Good vs. Super Awesome

A good friend will think of you with a smile when they see something that would make you laugh your ass off.

A Super Awesome friend sends you this:

It's Alive!

I grew up tending a garden that grew tomatoes, carrots and other delicious items as well as huge, HUGE zucchini that we then turned into delicious zucchini bread. Because of the size of the zucchini that grew due to my diligent watering I thought that I had natural green thumb. Alas, the green thumb belonged to my father who must have been sprinkling fairy dust on his magic beans. Over the years, no matter how hard I tried, my plants shared the same fate as my many goldfish. Oh Nemo how I miss you, and Harry, and Hermione, and Dory, and...well you get the picture. 

BUT!

My luck has turned.  I found some very handy garden gnomes who have gone to work and I have tomatoes!!!!

One month ago

Today!!

If you look closely you can see a missing tomato.  I ate it 3 days ago before the others were ripe and it was DELICIOUS!

And because I live in the wine country...
I did not grow the grapes.

These were growing along the fence of the local high school

Kristin Cashore Book Signing!

Just me and my new friend Kristin Cashore

Well, Thursday was my big happy day.  Kristin Cashore's book signing at Copperfield's.  My husband didn't have to go to work until 10 pm so he came with me and held my camera (he's so handy).  Since I pretty much got all my gushing out in my previous post, I will try to keep this short and sweet.  I probably don't need to start by saying that Kristin is awesome but there it is.  She started by reading from Bitterblue and then talked a bit about her writing process (along with a slideshow including pictures of her notebooks-complete with motivational phrases she writes to keep herself going!) and then she did some Q&A.  She was entertaining, personable and so...human.  Go figure. 

So pretty!!

But!  I have to say that the icing on the cake was that my husband was actually entertained!  He laughed and learned and at the very end said "we should do this kind of thing more often."  Umm...OK!  That's pretty much the biggest compliment I can give to Kristin at this moment. 

It was an awesome day.  I didn't want to go to sleep that night and I kept having random bursts of giggles on the way home.  I'm a dork...I'm not ashamed!

And the Stars Aligned!

Please excuse any part of this post that doesn't make sense, I am slightly light-headed right now.

I was checking in with Kristin Cashore's blog This Is My Secret because her next book Bitterblue is about to come out and I read the most wonderful, amazing thing.  Seriously, I am getting kinda nauseous just thinking about it and part of me is scared that the moment I put it down something terrible is going to happen I'll find out this was all a joke or a mistake and all my happiness is going to be gone. 

She is coming!!!!

There is a list...a beautiful and yet heartbreakingly short list of her tour dates.  I wanted to care about the others but lets be realistic, I scrolled down until I saw CA.  Seattle, WA...getting close...CA! Only one location...I stared at that CA, refusing to move my eyes a centimeter to the left and see the city until I had willed it to be some place close.  Some place...not LA.  And it said...Sebastopol.  Huh, is there another Sebastopol in CA?  Because grew up in Sebastopol.  It's like...right over there.  In fact I was there last weekend for the annual parade with my mom and we walked past their lovely bookstore Copperfiled's.  What's the bookstore for the book tour?  Copperfield's.  Copperfield's.  COPPERFIELD'S!!!

Oh shit!!  Hard to breathe...vision blurry...must sit down...already sitting down...

AreyoukiddingmerightnowthatsheiscomingtoonlyonecityinCAanditisSEBASTOPOL!  (ps to anyone who cares, it is really hard to type without using the spacebar!)

Reality check, I work.  What's the date on this thing cuz I don't want to feel guilty and call in sick.  Thursday, May 10.  THURSDAY!  That's my day off!  DAY...lightheaded...OFF....blurred vision.

The stars have aligned!  I am cashing in my good karma! 

I just pulled up Copperfield's website and verified it is true!

Please excuse me a moment while I have a giddy scream....

Ok...better now. 

So yes, I am excited about this.  I was getting ready to post about my rereads of her 2 previous books and this is just the icing on the cake of the glass half full.

I'm so happy!!

I Love...

I love books (which contain words) and I love nail polish so of course I love....

Found myself some Sally Hansen awesomeness!

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!

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!

Catching up on awesome stuff!

I meant to write this post a while ago but I was out of town and then I got
disgustingly sick.  Don't you just hate that!

I'm blurry with excitement!

Last Friday I went to a book signing for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (watch for my review).  I met up with the awesome Stephanie D of Misfit Salon and we had a blast listening to Laini talk about the book.  She even read the piece that included my favorite line from the book but she said it was the most quoted line so I guess I'm not as unique as I thought.  Or maybe it is just that good.  Read it and find out! P.S...it is.

Anyway...I talked to another local blogger named Stephanie who just got an agent for her novel...how freaking awesome right!!!  Then went for some hot chocolate and chit chat.  It was the start of an awesome weekend.


Also, congratulations to the winner of my Blogiversary Giveaway!! 

Linda

2 Year Blogiversary!! And a Giveaway!

I can't believe my little bloggy baby is already 2 years old.  Time does fly!

Blogging, of course, would not be what it is without all you awesome folks to share it with so to celebrate my anniversary and say thanks I have a giveaway!

In keeping with my hoarding theme, I can't just give away one of my books.  Luckily, my hoarding tendencies have caused me to pick up some duplicate books along the way.  So, here is the deal...

One lucky winner will get to choose between these three books:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - I read this book in college and loved it so when I came across it sitting on a table at a used book store I had to save it.

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller - I haven't read this and I actually have no idea how I ended up with two copies because I don't even remember buying one but it is one of the books I am determined to read before I die so apparently that causes copies to flock to me.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - I haven't read this yet but I have heard such great things about it that when I saw a copy for $1 I had to pick it up.

Giveaway details:

You can have up to 3 entries:

* 1 entry just by leaving me a comment on this post with your email address so I can contact the winner.
* 1 entry if you subscribe to my rss feed or follow me via blogger (new or current subscribers).
* 1 entry for spreading the word about this giveaway (in your sidebar is okay).

Open to entries from US and Canada only.

The deadline to enter is November 2.

Good luck!

When there are no words...just dance

I am loving the new show New Girl and just had to share one of the best moments ever!!  The video is kind of terrible but I am just grateful that someone recorded it at all. If you aren't watching New Girl you seriously need to check it out.  Yes I am biased because she has my name AND her own theme song but still...





Umm yeah...I want to get married again so we can totally do the slow chicken dance!!!

Birthday Surprises = Happiness

I did something awful and wonderful yesterday.  I chopped up a book.  Yep, took a razor blade to it and chopped it right to pieces.  You are obviously asking..."umm why would you do that dummy, you are supposed to be hoarding them not chopping them up!"  To that I would have to say, I wasn't going to hoard it anyway because it is a gift...so there!

So here is what happened...

The finished product

I came across some fantastic wands from Etsy and I HAD TO HAVE ONE!  Well, I also had to get one for my BFF who just had a birthday and I started thinking about how I was going to wrap the wand.  I decided on a Harry Potter book safe of course!

I found a used book online (I love my BFF but I was not going to use one of my personal copies to chop up...she will understand, it's why we're friends) and last night I went to work hacking away.  It was sad but I ended up with a pretty snazzy stack of HP pages which I decided to use as wrapping paper.  Yes, a book was harmed in this process but no part went unused!

I am pretty in love with the whole thing and can't wait for her to open it.  I went back on Etsy and of course there are NEW wands that I want need but I think I am going to have to wait.  Sadness!

Wrapped and ready to go

Check out Alexz and the awesomeness that she has created.
Spooky Pooky Creations on Etsy 
Alexz's blog Spooky Pooky Creations

Warning: I can't be held responsible the money you are going to want to hand over to her...but I bet it will be worth it!

The Final Countdown!

Here are a few more things that threatened to make me late for work this week.  Thanks a lot Shelf Awareness! If I end up jobless I am calling you.

HP7 Countdown: Bookstore Fun; Astounding Props; Magical Sets

Seroiusly! I can't believe I am missing some of these!!


HP7 Countdown: London Premiere; 8 New Video Clips

P.S. I couldn't even get 30 seconds into the first video without misting up. Holy crap I am going to be a mess at the movie!

The Final Countdown!!

Although this post is not about Europe, I did have their song running through my head as I wrote the title.

I thought I would share a few things that have made me nearly late for work recently...really I should know better than to read Shelf Awareness in the morning when I am in a hurry because that is when I find something like this:

Oh HP #7 Part 2 you are the epitome of bittersweet.

Also, McGonagall is a badass!! She only has one line in the video below and you can still tell she doesn't mess around!

Pottermore!

Have you seen this yet?

Check out the video and Pottermore! How bad do I want the sorting hat and owl made out of book pages!!

It's a Celebration!!!

I thought Halloween was my favorite black and orange. I was so wrong...

  
                                                  

Victory is even sweeter because my in-laws live in Texas!!!

This is the Coolest Idea Ever!

This was one of those days I just want to sit and stare at my computer all day, but don't worry, those days are happening all week so you can just sit and stare with me.  Okay, I guess what I really want is to live in Seattle right now, but that's besides the point.

If, like me, you read Shelf Awareness today then you may have seen something called The Novel: Live!  It is this amazing event going on this week at the Hugo House in Seattle.  36 writers are coming together to write a book...LIVE!  This week you can check out the website (or if you are lucky and live in Seattle you can go to Hugo House and watch them with your very own eyes, no computer screen needed) and actually watch as each author takes their 2 hours to type out their part of the story (yes I have it open in another tab right now and I keep flipping back to watch).

Seriously, if you haven't checked it out yet then you are missing out.  It was so great to see the differences in each person's the writing process.  I was so fascinated with every pause.  What were they thinking? Was there some deep story-line brewing there or were they just stretching their fingers?  Okay, so maybe this has turned me into an author stalker--it was bound to happen--but I'm telling you, check it out and you will understand.  It is just a person sitting at a computer typing...and I love it!

Check out The Novel: Live! here.

They also have sweet loot you can buy in their merch store and the best part is all proceeds are being donated to 826 Seattle, a non-profit that encourages kids to develop their writing skills.