Friday, December 20, 2013

The time it was seven swans-a-swimming

Swans? WITAF is going on with these gifts? Anyways, here we are for day seven of the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway!


Today we have one of my favorite ladies visiting and sharing a lovely Christmas memory.  Everyone welcome Susan Dennard, AKA SOOZ to the blog!


One of my favorite Christmas memories is from when my husband and I first started dating (back in ye olde 2007). We'd been friends for a few months, but he hadn't yet "made a move". And oh, I liked him so much! And I thought it was pretty clear he liked me back...especially after Thanksgiving when he appeared at my house for our regular Friday night hangout. But THIS time, he had a giant gift in tow.

Basically, he'd made me an Advent calendar: 25 individual wrapped presents that were attached to a long bit of string. The string was meant to be hung across my living room wall, and the gifts had numbers penciled onto the wrapping paper. Each morning, I would scramble out of bed, search for that day's gift, and rip it open...From chocolates to Legos (yes, I still love Legos) to TICKETS TO THE NUTCRACKER, the gifts were varied and thoughtful. Honestly, it was SO ROMANTIC. Certainly, the boy liked me, right?

Well, that year's Christmas reached it's epic awesomeness when we finally used those aforementioned tickets to the Nutcracker a few weeks into December. During the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" my not-yet-husband held my hand! Gasp! I thought I would die. And then a few hours later, once we were back at my house, he asked if he could kiss me, and my only response was, "Finally." ;)

So there you have it: one of my favorite Christmas memories of all time.

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Huge thanks to Sooz for taking the time! Make sure you're following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, subscribing to her blog and adding all of her books on your GoodReads shelves.

And now for the giveaway!!

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.
and
Perfect for readers Libba Bray’s The Diviners and Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel series, this spellbinding sequel to Something Strange and Deadly delivers a mix of intrigue, supernatural forces, intense romance, and revenge, all set against the enchanting backdrop of nineteenth-century Paris.

With her brother dead and her mother insane, Eleanor Fitt is alone. Even the Spirit-Hunters—Joseph, Jie, and the handsome Daniel—have fled to Paris. So when Eleanor hears the vicious barking of hounds and see haunting yellow eyes, she fears that the Dead, and the necromancer Marcus, are after her.

To escape, Eleanor boards a steamer bound for France. There she meets Oliver, a young man who claims to have known her brother. But Oliver harbors a dangerous secret involving necromancy and black magic that entices Eleanor beyond words. If she can resist him, she’ll be fine.

But when she arrives in Paris, she finds that the Dead have taken over, and there’s a whole new evil lurking. And she is forced to make a deadly decision that will go against everything the Spirit-Hunters stand for.
In Paris, there’s a price for this darkness strange and lovely, and it may have Eleanor paying with her life.
That's right.  Up for grabs is a paperback copy of Something Strange and Deadly and a hardcover copy of A Darkness Strange and Lovely. Rules for the giveaway are under "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget. The books will be coming from The Book Depository and this contest is international!

**Good Luck!!**
a Rafflecopter giveaway

57 comments:

  1. i haven't gotten one in years but i do love them
    thank you and happy holidays

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  2. Absolutely! It helps that Advent is my favorite liturgical season!

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  3. I just love them!!! I have two in my house right now!!

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  4. I used to love advent calendars as a kid but it was always an argument who got to move it each day between myself and my siblings. I haven't gotten one in many years!

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  5. I have many years to buy or make one. I've totally forgotten them but I love them.

    Raffle name: Demitra Giote

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  6. Yep, we have one in our house now and we also get chocolate ones!

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  7. I love them because they're a great little way to count down to the holidays and a nice little surprise for each day!

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  8. I don't think I've ever had an advent calendar. But a sweet every day leading up to Christmas sounds awesome.

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  9. I've never had an advent calendar. I've heard mention of them but really didn't look into them until this year. I think next year I'm definitely going to pick one up.

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  10. I've never used one, but I don't really object to them.

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  11. I wish I still did but I haven't had one in years! I really used to love opening up the little windows to find a little surprise every day :)

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  12. I love Advent Calendar, when I was young I used to open every "box" in order to eat all the chocolate! xD
    Thank you so much for the giveaway!! I really appreciate the fact that is international! :D

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  13. I do but I'm bitter b/c my 7 year old wanted the Lego Friends one this year, but apparently they sold out in October? Boo. That hand made one is really sweet though! Future-husband-WIN.

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  14. AAAW Sooooo adorable! I've never had an advent calender, but it sounds like SOOO much fun <3

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  15. Aww! That's so incredibly sweet! I love advent calendars, but I can't really have them because my husband is more the open-everything-now type. :)

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  16. Advent calendars are shiny! We always had one growing up.

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  17. I used to love them as a child but not so much when I grew up, now that I have a child of my own I'm starting back up with the tradition.

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  18. I love them they are so much fun! We had a good one when we were kids that opened and you got chocolate!

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  19. I've never used an Advent calendar! :(

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  20. I used to liked it when I was younger but now not so much lol.

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  21. I love, love, love Advent calendars! My grandma used to give me a new one every year when I was little. In fact, I was really sad when she decided I was too "grown up" to get one any more. Susan's calendar beats all of mine by far, however. Here's hoping I find a guy like that!

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  22. Aww, your hubby is so sweet. ;)
    I'm neutral about Advent Calenders I guess. Have never gotten or used one so...

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  23. I LOVE advent calendars that have little chocolates for every day. BUT once I got one of those advent calendars for a dollar and all the chocolates tasted like cardboard... but if they actually taste like chocolate, I'm all for it! ;)

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  24. They're really nice but I never used it :/

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  25. I love advent calendars! Growing up, my sister and I had one filled with ornaments to decorate a mini tree with :)

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  26. I've never had one but I'm sure that I would like them since I love calendars! :)

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  27. I've never used once but they are great!

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  28. I love them! Especially when I was younger. :)

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  29. Love them! We have different designs every year!

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  30. Yes I love them! My favourite are the ones with the chocolates inside.

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  31. They are pretty and creative in an ornamental way, though I seldom use them myself.

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  32. Oh my god, that is the CUTEST, most romantic story I have ever heard!!! Straight out of a YA book ;) Seriously adorable, what an awesome memory to have together. I haven't bought an advent calendar in a long time but I do like them!

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  33. Yes I love them! I bought one this year but I haven't used it. I'll gift it to my sister next year full of gifts :)

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  34. I never had an advent calendar as a kid, but I love the whole countdown thing. We have a cloth angel on the wall that counts down, and the kids used to love the chocolate countdown ones. Thanks for the chance at the giveaway!

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  35. I've never had one myself, but the online ones are fun.

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  36. I totally adoe them -I love the pretty little presentsrather super-surprises hidden behind their window :)

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  37. I loved them I get them for my kids now and they also love them Thank you for the giveaway.

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  38. I've actually never had an Advent calender... *sob* but they look really pretty and I would like to have one... :D hahaha

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  39. Yes! I do. It has been such a long time since I have had one though. I really need to change that next year! Thank you for a reminder of something fantastic!

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  40. I LOVE advent calendars... who wouldn't want the excuse to eat 1 chocolate everyday? :0)

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  41. Yup! (But I love advent wreaths a tiny bit more.)

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  42. Yep. I feel like I'm getting a little present every day!

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  43. Yes! Especially when I was a kid! It's something little to look forward to everyday. :)

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  44. Definitely! It's been like that since I was a kid. :)

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  45. I like the idea but i never had one myself :(

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  46. I've never had one but they seem like a cool way to add some nostalgic fun to the holidays.

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