Guest Post: Claws Up

Hey, friends! I'm taking the week off (except for Wednesday) because I've been so busy, 

but I have an awesome line-up of guest posts for you this week!

Hello blogging world of Sincerely, Sara! My name is Jacquie, and I blog over at Claws Up!  I am really excited to be guest posting for my long-time bestie, and recent maid of honor, Sara. For my post, I wanted to share a makeup look using some of Sara's favorite colors: purple and plum.

I used to be scared of a bold lip, for years I have been strictly a lip balm kind of girl. But it's getting hard to ignore that bold lip colors are taking center stage. After being scared of the bold lip trend I slowly eased myself in. I have to say I'm now hooked and have jumped head first into the bold lip trend! After I picked up my latest, and boldest,  addition to my collection, I wanted to honor it with a full purple look!

I had a lot of fun playing around with colors outside of my comfort zone and I have to say, I was really happy with how this look turned out. I wouldn't wear it out, but sometimes it's fun just to see what you can create. I can't wait to add even more bold shades to my lipstick collection.

What's your favorite lipstick color? 

What color should I try next?

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Guest Post: My Life as a Teacup

Hey, friends! I'm taking the week off (except for Wednesday) because I've been so busy, 

but I have an awesome line-up of guest posts for you this week!

Hello, hello! I’m Kristin, the lady behind the bookish blog and editing company My Life as a Teacup. Avid reader that I am, I’m known to carry around a book wherever I go, and whip it out at any and all times. You too? It’s a great little club we readers have going on, isn’t it? Though I’m physically able to read a book just about anywhere, that’s not to say I don’t have my preferences: a grey, rainy day, curled up inside amidst blankets and relaxing with a book in hand. And I’m sure you’re dreaming of your ideal cozy reading hideaway right now, too! Different as each person’s reading preferences may be, there are a few essentials that no good reading session should be without. If you find your bookish dream nook in need of some relaxing touches, you might find these rainy-day reading must-haves right up your alley!

• Bookmark | While a bookmark can be constructed out of just about anything (lottery tickets, napkins, paper scraps, the day’s mail…) it helps to have a designated bookmark in reach so that you don’t have to guess at where you left off. Why not make it a bookmark that represents something you love? For me, I’m all about my hometown of Pittsburgh, and GracefulDiligence’s hand-cut Pittsburgh skyline bookmark is just dreamy!
• A beverage of your choice | Not everyone is a fan of warm beverages, but in my opinion there’s nothing better to curl up with than a hot mug of tea! Whatever your drink preference, have your favorite beverage within arm’s reach for a mid-chapter refresher. Adagio’s Steve Carlsberg blend of tea is the perfect balance of fruit and creamy vanilla for a dreary day.
• A nerdy mug | You’ve got to have something equally awesome to to your awesome beverage in. Fill up a bookish mug (like this Jane Austen quote mug) for maximum enjoyment.
• Page flags | Sometimes you want to come back to a certain moment, jot down a quote, or remember something to blog about later. If you’re against writing in your books, sticky page flags like these, or even from Target’s $1 bin make for great page markers. You’ll never have to hunt for “It’s levi-O-sa, not levio-SA” ever again!
• A comfy spot | As enjoyable as reading is, after 20-minutes of doing the “I need to find a new body position dance” around your bed/chair/floor, it’s easy to want to give up and do something else. Enter my new favorite thing ever: the body pillow. A friend of mine dragged me to Target to get one for herself, and after two days of tempting pictures and immense jealousy, I went back and bought one for me. It is the Comfiest. Thing. I’ve. Ever. Known. Buh-bye, stiff shoulders!
• A sweet smelling candle | No day of reading and relaxing would be complete without a wonderful aroma wafting through the room. My favorite all-around candle is Yankee Candle’s Vanilla Cupcake scent. It’s (literally!) sweet, but not overpowering; just the right amount of freshness and warmth to be perfect the whole year round.

What are your must-haves for curling up with a good book?

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Guest Post: My Open Sketchbook

Hey, friends! I'm taking the week off (except for Wednesday) because I've been so busy, 

but I have an awesome line-up of guest posts for you this week!

Hello! I'm Kayly, and I blog over at My Open Sketchbook. When Sara contacted me about a guest post,  I jumped at the chance to share two of my biggest passions: Art, and my fandoms! Fan art was what started me down the path of art; I was eleven years old and fell in love with drawing Sailor Moon characters. I think fan art is such a great way for people to share their fandom love, and today I wanted to showcase a few of my favorite fan artists!

Megan Lara

Her designs are just stunning. I'm a huge fan of art nouveau, and her work combines some of my favorite fandoms with gorgeous art nouveau style. I own so many t-shirts, and even a couple prints of her work.

Karen Hallion

I love the wit behind Karen Hallion's work. She has such clever mashups!

Alice X. Zhang

Alice has some of the most beautiful digital art I've ever seen. Her style is so fluid, and I love how painterly it is.

Papyrusaurus

Ashley Cole is the owner and artist behind this Etsy shop, and her works are filled with great design. As a book lover, I'm a huge fan of her prints and the selection she has in her shop is just great!

I love fanart, both creating it and sharing it with other people. Right now, I'm having a giveaway on my blog to win some of my original fanart sketches! Below are the six pieces to choose from, and I'll be selecting two winners! You have until the end of May to enter, so click here to go to the giveaway!

Do you have fan art?

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Guest Post: Super Space Chick

Hey, friends! I'm taking the week off (except for Wednesday) because I've been so busy, 

but I have an awesome line-up of guest posts for you this week!

Hi everyone! I'm Kristin from Super Space Chick and I'm so excited that Sara decided to share her blog with me today!  I recently started a BookTube channel and I can honestly say it's the most passionate I've been about anything in a really long time!  I'm one of those people that can spend HOURS in a bookstore multiple times per week (my poor, poor boyfriend), I must know what everyone around me on the train is reading at all times, I'm able to lead people to the exact shelves of the book they're interested in while book shopping (you can ask Sara!), and my eyes LIGHT UP when anyone tries to engage me in any conversation about books, so really, a BookTube channel just ~made sense~.

Now that you are aware of how deep my bibliophilia runs, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of my favorite BookTubers (because when I'm not reading or talking about books, I'm watching other people talk about them as entertainment). All the BookTubers I watch focus on YA fiction, but there are others out there if YA isn't your thing!

1) Regan of PeruseProject - Regan is my favorite BookTuber.  I love watching her videos because of her awesome personality and because of how often I agree with her reviews so I feel like I can trust her opinions. She reads a lot of fantasy, but she also mixes in some contemporary YA, adult fiction, and classics. A good video example of how helpful Regan's reviews are is her Favorite Books of 2014 video which can be seen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcLiYKSqaaQ

2) Sam of Novels and Nonsense - Sam is my go to for fantasy recommendations!  She makes a lot of unique videos, one my favorite being her Arthurian Retelling recommendations and she often participates in the Top 5 Wednesday challenge for which the topics are available to view on Goodreads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2AZWGUSvlo

3) Kat of Katytastic - Kat's bookshelves are to die for (seriously you must watch her bookshelf tour!).  She's been on BookTube for years so sometimes I like to go back and watch old videos that I may have missed in the past.  Kat is one of the members of the Booksplosion book club which posts an jn in depth discussion once a month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrPGkJmktWg

4) Raeleen of PadfootandProngs07 - Raeleen is adorable!  She works at a bookstore so you know her recommendations are on point.  Her BookTube name is an obvious homage to the Marauders from Harry Potter, so I was destined to enjoy her videos from the start.  I love this video of her auto-buy authors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goAHO2Hk9Zg

5) Maureen of maureenkeavy - Maureen is a BookTuber that I discovered recently and I just adore her.  She's incredibly funny and sarcastic and I love watching everything she posts.  Here's a recent Harry Potter tag video she posted!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWuXrRxTF8U

Who is your favorite YouTuber?

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Sponsor Spotlight: The Biker Store

Happy Wednesday, everyone! The Biker Store is taking over my blog today! (Also, you may have noticed that the side bar ad now says "Faith in Families." The ad was switched, but it's still from the same people.)

Around this time last month, a dear friend of mine told me to read some romantic biker novels, I pretty much laughed in her face… bikers + romance = non-existent and boring!

Boy was I wrong…

After some convincing by this friend of mine, who is actually motorcycle crazy, I browsed online and found two romantic biker novels that captured my attention. The novels that I chose were Undeniable and Unbeautifully, both by Madeline Sheehan. Now I can’t imagine many people knowing this author or these books but by god she and they should have been the top of New York Times best sellers. They were heart-breaking and heart-warming all at the same time playing with my emotions like a yo-yo. Now I know just why my friend kept pestering me to read them.

Undeniable by Madeline Sheehan

There are actually five of these books with Undeniable being the first. The story is based around two characters, Eve Fox and Deuce West (good biker name right?), two motorcycle enthusiasts who have grown up in different motorcycle clubs and enter into a complex love scenario. Words truly fail me to describe the intensity and emotional factors this story projects... simply WOW! The synopsis actually came with a warning which was interesting and immediately drew my attention. Now I know why it came with a warning, my heart was having tremors and my eyes ran out of tears by the end of the book.

Unbeautifully by Madeline Sheehan

This is the second of the series and equally as good as the first, if not better. Sheehan has done an amazing job of continuing the story but at the same time making it new and fresh. This time the story is based around Deuce West’s daughter, Danny West and a Sergeant of Arms, Ripper Jacobs. I thought that the first book in the series was intense but somehow Sheehan turned up the dial of intensity with Unbeautifully. This book was full of pain and suffering and my heart truly bled for both Danny and Ripper… why had I never read this before!?

Give Me More Biker Romance

It’s official… I am now a fan of biker romance novels and a fan of Madeline Sheehan. I will most certainly be one of the first in line to buy her next book, Unattainable, when it’s released in October 2013.

This was written by Michelle Murphy from The Biker Store, an online motorcycle clothing store.

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Sponsor Spotlight: My Life as a Teacup

Happy Monday, everyone! Kristin of My Life as a Teacup is taking over my blog today!

She's talking about literary crushes because who doesn't have a few, right?

P.S. -- Check out my sponsor spotlight on Kristin's blog!

Ah, literary crushes. Everyone has one, that character that makes your heart flutter and keeps you up at night, trying to devise a way to jump into a novel a la Blue's Clues. The more you start thinking about your list, the more you start wondering what criteria you should use to weigh your crush-worthy candidates. Should they be marriage material? Purely swoon-worthy? I settled on the simple "makes you hide behind your book casting shifty eyes around the room to see who's spotted you giggling and blushing like a madwoman".

I'll spare you the obvious - Mr. Darcy - and the obscure crushes that even I can't explain (I may or may not have an inexplicable love for The Scar's Uther Doul. Just me? Okay.). My only rule for the following list is no dipping into pop culture; these crushes must remain strictly literary. Or else it would probably definitely be 17 12,000 times longer. 

Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey) Mr. Darcy might be the Austen hottie of choice, but Henry Tilney seems much more pleasant and funnier. He's witty, flirty, charming, and kind; and he has no qualms about professing his enjoyment of novels.

Did I mention sassy? Go ahead, Google "Henry Tilney sass". I dare you.

Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet) Frankly, I think Romeo is a whiny prat. He's obsessive, and a biiiiit unstable. Mercutio, on the other hand, is witty and fun, and a good friend as well. He may not be the most rational when it comes to controlling one's temper, which, y'know, can get you killed, but I'd still pick Mercutio over Romeo any day.

George Weasley (Harry Potter series) Apparently I really have a thing for men with a sense of humour, and the Weasley twins have got a great personality to match. They're great fun, care immensely for their family (even if they do tease and torment them at times), and can bust a move (Exhibit A: The Yule Ball). And yes, I specified one twin of the Weasley duo. As much as I like funny, I'm a serious gal and George seems like the tamer of the two, a bit more mellow; I dig that.

Edward Fairfax Rochester (Jane Eyre) The epitome of dark, brooding, Byronic heroes, Mr. Rochester is a total babe. He's also kind of an ass at times, but that doesn't stop my heart palpitations. I'm willing to put his questionable decisions aside if he continues to be ridiculously passionate and somehow charming.

Ser Jorah Mormont (A Song of Ice and Fire) Part of me feels perpetually bad that he keeps getting friend-zoned by Daenerys, but honestly, who could resist the sensible council and genuine care that Ser Jorah Mormont exudes? Dedicated, loyal, and sends stacks of books as a wedding present? Be still my heart.

Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) Chicks dig an air of mystery, am I right? And Strider, er, I mean Aragorn, had me from the Prancing Pony (which is in Bree, which also happens to be the name of a very delicious cheese that I love - Brie! Coincidence? I think not!). Skilled warrior, just king, and all-around freaking awesome? Yeah, I'm swooning (still).

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Be sure to head over to Kristin's blog and tell her I sent you!

♥♥♥

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Guest Post: Empty Space

Hey everyone! I want to introduce you to Jastene of Empty Space. She's a new blogger who writes about her thoughts, fashion, reviews, and her love of Sponge Bob. Read about her life and why she became a blogger below.

♥ ♥ ♥

Hey! It’s My Empty Space and ME!

First, I would like to extend my warm greetings to everyone especially to Ms. Sarah and to all the bloggers who feel blessed and loved. Have a wonderful and lovely day everyone. I also want to say thank you to Ms. Sarah for allowing me to be her guest blogger and it's an honor as my first time to do this and so, for this post I will be introducing more about myself and how I begun to start blogging and calling it my Empty Space.

Hello! My name is Jastene, but you can call me Jassy. I am 19 years old and turning 20 this July. I am a Bachelor in Arts in Communication Arts major in Speech and Corporate Communications student at the University of the Philippines Mindanao Campus. I am the eldest among the family, a lover of Arts and a collector.

            Aside from that, I like to sing, dance a little, act, write, blog, make friends, write letters, write poems, collect stuffs like notebooks, pens, Sponge Bob stuff, accessories and more. I am just a simple girl and easy to get along with. I am most of the time passionate about things that I love and I always believe in the saying “Everything happens for a reason.”

  

As a kid, I am fond of keeping and writing a diary even though it is not every day that I write an entry I make sure that I write twice to thrice a week. I am more of the introvert kind of person and instead of being vocal of what I feel I write everything down and just keep it to myself. I cannot remember when I started to have a diary but I remember that it was my mom who gave it to me and because of that I begun to like sharing my thoughts through writing.

After owning a diary, I remembered I started to do scrapbooking after I watched a local TV talking about it. I was so excited by that time and then I did a DIY with my first scrapbook and of course by that time I was not only writing to express myself but I was also adding up photos and other stuff to keep some memories worth remembering.

I realized I was not only fond of writing about my own feelings and stuff but I also like to keep memories especially expressed through a photograph and as of this time, I have FOUR scrapbooks. (not a professional though hehehe)

As time passes by technologies advances and everything else does. I myself started to be hooked with the internet and had my Facebook account at the age of 15. The virtual world opened many opportunities for me to share my ideas and thoughts and to meet other people from the different parts of the world. I just love to communicate with different kinds of people and because of that, I become more interested with writing letters and sending post cards to my new found virtual friends and as of my last update, here are all the letters. Sorry haven’t posted the post cards yet maybe sometime soon.   

 Aside from that, I just discovered that I like to write poems there was a time that I was not doing anything and just started to write and tada I wrote my first poem entitle “The Flower Petal in the Wind.” As of this moment, I have 27 poems with different topics depending on my mood and the inspiration that I can get by watching TV, reading, and thinking about anything under the sun. My personal favorite topic is about life itself since I believe that there are great things that come with life and it is filled with different wonders, & amazing surprises. If you are interested about it, you can visit my blog, check out some of my poems, and leave some comments too.

Aside from being passionate about writing in paper, I was able to check out a blog entry a few months ago and then I begun to post a blog entry on my own about random stuff that I had been doing, fashion, giveaway updates, life, poetry, Sponge Bob and more. After posting that more ideas came in, interest were adding and I begun to continue blogging. I have TWO main blogs by the way that is in Tumblr and Blogger. I named both my blogs Empty Space because in I feel that I can write endlessly and express myself with no limits through writing in a piece of empty space. In this area, I can be myself; I can create and share anything w/my own reality. I like how I don’t need to pretend to be someone else and I just want to inspire many people through my blog post and even just write random stuff for fun. I am just a starter in this field and still in the process to improve myself. If you are interested, please check out my blog and follow me via GFC.  Keep blogging everyone and have a good day ahead. With love, Jassy. 

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NOTE:  Some photos were downloaded in www.google.com