Happy Hub: #bfflweek, R5, Annie, & More!

August took its time but also flew by. Funny how that happens. Most of the things in this Happy Hub are from an extended #bfflweek with Mikaela. Basically we spend as much time with each other as humanly possible before she leaves for college at the end of the month. Last year we managed to fit everything into one week but this time we spread it out a little bit. We also had a wider range of activities, which frankly wasn't very difficult since the only thing we did last year was watch movies. It's been an exciting month. It's been an exciting summer.

If you're new and have yet to catch up, I have written Happy Hubs every month since February when I started xo, Yvette! You can find them all here. If you want to know what this year's #bfflweek consisted of, click the read more! (You'll find it all under "Films" and "Entertainment.")

Travelog: Mediterranean Cruise Pt. 1

My original plan was to separate this trip into three posts – Mediterranean cruise, Greek Isles cruise, and Venice – but when our trip got off to a rocky start, there was no way that Mediterranean post would be less than a mile long. I know all our attention spans have been reduced to a mere six seconds, thanks to the instant gratification of the internet, so I’m going to save you the torture of having to sit through a 6,000 word blog post and break this Mediterranean cruise into two parts (not that this one's gonna feel any shorter). These travelogs will be coming at you for the next couple Sundays so keep your eyes peeled to read more about my Mediterranean adventures! 

Book Talk: July Wrap Up

July turned out to be a lot better of a reading month than I expected. I read as much as I could before I left for my vacation but between packing, finishing up blog posts, and squeezing some last minute get-togethers in, there wasn't much time left for reading. I checked out four ebooks in preparation for the trip, figuring that would be more than enough, but I was in such a reading mood that I had to break into my reserves. By the end of it, I was a book ahead of my Goodreads Reading Challenge, which is about three steps ahead of where I thought I'd be.

Have you been keeping up with xo, Yvette recently? If not, you may have missed out on some Greek mythology recommendations! To catch up on what else I've been reading, all my previous monthly wrap ups can be found here and I always keep my Goodreads as up to date as possible. Want to get to the books? Click that read more!

Happy Hub: Teen Beach 2, Oh What A Night!, Pen Pals, & More!

I spent most of the month unplugged so I definitely missed out on a lot of pop culture and other awesome things that I would need the internet to discover. This Happy Hub is going to be on the shorter side but pretty much all my Travelogs (coming soon!) are extended Happy Hubs of my vacation so you'll be getting your fair share of good times and then some. I did manage to fit in some happiness in before I flew across the world, though, so you won't be reading a blank post today.

If you recall, we're going to be on a slightly altered posting schedule through September. All posts will be pushed to Sundays at 12:30pm PST with some exceptions when I have extra posts, such as this one (I'm playing catch up). As usual, catch up on my previous Happy Hubs here, and click the "read more" to read more!

Visiting Voices: Charming Purple Jewelry (ft. Steph)

As you all know, I am still on my semi-hiatus but that doesn't mean you aren't getting new blog posts! I thought I'd throw in some variety on xo, Yvette since all the only things I really talk about are hair and books. I also wanted to showcase Steph's blog, Sparkle and Sprinkle, so I thought I'd hand over the reins for a post. Steph's blog consists of jewelry posts (aka the sparkle) on Tuesdays and baking posts (aka the sprinkle) on Fridays. She actually volunteered to write this post, the angel she is, and you'll find that these pieces are stunning. Can you believe she made all of these?! I wish I were that talented. (She actually just opened her Etsy shop yesterday!) Enough of my yammering. Take it away, Steph! 

Yvette told me her favorite color is purple, so for this Visiting Voices I decided to display a few pieces of purple jewelry that I’ve made. I had a lot more than this to choose from, but these three are my favorites.

Book Talk: Greek Mythology Recommendations

By the time this post goes up, I will have already been whisked away to the Mediterranean. While I'm there, I'm going to be spending a lot of time in Greece so I thought it'd be fitting to put together a list of my favorite books and series based on Greek mythology. I tried to gather a variety of series and the differences range from age appropriateness (middle grade through adult are represented) as well as series length (there's a stand alone, a handful of trilogies, and a couple longer series) and the actual myths these books are based on (you'll be seeing Pandora's Box, Persephone, and more). I won't be including the novellas and short stories within the series since those technically aren't required reading and it's more fun to discover those on your own. There's also a mini Visiting Voices in this post courtesy of Allison, so a huge thank you to her for helping me out with this book rec! Let's get to the books!

Book Talk: June Wrap Up

June has been such a long month and I'm not even mad about it. It started out with finals week and moving out then suddenly I was free. Summer at last! I got out of school on a reading high and while I didn't feel like I was reading fast, I definitely managed to fit a hefty amount of books in this month. I even caught up to my Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge! That'll be very helpful when I fall behind again next month.

If you're interested in seeing what I was reading in previous months, you can find all of those here. Now get comfy and grab a snack because this one's a doozy. Click the read more to get to the books!