Five reasons why you should reread books

People often act surprised when I tell them that I love rereading books. I mean, to be fair, in this day and age one ought to act surprised when anyone claims that they read (let alone reread) books, but even bookworms (or should I say "bookworms") (oh, burn) have given me surprised reactions when I proclaim my excessive fondness for reading books not just once, but twice, thrice, frice... (hang on.) I have books I have read more than ten times; dare I say twenty. Point made: I LOVE REREADING BOOKS. Reading a good book for the second time is almost always better than the first read. Rereading books is like being away on holiday for so long and sleeping in your own bed again. Or eating your mum's meals again. (I just came home from a camp, so these analogies are extremely fitting to my own life.)

Anyway.

So thus this list. Five reasons why you should reread books. (Lack of time is no excuse.) (Says the girl who just reread her first book after a year.) (Because of lack of time.) (Lack of time is real.)

1. The characters are your friends

Sounds cliché, blah blah revisit your friends blah blah. But seriously. Falling in love with fictional characters is real; believe me, I have spoken with enough people to know that talking about shared love for a fictional character may result in high levels of decibel. Real bookworms (yes, I am excluding some self-proclaimed bookworms here) get ridiculously excited about characters. And they become, in some sense, like a friend. And a true friend revisits their friend. Thus the reread.

(I feel like I could have said this whole paragraph in two sentences:
1. The characters are your friends.
2. You want to be with your friends again, so you reread the book.)

2. FAVOURITE BITS

Ok, you know those parts in books that just get the heartrate racing? The cute proposal chapter; that page where Nellie Oleson gets leeches on her legs, that page in Gone with the Wind where the words dance, that chapter in Wonderland Creek where Alice finds out she's in love?! <<< THESE MOMENTS OF FICTION. They are priceless.

So you gotta appreciate them, dude. You want to go back to them.

3. Nostalgia

Rereading a book will often take you back to the time when you read the book for the first time. Rereading Anne of Green Gables will just TAKE me back to 11 year old me. It just does that and the nostalgia hits me hard. It's pretty cool.

I am currently rereading one of my favourite books in the entire world, 'Hidden Places' by Lynn Austin. That book, man alive, it just does something to me - every time I read it (and it's been quite a few times by now) I get dragged into the plot, I cry when Betsy and Walter get together, I cry when Lydia saves Betsy from her marriage, I ROOT for Matthew and weep for Luke. IT'S JUST SO GOOD.

Oh wait we were talking about Nostalgia. So that too. :-)

4. It's just obvious to reread books you love

I don't know. It's like say pizza. (Yes, I am making a pizza analogy haha.) You eat pizza for the first time. You obviously love it and you obviously will eat it again. It's not like you're going to get sick of the flavour if you eat it a second time.

Same thing about books so there. Kabamshh. If that wasn't a solid argument I don't know what is. Pizza analogies for the win. :-D

5. You can read them differently 

When one reread books, one learns to appreciate them in a new way. One looks upon a character differently. One matures and thus views their mannerisms in a different way. One might find many new layers of plot one had never seen before. One may have one's mind blown if one rereads books many times. One may indeed.

Also when you reread a book you can also choose to read it very fast. Because you know it but you want to relive it quickly. So you basically speed-read your way through a favourite book and it's bally awesome if you ask me. And you didn't ask me, so I'll shut up. :-D

With that being said, Naomi shut up.

Things you can do

Things you can do this summer/whenever

- Learn how to play the guitar (if you can't yet)
- Go visit a place nearby in your country (or state) where you haven't been yet
- Wake up at 4 or 5am and go on a sunrise walk
- Make pizza + Eat it (of course eat it duh)
- Write a book and illustrate it. Like even a short book for kids. Give it a go!
- Try writing a song. You may have an inner Ed Sheeran.
- Set phone-use rules. That way you don't waste away your summer.
- Make some cold beverage. IDK. Some kind of unique coloured lemonade.
- Sew something
- Do something sweet for your mum; like make a video or pick a bouquet.
- Write freakin cool letters to around the world
- Draw lil' imaginary people
- Read the Bible. all of it
- Make waffles + eat it (of course eat it)
- Rewatch Fiddler on the Roof (or *insert your favourite musical*)
- Watch an epic series. Like Poldark. (yeah, watched season 1 and man, I love it I love it)
- Learn something new. for ex. learn all the countries and capital cities of the world. (My sister did it in three days. I know. She is freaking fantastic.)
- Play the piano for 2 hrs
- JOURNAL
- Have deep talks with friends and also laugh a lot with friends. Plz don't gossip with friends. don't go there.
- Rant online. jk. Encourage people.
- Whatever ya do, don't waste yo precious God-given time.

This is a short post, I know. But I have exams coming up and a short post is better than nothing! Just wanted to encourage you that YOU CAN DO GREAT THINGS WITH YOUR LIFE! Try new things. Retry old things in a new way. Smile and don't compain about whatever it is that isn't perfect. Strive for perfection but while you strive, fix your hope on what is above cuz that's the only thing that truly is perfect.

Life is an adventure if you make it one. That made me cringe. :-P but it's true.

God is good. And he loves you.

That ^ wowowowow.

7 things not worth arguing about

I get it, everyone is different. We have different tastes, opinions, views, beliefs, ideas, mindsets, hobbies, likes and brains. And I get it, it's fun to talk about these. And sometimes important. 

But there are some things on which we should not bother getting heated about. Like, JUST NO. You are childish if this makes your blood cook because arguing about these kind of things is a complete, utter waste of your precious God-given time amen. Of course, it's fun now and then to talk about these things. Like I'm not saying you can't have a laugh and a good ol' fun gibber about who is handsomer, Tom or Matthew, but... don't let it be an important discussion in which you put tons of emotion and in which you try to 'convert' the other to having your opinion. (Cuz it will NOT work, with these subjects.)

So here, my fellow human beings, are ten things not worth arguing about.

1. What food is delicious and what is disgusting

Me: What's something about me that annoys you?

Emma: You don't like fruitcake

(back in the June of 2016)

(lol)

Once I had a 10 minute discussion with my sister about what kind of spaghetti is better, thin spaghetti or fat spaghetti. And one I tried to convince my brother verbally that tortilla wraps with chicken is a gift from heaven to the tastebuds. Did I change their minds in the slightest? Of course not. One can't change a persons tastebuds by proclaiming words of praise about the food said tastebuds despise. You can go 'ahhh bananas is THE BEST' in the comment section, but will I go 'ahhh really? ok, totally convinced'. nope. So stop getting heated up when someone says they love tomatoes. Let them love tomatoes. (I love tomatoes.)

2. What actor/actress is handsomer

Need I say more. Again, tooootal personal preference and it does not matter. All the "what????!!?"s and "nooooo!!!"s will not change a thing. (Also if you discuss this subject a lot maybe you should stop discussing this so much. It's not exactly the most productive thing you could be doing with your time.)

3. What movie version of Pride and Prejudice is the best

Ok I sometimes enjoy a hearty P&P discussion but when it becomes arguing I'm like what the heck guys. We are literally investing energy and heated emotion into the fact that our brains do not adhere to the same level of passion about a made up story acted out by celebrities. Do you ever stop and think how pointless this is. Has someone ever converted from a P&P05 lover to a P&P95 lover through a comment war? Vice versa? No. So lets quit getting all panicky about each others differing opinions on these two movies. Wow, how old are we. :-P (It's fine to state your opinions. I love stating my opinion about the P&P movies. But I don't care a jot if yours are a polar opposite mine. And why should I care?!)

P.S. P&P95 is the best ;-)

4. What singer sings the nicest

Me: I loooove Micheal Buble

Johan: Eh no he's --

Me: What?! How can you not like Michael Buble?!

Johan: His voice is bland and boring

Me: ?8888!!!8?8?RRKFOER?REOoezjio IT'S LIKE SILK AND VELVET AND GOLD

Johan: It's bland and boring

Some people like croaky, raspy voices. Others like it classic. Other fancy a husky whispery voice. Some just want rap and metal. Others like opera. Other fortunate people appreciate a bit of everything. (These are matters on which it is SO OK to AGREE TO DISAGREE)

5. That X looks good on the picture

Me: Ah, that's such a good picture of you

Hannah: WHAT??!!! EUGHHHHH

When someone tells you she (or he) (probably she) thinks she doesn't look good on a certain picture, YOU CANNOT ARGUE HER OUT OF THAT. You may convince her to believe that you think she looks good on the picture but she herself will not be like 'oh ok now you put it like that I look GOOD on that pic.' No use arguing, just delete the picture; or bury it in an old box. Never ever post it on instagram.

6. That it's hot or cold

Sometimes I'm freezing while my sister is in shorts. Sometimes I'm in shorts and my dad reaches to take his coat. Me saying "Come on! it's hot!" will not stop him from taking his coat.

7. That a book is good or not

Personal opinion bla bla bla. And that's ok bla bla bla. You get the point of this post. ;-P (Seriously though, younger me freaked out when a friend gave back a Lynn Austin book I found my heart and soul in with the words, 'nah, it's not my kinda book.' This is older me telling younger me that that was stupid. To care that much about whether or not another human being who God made different shared my racing love and vehement passion for a story that a human made.)

Goodbye. ✌

*leaves quick bc I actually didn't have time to write this*

A post on trains

I don't know about the USA and Australia and all you guys' places, but here in Belgium students like me take the train to go to university every day. At first that kind of freaked me out because trains are risky things.

10 reasons why trains are risky things

1. You're stuffed into a narrow, metal snake with people you have never met before. That's the basic explanation of a train. And it does not necessarily sound very attractive.

2. This can therefore include being seated next to a potential murderer or drug dealer.

3. You could get your handbag nicked. A handbag contains important cards and passports and in the case of some stories, babies. (Little Importance of Being Earnest reference there; before you get wierded out.)

4. You can miss your train. Think of how stressful it is; you have to get in that thing before it whizzes away again - and if you don't it won't care; you'll just have to wait fifteen minutes or more for the next metal snake.  It does not care about your feelings. 

5. There is a small gap between the train and the platform. This is ok, but just don't fall. Death may occur and that death may be yours.

6. Sometimes trains are very stuffed. I have been on two trains today - one so stuffy a man was standing right in front of my face, a girl was sitting next to me, another girl was standing next to me, another man was sitting right behind the man standing in front of me; a lady sitting right next to the man standing in front of me (I was trying to concentrate on C.S.Lewis' The Problem of Pain) - and another nice and calm one where I had a little table and bench to myself and I could edit my story in peace. The latter is somewhat more of a rare specimen in school hours, let's just say that.

7. You can accidentally sit in the 1st class passengers and get a ticking off from the conductor.

8. You can accidentally lose your train ticket and get a ticking off from the conductor (+fine.)

9. You can accidentally get on the wrong train and find yourself landing in some weird-sounding place you have never heard of. Guys, train timetables are the most complicated dang things there are. Just make sure you have your phone with you so you can phone Mum whilst weeping. Like, there's 23 platforms. How am I supposed to know which one might potentially have a train that will bring me closer to my home?

10. Underground train stations are super creepy. Forget about the Matthew and Mary romantic train station scene in Downton Abbey. I'm talking black walls with graffiti.

... basically, my life is a play between life and death.

All right, I am obviously being overly pessimistic for dramatic reasons (;-P) and I have to say, I have already noticed some of its positive sides. I did not think I would find a lot of them, but I have found that travelling by train has its quaint, storybook sides. 

Such as:

1. Yesterday I was walking in the big grand train station, and outside there was this jazz band playing on the pavement - with saxophones and everything. As I went inside, and down the steps into the underground world of train platforms, the jolly jazzy sound intermingled with the sound of trains, announcements, and endless footsteps of people rushed to get on with their own life. With all those sounds drowning into each other, I felt like I was in one of those slow motion, soundtrack-y scenes in a movie. You know, one of those scenes where the main character feels all numb and struck and where he or she is reanalysing life and everything about it? YOU know. Anyway. I felt like I was in that kind of scene for a few minutes and it was cool. :-P

2. When there's a sunset shining through the train windows. Guys. Purty.

3. When I spot someone reading a book I like. Ok, that hasn't happened yet, but I'm happy to say that people are still reading books. Granted, more people are on their phones, but I have spotted many noses between book covers and that makes me happy.

4. Some of the landscapes I pass are very picturesque indeed.

5. Sometimes there are good looking people on the train. There was a guy dressed like Wooster this morning. And a girl with a nice handbag. There is always something to observe.

6. The rattle of the train is quite satisfying - not a bad sound.

7. Now and then us cold Belgian strangers will dare smile to each other. But never longer than half a second. Oh no; heaven forbid. That is far to familiar.

There was my little anecdote on trains. I'm training myself to get used to them. You'd better keep track of my process and station assignments on my way so I can improve. I'll keep a to-do list with boxes of things I have to do to improve, so that when I get the things done I can ticket.

(SEE WHAT I DID THERE. FOUR PUNS. ONE PARAGRAPH. *hi-fives self*)

Five things you could do to make your day better

1. Have a spontaneous meet-up with a friend. 

When you randomly hear that a friend happens to be nearby, hop on a bike and go have a random meet-up. Just a chat and a laugh and a 15-minute windy walk is worth it. There is something about spur-on-the-moment decisions that makes my love for life skyrocket to a high level. I should do more of it. I love it when an ordinary day ends up having a quick change of plan to make it a bit special. It does not happen often, but when it does it does my heart good.

2. Go through a movie/season and just rewatch all your favourite scenes. 

Don't listen to those people who think that's weird - just do it. It's so much fun, and sometimes one doesn't have time to watch everything but one still has A Desire to relive certain scenes. I went through the entire season of Berkeley Square when I was staying at my grandparents' several weeks ago, and just watched all the Ned and Matty scenes because those two are adorable. The other day I watched the last episode of Downton Abbey again and then the day after I was like, 'I'm still not over that episode; I have to rewatch some scenes.' So I did. Edith and Bertie are so cute and I can't even tell you how proud I am of Thomas and the way he turns out in the end.

3. Learn a chapter of the Bible by heart. 

My goal one day is to know an entire book by heart - like that man who performed at the convention I went to in England back in July, and acted out the entire book of Luke (it was amazing) - but I am not very good at learning stuff word for word, so I'm trying for a chapter. Of course the first one I want to learn by heart is 1 Corinthians 13. Learning Bible verses by heart used to be something I absolutely hated, but now I so see why it's important and helpful. Reading the Bible is one thing, but remembering it and living it is another thing - and the latter is so much easier when you have verses stored up in yo brain.

4. Write down prayers. 

Getting distracted is easy easy EASY; I mean, can I get an amen? Even without a phone; even without music on the background - my brain just crawls away. Also, prayer is so important; and so powerful - and I don't want to ignore it. Being focused during prayer is important also, and avoiding distractions during prayer is therefore essential. What helps for me is writing down my prayers. Writing is one of the ways I express myself, so I'm not saying it's good for everyone, but writing down my prayers has helped me so much and I really recommend it!

5. Listen to all the cliché feel-good songs.

Hey, just forget a second about being stereotypical; if you want to jam on Happy and Can't Stop the Feeling while doing the dishes, just freaking do it. If you've listened to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack 100 times already but your heart still says it can handle more, just put it on again and sing your heart out. (Confession: I listen to One Direction now and then. K. Don't judge me.)

Give me something I should do to make an ordinary day extraordinary.

10 types of instagram captions

The title speaks all. This is going to be fun to write. ;-)

1. The hashtagger

thehashtagger #sunset #nofilter #soblessed #okmaybetherewasasmallfilter #buthardlyany #itwaswayprettierinreallifeanyway #sunsetpics #sunsetsofinstagram #sunsetsofinsta #godscreation #art #artisinotdead #godsnotdead #lit #dope #beautiful #stunning #beautifulsunset #imaluckygirl

STOP IT.

2. The long caption-er

thelongcaptioner Ok, so guys these past few hours have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I don't even know where to start, lol, but let me just say that man, it's been worth it. Going to the beach with my one-year-old for the first time was precious and I'll never forget it. The memory is not only in a polaroid snap and instagram pictures, but it's also engraved in my brain. My sweet baby girl saw the ocean with her own eyes as blue as the ocean and my heart ached out of love for her and for the beautiful vast waters. Our God is so so amazing; Ha makes the blue of little baby eyes and the blue of powerful oceans. Coming home from this trip with weary bones and sand-clad skin I was musing about all this and this poem came to mind that my mama used to read to me when I was a little girl. My eyes filled with tears as the words came back to my brain, one by one... {continued in the comments}

(Don't feel like you have to read all that, haha.) I like a bit of meat on a caption but I'll be the first to admit that some people go wayyyy too long EVERY TIME they post (like, how much time do these Mum instagrammers have, to write a novel on their toddlers latest antics every day when they post a picture?!?!) and that some long instagram captions are just so. dead. boring. Like, at this point honey, I don't care about you enough to go to the comment section to read the rest of your caption. Start a blog. Or a diary.

3. The emoji-er

theemojier ⛅✨😍

An emoji speaks a thousand words, people. (Actually, it doesn't. They're cute, but they're not informative and imagination-rousing to the soul.)

4. The no caption

Boring? Lack of creativity? Lazy? All of the above. Whoever writes the first comment gets to be the caption-writer for the picture. (A slight improvement of this one is the caption: "Caption this." :-P)

5. The witty one

thewittyone Ok, so I have literally no reason to post this but you have literally no reason to read this or waste time online so STOP JUDGING ME K. #hatersgonnahate

The one that tries really hard to be funny. (I'm probably this one, if I'm being honest. :-P) Often these people's captions include: a) puns (often really bad ones) b) rants (often really unnecessary ones) c) using wacky hashtags (like #wowlolsofunnyjkthisjokesucks) and d) saying somethign very snobbish like posting a selfie and captioning it with something like 'what a view.' Because that's hilarious, apparently.

6. The deep, short caption-er

thedeepshortcaptioner 💚 D O N ' T  F O R G E T  T O  B R E A T H E 🌒

This one gets my goat. But it's very popular in the World of Insta, I have noticed. Especially girls do this a lot, with pictures of holidays and poses and fields. Other examples of such captions are: "Shoot for the stars 🌠" "But darling, what if you fly?" "Fields of gold" "Golden hour of love" ... honestly, none of them make sense. And they're all from pinterest, probably.

7. The quote caption

thequotecaption "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah

Few people read these captions.

8. The Bible verse caption

theBibleversecaption "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." (Prov. 30:5)

... in a similar vein, this is a popular caption choice with Christian instagrammers who don't feel inspired or led to write a long sermon as a caption. :-P A Proverbs or Romans or Corinthians verse are popular choices. Or John 3:16.

9. The sponsored caption

thesponsoredcaption I love my new boots from @somebootshopnoonecaresabout - they are honestly so comfy and pretty. Use promo code "idontcare' to get 50% off your first purchase! Totally recommended!

This is for popular instagrammers with tons of followers. Kind of annoying though, these captions. I mean, I'm glad they have a job writing these captions and I'd probably do it too if I were them... but I rate these captions 1/10 bc they're boring. Sorry.

10. The 'I posted something' caption

theipostedsomethingcaption New video up on the youtube channel! Link in bio! Check it out!

No explanation needed.

Which one are you? Which one is your favourite/least favourite? Any I forgot?

PS: KATE AND WILLIAM ARE HAVING BABY NO.3!!!! 

7 Period Dramas that have those Spring-vibes

Hello hello hello hello. It's a beautiful, sunny spring Sunday morning. Hello.

I love Spring. Everything bursts into fresh colour, new tints, happy life. Little flowers peep their heads into the sunlight, giving the garden patches of pink and white and yellow. The streets are crowned with pink candy-floss blossom and the mornings actually involve sunlight. It's too hot for winter coats, too cold for short sleeves, it's a time of nature being happy, and us humans being happy alongside it. As much as I love my winter with the cosy stormy days, spring makes me freaking happy. I love the boost it gives. The odd sense of excitement.

SO HELLO THERE SPRING, OL CHAP.

-------

7 Movies that have those Spring-vibes

(in no particular order)

-------

1. Emma 2009

Emma has its winter scenes (yes, I am thinking about the adorable one where Mr Knightley teases Emma about her pickety etiquette ideas at the Christmas party) but the whole movie reminds me of sunlight and summer bonnets and dresses with little flowery prints and painting in the garden so BAM SPRING.

2. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I'll admit, just because of the 'Spring Spring Spring' song. Ha. So original, right, Naomi? Seven Brides for Seven Brothers has quite a lot of snow scenes (*swings axe to the ground*) but you know, it ends with everyone singing about spring and it has those bright dresses and an outside dance so watch this to celebrate spring, okay? Good.

3. Heidi 1993

This movie screams SPRING IS HERE. I have so so many memories of this film. It was one of the only movies I saw as a young girl and aside from being unhealthily petrified of the grandfather and that midnight scene in Frankfurt where Heidi's sleepwalking, I loved it to death. The mountains and the Swiss summer frocks; the goats and the flowers and the birds... Spring heaven.

4. Pride and Prejudice 1995

Let's be real, I'd add this to any list of Period Dramas haha, but no really, this brilliant mini-series is filled with wood walks, pastel regency frocks, chilly weather + sunlight, and Bennet sisters picking flowers while talking about young men they either hate or love. Still the best film ever. I stand firm.

5. Bright Star

Terrible movie in my opinion (no really, I didn't even finish this. The costumes are nauseating and the characters complete weirdos and the couple isn't even cute together despite their extreme sappiness) but I've got to mention it because it's filled with bluebells and butterflies and spring being in the air. So thus the mention. But don't watch it. :-P

6. Cinderella 2015

This is spring in a fairy-tale. Beauty and the Beast is going to be wintery, but Cinderella was spring. The light colours, the horse-back scenes, the yellow curls, the flowers in the garden, the exciting midnight clock in the warm night... it's a springtime fairy-tale and I'll always love it.

7. Anne of Green Gables.

Think about the White way of Delight, the garden party where Anne and Diana saw Josie fall in the pond from their little boat, Anne putting pink flowers on her hat before Church, Gilbert coming to rescue when Anne was 'fishing for lake trout'... both the book and the movie have such spring vibes. I love how Anne loves spring and how she's so in love with the blossom tree in front of her window. Marilla is like, 'blossom fiddlesticks.'

You know, it's been too long since I talked about Period Dramas on this blog. I'm still quite as in love with them as I was when I started blogging, don't you worry. Mama and I are currently watching Season 6 of Call the Midwife and yes Tom and Barbara are engaged yes yes yes they're cute yes yep. Okay, I'll stop saying yes. But yes about Tom and Barbara. They're the CUTEST YES.

Happy spring, everyone.

Not that I'll have time to watch any of these movies or any of your recommendations, but for conversations sake and the to-watch lists' sake:

what are your favourite spring movies?

Let's replace...

small talk with Jesus talk
bucket lists with to-do lists
Henry Talbot with Matthew Crawley (:-P)
emails with letters
mirrors with windows
people with God
me with Him
my future with His Plan
smartphone screens with the word of God
instagram with photo albums
handshakes with hugs
worries with hope
self-consciousness with self-confidence
watching Youtube videos with praying
awkward silence with random jokes
timidity with strength
pride with humility
humming with singing
challenge with purpose + excitement
electricity light with sunlight
looking at the ground with looking at the stars
dreams with plans
ideas with realities
questions like 'how are you doing' with deeper questions
confusion with peace
giving up on the world with joy in God
Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet with Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet (haha okay, this one is subjective)
'meh I don't think I can' with 'well let's give it a go'
singing worship songs with worshipping by singing
negativity with positivity
hate with Love
living in the world with changing the world

Let's do this.

aesthetically pleasing

Old maps / Polaroid cameras / Polaroid pictures / Postcards / The Eiffel Tower / The Big Ben / Instagram / Film lenses / Daisies / Light-bulbs / Fairly lights / Fairy lights in the background of a picture when they're blurry (I love those) / Watermelons / Pineapples / morning dew / Testament of Youth, the movie / Oh, and La La Land / Swiss villages / Cute handbags / An old pack of cards / Vintage cars / Mini Coopers / Mint green vehicles / Old bikes with baskets (the cutest things ever) / Pastel nail polish / Birches / Weeping Willows / teacups / little plates for teacups - I wish more people still used them / Oh, vinyl records, definitely / The font used for headlines / Fashion magazine covers / flowered triangle-buntings / Blurry selfies / Country fairs / Blurry selfies in country fairs / Pink candy floss - I don't think I'd like it but it's so aesthetically pleasing, haha / glass jars / Strawberries / Raspberries / Little-girl knee socks / bathtubs with feet / Globes / Especially brown-y ones / Surprisingly, mathematical equations are quite aesthetically pleasing / Taylor Swift's (older) fashion sense / The music video of 'Begin Again' (not my favourite song, but the music video is gorgeous) / Lipstick / Old clocks / Grandfather clocks / Soap / Forget-me-nots / Poppies / Butterflies / The moon / Tumblr / Sunrises / The Sound of Music / Words / Dictionaries / Stamps / Envelopes / Handwritten letters / Doughnuts with sprinkles / Chocolate shops / Macaroons / Okay anything sugary, haha / Owls / The phonetic alphabet / Little hand mirrors / Oh and of course; Old books, and anything with books. Libraries, for instance. Most aesthetically pleasing places of all time.

4 Things in a unified 1 Post.

This post consists of four things: 1. A random Call the Midwife The New Christmas Special picture. 2. A story snippet of some random thing I started to work on last week which involves a proposal and a refusal. 3. A random picture of Trixie Franklin looking glamorous as usual, and 4. Very deep life advice.

THE CALL THE MIDWIFE THE NEW CHRISTMAS SPECIAL PICTURE:

THE STORY SNIPPET OF SOME RANDOM THING I STARTED TO WORK ON LAST WEEK WHICH INVOLVES A PROPOSAL AND A REFUSAL:

         One autumn day – in fact, last week – when he had greeted me with his usual “Hello, Holly Mae Webster” after I had visited the post office, I turned to him and told him, “Excuse me, sir, but there is no need to repeat my full name every time you greet me. I am fully aware my last name is Webster.”

         I should not have spoken of last names. He took it as a resounding hint and an unambiguous begging for a proposal.

         “You are fully aware?” he asked.

         “Of course! Who is not, pray, fully aware of their own name?”

         “I bet you must be,” he smiled nicely, “As a young girl. I bet young girls are always extra aware of their last names.”

         The inward groan I made at that point could have risen dead from their graves, but before I could properly process what was going on, he had grabbed my hand and said, “I could change your last name for you!”

         And this is where I finally addressed matters.

         What I said to him then I cannot fully remember, but I shall write down what I remember I (and he) said, rely on my imagination and then elaborate somewhat. I do fully remember that it was on the public road and that we happened to be wearing matching outfits which, he pointed out innocently, was another sign – sent from heaven!

         “Mr Smith,” I said, “I am eighteen years old – why would I be interested in you?”

         “Why – why – we’re both writers! We’re of the same sort! We’re the same kind! We understand each other!”

         Very much offended by this jaunty remark I proceeded to say that no, I did not understand him.

         “But we’re both writers!”

         “Napoleon and Wellington both led an army but they managed to be each other’s biggest enemies.” (I admit I was proud of this slick response.)

         “You should be thankful,” Ben Smith said.

         “What? Thankful? Yes, I am thankful for many things but that does not include your proposal to me, Mr Smith.”

         At this point, he started to get angry. “I am RICH! I am a famous, PUBLISHED author! You’re just a little magazine writer!”

         “Oh and? That will make me jump off my feet for joy, will it?”

         “Yes! If you marry me –” (in which I shudder inwardly) “– I could, why I could make you a famous author! Your books would be in the shops.”

         “Excuse me, Mr Smith, but becoming a famous author is not –”

         “You’ve seen my house! I have footmen waiting on me, chandeliers dangling from my ceiling, and bedrooms by the dozen! I host the towns’ biggest parties; I own dozens of farms; I employ tenants and I could offer you wardrobes bigger than the Titanic.”

         “I don’t want –”

         “Why, I have seen your house! That little bucky old thing. You have a small attic room. Your father is a mere – pardon the blunt talk – a mere merchant.”

         “I’m afraid I am not convinced or attracted in the least,” I dryly said, secretly outraged by his comments on my house. My house, dear readers, is a beautiful little brick thing with charming turquoise windows and a turquoise front door. It is home and I cannot imagine life without it.

         “Also, I want to marry you because I love you.” He didn’t sound sincere at all, but for a fleeting second, I felt bad for him.

         “Well the attraction is not mutual, Mr Smith.” I eyed him angrily. “That is all.”

         Then I marched home.

THE PICTURE OF TRIXIE FRANKLIN LOOKING GLAMOROUS AS USUAL:

THE VERY DEEP LIFE ADVICE:

Make week resolutions rather than year resolutions (better still - daily ones; hour-ly ones... because those are actually keepable), get excited for Call the Midwife Season six, email random emails to people, read Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker and try not to cry when Frank stammers his love and when Cliff is no longer Cliff (WHYYYYY), eat healthy, and listen to the following two soundtracks because I just(ish) discovered them and I love them: La La Land Soundtrack and Top Hat Soundtrack. The former is an exquisite ice-cream on a blossoming spring evening and the latter is chique thirties with rythms and waltzies to make you pine for better dancing shoes. Highly recommend both. Although they might make you wish your life was a musical. Maybe.

(Bonus life tip: Read Psalm 19. It's beautiful.)

Twenty random reasons why I love The Blue Castle

The Blue Castle will be one of those books I will love forever. The kind of book I will want to introduce to my potential daughter (AND SON) (AND PET GOLDFISH) (AND GREAT-GRANDMA IN LAW OR WHATEVER)  as soon as possible and it's the kind of book I will always recommend to those poor friends of mine who have not yet dipped their young imagination into this jewel of a book. It's fantastic - filled with whimsy, Montgomery-ness, wit, sparkle and quirkiness. I've reviewed this book many times in my head, but here is a quickly-thrown-together, random list of things I love about this little, unknown-to-many, genius book called The Blue Castle. 

(Which, by the way, I know practically word to word because I've reread it so frequently. One must brag about these things. :-P)

Lovely collage I found

1. BARNEY. Let's be real here; first thing on the list. Barney Snaith.

2. Her green dress and hat. I love how she learns how to wear it and how nice she looks in it. It sounds like something lady Edith in Downton Abbey would rock, too.

3. When Barney puts his 'tobaccoey' leather jacket on Valancy in the car. AHHH. #Barlancy

4. "Ever thought of ballooning?" Never gets old. 

5. Valancy's reaction when Barney takes her to his little house on the island. (Can we all take a moment to appreciate where Barney lives? Actual house goals.)

6. "Piffle," said Barney.

7. Also, basically any time Barney pretends to hate John Foster's books. Also, basically any time Barney is in the book. Also, basically Barney. His eyebrows, his tawny hair, his grin, his laugh, his mysteriousness, his HOUSE, his wonderful Barney-ness... I love Barney.

8. The name Valancy is gorgeous. I don't care what anyone says; I love it.

9. Uncle Benjamin's stupid jokes. "What's the difference between a stamp and a donkey?" "One you lick with a stick and one you stick with a lick!"

10. When Barney says he's not a pup, but a middle-aged dog, actually.

11. Valancy's moonlight dress. And her Christmas pearls. And her little moments of adorable sass and cute happiness.

12. Obviously also when Valancy proposes and she tells him she loves him.

13. However, all that is cast underneath the beautiful scene where Barney professes his love to Valancy, and he says sentimental stuff like, 'Girl, you're the core of my heart!' and HE SO PULLS IT OFF. The scene is a mighty tearjerker. Gah, I love these two.

14. When they go to the movies together and eat at a Chinese restaurant.

15. Lady Jane. I love Lady Jane. (For those of you who haven't read it: Lady Jane is, in fact, a car. And I do generally not admire or speak of these iron objects, but Lady Jane is an exception.)

16. The poetic beauty of Montgomery's seasonal descriptions. I used to find them boring, but now I relish in their richness.

17. "True happiness is to sneeze when you want to." - Valancy

18. While yes, some of Valancy (NOT DOSS)'s comments were very much out there, I love love her bite-back commentary scenes to her stupid and insipid clan. I love their shocked expressions and their lack of understanding life. I love it when they insist she has gone 'batty' and when Mrs Stirling wishes she 'knew how to go into hysterics.' This book is hilarious.

19. Valancy's married happiness. Oh and their first kiss. Cuuute.

20. ALL OF IT OKAY. There is something magical about this book - it is a little gem of happiness, sparkle, and utter, gleeful whimsy. Don't blame for using an excess of metaphors. I just read The Blue Castle and I am intoxicated yet again. (PS. Barney Snaith belongs to me. Goodbye.)

Other Really beautiful collage I found of this book.

Have you read this book? If you have not I'm afraid we must postpone our friendship to a latter date when you can tell me that you have. And that you enjoyed it. Just kidding, but really, go and read it. It's charm personified.

Now go yonder and fulfil your daily - or, in my case, nightly - duties. (Which includes suddenly realising it's late and thinking wow, wow, let's get some sleep, shall we.) Read books in one sitting and get as much of the boring stuff done before Christmas and check out The Bible Project on Youtube, because it's my favourite Youtube Channel at present. Make ugly selfies. Roll your eyes now and then. Write two blog posts in one day. Wow. I give the best life advice since Don't Worry Be Happy; (you know, that song with the catchy whistle-y tune.)

10 types of Internet Bios

I'm starting to get sick of the word 'Internet Bios' buuuuut they're so much fun, so here's another post on them. Here are Ten Types of Internet (mainly Instagram) Bios that you will have seen at least one in your life. (Now I sound like Blimey Cow.)

1. The Organised Bio

Example:丨INTJ 丨Lover of books丨24 丨British 丨John 1:1 丨Happily Married丨

That person that loves how uncluttered and organised her/his (let's be real, it's a girl) bio looks in comparison to the unorganised ones.

2. The Emoji Bio

Example: →👗👫💗😻🍁👸🌺🍦🍓🎹←

That person that thinks everyone will take the time to unclue what kind of personality s/he has by staring at the individual emoji's for ten minutes.

3. The Link Bio

Example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweetest-Thing-Elizabeth-Musser-ebook/dp/B004XM3WA6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481093686&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sweetest+thing+elizabeth+musser

That person who uses their bio to get traffic elsewhere. These are usually short-term, because in the caption of one of the pictures someone will say 'link in the bio.' Why, by the way, not just put the link in the caption? (Or maybe that's not possible?)

4. The Short Bio

Example: Born with peculiarity.

That person that thinks s/he just nailed it on the Bio-writing department.

5. The Funny Bio

Example: I have no clue what to write here, so I guess I'll just take a time to be real with you guys and tell you that.

That person that attempts to make their page looks really attractive by making his/her bio really funny. 90% of the time the joke is very lame, but the fact that s/he devoted the oh-so-important-bio for wit must mean it's a very witty person.

6. The Confusing Bio

Example: 25/mdays!! ANNABELLE💘ง♡↑阝↟🌲థΔ∢ youtubedotcomeslashsomething /🌘०be happy↠ i love @cooldude💜

That person that's trying so, so, so hard to be really cool. Their bio ends up looking like a wreched mess.

7. The follow 4 follow Bio

Example: My name is Janice follow 4 follow no haters plz

That person that wants to be famous so bad s/he does it the desperate way and begs for followers. This is the kind of bio that makes me lose hope in humanity.

8. The Christian Bio

Example: *insert a Bible verse*

That person that gets their priorities straight.

9. The trying-to-fit-as-much-as-possible-into-one-bio Bio

Example: BLOGGER heresmyblogblogspot.com/Lover of rain💦/homeschooled/Downton Abbey/my fam♡/I sell things on Etsy heresmyetsy.com/In Christ Alone/I love doing the laundy/one of these was a joke😀

That person who has so much to say and grabs the oppotunity in the bio. S/he makes sure to attempt to add a little bit of everything; a bit of humour, a bit of linky-love, a bit of emoji-love, a bit of personal info. (I would probably be this person.)

10. The Artistic Bio

Example: 🌒 S T A R T 🌓 L I V I N G 🌔 F O R 🌖 L O V E 🌘

That person that takes hipster to a whole new level, putting spaces (or full-stops) between letters, and using very mythical-looking emojis to make their deep living advice look deeper.

Which one are you? :-)

5 Things on the Internet that annoy me

Happy first day of Advent. Happy National Craft Jerky Day. (No seriously, that's a thing.) Happy National Bavarian Cream Pie Day. (If you think I'm making this up, I'm not.) Today I'm going to complain about things on the Internet. Because it's fun. And because Internet can be extremely, extremely annoying. And yet, we're carried away by it and have patience for it.

1. Long intros on Youtube videos

UGH I HATE THIS.

This is probably the one that annoys me the most, and it's everywhere on Youtube. If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, let me elaborate. Many Youtubers, when they start a video, called say, 'DIY's for Christmas' they start the video with something like, 'wassup, guys!' and then they explain what they're going to do in the video. This I can manage. But then so often they just ramble on and on. Often they even say 'like this video!' in the INTRO. Like, NO! SO FAR THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN VERY BORING. And sometimes they say stuff like, 'Oh and one more thing...' and then finally after like a four minute intro, they say, 'Now let's get into the video!'

AS IF THE VIDEO HASN'T STARTED YET.

It HAS!

The video starts from 0:00. Duh.

So I get why people do intros, and short intros are fine. But really, even those aren't needed. Viewers aren't STUPID. They will get from the title that a video called 'DIY's for Christmas' is 'DIY's for Christmas.'  If it's a music video, they will get, okay, as soon as the video starts that it's a song. There is no need to explain. People can figure it out for themselves by just watching the video. And reading the title.

Rant over. Next rant.

2. Buzzfeed

Nuff said. Ugh.

The clickbait, the stupid useless-ness of it and the way it grabs time with meaningless articles about 'what cheese are you' and 'ten things that will make you say legit' or whatever. Buzzfeed makes me loose hope for humanity. Buzzfeed should read Ecclesiastes and realise how meaningless they are.

*insert random cute picture*

3. When ads don't even load!

Ads are an immense nuisance. Period. But what really takes the giddy biscuit is when they don't load and you have to WAIT FOR SOMETHING YOU HATE. *turns off caps* *turns off italics* You know what I'm talking about, right? When you're going to watch a video, and there's an ad before the video and then wifi gets bad and the ad won't load. Just... I WANT TO WATCH THE VIDEO. But there's an ad. And I have to go through the ad before the video - I accept that. But when the ad doesn't load... ugh, the way it plays on my patience. I'm quitting.

4. Serious 'sexy' selfies

WHY.

Serious selfies annoy me sooo much. I love selfies, I'm not one of those 'ughh teens with their stupid selfies' people - but SMILE PLEASE. THAT'S THE POINT. I don't get why people go all serious on pictures. It's not professional, or chique, or glam, or hot. It just looks plumb ridiculous. And then of course there are comments with like, 'OMG YOU'RE SO PRETTY' which makes me roll my eyes which makes the older generation turn around in their graves. (Duck-face selfies, of course, are terrible too. But I think we can all agree on that and don't need to talk about it. *shudder*)

5. Repost if you...

Repost if you love Jesus. Pin if you would stay up all night to convince out of suicide. Repost if your best friend is beautiful. Okay, these are all true and I've seen all of them, BUT I'M NOT GONNA REPOST. And that doesn't make me less of a human... I just don't want to repost it! I don't need to repost something to prove that this is true. This just bothers me because it makes me feel guilty about not spending some extra time posting something which will make other people feel exactly the same. Why is this a THING. :-P

(Also: We don't need another make-up tutorial. Or another cover of Let it Go. Or a duck-face selfie. And Instagram, I know legs exist. Stoppit.)

What are some things online that annoy you?

And I fully realise I sound like a very grumpy person in this post. Share if you agree. Like and subscribe and don't forget to comment! (Yeah, people say that way to much. If the post is good: You will get comments and likes and followers. But begging makes one sound so desperate!) (I find it hilarious when Youtubers with MILLIONS of followers say the 'Like and subscribe' thing. As if they're scared of not getting enough attention.)

Books I'd love to read. (+ chocolate.)

Hello, my dear apples and potatoes and chocolate-chip loving human beings, how is life? What's your new favourite word and are you reading any book of the Bible in particular? (My answers would be 'crumbs' and the gospel according to Mark.) Can you say 'Irish wrist watch' five times at a fairly fast pace? (After a lot of practise, I have succeeded.) (Yesterday was national tongue twister day, did ya know?) (Also, my big bro became freaking twenty yesterday. I had chocolate cake. And Maltesers. And more cake. And then a carrot to make me feel good about all the sugar.)

Today I'm going to talk about books that I want to read very badly. Some of these, hopefully, will be gifts for Christmas (eek!) (squee!) (yay!) but ya know, it's fun to talk about books and to read your comments on them. Tell me if any of these are terrible, so I can change my mind about them and not buy them after all. I might not listen though, but these all look dang good. (Also, some I'm just so curious about. I must read them all.)

Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin

This is definitely the first in my list of BOOKS I YEARN TO POSSESS IN MY BOOKSHELF. So far all the reviews seem to be glowingly positive and the synopsis at the back seems so riveting. At first I didn't like the cover, but now I just want to hold it in my hands and GAZE at it.. bahhh I want to read this so bad. :-P I love the sound of it and I love the names of the characters and I love that the main character is Dutch. Also, it's Lynn Austin + historical fiction, which ultimately means excellent new favourite book. 

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

I've heard of this book a lot. Many bloggers have recommended it glowingly and many Goodreads friends have rated it five golden stars. I want to read this real bad. (Especially after the two bookish Mind the Gap episodes: 1 / 2 /) (Also, 'real bad' sounds so Southern American, ha.) I always love a good inspiring book and I've recently yearned to read a great faith-based book - sometimes I feel like I should read more than just fiction. ;-)

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

I don't want to read this BUT YET I DO. It's so deliciously controversial and so deliciously famous and I yearn for more Scout Finch. I feel like my bookish inside-self can't settle down peacefully before I can claim to have read this book. But, of course, before I do, I must reread the MINDBLOWINGLY BRILLIANT To Kill a Mockingbird which I will love till I die. Also, I love Atticus. And I don't want to not to.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Someone recommended this to me after I once raved about The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, saying that this book has a very similar concept, what with the letter-form and strangers becoming friends in random circumstances, and all that. Obviously, this makes me want to read this book because obviously and obviously. Oh and obviously. (Did I say duh?)

Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon

The only thing that stops me from buying this darling (apparently ridiculously inspiring and drive-the-creative-ness-inside-you-mad-ing) is that it's not very LONG and therefore might be a disappointment. However, I still REALLY want to read this. I can just imagine how much it'll make me want to be crazy creative and judging from the amazon sneak peaks, it is adorable and darling and so inspirational.

The Complete Journals of Lucy Maud Montgomery

I WANT TO READ THIS SO BADLY. A sneaky peak inside the life of my favourite authoress? More sentences and words spun by this beautiful writer? Yes please yes. Unfortunately it is SO expensive to buy though, so I can't see this being in my possession any time to soon. But it's definitely high on my to-read list.

(Also, all these books. Give them.):

Voilà, a couple of gems I wish to devour. Do you have any books on your Christmas wish list? Tell me about them. Maybe also give me some words of consolation because after I hit publish I'm going to go downstairs and watch Downton Abbey Series 3 episode 5 which is the episode where the nicest character under the roof dies. SOMEONE HELP ME. SOMEONE HOLD MY HAND.

I sincerely hope each and every one of you is enjoying this confusing and beautiful and bronze month, and that you're keeping yourself busy and inspired. I recommend making jokes about awkward things and keeping firm hold of the amazing word of God. God is amazing. I love Him. I also recommend Michael Buble songs and Doris Day songs and chocolate hazelnut bars and big sweaters. Have a great night darlings. Remember that you're sleeping under beautiful silver stars.

(It is evening as I write, so therefore it is evening for all of you. ;-P)