Favorite Parts of the Holiday Season

I love December. Red and green are everywhere, people are excited and cheery, and anticipation is building for this coming Wednesday.

The Christmas season is special to me for so many reasons. If I listed them all, this post would probably wind up being a novel. So, here's my Top Five Christmas Favorites. Or, my favorite parts of the most wonderful time of the year.

5. ALL the Holiday Drinks

I've loved ordering Holiday drinks from Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, or just using holiday coffee for my Keurig at home. Favorites: Starbucks' PSL and Chestnut Praline lattes, and Dunkin' Donuts' Salted Caramel hot chocolate.

4. Decorations

Whether I'm in my hometown or at the mall, I love seeing the red and green ribbons, Christmas lights, and everything else that's festive covering the interior or exterior of buildings and shops. And, of course, I love the decorations inside and outside my home. (Not to mention houses near mine do an excellent job at decorating their porches and yards with lights.) :)

3. Parties & Festivals

This season is the season for festivities. From Dirty Santa gift exchanges to family gatherings, I always get so excited for the parties this season. Also, I love the Christmas Carol-themed festival that my hometown puts on every year. My friends and I went this year, and I documented our adventure in this post. Speaking of friends...

2. Seeing Friends and Loved Ones

I usually get to see so many people during the season. Whether friends come up from school, or my family and I go down to see relatives, I love seeing everyone.

I also like to partake in traditions with folks I love, whether it's amazing cinnamon red-hot cider or watching the same Christmas movies we love every year.

1. Giving

Most of all, I love the joy that comes from giving gifts to family and friends this season. I believe giving is better than receiving, and there's nothing quite like sharing happiness with others. Also, I find even more joy in giving others my time. Spending time with people you love - making memories, enjoying the season - is the best.

However, the greatest joy of all comes from celebrating Jesus' birth. I'm so thankful that God sent His Son to us here on Earth to give the gift of salvation to every one of us. Maybe that's why I love giving gifts so much; it's because I'm so thankful for the gift He gave me.

What's your favorite part of this season? :)

Thoughts on Pages #12: Snow Like Ashes

photo credit

I. love. this. book.

And in today's review, I'm about to tell you why.

Storyline

"Game of Thrones meets Graceling in this striking fantasy tale of dark magic, dangerous politics, and discovering your true self.  Sara Raasch’s debut fantasy is a lightning-fast story of loyalty, love, and controlling one’s destiny.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. The Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been searching for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild their kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, Winter’s future king—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of half of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself—only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics, and to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own."

Characters

Snow Like Ashes has some of the most complex, interesting characters I've seen in a YA Fantasy. Meira - the heroine of this story - is absolutely no exception. She surprised me again and again with every page, because not only did she go through the most extensive development, but she also kept me invested in her thoughts. The first-person narrative really let me in on why Meira felt a certain way, or why she wants to be a valuable soldier so badly.

The supporting cast - the refugees, mainly - are excellently written. Some characters frustrated me with confusing motives (I'm looking at you, Sir), but their development throughout the story added to the plot and even drove it in some instances. The villains are also fabulously dastardly and well-written.

There is a love triangle, but it's one of the best ones I've ever seen. Both guys are interesting characters. Both characters' romantic subplots were also very well-written, and their romantic scenes had this epic quality that I loved. While I do have a favorite, I will be happy with whoever Meira ends up with. 

Setting

Besides Meira as a character, the setting is one of the high points of this novel.

The entire story takes place within kingdoms based on seasons (called Seasons), and in surrounding kingdoms called Rhythms. Some of the cities within each season even fit the weather they experience (Jannuari in Winter and Abril in Spring). Each kingdom has specific characteristics (white hair for Winterians and blonde hair in Spring, for example), and each kingdom's season perpetually experiences their respective climate. 

The setting is beautifully simple, and it's easy to grasp once you get into the story. I felt that the kingdoms were an excellent backdrop for the epic plot to unfold. The magic in the story also really cool and makes sense with the plot, and I'm intrigued to see how it's used in the rest of the series.

My Thoughts

Did I mention that I love this book?

The plot of the story was GORGEOUS, and the narrative was only made better through an incredible protagonist, solid romance subplots, and a plot twist that made me want to literally applaud the book as I was reading it. To say that I'm excited for the next books in the series is an understatement. :)

So, I give Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch five Conduits out of five. This is easily one of my Top 5 books I've read this year, and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

Hey! :) Want to see what I'm reading now and what I'm into? Check out and follow me on my Goodreads!

A Dickens of a Christmas!

Two dear friends of mine from college came up to Franklin for the weekend to visit. At the same time, there was a festival going on titled "Dickens of a Christmas". What did we do? We checked it out, of course! :)

"Dickens of a Christmas" is Franklin's huge winter festival that takes place downtown. There are plenty of vendors who sell all kinds of wares, from crafts to really, really good food. The fun part about "Dickens of a Christmas" is that it's what would happen if Main Street time-traveled to Victorian England. Not to mention the fact that characters from "A Christmas Carol" walk the streets, including the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and Scrooge himself.

This year, the festival was a lot more crowded (see image above...Marley's Ghost was in that crowd somewhere), so re-enactors and street performers were more spread out amongst the festival attendants. Nevertheless, it's always so much fun to bring my friends back to my hometown to see it in such a unique way. :)

Top 7 Christmas Tracks

I love Christmas music. It's the icing on the cake that is the holiday season, and listening to it brings back memories from my childhood and just gets me excited for Christmas in general.

So, from a dubstep remix to acapella to sweet winter ballads (and one that gives me chills every time I hear it [read: track two]), here are the Christmas tracks I've been loving this season. If you have Spotify, just click Play on any of these tracks to listen. :)

1. Carol of the Bells - Capital Kings

2. How Many Kings - Downhere

3. I'll Be Home - Megan Trainor

4. Winter Song - Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

5. The First Noel - Tobymac feat. Owl City

6. Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World

7. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy - Pentatonix

What songs have been your favorite this Christmas season?

The Wanderlust Tag

I discovered a tag circulating around called "The Wanderlust Tag" (To whomever made this tag...you're awesome!). Since I've been traveling quite a bit lately (and have a really cool trip coming up soon!), I thought this tag would be fun to adapt to the blog. :) Plus, I thought it'd bring back some memories.

Ready? Let's get into it!


Where was your first plane to?
Atlanta, I think. :)

Where have you travelled to that you would love to visit again?
London, England; Venice, Italy; Florence, Italy; Rome, Italy; Paris (in the winter); Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Vancouver, BC, Canada.

You’re leaving tomorrow, and money is no object. Where are you going?
LONDON.

Preferred method of travel: planes, trains, or car?
It's a tie between planes and trains. We don't really have trains near where I live, so it's nice to ride them when I can.

Favorite travel website?
The travel blogs I've absolutely been loving lately are History in High Heels, Team Wiking, and Hitha on the Go. They have amazing travel tips, many of which I've pinned to my travel board on Pinterest.

Where would you travel just to eat the food?
Anywhere in France. There was a place in Saint Malo where I had the best toffee-flavored sundae. (Although I wouldn't mind having a curry in London again.)

Is there a place you would never go again?
Pompeii. It's too touristy for my tastes. However, I wouldn't mind hiking Mount Vesuvius.

Do you prefer Window, Aisle, or Middle Seat on planes?
Depends on the plane. On domestic flights, I like the window seat, but on international flights, I love anywhere in the middle row.

How do you pass the time on an airplane?
Oh, lots of ways. I enjoy reading, listening to music, watching a TV episode/movie, or playing some sort of game to pass the time. However, I can't sleep on the plane, so coffee is pretty much required after a long flight.