Endless Bliss | Happy Lifestyle Blog

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven | Book Review

Last week, on my commute to and from Las Colinas, TX (right outside of Dallas), I listened to the most incredible audio book called All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It tells the story of two main characters:
1) Theo who has always had a fascination with death and who's always been on the cusp of suicide. He's curious about how death will feel and what happens after you die and how he's going to leave the world. He's spent most of his life being judged by his peers because he's unapologetic about what he loves, and he's always felt that if he wants to do something, it needs to be done right then. He has periods of extreme highs and horrible lows, and because of that, no one really knows what to do with him. His family mostly ignores his antics and his peers constantly make fun of him and call him names.
2) Violet who has spent the last year mourning the loss of her older sister who died in a car accident that she was in as well. She tiptoes around and uses her sister's death as a way to get out of school assignments and dismiss anyone who tries to get close to her, including her school counselor, her parents, and her so-called friends. She's lost her passion for writing and her life is just at a stand still.
It was easy to fall in love with these characters, and this book really does take you on an emotional rollercoaster. Jennifer Niven takes you into the perspective of people who have considered taking their own lives, and I think it provides readers with a unique view on something that more people should try to understand.
You can watch my full video review below and also hear a few of my thoughts on suicide. I also share a little bit about the Always Keep Fighting campaign that Jared Padalecki started with his Represent t-shirt campaign.

I give this book a 5 out of 5. I'm blown away by the fact that this is Jennifer Niven's debut YA novel, because it was seriously incredible.

Who needs sleep when you're at the end of a really good book? #AllTheBrightPlaces #bookwormproblems @jenniferniven 📖😨
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) April 10, 2015

For more from Jennifer, visit her official website and follow her on Twitter!

Out with the Cold, In with the Sunshine: Winter to Spring Fashion

Even though I'm a December baby, I've never been too fond of winter. Yes, Christmas is my favorite holiday and ringing in the new year with champagne and friends can be fun, but I hate having to wait 20 years (#dramatic) for my car's heater to get me warm enough to stop shivering, and I hate having to bundle up just to take my dogs outside, and I hate that my electricity bill shoots through the roof because I don't like being cold. It's just all so inconvenient.
Spring, however, I can get down with (most days - minus the bugs and the pollen and my hair's frizziness from the rain and...). I love when the sun is shining, and I can ride in the car with the windows down with it being that perfect temperature between freezing cold and unbelievably hot. Fall will always be my favorite season, but for now, I'll take spring.
One upside to winter is that when I do take the time to put together an outfit, I get to have fun and experiment with layering. You can take different pieces and pair them with something else to create a variety of combinations for outfits. In the spring, it's obviously warmer, so you don't always have the luxury to put together so many combinations, but I love when some of my winter pieces can be transformed into something I can wear for spring, which is why I'm collaborating with my friend, Erica from Coming Up Roses, to bring you a couple pieces that you can easily transform from winter to spring. Erica lives in Philadelphia, which I've only gone to once, but if I got to go again, you can only imagine the havoc the two of us would wreak on the city together. She's a Philly fashionista, and she's also a newbie YouTuber like me! Check out her channel here.
During winter, I wore the mess out of all my leggings (not literally; I just mean that I wore leggings a lot because I love them). Because Louisiana doesn't always get uncomfortably cold (minus a few weeks, give or take, that are usually randomly scattered throughout the winter months), I didn't have to wear a heavy jacket every day. Some days, I could just wear a long-sleeved top or a sweater and get away with it (especially because I work in an office eight hours a day, and the temperature in my office is always the opposite of what it is outside).

Sweater | thrifted, originally from Forever 21 Skater Skirt | H&M Leggings | Wal-Mart Booties | Burlington Coat Factory Scarf | Target
For spring, I, of course, lose the leggings (unfortunately, because that means I actually have to shave my legs - another upside to winter). While I wear leggings a lot in winter, I wear flower crowns all the time during spring. I think it's appropriate with the flowers blooming and all. I also love sporting string bracelets and bringing out my inner bohemian.

Sheer Blouse | Forever 21 Skater Skirt | H&M Flower Crown | Icing Bracelets | Children's Cup, Threads of Hope, Taylor Swift, homemade from camp counselor days, etc.
Check out Erica's blog to see how she transforms a beautiful pair of booties from winter to spring!
What are your favorite winter to spring pieces?

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Did someone say partayyyyy??? Celebrate 3 Years with The Grand Adventures of Me and her friends with a Giveaway! With this giveaway you'll enter for a chance to win $50 to Target (just in time for the Lily Pulitzer collection to come out!), a DIY mug design of YOUR choice, and fresh Appalachian Morning Coffee from Nina's favorite and local coffee shop.

the grand adventures of me || the new wifestyle ||
emily finta || endless bliss || reckless

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Meet Llinos from The Lilac Linnet

Hi everyone, I'm Llinos and I would love to welcome you to The Lilac Linnet! I am 28 and I live in Cardiff, UK. I blog about my hobbies such as crochet, reading and crafting. I also write about my health issues, including my time as a cancer patient.
Get your feet wet with these posts:

Oh My Ovary

Short Story: The Night of the Note

I Am a Fangirl After All

Guinea Pig Takeover

What 3 words describe you?

Introverted, strong, creative

What's your favorite part about blogging?

Thinking up blog posts and writing them up. I love the feeling of inspiration and adrenaline when a fun idea hits!

What are you looking forward to this spring?

I'm starting a new day job, so I hope to enjoy that and settle into my new workplace. Also, being active and outdoors, I want to take lots of walks and enjoy nature. Also, the fashion - I want to enjoy wearing lighter clothes and bright colours.

What are three things you want to accomplish in 2015?

My novel! It's slow going but I want to complete it. It's a magical story about a duchess who rules over a mystical kingdom. I also want to set up my Etsy shop, I just need to have good photos of my products and I am ready to go. I have achieved one other goal already; to accept sponsorship on my blog.

What song are you currently obsessed with?

David Guetta and Emeli Sande - What I did for Love

What's your favorite book?

This is constantly changing, but in this moment I will say The Girl on the Train. I couldn't take my eyes off the page and I recommend it to everyone, it's such a fast paced thriller which sucks you in.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would go to the Loire Valley in France, and visit the castle where Mary Queen of Scots grew up. I am fascinated by her story. Then I would go for a meal at a riverside restaurant and sample the French cuisine on offer.

What's one thing on your bucket list?

When I'm an old lady, I want to look back on my life and feel that I have helped others. Through my writing, through sharing the tough experiences of my life, through small kind gestures... I want others to say 'Llinos inspired me and believed in me.' We all are amazing beings and I want to support others to see that.

Where is your happy place?

My house. I live in a two bedroom terraced house with my guinea pigs, Maggie and Lily, and my boyfriend, Oliver. I love spending time together.

Name 3 people who inspire you and why.

Do my parents count as one?! I'm an only child and although I live 200 miles from them, I still feel close to them. I'm also inspired by strong women like Malala and even figures from history such as Queen Elizabeth I. Women's stories are hugely inspiring to me, whether they are being told today or 500 years ago.

Want to see more from Llinos?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin

My Spring Essentials

I've seriously been loving all of this sunshine. I've been spending as much time outside as possible just reading, catching up on YouTube videos, and playing with the dogs. I only wish I could temporarily transfer my office outside so I could enjoy the sunshine just a little more. These are a few things that I need (okay, not really need, but love to have) during spring.

1 | A GOOD BOOK This is also a year-round essential, appropriate for all occasions. Pictured is This Song Will Save Your Life by Lelia Sales. I love this book, and I also adore Leila Sales. I recently just finished reading All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, which was absolutely incredible, and I'm currently reading The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks for #BlissfulBookTalk and listening to I Was Here by Gayle Forman.
2 | ORANGE BEAUTY PRODUCTS I've really been loving this NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Orange. This is the first cream blush I've ever tried, and I love how fresh it looks and how long-lasting it is.
3 | NEUTROGENA NATURALS PURIFYING MAKEUP REMOVER CLEANSING TOWELETTES I love using makeup remover wipes, and I've tried a few different brands before discovering these towelettes by Neutrogena. They feel great on my skin and leave my face feeling fresh, and unlike some makeup remover wipes, just one towelette does the trick! They're made from 100% renewable fiber, which helps leave skin purified and fresh and healthy-looking.
The Neutrogena Naturals line has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to help save water, and every day that you don't use water to clean your face, you can save up to five gallons of water. How amazing is that? You can join the #WipeForWater movement with Kristen Bell and use Neutrogena Naturals wipes to reduce your water footprint.

4 | FLOWER CROWNS I became obsessed with flower crowns last spring, so I'm super excited that flower crown season is officially back! I love wearing flower crowns because they easily brighten up any outfit.
5 | BRIGHT-COLORED NAIL POLISH Spring is the perfect excuse to throw on some bright nail polish. These are a few of my favorite colors at the moment:
// Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Coral Reef // NYC'S In a NY Minute in NY Blues // Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails in Solid as a Rock

6 | A BOTTLE OF WINE Really wine is a year-round essential, because, I mean, wine. I got this Mopina Rosso in my Club W box, and now I'm wondering why I haven't joined a wine club before now. What are your spring essentials?
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary pack of Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes for testing purposes from Influenster.

4 Non-Invasive Ways to Live a Healthier Lifestyle

A lot of people love the idea of living a healthier lifestyle, but sometimes, it's easier said than done. Not everyone has the time or energy (or funds) to join a gym or wake up earlier to go for a run or switch to a healthier diet. Here are four ways for you to live a healthier lifestyle without dishing out too much money or completely changing around your daily schedule.
START YOUR MORNING WITH LEMON WATER If you didn't already know, lemons have amazing benefits and can do awesome things for your body, especially long-term. Check out this article from Huffington Post for a little extra info.
Try out this super easy recipe, and drink it every morning on an empty stomach: Squeeze half a lemon into a standard-sized mug. Boil some water and fill three-quarters of the way. Put in a splash of cold water to cool it down a little, and drink immediately.
DRINK MORE WATER Lemon water is awesome, but water in general also has many benefits, including preventing fatigue, clearing your skin, and aiding in weight loss. It's commonly recommended to drink at least 8 8-oz glasses of water each day, which is about half a gallon. Water has always been my drink of choice, and the great thing about it is that it goes great with all meals.
INCORPORATE MORE SALADS INTO YOUR WEEKLY MEALS I think we all know the benefits of eating your veggies. I don't know about you, but I don't like most vegetables. I'll eat spinach, corn, and the occasional carrot, but that's about it. I do enjoy a good salad every once in awhile. I've recently fallen in love with Wendy's Salads. Their vegetables are chopped fresh each day, and they only use premium all-white meat chicken breasts. You can see the journey of the veggies to your plate in these videos.

Even if you're like me, and don't enjoy vegetables, you'll still love their salads, and they have several different kinds to choose from, including my two favorites Spicy Chicken Caesar salad and BBQ Ranch Chicken salad. I love the lemon garlic Caesar dressing that the Spicy Chicken Caesar salad is dressed with.

And of course I love anything with ranch. Their BBQ Ranch Chicken salad was absolutely divine. I love the BBQ ranch dressing, and it also came with croutons on the side that I quickly added to my salad. I got the half size, which is only 300 calories. Insane, right? Plus, it contains two servings of vegetables. You can taste the freshness of the salads, which makes it easy to incorporate them into your meals a few times a week.

TAKE THE STAIRS This is just an old school way of saying walk a little more. You may not want to take daily walks or runs, but that shouldn't stop you from being more active. Even if you don't have stairs around, you should make it a point to take more steps during your day. Skip the elevator, take the scenic route, take a break from your desk and just walk around a little.
What advice would you give someone trying to live a healthier lifestyle?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Meet Kati from Constantly Seeking Wonder

When I graduated from university I noticed with a full time job and more responsibilities my passions kind of fell to the way side and I didn’t want that to be the case. Constantly Seeking Wonder is my source of everyday adventure. It appreciates and connects my community of readers to life’s finer things in small ways in every post. Music, art, entertainment, travel…If those are things you enjoy, Constantly Seeking Wonder is a blog for you!

Get your feet wet with these posts:

I Don’t Believe in Guilty Pleasures

What Almost Famous Taught Me About Life

Hello Spring! (A Playlist)

What 3 words describe you?

Adventurous. Creative. Witty.

What's your favorite part about blogging?

I love the community! I’ve never imagined to find the friendships I have. Having all these connections has taught me so much and inspires me everyday.

Tell us a little bit about your concert photography.

I spend way too much money on concerts is how my concert photography started. I go to around 50 shows a year and one of my customers who is a portrait photographer joked that I should at least try to get something out of it other than a concert high. I started playing around with my digital camera at shows and found that people had genuine interest in my shots. I enjoyed the artistic element too.

From there it kind of snowballed and recently I have begun landing press passes to shoot big events with a high functioning camera. Even if I never become the next tour photographer, it’s already given me so many amazing opportunities.

What are you looking forward to this spring?

I’m from Minnesota where for half of the year it’s freezing and full of snow. While it’s pretty from time to time, you start to get restless. The thing I’m most looking forward to in spring is simply being outside again and fully enjoying it. I can’t wait to lay out in the green grass, soaking up the sunshine, and reading a good book.

What are three things you want to accomplish in 2015?

Travel to Europe. Decide if I want to go to grad school or not. Get backstage at a show for an artist I love. (Hey, a girl can dream.)

What song are you currently obsessed with?

The acoustic re-release of “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones.

What's your favorite book?

I’m going to cheat and say my favorite book is Harry Potter. That way I get seven books that I will never get sick of. No matter how many times I’ve read them I still get sucked in to the imaginative world.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

The United Kingdom! It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to travel around and see every for 4-6 weeks. It’s currently in the planning stages, hopefully I can make it a reality soon!

If you could live a day in the life of anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?

Ooh that’s a tough one. I would’ve loved to live a day through the eyes of Kurt Cobain while he was still alive. He’s such an enigmatic character that saw everything around him in such an interesting and unique light. I think it would add another dimension to an artist that I loved. It also would’ve been incredibly neat to see the making and inspiration of some of my favorite music and tunes that shaped the industry. If I couldn’t do that I’d definitely love to be Hermione Granger for a day.

Where is your happy place?

The place I am the happiest is listening to live music. Whether that be the biggest artist or a local band it never fails to invigorate me.

Name 5 things that make you happy.

Sunshine. Music. Laughter. Travel. My loved ones.

Want more from Kati?

Becoming Bliss | Creating a Happy Playlist.

Even when I'm having the crappiest of days, there's just something about listening to an uplifting song that can pull me right out of it (even if it's just for five minutes). Even though I have no musical abilities whatsoever, music has always been a huge part of my life. Whether I'm on my daily commute to work, putting in my headphones for a workout, or even in the shower, music is almost always playing.
I love Spotify, because 1) a couple years ago, my external hard drive crashed, and I lost almost all my music (and pictures, but that's still a little depressing to talk about), and I didn't feel like going through and re-downloading all of my songs, so I just got a Spotify account. As I mentioned in my What's On My Samsung Galaxy S5 Active video, I have tons of Spotify playlists - some for moods, some for when I'm doing something like working out or going to bed, some are for certain genres of music. I just have lots of playlists, and my most frequently played playlist is my "Happy" playlist.
My "Happy" playlist features of a mix of songs that are either inspirational or make me want to get up and dance or just songs that I'm obsessed with at the moment that instantly put me in a better mood. Like I said before, music helps pull me out of the foulest of moods, which is why I want to encourage you to create a happy playlist of your own.
These are a few songs on my "Happy" playlist:
This Head I Hold by Electric Guest This is one of my favorite songs to get ready to in the morning. The beat is toxic, and I can't help but dance.
Favorite lyrics: See the answer is this / If I wanna be free / I gotta stop playin' round and runnin' from me

Geronimo by Sheppard I love the beat of this song. It really just makes me want to get up and dance. It also makes me feel like I could do anything and everything is a possibility.
Favorite lyrics: We can make this leap / Through the curtains of the waterfall

Give Me Something by Alex and Sierra I feel like I haven't stopped talking about Alex and Sierra. I mentioned them in my last newsletter and in my March Favorites video. I've tweeted about them, and it's all because of my friend, Nina. She suggested them to me on Spotify, and I've been listening to them every day since.
Favorite lyrics: It can be a lonely world / I want forever times forever

Gold by Owl City This song is so inspirational, and I really want Owl City to make a music video for it. I just loving to the "go-oo-oo-oo-old" in the chorus, as well as the rest of the song.
Favorite lyrics: So write it all and don't forget / You gotta tell us your story / Shout out to the friends back home / Shout out to the hearts you've known / You gave them nothing but the best / And you can tell them your story

Happy (cover) by The Gardiner Sisters It wouldn't be a happy playlist without the song "Happy." I love this acoustic version of the song by the Gardiner Sisters. I love how goofy they are.
Favorite lyrics: I should probably warn you I'll be just fine

To hear all the songs on my "Happy" playlist, you can check it out here. I also want to encourage all of you to create a happy playlist of your own!
What songs are on your happy playlist?

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