Mug Monday & What I´ve Been Up To

Literally me every Monday

 

Hey, everyone! Welcome back to Friday´s unbeloved sister, Monday.

It´s been a minute since I sat down and did a Mug Monday feature. But I have a good reason for having neglected my favorite blog feature.

 

I´ve been mingling with the book crowd. 

 

As in- actually ditching my laptop and leaving the house to meet up with some bookish people.

I know. I know. Unthinkable, considering how much I love to stay in my PJs all day and do nothing but read. Oh, by the way- Mug feature ahead!

 

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Granted, not the most original mug to feature, but it´s still one, even if you can hardly see it.

So, yes. I´ve been busy with book socializing.

Somewhere around the end of September, I teamed up with my book bestie Brina@Brina and the Books to visit the RARE ´19 London book event. Then had the pleasure of being spontaneously invited to a book blogger meet up in Frankfurt shortly after the London event. And last but not least ( as I´m hoping this socializing train will continue to roll ) I went to an author reading.

I´ve noticed my need to nap has been greater than ever before. Damn, I forgot how much fun, yet exhausting socializing is.

With that being said- I´ve collected enough info on all accounts and am now able to present my observations and the things I´ve learned, plus to share the experience I had from the author reading. Let´s just say I have many many things to share with y´all.

As for being a tad blog absent: Thanks to the pre-scheduled posts I´ve worked on weeks ago I don´t feel the least bit guilty about having been offline for a few days/weeks. So, YAY for that.

 

 

I guess that´s it for this week´s Mug Monday. Be sure to stick around to find out how my bookish socializing went. All I´m going to say is: Be prepared. It´s been an enlightening ride.

As always, Don´t forget to share the book love because Lord knows there´s too little of that making its rounds. ❤

Enjoy your Monday, dear bookish Padawans.

Take care,

Feel hugged,

 

Morgana

 

 

Mug Monday & Blog News

Monday.

The day where I get to share my weekend thoughts.

If I were you I´d feel all kinds of blessed right now because this week´s Monday post is, for once, book and blog related.

I´m feeling strong book blog vibes, people. So much so that I´ve been coming up with content ideas for my blog. Of course, these ideas were inspired by chats with fellow book bloggers ( from the brainstorming committee on Twitter ) and having read some book blog posts. This week I´ve got something special planned for my blog.

But first… the mug feature. You´re welcome.

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Take a good look at that face because you´ll be seeing it in my new feature…

Books, Baths & a bit of Boob – Recreating Bookstagram Images

I bet you´re wondering what that´s all about, huh? Well, it´s basically what the title says: Recreating Bookstargram Images. Recreating the most iconic Bookstagram features that´ve been done over the years. Bookstagram features I haven´t done myself but am dying to try out.

I´m the type of person that likes challenges. If I put my mind to something I´d like to see it happen one way or another. It doesn´t matter if I fail or succeed… At least I gave whatever a shot, right? So, in a way- This has been long overdue for me. Ever since Coffee-gate happened ( where people became unnecessarily offended by fake coffee in Instagram features ) I´ve been wanting to try out the fake coffee thing. Now, I´m willing to go further with other popular Bookstagram images.

  • Books & Coffee
  • Books & Bubble Bath
  • Book & Outdoor 
  • Books & Bed
  • Bookish Art 
  • Book & Deco/Props
  • Book & Flowers/Plants
  • Books & Boobs

How is this going to work? I´m glad you ask.

From Tuesday – Tuesday I´ll feature a Bookstagram image from a Bookstagrammer I follow and recreate their feature the best I can. Also, I´ll document each step to show how easy/difficult each feature process is. You´ll either see me succeed or fail miserably. Either way- This will be a fun experiment. One I´m really looking forward to.

On a kind note: I think it´s only fair to give you a tiny heads-up on what´s to come. There will be some skin showing, but nothing dramatic. I assure you that this is harmless. Should you not want to see any skin with books but would still like to see the recreations then you can easily pop in on the days that are NOT marked red.

Tuesday Wednesday ThursdayFridaySaturdaySundayMonday – Tuesday

The whole idea is to show how wonderful creativity is. You don´t have to be a fan of these Bookstagram images but you can maybe find it in your bookish heart to appreciate the love invested in each feature.

So, with that being said… It´s time to bid you all a farewell for now. It´s late and I´m close to passing out.

Feel hugged.

Mucho fake chocolate cake for everyone.

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Mug Monday & Bookish Happiness

Hello everyone and welcome to Mug Monday!

With everything that´s been going down in the book community lately, I think it´s time for a little happiness. Because all us book people need more happiness in our lives.

 

Happiness is a good book

 

`Happiness is a good book.` says Snoopy on one of my favorite Snoopy mugs. And he´s right- Happiness is a good book. But happiness is also many other things.

For me happiness is…

  •  Book blogging. As demanding as book blogging sometimes is- I still everything about it. I´m truly happy when I can share my thoughts, my ideas with others.

 

  • Connecting with others. I love to meet new people. Whether it´s through comments on my posts or on social media… I´m happy when I´m able to find new friends and connect with likeminded people. Communication is a wonderful thing.

 

  • The little bookish things. It doesn´t matter if it´s something as simple as a bookmark or a book sleeve… These things bring me so much joy.

 

  • Bookmail. I´m that person who´s on first name terms with the postman. Because he brings me happiness in a package. Author mail, amazon mail, letters, cards… I LOVE book mail.

 

  • Book related news. This could be a cover reveal for an upcoming release or other author announcements. I´m always happy when someone has something new to share.

 

  • Positive feedback. This is something that brings me immense joy: When someone gives positive feedback on my posts or on someone else´s post. It´s truly something special when a book blogger is able to make someone´s day, week, month.

 

  • Hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon. HEAVENLY!

 

Now to what makes my OCDs sing.  Happiness also is:

  • When the spine of a book doesn´t crack
  • When book cover colors match on my bookshelves
  • When a bookmark matches colors with the book I´m reading

 

What about you? What is Happiness for you? Shower the comments section with what brings you joy ( book-related or not ). ❤

 

Thank you so much for reading this week´s Mug Monday post. I hope you enjoyed. Have a wonderful Monday.

Many warm hugs,

XO´s

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Mug Monday Without A Mug

Greetings, my lovely bookish Padawans. Welcome back to yet another glorious Mug Monday.

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, there won´t be a mug feature today. Why? Because I seriously can´t be bothered.

The reason for this is – The excruciating high temperatures and unwanted sweating.

 

 

I kid you not- I´ve reduced my movements to a minimum and I still have sweat on my eyelids. Is this normal? For countries without air conditioning – sure. With temps reaching close to 35 degrees I feel like I´m being prepared for my future trip to Hell.

A little useless fun fact about myself: I don´t like to sweat. You´re welcome.

As for bookish news: There aren´t any. No reading updates or anything else I can offer you. Just an update on my current water intake. 3 liters a day, including the occasional glass of ginger ale or coke. I´ll still humor you, though, with a glass I prefer to use when not drinking hot chocolate.

coke

 

Here´s another fun fact: I´m not only an avid coke drinker I also collect coca – cola drinking glasses. Yup, I´m one of those people. My obsession started when I was a teenager and it has stuck with me ever since. From pink to purple to red and gold… I have ´em all. And today I´m using the turquoise glass.

If you´re curious to know what´s hanging on the wall in the background… I can explain.

It´s a mega-sized post – it / sticky label for my youngest daughter, Lillian. Since she´s having difficulties with maths ( and the teachers can´t seem to find time or energy in their busy schedules to help my kid ) I´ve taken matters in my own hands. What you see is a small portion of what´s actually hanging on almost every wall of my house. From metric units to small multiplication, double-digit addition, and subtraction and estimations- things she has to know at age 8, it´s hanging on my walls. So, what we´re doing at home is, aside from the regular homework ( which she has difficulty understanding without the basic knowledge ) we´re teaching her the basics starting from the very bottom.  She´s the type of person who learns visually best, meaning: She has to see to understand or else she´ll have a hard time. It´s not a disability. It´s just a struggle.

For example: Telling her 1 meter is 100 cm won´t stick. Showing her what 1 meter is and how that can be converted into 100 cm by giving her examples / finding 1-meter objects will give her a sense of the measurement.

A bug can be a cm. A car is measured in meters. Distance in km. The table is likely 1 meter high. The door frame most likely 2 meters tall, etc. If you line up 100 bugs you have a meter. So, yeah… That´s that. Now you´ve got a small take on what life is like for a book blogger offline. Add all the school meetings, school fests ( and the elementary school my kid goes to loves to throw parties for everything ) you can say we´re a busy bunch. Why am I doing this when there are teachers who are capable of teaching my kid? Well, with today´s teaching speed it´s hard for some children to keep up. Mine can´t keep up.

Okay, I´m going to stop right here before I bore you any further.

I guess that´s it for today. It´s time to step away from the heater I call laptop and take another refreshing shower.

Until next week ❤

Enjoy your Monday. Feel hugged. Share the book love!

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Mug Monday & What I did while I was on my break

Mug Feature:    White porcelain mug with Alice in Wonderland motive: The Cheshire Cat

Book Topic:     What I did during my break


 

Heya! Welcome back to my long lost and nearly forgotten Mug Monday special.

How is everyone this beautiful Monday? I hope well.

As some of you might remember, I was on an apocalyptic book blog break. My time off wasn´t only used to refill my low running book blogging battery. I utilized my time away from my blog to catch up on my other passions. Like- spending time on Sky and Netflix and… to my utter shame… Youtube.

For some reason, I have a new fascination with watching beauty gurus and makeup tutorials. Now, I´m not a person who wears a whole lot of make-up. It´s mascara and blush for me, and that´s only when I leave the house.

Watching beauty gurus, though… It´s oddly satisfying. You get to listen to them talk about God and the world and watch them apply makeup like magicians. I admit- I tried a few things recommended by a booty guru and… well… Let´s say I´ll stick with applying facial masks. Moisturizing my face is a much safer option for me.

As of now my favorite beauty guru is Tati Westbrook.

 

She´s soooo pretty and comes across as a genuine person. And I would kill to have the ability to do my makeup like she does. * sigh *

 

Can we just stop here for a moment so we can appreciate this mug?

mug cat

I got this while I was in London in April. T´was a get a free mug if you purchase 30 smackers worth of tea deal. Guess who has lots of tea now * pointing at myself * So loving the orange Cheshire cat. ♥  

I´m going to be honest with you, though… This mug is not firm or sturdy and kind of gives the impression that it´ll break if I put too much tea in it. But the cat looks pretty 🙂

 

On to the next thing I´ve done on my break: Gardening

This might sound a bit boring ( and kind of is so I won´t blame you for skipping this part ) I found out that I don´t have a pitch black thumb. I´m normally the type of person who could kill plants just by being in the same room with them ( hence the reason why I don´t have any inside my house ). For years I´ve been the wicked plant witch. Now? Now it looks like I´m the veggie and fruit fairy.

Right now I have 4 hip high tomato plants, 1 outrageously large zucchini ( courgette ) plant, chives, parsley, mint, carrots, 2 blueberry bushes, 1 raspberry bush, 1 red currants bush, and 3 gigantic bean stocks.

I went from having a ghetto garden to having a miniature food court/ green jungle. Do you want to know how big of a deal this is for me? I have people stopping by and asking me what the hell happened to my garden. I kid you not. And I just stand there and give them a standard answer:

“I think it´s because I don´t go near them.”  I don´t want to take any risks so I admire everything from the window.

 

On to books!

Yes. Books. The one thing that hasn´t brought me any personal joy during my break. Well, I´ve overcome my funk. I´ve come to terms with not being able to read all my untouched reads. I´ve learned that life is about taking one step at a time. That includes reading. I seriously don´t want to end up being overwhelmed again so I´m entering the book world with baby steps.

Right now I´m trying to finish `When Ashes Fall` by author Marni Mann.

When ashes fall

I started this one a while back but had to put it down because…. ( try not to laugh ) I can´t touch the paperback. I´m NOT kidding. I have a problem with touching matt covers. I don´t like how they feel. I have to get out my cotton gloves to be able to touch any book with a matt cover. Since our temps are above 30 degrees I´m not too happy to wear gloves and therefore can´t continue to read any book with a matt cover.

 

 

But do not fear- I´ll finish the book sometime this year. Lol.

 

Okay- That´s a wrap for today. Monday can officially continue to give me hell.

I hope you enjoyed this week´s Mug Monday post. But before I leave…

 

How was your weekend? Did you do anything special? Let me know in the comments below. I´d love to chat. ❤

 

Sending out many hugs and book love. Until next week, my dear bookish Padawans.

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