New Year, New Adventures!

Happy New Year! I know, I know, I’m a bit late. And, I’m sure you’re honestly a little surprised to hear from me, considering the fact that I haven’t posted in weeks. I have been regretting that quite a bit recently, especially since I’ve been on Christmas break and have had a small amount of extra time on my hands. However, I’ve been using that time for other things and honestly, I think once you hear what I’ve been doing you just might like that better.

Over the past month, and even months before that, I have been working on starting a new blog, in a new location, so I’m super excited about that! I hope those of you who have actually stuck with me here on this blog will follow me to the new one, and I promise that I will be better about posting there than I have been on this one. I’ve already been working on lots of new ideas for posts—some about books, some about food, some about life—and I’ve read quite a few books since the last time I posted a review so there will be some new reviews coming your way too.

However, that’s actually not the biggest news that I want to share with you today. Not only am I starting a new blog in a brand new location, I am starting my very own website. While this new blog will be on said website, that’s not the only thing that you will find there. As of this coming Tuesday, I will be rolling out my very own book subscription box! I have been toying with the idea for over a year, and now I’m finally ready to get it started. Isn’t that so exciting?!

As of Tuesday, you will be able to go onto my brand new website (which I will link here when the time comes) and explore my new blog location and the book box subscriptions that I will finally have for sale. I am just so excited that I finally get to share this with you! I absolutely love reading (obviously) and I always love recommending books I have loved to people, so I have been thinking of a way to turn those loves into something more for quite some time. And now, it’s finally time to make that into a reality! My store, the Recommended Reads Box store, will have 6 different book box options to choose from: The Original Recommended Reads Box, the Deluxe Recommended Reads Box, the Original Well-Loved Books Box, the Deluxe Well-Loved Books Box, and two different Book of the Month Boxes, one for lovers of Contemporary fiction and one for the Historical Fiction fans. Hopefully one of those boxes sounds like something you would enjoy receiving!

There will be more information about each of my boxes on my website, and I will be sharing more and more about everything related to my boxes—and even other things—on my new blog once it rolls out next week. I really hope you’ll find me there! I can’t wait to share this with you!

Happy reading!

Mackenzie Carol

My Thankfulness Jar

The New Year is quickly approaching and there is one thing I am so excited to do. I cannot wait to open my Thankfulness jar! I started doing a Thankfulness jar two years ago, and I am absolutely certain I will continue to do one each year for the rest of my life. It has helped me to put things into perspective in ways I never could have imagined, and for that, I am grateful.
A Thankfulness jar is really simple to do, and it is a great way to remember to count your blessings. The best thing is, you don't have to start at the beginning of the year, so no pressure, and it is okay if you forget it for a few weeks. You see, a Thankfulness jar is just a container that you fill with slips of paper that have things you're thankful for or good things that have happened to you written on them. All through the year you put in papers that say things like 'I got an A on my paper', 'I had a great time on vacation', or 'I'm so thankful for my best friend'. Things that remind you of the good things you are thankful for. Then, on New Year's Eve, after you have hopefully filled your jar, you pull out all of your papers and read them, which will remind you what a wonderful year you have had, even if there have been struggles or pain.
I love doing my Thankfulness jar because it helps me to send out the old year and bring in the new on a high note. It tells me just how much I have to be thankful for, and I always determine I will have more papers with each passing year. I like to try to beat my record, so to speak. It most certainly keeps me writing papers!

Resolutions

                So, I know this is a little late, but I want to talk about resolutions. Not necessarily New Year’s resolutions, but just resolutions in general. Like, resolutions to make this year the best possible. I read something a few months ago that said, ‘this will be my year,’ and I really love the message that sends. The way I look at it, it’s saying that I will make this year the best yet. That’s a great motivation, don’t you think?

                I also love the New Year’s idea I did last year, and am doing this year, which is to write down every good thing that happens to you, even if it’s silly, or everything that changes you for the good on a piece of paper and put it into a jar. By the end of the year, the jar should be getting full, so on New Year’s Eve, you pull it out and read them all, to bring in the New Year on a good note, remembering all the wonderful things that happened.

                So this year, rather than making resolutions to lose so much weight or to do so many things or get certain things, I challenge you to write ‘this will be my year’ on a piece of paper and hang it somewhere you will see it often. Then, find a nice sized jar and a small notepad, and get to writing all the good things that happen. Let me know how it goes. I already have three! It’s an amazing encouragement, and it also helps you to see how you’ve grown. At the beginning you may write something that means a lot to you, but by the end of the year, you could find you couldn’t care less about that event. You never know!