnings a bit and picked up the second draft of my dystopian book, and I’ve started writing it again! And…guess what? I’ve come up with (yet another) book idea. Now, I really want to write it, but I have to finish one of my other books first. 😣

Crochet

I have started working on some fall projects!! Yay! I made some decorative pumpkins (here’s my pattern) and some other autumn decor!

Running

Again, I was traveling, so I didn’t run during that time. I did get quite a bit done in the latter part of the month, which was great. I also did a 5k race, which was lots of fun!! My time was a little under 30 minutes, which I think was a pretty good time for me!

Posts

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2022

I didn’t set any August goals, so I’ll just go right into listing my September goals. (I can’t believe it’s September already!!! 😮)

September goals

  • Write 1,000 words every day
  • Practice Spanish lessons every day
  • No phone on Mondays and Fridays (except for texting friends and doing Spanish lessons)
  • Follow schedule
  • Get up early & go to bed early
  • Read five books
  • Post a crochet pattern
  • Drink more water
  • Post twice a week

Important events in August

  • As I have mentioned a lot, I was visiting family during the first half of the month, so that was quite fun!
  • One weekend, my dad and brothers traveled a bit, so my sisters, my mom, and I had such a fun time! We did some shopping, got snacks, and had chick flick movie nights!
  • Our fair happened, which was lots of fun!

Thanks for reading! How was your August? What books did you read? What are your September goals? I’d love to chat in the comments! Everyone take care, and have a good rest of your week and weekend!! Also, please comment if you have any post ideas you’d like to see on my blog!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2022

Hello, y’all! I’m back!! How’s everyone doing?

July’s monthly wrap-up is quite a bit late because I was on a trip visiting family and I decided to take a short blogging break while I was there. Now, I’m getting caught up and doing my monthly wrap-up!

Check out this post, where I asked y’all to ask me questions, and I’ll answer them sometime next week!

Books I Read:

Wait For Me by Caroline Leech was the first book I finished this month. It was a pretty good historical fiction novel. My sister had recommended it to me after she finished it, and I enjoyed it as much as her. It’s a historical fiction book set during World War Two. Some historical fiction that I’ve read has been quite action-packed, with lots of stuff going on. This book, however, wasn’t. It was slower, but not boring. I rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Waking Rose: A Fairytale Retold by Regina Doman is the only other book I read in July. Regina Doman writes amazing books. I have read two of her previous books in the fairytale retold series, The Shadow of the Bear and Black as Night. They are all good books for Catholic teens especially because Doman incorporated a lot of Catholicism into these books. It was a 5/5!

Writing updates

I wrote a good amount in “Old Hopes and New Beginnings” my contemporary novel, though not as much as I would have wanted. I was hoping to finish the book this month, but it feels like I’m not even very close. I am at a little over 57,000 words, and I was aiming for 60,000 words for the first draft, but I am pretty sure it’s going to be longer than that.

Crochet

Not a lot of crochet, but I did finish a crochet top which I am really excited about! I have pics down below!

Running

I got a lot of running done, though!! I am so proud of my running last month! I followed my 10k training plan, and I ran seven miles as well! When I started running a few years back, I couldn’t even run a whole mile without stopping. I never would have imagined going seven miles. But, here I am!

Posts

My One Year Blogiversary 🥳// Comment Some Assumptions // Blog Redesign

Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2022

Summer Aesthetic

The Music Loving Writer’s Tag (Original)

Reacting to and Answering Your Assumptions About Me

Taking a Short Break + Ask Me Some Questions

Reviewing my July goals

  • Exercise every day I think I did! At least most days. There was one day where we went to the store, and I didn’t get to exercise, but we did walk around quite a bit, so I guess that sort of counts. I think I did pretty good with this one!
  • Get caught up (at least a little bit) on tags, awards, and nominations on my blog Uhhh…not really 😅
  • Write for 20 minutes each day Nope, but I did end up writing pretty consistently!
  • Make a schedule I did! I made a morning schedule, because I felt like I needed to be more organized!
  • Hydrate more, because it’s getting super hot Yes! I am working more on that! It had definitely been very hot here, so hydration is important!
  • Do a 10k run Yup! Like I said earlier, I followed and completed my 10k training program!
  • Post a book review No, I didn’t.
  • Take more walks, and enjoy nature I feel like I really did this in July more! I tried to get outside, and take more walks and bike rides this month!

Important events in July

  • In July, I didn’t have a lot going on. There was a lot of time with family, walks and runs, and finishing up my schoolwork for the year.

Pictures from July

Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is having a good start to their week! What’s been going on in your life lately? What posts would you like to see in the future on my blog? I’d love to chat in the comments! I hope that you have an amazing day, and a good week! I’ll be posting on Thursday (probably an August monthly wrap-up). Bye! 💕

~ Rebekah

Reacting to and Answering Your Assumptions About Me

Hello everybody! I hope you are having an amazing day!

A couple of weeks ago, I reached my one-year blogiversary, and I asked for y’all to comment with some assumptions you had of me! Today, I’ll be reacting to these assumptions! 😃 Thanks to everyone who commented with their assumptions! I had such a fun time reading them, and answering them!

Heidi’s assumptions:

You enjoy road trips

I do! I love traveling, as well as going on fun road trips! There’s just something so exciting about them, even if I am crammed in the car with my siblings for hours. We can usually find some fun things to do, and activities to keep us occupied! I can’t usually read in the car very well, or crochet because I get car sick, but I love to listen to audiobooks and music during car rides!

You like to hang out with friends often

I would like to, but most of my friends don’t live super close, so I don’t see them a lot. I do like talking to them, though, and talking to all of my blogging friends on here!

You like Mac and cheese over pizza

Mac and cheese is really good, but I still like pizza better! Pizza is one of my favorite foods, if not my overall favorite! 😋

Briar’s assumptions:

You like the color blue

Yesss! Blue and yellow are my favorite colors! 😊

You own a cat

I do! Her name is Luna, and she is adorable! Here are a few pictures of her:

I went on my photos app to find a picture, but I couldn’t find one that was from the past three years. I realized that most of the pictures I have of her are on my camera, so I went outside and took a few pictures! Isn’t she so cute?

You like alpacas

I guess I do. I’m not super into them, but they are cool!

Maggie’s assumptions:

you love puppies and kittens!

I do! They’re adorable! 😍💕

you like neutral color palettes

I do like neutral colors! They are one of my favorite color palettes. However, I do really like pastels and blues as well!

you’d love to go canoeing

I love canoeing! My family has a couple of canoes, and I love going out on the lake with them! It is always a chaotic thing: my brothers intent on crashing into the other boat, or one of the little kids crying because we’re drifting too far from the shore, but it is a really fun thing, and definitely a great family bonding experience! 😃

you’re more of a saver than a spender

Absolutely correct!

you like butterflies

Yes, they are very pretty!

Victoria’s assumptions:

You like birds

Yes, birds are really nice!

You like cute animals

Doesn’t everyone? 🤔

You prefer pop music to rock

Yes! I don’t really enjoy listening to rock unless I’m in the right mood, which isn’t that often. Rock music just isn’t my favorite. I don’t totally know what is considered pop music, but I listen to Taylor Swift a lot, and she does pop music I think.

Your favourite ice cream is strawberry

Strawberry ice cream is nice, (especially the kind with the chunks of strawberries 😋) but my favorite is probably mint chocolate chip, or some type of chocolate fudge ice cream!

You don’t like math

I actually usually enjoy math! I used to like it even more before I started algebra and geometry, but I still like it quite a bit! (Yes, I know it’s weird.)

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed today’s post! Were you surprised by any of my answers? Are there any more assumptions you have of me that I can answer in the comments? I’d love to hear from y’all! 😀

See you in a little while! Have an amazing day!

~ Rebekah