In case you missed it ...

Happy Wednesday! I have two very quick things for you today:

1) If you missed it yesterday, I blogged about my spring wishlist over at Live Beautifully. Jen had a great idea for a series of guest posts, and I was more than happy to participate!

A little sneak peek of what you can see over at Jen's blog.

2) I'm almost done with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and I don't think I've ever highlighted so many passages on my Kindle before. I created a little graphic out of one of my favorite quotes thus far:

Photo of Piran, Slovenia, via Conde Nast Traveler; design by Megan

What have you been up to this week?

Spring into Chevron

When I first started linking up with {av} for Friday's Fancies last January, I had no style. I have since developed minimal style, and I'm proud to say I could put together a very similar outfit to the one below from my current wardrobe, except for the skirt. I am definitely on the hunt for some flirty skirts for this spring!

Spring into Chevron by mcszr3

The best part? Each of these items (except the watch) costs less than $50!

How did you celebrate the first day of spring? Personally, I snowshoed up a small mountain in Vermont with some Alpha Delta Pi sisters from UVM. It was beautiful and I wouldn't have had it any other way!

P.S. — Check back on Tuesday for my spring wish list with Jen from Live Beautifully!

Literary Junkies: March 2013

I know, I know. Another bookish link-up? This might as well be a book blog. I promise I have some non-book posts in store soon, and I hope to catch up on my European adventures by the end of the month. If you didn't see my photo post of Vienna this weekend, you should definitely check it out. There's more where that came from! But until then ...

Today, I'm participating in my first Literary Junkies link-up, hosted by By the Porchlight and Pink Heels Pink Truck. I've been active in the Facebook group for a while, but this is the first time I've actually sat down and written out my answers to the monthly link-up. Enjoy!

  1. What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.
  

Photo via @mcstroup on Instagram

  Nothing! I know, what an embarrassment, especially on the first week I've actually participated in this fun link-up. I recently opened up my copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on my Kindle, but I haven't read a word. I also bought The White Queen by Philippa Gregory for only $5.99 on my Kindle yesterday, so I'm hoping to break into that one soon.

Cityscape on Camera: Vienna, Austria

Over winter break, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Vienna, Austria, and I wanted to share some photos with y'all. If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen these first four photos, but there were plenty more waiting on my iPhone to be uploaded. :)

Clockwise from top left: The Christmas market near our hotel; tiny mocha drinks; the gorgeous interior of St. Stephen's Cathedral; and Hofburg Palace.

Vienna City Hall, the backdrop for the Christmas market.

The Book Chat: Favorite Setting

I'm guessing I'm going to be in the vast majority of book chatters today when I pick the Wizarding World for my favorite setting. I usually try to stay away from the Harry Potter books for Book Chat prompts, considering I used them so often for my 30-Day Book Challenge series last year, but nothing else compares this week.

It's not just the beauty of the setting that caused me to pick the Wizarding World. Yes, Hogwarts is majestic and mysterious; and yes, Diagon Alley is bustling and bursting at the seams with magical glory; and yes, Hogsmeade is quaint and full of character. Even the evil settings in Harry Potter have a terrifying beauty about them (I'm thinking The Cave).

Source: oldfashionedreaming.tumblr.com viaMegan on Pinterest

Advice Needed: Stylish Walking Shoes for Europe

I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but I'm in the midst of planning a six-week backpacking trip across Europe with my sister, brother and boyfriend this summer. (Eep!) I've been searching for the perfect pair of shoes to wear on this trip: A pair that matches everything, isn't too bulky to pack and will keep my feet comfortable even after walking down cobblestone streets for hours on end each day. I then realized I have the perfect people at my disposal to help me with this conundrum: my loyal readers! I know many of you are avid travelers, because that's probably what attracted me to your blog in the first place, so I would appreciate any tips or insight you have! I've highlighted a few options below, but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Photo of Prague by Tambako by Jaguar; design by Megan

The Top 10 Books on my Spring TBR List

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I love Jessica's weekly Book Chat link-up over at Sweet Green Tangerine, and last week she introduced me to yet another book link-up. Today, I'm participating in my first Top Ten Tuesday link-up, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. The topic? The top ten books I want to read this spring. I went through the 292 books on my to-read list on Goodreads and picked ten books to move to the top of my spring list. They are in no particular order; some are on here simply because I already have copies and haven't read them, others because I've read rave reviews from my fellow bloggers, and others because I've had good experiences with the authors:

2012 Book Challenges in Review

Last year, I discovered the world of reading challenges! I also hosted two of my own book challenges, one in the summer and another in the winter that spilled into 2013. I realize 2012 is now over, so I wanted to get rid of my 2012 Book Challenges tab, but I also wanted to make sure I preserved my completed (and attempted) challenges somewhere, so I'm including my progress below.

Have you ever participated in a reading challenge? I'll be doing another one this summer, so check back on April 15 for the categories! :)

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How to Celebrate International Women's Day

In honor of International Women's Day and National Ritual Celebration Week, I wanted to share a very important organization with my readers today. I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, and today seemed like the perfect day.

As you probably know if you read my blog, I am a sorority woman. A few years ago, several sorority alumnae came together to create Circle of Sisterhood, an organization that raises money and awareness to help remove barriers to education for women around the world. When I was a junior at the University of Missouri, I had the opportunity to help start our very own chapter of the Circle of Sisterhood, so it is an organization I am personally invested in and proud of. If you have two minutes and 38 seconds and want to know more, please watch this video.

"Our mission: The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation will leverage the collective wisdom and influence of sorority women to support entities around the world that remove educational barriers for girls and women, uplifting them from poverty and oppression."

What can you (and I) do to help this organization flourish and continue to provide opportunities to our sisters around the world? We can donate, tweet, educate ourselves and others, and be grateful for all the opportunities and privileges we have as women in first-world countries, including whatever device you're using to read this post. (And, of course, support of this organization is not limited to sorority women!)

I know I don't often promote other services/organizations on this blog, so I hope you didn't mind this post today and that it shows you how much I really do believe in this organization. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and hug a woman who means a lot to you today. Thank you all for being such important women and friends in my life!

The Book Chat: Abandoning Books

I don't know how Jessica keeps coming up with such great Book Chat topics week after week, but somehow she does! And this week is no exception:


I almost never abandon books. Books are our friends! I always tell myself it might get better, and I always want to know what happens in the end (which is why I picked up Fifty Shades Freed yesterday, even though I hated the first two books). However, I am always disappointed when I finish a book and know I should have spent my time reading one of the 291 books on my TBR list. Here are a few books I wish I had abandoned:

International Badge Day 2013

Happy International Badge Day, sorority women! Each year, the National Panhellenic Conference designates a day for all sorority women—both collegians and alumnae—to wear their sorority badge with pride. Today I'm linking up with Whitney and Autumn to share a few memories of my collegiate sorority experience in honor of this special day.

Design and photos by Megan. Wallpaper by Wallope.

Photo A Day: January

So I may be absent from Instagram right now, but I made these collages a while ago, so this is still okay, right?

1. I saw Les Miserables my first day back in the States over winter break.
2. I also actually got to watch the new episode of SVU on real television. That never happens!
3. I posted this little beauty on my 100-month anniversary. <3