Tyler Hilton "Tore the Line" -- One of those go to artists in my iTunes account.
Live version:
Flogging Molly "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" -- Another go to artist and one that Arthur really really likes.
Live version:
Guster "Fa Fa" -- An old favorite. I didn't realize how old this song was until I looked up the YouTube videos. 2003! It feels like the song was just released.
Live version:
As with all my readathons this year, I'm scaling back on goals. The main idea is to focus on reading instead of being distracted by the internet or television.
Goals:
TBR Pile:
Book finished: Tithe; The Nanny Diaries; Sharp Objects; Iron Legends
Reading: Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein, The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
On the Nightstand: Wicked by Gregory Maguire; Bloodlines by Richelle Mead; The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Making Lists: Daily to-do lists. I am loving using Thyme is Honey's Daily pages. I take the time to fill it out the night before. Then, all I need to do is glance at it throughout the day. It doesn't mean that I actually get everything done that day, but at least I know what I want to do and can prioritize my tasks.
From the kitchen: I'm still trying to add one or two new recipes in per week to build up our go-tos. This past week I added in a pasta primavera coffee cake, and ham potato and barley soup. All three are going into the go-to box (albeit with some slight modifications). I have another few recipes to try this coming week and then maybe I'll take a bit of a "new" break to go back to some standards.
Farmer's Market Finds: Saturday morning J woke up early (11am) to go get us lunch at the market (sausages!), but there was no sausage guy. He came back with some kettle corn, but then had to go get something else for lunch. So sad! Hopefully he will be back next week. And I'm looking forward to peaches, nectarines, and loads of berries making their appearances at the market soon.
Crafting: I joined a Project Life Swaps group on FB and signed up to participate in three swaps (all for February!). The idea is that you create PL cards based off of a theme, send them to the organizer, and she sends you cards from others. I went a little overboard, creating more than I needed. So, I decided to make some of the extras RAKs for my other PL group on FB. Now I just need to get to the post office sometime tomorrow to send these packets of happiness out.
Watching: The usual shows, plus we completely caught up with Workaholics and Betas. I even convinced J to get back into Game of Thrones. We had been stuck on Episode 8 of Season 2 for months. He always complains that it's too heavy to watch every night. I don't see the problem. But at least we watched the next two episodes last night setting us up for the S2 finale. We'll catch up eventually.
Shopping Scores: I've got a big box from Amazon and a big box from Stampin' Up currently heading my way... There will be shopping score pictures for next week!
Project: Nothing too big at the moment. I'm just trying to be consistent with my cleaning and daily to-do lists. So far, so good.
Exercising: Look! I added a new category! If you read my blog occasionally you might have noticed that I had a baby a few months back (4 months and a day actually). Since then, I have wanted to lose the baby weight plus some, but my body seems to have gotten stuck. As such, I am trying to focus on eating right (homemade recipes are helping, also less snacking) and exercising. Thankfully I have a standing mom's group date to at least kick off my week well.
This past week I:
Picture: Happy baby from this week... He wasn't like this all week so I treasured the happy moments.
I needed to catch up on my IMDB movies but decided that I didn't want to do full reviews... So, here are my extremely short reviews.
District 9
A very interesting take on apartheid and science fiction all rolled into one. I liked this one. I've even heard that there is to be a sequel.
The Prestige
Oh my! This movie get me every time. I know what's going to happen and yet I also feel the adrenaline pumping during the big reveal. Christopher Nolan took a very good book and stripped it down into an even more amazing story.
Finding Nemo
Another Pixar movie for my February marathon. While this isn't my absolute favorite Pixar, it's still a really good movie. Especially when you compare it to other animated movies.
Avatar
Ugh! Not a good movie at all. I was thoroughly bored throughout. And the storyline is completely predictable. Definitely don't waste your three plus hours on this movie.
Cool Hand Luke
A classic Newman movie. Must see for all movie buffs, if not just for the egg eating scene. Newman exudes cool and calm throughout the movie. But make no mistake, the movie has some brutal moments. Still a great classic.
A Beautiful Mind
Not the best at all. I don't really understand all the hype surrounding this one. It just doesn't resonate at all.
American Beauty
Another overhyped movie. The only interesting part was Kevin Spacey. Everything and everyone else is done.
And so that's my review catch up.
Week 5
Family Album: This week wanted to really bring out the fun bright colors from the photographs. Thankfully I had purchased a third of a Honey kit from an Etsy seller. They were the perfect colors to play with. After I looked at the pictures to choose from, I decided to do an entire page (well almost an entire page) dedicated to telling a story about Arthur and his new favorite toy. I love the idea of doing this type of theme pages more often.
Supplies:
Arthur's Album: For his album, I stuck with the yellows and grays with some fun inserts. I love the right side with the corresponding pictures splitting the page. It gives a nice mirror effect.
Supplies:
Week 6
Family Album: Week six was all about pink and turquoise. I had the repeating camera insert already in place from last week (other side of the flowered journaling card). it was so cute, I had to use it and ended up designing the entire spread to correspond. The left side was highlighting some pictures from our usual routine (baby playing with Sophie, Shoreline walk, crafting time). I even used a journal card to highlight my week in crafting. Nice to see a spread not completely focused on Arthur even though he is just so adorable. The right side is dedicated to pictures and journaling of the mom's group Valentine's Party. I even remembered to snap a few photos of the event. (It was gray and gloomy out, so the pics are pretty dark. And this is after lightening them up on the computer.) I forgot to add in the February calendar card at the beginning of the month. The party turned out to be the perfect occasion to use it as a Who, What, Where, When, and Why type journaling card. I then used a red design card from the Holiday mini kit to list all the attendees for the party. It's a nice way to remember who was there since I didn't get pictures of everyone. Overall, I absolutely love this layout!
Supplies:
Arthur's Album: Arthur's weekly spread included more pictures of him and some highlighting of our party. I stuck with the usual color scheme, but changed up the design with the 4x6 journaling card and alternating 3x4 inserts and photos.
Supplies:
Title: Toy Story
Year Released/Rating: 1995 G
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles
Directed By: John Lasseter
Written By: John Lasseter, Peter Docter
Genre: Children's animation
Star Rating: 5/5 stars
Where I Got It: We own it
Trivia:
Summary: A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's room.
Review:
An absolute classic Disney movie. I adore Toy Story. I even went to see it in the theaters the first time it was released. The play of characters are great. It even makes me get a bit choked up.
Best Bits:
Title: Monsters Inc.
Year Released/Rating: 2001 G
Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs
Directed By: Pete Doctor, David Silverman
Written By: Pete Doctor, Jill Culton
Genre: Children's animation
Star Rating: 5/5 stars
Where I Got It: We own it
Trivia:
Summary: Monsters generate their city's power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley finds his world disrupted.
Review:
The interaction between Mike and Sully is what really makes this film.
Best Bits:
Title: Spirited Away
Year Released/Rating: 2001 PG
Starring: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Written By: Hayao Miyazaki
Genre: Animation
Star Rating: 4/5 stars
Where I Got It: We own it
Trivia:
Summary: In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.
Review:
Not my absolute favorite Miyazaki, but it's still a really good movie. The high point of this movie is the atmosphere. The movie has this incredible moody atmosphere. I really fell into the movie. I feel like some of the story gets lost in transition, but it's still great.
Best Bits:
Title: The Incredibles
Year Released/Rating: 2004 PG
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee
Directed By: Brad Bird
Written By: Brad Bird
Genre: Children's animation
Star Rating: 5/5 stars
Where I Got It: We own it
Trivia:
Summary: A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world.
Review:
A truly underrated Pixar movie. Many overlook it in favor of Monsters Inc or Toy Story (both of which I do love). This movie has an understated elegance about it. The story of a family struggling to make it and fit in is gorgeous. I love the message of being true to yourself. All of the references to superheroes, comics, and spy movies are amazingly fun! And of course it's hilarious. A great family movie.
Best Bits:
I don't have any Valentine's Day plans, but I thought I would do a fun festive outfit for today. The silhouette is retro 1950s, but still feels very modern. The bow just adds enough interest to appeal to me. Since it is a holiday, I had to add very sparkly accessories.
Charlotte Olympia gold heel pumps
theoutnet.com
Tory Burch genuine leather handbag
$460 - monnierfreres.co.uk
Paloma Picasso 18k gold jewelry
tiffany.com
lorisshoes.com
Last week I did a tour of my crafting area (which has already changed with J's addition of steel shelving). This week, I though I would do a tour of my bookshelves. While I was gone over Christmas, J cleaned out the entire office, bought bookshelves, and emptied all the boxes. I don't have a handy pic of the before, but imagine a closet with no doors filled with on bursting bookshelf and about 12 stacked moving boxes all full of books. I'm happy to say that all those boxes are unpacked with their contents on display and easy to access.
Our first stop on the tour isn't in the office, but in the living room. I have a small storage ottoman that holds my current month's reading choices. When I formulate each month's TBR pile, I make sure to put those physical books inside the ottoman. Of course, the ebooks can't be put into the ottoman, but I do reorder iBooks to reflect my current TBR. I've found that the ottoman makes it easier to choose a new book. Instead of perusing all my shelves, I just lift the lid and grab a book. Usually there are only 10 choices or so. I've also taken to keeping my library books in the ottoman. But as I have put myself on a limited usage library plan (until I read more of my owned books), there is usually one a few library books in there.
Moving into the office proper...
Here's the big view of the closet. Those three bookshelves span the entire width of the closet with about 2 inches to spare. According to J, it was a chore trying to get them all in there and in position. You can't see form this pciture, but there is room atop the bookshelves. Mostly it holds miscellaneous computer equipment, but J did put a couple of his books sets (His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, James Bond series by Ian Fleming, etc) up there and out of the way.
The first bookshelf is full of my books. I separated fiction from non-fiction and then authors A-L and M-Z. The first three shelves contain fiction books grouped by author and more or less alphabetical. The fourth shelf contains books I want to keep and the fifth holds most of our scrapbook albums.
The middle bookshelf is a hodge-podge of styles. The top two shelves are J's books (business, comics, and science fiction). The third shelf is my leftover mass market paperback fiction. The last two shelves hold half of my nonfiction collection.
The last shelf in the closet is another hodge-podge. The top three shelves are all J's books (mostly nonfiction). The bottom two shelves hold the rest of my nonfiction collection.
The last stop on my tour is the small bookshelf in the entryway to the office. Our apartment is cut so that there is a four foot long hallway off the main hallway leading to the office door. It's a weird space: not long enough or wide enough to be really useful. But it's the perfect size to stash my small bookshelf. The double stacked shelves hold the rest of my fiction collection. Not quite super easy access, but at least all of my books are out of the boxes.
That's it, a tour of bookshelves. My goal for 2014 is to decrease my library (i.e. read and sell) so that my shelves aren't double stacked. It's a tall order, but so far this year I've already made a good sized dent.
Food is the most primitive form of comfort. -- Sheila Graham
Even though I don't love cooking, I am liking it more than I have been. I've even gotten a bit excited about trying new recipes.
It's been raining here most of the week, so our activities were limited. Since we are currently in the middle of a drought, the rain was a nice welcome. But people around here just don't know what to do when it rains. It's comical...
Likes: Watching people do anything, especially watching me eat, all his toys, his blankie (necessity at nap time now)
Dislikes:Waiting for food
Sleeping:Arthur's been sleeping fairly consistently lately, usually a 7 hour stretch and then another 2-3 hours. Saturday night, he slept 11 hours straight. Crazy! I'm not going to expect that to happen again any time soon, but it sure would be nice.
Eating: Consistently 6 ounces at each feeding.
Playing: Loving all the toys. His new favorite one is actually his feet. He can finally grab them and roll around. Yesterday, he even came close to pulling his socks off.
Medical Milestones:
Schedule: Up by 7 at the latest, bed by 7:30, and everything in between is fairly random.
Out and About:
From Novel Heartbeat:
I loooove readathons and so does Amanda, so we decided it was time for one! What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal!
I think it's time for another readathon and this one looks good.
Seriously been digging this song ever since it debuted on Alt Nation a few weeks back. I think I need to check out their other stuff...
Lyrics:
Never took your side, never cursed your name I keep my lips shut tight, until you go-o-oh We've come as far as we're ever gonna get Until you realize, that you should go-o-oh
I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens And the mother we share will never keep your proud head from falling The way is long but you can make it easy on me And the mother we share will never keep our cold hearts from calling
In the dead of night, I'm the only one hereAnd I will cover you, until you go-o-ohAnd if I told the truth, I will always be freeAnd keep a prize with me, until you go-o-oh
I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens And the mother we share will never keep your proud head from falling The way is long but you can make it easy on me And the mother we share will never keep our cold hearts from calling
Until the night falls, we're the only ones left I bet you even know, where we could go-o-oh And when it all fucks up, you put your head in my hands It's a souvenir for when you go-o-oh
I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens And the mother we share will never keep your proud head from falling The way is long but you can make it easy on me And the mother we share will never keep our cold hearts from calling
Title: Iron Legends (The Iron Fey #1.5, #3.5, #4.5)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen 2010
Genre: YA Paranormal (Fey)
Pages: 287
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Library; Women Authors; Seriously Series
While I had read the four main novels in the Iron Fey series, I thought I would pick up this compilation of the short stories. Quick, but enjoyable reading as Kagawa helped to fill in the gaps in-between books.
Winter's Passage
Never make a promise to a faery. They always come to collect. Now Meghan Chase must fulfill her promise to Prince Ash of the Winter Court and embark upon a dangerous journey into the heart of enemy territory—while being pursued by a relentless new foe and guarding her own foolish heart.
This was my least favorite of the stories, if only because Meghan is still so young and naive. I think I knew too much of what comes after to truly enjoy this one.
Summer's Crossing
What can turn enemies into reluctant allies? A call from the Exile Queen, Leanansidhe, ties legendary prankster Puck to his archenemy, Prince Ash, on a journey that may end in betrayal and will set them both on an irreversible path.
My favorite of the stories because it stars Puck. Other than Grimalkin, Puck is the most interesting character in the entire series. I loved reading about his adventures with Ash and Leanansidhe. Great fun!
Iron's Prophecy
Before she ever knew what she might become, Iron Queen Meghan Chase was warned by the oracle that her firstborn child would bring nothing but grief. And even as Meghan and Ash celebrate their long-awaited union, the prophecy stirs.…
A nice bridge between the original Iron Fey series and the new Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series. This actually made me want to read the next series. I have to see what happens to Ethan and Keirran.
The Iron Fey
Title: Sharp Objects
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Broadway Books 2006
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pages: 272
Rating: 2/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Women Authors; Ebook;
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.
Sharp Objects was this month's book club selection. I found Flynn's other book Gone Girl to be very interesting. I had heard from many bloggers that this one was also good. So, we gave it a try. And I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. I won't give away the twists and turns, but I will say that I saw most of them coming. The story was a bit contrived and predictable. As to the characters, I hated every single one of them. They all seemed fake or caricatures of real people. At a certain point, I would have loved for everyone to just say what they were thinking. Instead, characters dance around each other in a very frustrating way. Even the horrors didn't seem real because of how characters reacted to them. I just was not impressed at all. It seems that I am all but done with Flynn's work. I think I'll move on to something else...
Title: The Nanny Diaries
Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 2002
Genre: Chick Lit
Pages: 306
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Movies; Rory Gilmore; 52 Books -- W6; Women Authors
Wanted: One young woman to take care of four-year-old boy. Must be cheerful, enthusiastic and selfless--bordering on masochistic. Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a deliberately nap-deprived preschooler. Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family. Must enjoy the delicious anticipation of ridiculously erratic pay. Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag. Those who take it personally need not apply.
Who wouldn't want this job? Struggling to graduate from NYU and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a position caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved to ensure that a Park Avenue wife who doesn't work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day.
When the Xs' marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency or good taste. Her tenure with the X family becomes a nearly impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their four-year-old, her own integrity and, most importantly, her sense of humor. Over nine tense months, Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test the limits of modern-day servitude.
Overall, a fairly disappointing book. I think the problem is that it is just so predictable. I knew exactly how the relationships between Nanny and Mrs. X and Grayer would play out. It feels like this story is just played out. It's just not the book for me. I seem to be on a trend lately of disappointing reads. I hope they get better. At least I am weeding out the not great reads from my bookshelves. Off to Half Price Books to sell some books I go...
Movie:
The movie is fairly true to the book which of course bored me. I just didn't really connect to any of the characters. It's not a bad movie, just a tired storyline and stereotypical characters. The movie may appeal to some, but I just didn't find myself wanting to see it again.
Reorganizing my Pinterest boards to include one for "This Week's Project" ideas has really motivated my crafting. Now I pull some random ideas over on Sunday night (recipes, cards, sketches, crafts, books, projects) and use that board for inspiration when I want to craft. I spend less time thinking of what I want to do and more time just doing. Love it! If you want to check it out, click here. It turns out I was crafting fool this week. Let's see what I made: Card #1
My first card combines a color challenge and a sketch to create my homework for February Stamp Club. Again this week, I tried to use as many scraps as I could and not cut up whole sheets. It was a success. The only full sheets I cut were those used to make the card bases. I love the play of patterns with this card. I also added my own sentiment design. I didn't want to stamp over the floral patterned paper so I used some layering framelits to highlight the sentiment. The dimensions of the paper scraps are 4" x 3", 1.75" x 1.75", 0.25" x 1.75", 0.5" x 4"
Card #2
My second card used the same sketch as the first but I used different scrap papers. I also changed up the sentiment design in favor of an oval scrap I had laying around. While it's not a traditional sympathy card, I think the cool blues and greens are soothing and the patterns are completely distracting.
Card #3
My third card is straight from a card on my Pinterest boards. I love the simplicity of the squares but with the fun coordinating patterns. Robin used the SU Festival of Prints paper stack (which I have), but I decided to use more of small scraps. If you look closely, many of the papers used in this card were also used in card #2. Way to make double use of scraps!
Card #4
My fourth card used a sketch (that has since disappeared from Pinterest, odd...) and my new SU Smoky Slate cardstock. I am in love with this shade of gray. It's light and not overpowering but such a fun departure from white bases. I also tried to again use a ton of scraps for this card and succeeded!
Card #5
My fifth card came from the need to use these specific papers. So I scoured my techniques and sketches board and pulled this sketch out. The picture is horrid, but somehow I couldn't take a non-yellowed photo. Something about these papers just threw off the picture. Anyway, I am loving how geometric and layered this card is and yet it's still very nice and simple.
Card #6
I adore the simplicity of the original butterfly card. I had to try and make my own. Looking at the finished project, I love the design and my pattern choices. But, the butterflies are all crooked... Next time, I need to use a ruler.
Card #7
I wanted to try out a different interpretation of the butterfly card. For this one, I decided to make everything bigger and see what happened. I love the asymmetrical design of this card. I was going to just do a straight line of butterflies down the middle, but at the last minute I change up the placement. I like this look much better. Also, I repeated the use of the Print Poetry DSP but chose only papers featuring Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, and Crumb Cake. I love the color play!
Card #8
My last inspiration card was this gorgeous play of circles and patterns. To help me narrow down the choices, I used only paper from SU's retired Festival of Prints DSP stack. For the first card, I ended up using the Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Gumball Green, and Cherry Cobbler pages. I had to make it an actual Christmas card after seeing the results. My only issue is the placement of the circles. It was much harder than I thought it was going to be. Now I know how to place the first (bottom) row to get a better placement overall. Also, next time I will probably use a smaller size circle punch.
Card #9
My last card of the week is another version of the circles card. This time, I used the Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, and Crumb Cake papers from the stack. After putting it all together, it didn't look like a Christmas card so I made it a Congratulations card. Also, I did a bit better with the circle placements. I'm sure that I will revisit this design in the future.
I'm loving my cards from this week. Next week, I want to play around with one sheet wonders...
Really loving the combo of purple and gray right now. I've even made a few greeting cards with that color scheme... As to the outfit, I would wear this in a heartbeat. It's so comfy and yet stylish. I am really digging those pants. And those shoes are on my wish list for real.
farfetch.com
Oscar de la Renta lined jacket
net-a-porter.com
mytheresa.com
jcrew.com
ysl.com
amazon.com