My week in pictures

I caved yesterday and on impulse, bought a Kindle! I haven’t really used it yet, I’m scared to let it leave the house without a case. Once I get my case in the mail I’ll use it more :) I’ll hopefully finally finish the 4th Thrones book!

I BBQ’ed some veggies today for lunch, they turned out really well actually! I used acorn squash, baby carrots, baby potatoes, red pepper and onions, tossed ‘em in olive oil and then grilled them. Next time I will put the onions on near the end, they got pretty black.

I also made feta & sundried tomato stuff chicken with a panko crust today, but I forgot to take a picture. The chicken was really juicy, but I’m not a fan of sundried tomatoes – they kind of taste like stinky feet – so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

 

New teas from Teavana! These 2 mixed together over ice is soooo delicious!! (Blueberry Bliss & Pineapple Kona Pop) I added a bit of rock sugar to make it less sour. My new favourite iced tea :)

Just a lovely fire in the backyard :)

How was your week?

“But what are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?” – Wally Lamb

This past weekend was a long weekend here in Canada. I spent the first half of the weekend working, then relaxed the rest. I saw the new Star Trek movie (amazing! You need to watch it!), reading and enjoying the half decent weather.

I finished the saga that is I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. It is an amazing read. Yes, it is very long, ending after 900 pages, and it can be somewhat slow, but I would describe it more as elaborate than slow. There is a story within the story, with one story jumping back and forth from the future and the past. Dominick is such a well-rounded character, that I felt like I grew up with him and Thomas (his brother.) Throughout the book, I felt that I knew all the intricate details of their lives, that I was a member of their social circle.

This book makes you smile, makes you cry, and it makes you so angry you want to throw the book. This book is so well written, that 900 pages doesn’t seem like enough. I don’t know what else to say without ruining the book, but for those of you who have never heard of this book, it tells the story of twin brothers, one with schizophrenia. One day, the twin with schizophrenia chops off his hand. The story continues and describes the “normal” brother’s reaction and quest to get the proper care for his brother, all the while trying to deal with his own inner demons and find out who their father was. READ IT!!

I almost finished a second book this weekend, that I received from my lovely book swap partner. I have about 40 pages left. 1940 by Jay Neugeboren is the story of Hitler’s doctor, who receives special treatment and moves to America. It’s somewhat of a slow story, written from two different points of view, but it is very intriguing, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Link up #5

Deciding which character crushes to mention in this week’s link up was definitely a tough decision! I feel like most of them are the typical, mainstream choices, but let’s be real, who (secretly or not to secretly) doesn’t have a crush on these characters?

#1 Gale Hawthorne

When it comes down to Peeta vs Gale, it’s always been Gale for me. I know Peeta is all romantic and blah blah blah, but Gale is just so dreamy and badass. Sorry Peeta!

#2 Jacob Black

Despite Jacob never having a chance with Bella, he’s always been my favourite of the two. Bella is crazy for choosing Edward! I distinctly remember being in the theatre for Jacob’s first post-werewolf topless scene, pretty sure the entire audience swooned and cheered. Reason #74758 why Edward sucks!

#3 Augustus Waters

Sorry there’s no dreamy male actor for this one ladies, but the character in the book is so romantic, headstrong and funny that I had to include him in the list. P.s. if you haven’t read this book, you probably should, you will fall for Gus too!

Who are your character crushes?

Annd so summer begins..

I finally had a little bit of time and inspriration to paint my nails with something other than a solid colour. I used a skinny nail art brush to do the outlining, it doesn’t look as leoprard-y as I’d like but they still look pretty good I think.

What do your nails look like this week?

The life of a working adult.. oh joy!

I’m sorry for this post in advance, I hope it doesn’t turn into a huge rant! For those of you who don’t know, I just finished 6 years of post-secondary. I’m still in my early 20′s, and I’m feeling a little shell-shocked. I haven’t started the ‘working’ life yet, I still am juggling multiple part time jobs, going into 1 full time job at the end of August.

Knowing that I will never have to read another textbook, write another paper, or do another presentation is such a relief, but at the same time, terrifying.  What will I do to fill the time I’m not at work? When I come home at night, what will I do? I can actually watch tv shows I like, read books I want to, knit, have a bubble bath? I’m scared that I will have too much free time. I feel like I need to keep doing courses, or partake in something to keep my mind sharp and my life busy.

I feel like there are so many things I want to do now though. I can finally read the 90+ books sitting on my shelf. I can start training for the half-marathon I’ve been wanting to do since 3rd year university. I can take up yoga. All of these ideas sound amazing. But at the same time, I just want to take general interest courses at my college. Tea Sommelier? Yes, please. Animal Husbandry? Ok, maybe not so much. Sign language? Yes. I just feel like there’s so much out there for me to learn! I just want to learn forever! (Okay…. I’m kind of sounding a little bit ridiculous now.) I know that I can’t take classes forever, but I feel…I don’t know. Anxious, maybe?

Sorry again! How did you feel when/if you finished school and made the transition to an adult? What do you do to keep busy?

 

Here

 

 

Link up #4

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do the 3rd link-up because I was out of town, I’ll make sure to put extra effort into this week’s post! This week we were given 5 questions to answer about book covers. Here goes!

1) Do you judge a book by its cover?

I’m going to have to go with yes on this one. I refuse to buy books when they have covers advertising the movie version of the book! I hate that. I’m more likely going to pick up a book that has an intriguing cover than one that simply says the title, or something simple like that.

2) How important is cover design to you?

Hmm… I’d say fairly important, but if I’ve heard good things about a particular book, I’ll still pick it up regardless of the cover (unless it has a movie picture, then I’ll wait until I can find a non-movie version.) I think I only own a maximum of 2 books that have movie covers and that’s because they were gifts. I don’t willingly pick those up haha!

3) Share your favourite book cover.

I’m going to cheat here and show you more than one, sorry!

I love how abstract this one is, however, I feel like it really has nothing to do with the book, and makes the book appear a lot more light-hearted than it is.

This cover is intriguing, don’t try to tell me you don’t want to read this book after looking at this picture! I also feel like it suits the book perfectly. P.s. if you haven’t read this book yet, you NEED to! It’s hilarious.

I haven’t read this book yet, and I love this author, so I was going to by this book regardless of the cover, but I think this is my favourite cover. It’s so haunting.

4) What book surprised you most, despite its unappealing cover design?

Another tough question, I have 2 picks.

This book is amazing! It’s horrific, but amazing. The cover tells you none of this. The cover makes this book child-like and more upbeat than it should be.

Another hilarious book, but can you tell from the cover? No. The cover makes this book appear drab, and as a serious memoir. It is neither of these and deserves a much more appealing cover!

5) In your opinion, what makes a book cover intriguing?

Well, definitely something abstract that draws you and makes you wonder. I personally prefer pictures that take up the entire cover, not something small like above on The Glass Castle. Colour is also very key! Nobody likes black and white, haha!

What are you favourite book covers?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cancer Sucks!

Sorry I’ve been MIA this week, I had to fly out east at the last minute to be with my grandfather who passed away from cancer this week. I’m doing Relay for Life next month and am still raising money, even more fiercely than before. We need to fight cancer!

If you have any spare change to donate, you can do so here. Thank you!

I will have some posts this week I swear.