Where are all my bookworms at? Today I wanted to talk a little about where I find all my books and fun (and sometimes free) ways to get the good stuff (books that is). Because let's face it. Books are not cheap to buy. This is not saying I am not trying to support writers, because I certainly do buy books. However sometimes I am looking for a quick read, or want to get into a new author but not sure I will like the style of the writing. So here are a few tips to get yourself back on the reading train finding books you love!


Sign up for a library card: This is probably the cheapest (free) way to check out all kinds of subjects and authors without having to purchase the book. Library cards are free and offer all kinds of options. A typical time frame you get to keep these books is between 2 and 3 weeks. I normally take out only 2 books at a time in order to give myself enough time to read both. Most of the time you can renew your borrowed book if the book is not in high demand.

Book Sales: I really enjoy when libraries and book stores have sales. You can get some pretty great books for a fraction of their original costs. Most of these sales benefit your local library which is pretty sweet. In my town there is an annual book sale and it is HUGE! Books get cheaper as the days go on. You can walk out with loads of books under $10 if you choose.

Buy an E-Reader: Owning a reader like a Kindle or Nook can be fun because you have the library literally at the palm of your hand. Most libraries have electronic book borrowing these days. Same process as checking out a book, but downloaded on your device. When it's time to return the book it magically disappears from your archive. Pretty sweet right?

Along with borrowing electronic books from the library Amazon offers all kinds of books to purchase for less then the hard copy as well as daily free books. There are quite a few sites out there that sift through all of the free books and offer them to you in categories that are easy to follow. Some of my favorites are:

Pixel of Ink
Free Booksey
Hundred Zeros

I have found hundreds of books to read from these sites. It is absolutely insane how much is out there to read!

Goodreads.com: If you are unsure of what to read or want to keep track of what you are reading, Goodreads is the place to go. You can friend people you know and see what they are reading, along with get recommendations from the site based on your likes. There are categories and reviews on almost any kind of subject you can think of.

Library and Kindle books are my fave!

You have so many options out there to get yourself back into reading and finding stuff you love. In the next couple of weeks, once I finish the Winter Reading Challenge I am currently reading, I will be posting a new reading challenge. It will be simple, kinda. If you are like me and have WAY to many books on your kindle/nook this challenge is going to have you pick books by theme from the books you already have stored on your e-reader but never read. Sounds fun right? (I suppose if you also hard copy books laying around you could also do it that way if you don't own an e-reader)

Stay tuned for that. more details to come!

I have recently taken up yoga. I am only a few classes in so I am not going to pretend like I am an expert by any means. I wanted to pass along some tips I would have found helpful before I went into my first class.


Tip #1: Always speak to your instructor prior to your first class about any medical or health issues you are currently going through. This can be both beneficial for you and the instructor. The instructor may be able to guide you into a class that works best for you and your needs.

Tip #2: Verify ahead of time if you need to provide your own mats or any other equipment that may be needed during class.  A lot of places today provide these either complimentary or for a small rental fee.  Never assume they are included in the class cost.

Tip #3: Wear comfortable, yet formfitting clothes. When I went into my first class I was wearing comfy clothes, however they were a little baggy in the legs and I kept getting caught on my pant legs in certain positions.

Tip #4: Leave your phone at home (Or at least turned off). The atmosphere is very quiet and relaxing. The last thing you need is to have your phone going off or your mind on that last message you read right before you walking into class. I find leaving my phone home all together allows me to have a nice peaceful class along with a relaxing peaceful drive home.

Tip #5: Breathe! Yoga is all about using your breath. If you forget to breathe or keep your muscles tense, you could end up pulling a muscle and being sore after.  Never a fun option.

Tips #6: Accept help. Never feel embarrassed if your instructor corrects your position. They are only trying to help you get it correct so you can get the benefit the position is meant for.

Tip #7: Keep a positive attitude while practicing. The energy is amazing with a room full of people all focusing on a better well being. Smile often and always be kind to those around you.

Tip #8: Ask questions if you don't understand something being taught to you. If you allow the question to go unanswered you may become frustrated every time you practice.

Tip #9 Bring extra layers and water. At the end of the class after you have completely let yourself relax, you may become cold. Have water if you need to hydrate after.

Tip #10 Practice what you have learned in your everyday life. Learn to use your breath to relax you in a stressful situation. I have definitely used these techniques a few time and it is amazing how much better you feel when you apply what you learn.

Do you practice yoga? What tips would you add?

Happy Saturday folks! I have been so busy this week I rarely got time to catch up on all of my favorite reads. Today I wanted to share with you my favorite posts of the week and hope you all find them as great as I do.


Julia over at Grace Makes New wrote about one of my favorite subject this week! 5 Ways to Earn Free Giftcard. Love me some freebie advice! Be sure to check out Julia's post!

Kaelyn over at My Fair Daily wrote about The Beauty Sleep Challenge and I fell in love with her pajama pants! I found someone else who enjoys a cute pair of skull pj's!

 Anne over at Love the Here and Now always knows how to brighten my day with her inspirational posts. She didn't disappoint in her post on 10 Ways to Brighten Someone's Day. Great advice!

Hello Natural has been one of my favorite reads lately. Stephanie does a great job at bring some pretty amazing articles. 101 Reasons Why Coconut Oil is Miracle Stuff is awesome! It has great ideas when it comes to this stuff that I just can't get enough of already!

Christine over at The So Called Homemaker is doing a series on Real Estate for Real People. I really enjoyed her segment on renting because this is going to be me soon! Great tips if you are looking for real estate!

I hope you find some good reads folks!


I also wanted to talk quickly about my decision to start offering one sponsorship option on my blog. The only reason I am interested in doing 1 option, is I do not want to commit right yet to a full on sidebar full of sponsors that I may or may not be able to promote.

I have noticed my blog gets quite a bit of traffic on Saturday and Sunday's and I rarely post on these days. I am thinking about offering a blog takeover on one of those days each week. This way I will be able to promote you each week and only have one person to commit to weekly instead of 5 or 10. Once I get the hang of it I may offer more options, but I think this is the best way to start off and not make anyone upset with me. What do you all think? Does this interest you?

Lemme know and have a great weekend!

I have had a legit busy week! Yes I just used the word legit to describe my week. I am back again to link up for H54F! I don't know about you, but I am so happy to see Friday today! I am focusing my five things on work this week. Even though it was busy, I took a lot from it and figured why not talk about 5 things that happened to me.Work and coworkers can be so inspiring when it comes to writing for me.

#1 Walking into work on Monday was rough. I was really tired and had no real desire to work. I arrived to piles of stuff on my desk that was still lurking from Friday. I applied some of the yoga breathing techniques I learned last week and breathed my way though the day. I smiled and that allowed myself to be more approachable and made for an easier day.

#2 Tuesday was better. I cleaned up a lot of my mess and had a really great meeting. The meeting pumped me up for the rest of my day. Had a little mishap with some ordering but made up for that on Wednesday! Ended the day with dinner with my love.

#3 I was able to save my company a chunk of moolah by using my head and asking the right questions. I was so excited for my accomplishment I couldn't wait to give my news to the head honcho. I was rewarded on the spot with a gift card for my work. Make me feel really appreciated. Such a great morale booster!

#4 One of my coworkers is getting married. Some of the conversation about it brought up some blog ideas. I am so thankful for my coworker muses! They say and do the most inspiring things sometimes. If you're interested in some tips, have a look!

#5 After lots of deadlines with a small window of time I was able to get all my work completed before the company meeting. It took a lot of energy but I made all my deadlines and was able to laugh at all the stressing I was doing. I left on time and had a very relaxing yoga session.

Work reminded me this week that hard work does pay off. It may stress me out and and get busy but I get stuff done when the heat is on.  I hope you all had a great week! See you back here Monday :)

Now that we are coming down from the wave of engagement proposals, we are crashing down into wedding planning season. Everyone seems to know one somebody who got engaged during the holidays, or maybe it was you. Brides to be are now working in overdrive to read every tip, blog, and magazine that mentions the word 'wedding'.

As you comb through articles on wedding themes, wedding colors, wedding flowers, wedding dresses, and wedding tips, in order to achieve your dream wedding, we often forget one small detail: wedding guests. When I say guests I also include your wedding party in this category. They are not only representing you and your partner, they are also putting in time and money before hand to make sure your day is perfect as guests.

Now don't get me wrong, this day IS and SHOULD be about you and your partner, but you also want to make sure your wedding guests have a good time too. I know you can't make every single person happy, but from my own experience of all the weddings I have gone to in the past 5 years (always a bridesmaid. never a bride.. lol), I have learned some pretty valuable lessons for planning my own wedding one day.

• Location: We all want our wedding days to be magical. We often dream of tropical islands with beach backdrops. This is all fine and dandy if your are planning a small intimate wedding with a few close friends and family. And when I say a few I mean under 10. Most people cannot afford to fly to an exotic location for a weekend to watch you get married. I don't say this to be mean or shatter your dreams, but lets be realistic. Choose a location that is easily traveled to and will not cost your guests an arm and a leg.

• Favors: This day in age we know a lot of people who are not living local to us or where our wedding is going to be. Traditionally weddings happen in the brides hometown, and today most of us do not still live in our hometown. Many guests may be flying to get to you. Think smart when planning favors for everyone. Liquids, jams, and anything over 4 ounces that may be suspicious to a TSA agent at the airport should be crossed off your favor list stat. I take this tip to heart when I packed away some jam that was given me as a gift, not even thinking and was pulled aside and searched at the airport. No fun!

• Intentions: When getting married, we are left with the duty of choosing our wedding party. This can sometimes be very daunting because we can't pick everyone. Do not invite the people who did not make your bridal party list to participate in the bridal games so to say. A friend and I had this happen. We got invited to do all of the pre-wedding events (ie: mani/pedi's, bridal brunch, ect) yet were left to clean up all of the messes and handle last minute issues. In theory it sounded like a good idea. In reality we were really upset we got stuck with all the problems when we had planned to come and celebrate her wedding. Not be her runner.

• Children: This is a biggie. If you are NOT planning to have children at your wedding, you MUST make it clear. Never assume your guests understand they should not bring little Johnny to the reception. If you feel like this will be an issue you may either want to call the guests with the children to let them know personally or plan to offer a childcare option for anyone who cannot leave their kids at home. This is a sensitive subject but it is your party and at the end of the day this is your decision.

Now I am sure there are loads more things that I am missing, but these are some biggies. You don't ever want to make it difficult for your guests to make it to your wedding. You never want them to get searched at the airport. Never make your guests into your slave for the day. And certainly never make someone feel bad about having kids. These are all things you can easily fix by thinking ahead. Think ahead and your wedding will be great for everyone involved. 

I am wishing you a a successful journey on all things wedding planning. I hope some of these tips have helped you workout something you haven't even thought about yet.

Do you have any tips you would like to add? Anything happen to you as a guest?