I have really been slacking on this challenge, but I did manage to pull it out in the end. Let’s see how I did:
Thoughts: I finished a few recurring posts and an entire month's worth of Fashion Friday posts. Plus I added five more craft blog posts for November. Super excited that I actually finished this challenge. Just under the wire, but I did finish it!
October's TBR Pile (11/14):
Picture Book Roundup:
1,000,000 Page Goal
Monthly Total: 3187 pages
Pages Remaining: 778,607 pages
Current Read - Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (yes still); After Alice by Gregory Maguire
Books Won (0)
Books I Gave Up On (0)
Challenges Completed -- OLW 2015; Fairytale
Comments - I pulled out a very decent month and completed two reading challenges. I'm super excited and read some great books, Unfortunately two of my reads were pretty duds, but I'll take my stats. Looking to finish the year strong.
November's TBR Pile:
For this Halloween, the family is doing Lord of the Rings. I'm going to be Galadriel, but this outfit is my take on a modern Galadriel.
$2,095 - harrods.com
bluefly.com
navabi.us
runway2street.com
blingjewelry.com
This past week has been a tough one. Probably makes this the perfect week to engage in some thanks.
Title: Someday My Prince (Princess #2)
Author: Christina Dodd
Publisher: Avon Books 1999
Genre: Romance
Pages: 384
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: TBR Reduction; Seriously Series; 52 Books - W43
Princess Laurentia leads a fairy-tale life, attending glittering balls and wearing beautiful gowns. But after the ball is over, Laurentia finds herself getting into bed...alone. She dutifully agrees to choose a husband, but when she casts her eyes over her sea of suitors, she doesn't see a single man worthy enough to claim her.
But Who Will She Choose?
Then suddenly, she is swept off her feet by Prince Dominick, soldier of fortune, black sheep of his family...and the man hired to protect her. He's brazen enough to steal her kisses, yet tender enough to soothe her with one touch. He makes no promises, speaks no vows of forever...yet Laurentia can't help but hope that her prince has finally arrived.
Another disappointing fluffy romance. I did like this one better than the first book of the series, but I still didn't like the characters very much. Laurentia has a bit of character and Dom is an interesting guy, but their relationship is fraught with issues. Overall I was just so disappointed in this book.
Princess
Watching: J and I waited until the second half of the two parter had aired before we watched Doctor Who. Really enjoying this season much more than last season.
Reading: After some nonfiction and more serious books, I took a breather with a few fluffy romances.
Listening: Arthur and I have been jamming out to Florence + the Machine this morning.
Making: I'm super behind, but I finally started September's Project Life pages. And Arthur's album is two months behind.
Feeling: Going on five days of a massive migraine. I am so over this! A new acquaintance told me to try acupuncture. Maybe I'll attempt to find someone...
Planning: The bazaar is only two and a half weeks away. And we've got a lot to be done before then. Plus, I'm selling my Thirty-One and cards.
Loving: I randomly grabbed some dark chocolate pomegranate seeds from Trader Joe's last week. So incredibly yummy!
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!
1. Gotye "Eyes Wide Open"
2. Amanda Palmer "Astronaut"
3. Flogging Molly "If I Ever Leave This World Alive"
Title: The Runaway Princess (Princess #1)
Author: Christina Dodd
Publisher: Avon Books 1999
Genre: Romance
Pages: 360
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: TBR Reduction; Seriously Series
English orphan Miss Evangeline Scoffield has spent her life contenting herself with dreams. But with an unforeseen inheritance, she can afford one perfect summer. She buys herself expensive clothes, travels abroad, and presents herself as a lady of mystery. But she quickly discovers her mistake, for a darkly handsome man appears at her bedroom door, claiming to be a Crown Prince--and her fiancé. Her denials count for nothing. Danior will do anything to have her. Seduce her, abduct her, or when danger explodes about them, flee with his unwilling bride into a world of peril, promise and passion.
I was hoping that this would be a great feel-good romance after so many serious fiction books and nonfiction books. Alas, I was a bit disappointed in this one. I found Evangeline to be a huge contradiction of character. And Danior was a huge brut. The fact that he almost raped her really put me off him as a character. I enjoyed the storyline, but the characters really fell flat for me. I have the sequel sitting on my shelf. I may just read that next just to finish out the duo.
Princess:
What I did:
8. Choose and document One Little Word 2015 and 2016 -- Working on it!
13. Pass 500 books for Arthur’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten (374/500)
26. Read 50 of my owned unread books (45/50) — Three more books read from October. Getting super close to finishing this goal.
28. Read 100,000 pages toward 1,000,000 page goal (28,726/100,000) — In September, I read 2142 pages. Not a great month, but it's something...
34. Make 250 different greeting cards (101/250) -- 15 new designs from the last month! Slowly plugging along with this goal. Being on the SSINK design team is really helping me keep on track!
45. Make 50 new recipes (29/50)
54. Try 25 new restaurants (13/25)
69. Visit the Redwoods (any park) -- For this fall's retreat, we vacationed in the Russian River area. Saturday morning we visited Armstrong Woods for a nice walk (which turned into a moderate hike). Such amazing trees!
72. Donate something extra at each MVPA social x 10 (4/10) -- Another amazing social in the books.
74. Donate to a Kickstarter campaign I love -- One Bad Mother launched an awesome Kickstarter featuring Parenting Merit Badges. Check it out here!
91. Go horseback riding or hiking -- Unintentionally I went hiking on the retreat. We started out with a 1-3 mile easy walk, but instead we climbed over 400' along a trail.
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
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 70. Travel to a new state
Philanthropic 71. Give a 100% tip 73. Pay it forward at Starbucks/coffeeshop
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 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
Stripes and sneakers scream school days to me. I updated the look with a great structured backpack and modern accessories. Casual, yet put together!
dorothyperkins.com
swell.com
$36 - newlook.com
zazzle.com
nastydress.com
Title: Happier at Home
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Publisher: Harmony 2013
Genre: Nonfiction - Memoir; Self-Help
Pages: 304
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); TBR Reduction; 52 Books - W42; OLW Home
In The Happiness Project, she worked out general theories of happiness. Here she goes deeper on factors that matter for home, such as possessions, marriage, time, and parenthood. How can she control the cubicle in her pocket? How might she spotlight her family’s treasured possessions? And it really was time to replace that dud toaster. Each month, Rubin tackles a different theme as she experiments with concrete, manageable resolutions—and this time, she coaxes her family to try some resolutions, as well.
A bit of a disappoint after loving The Happiness Project so much. This one reads almost like a redone Happiness Project without a huge amount of new insight or experience. I read it and added some of her resolutions to my ideas for 2016, but overall I wasn't deeply entrenched in this book.
Such pretties...
Intriguing
This looks like my kind of Christmas movie!
I love the Ragtime Gals!
I'll take the 1960s please...
I loved the first one. I kind of really want to see the sequel.
Some cuteness for your Thursday...
There are two cinemas: the films we have actually seen and the memories we have of them. -- Molly Haskell
Really digging this sone right now.
The first two weeks in October were crazy busy with the retreat and Arthur's birthday party. Now that I have a little time to work on others things, I can actually get some posts completed. Let's see how i did:
Thoughts: 20 quick Quote Wednesday posts completed for the rest of 2015 and all of 2016. It's something! I also finished three SSINK posts over on the craft blog.
Listening To: Catching up on my One Bad Mother episodes. I'm still two episodes behind.
Book finished: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell; The Sixth Extinction; Saga Volume 1
Reading: A Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon; Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
On the Nightstand: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie; Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Making Lists: It's grocery list day. The bane of my existence.
From the kitchen: Nothing new to report. I stuck with some of our tried and true recipes this past week (Cajun Stuffed Chicken; Balsamic Pork Roast; Baked Ziti). I don't have any new recipes on tap for dinner entrees. But I did pin a caramel apple dessert that looks amazing...
Crafting: Along with my design team cards, I need to start my Christmas cards. I've got a craft fair coming up on November 14th and I have maybe five Christmas cards ready. I definitely need more! And I'm looking to the December 5th craft fair and my usual family cards.
Watching: The Book of Life - Arthur and I watched this one afternoon. I really enjoyed it! And J and I finished the entire series of Merlin! While I loved the show, the last scene in the series really didn't need to be there.
From Nature: Temperatures have been perfect this past week. And Saturday was nice and cooler for our costume social. Good thin as J had many layers on.
Project: Working on the Holiday Bazaar. It's a very large project. There's a big part of me that will be happy when it's over.
Picture: At our Fall-O-Ween social on Saturday.
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: 9/31 29%
Total Spots: 415/533 77.9%
Individual Challenge Progress:
*Successes: Nine challenges complete! Holy cow I'm excited about this one! And one of those challenges was the 150 picture book challenge.
**Failures (Needs Improvement): Most of perpetual challenges are languishing this year. I really need to reformulate my reading plan for the last few months of the year.
Title: Saga Volume 1
Author: Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image 2012
Genre: Comics
Pages: 160
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: TBR Reduction; Ebook; Fairytale
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. From New York Times bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds.
Holy cow! Another series that's been on my list for far too long. I finally got to it and it is amazing. I love how Vaughan writes characters. And this series promises to have lots of very interesting characters. The illustrations are gorgeous with such texture! I can't wait to see what happens to Marko, Alana, and Hazel.
Title: The Sixth Extinction
Author: Elizabeth Kolbert
Publisher: Henry Holt 2014
Genre: Nonfiction
Pages: 319
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); ebook;
Over the last half-billion years, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
A fascinating look at the ongoing possible Sixth Extinction. While I have a decent knowledge of the previous five extinctions and have read articles about the current one, it was a nice refresher course of information. I enjoyed the related stories about specific species more. Those are where the book shines. The detailed accounts of the rise and fall of certain species helps to tie the distant past to today. My favorite was a discussion about the now extinct auks. I know I've seen a stuffed one in some museum I have visited and wondered what they were. Now I know more about them and their demise. Overall, an accessible discussion of the past and possible future.