My New Year's Resolution!

I used to make a long list of new year's resolutions and I did my very best to stick to it as well. I always want to do everything I do at least 100%, so that meant working on my new year's resolutions for an entire year to make a long, new list for the next one. It was quite exhausting actually. That is why at a certain point I decided I needed to change something. Instead of making a whole list of new year's resolutions I just made one and I kept telling myself through the whole year to stick with it no matter what. As it was working so well I kept the resolution the next year and the next. 

If I want to make a change in my life I can better do it straight away. I want to do things yesterday instead of tomorrow anyway, so this saves me a lot of waiting. Of course it's frustrating to be like that from time to time as well, but it isn't something I can easily change. That is also why my new year's resolution is so important. I love having fun and my goal is to have as much fun as possible. That's the only thing I promise myself over and over again. No matter what happens I want to enjoy every good thing that comes my way. 

My life hasn't always been the easiest, but I've sure had a lot of great times. I treasure them all and often think back about the good times I've had. Hopefully 2015 will bring me some joy again. Of course the hard times can't be avoided, but I'm trying to make sure there are wonderful moments to balance them with.

Happy New Year,

Suzanne

Cute Items Giveaway!

Another little giveaway to start the year with. I hope you will like it. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

    I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international. 

A giveaway hop is...

Blog Hop Q and A

What's a hop?

A giveaway hop is a chain of blogs who all host the a giveaway with the same theme (for example books released in January, romantic books, happy mail, etc.).

How does it work?

 At the bottom of the giveaway there's a row of links, so participants can hop from one blog to the next to enter each giveaway.

 What are the prizes?

The prize itself can vary, but normally they're all of the same category. They usually have a certain kind of theme, so the prizes are alike, but they don't have to be exactly the same. Every blogger makes their own rafflecopter and has been given instructions about the prize by the organizer of the hop. Each blog will have their own winner.

I'm a blogger, why should I sign up?

There are quite a few advantages of joining a blog hop. It will gather a lot of extra traffic and hops help to reach a new audience for your blog. If you join you might increase your number of views not only during the hop, but also afterwards. It's fun to host giveaways together and it's a nice way to work together with all kinds of different blogs.

I'm a blogger, how can I sign up?

There's a linky made by the host at the bottom of the sign up post. It's easy to sign up, all you have to do is click the button and fill out your details. Don't forget to mention if your giveaway is worldwide (INT) or not (for example US only, UK only, Europe only, etc.)  

 I'm a blogger, does that mean I can't enter the other giveaways?
 

 You can join the other giveaways so you have a chance to win a prize at someone else's blog as well.


If you have more questions feel free to contact me at scintillatingsuze @ yandex.com or librarianlavender @ gmail. com

Happy Mail Project

Happy Mail is cheerful mail that brightens up someone's day. A lot of people all around the world have been sending happy mail for years. Because both sending and receiving mail is so much fun I decided to start a happy mail project. I'm sending cheerful envelopes to people on a regular basis. Of course my friends receive something from me quite often, but I also send mail to people I don't know very well both spontaneously and as prizes. Who doesn't want to receive a cheerful envelope with a nice card and/or a little, thoughtful gift? If you'd like to join me by sending happy mail yourself, please feel free. I love it when people join me, that actually makes me very happy. My happy mail project is all about the fun and doing something nice for someone else. If there's someone you think should receive happy mail from me, send me a request and I'll see what I can do.
 
I would love to organize swaps. You can also ask me for an address if you'd like to send random happy mail. I will only do this if I know you and with permission from the person whose address I'm passing on.

I've set up a system you can sign up for and will give you points if you've sent happy mail. You can send me a message when you've sent something and I'll keep track. Please keep in mind that I'd like to see proof of sending. Every two months I will send a prize to the person who has the highest number of points. I will also randomly send happy mail to the people who are participating.

If you'd like to participate send me a message on:

happymailproject @ yahoo.com

---- Suzanne ----


This project is in no way intended to make money. It's something friendly and free that's done out of the goodness of people's hearts. Everything I do on this blog has been protected by copyright, please respect that.

How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake by Gina Henning

Don't miss the brilliant second book in the Home for the Holidays series from Gina Henning.

A delicious cake. A guy who is late. Merry Christmas to all.

After the best Thanksgiving of her life, Lauren Hauser can’t wait to see Jack-the-pecan-hoarder so they can finally be in the same place at the same time. Long distance really doesn’t work when you’re head over heels!

But when Jack doesn’t turn up at the airport Lauren is left wondering if their relationship is really as great as she thought? Sure Jack’s kisses were delicious and when he looked at her, her knees felt weak, but what did they really know about each other?

A big Hauser family Christmas is just what is needed for this situation. Not only will her mom be decking the halls with boughs of monstrous-Christmas-decorations, but Lauren is baking a Christmas cake to once again claim dessert queen of the family! Will Jack fit in with the Hauser clan? Or will Lauren have to face the music…and accept that not every holiday romance was made for a happily ever after…

Amazon

Lauren thinks she has found the perfect new boyfriend in Jack, but then he doesn't show up when she's supposed to meet him at the airport. She feels rejected and let down and starts to doubt every moment they had together. When her family asks her to come over for Christmas she doesn't want to, because there's a chance she'd run into Jack. That changes when he's suddenly back into her life trying to make things right. Will Lauren be able to forgive him and are they going to be able to find a way to make their long distance relationship work? When it's time for a big family Christmas with Gina's family not everyone is in a good mood. Is it possible for Lauren to have a wonderful Christmas with a great man by her side or will it be a disaster?

It was nice to read about the Hauser family again. Lauren's family members are such great characters who all have their own unique quirks. I loved finding out more about them. The same goes for Lauren and Jack who now have to get to know each other better, which they do in an original way. The story has several unexpected twists, I liked that a lot. It also is nice and warm, which is exactly what a Christmas novel should be like. Gina Henning has such a fabulous way of creating a setting and atmosphere. Last but not least, the food talk, especially the cake and pie parts, is amazing. I enjoyed reading the first book of the series as well and can't wait for the third part to come out.

  

Fabulous Freebie: Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind… Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lillias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there’s her other cousin. The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn’t be there. The girl that died.

Amazon

Review by Anniek

What starts as a joke turns real bad real fast. Jay has downloaded an Ouija board app on his phone. When he and his best friend Sophie are in a café they decide to try it out. Sophie summons her cousin Rebecca who died under mysterious circumstances. Using the Ouija board turns out to be the worst decision they have ever made.

This story was scary! I have seen almost every horror movie that is out there and I've absolutely read my fair share of scary stories and this one still really freaked me out. I have to be honest about the fact that I hate dolls. They already scare me just being normal dolls, but the frozen charlotte dolls, brrrrr. You really don’t want them in your home. The writer made the characters come to life very well and I was so afraid for them. 

Be smart and get this freebie now. Find out what happened to Rebecca, you won't regret it.

La Marelle Giveaway

These are the last La Marelle items I have left over to give away. The winner of this giveaway will receive two small notebooks, a bigger notebook, two bookmarks, a necklace, a pair of earrings and a pouch. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

    I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international. 

Sign Up for the January New Release Giveaway Hop!

This giveaway hop is especially for books that will be released in January 2015. 

- The prize has to be a book that has been published in January 2015, both ebooks and paperbacks are allowed.

- You can also give away additional items like bookmarks, gift cards, etc. as an extra prize.

- Don't use too many entries. I won't be really strict, but keep it easy for people to enter.

- Please be clear if you will be sending worldwide or not. Put it in the linky, so people will know. As you can send books via the Bookdepository for free, it would be great if you could send worldwide.

- Add the linky to your blog post ( I will send all the necessary information to you by email a few days before the start of the hop ).

- Please keep this hop family friendly

About Lavender's Serial

Lavender is a 29 year old woman who works as a librarian. Her birthday is June 30th which is a perfect match for her sunny and happy character. Family, friends and colleagues are very important in her life. She has a big heart and wants to share it with everyone. Lavender is single, she's a romantic who's always looking for the one, but so far she hasn't met him yet. That doesn't prevent her from having fun and making the most of her life. 

Everything about Lavender is fiction, written by Suzanne, she's a made up character who hasn't been based on anyone in particular. The same goes for everyone in her life. If there's any resemblance with the people I know it's a coincidence. Of course Lavender's stories are protected by copyright.

Cute Stationery and Stickers Giveaway

For me there's nothing better than receiving hand written mail in my mailbox. It always brightens up my day to get a letter, a card or happy mail. With this prize you can create your own cute mail. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international. 

True Colors Giveaway

I love True Colors by Krysten Lindsay Hager, it's such a wonderful book and I can't praise it enough. That's why I'm so happy to host this giveaway. Krysten has sent me a signed notebook and several signed bookmarks to give away to a very lucky winner. The first winner of this giveaway will receive the ebook, the notebook, the bracelet and two bookmarks. The second winner will get the ebook and two signed bookmarks. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international. 

Pink Giveaway!

I love pink! Enter to win this giveaway in my favorite color. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international.

My Top Books of the Year 3

 
I'm very happy with the books I've read in 2014. This is my third list, but instead of eight I now have ten books on it, because in the last days of the year I've read two amazing books. You can win one or more books from this list worth $17 in total either from The Bookdepository or Amazon. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international.

Kawaii Happy Mail Giveaway

I'm starting the new year by giving away some items that I love. Kawaii stationery and stickers always make great happy mail. I hope you like it and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international.

Snowed In Giveaway Hop

If I'd be snowed in, The King's Sister is the perfect book to spend my days with. I will give away a paperback copy of this book together with a book of choice worth 10 euros and happy mail. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will contact the winner on twitter or via Facebook. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international.