FF #43: Edgy Christmas

I won't be blogging at Christmas, so I thought I would create a holiday outfit a few weeks early.  I wanted to use red and green, but not overwhelm the outfit.  I found this edgy yet classic leather skirt to modernize the blouse and classic shoes.  I love the play of colors and shine. If I had a fancy Christmas party to attend, I would definitely recreate this outfit.

Oscar de la Renta silk print blouse marissacollections.com

Alice Olivia alice olivia skirt scoopnyc.com

Style & Co. pumps macys.com

RED Valentino shoulder bag $610 - eluxe.ca

Oasis beaded layered necklace $40 - oasis-stores.com

Beaded cuff bracelet lorisshoes.com

EotY Readathon -- Update #1

Progress so far:

• Pages read this period -- 176 (B is for Baby) + 160 (Inside the Creative Studio) + 243 (Boneshaker) =  579
• Pages read total -- 579

Comments: I'm starting off the readathon strong.  I really didn't think I would read much of anything due to the upcoming holidays, travel, and general baby care.  I knocked out two interesting nonfiction pretty books and made a huge dent in Boneshaker.  Really enjoying Boneshaker, but reading is a bit slow going.  I should be able to finish it by the end of the week...

Quote Wednesday -- Faulkner

Read, read, read. Read everything-trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the mast. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window. - William Faulkner

Thank you for the advice Mr. Faulkner.  I'll try...

Nerdy Nonfiction Quick Reviews

Title: Inside the Creative Studio

Author: Cate Coulacos Prato

Publisher: Interweave 2012

Genre: Home; Crafts

Pages: 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall into Reading; Nerdy Nonfiction -- Home; 52 Books -- W50

The professional artists and crafters of Studios Magazine give you the tools to create your own one-of-a-kind artistic environment in this best-of compilation. Learn how to find space in your home, whittle down your stash, maximize your storage and organization possibilities, and manage your stash of supplies and equipment to keep your work space functional and fun to work in. Experts will also show you how to repurpose furniture, integrate recyclables, and showcase vintage items to establish a space with purpose and personality. You will spend less time struggling with your studio, or lack thereof, and more time actually creating in your unique space.

Lots of great ideas for organizing your creative space.  My space isn't completely out of control, but I would love to reorganize it this coming year (on my big to do list!).  This book helped me start thinking about what I want...  I see a trip to Ikea in my future for early next year.

Title: B is for Baby: 26 Projects from A to Z

Author: Suzonne Stirling

Publisher: Taunton Press 2006

Genre: Crafts

Pages: 176

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall into Reading; Nerdy Nonfiction -- Crafts

B is for Baby honors the age-old tradition of crafting with a mix of vintage and modern-style projects for all women who buy baby gifts who want to give something meaningful and handmade. In a unique A to Z presentation, the projects are aimed at a variety of skill levels and budgets. Every letter is represented with a main project and many variations, and all have concise step-by-step directions, photos and templates.

Why do I always pick these craft books up?  Oh right, I love looking at the pictures.  To be fair, there are some very cute projects in this book.  Most of them just aren't my style (lots of pastels and cutesy things) and there was only two projects I even contemplated doing.  Cute book for super crafters, just not really my style.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Winter TBR

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!

Only a few days left in 2013. A whole new reading adventure awaits just around the new year.  I have just a few reads I want to finish before January 1st.  I've spent some time thinking about the rest of winter and I have a great list to get me through the season.

2013 Finishers

1. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
2. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (in progress)
3. Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest
4. Sandition by Jane Austen
5. Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

2014 Reads

1. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein
4. In the Company of Secrets by Judith Miller
5. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Fall TBR Recap (7/10): Decent total for this list.  Looking forward to getting my 2014 reading started right.

1. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2. Children of Men by P.D. James
3. 1984 by George Orwell
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
5. Billionaire Wins the Game by Melody Anne
6. Her Ladyship's Companion by Evangeline Collins
7. The Sandman Vol. 11 and 12
8. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
9. Locke and Key Vol. 6 -- The trade won't be published until February 2014, so I've move this to my 2014 TBR list.
10. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Arthur: 8 Weeks

Another big week of learning and growth.  This kid is like a weed!  I've had to retire so many clothe this week because he's just too tall for them.  Crazy stuff!

Likes: Talking.  He's constantly cooing and grunting.  So adorable!  Mom and dad cuddles.  Being warm (seriously chilly around here this past week, high 30s at night, high 40s during the day and windy). 

Dislikes: Sleeping by himself (I suspect part of it is due to being cold; we've had to wear our fleece sleepers and use our heavy blanket), dirty diapers (very insistent on immediate changing now),

Sleeping: Our decent sleeper disappeared this week and was replaced by a pod child who only slept 1:30 - 2 hours at a time.  It started to get better as the week wore on, but my goodness are we tired!  I'm hoping he will get back to 4-5 hour stretches by Christmastime.

Eating: Sometimes he's a pig drinking 5-6 ounces in 1:30 hours and other times he'll eat 2 ounces and be done.  Mid afternoons have turned into almost constant snacking instead of drinking one full bottle at a time.

Playing: Still just watching things.  No real grabbing yet.  But every once in a while his flailing arms hit a toy and he gets an adorable surprised look on his face.  I'm anticipating reaching and grabbing to develop soon.  He's also tolerating tummy time much more than last week.  He'll play for at least 15 minutes before getting completely fed up.

Medical Milestones: Arthur's definitely smiling now, but usually only a few times a day.  He seems to recognize the bottle when I go to feed him and almost lunges toward it.  Working on that memory development!  Lots of muscle development going on.  I mostly notice when he grabs and pulls at my hair.  Ouch!

Schedule: The only two constants -- he's awake and alert around 7am every day and super cranky around 7pm every day.  Other than that, every day is different.

Out and About:

• Monday -- Out at Shoreline for our weekly walk and lunch with the mom's group.  We did 2 miles this week! And Arthur once again won the best behaved baby award.  He really loves talking walks in the stroller.
• Saturday -- Walked with mom down to the Farmer's Market to get lunch and popcorn.  It was chilly, but we bundled up.  Two people stopped to comment how alert and beautiful Arthur was.  A bit creepy, but thanks I guess...
• Sunday -- Walked with mom and dad down to the Palace Cafe to get take out brunch.  Arthur slept through it...
• Various walks around the neighborhood throughout the week

Music Monday -- OneRepublic "Counting Stars"

I just really like OneRepublic.  It's nothing super different or new, but solid good music.  And I'm really digging their new album, Native.

Lyrics:

[Chorus] Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be counting stars Yeah, we'll be counting stars

[Verse 1] I see this life Like a swinging vine Swing my heart across the line In my face is flashing signs Seek it out and ye shall find

Old, but I'm not that old Young, but I'm not that bold And I don't think the world is sold I'm just doing what we're told

I feel something so right At doing the wrong thing I feel something so wrong At doing the right thing I could lie, could lie, could lie Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

[Chorus] Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be counting stars Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be, we'll be counting stars

[Verse 2]I feel the loveAnd I feel it burnDown this river every turnHope is a four letter word Make that money Watch it burn

Old, but I'm not that old Young, but I'm not that bold And I don't think the world is sold I'm just doing what we're told

And I feel something so wrong At doing the right thing I could lie, could lie, could lie Everything that downs me makes me wanna fly

[Chorus] Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be counting stars Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be, we'll be counting stars

[Bridge 4x:] Take that money Watch it burn Sink in the river The lessons I learned

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

[Chorus] Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be counting stars Lately I been, I been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard Said no more counting dollars We'll be, we'll be counting stars

[Outro 4x:] Take that money Watch it burn Sink in the river The lessons I learned

Bonus Video: OneRepublic and Michelle Chamuel on S4 of The Voice.  I was totaling rooting for her to win the entire thing.  She is amazing!

Sunday Sunset #40

Listening To: Christmas music channels on Pandora.  It's after Thanksgiving, which means Christmas music!  I love the classic channel on Pandora.  It's full of Sinatra and Crosby and all the old favorites.  Bonus: Arthur really seems to love Bing Crosby...  Add that to his early musical education.

Book finished: Hyperbole and a Half; Me Before You; The Road

Reading: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

On the Nightstand: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray; Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest

MakingLists: Last minute Christmas gifts.  I have a few more things to pick up (mostly for the boys) and then I'm done.

Around the house: I finally finished cleaning out my clothes drawers.  I ended up having five bags total for the Goodwill.  While I was cleaning them out, I also started a packing pile...

From the kitchen: Another couple of recipes to try out this week.  I also made a meal plan until I leave for Indiana using most of the things in our freezer.

• Buffalo chicken dip -- Ridiculously good to scoop with tortilla chips.  I may make this for Christmas or New Year's.
• Cheese stuffed meatball sliders -- Pretty good.  Although next time I need to spice up the meatballs a bit.
• Cheesy artichoke pasta -- Good dish, but not one that would be good as leftovers...

On the Web: This week I fell down the Project Life blogger rabbit hole.  So many different options, I want to do it all.  Realistically I will keep with my current style and maybe add in one or two new ideas.  Still, the pictures are pretty to look at.

Farmer's Market Finds: Arthur and I ventured down to the market for sausages (for lunch) and kettle corn.  Yummy!

Crafting: I had a couple of classes these past two weeks, a meet and greet, and a crop night.  At crop night, i finished my stamp club homework (pics #2, 3, 4) and some copycat cards (pics #1, 5).  Lots of crafting fun!  With the class today, I think I've finished my Christmas cards.  Now to get them addressed and sent out before traveling.

Watching: The usuals, plus I've been binge watching Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23 on Netflix.

From Nature: Chilly temperatures around here this week.  It was 39 degrees when I left card class the other night.  Brrr! Thank goodness I wore my sweatshirt.

Project: Prepping for our Christmas vacation.  It used to be that I would take a day or so to pack for my trips back to Indiana.  Now, I need to plan farther in advance.  Traveling with a baby is stressful.  And we haven't even left yet!  I've made a few notes in my Evernote "General Life" notebook highlighting things to remember, travel info, packing lists for me and for Arthur, general tips, Christmas gifts bought and to buy, and upcoming events.  I love using Evernote for these types of projects instead of cramming things into notebooks that I inevitably misplace...  I'm getting closer to having everything set and ready to go.  That reminds me...  I need to make a "last minute packing list" note for those things that I can't pack until the day we leave (bottles, formula, toothbrush, etc.)

Picture: Such a happy baby!

But not always...

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Title: The Road

Author: Cormac McCarthy

Publisher: Vintage 2007

Genre: Dystopia

Pages: 241

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall into Reading; Dystopian; Monthly Key Word -- December; Book to Movie; Bingo -- 4 from everyone but me; NPR SciFan (perpetual); Fantasy Project (perpetual)

How I Got It: Library loan

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

Another meh book.  I can appreciate the stark simplicity of the writing, but I just wasn't a fan of the rest of the book.  Nothing grabbed me and kept me really interested in reading.  I'm fairly certain that I finished because it's only 241 pages.  Don't really see what all the hype was about.  I guess it just wasn't my kind of book.

Movie:

The movie added a ton of action beats that just don't exist in the book.  It also expanded the role of the wife.  I understand why they did it for a wide spread release movie.  The book just doesn't have enough to appeal to mass audiences.  Overall, I like the movie better than the book, but It still just wasn't something that really held my attention.

FF #42: Time for Errands

Follow up from last week's theme of New Mom Comfort.  I made another comfy looking outfit.  I also apparently love these boots as I used them for my Coffeehouse Time post a few weeks back.  This is just a great combination of classic denim (albeit on top) and fall colored accessories.  Simple, yet still stylish.

Merona blue shirt dress target.com

Weekend Max Mara slim skinny jeans $205 - johnlewis.com

Steve Madden combat boots $145 - johnlewis.com

Madewell drawstring purse madewell.com

End of the Year Readathon

From Juliababyjen's Reading Room:

Dana from Danasquare and I are hosting a read-a-thon!  It is called the End of the Year 2013 Reading Cram, and will run from Dec. 9-22nd!

If you are anything like me you have a huge stack (or even bookcases) full of book you haven't read. Did you have a goal for how many books you wanted to read during the year? Are you behind like I am?

Then this is the perfect time to read as much as you can before the new year!

Why should you participate?

1. To chisel off some of your TBR pile.

2. Do all the fun challenges and win some prizes.

3. Encourage others to read like a speed demon (and yourself) + reading with others is loads of fun.

So let's get in our last books of 2013 together in the #ReadingCram !

Listed below are all the things you need to know and the linky to sign up!

Requirements

You must post a Sign Up Post

Must have our graphic

Links to our blogs

Name, dates of the read-a-thon

Any personal goals (optional)

You may put up your post on your blog, Tumblr, or Youtube (if they don't have a blog)

Please tweet using #ReadingCram. To stay updated and to share what your reading!

I'm always a sucker for a good readathon.  This one has sufficient days for me to actually focus on reading while prepping for and traveling back to Indiana for Christmas. Overall, I'm aiming fairly low as I imagine my life will be super busy after the 15th.  My list of books to read is more of pile of suggestions. I definitely will not get to all of them in two weeks.

Goals:

• Read three books
• Read 1000 pages
• Review all books read
• Knock out 5 reading challenge spots

TBR Pile:

• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
• Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest
• Sandition by Jane Austen
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
• Any of the 4 nonfiction library finds

Video Round-up

I haven't done one of these in awhile.  I guess it's time to clean out my liked posts on Bloglovin' so here we go...

Vi Hart and toothpaste. Love it!

I feel like I've seen the movie.  Ha!

Love Lily Allen!

The real Jurassic Park

Here's your educational video...

Quote Wednesday -- Anderson

‘Just living is not enough,’ said the butterfly. ‘One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower’." - Hans Christian Anderson

Loving the sunshine in my town.  Even in winter, it shines and makes everything look new and clean!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Title: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Viking 2012

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 400

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Books -- W49; Bingo -- Free Space; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: Library loan (book club selection)

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

Our book club selection for December.  After the last one (Middlesex), we needed something more readable and likable.  This one was the perfect choice.  It took me awhile to finish (baby time), but that doesn't me I didn't enjoy it.  I looked forward to the few minutes each night I could pick up the story of Lou and Will.  Amazingly complicated characters (in a good way).  A great storyline.  Lovely ending.  I was concerned that the ending would be too predictable and sappy.  Thankfully the author gave the story a real ending, something I could completely get behind.  I really enjoyed this one.  I will have to put the author on my TBR list.

Arthur: 7 Weeks

So much personality development in the last week.  Arthur's finally starting to seem like a little person.

Likes: His activity gym (finally!), cuddles, car rides, walks in the stroller, mom's chair (laying by himself in it)

Dislikes: Dirty diapers, spit up, gas

Sleeping: Twice in the past week he slept for 5-6 hours at night.  I'm hoping this is a sign of good things to come.  

Eating: Such a piggy pig this past week.  He will eat 4 ounces, but then two hours later, he wants another 3-4 ounces.  Last night he ate 6 ounces in one sitting.  Holy crap kid!  Where do you put all of that?

Playing: As evidenced by the pictures this week, Arthur's really warming up to playing at his activity gym.  He hasn't grab any of them yet, but he loves watching them.  Usually I knocked them around a few times so he can concentrate on the swinging.

Medical Milestones: Another huge week of developments.  Arthur newly found interest in hanging animals is probably due to the bright colors and shapes.  He's also very big on following objects and people move around the room.  Last night he kept following me flipping his head this way and that as I put away clothes and dishes.  And I've seen a ton more eye contact.  Most meal times, he stares right at me the entire time.

Schedule: None yet...

My Recovery: I had my 6 week postpartum appointment last Wednesday.  According to the doctor, everything looks great.  My scar is healing nicely if a little slowly for my taste.  I can now exercise again.  So far, I've only been walking.  Hopefully I can start some strength training and longer walks.  My endurance is still very low.

Music Monday -- New Music December

Some highlights of finds from Alt Nation.

MS MR "Hurricane" -- I love her voice!

The Neighbourhood "Afraid" -- "Sweater Weather" was a great song and I'm really enjoying this new one...

Lorde "Team" -- She is so hot right now!  I really need to pick up her album.

Cage the Elephant "Come a Little Closer" -- I loved their older stuff, but the new is definitely a nice surprise.

Chvrches "The Mother We Share" -- There's something about this song that makes me sing along every time...