{Blogtember} My Favorite Etsy Shops

It's day seven of Blogtember, and today's prompt is: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop. I am a bit of an online shopping addict - I don't yet own a car, so shopping online makes things a whole lot easier. Lately, I've been really into Etsy, so I decided that I would use this post to showcase a few of my favorite Etsy shops, in no particular order:

Rocky Top Soap Shop // I love these homemade soaps! My favorite item is 'The Grit' exfoliating bar, made with coffee grounds & black poppy seeds - it feels amazing!

Sonu Designs // Her jewelry is beautiful! I keep getting complements anytime I wear my bird's nest necklace, and have already gifted items purchased from this store.

Bethy Designs // Beth makes some of the cutest bookmarks I have ever seen - my goal is to own them all, but so far I only have her Merlin set.

Frostbeard Studio // Bookish candles, like Dumbledore's Office (cedar wood, vanilla, fireplace, & lemon) & Sherlock's Study (sweet pipe tobacco, cherry wood & fresh rain)

I'm always on the look-out for new shops, so if you have any favorite Etsy stores, please list them in the comments and I'll check them out!

{Blogtember} If I Could Do Anything I Wanted For 3 Months...

Today is the second day of Blogtember, and the prompt is as follows: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!) 

*Click The Images To View Their Source*

I'd like to travel all over the world in my lifetime, but at the moment, if I could go wherever I wanted for three months, I'd go to India.

I would love to walk the streets of India, and go shopping at some street markets.

My favorite type of food is Indian food. I'm a vegan, so there are a lot of choices available, since a large portion of Indians are vegetarian. I love the spices and flavors that are found in Indian cuisine, and I especially enjoy eating curry - yum!

I'd also love to participate in Holi, the festival of color:

And, of course, I'd have to check out their attractions. I can't go to India without visiting places such as the Taj Mahal, now can I?

I know that three months wouldn't be enough time to see everything I'd like to see in India, but it would definitely be a good first-time visit. And of course, since this is a book blog, I'm throwing in a few books that I'd probably take on the trip:

  

So, if you could do whatever you'd like to for three whole months, what would you do?

{Blogtember} Where I Come From

It's the first day of Blogtember, and today's prompt is all about where I come from: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are. I think that a big part of who I am has to do with the city I was raised in - El Paso, Texas. I grew up right on the border, with a Mexican mother (from Torreón) and a father from New Jersey (whose grandfather had emigrated from Ireland). El Paso is a very large, friendly, and laid-back city with a lot of culture and a strong sense of Hispanic pride. I'm always proud to say that I'm from El Paso, because it makes me feel as though I'm part of a special club. "Oh, you're from El Paso? I've been there once - I ate at Chico's Tacos."

My Mom & Dad

My family is pretty large - I grew up as number six out of seven kids, four boys and three girls (not counting two older half-sisters who live in a different city). That's a lot under one roof, especially when you only have one bathroom. Still, I always had someone around to talk to or fight with (and yes, with so many of us, we fight a lot), and my parents never had to worry that any of us would grow up spoiled, since hand-me-downs and sharing were the norm for us.

My father passed away the summer before my senior year of high school, so the photo on the right is the only photo I have on my computer of my parents together. Digital cameras were still new to me then.

Oldest To Youngest: Martin, Tommy, Bobby, Brian, Elizabeth, Me, Angelica

As soon as I graduated high school, I chose to go to college in San Antonio, as I wanted to experience life away from home for the first time. I had never really left El Paso at all before, so I really enjoyed exploring more of Texas. I even spent a semester abroad in London, England, and did some traveling to other European cities during the weekends. I think that being a part of such a large family and not getting to travel as a child really played a big factor in my wanting to go abroad - I yearned to do something independent for once, and experience new cultures (as well as learn more about the Irish part of my family tree since I was close enough to visit the country easily). I still hope to travel more in the future.

The home I grew up in - if you can see it behind all the trees...

But for now, I have graduated college and am back in El Paso. I don't know what the future holds for me, but no matter where I travel, I will always be glad to have my family and my city to return to.

This is my first Blogtember post.

If you're interested in participating in Blogtember, please click on the button below:

{Blogtember}

Jessica @ Sweet Green Tangerine wrote about a blogging event taking place this September that focuses on you as a person. The event, Blogtember, is being hosted by Jenni @ Story of My Life, if you'd like to check it out. While I enjoy blogging about books, I'd like to start blogging about a few more meaningful things as well, and I thought that by joining in this event, I'd be able to connect with my followers more by showing them more of the gal behind the blog. Don't worry, I'll still be book blogging throughout the month as well, but you may also see a few more personal posts this month which will correlate with the Blogtember topics. I may not participate in every post, but I'd like to try as many as I can. Here's what's on the posting schedule for this month:

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 

Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.

Monday, September 9: Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

Wednesday, September 11: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

Thursday, September 12: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

Friday, September 13: A self portrait

Monday, September 16: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Tuesday, September 17: A memory you would love to relive.

Wednesday, September 18: Only photos

Thursday, September 19: Creative writing day: write a (very short) fictional story that starts with this sentence: "To say I was dreading the dinner party would be the understatement of the century."

The story does not necessarily need to have a conclusion - you can leave your readers wishing for more!

Friday, September 20: React to this term: comfort. 

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!

Tuesday, September 24: Review a book, place, or product.

Wednesday, September 25: Write about a time you screwed up - a mistake you made. 

Thursday, September 26: Go to a coffee shop. Order a favorite drink. Write about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Or write about anything you'd like! Bonus points for including a photo from the coffee shop. (I recommend downloading Ommwriter and bringing headphones along!) *if you can't make it to a coffee shop, at least leave your usual space and write someplace new.

Friday, September 27: An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.) 

Monday, September 30: Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.

I can't wait to get started on some of these posts! If you're interested in joining in, please let me know in the comments so that I can know to check out your posts - I'd love to learn more about my fellow book bloggers! It's a fairly laid-back event, as well - you don't have to post on every topic, and you can be as creative as you'd like with your posts. Check out all the info and rules HERE, if you're curious.