Tag: Atlanta Blogger

Bookish

Do I Only Read When I’m Depressed?

India
I haven’t been reading a lot lately, which isn’t a bad thing, but it is different. If you follow me on Instagram (if you don’t you should just click here!) you would have seen a post about me talking about feeling more happy. I have noticed that with that light feeling that I’ve had, I haven’t wanted to sit in my bed all day with the windows closed and read my books. Now I haven’t given up reading at all, I just have not sequestered myself to the pillows. Who knows it might just be because I haven’t started a book in awhile that has excited me. As I looked into why I haven’t been crushing my reading goals lately, I really had to look into myself and my own moods and see what was going on.
The conclusion in my own non scientific experiment was that I was not feeling the depression that was weighing me down in so many things. Now I want to be out and moving around and taking more pictures of books than I want to read them. I still have the desire to read them, but I don’t have the desire to sit still, so I need to use some of those audible credits it sounds like. As I was finding this out about my myself I then started to look at the book community.
A lot of the book community contains people who have titled themselves as introverts, which is fine, and that’s why they enjoy reading so much, but also why they love the book community. It gives them a place to socialize without having to socialize. Basically socializing on their own terms. There has also been a lot of discussion and talks about mental health going on in the book community as of late, which I think is fantastic, but they’re more discussions of people saying that they have a mental health issue and bringing light to that. Other than a chemical imbalance that some people face with their mental health, I want to explore what other reasons why a lot of book people feel down. For me, it was a birth control that spun my mental health all out of wack. If I was titling myself I would call myself an extroverted introvert. I can make conversation with anyone at any time and it doesn’t bother me at all, but I also need that space to be away from people some time.
I also wanted to explore the thought of reading for escapism. I know that I have said that in videos and looking back at that, I’m not even sure if that’s what I really meant to say. I always meant reading for escapism in terms of escaping to some place new, and now I think the new word I was trying to come up with is exploring. I feel like I read to explore new places, but not necessarily to escape from the place I’m at. I love where I’m at in life even with all of the mixed feelings and emotions, but it took time to get there. Sometimes I fear for the book community and the fact that too many people are escaping from life and not dealing with life, but everyone has their journey to get to where they need to be.
So my questions starts to become, do I only read when I’m depressed and how do I read in the same volume when I’m happy?  Or do I need to change my expectations of myself and not put reading pressure on myself. These are some of the questions that I have and I don’t know any of the answers. I know that I need to take it a day at a time and still continue to read what I enjoy and have fun with it. Do you find your mood determines your reading? Until next time,
Keep turning the Pages
India
Coffee Break

The Booktube Boyfriend Tag!

India

So, I made Eric be in a video with me….

I might have bribed him to do it…

I’m pretty sure he loves me … hahahah

No, I’m just kidding I know he loves because he was willing to do this fun and exciting video with me to see how much he knows about Booktube and what I do over here.

Of course a lot of the pictures you see of me on social media have been taken by him, as he so graciously becomes my photographer for however many photos that I need. Trust me no grumbling there – read lots of grumbling and India we don’t have time for this -and he takes as many pictures that I need.

Here’s the two of us together! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where you get to see more of our Swirly Relationship. The video is here and down below! If you have any questions for us leave them below! Until next time!

Keep Turning the Pages

India

Coffee Break, travel

What To Take On Your Cruise in 2019!

India

It’s time for another cruise! I’ve been fortunate enough to have gone on many cruises in my life so far, so I decided to put some of my cruise essentials in a video! I have linked that video here as well has put it down below. Some of the links in this post might be affiliate links, which don’t change the cost for you, but helps to bring some extra cash (read pennies) my way, so I can keep trying new things and make more videos.

Of course one of the biggest things that I would bring in your bag and not buy it on the boat is sunscreen and bug spray. Everything gets a lot more expensive on the boat and this way you can bring on the sunscreen that works best for your skin. Also if you’re going snorkeling or planning on going in the ocean, try and get some ocean or reef safe sunscreen like this here.
One major thing that I forgot to mention in my video is to take over the counter medications with you! Things like ibuprofen, Tylenol, Alieve, Zantac, Tums, and Pepto Bismal. They have over the counter medications on the ship, but you do’t want to pay $10 for 2 pills. So go ahead and buy that $5 before you go, and that way you can take your ibuprofen first thing in the morning when you wake up with your party hang over.
Make sure to bring a beach bag. This year I will be taking this Muzmm three in one backpack that I have an unboxing for here. I always have some sort of beach bag with me, so that I have something to carry my stuff around on the ship and then I also have something that I can carry off the ship during shore excursions. I like non cloth bags because obviously there is a lot of water around you and just having the synthetic material can make or break having a soaked bag due to splashing. I like having colorful bags as well as having something with my name on it. If you Tiles, it doesn’t hurt to throw one in there.
Something that I found out recently was the magic of towel clips! These magical things help to keep your towel on your chair and keeps them from falling off! They also help to mark your chair as your own and also informs the fantastic staff on the ship that you’re still using your towels and not to pick them up for you. Of course you should drop off your towels at the towel drop off because it helps out the staff.
Seems silly to mention, but bring a hat. My poor boyfriend is as pale as it comes and so I have to make sure that he brings a hat. Me on the other hand, I don’t always have one because half the time they don’t fit on my head with all of my hair.
A reusable water bottle!! This is so big! It’s so easy to get dehydrated on vacation. Being out in sun, drinking, and having fun can lead to dehydration will lead to you feeling miserable, so bring a water bottle. It helps to get you drinking more and then you don’t have to buy water. You also don’t have to get up all the time to get more water. Just don’t put it to the actual machine!! That spreads germs and gets you sick. Use a clean cup to fill your water bottle. Also bring something you won’t be sad to loose. Don’t bring your Yeti’s and Hydroflasks just in case you leave it somewhere.
I love to bring a carry on. Whether that be a backpack or a carry on suitcase. I always have an extra pair of clothes and a bathing suit in there. I like to allow the cruise line to bring my luggage to my room. You can do it on some cruise lines where it just has to go through the security detector and then you can take it on yourself. In it I always have a change a clothes, my makeup, bathing suit, and anything I think I might need for the few hours I’ll be without my luggage. Of course that includes all of my electronics because those do not leave my side.  Depending on the cruise, depends on how much luggage I’m bringing with me. Lately I’ve been traveling very backpack heavy and have been using the Peak Design backpack. There are plenty of unboxings out there, so I did not make my own. I do love the Peak Design set up and how everything goes together. It makes things really easy!
These are some of the things that I think are helpful to have on vacation! You can watch the video below and scroll through to see some examples and what else that I bring! Of course follow me on social media and you can see how I use the items in action!! Have you been on a cruise before? What are your favorite items to bring?
Coffee Break

Ultimate Kelly Moore Bag Collection

India

As all of you should know I have a love/hate relationship with Kelly Moore Bags. I love the bags and my bank account hates that I have bought so many of them. I wanted to finally do a round up of all of the KMBs that I own, and the results might show a slight obsession.

This post is in no way sponsored and I have bought every single one of these bags by myself. If anyone from the Kelly Moore team sees this post and wants to gift me The Tourist, I wouldn’t be mad about it hahahaha, but seriously… please! Of course you can buy Kelly Moore bags here (not an affiliate link).

You can check out my video of all the bags here, and I’ve placed it down below as well. Some of the bags in the video have been discontinued, but you might be able to find some of them on eBay or on the used camera website KEH. I do have some individual unboxings of some of the bags, and I have blog posts on others. I will link them in the blog post as well. If you have any questions feel free to ask me in the comments, or shoot me an email, or slide into the DMs.

It’s a pretty long video, but I start off with the smallest items and I work my way up to the big ones, so let’s dig into them! Also I did not get all of these items at full price! I wait until she has a sale, some dollars off, or a percentage off, and then I pounce on them! They’re expensive bags, so I do have to save up and plan for them. Shopping around the holidays is a good time to get them.

 

  1. The Minimalist Slim Wallet – $39
  2. The Passport Wallet – $79
  3. The Gadget Clutch – $69
  4. The Wearable Wallet – $89
  5. The Riverdale – Recently Discontinued
  6. The Riva – Discontinued
  7. The Luna – $179 (the yellow color has been discontinued)
  8. The B-Hobo – Discontinued
  9. The Scout – $219
  10. The Kate 2.0 – $199
  11. The Libby 2.0 – $249
  12. The A Beautiful Mess and Kelly Moore Collaboration Briefcase – Special Edition Discontinued

 

I know! Way too many bags, don’t even know what to do with them. Most of the time, I don’t and they’re hanging up, but often times each different bag has their own purpose. I’ve traveled as a carry on with The Libby and the B-Hobo bag and the Luna bag have been my go to for years!

Of course I didn’t get all of these bags in a day, and have been shopping for Kelly Moore bags for what feels like 10 years. My camera set ups have changed over the years, but these bags have stayed the same. They always have so many pockets and protect my gear like a champ. They’ve been all over the world and none of them have broken down on me. To get my opinion on each bag check out my video on my youtube channel, which I’ve posted down below! Let me know what you think and tell me if you own any! Until next time,

Keep turning the Pages

India

Book Reviews

Three Dark Crowns, Kendare Blake

India
There is only room for one Queen in the isle of Fennbirn, but there are three queens who are trying to be the strongest they can to take the throne. When the time comes it is going to be up to the all three queens to try and defeat the other in order to be called the true Queen. Each generation there are triplets that are born in the hopes that one of them will become the next true Queen. They grow up together for a few years and then are separated to go to their prospective part of the kingdom where they can learn how to grow the unique gifts that they were born with. Mirabella is an elementalist who can control the weather with a fierce energy and bring flames and lightening down on whomever gets in her way. Arsinoe is a naturalist who is said to be able to bloom flowers and help trees to grow, as well as have a familiar, or an animal, who she is said to be able to communicate with. Finally there is Katharine who is a poisoner, which makes her immune to all of the deadliest poisons to where she can even eat a whole feast of them.
I genuinely enjoyed this book. Once I finally got into it I could not put it down. There is a lot of world building in the beginning and with the fact that there are three queens, you have to see each of their worlds. There are a lot of characters in the book, which sometimes gets confusing, but as you keep reading they start to really set themselves apart. I love the different ways these queens grew up, and I was also glad to know that they all knew what happened for them to become the queen instead of the finding out on their 16th birthday. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s kind of in the dark fantasy realm. It’s not a typical princess book by any means, and that’s what I loved about it. Until next time,
Keep Turning the Pages
India