Emily Rachelle Writes

{via} Hair. And not just mine, either - although that is, in my opinion, my best feature.  (I wrote a blog post about my hair, once, and talked about donating hair to making wigs for sick kids going bald.)  Hair is generally the first thing I notice about a person, whether it's my first time meeting them or we're best friends.  I don't know why.  My eyes are just drawn to hair. :P {via}  {via}   For laughs. ;) {via}

Once upon a time, Jess Constable got sick of the picture-perfect lives that people online look like we lead.  Often we don't set out to paint ourselves as ideal or perfect; we just don't share the messy or uncomfortable, so an imbalanced picture is created in peoples' minds.  This just leads to everybody feeling like they're failures - at home, in their relationships, in their writing or art, at work.  So she decided to open her heart and share the things she was afraid to tell her readers . Naturally, other bloggers related to the frustration with the picture-perfect life found online.  So Ez decided to start a movement ... and now, bloggers everywhere have shared/are sharing the things we're afraid to tell the world.

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore Once you've seen, you can't unsee.  Click the cover to buy Some of my lovely readers may remember my review of Rippler , the first in a sci-fi(ish) YA trilogy by Cidney Swanson.  I loved that book, and the rest of the trilogy.  They were some of the best secular books I've read; Angel Eyes was very similar.  The writing styles, the chapter setup, and the author's use of different points of view were nearly the same in Rippler and Angel Eyes.   They're also both the first in a trilogy.  But the likeness doesn't stop there - not at all.  The main characters, their relationships with others and each other, and the small-town setting were very alike.

This post wasn't supposed to go up until tomorrow, but I read Blogger's calendar wrong when I scheduled it.  I guess you lovely readers can enjoy it a day early! Today I get to do a squeal-ly teenage girl post. :)  Any males out there reading this, I guess you can keep reading if you want to... but don't blame me when you're bored and confused by females' obsession with weddings.

I talk about Bailey a lot on here.  I guess that's because, when I was new to the blogosphere, hers was the first blog that touched my heart and spoke about things with substance, rather than just cute photos or squealing about Christmas presents.  (Nothing wrong with either of those; they just don't speak to the heart like spiritual epiphanies or theological ramblings.) Many of my lovely readers know that I still admire Bailey, and that I actually have a post tag called " Inspired by Bailey ". So I'm going to take a moment and squee to all of you that she wrote a post inspired by me !

I recently told my brothers about a Beauty and the Beast screenshot I found on Pinterest... which led to our arguing whether the best library in the world was Belle's or the real King Xerxes's... which led to my trying to Google how many books would fit in Belle's library if it were real... which led to my watching a bazillion YouTube proposal videos.

I have no recipes of my own.  I'm a failure as a homemaker-in-training, I know.  But my friend Kathryn has tons of recipes, plus an entire 300-something recipes pinned on Pinterest to try.  While her husband was deployed, we spent a ton of time together and tried a few recipes.  One of our favorites: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Crescents!

Hello, my lovely readers!  Guess who was just awarded with her first-ever blog award?  Yes, that's right: yours truly! :) Sarah over at Inklined awarded me with The {Booker} Award !

Swipe by Evan Angler Logan is just months away from getting Marked - from becoming a free adult.  But his sister left for her Mark five years ago and never returned... and Logan swears he's being watched. Click the cover to buy This book is awesome.  It's set in future North America (dystopian? yes, please!), where all citizens of the American Union can receive the Mark on their thirteenth birthday.  Pledging to receive the Mark isn't required, but it's the only way to go to the movies, buy groceries, or do any other adult activity - so everybody does.  Everybody except the Markless, who are dreaded and dangerous criminals.

To the begger lady outside BAM:  Even though I know your story is straight out of the Wikipedia definition of con artist - literally - I still feel bad for not giving you my money.  I'm not sure what that says about either of us.

The sixth annual Once Upon a Time Challenge , hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings , officially began March 21st, and it ends June 19th.

This is perfect timing, because I've recently discovered a website I planned to share with my lovely readers.  For once, it actually relates to writing! See, like all other writers, I go through writers' block.  A lot.  And just forcing myself to write anyway doesn't work much for me.  Also, like several writers (although not a majority), I have time to write most days - I just don't write.  Maybe I'm bored with my story right now, or I'm stuck, or I'm just plain not in a writing mood. I've found a website that has remedied both of these problems, without a regulated program and nothing I have to pay or register for.  It's www.creativewritingprompts.com , and I love it.