My Life Update #1 | Our Engagement

While I write posts about reading, writing, and books, sometimes there’s a large gap between posts.  It takes time to come up with things to write about and to prep for my next book review (i.e. I have to finish reading the book first).  So, I’ve decided to create a series called “My Life Update”.  It’s pretty simple.  I will give you an update on what’s going on in my life.

I decided the first update would be about my engagement because I love sharing it.  We got engaged at Yosemite National Park in April 2014.  It was a perfect proposal and the perfect place since it’s somewhere my fiance and I love to visit.  When I posted the pictures on Instagram, I was approached by the “How He Asked” website to share my proposal story.  You can check it out here: Danielle and Kyle | Yosemite National Park Proposal

 Here are my favorite pictures from our proposal:

Friday Finds | August 15, 2014

I read a great review on my Friday Find, but it’s the cover of the book that got my attention.  It’s so gorgeous that I decided I was going to read it even before I read the review.  This shows that a great cover to a book is just as important as the content.

Liberty Silk by Kate Beaufoy (Found on Paris Baker Writing)

Reading GIFs

Here’s some reading GIFs for my fellow book lovers.  I thought this would put a smile on your face today.  The last one makes me laugh.

Amazing Bookcases

My fiance and I recently went to an open house.  In this house were a lot of built in bookcases…I was in heaven.  That got me thinking about bookcases more so than usual and I wanted to share a few that I think look really cool and amazing.

 

 

 

What do you think of these bookcases?

Friday Finds – August 8, 2014

My fiancé is not a book reader.  He can barely read a few pages of a book without falling asleep, but he can read a magazine for hours.  I really don’t understand it sometimes.  Any who…he wants me to read one of the only books he finished.  He told me it took him a whole summer to finish…how cute!  I told him I would give it a shot even though it’s completely different than my usual books.

His suggestion is my Friday Find this week:

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield

If you have read this let me know what you thought.

Spot On Article About Readers

So, I’m sure a few people noticed my blogging fail.  Totally hit the publish button instead of the preview button.  Opps.  Ok so here’s the finished post.

I recently read an article titled “Why Readers, Scientifically, Are The Best People To Fall In Love With” and I would say it hits the nail on the head.

I sent this article to my fiance and told him he made a good choice with me, since it’s scientifically proven that readers are the best people to fall in love with.   He thinks it sounds biased, but I totally agree with it.   Or maybe I’m biased. Haha.  I’ll let you be the judge.

The first quote that stood out is as follows:

“Readers, like voicemail leavers and card writers, are now a dying breed, their numbers decreasing with every GIF list and online tabloid.

The worst part about this looming extinction is that readers are proven to be nicer and smarter than the average human, and maybe the only people worth falling in love with on this shallow hell on earth.”

I think we are a dying breed and I see how this busy world can find “more” entertaining things to do than read books.  I use the term “more” entertaining loosely as I think that reading is entertaining, but not everyone thinks so.  And again, I’m probably being biased, but we are the nicer and smarter people.

Onto the next quote:

“It’s no surprise that readers are better people.  Having experienced someone else’s life through abstract eyes, they’ve learned what it’s like to leave their bodies and see the world through other frames of reference.

They have access to hundreds of souls, and the collected wisdom of all them.  They have seen things you’ll never understand and have experienced deaths of people you’ll never know.

They’ve learned what it’s like to be a woman, and a man.  They know what it’s like to watch someone suffer.  They are wise beyond their years.”

I totally agree with this section of the article, but would also add that sometimes I really relate to the characters in the books I read.  I know how they feel because I’ve gone through it myself.  Like losing a parent for instance.  Anytime a parent passes away in a book you’ll see me crying like a baby.

And the final quote:

“If you’re still looking for someone to complete you, to fill the void of your singly-healed heart, look for the breed that’s dying out.  You will find them in coffee shops, parks and subways.

You will see them with backpacks, shoulder bags and suitcases.  They will be inquisitive and soulful, and you will know by the first few minutes of talking to them.”

The only reply I have to this is…readers rock and you need to fall in love with them!  I’m trying to convince my fiancé to do a guest post about his perspective on this article.

Take a look at the article and let me know what you think about it as a reader and/or non-reader.  I would love to get some other opinions on it.

It’s Been Too Long

Wow…it’s been a while since I’ve posted something.  Since June 26th as a matter of fact.  That’s when I posted my 25 Birthday Goals.

I have to say I’m a busy busy bee right now.  I got engaged in April and wedding planning can take up a lot more time than you think.  But I’m back! And one of my birthday goals was to write more blog posts this year and I’m so far behind.  It’s already August and there’s a lot of catching up to do.  Hope I didn’t lose any of my wonderful supporters along the way.

I’m getting back into the game by sharing the most recent book I got.  My wonderful fiancé…can’t believe I get to call him that now…got me the cookbook I wanted from a restaurant in the Los Angeles area called Lemonade.  Trust me, they have more than just Lemonade.

I’ve only been able to cook one recipe at this point, but I’m excited to go through this cookbook.

Leave a comment letting me know what you’ve been up to lately. 

 

25 Birthday Goals

Holy crap!!! Am I really 25 now! Not quite sure I’m ready to be a quarter of a century, but I am ready to update my birthday goals.

So, here are my 25 Birthday Goals updated from my 24 Birthday Goals (in no particular order):

  1. Pay off car
  2. Get toned
  3. Get tan
  4. Try sushi
  5. Get a new computer
  6. Travel
  7. Hike to upper Yosemite falls
  8. Read all Mary Higgins Clark books 
  9. Run a full marathon (Running a half Marathon in November)
  10. Get my CPCU
  11. Move up in my career at work
  12. Finish my book
  13. Start my retail business
  14. Obtain more clients for my consulting services
  15. Pay off my student loans
  16. Save money for future use
  17. Buy a house
  18. Get married
  19. Get my Ph.D
  20. Have children
  21. Teach entrepreneurship at a university
  22. Save up enough money to pay for my youngest sister’s college tuition
  23. Expand my philanthropy for my Alma Mater Woodbury University and other non-profit organizations
  24. Create a scholarship fund for students who have lost a parent from prescription drug addiction
  25. New Goal: Write more blog posts this year

An update will follow next year when I turn 26.  Yikes!

As a side note, can you imagine how long this post will get when I turn 50.

Friday Finds – March 21, 2014

I really enjoy going through other blogs and finding new books I haven’t read.  I also love walking around the book section at Target or wandering around Barnes & Noble.

Here’s what I found this week and have added these to my reading list:

1. Happily Ever After by Elizabeth Maxwell (Found on Paper Breathers)

2. The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman (Found at Costco)