My favorite things

Books I love

 
 I received one of the most awesome gifts ever today.  I met up with my best friend and she had an amazing birthday present for me.  She, of course, knows me so well and with a little help from her friend Jaymee she created a uniquely personalized framed print. I can't tell you how obsessed with this print I am!

My friend Lyndsay is a teacher and a blogger at Educated...not so Domesticated and Jaymee has a shop on Etsy called Retro Menagerie.  They are both annoyingly creative but I am a big enough person to not be extremely jealous of them....and yeah, it helps that my walls benefit from their awesomeness. I love presents!!

Notice my blog at the bottom!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
By Laini Taylor

I originally picked up this book after reading a raving review by Stephanie D at Misfit Salon and now I am convinced I have to listen to everything she says. This book rocked!!

I read it a couple months ago and even went to a book signing (which I posted about here), but I slacked on writing my review. Since it is now the last week of the year I will tell you that this was one of, and possibly the single best book I have read this year (I actually think I am going to post a “best of” list in a couple days).

Daughter of Smoke and Bone has everything. It is set in Prague with a badass, artistic girl named Karou who has blue hair. It is hilarious! I really want to quote page 22 but you should just read it in context to fully appreciate it. Let’s just say “inessential penises” are both freaking hilarious and a life lesson.

The story is also full of beauty, from the unlikely relationships between the characters to the prose. I am as far from being an artist as one can get but this book, with its fantastic descriptions, made me want to draw everything I was visualizing.

Read it!

**Source: I bought this with my own sweet loot!

6,000 reasons I love my brother...

Because he is hilarious!!!

$30....$6,000...it's all the same, right?

Don't tell me 28 isn't still mid-twenties!

Today is my birthday and I didn't plan on posting about it but I had to share this amazingly sweet gift that I received.  The reason it is so sweet is that the girl who gave it to me did so the second time we met, I barely know her and she still made me a birthday present!

My husband's coworker brought his girlfriend to their work holiday party and I had heard a lot about her but never met her before.  We studied the same thing in college and are pursuing the exact same career so we instantly had a lot to talk about.  We were talking about age and it came out that my birthday was coming up, at which point she assured me that 28 was still mid-twenties and I am choosing to believe her.  Yesterday, I saw her again at another job event and she had an orchid as an early birthday gift!  She even decorated it with a glittered letter "J" and a cake.

Now, I just have to manage to keep it alive....

Giving...and Receiving Time of Year

Front of both necklaces

It is the wonderfully stressful time of year when we have to buy things for other people. My siblings and I finally got smart and decided that this year we would draw names. My husband drew my step-sister and of course had no idea when to get her so I turned to Etsy because she LOVES jewelry and I love Etsy. I started going through all kinds of awesome items I wanted until I finally remembered I was trying to help him find a gift. Once I had a few tabs open with ideas he gave me the thumbs up or thumbs down (most of them were thumbs down...he has no taste). One of the items was from a local girl who I met at some point and complimented her necklace at which point she handed me her business card.

I was so excited that Mike actually agreed with me on how perfect the necklace would be for my sis and he picked out the one he liked best (I swear the whole process was like helping a five year old pick out a gift).  The day after I placed the order, I had a note on Etsy because there was a mix-up and the necklace she had didn't exactly the one in the picture...it was on a different cap and there wasn't any glitter.  She offered to make me a new one that matched and have it to me only a couple days later, send me the one she had, or give a refund.  I actually liked the Blue Moon cap better so I just took the one she'd already made and it all worked out.

Back of necklaces

Then....

I received the package and it included a SECOND necklace with a note thanking me for my understanding about the mix-up.  It was completely unexpected and unnecessary but I was so excited.  I can't wait until I have another excuse to buy some more bottle cap items.

Check out bottlecapbetty's Etsy!

Another post on my love for New Girl

Yes, I did already post about my love for the show New Girl but it's awesome...and this one is book related.

So...I'm watching New Girl with the husband and while Jess is out shopping for lingerie (see trailer below) she puts something on her head and impersonates Elizabeth Bennett talking to Mr. Darcy.  At which point, the following conversation takes place:


My husband: "Mr. Darcy! I know what movie that is from...Little Women"
Me: "Umm...no!"
"It's not?"
"No...but the fact that you guessed is so cute."
"Okay! What movie is it from?"
"First of all, it's not from a movie, it is from a book that they made into a movie so let's just get that straight."
"Okay, so what movie is it from?"
"I'll give you a big clue...I walked down the isle to one of that songs from the movie."
"That's not a big clue...that's a girl clue! How am I supposed to know that?"

So, he doesn't remember some of the more important things... but he does love New Girl as much as I do and that earns him some points back.




Also...I heart Justin Long!