Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Title: Fingersmith

Author: Sarah Waters

Publisher: Riverhead Books 2002

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 584

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 21st Century Women Authors; 1001 Books; Mount TBR; New Author; Lucky No. 14 - Books vs. Movies

Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.
One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.
With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways...But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.

Oh... I really liked this one. In the beginning of the novel, I thought I would tire of Sue's narration, but then things started happening and plot twists were revealed. And suddenly I was right in the thick of the story. I was rooting for Sue to find her escape and her happiness. I did not see her future as laid out as one carefree, but I was hoping for a bit of happiness. This book kept me guessing as to what was just around the corner. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Movie:

I've loved Sally Hawkins ever since I saw her in Persuasion. I got really excited when I saw that she was playing Susan. After watching the movie version, I'd have to saw that I like the book even more. This was a faithful adaptation of the story, although they changed the order slightly. We get much more from Maud's point of view right away. But I understand. For the movie version, this just works better. We are still experiencing the twists and turns as the plot moves forward. We will get the big reveals. And we get all the great characters brought to life on screen. Definitely recommend this one.

Quote Wednesday -- Phelps

Wear the old coat and buy the new book. -- Austin Phelps

It's Bloggiesta Time!

It's that time again. Time to set away from the fun of reading and crafting and time to fix all those little things that have been bugging me for months. It's time to buckle down and spend a few days getting my blogs in order. Yep, that's right, I said blogs. Did you know that I have two blogs? I do. This one here is my personal blog full of book reviews, movies, music, life updates, and everything else. My other blog is specifically for crafting. You can find a link to it on the sidebar: The Craft Sea. For Bloggiesta, I have separate tasks for each blog, but for brevity's sake, I'll only be posting about them here. My goal list is huge, but I imagine that this will be a running to-do list for the next month. I just want to knock as much off that I can this weekend.

My goals:

Write review of Fingersmith and any other books I finish this week
Update reading challenges totals on blog, in notebook, and for RC Update #3 post
Update TBR Pile page
Fix any gaps in Reviews pages
Start 2015 TBR list; prep draft page
Tweak About Me page - here and at craft blog
Update Blogs I Love page -- double check Bloglovin'
Update Current Book Wish List
Prep review drafts for rest of 2014 scheduled reading
Prep/write 5 Music Monday posts
Prep/write 5 Fashion Friday posts
Prep/write 2 TTT posts
Prep/write 5 Thursday posts
Prep/write 5 Sunday Sunset posts
Prep/write October 30 Days Challenges posts
Start new Day Zero Project draft
Create FrightFall Readathon TBR pile, update posts, goal post
Record/trash/write random drafts -- here and at craft blog
Update Other Crafty People -- double check Bloglovin'
Add Holiday catalog to sidebar
Add any outstanding craft projects to Pinterest
Prep/write 5 Basic Technique posts
Prep/write 5 Essential Products posts
Prep/write 2 Project Life posts
Prep/write 2 New Discoveries posts
Prep/write 5 SU News posts
Prep/write 5 Sunday Haul posts
Prep/write October 30 Days of Cards posts

Arthur: 11 Months / 48 Weeks

It seems we made it out of non-sleeping hell and into a much happier little baby! And guess who turned 11 months old yesterday? It's Arthur!!

Likes: Dirt (playing and eating), playing in the ottoman, his blankie (just call him Linus now)

Dislikes: Chicken (random, but he now boycotts it), being barred from the kitchen cabinets (see the picture evidence below)

Sleeping: Finally! We have turned the sleep corner. All last week, he's been going down around 7:30pm with little to no fuss and sleeping until 6am with sometimes one wakeup to eat. So much better! And naps are fairly consistent now. I put him down right after lunch and he sleeps 1-2 hours. Glorious!

Eating: All the things, except for chicken. He randomly decided to stop eating chicken this week. Oh well. Not a huge deal. We will keep offering it to him. Otherwise, he loves most food that I offer. His new favorite was my crab and shrimp tempura sushi rolls. Devoured it!

Playing: We've had a few playdates at playgrounds around the area. Arthur has been interacting more and more with the playground equipment and other children. I love watching him play.

Medical Milestones:

Organizing objects (recognizing patterns) -- Not yet. We're still working on putting things in instead of just taking things out.
Drop in appetite -- Not yet. He's still ravenous, eating a ton at lunch and dinner. Breakfast has never been a huge eating event.
Speaking a few words -- Not yet. Although he does imitate "all done" fairly closely. I think it's just sounds to him and not an actual word.
Communicating wants and needs -- Definitely! He gestures, grunts, screeches (if I don't answer), and even reaches.

Schedule:We've settled back into one. I am so excited about this turn of life!

Out and About: Lots of errands. We had a couple of small incidental playdates: a home inspection and a open house crafting. Arthur and I also traveled all the way to Valley Fair Mall (roughly 15 minutes away) to get a new power adapter from the Apple Store. We finished off our week with a trip up to Fremont to see a few rental properties and lunch. A very eventful week!

Fairest: The Return of the Maharaja

Title: Fairest 3: The Return of the Maharaja

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2014

Genre: Fantasy Comics

Pages: 144

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; 52 Books - W38; Read Your Freebies; Seriously Series

When Nalayani seeks the help of the Maharaja to save her village from the Dhole, she uncovers a secret that could change the Fables Universe forever: the still alive and long-thought dead Prince Charming!

Oh yes! I love this series almost as much as I love the original series: Fables. We get some of the characters from the original series (hello Prince Charming!), but expanded storylines. We also get to explore some of the other worlds alluded to in Fables. In this volume, we get to travel to Indu where Mowgli was from. I loved Nalayani's character. She's a strong, nonsense woman. The perfect foil to Prince Charming. And the ending was fantastic. I hope we get to see these two again in the series.

Fairest:

#1 Wide Awake
#2 Hidden Kingdom
In All the Land
#3 The Return of the Maharaja
#4 Cinderella - Of Mice and Men

Music Monday -- iPod Shuffle

A pretty eclectic mix this month...

John Mayer "Neon"

Flogging Molly "Screaming at the Wailing Wall"

Third Eye Blind "Jumper"

Sunday Sunset #26

Listening To: Mumford and Sons. I've had their albums on repeat lately...

Book finished: Washington; Winterblaze; Fingersmith

Reading: No Turning Back by Estelle Freedman; An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

On the Nightstand: Dune by Frank Herbert

Making Lists: Grocery list for the next two weeks. Projects to finish before Christmas.

From the kitchen: Last week I made a few new recipes -- Apple Cheddar Stuffed Chicken with Dijon Pan Sauce (very yummy) and Tater Tot Casserole (American shepherd's pie)

Crafting: I finished with my holiday swaps, my September swap card, and my Halloween and Thanksgiving class cards. Plus, I caught up with PL for the family album. I was on top of it this week.

Watching: We finished Game of Thrones S3 (yeah, I know, way behind), The Newsroom S1 (so very Sorkin), and Gravity Falls S1 (my little guilty pleasure). Even though we finished three seasons, we didn't actually watch too much tv this week...

From Nature: Beautifully sunny and breezy. That's the Bay.

Project: An upcoming movie. With J's new job in the city, we need to fin a place that gives him a shorter commute. From our place now, it will be almost 3 hours a day in commute time (2 hours on the train and about 1 hour walking). We're looking at Fremont in East Bay. Not my absolute favorite, but it's close to the BART line (faster trip into the city) and way cheaper. We've looked at three places so far, but none are right. We have the time to shop around a bit. However, with the market around here we will have to jump when we find a place we like. I'm hoping before Christmas... But that also means that I need to start packing/decluttering now.

Picture: Arthur enjoying his first sushi. Don't worry it was imitation crab and shrimp tempura.

FrightFall Readathon is Right Around the Corner!

From Seasons of Reading:

I'm so very excited that it's almost officially Fall again (although I always kick off Fall personally on September 1...haha)! The FrightFall Read-a-Thon is only two weeks away! Official dates are September 29 through October 5. I hope you're ready to get your scary on! 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. We will have one Twitter chat. I will announce the date and time in the starting post. Please do be sure to check the guidelines, as I've made changes regarding signing up and the starting line. Our Twitter hashtag is #FrightFall.

Just remember...the one main "rule" of FrightFall is that you must read ONE scary book (which can be a thriller, mystery, Gothic novel, or similar for those who are faint of heart).

I'm joining! Now I just need to pick my scary book to read for the season.

FF #33: Lounging Style

When it comes to days completely in the house, I admit that I don't put any effort into my outfit. I'm going for comfort... This is the perfect comfort outfit. Loose, soft pants, a generic tee, chucks (in case i need to get the mail), and a tote bag for my crap. Just perfect.

Unisex top

etsy.com

Uniqlo stretch waist pants

uniqlo.com

Converse round toe flat

lordandtaylor.com

Scotch Soda shopper handbag

scotch-soda.com

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

My crafting addiction is renewed (not that it really went away...)
Loving pumpkin spice lattes, of course!
Missing the typical fall weather of the midwest
Contemplating Halloween costumes
Trying to develop some business strategies
5:30am wake up calls are so not my jam
I have three book clubs at the end of September/beginning of October and I haven't read a single selection... must get going on this!
Getting super excited about making a December Daily album this year

Quote Wednesday -- Dali

What we see isn't in things, but in our souls. -- Salvador Dali

Arthur: 47 Weeks

We are back on track! Thank goodness! This past week went much better...

Likes: Watching other kids play, playgrounds, grass, my phone

Dislikes: Sleeping (but getting better), being confined (crib, stroller, jumper, lap, etc)

Sleeping: We started sleep training again and this time it actually worked! We are following the Ferber method of putting Arthur in his crib awake and then going in every 10 minutes if he's still crying but not picking him up. The past few nights, I've had to go in one or twice before he's completely asleep. We have had a few 5:30am wake-ups, but he has been sleeping through the night once we get him down. I'd call this week a success. So much better with sleeping!

Eating: His new favorite food is sweet potato fries. Of course, I love them also... Other than that, he eats whatever we have and it's not usually an issue. If anything is an issue, I can just make him some more veggies and fruit for extra dinner.

Playing: Lots of fun play lately. He's loving exploring and manipulating new activities and toys. He's even starting to play with other kids. So adorable!

Medical Milestones:

Understanding simple words and effects -- Check! I've noticed that when I say I'm coming back, he does quiet down.
Standing unassisted -- Check! He's constantly standing, but hardly ever takes a step.

Schedule:I feel like we're actually getting a schedule back. We've settled into one nap a day (usually in the afternoon), and bedtime is just about set. We have regularly scheduled activities Tuesday through Thursday.

Out and About: We hit up two home inspections which translated into two mini playdates with baby friends. We also visited the library, a new playground (Las Palmas), Rengstorff, and Deer Hollow. Lot of fun with our baby friends.

Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan

Title: Winterblaze (Darkest London #3)

Author: Kristen Callihan

Publisher: Hachette Book Group 2012

Genre: Paranormal

Pages: 411

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Seriously Series; 52 Books - W37

Once blissfully in love . . . Poppy Lane is keeping secrets. Her powerful gift has earned her membership in the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals, but she must keep both her ability and her alliance with the Society from her husband, Winston. Yet when Winston is brutally attacked by a werewolf, Poppy's secrets are revealed, leaving Winston's trust in her as broken as his body. Now Poppy will do anything to win back his affections . . .
Their relationship is now put to the ultimate test. Winston Lane soon regains his physical strength but his face and heart still bear the scars of the vicious attack. Drawn into the darkest depths of London, Winston must fight an evil demon that wants to take away the last hope of reconciliation with his wife. As a former police inspector, Winston has intelligence and logic on his side. But it will take the strength of Poppy's love for him to defeat the forces that threaten to tear them apart.

I really wanted to like this volume. I loved the first and second books in the series. I thought I would continue to enjoy this series. I did like the storyline involving the demon Isley. It was interesting was we got an expansion of the Darkest London world. But there were two things that turned me off from the book: main characters and sex scenes. The main characters, Winston and Poppy, paled in comparison to Archer and Miranda or Ian and Daisy. I just could not like these characters no matter what they did. Because I didn't like the main character, I found myself yelling at the book more than enjoying it. My other issue was with the constant sex scenes. Now I like a good steamy sex scene in my books, but it seemed that every other chapter was a sex scene. After awhile, I started skimming those sections. Too much and too much almost sex. It got old after awhile. This novel isn't billed as erotica but paranormal romance. I expect a few sex scenes, but more plot and character development. I didn't get it. Unfortunately this volume fell a bit flat for me. I hope the next in the series is better. I own Shadowdance and I would like to read about more in the world. I guess we will see next month...

Darkest London

#0.5 Ember
#1 Firelight
#2 Moonglow
#3 Winterblaze
#3.5 Entwined
#4 Shadowdance
#5 Evernight
#6 Spellbound
#7 Forevermore

Music Monday -- Maroon 5 feat. Gwen Stefani "My Heart is Open"

Just stumbled upon this song over the weekend. Really loving these two voices together. And can't wait until the new season of The Voice.

Washington by Ron Chernow

Title: Washington: A Life

Author: Ron Chernow

Publisher: Penguin Press 2010

Genre: Biography

Pages: 905

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; U.S. Presidents; Chunkster; 52 Books - W36

Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation and the first president of the United States. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one volume biography of George Washington, this crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurous early years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president. In this groundbreaking work, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever the stereotype of George Washington as a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.

This was a chunk of a book and I loved every page of it. Chernow gives us a story, not a collection of random facts about Washington. The narrative flowed from one event to another interspersed with quotes from contemporaries and even Washington himself. I was lost in this portrait of an enigmatic figure in American history. A majority of the book was spent on the Revolutionary War and subsequent Presidency, but we do get a nice look into early Washington. I may have known what he did during the French and Indian War, but it was nice to read what he had to say about that time. Chernow's tome is not for everyone, but those willing to invest in a good chunk of time should definitely pick it up. Great biography!

FF #32: Wedding Style

We are headed to a weeding this weekend down in LA. The wedding is being held on the beach during the morning. This is the exact dress that I really really wanted! Of course, I had to go with something different (price too high, not right size), but I thought I would create my post with what I thought I would wear. This dress hit all my requirements: long length (discourage Marilyn Monroe incidents), patterned or dark color (hide potential stains from baby), and easy to wear. I kept the accessories simple yet striking. The best part is the sandals. I will definitely not be wearing heels in the sand, but these sandals were the right mix of fancy and comfort.

Halter maxi dress

modcloth.com

Emanuela Caruso jeweled flat sandals

pinkmascara.com

SELECTED vintage black purse

$77 - zalando.co.uk

David Yurman pave bangle

davidyurman.com

Acrylic earrings

$17 - dollydagger.co.uk

Fun Videos Galore!

I'll see it...

Love Black Simon and Garfunkel

Love my Mental Floss lists -- this time about amusement parks

Blooper reel fun

This looks so weird, but also intriguing. I'll watch it.

Just beautiful

Quote Wednesday -- Murray

Put a little fun into your life. Try dancing. -- Kathryn Murray

Arthur: 46 Weeks

Looks like we are going to need to start sleep training...

Likes: Food, food, and more food; his blankies; his sock monkeys (all three of them); playing with the big kids

Dislikes: Sleep; mom leaving; being barred from the remote, table, xbox, etc

Sleeping: His sleep is not getting any better. We are going to have to start sleep training and probably use the crying it out method. This week is going to be rough, but it can't be any worse than the last few weeks of no sleep.

Eating: Really enjoyed a potato and cheese empanada on Sunday. Other than that, he's been enjoying the usual foods. Although his appetite has definitely increased over the past week. Growth spurt?

Playing: We've been playing a lot of ball and reading a lot of books. Plus, he's loving riding Benny the Bull and walking with the walker. More and more, I'm seeing him figure toys out. So cute!

Medical Milestones:

Showing more opinions -- Check! He has specific grunts and screeches for more food, done, give me, etc.
Starting to use utensils -- Not yet. Well, actually we've tried a spoon a while back, but that ended with food everywhere. I guess I should reintroduce utensils this coming week.
Engaging in more interactive games -- Check! He loves hide and seek (he "hides", I seek), stacking blocks, and rolling the ball to different areas.

Schedule:Hoping sleep training can help get into an actual schedule...

Out and About: We had our usual baby activities (playground tour and blanket babies). And we ran a ton of errands. The usuals... This coming week we have some fun different activities planned. We'll see how it goes.

Monthly Life Goals September 2014

Before I get to this month’s goals, let’s check in on August’s goals and my progress.

30 Day Challenge: Daily picture book – Success! We only read 14 new picture books, but hit some of our favorites to help round out the 30 books.
30 Day Challenge: Daily walk – Fail! Everyday just seems to escape me. I get at least three in a week, so that's better than nothing.
Prep TBR piles for rest of year – Success! I pulled the physical books we have, updated my iBooks accounts, and noted which ones I needed to get from the library. I'm all ready to read for the rest of 2014.
Clean out my closet and random office bin – Fail! Never got around to it.
Pinterest Challenge: Create and weed through a board for Arthur’s 1st Birthday Party – Fail! Completely slipped my mind until the end of the month.
Pinterest Challenge: Try 5 new recipes – Success! I even went beyond my goal of 5 recipes:
- Ham and Cheese Sliders: oh so yummy!
- Cajun Peper Jack and Spinach Stuffed Chicken: spice it up yum
- Apple and Garlic Pork Roast: easy peasy
- Black Bean Soup: added spice and yum
- Reese's PB Cup Bottom Cheesecakes: OMG yummy!
- Sausage Breakfast Casserole: burned top and bottom, but with tweaks could be good
- Cake Mix Lemon Cookies: delicious!
- Potato Ham Bake: mediocre
- Sweet Garlic Chicken: decent

This month's challenges:

30 Day Challenge: Book of Lists - Signed up, prepped my pages, ready to go. Just hope to stay on top of this project.
30 Day Challenge: Daily yoga - I want to be consistent with my yoga. It always makes me feel good afterward. Now to schedule the time...
Finish planning Arthur's birthday party -- The party's not until Oct. 11, but I like to have everything planned ahead of time. Need to get my butt in gear.
Clean out my closet and random office bin -- Carry over from last month. I really do want to get this done.
Clean out the kitchen cupboards -- They need a good weeding out and cleaning. I'm getting sick of how cluttered and crazy my cupboards look at the moment.
Pinterest Challenge: Organize my Christmas themed boards -- I have so many ideas, but I definitely need to get these boards a bit more organized (delete repetitions, check links, make a to-do board).