Tag: #blogger

Happy 1st Birthday to Book Coffee Happy!

I have been faithfully reading other people’s blogs every single day since 2007. I absolutely love them and have always wanted one my own…a place to create, share, and have fun. Exactly 1 year ago on September 10, 2018, I decided to take the plunge and officially introduce my blog that I had previously quietly been working on to the world. Its scary to put yourself out there like that and I’m so thankful that I did.

Happy 1st Birthday, Book Coffee Happy!

When I first started blogging, I had a grand total of 6 readers. My husband, my parents, and my 3 best friends. 1 year later and I have 644 blog followers, 1,228 Instagram followers, 663 Facebook followers, and 472 Twitter followers. I also have a YouTube channel with a handful of subscribers 🙂 I’m thankful to each and every person who is following me on all platforms in this blogging journey.

1 year ago today…

It’s the best hobby I’ve ever had. I’ve learned so much…I created a website and actively keep it running for an entire year which is something I never thought I could do! I’m incredibly proud of that and this 1 year anniversary truly feels like a celebration to me.  I’m a big believer in always trying to learn new things and this blog has most definitely been a learning experience for me.

It hasn’t been easy (thank God for Google searches, YouTube how to videos, and WordPress tech supporters) but it’s been so worth it. This space is something I’m so proud of. It’s good for me and has given me such a fun and the creative outlet to share my love of reading alongside bits of my personal life.

One of the hardest parts of blogging is the fact that I’m such a perfectionist and this is all so new to me.  I’m learning while publicly publishing posts which aren’t always 100 percent perfect.  But that’s life, right?  This blog is a reflection of me…and I am most definitely NOT 100 percent perfect 🙂  I’ve given myself the grace to make mistakes over this past year which is definitely NOT something that has been easy for me.  I’ve also learned that presenting something with mistakes is better than not presenting anything at all. And this applies to so much more than just blogging 🙂

Over the past year, this blog has opened up so many doors for me and has given me some truly amazing experiences:

I have been sent a total of 19 Books to read, review, and host giveaways for on my blog:

(Full blog review and giveaway of The Unbreakables By Lisa Barr coming soon!)

I attended Lit Fest 2019

I attended the Midwest Writers Association Meeting

I was offered a job leading storytime at Whimsy Play Cafe in Buffalo Grove twice a week (the cafe owner was a blog reader!) Here’s a (very blurry) link to see what I do there:

I loved the interaction from other bloggers/vloggers on THIS POST  and on THIS POST. I found so many new blogs/vlogs to love!  If you are a blogger or a vlogger, feel free to add your link to each of those posts.

I enjoyed rounding up some favorite books to include on my Spring Break 2019 Book Recommendation List and also on my Pregnancy/New Parents/Baby Shower Gifts Recommendation List.

You can read my very post blog post HERE!  It’s super impersonal, lol.

At this time last year I had no idea how to use Instagram or Twitter. 1 year later and I’m LOVING Instagram! I post a new Instagram story at least once a day (usually multiple times throughout the day) and it’s FUN. It’s a fun place for me to actually talk about day to day life in videos as opposed to written words.  Love it!  As for Twitter, I’m still over here trying to figure it all out, lol…work in progress 🙂

Aaaaaaand along with the amazing experiences this year also came some not so amazing experiences.  My broken elbow, my food poisioning which turned out to be a horrific stomach flu, and my car accident all top that unfortunate list.  Ugh.

For every person who has commented on a blog post, clicked the “like” button, commented, or shared on a Facebook post, mentioned me in an Instagram story, retweeted my tweets on Twitter, or interacted with me in any other way on social media…thank you. All of these things will help my hobby to GROW and I’m incredibly thankful to you.

For every author who has reached out and has so graciously offered to send me a copy of their book to review and share with my readers…thank you!

For every person who has purchased something through my Amazon affiliate links…thank you.

And most importantly, for every person who has recommended my blog to a fellow book lover…thank you.

I have met some lovely people and have made some lovely new friends as a result of this blog!  I’ve even had people come up to me in public and introduce themselves as blog readers!  I LOVE THAT!  Just 3 days ago, a lady came up to me at a local park and introduced herself because she recognized me from my Disney video 🙂

To my very first blog readers: Jon, Mom, Dad, Amy, Barbara, and Beth…I love you all so much!

Jon, you were the very first person I told that I wanted to do this and I said, “Want to hear a crazy idea?  I think I want to start writing a blog!” and you said, “I don’t think that’s crazy at all, I think you should and I think you’d be great!” Thank you for believing in me and for supporting me. Thank you for working so hard and providing for our family which in turn then allows me the opportunity to write this blog.  I love you so much 🙂

And lastly…my children. I have never shown their faces or said their names on here which has been HARD. I am literally obsessed with my kids and I’m a Stay at Home Mom so writing this blog without including them feels like I’m sharing myself but without sharing my heart. Maybe one day I will introduce you to them but for now, thank you for respecting their privacy. Spoiler: They are the 2 most gorgeous kids on Earth.

 

 

 

My favorite posts are hands down the ones about my personal life:

My (Now Ruined) Favorite Library

My Birthday

Walt Disney World Vacation

My 3 Best Friends and My Amazing College Experience

Reading at the Ronald McDonald House

Michigan Getaway with Jon

I’ve blogged about some amazing books over the past year, made some lovely new friends over the past year, and have successfully accomplished something that has always been such a dream for me.

I have so many ideas, plans, and goals for this space moving forward. I can’t wait to make them happen.

Happy 1st Birthday, Book Coffee Happy!

And because…well, life…

I was so excited to eat my perfect looking blog birthday cupcake but was struggling with how to eat it with my son sound asleep on me. I took this selfie and literally 1 second later…

The blog birthday cupcake toppled off the plate and landed frosting side down directly on top of both of us. My husband (who was sitting next to us) immediately jumped up, saved the cupcake, cleaned everything up, got me a fork, and told me that maybe this should tell me to stop taking so many selfies.

Side Note: I’ll never stop taking selfies.

The deconstructed version of the perfect blog birthday cupcake was delicious and my son stayed asleep throughout the whole ordeal.

Next year’s newest blog goal: to eat Book Coffee Happy’s 2nd birthday cupcake whole and without having to use a fork 🙂

Happy 1st Birthday, Book Coffee Happy!

Birthdays include gifts. The gift I would love would be to hear the title of a book you have read and loved which you discovered because of my blog! Please comment here on this blog post, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter…wherever!  I can’t wait to see which books I have introduced you to! My heart will be so happy to know that I’ve done that for you 🙂

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

Calling All Bloggers and Vloggers: Add Your Links!

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post asking for bloggers and vloggers to share their sites and to add their links in hopes of people discovering new sites to follow.

It was such a success! So many lovely bloggers and vloggers posted links and descriptions of their blogs/vlogs. I instantly found new favorites to follow and so many others commented that they did as well.  Love!

So today…let’s do it again! Only this time, post a link to your most current blog POST or vlog VIDEO and a brief description on what it’s about in the comments below. Let’s all discover new blogs/vlogs to follow! If you have a blog/vlog, I’d love for you to participate regardless if you participated last time or not. All blog/vlog topics welcome!

Please only add links to the comments on this post (not Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) to keep them all in one place.

Also, if you haven’t already added your link to the comments on the other post, feel free to do that now as well 🙂

Have fun and enjoy discovering some new favorite bloggers/vloggers!

And while you’re discovering new blogs/vlogs to follow and subscribe to, I’d so love for you to follow/subscribe to mine if you don’t already 🙂

Xo,

Jenny

***Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for a very special post***

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

 

Book Review: A Simple Secret {Darcey Bell}

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I picked up 3 new (to me) books from a generous library donation?  Last week I decided to read one of them and it was AMAZING.  This book review was such an easy one to write because my feelings about this book were so clear cut.  I LOVED IT.  I was so impressed with this debut novel by Darcey Bell and I’m anxiously awaiting future works by this clearly gifted writer.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It starts with a simple favor—an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and her son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together—just like she and Emily. A widow and stay-at-home mommy blogger living in woodsy suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a sophisticated PR executive whose job in Manhattan demands so much of her time.

But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong—Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, she reaches out to her blog readers for help. She also reaches out to Emily’s husband, the handsome, reticent Sean, offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.

Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

From page 1, I was hooked.  This book is AWESOME.  I read it in 3.5 days although if I had the time I could easily have knocked this one out all in one sitting.  There were twists and turns all throughout this story (some I saw coming, some I did not) that kept me interested until the very end.  I loved the writing style, I loved that there weren’t too many characters, I loved that the story wasn’t told from too many perspectives, I loved the twists,  I loved how utterly MESSED UP some of the parts were (I actually felt my eyes widen quite a few times while reading…the sign of an awesome book), I loved it all!

And obviously, I loved that Stephanie (one of the main characters) was a blogger 🙂

I posted about my love for this book on Instagram:

And in the true spirit of paying it forward, I held a giveaway on Facebook for my personal copy of this book to share with someone else in the community:

Congratulations Dianna!!!

As I was reading, I was told there was a movie version of this book starring Blake Lively (Love her, LOVED Gossip Girl) but I reused to watch the trailer as by now you know how I feel about spoilers 🙂  Within 5 minutes of finishing this book, I Googled the trailer…and was completely underwhelmed by what I saw.  Even from watching this 2 minute clip of the movie, I can already tell that there are WAY too many differences from the book!  I know people who loved the movie and people loved the book…but I’m curious as to how they compare.  Have any of you seen the movie AND read the book?  They look so completely different!  Based upon this trailer I have no desire to now watch the movie…

Here is the movie trailer:

Bottom Line:

LOVED.  THIS.  BOOK.  The movie looks to be waaaay too different (not in a good way) from the book!?!?  Why do movie studios do this?!?!  Don’t mess with a great thing!!!  Ugh.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book?  Have you seen the movie?  What did you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

8 Ways You Can Help Support Book Coffee Happy:

1. Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)

2. If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine

3. “Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)

4. Follow me on Instagram

5. Follow me on Twitter

6. Subscribe to my YouTube channel

7. Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.

8. Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link.  When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

Calling All Bloggers and Vloggers!

I have been reading blogs and watching vlogs every single day since 2007. That’s 12 years of daily checking in with my favorite bloggers and vloggers! I’m constantly finding new ones to add to my list of favorites.  I love discovering new blogs, vlogs, bloggers, and vloggers!

I read such a wide variety of blogs…healthy living blogs, book blogs, Mommy blogs, food blogs, etc.  I even read a few fitness blogs and I am NOT someone who enjoys sweating, lol.  I find that when I connect to a blogger, it’s not always about the topic as much as about the blogger her/himself.  Does that make sense?

Since starting a blog myself, I have truly learned how incredibly wonderful and helpful the blogging community really is.  I love being a part of this lovely community and I have met such kind people through my blog.  It has been amazing.

My personal blogging essentials: laptop, candle, coffee.

Calling All Bloggers and Vloggers:

If you write a blog or have a vlog, please post a link to it in the comments below! This is a great opportunity for everyone (myself included) to discover some new favorites.  Be sure to include a short description of what type of blog (or vlog!) you have.  All types of blogs (and vlogs) welcome!  Please only post your links in the comments on this post and not on Facebook, Twitter, etc.  That way everyone can see the list all together and can refer back to it when they are looking to discover something new.

I can’t wait to explore and discover some new favorite blogs (and vlogs)!  I hope you find some new favorites as well.  Make sure to subscribe to them when you do (and while you’re at it, please make sure you are also subscribed to my blog)!

Enjoy 🙂

Xo,

Jenny

8 Ways You Can Help Support Book Coffee Happy:

1. Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)

2. If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine

3. “Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)

4. Follow me on Instagram

5. Follow me on Twitter

6. Subscribe to my YouTube channel

7. Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.

8. Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page