Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small | Book Review*

Would you die for the Prize?

Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained since childhood at the Paris Opera Ballet School, where they’ve forged an inseparable bond through shared stories of family tragedies and a powerful love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves how far they would go for the ultimate prize: to be named the one girl who will join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic will make them shine, too? Would they risk death for it? Neither girl is sure.

But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the Prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.

Bright Burning Stars is a stunning, propulsive story about girls at their physical and emotional extremes, the gutting power of first love, and what it means to fight for your dreams.

Release Day: May 21
This story follows two young women as they deal with the stress of attending a competitive Ballet School. It's their final year at the school and they're competing to join an elite group of ballet dancers, but the year is proving to be stressful on their friendship and their abilities, causing both girls to make bad decisions. This story covers eating disorders, dating complications, drug use, and strained friendships, and more.

I did not like Kate's character at all. I found her selfish and annoying. She was so hung up on boys that she believed they loved her even when they, and everyone else, openly told her that they weren't looking for relationships. She expected everyone to move out of her way and hated everyone who was better than her. She claims that her friendship with Marine is the most important thing, but does nothing to fix it when they start fighting. In the end, she is given something that I don't think she deserved to get. She was making harmful choices that she kept trying to rationalize, but I honestly don't think she was strong enough to fix by herself.

However, I understand the importance of Kate's character. When you go to school for years competing against your classmates it's hard to have friends because even if you want them to succeed, you want to succeed more. I can understand why she made the choices she made, but they were still dumb choices.

Marine, on the other hand, I felt bad for. She still made awful decisions, but hers mainly impacted herself. She was also bad at mending her friendship with Kate, but I think Marine was better off without her. It was one of those scenarios where two people are friends for a long time but then outgrow each other. Marine wasn't able to fully shine until she let go of the drama that came with being Kate's friend.

Both of these characters show the negative effects of stress and competition. I saw this book as somewhat of a warning. It made you ask whether or not your passion is really worth what you think you have to do to achieve it.

An interview with the author:

1. How did you write BRIGHT BURNING STARS? All at once or did you outline the story?
   I wrote it all at once but multiple times! I’m trying to learn how to outline. Man, is it hard. My brain goes to the creative before the analytical.

2. What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your characters? Which of your characters do you most identify with, and why?
   I think that the most surprising aspect of character building is that it took me years to understand and relate to Kate. I had to spend a long time with her before she finally clicked on the page. I identify with Marine because M and I both believe that any artistic success comes not from talent but from sweat and grit.

3. What gave you the idea for BRIGHT BURNING STARS?
   I wrote a short story titled The Art of Jealousy and then I knew I wanted to write a larger piece.

4. Do you have a favourite scene, quote, or moment from BRIGHT BURNING STARS?
   I love the scene where Marine dances to Biggie Smalls and there is a Luc scene I adore but I don’t want to give it away.

5. If you could tell your younger writing self-anything, what would it be?
   I would tell her never to forget about the magic of process and to always trust her instincts.

6. What is on your current TBR pile?
   The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo, The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robbin Brown, Wilder Girls by Rory Power, How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox, Heroine by Mindy McGinnis. I'm a sucker for books. I LOVE to read.
7. Do you write to music? If so, what artist were you listening to while writing BRIGHT BURNING STARS?I usually don’t, but as I was trying to figure Kate out I listened to Unsteady by X Ambassadors and I put on classical piano pieces, literal ballet music, while I worked on studio scenes for atmosphere and rhythm purposes.

*This review was requested, but the opinions are my own

In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton | Book Review*

After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club.

Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.

Ruth and her family move back to Atlanta after the death of her father. As the new girl in school, all she wants is to make friends, but making friends at a school known to dislike her religion can only happen if she doesn't tell anyone she's Jewish. And it works. She makes friends, gets a boyfriend, and gets invited to all sorts of parties. However, just when she starts realizing that she's getting herslef into a hole she doesn't want to be in, an anti-semetic attack occurs and she has to decide what's more important to her: her new friends, who only know the parts of her she lets them, or her family, who has been through everything with her. 

This book gets inside the head of a girl who is constantly being torn between her own choices, something relatable to pretty much everyone. Because who hasn't told a lie to fit in and then second guessed it? At the same time, the book also covers the very serious topic of racism and anti-semestism in the south during the mid-1900s. As a young, white, Jewish girl, Ruth can see the unfairness in seperate, but equal and at the same time not know how to fix it. Her friend, Max, is fighting for integration, but Ruth is too busy with Southern Tea & Etiquette classes to take part. Unfortunately, the reader doesn't get to know too much about what Max does, but his intentions are clear. 

I liked this book because although I've learned about racism in the south numerous times, I've never been taught about the anti-semitism. I know there is anti-semitism in the USA, but it was always taught as something that happened in Nazi Germany. It was interesting to read about how the KKK targeted other groups of people. Books like this is why I love historical fiction novels. They teach you about what happened, but with a fictional storyline to keep the story more interesting (in my opinion at least) than a nonfiction novel. 

An interview with the author:
1. How did you write TRUE? All at once or did you outline the story?

I’m not an outliner, and it took me a long time (a year, if I’m being honest) to find the beating heart of this book. Once I figured out what the story was about - falling so in love with a boy, or a place, that you risk losing yourself . . . and learning to stand up for what you believe in even when it’s hard and heart-breaking - I wrote straight through.

2. What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your characters? Which of your characters do you most identify with, and why?

I love my main character Ruth. She’s shallow and she knows it (obsessed with fashion and frippery and the magazine Mademoiselle) but she’s discovering that she also runs deep. A couple of years ago, the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote a great essay for ELLE defending why smart women can love fashion. And I love that (and her). We are all so much more than one thing.

3. What gave you the idea for TRUE?

The roots of the story are deeply personal. Our family had just moved to Atlanta and joined a synagogue. We were still new to town when our youngest daughter announced she’d learned that the classroom she spent every Sunday morning in had been the site of a bombing 50 years before. That stayed with me - the idea that the walls that held these kids had once been blown apart. In the Neighborhood of True is a response to that bombing in 1958, retribution for the rabbi’s involvement in civil rights. The book is horrifying timely in a way I never could have imagined. You can draw a line from Atlanta in 1958 . . . to Charlottesville in 2017 . . . to Pittsburgh in 2018 . . . to Christchurch two months ago.

So, there’s that important seed of the story. And then, as I was writing Ruth and her various lies of omission about her religion, I remembered my college boyfriend asking me to not tell his grandfather that I was Jewish . . . he just wanted the man to like me, he said. And, unbelievably, I agreed. That’s the question I found myself puzzling over - why was I so quick to hide who I was for this boy I loved?

4. Do you have a favourite scene, quote, or moment from TRUE?

It takes my main character, Ruth, a long time to find her voice in Atlanta, circa 1958. At first she’s so seduced by the dresses and the debutante parties (and a dimpled boy) that she keeps quiet about who she is.

On Ruth’s first official date with Davis, she’s trying to figure out how much of herself to reveal. I like this scene between them after seeing the movie Vertigo.
“I like Hitchcock,” I said.
“Me too. Bet you like one of the Janes - Eyre or Austen.”
“Please. Give me some credit. I like . . . I love . . . Truman Capote.” Actually, Sara liked Truman Capote. But last year, Mademoiselle had published one of his short stories, so that was something.
“I should read him then.”
The thought of Davis doing something because I loved it was sort of exhilarating. “I don’t really love him,” I said, wanting to tell the truth when I could. “I just read one story of his about Christmas, and it was depressing as dirt.”
"Ah, so in the neighborhood of true.” Davis one-dimpled me. “That’s what we say when something’s close enough."

5. If you could tell your younger writing self-anything, what would it be?

I would tell my younger self not to be so judge-y. My first drafts are a hot mess. I wonder a thousand times an hour if there’s anything of worth on the page. And I’m kind of slow. I have to write all the way to the end to figure out what I’m trying to say. But then the revision starts, and I cut all the dreck, and things start looking up.

6. What is on your current TBR pile?

Sooooo many books, but here are my top five!

• White Rose by Kip Wilson (a gorgeous novel in verse about Sophie Scholl and a nonviolent resistance group that challenged the Nazis)

• Internment by Samira Ahmed (every single writer I respect has been raving about this novel set in the near-future with internment camps for Muslim-Americans)

• Bright Burning Stars by AK Small (ballet and Paris - yes, please)

• The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali (this historical fiction about first loves and fate is technically an adult read but easily crosses to YA - set in both 1950s Tehran and present-day Boston)

• It’s a Whole Spiel edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman (cannot wait for this anthology with Jewish characters who are diverse in sexuality, race, and level of observance)

7. Do you write to music? If so, what artist were you listening to while writing TRUE?

The opening lines of the song 24 Frames by Jason Isbell made me think of Ruth: “This is how you make yourself vanish into nothing/And this is how you make yourself worthy of the love that she/Gave to you back when you didn’t own a beautiful thing.”

In a more vintage mood, I also made a Spotify playlist for TRUE - songs that Ruth (and Gracie and Davis) would have listened to and loved . . . and it really inspired me as I was trying to imagine the twists and turns, political and otherwise, of 1958

• Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis

• Sh-Boom - The Crew Cuts

• Love me Tender - Elvis Presley

• At the Hop - Danny and the Juniors

• Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers

• Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins/Elvis Presley

• In the Still of the Light - Five Satins

• St. Thomas - Sonny Rollins

• Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets

• Tutti Fruitti - Little Richard

• That’ll Be the Day - The Crickets

• I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Twos

• Why Do Fools Fall in Love - Teenagers

• You Send Me - Sam Cooke 

*This review was requested of me, but the opinions are my own

Sister Trip to Los Angeles, California | March 1 - March 6

Friday, March 1
Travel Day. I drove home from school, took my dog on a walk, and then my mom drove my sister and me to a bus station to get to Logan Airport. The flight hit a little bit of turbulence when we were going over the midwest, but other than that it was fine.  I did some research beforehand and read that there weren't going to be any TVs on the flight, so I downloaded an app the airline talked about and didn't pack my headphone jack headphones. However, when we got on the flight, there were TVs, so I had to buy some headphones on the plane. I was also super excited because I thought the flight had all of the Harry Potter movies and I have been dying to watch the 6th one for a while now.  The flight had all of the movies, except the 6th one! I was so disappointed. I watched Chasing Mavericks and Bohemian Rhapsody instead. When we landed, we picked up our rental car, went to CVS because I forgot to pack a toothbrush, and then grabbed In-N-Out burger before going to our Airbnb. I got french fries, and a chocolate shake from In-N-Out burger and the fries were gross, but the shake was good.

Saturday, March 2
My sister and I drove to San Diego today to meet up with our cousin.  We hadn't seen her in a while, so it was nice to catch up and see her apartment.  When we left her place, we went to The Baked Bear and got ice cream sandwiches that were amazing! I got a chocolate brownie and a salted caramel chocolate chip cookie for the "bread" and cookie dough ice cream in the middle.  We walked so we could see the water, but it was raining so we didn't go onto the beach.  After that we got some tacos at Puesto before making our way back to L.A. We dropped off the rental car and walked back to our AirBnB because the rain had let up.  That night we met my sister's friends for dinner at a place called Zinque. I got lasagna, and it was so good!

Sunday, March 3
In the morning my sister and I walked to The Grove and got some food for breakfast. I got a delicious cinnamon roll. Then we went with her friends to a Wine Safari in Malibu. Again, it was raining, but we made the most of it. We got to see donkeys, llamas, Scottish highland cows, zebras, and a giraffe named Stanley who is retired from Hollywood because he is too tall. We also got to try some different wines. The tour was really fun, and our driver and tour guide were great, which really helped make the experience extra fun, even in the rain. When we got back to L.A. we got a late lunch before my sister's friend dropped us off. My sister and I decided to go to the LACMA and see the lamppost art exhibit, and we walked through The Grove again. We got some candy and then went back to the Airbnb to watch a movie.

Monday, March 4
We started the day by going to the Griffith Park Observatory to see the Hollywood sign. Then we went to Warner Bros. Studios for a studio tour. Our guide and group weren't as fun as the safari, but I still really enjoyed getting to see the behind the scenes of a studio lot. There was a bunch of stuff for Harry Potter, and I got sorted into Gryffindor by the sorting hat. My sister got Ravenclaw. After that, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then went on a StarLine tour of Celebrity Houses. Basically, a tour guide drives you around and points out houses that celebrities either currently live in or used to live in. It was a great way to see the different parts of the city. We got some drinks at TomTom before meeting up with my sister's friends at SUR for dinner - they're big Vanderpump Rules fans.

Tuesday, March 5
We started today not sure what to do because we didn't know what the weather was going to look like. We started by getting breakfast at Republique with one of my sister's friends because it was the last time we were going to be seeing her on our trip. Then we decided to get a tour of Dodgers Stadium, which ended up being really cool. We planned on getting dinner with my sister's other friend at a rooftop restaurant called Perch, so we made our way to that area of the city and walked around and got cupcakes while we waited for our reservation. My sister's friend ended up getting stuck at work and couldn't meet us at Perch, but she did come to the L.A. Kings hockey game with us, so we got to see her one last time. The game was fun, but the Kings lost.

Wednesday, March 6
We woke up at 5:30am and made our way to the airport for our 8:55 flight back home. Again, there was a little bit of turbulence, but other than that the flight was fine. I watched Tag and some episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

If you're interested in more, check out my YouTube Channel for the corresponding video

Forgetting Aiden by Juliet Picard | Book Review*

Happy Release Day to Forgetting Aiden by Juliet Picard! I loved this story because of who Eva is as a person and how she balances her life in and out of the spotlight. This book follows her to therapy, the recording studio, auditions, and filming in a way that gives a backstage pass to Hollywood. The incorporation of social media also shows what it's like to be the person receiving hateful messages about decisions that were right for her. There is also a powerful message about how women can be seen in the media, as Eva struggles to be known as Aiden Press' ex over and over again.

Speaking of Aiden, he is a big factor in this story as well. Eva breaks up with him after his drinking gets too accessive and she sees a photo of him in bed with a model. And after that, a lot of positive things happen to her. She is asked to record a song with Xavier, who she starts a relationahip with, and she is cast as the lead role in an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Hollywood's favorite director. However, when she walks in to her first day of filming and finds out that Aiden is playing the lead, Eva has to work hard to keep her professional image positive.

I don't want to give too much away because this book is out today and I want to give you a chance to read it on your own. I will say that Eva's story has a few twists and turns in it that make you question whether or not someone in the spotlight can have their own life or if everything is Hollywood is scripted. 

Synopsis:

Welcome to Hollywood, where celebrities like me attend fancy galas, release new records, and star in classic films like Romeo and Juliet -- sometimes requiring simulated sex with their ex-boyfriend.

Aiden Press is Hollywood's newest bad boy, but he's no stranger to me. He traded in his sweet Country artist stardom for a shot at making it big as a pop star. I’m sure he’s on the verge of greatness with lyrics like big booty, cash money, and oh yeah.

Of course, he'll try to win me over with those baby blue eyes, gush-worthy smile, and deep V-line leading down to...

O Aiden!

I mean...

O Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Purchase:

#FREE in Kindle Unlimited | Only $2.99 for an e-book copy | Paperback available NOW!

Author Bio:

Juliet Picard has published articles for Girl Ambition, a tween online site, and has been a stringer for CosmoGirl! Magazine, a tween spin-off of Cosmopolitan. She graduated cum laude from Cornell University where she took a number of creative writing courses and studied business. 

Juliet Picard is proud to present readers with Forgetting Aiden that draws on her mixed ethnicity as a Mexican-American writer and experiences as an actress. She also pays tribute to her husband's Colombian nationality and their frequent travels to this beautiful country. 

Juliet Picard hopes to inspire young women to follow their dreams, even in the face of adversity.

For more information or to connect with Juliet:

Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook | Author Site | Instagram

*This review was requested, but the opinions are my own

Books I Read in January & February

I didn't get the chance to do too much reading over the past two months.  I was more focused on transitioning to my new school schedule and classwork.  However, the two physical books I read were both about acting/movies, which I thought was funny as I didn't do that on purpose.

Finding Alexei by Kendall Ryan
Bossy Brit by Kendall Ryan
I grouped these two together because they're both by Kendall Ryan and have a similar setup.  Both are short romances. Finding Alexei is about a chance encounter between two people who end up falling in love. And Bossy Brit is about a CEO and assistant falling in love. Of course, both stories also through in a few difficulties and circumstances, but neither of them really have a conflict. And if it does the characters resolve it really quickly. It makes them very mature, but as a reader, I was expecting things to play out longer. The stories are nice, quick reads.

Just Friends by Billy Taylor
I don't know if you guys remember this, but a few years ago this book was all over the internet because it's filled with cute sentences. The storyline itself is adorable. August is trying to balance her dreams and her feelings towards her best friend. She's struggling with the classic "Is telling him how I feel worth the risk of our friendship?" dilemma, while everyone else in her life is telling her to go for it. I really enjoyed this story and read it in a day, but I did have a few issues with it.

First, I don't think Ethan would have dated Eleanor, at least not when he did. I think Ethan should have been a character who either had a ton of girlfriends over the years or the Ethan/Eleanor relationship should have been a misunderstanding or at least should not have been as serious as they were. I won't spoil it, but at the end of the book, Ethan gives August a gift that he had been planning on giving her since the day they met and I don't believe he would be in a serious relationship a few months before he was planning to give this gift.

Two, another amazing aspect of this book is that it was self-published. However, it is sprinkled with grammatical and spelling mistakes. I would read something, think that's not correct, and then keep going. The mistakes did nothing to change my opinion of the storyline, but they were noticeable.

Unscripted by Claire Handscombe*
Release Date: April 4, 2019
I am going to try and give this review without spoiling too much of the plotline since this book doesn't come out for another month. However, being spoiler free has never been my strong point.

This novel follows four characters whose lives all intersect in one way or another. Libby is driven by her dream of writing a novel that will lead her to her favorite actor. She has a fantasy of the two of them falling in love and living happily ever after, which causes her to act selfishly in order to follow her dreams. However, someone she is still a loveable character you can't help but root for.

Dan is Libby's best friend and has been in love with her for years, but knows he can never replace her favorite actor, so he helps pay for her dream and eventually moves on for a short while.

Thom is the favorite actor who invited Libby to live with him for the summer and co-write a screenplay based off of her book. Although he's warned about her crush, Thom doesn't seem to be too worried about anything happening between the two of them as he is still in love with an ex-girlfriend from his college days.

Ebba is Thom's ex-girlfriend who helps Libby get her book published. She doesn't agree with Thom inviting her to stay because Ebba knows the extent of Libby's crush. When she and Thom start to get more serious, they both know it will crush Libby.

I really enjoyed following the storylines of each character in this book and getting the chance to learn from their perspective. Although Libby comes off a little naive, I found myself glad she was able to live out her dream and learn for herself that real life and fantasy are never the same. All four of the characters are connected in a way that reminds readers that the world isn't very big and if you want to do something you can achieve it if you're not too scared. This is definitely a title looking out for when it's available next month.

*This title was gifted to me, but the reviews are my own

From Baby Shower Invitations to Graduation Announcements | Basic Invite*

Basic Invite is the one place shop for any type of invitation or notecard you could ever need. They have cards for everything from Baby Showers to Graduation Parties to Weddings and more. They also offer business cards and business stationery.

I was super intrigued by Basic Invite because not only do they offer designs you can customize, but they also let you upload your own logos or complete designs so that everything you order matches your brand completely.

A great thing about Basic Invite is their color options. The company offers over 180 colors to choose from and they offer instant previews. This allows you to make sure your card is perfect to the tiniest detail. I spent a decent amount of time picking out the perfect shades of pink to go on my different designs.

Another cool thing about this website is that you can purchase custom samples. Not many companies allow you to order one singular custom product, but Basic Invite does. No matter how great a product looks online, there is always a chance the physical product won't look exactly how you want it.  Ordering a sample allows you to hold the product in your hand and make any necessary adjustments before buying a larger amount to hand out to friends, families, and possible employers. I found that some of my uploaded images printed a little blurry, so I was happy I got to see one before purchases in a whole bunch.

Since I'm in my final semester of college (eek!), I chose to design a graduation announcement card. I was able to import my own photo and write whatever I wanted. It was a little bittersweet designing this card because it reminded me that my college days are quickly coming to an end.

However, I know not all of you are graduating in May. Some of you may be planning a wedding (Congratulations!) and want to design a Save the Date card. Or you or someone you know may be pregnant (Congratulations!) and want to design a card for that. Basic Design has an adorable teddy bear baby shower invitations and twin baby shower invitations, all of which you can customize to your party's theme.

Even if you don't have a party coming up, you can customize the given card templates to say whatever you want. I decided to design some cards for a few friends of mine, so I wrote out an inside joke of ours and added a picture of the three of us at a Kenny Chesney concert from 2017. It was super easy and I know they will be super excited to get these cards in the mail.

The attention to detail even goes into the envelopes at Basic Invite, allowing you to order envelopes in over 40 different colors. Honestly, though, I was just happy with the peel and seal feature because licking envelopes that were mailed to you from an unfamiliar location can be a little scary. Also, by sharing a link through social media, you can have your friends import their addresses to be printed on the envelopes. That way you know for certain your cards are going to the correct location. I chose not to use this option because I only ordered a few samples and I wanted to write out the information myself, but that would have been super handy if I was hosting a huge baby shower or something with a ton of invites.

I've been interested in ordering business cards for a little while now and you guys also know I am such a sucker for rose gold foil, which is an option at Basic Invite. They offer foil detailing that can come in gold, silver, or rose gold, and it can be flat or raised. So obviously, I ordered a sample of a business card with some rose gold foil, but I also ordered one of their new clear business cards, and a business card I designed completely on my own.

Right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with the coupon code 15FF51. If you have any type of party coming up or you're like me and felt like sending a card to some friends, check them out! And if you order anything make sure to share with me your designs with #BasicJuliann

If you would like to see more from Basic Invite, you can find them all over the internet
Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter

*This post is graciously sponsored by Basic Invite, but the opinions are my own

Plans for 2019

Now that we're well into February and I have finished discussing everything that happened in 2018, it's time to look ahead into 2019!

Books
Every year I create a Goodreads reading challenge.  Last year I set out to read 50 books, and I didn't make it, ending on 47 or some annoying number like that.  This year I have once again chosen to make my goal 50 books.

I definitely enjoy certain books more than others, but I want to try and branch out a little bit in my choices.  There are so many great books out there.  My brother got me a subscription to Book of the Month for Christmas, so hopefully this will force me to read new things.

Travel 
So far this year I have been to Orlando, Florida which you can read about here if you want and I have a few more trips scheduled.

In March, my sister and I are going to California for a few days to visit some of her friends.  We're going to be in the Los Angeles area, so if you have any recommendations for us to see or do, please let me know!

In June, my best friend will be moving to Colorado and asked me to join her on the road trip out there.  I said yes, and we're going to take the long way.  Our plan is to go from Massachusetts to Nashville, Tennessee to Dallas, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico and then make our way into Colorado.  We're super excited!  Again, I'm always looking for recommendations.

My sister is also in the process of planning a long weekend summer trip to Toronto, Canada.  We haven't booked anything yet, but it's being discussed and planned.  Whenever we do big, family trips my sister is the one who plans everything.

So far those trips are the only definites I have, and they will certainly help me scratch off a few more locations on my scratch off map and help me towards my goal of visiting all 50 states.

Life
In 2019 I will be graduating from college which is crazy, and later in the year, I will turn 23, which seems very adult.

Originally I was hoping to have a job that I enjoy by the time the year ends, but preferably July.  However, some things have changed and now I'm playing around with the idea of going to Graduate School...I might do a longer post on this, but basically, I haven't been sleeping much as I try to figure out my life.

Other than that, I'm just going to see where the year takes me.

etc.
Something I hope to continue to grow is my content.  This is something I have said so many times, but I think I have a plan to stay on track for this year.  I've had this blog for years as a hobby, but I'm starting to want to try to make it more of a business and I've taken some steps to make myself seem more professional.

I recently bought my domain, which is really exciting for me, so welcome to www.juliannguerra.com, previously known as www.blogspot.juliannguerra.com

I have deactivated the @writerjewels twitter account because I never used it, but I still have the @juliann_guerra account if you want to follow me there.  On Instagram, I did a little bit of rebranding, and you can now find me as @books_travel_life_etc, and I try to post a photo every single day on that account.  Here on the blog, my goal is to have at least two posts a month.

I am also toying with the idea of a podcast...I host one at school and really enjoy it, but I don't know what I would talk about on a personal one.  It's an idea I'll continue to think about, and I will keep you all posted on what I decide to do.