The Birthday Book Tag!

Happy Birthday To My Favorite Human!

Hi guys! So today, my sister Pooja turns nineteen and since it's the first time since we've known each other that I'm far, far away from her on her birthday, I thought I would dedicate today's post entirely to her ^^

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The Birthday Book Tag

So I found a really fun birthday book tag which was created by YouTuber BrunetteBibliphile, and whose original video you can watch here, and I adapted it for this post by changing a couple of questions. Then, earlier this morning, I sent the questions to my sister and asked her to answer them for me. Since we were on Skype together when she answered them, it was actually super fun to do the tag!

And so, here are all the answers of the birthday girl ^^

1. Count your birth date along your bookshelf. Then subtract your birth month and go back the same number of books. What book does it land on?

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Her birthday being on the 22nd of July, she first counted 22 books and then went back 7 books, eventually landing on An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. 

2. If you could spend your birthday with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

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Pooja: Peeta Mellark from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 'cause I get a feeling he'd sit down and listen to all my problems with real concern. Plus, he's more relatable than other male characters. And he's sooo cute and kind! 

3. Find a book that takes place in the season you were born in.

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Since in Mauritius July is in Winter, she went with Born in Ice by Nora Roberts, also set during Winter.

4. If you could have a cake inspired by a book, which book would it be?

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Pooja: Harry Potter of course!

5. Name a well-loved book you either read on your birthday or received for your birthday.

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Pooja: A Royal Wedding, the long awaited book 11 in the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, which was her gift from last year. *Mia and Michael finally get married!* Oops, spoiler alert! 

Memories of another birthday...

Today I can't help but also feel a little nostalgic and remember the last time we celebrated Pooja's birthday together. Last year, since I knew we wouldn't be together for her next birthday, I went all out for her 18th birthday and threw her a Harry Potter party. It was a great day and is totally one of my best memories ever. Like if you'd ask me to pick a happy memory to cast a Patronus spell, I would probably pick that one ^^ We had all those Harry Potter themed props and treats and it was just lots of fun. 

And now I'm going to leave you with some throwback pictures of that Harry Potter birthday party. If you want to see the full post where I shared all the pictures and stories from that day, click here ^^

I send you lots of hugs and kisses Pooja and I hope you have an amazing day! And once again...

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23 Things You Don't Know About Me! - A Birthday Special

Hi guys! So today it's my birthday :) If you read my previous post, you already know that on the 18th I was also celebrating my blog anniversary. If you want to also check out that post, you can do so by clicking here.

So, today I turn 23. I wasn't quite sure what to write in today's post but since I'm a relatively new blogger around here, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you a little about me. So in honor of my 23rd birthday, here are 23 things you probably didn't know about me!

1. My earliest memories go back to when I was 2 years old.

2. My two biggest fandoms are Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter.

3. I wish I could wear boots all year round because they are my favs. 

4. My dream birthday party would be an Alice in Wonderland themed one.

5. I’ve known my two best friends, Laetitia and Meghna, for 11 years. We still talk almost everyday!

6. My favorite songs are the Swan Lake theme by Tchaikovsky, The Color of the Wind from Pocahontas, the Phantom of the Opera theme song and anything by Evanescence. Yes, my tastes are all over the place, I know. 

7. And yes, I absolutely love ballet. My favorites are Swan Lake and Giselle.

8. My favorite dessert flavors are salted caramel, chocolate and crème brûlée.

9. Sailor Moon was my earliest favorite character. I was 4 or 5 years old at the time.

10. In books that have love triangles, I always root for the guy the main character ends up ditching…

11. Back during my teen days, my hair used to be so long it reached well past my knees!

12.  Tea and water are pretty much the only things I’m allowed to drink due to a stomach condition I have. No milkshake or wine for this girl!

13. I’m a huge Disney fan. My favorite movie is Pocahontas and my favorite male and female leads are John Smith and Ariel respectively.

14. I live on an island but I don’t know how to swim.

15. I love Christmas and board games so much that last Christmas I made my own Christmas-themed board game, complete with a board with actual tiles, a wheel you can spin and playing cards!

16. Lestat, from Anne Rice’s books, was my first literary crush. He remains to this day both my biggest literary crush and my favorite book character.

17. My dream Halloween costume would be of a gender-bent Mad Hatter.

18. My favorite season is winter but if I lived in a country where you actually have four seasons, Fall would be my favorite season. I love my boots and warm clothes and really, really can’t stand the heat of the summer months. 

19. I named our first dog, a German Shepherd, Zazu after the bird in The Lion King. I won’t apologize. I was 4…

20. My favorite time to read is in the morning during my breakfast.

21. Each time I watch the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter movies, I close my eyes at the spider scenes and wait for my little sister to tell me when I can open them again. Yes, you read that right: My little sister.

22. My favorite TV series is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

23. I love Halloween but I have actually never seen a pumpkin in real life!

So those were 23 things about me I thought I would share with you today. As always, your comments are most welcome. Later guys ^^

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P.S. On a completely random note, who else loves Charmed?! I would say it's my favorite TV series right after Buffy. Yep, I love me my 90's shows ^^

My 1 Year Blog Anniversary: Thank You Notes!

Hi guys! Today it's my 1 year blog anniversary ^^ Woohoo! In today's post, I want to say thank you. Simply and honestly :) 

Whew, I can't believe it's been one year already! When I first started this blog, on the 18th of February 2015, I didn't really know what I was doing. I kind of sleepwalked my way into creating this blog. I'm not kidding. It was like 1 o'clock in the morning or something. Just a few hours less and my anniversary would actually be on a completely different date XD

My Thank You Notes

To: My Lovely Fellow Bloggers

Firstly, I have to thank my fellow blogger friends. It's from you guys that I learnt the gist of blogging! Many of you were very forthcoming with tips and encouraging messages, which was really lovely of you. It took me some time to get the hang of things but your support and comments definitely gave me the push to keep learning and posting, so thank you lovely bloggers ^^ 

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To: My readers and followers

I must also thank you, my readers and followers. After all, without all your comments and feedback, writing and posting wouldn't be as meaningful as it now is. So thank you for taking an interest in what I have to say and for following Of Stacks and Cups!

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To: The loveliest of families and my friends 

I can't complete this round of thank you notes without mentioning my family and friends. Thanks dad for often being the first person to read my newest post. And thanks mum for listening to my troubles and encouraging me, even when you have no idea what I'm blabbing about. And of course, thanks Pooja for being such a lovely and supportive sister ^^ 

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Thanks Kenita for making me believe I could do it! Thanks for sharing my posts and being such a supportive follower back when I had almost no followers. Titia, Megs, Ashna and Jess, thanks for being among the first visitors on my blog! Titia, I wasn't sure my reviews were actually helping anyone until you said you enjoyed reading them. I had even temporarily given up on them but following one of our conversation, I started writing them again. Basically, thanks for being there ladies! 

So that's it for this blog anniversary post guys. Can you guess what my next post will be? My birthday post!!! Yep, my blog and I actually have our birthdays just a few days apart. So look forward for that post and as always, your comments are much appreciated!

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Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo