Lifestyle

Happy 27th Birthday to Me

Today, is my 27th birthday.

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I decided to celebrate with a Get To Know Me post because I haven’t done one in, well, ever. Since I have over 6,000 followers, I thought it might be time for you to know more about me as the blogger and person.

  • I was born and raised in Ames, Iowa, which is known for being the home of Iowa State University. You’re welcome for peanut butter; George Washington Carver discovered that gem about a mile away from my parents’ house.
  • I’m allergic to peanut butter, but didn’t develop that allergy until I was 17. So I know exactly what I’m missing.
  • I went to Cornell College and  majored in Literature, French, and Russian with an Emphasis in Literary Translation and Analysis. Yup. It’s a mouth full.
  • I speak English, French, and Russian. My Spanish is passible. My German is marginal at best.
  • I am a freelance editor, writer, and translator. I would love to do more writing.
  • I hate wearing pants. I work from home, so I never have to wear pants. My dog starts having mild anxiety attacks whenever I pull pants out of the drawer because she knows that means I’m leaving the house.
  • I lived in Aix-en-Provence, which is in Southern France, for a bit during college. If I could live anywhere, I would live there. I also spent some a summer studying literary translation in London.
  • I travel all the time because I love it. My dream would be to get paid to travel with my dog.
  • My dog is named Beauvoir – for Simone de Beauvoir – but she goes by Beau. She’s a rescue, who I brought home a year and three months ago. She is almost three years old and is the light of my life.
  • My favorite genre to read is literary fiction. Although, I also really love British history.
  • The top five places I want to see: India, Nigeria, Algeria, Ireland, and Bali.
  • I have a passion for advocacy and volunteering. I have spoken and written about my past with sexual and domestic violence because it is really important to me to try and change the world we live in.
  • I trained to be a ballerina for years, but stopped because I was too tall to be a ballerina and I had a bunch of injuries.
  • I am incredibly goofy and weird. I sing and dance around the house constantly. I tell jokes a lot because I love making people laugh.
  • I love fashion and looking good, and I always have. When I was little, my grandma used to make me clothes, and everyone loved them.
  • I love fashion, but shopping is a pain in the ass because I’m 5’10”. Clothes, in my budget, are not made for people this height. UGH!!!
  • I hate working out. With a passion. I like going for walks, but working out is the worst.
  • I LOVE food. I love eating, cooking, baking, and learning about food. I am pretty sure I ate my way through Europe.

There’s a bunch of random information about me.

In my 27th year living, I am focusing on doing. Doing the things I have wanted to do, doing the things I’ve been scared to do, doing the things I should do, and doing more. So that’s my goal! I wrote more about it on my personal blog Unashamed Truths about my Year of Doing.

 

 

 

Lifestyle

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Thank you all for following me on my literary lifestyle. It’s grown far more than my wildest dreams could have imagined. Really, I’m still very new; I began this blog a year and one week ago. So thank you! May we continue our journey for many years to come. This community I have become a part of through my blog, Bookstagram (Instagram), Twitter, Litsy, GoodReads, and more has expanded my life in so many ways. Part of me wishes I would have started doing this years ago. Better late than never!

Looking back at 2017: WOW.

I moved to Houston in October, 2016 with the intent to risk so much and dedicate myself completely to freelancing. I quickly realized: a) I lived in a city where I didn’t know anyone b) I had never not worked in an office or some job outside of the home, so what would I do with my  c) I needed a hobby aside from reading and baking d) I was very bored and lonely. My best friend had been bothering me for years to start blogging about books. I was reading a lot in my new home. I posted a couple pictures on Instagram about my late night reading garnering far more likes and interaction than the previous four years had ever seen. The idea hit. I would start a blog and social media presence dedicated to books, which would give me something to do with my free time and all those darn books I read.

Here we are.

I spent 2017 reading, blogging, traveling, and spending time with my dog. I read a whole bunch of books with the intent of rereading books on my shelf and exploring authors of diverse backgrounds. I did very little rereading but a whole lot of diversity reading. My bookstagram took off like wildfire, and I started receiving books from authors and publishers, which is a bookworm’s dream come true really. I was able to travel all over the country seeing friends in Chicago, Iowa, Minnesota, Los Angeles, San Diego, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, and more. I may be tired of road trips for awhile. I did a bunch of freelancing (shameless plug: I’m always open for more!). I adopted my dog, Beauvoir, in February naming her after the author and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. I tried to explore my new home, Houston, but I have so much more to see. I had some serious downs in 2017 specifically health troubles, but I have done everything in my power to keep it from holding me back from living a spectacularly exciting life.

With a little bitter sweetness I am saying goodbye to 2017 looking forward to 2018. After such a wonderful year, it’s hard not to be a little apprehensive of the year to come. I am looking ahead with optimism. My reading list is long and ever growing. I already have a few trips planned. I am going to start blogging with a new found vengeance because I love it, and I have a bunch of ideas!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you for following along, supporting, and enjoying this bookish thing I love so much. I look forward to another year full of adventures, books, friends, and new experiences.

RaeAnna Rekemeyer
Founder of Bookish Liaisons