Jason Wu flounce dress
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Forever new
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Nicholas Kirkwood slipon shoes
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JOANNA DAHDAH two finger ring
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FF #19: The Rainbow: Red
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Mark Bittner
Title: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Author: Mark Bittner
Publisher: Three Rivers Press 2004
Genre: Nonfiction memoir
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: T4MC -- Adjective in Title; Genre -- Nonfiction; New Author; Book to Movie
How I Got It: Loan from a friend
In this appealing, heartfelt account of one man's attempt to bond with wildlife, the author tells how he made friends with a flock of birds and in the process found meaning in his own life. In the early 1990s, Bittner, a 42-year-old who was still living like a "dharma bum," discovered that there were wild parrots in the trees and on the power lines near the house he was caretaking on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill. Having nothing else to do, he decided to feed the birds on his fire escape and occupy his time by observing them. Soon they appeared every day, noisily demanding seeds, and for the next few years, he devoted most of his time to the wily and comical birds, which turned out to be cherry-headed and blue-crowned conures-escapees that originally had been caught in South America-and their progeny. Crowds gathered outside his house to see him with the parrots perched on his arms and head taking seeds from his hands, and he became famous as "the birdman of Telegraph Hill." Because he found that each bird had its own personality, he named them according to their individual characteristics, and in this charming record of their activities, they seem almost human. At a time when he lived like a hermit, the birds brought him joy and became his only friends. It's a bittersweet story-that is, until a documentary filmmaker shows up at his doorstep.
One of those books that had caught my eye at some point, but I never actively sought it out. A friend noticed it on my Goodreads To Read shelf and lent it to me. The book started off slow for me. I was not really enjoying learning about Bittner's early life or search for meaning. I was on the verge of giving up on the book, but I stuck it out a bit longer. He hadn't even encountered the parrots yet. I had to at least read until then. Once he encountered the flock, my interest in reading the book spiked. I found myself fascinated by the different bird personalities. I wanted to figure out the meaning behind their behaviors just like Bittner. I found myself growing attached to various members of the flock. Eventually my heart broke when some died. I felt joy with their triumphs. I was scared when hawks were spotted. I was pulled in the world of this anomaly. I loved the entire middle section of the book. As the end neared, my interest waned with the reintroduction of Bittner's philosophy and general life beyond the birds. I finished, but my disinterest in those sections knocked the book down a star. Still, a wondrous read. Next time I venture into the city, I'll sure be on the lookout for the parrots.
Movie:
Pretty much the book. But we get to see beautiful moving images of the parrots. The one thing the books had lacked: color photographs. Watching the movie I finally got to see what they actually looked like. Very enjoyable film, but probably not necessary to watch the film and read the book. One would have been sufficient.
Quote Wednesday -- Reece
My philosophy is: anyone or anything that gives you knowledge inspires you. -- Gabrielle Reece
We've been hooked on the True Facts series on YouTube. They are completely absurd. And yet, I find myself learning so much about the animal kingdom from them. They are inspiring me to make my educational project bigger and better.
Here's an awesome one about the Sea Pig:
Top Ten Tuesday -- Favorites Read in 2013 (so far)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!
I went back and looked at all the books I've read so far this year. These are my top 10, in no specific order. I expect these books will also make an appearance on my end of year favorites list.
1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
3. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
4. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
5. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
6. One Day by David Nicholls
7. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
8. The Passage by Justin Cronin
9. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
10. Emma by Jane Austen
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Title: The Color Purple
Author: Alice Walker
Publisher: Harcourt Books 1982
Genre: Classics
Pages: 288
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: T4MC -- Published in birth year; Classics -- African American experience; Women Authors; Mount TBR; Books to Movie
How I Got It: I own it
Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Color Purple is a tale of personal empowerment which opens with a protagonist Celie who is at the bottom of America's social caste. A poor, black, ugly and uneducated female in the America's Jim Crow South in the first half of the 20th century, she is the victim of constant rape, violence and misogynistic verbal abuse. Celie cannot conceive of an escape from her present condition, and so she learns to be passive and unemotional. But The Color Purple eventually demonstrates how Celie learns to fight back and how she discovers her true sexuality and her unique voice. By the end of the novel, Celie is an empowered, financially-independent entrepreneur/landowner, one who speaks her mind and realizes the desirability of black femaleness while creating a safe space for herself and those she loves.
One of those "been on my list forever" books. I finally picked it up even after being cautioned by many people that this book is very difficult to read. They were right. It was very difficult to read through Celie's struggles. It was difficult to keep my emotions in check. It was difficult to not hate many of the characters. So, was it worth reading? I have mixed feelings about this. While I loved Walker's focus on themes and issues, I did not love the style. I was very distracted by the style and language used (misspelling, bad word choices). Because of all my distractions, I don't think I fully connected to the novel. Interesting book, but it's not going to appear on any of my best of lists.
Movie:
The movie is even more difficult to get through than the book. I had to force myself to watch until the end. The themes are so serious, I can't say that I loved the movie. In that way, I put this into the same category as Schindler's List. I feel like I've added to my experiences by watching, but it's not something I would rush out and see again. My only big critictism of the movie is it's elimination of all lesbianism. The part of the storyline seemed extremely important to Celie's growth.
Music Monday -- 101 Faves Sing Along Women of the 90s Edition
As part of my ongoing Day Zero Project, I've made a list of my favorite 101 songs of all time. To help cut down on the possibilities, I took songs only from my iTunes account. Each edition will include ~5 songs with a theme. Enjoy!
Lisa Loeb and Nine Tales "Stay" -- How can you not sing along when this comes on the radio? As an added bonus, I love Reality Bites! "Have I stepped over some line in the sands of coolness with you?"
Jewel "Foolish Games" -- Such an ethereal song. I can't get over it!
Natalie Imbruglia "Torn" -- Another great sing along song. You absolutely must watch the second video. I almost died laughing.
Fiona Apple "Criminal" -- Back when I wanted to be Fiona Apple. She's now a bit too crazy for my tastes, but I still enjoy her music.
Fables: Cubs in Toyland
Title: Fables 18: Cubs in Toyland
Author: Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham
Publisher: Vertigo 2013
Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy
Pages: 192
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: T4MC - Read in one weekend; Graphic Novel; Library; 52 Books - W26; Bingo - 1 from 2013
How I Got It: Library Loan
For years, Snow White and Bigby Wolf's cubs have grown up knowing that one of them was destined for a much greater, more grave role amongst the Fables community. But no one knew how soon it would come.
When Snow and Bigby's cub Therese receives a Christmas gift from an unknown admirer, this red plastic boat magically takes her on a journey to a desolate place known as Toyland. Will Therese be their savior? Or their destroyer? FABLES VOL. 18: CUBS IN TOYLAND is the latest epic from New York Times best-selling author Bill Willingham's hit series FABLES, as the Bigby Wolf cubs learn that adventures in the land of misfit toys is much less fun than it sounds.
It's been awhile since i picked up a Fables volume. I love this series. I love seeing the fairy tale characters grow and change. I love seeing them interact with each other. I love the enemies and the dangers. I love seeing the various worlds. This volume had a great storyline focused on Snow White and Bigby's cubs. Although, I must say that I was very surprised by the dark turn about halfway through the volume. I was not expecting that at all. At any rate, I'm excited to read more in the next volume, but I have to wait until December.
Sunday Sunset #22
Book finished: Warm Bodies; The Firebrand; Never Let Me Go; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Reading: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
On the Nightstand: Lost by Gregory Maguire; Fables 18; Rise of the Governor
Making Lists: Finishing our packing lists for vacation. We leave in six days... must start pulling things to actually pack.
On the Job: Lots of big changes on the horizon. We're moving into the next phase of the project which means new timelines, new tasks, new responsibilities. I spent a ridiculous amount of time this week writing up an instruction manuel/kick off meeting agenda for our new team members. I got a bit carried away and wrote close to six pages worth of instructions and information. Of course, I will not give all this text to the new team members, but I do love to think through everything I should mention first.
From the kitchen: With the boys here, I'm making dinner almost every night. And I am not a fan. No matter the recipe, I just don't really enjoy cooking, but I do it for the family. I haven't tried any new recipes yet. I've been relying on favorites. I did try to make poppy seed pound cake muffins and somehow completely messed them up. They were completely tasteless. Hmmm... maybe next time.
Farmer's Market Finds: Kettle corn, nectarines (not quite ripe, but I love them so), fresh squeezed orange juice and grapefruit juice. Yummy! I won't be getting the fresh juice every week as it's a bit expensive, but it will be a great treat every once in awhile.
Crafting: Waiting until the last moment, I scrambled to finish my stamp club homework last week. I got on a roll and made four variations. My favorite is the first one. I love the subtle colors and play on pattern. The last one was my second attempt at negative image using a brayer. This one turned out much better than my first attempt. I love the watermelon colors and the simplicity of the star stamps.
This beauty of a card was made by my Stamp Club friend Sara. She made each of a us a pretty card. Of course, I got a new baby card with a nice little message inside. I love the simplicity of this card. Although I can't believe that she cut out that kangaroo. So nice!
At stamp club, we made three awesome cards. I always love Pam's designs. I love the ruffled ribbon on the first one, but don't think I would use it enough to justify the cost from Stampin' Up. The second card makes great use of washi tape to add extra fun to the butterfly. The third card was sent through Pam's trading program. The lady cut out each of the inserts. So time-consuming! But it does make for a gorgeous card.
Watching: Rewatching Mythbuster and Doctor Who episodes with the boys. We also started them on Firefly. Fun fun! On the movie front, we Redboxed Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Warm Bodies. Decent movies, but they really could have gone further.
Pregnancy Update: After the news a few weeks ago, I've calmed my worries and settled in. More and more people are noticing my very apparent pregnant stomach and commenting. I feel huge for 23 weeks, but thinking back, I was this big or bigger with the twins. I guess I just pop early and carry out. I'm also noticing more and more movement. Arthur is especially active when I lay down at night and right before noon. Weird feeling sitting at my desk at work and feeling weird rolling sensations. Fun movement story: J decided to have a bit of fun with the car last Sunday. As we entered the highway on the cloverleaf, he floored it. The movement definitely woke up the baby. He was rolling around for the next 10 minutes, an uncomfortable 10 minutes for me.
Shopping Scores: Other than groceries, I haven't really bought anything lately. Saving money for bills and our vacation starting next weekend.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Title: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Author: Mark Twain
Genre: Classics
Pages: 307
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Genre- Classics; Mount TBR; 52 Books - W25; Bingo - 5 from TBR
How I Got It: I own it!
This story is both a whimsical fantasy and a social satire chock-full of brilliant Twainisms. Hank Morgan, a 19th century American-a Connecticut Yankee-by a stroke of fate is sent back into time to 6th century England and ends up in Camelot and King Arthur's Court. Although of average intelligence, he finds himself with knowledge beyond any of those in the 6th century and uses it to become the king's right hand man, and to challenge Merlin as the court magician. Astounded at the way of life in Camelot, Hank does the only thing he can think of to do: change them. In his attempt to civilize medieval Camelot he experiences many challenges and misadventures.
Definitely not my favorite Twain piece. i found the main character to be very grating. I couldn't connect there. So instead, I turned to the other characters. Unfortunately, they were just as grating. The redeeming qualities lay in the observations of daily life in Camelot. Those kept me reading past when I wanted to give up. Well, a decent read, this is not the Twain I would recommend to others.
FF #18 Black, White, and Red All Over
Sometimes I just love the combination of black and white with a little pop of color. Chucks are my favorite! I had to use red Chucks to accent this very mime-ish outfit. I would never wear these pants, but I do love the look.
$125 - witchery.com.au
True Religion true religion jacket
$390 - zalando.co.uk
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farfetch.com
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Publisher: Vintage International 2005
Genre: Dystopian fiction
Pages: 288
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: T4MC -- Child on cover; Dystopian; Monthly - June; TBR Pile; Book to Movie
How I Got It: I own it
From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day comes a devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were.
Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is another classic by the author of The Remains of the Day.
I so wanted to like this novel. I heard amazing things about the story and the style and the entire concept. However, I did not enjoy the book. My biggest complaint is with the style. The book is narrated by Kathy who is 31-years-old. A lot of the story is told by her relating a story from her childhood. I felt that Kathy was relating this stories as if she was 13. I just didn't buy the fact that she was an adult. Maybe this was intentional. Given who Kathy is and how the story progresses, it could have been done on purpose. But I felt myself being constantly distracted by the sentence construction and word choices. I just couldn't actually get behind the story. As to the plot and characters, I have mixed feelings. I liked Kathy and Tommy, but loathed Ruth. Ruth is meant to be a sticky character, but I wanted to punch her every time she appeared. Also, I figured out the big plot reveal about 30 pages in (way before the author says anything). It seemed obvious and not really that exciting. I've seen other books and movies do the idea justice. This just wasn't one of them. Although a highly recommended book, it just wasn't for me. On the next selection...
Movie:
Since, I didn't love the novel, I didn't think I would like the movie. And I was correct. I felt that the movie didn't even get into the relationship between the three leads. We seen to get an abridged version of the plot. Things happen but we don't know why or the motivation behind the characters. As such, I liked the movie less than the book. It just didn't do anything for me.
Quote Wednesday -- Bombeck
It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else. -- Erma Bombeck
Have you ever had some venture, project, thought that you kept private because you were afraid? I know I have... I really ned to learn to be more open. It's on my to-do list.
Top Ten Tuesday -- My Summer TBR List
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!
I love these TTT posts. They force me to reevaluate my reading goals for each season. I have a ton of books I want to read, but these are the 10 that I am going to focus on.
1. The Host by Stephenie Meyer -- Reread for me. Also, I wanted to reread the book and then rent the movie to compare.
2. Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin -- As part of my chick lit/women's fiction section.
3. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir -- Really need to read more historical fiction.
4. Collapse by Jared Diamond -- A long time shelf resident just wanting to get read.
5. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray -- Been on my TBR list for ages and ages.
6. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan -- The boys and I's number one reading priority this summer. We desperately want to move forward in the series.
7. Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason -- Been wanting to start this series forever.
8. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas -- A great action adventure reread for the summer.
9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen -- It's been a few years.
10. Wicked by Gregory Maguire -- Read this one years ago when it was released. Really want to revisit.
Spring TBR Recap (5/13) : So failed at completing this list. This books are still sitting around my house just waiting to be read.
- A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
- The Postman by David Brinn
- Chicago Fire trilogy by Susan Wiggs
- Lost by Gregory Maguire
- Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire
- The Host by Stephenie Meyer
- P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
- Gale Force by Rachel Caine
- Cape Storm by Rachel Caine
- Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine
- Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Music Monday -- 101 Faves Great Oldies Edition
As part of my ongoing Day Zero Project, I've made a list of my favorite 101 songs of all time. To help cut down on the possibilities, I took songs only from my iTunes account. Each edition will include ~5 songs with a theme. Enjoy!
Tom Petty "American Girl" -- One of my all time favorites. I just really love this song. And this version from Live Aid is pretty awesome.
Journey "Separate Ways" -- I like this so much better than "Don't Stop Believin'" As an added bonus, my favorite hometown cover band does a great version of this. I request it every time I see them!!!
Simon and Garfunkel "Cecilia" -- Kinda want to name a daughter Cecelia (like this spelling better) just because of this song...
FF #17 Outdoor Festivals
It's summer in California. That means art and music festivals This would be the perfect outfit to wear to either. I love the detail on the skirt. The bright colored cardigan reminds me of fun summer.
Giambattista Valli fitted shirt
matchesfashion.com
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nicandzoe.com
$265 - seasonsclothing.co.uk
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forever21.com
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Publisher: Atria 2011
Genre: Zombies
Pages: 240
Rating: 4/5 stars Movie: 4/5
Reading Challenges: T4MC - M Author; Paranormal - Zombies; Library; Book to Movie; 52 Books - W24
How I Got It: Library loan
R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.
And then he meets a girl.
First as his captive, then his reluctant house guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.
Been meaning to pick this one up for awhile. I finally snapped it up from the library and was pleasantly surprised. I expected a fairly standard YA novel. I expected sappy characters and ridiculous inner monologues. Instead, I got a great quirky zombie novel. Everything about the characters and storyline felt new and shiny. Even the take on zombie lore was new. I loved the dichotomy between the fleshies and the boneys. I loved R and Julie and Nora and even M. I read this book in one day sitting by the pool and it was a lovely afternoon. Definitely a recommend.
Movie:
Usually I hate voice overs in movies, but for reason this one just works. Right away, the movie dove right into the book with minor changes. To be fair, there are changes, but they are small ones for the most part. We lose some of the conversations and actions of M and the other zombies at the airport. We also lose the piece with R's wife and children. The big omission that I wished to see was more of the boneys. I wanted to visualize the "church" and see the boneys with their Polaroids. I wanted to witness the wedding. But overall, I still really enjoyed the movies.
The Firebrand by Susan Wiggs
Title: The Firebrand (Chicago Fire #3)
Author: Susan Wiggs
Publisher: Mira 2010
Genre: Historical romance
Pages: 384
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: T4MC - Something 'Hot" in the title; Romance; Mount TBR; Seriously Series; Bingo - 3 from series
How I Got It: I own it!
And Lucy Hathaway is running for her life. As she rushes past a fine hotel engulfed in flames, a wrapped bundle tumbles from a window into her arms. Seconds later the building crumbles—and Lucy is astonished to discover the swaddled blanket contains a baby.
Five years later Lucy walks into Rand Higgins's bank and knows: the orphan she rescued that day actually belongs to this ruthless financier. Now, to keep the child she's come to love, she'll have to give up her hard-won freedom and become his wife. But giving Rand her heart? That, she could never have expected…
An enjoyable read, but definitely nothing to get too excited about. I liked Lucy much more than Kathleen or Deborah of the first two books. Maybe it was Lucy's determination or her politics or her general demeanor. But I definitely felt drawn to her. After the fire, I was also attracted to Rand. He hurt and needed someone to understand. I had hoped that Lucy would eventually see that and soften towards him. While it wasn't the best romance series I've ever read, I did enjoy my time.
Chicago Fire:
- The Hostage
- The Mistress
- The Firebrand
Quote Wednesday -- Burr
The great difference between voyages rests not in ships but in the people you meet on them. -- Amelia Burr
Food for thought...
Music Monday -- 101 Faves "She" Edition
As part of my ongoing Day Zero Project, I've made a list of my favorite 101 songs of all time. To help cut down on the possibilities, I took songs only from my iTunes account. Each edition will include ~5 songs with a theme. Enjoy!
Today's theme is song's with "She" in the title. After listing my 101 favorite songs, I found four songs with "She" in the title. Weird! So they get their own day.
The Fray "She Is" -- As much as I love "Cable Car," I really love this track.
Panic at the Disco "She Had the World" -- Am I the only one that actually liked his Panic album? I loved the oddness of the songs. It reminded me of The Killer's Sam's Town album.
Third Day "She Sings in Riddles" -- Always love singing this song.
Josh Groban "So She Dances" -- Yes, I like Josh Groban.
Sunday Sunset #21
Listening To: My huge Pandora shuffle. I've added the Shakira channel to the mix. Just for some extra variety.
Book finished: The Mistress, Pride and Prescience
Reading: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkings
On the Nightstand: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Lost by Gregory Maguire, Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Making Lists: Grocery lists and meal plans. Since I'll be at home more often, we're back to meal plans and long grocery lists. I like the planning but not so much the cooking.
Around the house: J just did a major clean out of the office. So many bags of trash and yet there's still so much crap in there. Slowly slowly we're decreasing the clutter. I also finally bought a shoe rack for the front door. I'm so tired of tripping over shoes. Now we have a place to put them if everyone actually remembers.
On the Job: Stage one of the project complete. Now we need to figure out our next moves. Monday should be an interesting day.
Crafting: Nothing. Although I did spend some time organizing my crafts and I got a delivery from Joanns' with my new scrapbooking albums. Next week I want to finish my Stamp Club homework and scrap Fall 2012. Not a huge amount of crafting, but I like goals.
Watching: Catching up on a few shows: Once Upon a Time (holy cow!) and Grimm. I've also been keeping up with The Voice, Psych, and Warehouse 13. Can't wait to see where those shows go. And we went back to Star Trek: TOS for some fun episodes.
Pregnancy Update: A bit of a stressful week. The perinatology department called me back in for another ultrasound but didn't tell me why. Turns out they suspected an abnormality and wanted to confirm. The baby has a 2 vessel cord instead of a 3 vessel cord. He is missing an artery in the umbilical cord. The doctor assured me that in 99% of cases, everything will be fine. It just means that I will have a couple extra ultrasounds to monitor growth. Everything else was looking great and I can feeling a lot more baby movement this week. Starting to feel very pregnant...
Shopping Scores: I finally found some comfortable sandals for vacation and some brown sandals to replace my broken gladiator sandals. I also snapped up a few new shirts and a dress at Target. My non-maternity clothes are getting a bit tight now. I have a very limited wardrobe now, but some cute things.