July 2015 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

Hop on over to Booksessed to participate.

July's TBR Pile (10/11):

Nonfiction: The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan √
Classic: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald √
Carry-over: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin √
Story Collection: Witches edited by Paula Guran √
Library Grab: Steamlust edited by Kristina Wright
Book Club Selection: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins √
Debut Author Pick: The Night Circus by Erica Morgenstern √
Added: Highlander Unbound by Julia London √
Added: Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie by Kate Chopin √
Added: The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke √
Added: The F Word by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner √

Picture Book Roundup:

An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle
Big and Little Things That Go
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
My Blankie by Alice Beauvisage
Who's That Roaring?
Who Flies Cat the Cat by Mo Willems
Monster Mess by Margery Cuyler
Who's That Eating?
Zoom, Zoom Baby by Karen Katz
Love Monster and the Perfect Present by Rachel Bright
The Bear's Sea Escape by Benjamin Chadd
Hello Airplane! by Bill Cotter
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat
Chug Chug Tractor by Dawn Sirett
Little Blue Truck's Christmas by Alice Schertle
Dinosaur vs. School by Bob Shea
Dino Shapes by Suse MacDonald
My Turn to Learn Numbers by Natalie Marshall
Cowboy Camp by Tammi Sauer
My First Trucks by Sarah Davis
The Many Mice of Mr. Brice by Dr. Seuss
Buzz Buzz Baby by Karen Katz
Farmer Dale's Red Pickup Truck by Lisa Wheeler
I'm a Truck by Dennis Shealy

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 3438 pages
Pages Remaining: 787,798 pages

Current Read - Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Books Won (0)

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed -- 15 New-to-Me Authors read!

Comments - I stayed on track with my reading and knocked out a ton of books and pages this month. Next month is very ambitious, but I think I can do it!

August's TBR Pile:

Nonfiction: Creative Lettering by Jenny Doh
Science Pick: How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson
Writing Pick: Leaving a Trace by Alexandra Johnson
Crafty Pick: The Complete Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehn
Self-Help Pick: The Crafter's Devotional by Barbara Call
Home Pick; Young House Love by Sherry and John Petersik
History Pick: The Secret Museum by Molly Oldfield
Book club selection: Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara
Carry-over: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Random pick: Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Series Ender: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Summer Capsule Wardrobe Update #2

I've made it almost two months on my very first summer capsule wardrobe. I think it's time for a bit of reflection. What worked, what doesn't, what are my thoughts going forward.

What's working?

I am constantly hot, so having a good supply of tanks and shorts has been great.
I broke the rules and bought a white button down and am very happy that I did. It's great for throwing on over a tank before the temperature gets really high.
I find myself going back to the same few pieces weekly. These pieces should definitely be the basis of my new wardrobe.

This green dress is my absolute favorite. I bought it from a Stitch Fix box right after Arthur was born. It cost more than I usually am comfortable with, but I haven't regretted this buy at all. Overall it's a great pattern and shape for me. Plus the fabric and structure are very forgiving while I attempt to lose some weight. I will be able to wear this even if actually get 20 pounds lighter. And bonus! It's a short dress that isn't a mini dress on me.

The white tank with dip dye bottom is a super comfortably piece. I'm pretty sure this is the shirt I wear the most. I have to wear a tank underneath which isn't ideal, but I love the fabric and shape. I need more fuller coverage tank tops.

This Modcloth purchase were another fairly expensive piece for me, but I love it. It's thin (must wear something underneath) but keeps a great shape. And I love the fun colorful pattern. This specific shirt comes in multiple other patterns and colors. I may just have to buy another if they go on sale soon.

My second favorite tank: orange pattern one. It's lightweight but thick enough that I don't have to wear a tank under. The pattern and colors are perfect for summer. And it's a very flattered cut on me. Win Win!

Lastly, these jean shorts are perfect for summer! They are long enough that I feel comfortable and they fit great. I can't believe they are Sonoma brand from Kohl's. I never think to shop there but one a whim I went in in April. Perfect cut for me. I will have to revisit for pants this fall.

What isn't working?

The pieces below are probably going to go into the Goodwill bag at the end of August unless something drastically changes. They don't fit quite right or just aren't my style. These are the types of pieces that I will keep in mind to not buy next time I shop.
- White tank - collar is funky, very see through.
- Plaid shirt - super old, little tight, little smelly.
- Navy pattern blouse -- Too short, see through, tie annoys me
- Pink blouse -- Shrunk a bit and in weird places
- Stripe blouse -- Tight around my stomach causing weird bunching and tugging
- Olive capris -- Waistband constantly rolls down

Thoughts going forward:

Still looking for a good comfortable pair of brown sandals. The ones I bought are hard on my feet and are already scuffed.
I need to make a list next month of pieces I would love to have for my wardrobe.
I also need to think about what I want to do for fall. I may take a season off and come back to it in winter... But this decision requires more thought.
I'm debating about renewing my Stitch Fix shipments come fall. Maybe having a stylist offer me pieces will help finding stuff I love instead of buying things because they are cheap and convenient.

Quote Wednesday -- Hopper

The most damaging phrase in the language is "We've always done it this way." -- Grace Hopper

The F Word by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Title: The F Word: Feminism in Jeopardy

Author: Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Publisher: Seal Press 2004

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 332

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); Feminism; Mount TBR; 52 Books - W30

Many young women today consider "feminism" a dirty word, an antiquated term that hasn’t expanded to accommodate the diverse needs of a new generation. In addition, decades of negative campaigns, excessively "messaged" issues, and hanging chads have all combined to make political apathy appear not only smart, but sexy. The result is that while they still bemoan the state of gender politics, gender equity, and the agendas of their local, state, and national politicians, nearly 19 million young women chose not to vote in the last presidential election. Yes, the face of feminism is changing, but to what end? Is a new generation taking for granted the rights hard-won only a generation before? And by focusing on cultural–not electoral–politics, are young women giving their power away? In this pivotal book, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, political and environmental consultant (and wife of Washington State’s Republican senate majority leader), asks these critical questions, tracing feminism’s distinguished past and asking what can be done to protect and further women’s rights and freedoms.

My main reason for giving the book 3 stars was because it felt very dated to me. To be fair, it was published in 2004, so a lot of her examples are dated. I felt that for someone who reads a lot of current events, social politics articles and books, the information was a repeat of what I already knew. I would recommend this book for someone who is interested in learning more about third wave feminism and an overview of the sociopolitical situation. Just not going to be the best book for someone like myself.

Music Monday - iPod Shuffle

Brandi Carlile "The Eye"

Red "Darkest Part"

Imagine Dragons "Monster"

High Summer Readathon Wrap-up

Well I completely dropped the ball with posting about my progress, but I did read. I didn't read as much as I wanted this week, but I tried to take the time here and there. I'm okay with my readathon performance.

My goals:

Read at least two books √
Read at least 1000 pages -- Just squeaked by with 1047 pages read this week √
Review all books read √
Knock off at least 8 spots on my reading challenges -- I filled exactly 8 slots this week. I had hoped for more, but 8 works just fine. √

TBR Pile:

Finish The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin √
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald √
Bayou Folk by Kate Chopin √
The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke √
The F Word by Kristin Rowe
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Mad Scientist's Daughter

Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke

Publisher: Angry Robot 2013

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 391

Rating: 45 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; What's in a Name - Familial Relation

Finn looks and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A billion-dollar construct, his primary task now is to tutor Cat. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, Finn is her guardian, her constant companion… and more.
But when the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot population, however, Finn struggles to find his place in the world.

Mixed feelings about this book. I really loved the storyline and most of the characters. Finn was a great character... He was definitely my favorite. Cat was a bit hit and miss for me. There were a few times that I wanted to smack her, but overall she was a good character. The storyline was a bit predictable, but I still really enjoyed. My issue with the book came with the choppy writing in the first part. I stopped multiple times because of the writing. By the second half, the writing improved dramatically. Overall a good book even with my minor issues.

Sunday Sunset #16

Listening To: One Bad Mother podcast. I've almost completely caught up on the backlog.

Book finished: Highlander Unbound; The Girl on the Train; The Happiness Project; This Side of Paradise; Bayou Folk; The Mad Scientist's Daughter

Reading: Nothing right this second... still deciding on my next book.

On the Nightstand: The F Word by Kristin Rowe; Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon; A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Making Lists: One big list of ideas. I'm feeling that brain dump is in order this week to get all of it out of my head. I need to dump and organize my ideas into projects.

Around the house: I did a crazy clean this week. it was a bit manic, but I feel so much better with a clean and tidy-ish house.

From the kitchen: I tried a few new recipes these past few weeks. And most have been successes. I also decided that I'm not a fan of chipotle flavor.

Watching: Since finishing The Newsroom last week, we've been watching a ton of new and new-to-me shows: Another Period; Brink; and Merlin (new-to-me). Another Period is definitely my favorite. Laugh out loud funny!

Wondering: Will we ever catch up with Game of Thrones? Still almost two seasons behind.

From Nature: The weather has been all over the place this week. We went from 90+ temps to cool and windy. I actually have to look at the weather report to get dressed in the morning.

Project: A group of friends and SU demonstrators are having a craft supply garage sale at the end of August. I've started to clean out my craft area in preparation. I finished probably 60% this weekend. That last 40% is going to take awhile. I hope to have everything tag and ready next weekend for my crop day. I always have some products out for sale.

Picture: My crazy climber...

101 in 1001 Update #6

What I did:

8. Choose and document One Little Word 2015 and 2016 — Still plugging away.

13. Pass 500 books for Arthur’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten (277/500) -- We added a few amount of books this past month.

21. Make 10 non-greeting card crafts from my Pinterest boards (7/10) -- I started working on traditional scrapbooking pages for the Find Your Voice class. They are turing out great!

26. Read 50 of my owned unread books (36/50) -- Six more books from my shelves this month.

28. Read 100,000 pages toward 1,000,000 page goal (19,284/100,000) -- I read 3975 pages in June. Very exciting reading month! Hoping to continue the trend.

31. Catch up on the twins scrapbook albums -- They are caught up to this summer which means that I did almost two years worth of pages in about a month!

34. Make 250 different greeting cards (56/250) -- Nine more different card designs made this past month.

43. Go to 5 tourist things in San Francisco -- While my mom was here we hit up

Lunch in North Beach
Musee Mechanique
Pier 39
City Lights Bookstore
Ice Cream at Humphry Slocombe in the Ferry Building

45. Make 50 new recipes (23/50) .

Baked Peaches -- Very yummy and simple dessert. Perfect for summer nights.
Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes -- Decent recipe, but I've decided that I don't love the chipotle flavor.
Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread - Oh so good and so easy!
Potato Bacon Casserole -- Easy and a nice alternative to breakfast potatoes.
Cucumber Avocado Chilled Soup -- Incredibly easy and great for hot summer days. Even Arthur liked it.
Ranch Chicken Tacos -- Another easy recipe, but I think next time I'll make nachos out of it instead of tacos.

49. Make a pie on PI day -- Okay it's second PI day, but still counts. J made a wonderful blueberry lemon pie. I devoured a piece on Wednesday night.

54. Try 25 new restaurants (11/25)

Calzone's in San Francisco -- We ate here while my mom was visiting for a week. Amazing Italian, must get their bruschetta!
The Sunflower Caffe in Sonoma -- Lunch stop during the winery day while my mom was here.
Fish on the Grill in San Ramon -- Castro Valley isn't great with restaurants, so we've been trying places in San Ramon. Nice little fish and chips place.
Lucca's Deli -- Nice traditional deli in downtown Castro Valley. We will have to go back.

64. Complete a 30 miles in 30 days challenge -- My goal for June. I need to increase my goal next time.

72. Donate something extra at each MVPA social x 10 (3/10)

83. Take one free online class -- I currently in the middle of rukristin's Find You Voice class and I'm loving it!

Remaining goals and total:

Friends, Family, and Love 1.Send out homemade holiday cards in December 2x 2. Build a snowman 3. Complete 52 once a week photos of Arthur 5. Date nights x 20 6. Complete a Jar of Life 7. Host a tea party 9. Write a personal manifesto 10. Take a picture of myself every first day of the month 11. Give 5 Just Because gifts 12. Give Arthur 25 pictures books in 25 days for December 2015 16. Take Arthur and twins to go see Santa

Crafting and Culture 17. Attend an opera or musical 18. Reread the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit 20. Finish one of my Perpetual Reading Challenges 22. Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all 23. Watch a meteor shower 24. Attend 5 concerts (1/5) 25. Complete 10 Day in the Life posts (2/10) 27. Tour a factory 29. Finish 2015 and 2016 Project Life book (family and Arthur) 30. Finish 2015 and 2016 December Daily 32. Watch 100 different TED Talks and do a short review/analysis on the blog (new series) 33. Watch/rewatch every Academy Awards Best Picture since the year I was born (1982) 1982: Gandhi 1983: Terms of Endearment 1984: Amadeus 1985: Out of Africa 1986: Platoon 1987: The Last Emperor 1988: Rain Man 1989: Driving Miss Daisy 1990: Dances with Wolves 1991: Silence of the Lambs 1992: Unforgiven 1993: Schindler’s List 1994: Forrest Gump 1995: Braveheart 1996: The English Patient 1997: Titanic 1998: Shakespeare in Love 1999: American Beauty 2000: Gladiator 2001: A Beautiful Mind 2002: Chicago 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2004: Million Dollar Baby 2005: Crash 2006: The Departed 2007: No Country for Old Men 2008: Slumdog Millionaire 2009: The Hurt Locker 2010: The King’s Speech 2011: The Artist 2012: Argo 2013: 12 Years a Slave 2014: TBD 2015: TBD 2016: TBD 35. See a drive-in movie 36. Listen to every song by The Beatles 37. Finish watching every Star Trek television episode and movie 38. Have a Pixar movie month 39. Complete The Artist’s Way 40. Complete a year of no book buying 41. Learn Ruby on rails 42. Participate in 30 Days of Lists 2x (1/2)

Food and Drink 44. Take a cooking class 46. Open a cookbook to a random page and make what ever is on it 47. Give up dining out for one month 48. Try Whole30 51. Make fresh pasta 52. Learn to make a good martini 53. Do a brewery tour 55. Try 5 new to me foods 56. No pop for a month

Health and Fitness 57. Lose 2 pants sizes 58. Walk a 5K 59. Get a massage 60. Take a yoga class 61. Get three pedicures (1/3) 62. Do a spa day 65. Get lasik 66. Get CPR certified again

Travel 67. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast 68. Go on a vacation with Josh 69. Visit the Redwoods (any park) 70. Travel to a new state

Philanthropic 71. Give a 100% tip 73. Pay it forward at Starbucks/coffeeshop 74. Donate to a Kickstarter campaign I love

Financial 75. Two week money fast (starting with full gas tanks and a full pantry) 76. Open an Etsy shop

Miscellaneous 79. Get Arthur’s tattoo 80. Get a passport 81. Get rid of 100 things 82. Learn how to use our DSLR 84. Make a chalk mural on the driveway/porch 85. Finish a Soduku puzzle 87. Complete a coloring book 89. Take an IQ test 90. Play Bingo in a bingo hall 91. Go horseback riding or hiking 92. Participate in 30 Day Wardrobe Challenge 93. Unplug completely for 24 hours 95. Go to a convention (blogging, SU, etc) 96. Dye my hair purple 97.Revamp my wardrobe 98. Take real photos of me for my blogs 99. Post a vlog 100. Go apple/berry/etc picking

FF #27 Off to the Studio

I've been trying to be more focused on daily yoga lately. This would be the perfect outfit to wear to and from the yoga studio. Cute yoga pants and a simple supportive tank form the basis of the outfit. To make it more appropriate for getting to and from and maybe some errands in between, I threw on a simple dress and comfy sandals. To top it off, I added some colorful headbands to keep the hair out of your eyes and multipurpose bag.

Green dress

maykool.com

Yoga activewear

etsy.com

Yoga activewear

le3no.com

Yoga Ponytail Holder Set

urbanoutfitters.com

Sanuk black sandals

shoemall.com

Black tote

tjmaxx.tjx.com

It's Video Day!

It's video day! What have I been watching lately? Love Amy and Tina!

Yep, I'll be watching this one...

I always go back to John Green's list videos.

Another fun fashion video.

I leave you with this video that made me laugh out loud. "Breathe in strength, breathe out bullshit."

Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie by Kate Chopin

Title: Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie

Author: Kate Chopin

Publisher: 1895, 1897

Genre: Classic

Pages: 369

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; A to Z - B; What's in a Name - Body of Water; Back to the Classics - 19th Century

Kate Chopin was one of the most individual and adventurous of nineteenth-century American writers, whose fiction explored new and often startling territory. From her first stories, Chopin was interested in independent characters who challenged convention. These two collections - 'Bayou Folk' was first published in 1895 and 'A Night in Acadie' in 1897 - established Chopin's reputation as a regional realist. With a gentle, knowing gaze, Chopin evokes the distant world of Louisiana plantations and 'Cadian balls, and anticipated the thoroughly modern multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and sexually charged world of more modern times.

The Awakening is one my all-time favorite books. I've been meaning to read Chopin's other writings. These two short story volumes were very enjoyable. Chopin's eye for character and culture in Louisiana is fantastic. I loved the variety of people and settings in the stories. The reader can definitely pick up the beginnings of the characters and plot for The Awakening sprinkled throughout the stories. My only issue was some of the dialogue written the way people actually talk. It made some passages fairly hard to read. My trick is to read them out loud to actually understand what is being said. A strange tactic when with others. Nevertheless, I did enjoy these two volumes.

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: This Side of Paradise

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publisher: 1920

Genre: Classics

Pages: 287

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Back to the Classics - 20th Century

Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of Paradise (1920) was an immediate, spectacular success and established his literary reputation. Perhaps the definitive novel of that "Lost Generation," it tells the story of Amory Blaine, a handsome, wealthy Princeton student who halfheartedly involves himself in literary cults, "liberal" student activities, and a series of empty flirtations with young women. When he finally does fall truly in love, however, the young woman rejects him for another. After serving in France during the war, Blaine returns to embark on a career in advertising. Still young, but already cynical and world-weary, he exemplifies the young men and women of the '20s, described by Fitzgerald as "a generation grown up to find all gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken."

It's no The Great Gatsby. Okay, that was unfair as Gatsby is one of the quintessential American novels. I can see how Amory Blaine was a prototype for Jay Gatbsy. I can see how Fitzgerald's voice evolved between the two novels. I get the volume's place in literary history. What I didn't like was the storyline and main character. For the most part, I was bored throughout the book and kept wanting to punch Amory Blaine. Hence the 3 star rating.

Currently #12

Watching: J and I are finally on the last season of Newsroom. We'll probably finish it this week.

Reading: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not expecting it to be as amazing as The Great Gatsby but hoping it's a good read.

Listening: Brandi Carlile's newest album The Firewatcher's Daughter has been on repeat. Love her voice!

Making: I'm right in the middle of the Find Your Voice 6 week course. Along with contemplating the weekly questions, I'm completing a traditional scrapbook page with thoughts, actions, and reflections. I'll be sharing the first half of my pages this week on the craft blog.

Feeling: The twins and my mom left on Sunday. It's been very quiet in the house the past few days.

Planning: I'm trying to wrap my brain around all the big projects I want to accomplish in the second half of 2015. I'm thinking a brain dump day may be in order to get all the random thoughts and ideas down on paper.

Loving: Arthur woke up vomiting on Sunday. It was not a good day. I think he was/has a sinus infection as most of the throw up was mucus. Monday he's doing a lot better, but we're not out of the woods yet. Overall, sick toddlers are miserable. Glad he's feeling better quickly.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Title: The Happiness Project

Author: Gretchen Rubin

Publisher: Harper 2009

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 315

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); TBR Reduction; 52 Books - W29; OLW Home; Dewey Decimal

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

After my less than stellar review of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I'll admit to being a bit apprehensive about this volume. But I shouldn't have been worried. I loved this little book. Rubin has a great way of laying out her ideas and stories that is accessibly and not pretentious. I was a bit afraid that I would be preached at throughout the book. Instead, I felt myself wanting to be friends with Rubin and join her crazy project. By the end of the book, I was convinced that I need to do my own Happiness Project. I know I won't have the exact same monthly focuses or resolutions as Rubin, but I'm sure many will be similar. As I am in the middle of trying out Ali Edwards' One Little Word project, I'm going to sit on the Happiness Project until January. And it will give me time to reread the book, host a book club meeting on it, and formulate my own resolutions and focuses.

Music Monday - Mat Kearney "Ships in the Night"

Love the song and the video is amazing!

High Summer Readathon Starting Line

I haven't done a readathon in months! I'm ready to jump in with both feet.

My goals:

Read at least two books
Read at least 1000 pages
Review all books read
Knock off at least 8 spots on my reading challenges

TBR Pile:

Finish The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bayou Folk by Kate Chopin
The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke
The F Word by Kristin Rowe
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

High Summer Readathon is Coming Soon!

I almost completely forgot about this readathon. The summer has been crazy, but it's winding down this weekend. The twins and my mom leave tomorrow, so we'll be back to our much quieter school year routine. I'll have time to concentrate on reading again. And to help me out, the government decided that I should be called for jury duty on Monday. Depending on how the day goes, I may have a lot of time to do nothing by read this week. Here are the details if you want to join:

The official dates are July 20th through the 26th. Guidelines for the read-a-thon can be found HERE or you can access in the tab at the top of the blog. Any information you need about the read-a-thon can be found there. I haven't decided about having one or more Twitter chats yet. If enough people express interest in having one, I will set them up when the read-a-thon starts. Please do be sure to check the guidelines, as it explains all about signing up and starting the read-a-thon. Our Twitter hashtag is #HSreadathon.

2015 Reading Challenges Update #2

Another year, another long list of reading challenges. 2015 is all about attempting to read from my own bookshelves. Doing good so far. I thought it would be a good idea to do a periodic checkup on my reading challenges. A way of reminding myself of my successes and failures. So here goes…

Total Challenges: 5/31 16.1%

Total Spots: 335/533 60.4%

Individual Challenge Progress:

Fantasy Project 2/5 40%
Nonfiction Adventure 10/10 100%*
NPR Scifi and Fantasy 1/5 20%
NPR Teen 5/5 100%*
Top 100 YA 2/5 40%
21st Century Women Authors 1/5 20%
US of YA 0/5 20%
Time Top 100 0/5 0%
Rory Gilmore 2/5 40%
1001 Books 2/5 40%
Anne Rice 0/5 0%
Feminism 2/10 20%
TBR Reduction 26/48 54.2%
Mount TBR 29/36 80.6%
Library 12/12 100%*
Ebooks 8/25 32%
Read Your Freebies 12/12 100%*
A to Z 17/26 65.4%
What’s in a Name 3/6 50%
Picture Books 128/150 85.3%
Seriously Series 5/10 50%
Books to Movies 5/12 41.7%
52 Books in 52 Weeks 28/52 53.8%
Fairytales 5/10 50%
Dewey Decimal 5/10 50%
Banned Books 0/5 0%
Back to the Classics 2/6 33.3%
New Author 15/15 100%*
Blogger Recs 1/10 10%
Outlander 1/8 12.5%
OLW Home 6/10 60%

*Successes: My overall totals are pretty amazing for July. I've got over 60% of the slots are filled. And I've made some great progress with the variety of types of books I've read. Very excited about my reading momentum this year so far. Hoping to keep it up throughout the rest of the year.

**Failures (Needs Improvement): My perpetual challenges are not going so well. I really need to focus on some of those books that I've been meaning to read for years. Working on it... I'm going to retool my reading plan for the coming months.

FF #26 Bubblegum

My Disney Princess series has come to a close so I'm back to creating more normal outfits. I wouldn't necessarily wear this outfit, but I do love the look. Pops of pink within a sea of neutrals create a playful outfit. I especially love the look of the top (or dress as the designer thinks it is): neutral but with great details. The jewelry is classically understated but with a bit of shine. And the wedges are just a great piece of footwear.