Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page.

Thank you Chick Loves Lit for hosting this month's Mailbox Monday blog tour.

Check out her blog and post all the new books you acquired last week.

I have come to the end of a long period where I didn't request any books and my mailbox finally has some excitement in it again.

Radiance by Alyson Noel (ARC from publisher)

From Amazon:

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley ...

The Swimming Pool - Holly LeCraw

The Swimming Pool
Holly LeCraw

When The Swimming Poll arrived on my door-step, I set it aside specifically for summer, poolside reading.  I waited and waited until the weather was right and I had the time to just sit and relax in the sun.   This plan backfired as I was soon struck by the reality that my pool/beach time was very limited, that is how this book became my lunch read at work.  I found myself sitting outside on the gorgeous sunny days, when I wanted to be anywhere but in the office and it was the perfect escape for an hour a day.

The Swimming Pool is the dramatic story of a good old fashion summer fling but interwoven through out is a deeper story about relationships and what we would do for the many different kinds of love we have in our lives.  It is a story in which all the characters are connected in some surprising ways.  Jed is the focus of much of the story.  He is at the Cape for the summer to stay with his sister and soon finds a love interest in a woman connected to his parents...his dad in particular (do you see where I am going with this?), who died 7 years earlier.  LeCraw shifts perspective throughout the story allowing us to see deeper into the lives of Jed's parents as well as the other people involved in his life.  I don't often enjoy stories which jump time or perspectives (because I feel disconnected from the characters) and The Swimming Pool does both, but LeCraw flows beautifully between the various voices and I loved it. 

Parts of the storyline may have been a bit obvious but I honestly can't say for sure because I was so caught up in what was going on in each current moment that I forgot to think about what may happen, I just wanted to know what did happen next.

I would recommend this as a book to bring to the beach or to read when you just really need to get away and feel like you are at the beach.


**Source: ARC for review from publisher.

My Library...The Other One

Yesterday I had a wonderful day off during which I took the time to finally visit the joyous library.  Not MY library (updated photos to be posted soon...or whenever I get my books unpacked) but THE library.  It is only 1 single tiny block away from my house and I love that!  I found 2 books that I decided to check out and then got home and spent over an hour on the internet, looking up all the audiobooks available for download. 

I was so excited to see all the awesome books I could listen to on my iPhone, especially since my work computers are all messed up so I got a call yesterday from my boss to say we would be working from our main office an hour and a half away!  So I thought...hmm...what better way to keep me awake on my long drive than an awesome audiobook.  So I searched and searched for the perfect one to keep my interest until I finally had to leave the house (I had to pick up the last of my crap I left at my mom's house). 

By the time I was actually about to get everything on my computer set-up it was 10:30 so I hooked my phone up to my computer and "sync"...*error*error* problems with music...can't set up this app...you're computer hates you...no audiobooks for you!  What the HELL?!  There were so many crazy errors that I didn't even get my computer settled enough to feel comfortable that I could disconnect my phone from it without serious damage until after midnight.  So not only did I not get any sleep last night, I also didn't have a super sweet audiobook to keep me awake on the drive.  Yet I still arrived home from work today in a good mood. 

It must be that I know the library is so close and I am quite sold on this free book thing!  I'm off to read (and not watch TV...I'm practicing).

To TV, or Not to TV...Oh What a Question

Well Hellooooo...

So, I know I had all these grand plans to actually be back on my blogging game in the past couple weeks  few weeks month but I have no excuses, I am just a really busy slacker.  It was so nice to just sit in my new condo today and do nothing except laundry and play on the internet.  Oh internet, my long lost lover, how I have missed you. 

The comcast guy finally came last week and we were able to get the internet and TV running before we actually moved in 2 days ago (seriously! moving in was long overdue but there were issues that kept us out...like our stuff deciding not to show up on time).  So I am at work last Sunday, excited because I know we are finally going to get our stuff put together and have the TV on the correct side of the room because we were going to have the cable outlet moved and my husband calls me to tell me the comcast guy wants to drill a hole in our brand new hardwood floor and shove the cable wire through it. 

Ummmm....WHAT?!  Ok cable guy, I'm sure you're nice and all but put the drill down nice and easy and step away from my hardwood!  Thank God my husband had enough sense to call me before I had to cry.  So after all that they still charged us for the outlet move when he said he couldn't do because he didn't have the right tools to put it in the wall like a normal outlet.  Add that to the other charges they didn't tell us about and the annoying set up of the DVR and I am about ready to give up on TV all together. 

Here is where I need the advice folks.  I am seriously considering getting rid of my cable and just keeping the internet and the idea scares the crap out of me because I LOVE MY TV! But then I think about the money I will save and all the reading I will have time for with my adorable library so close.  Is there anyone out there who actually doesn't have TV because I seriously need to know how you live and if I can do it. 

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants (audiobook)
By Sara Gruen


This is my first review after my way too long of a hiatus and I had every intention of reviewing the books I read/listened to in order but after finishing Water for Elephants I just couldn’t wait. Let me say this very clearly…I LOVED THIS AUDIOBOOK! I also just finished it so all the gloriousness is still fresh on my mind.

Allow me to summarize, Jacob Jankowski joins the circus shortly after finishing veterinary school (sort of), the circus is crazy (not in a freak kind of way but in a “some of these people are literally crazy sort of way”), there is a girl, an elephant, a toothless lion and a ton of illegal alcohol…come on how could this not turn out to be a glorious disaster!

The story bounces back and forth from Jacob’s 22 year old perspective and his memories at 90…or 93. He was the crazy, hilarious old man that I want as my grandfather but also the determined young man that you rooted for throughout the entire book. Gruen created a character that you couldn’t help but adore. Then there was Walter, who turned out to be my favorite character…along with Rosie the elephant. There is so much to love that you should just experience it for yourself.

If you are interested (and you should be) I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. The readers were incredible, I have a new appreciation for audiobooks and that is saying a lot since I loved them before this. This is a heartbreaking story filled with love and uncertainty and I was completely unsure of the ending about 10 minutes before it ended but then it turned out to be perfect.

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

Paint Samples

The clouds welcomed us back to CA.

I am slowly going to unveil my bookshelves (only because I don't have all of them up yet and my books...along with everything else...still have not arrived from NC) but here are the paint samples that we looked at for our 2 bedrooms...

This is the paint that we were looking at for the master bedroom. We had just finished painting 2 other rooms with very neutral colors and I was determined to bring some green in somewhere. I would have gone with a blue as well but my husband said green or pink...PINK?! wtf Mike I'm not a pink ruffles in the bedroom kind of girl! Plus green is my favorite color so how could we go wrong? We eventually decided on the bottom one (it looks less muddy IRL), so 2 walls are that green (at this point I gave up remembering color names and it became "the bottom green") and the rest of the room is a really nice cream color.






Now, allow me to show you the samples for the spare bedroom aka: THE LIBRARY! This was a much more important decision and while I like the other room colors we picked out, I am obsessed with the color of my library. Again, I originally looked at green and purple (what? I like them) which is the reason the top row exists. Mike painted them and called me at work..."Jess, these colors are NOT good, you won't like them for your library, go to Home Depot after work and pick out 3 more." So I went and I picked. I saw this awesome picture in one of the Behr books, a gray sort of color (bottom right) and then I picked out 2 others just in case. Well the gray won out...it reminds me of a professor's jacket or something. It has a purple tone to it but with the entire room painted I LOVE IT. I was almost sad when I started putting up the bookshelves and covering the walls (are you crazy Jess? stop thinking and put up those shelves, there is plenty of time for paint). So we covered the hideous yellow that you can see in the background and now we have beautiful walls....

Yes, those boxes contain my bookshelves!

Oh you just wait...

Oh Little Blog How I Have Missed You!!

Looking through my windshield in Mississippi in the middle of the day during a storm.
The truck in front of me was my husband.

Wow folks!!!! I have missed you all!

When I posted last about moving back to CA, I knew my blogging was going to be off for a while but did I think that it would be a month before I got back on here?!? Heck no! Yet here I am, just over a month after my previous post and I have to admit I am scared to open Google Reader.

So much has happened that it is going to take me weeks to update you on all of it. Ok so there have been a couple BIG things that have spurred a bunch of smaller things. For starters...

WE GOT OUR CONDO....I AM A HOMEOWNER!!

That has brought on painting, painting and more painting. We have also put in hardwood floors in the living/dining area. I am going to post pictures but that is not even the really exciting part. It is a 2 bedroom condo and it is just my husband and I so with the spare bedroom we are going to have a....wait for it....wait for it...

LIBRARY!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, my husband loves me. We went to Ikea 2 weeks ago and bought 7 bookshelves! I can't even express my excitement but the thing I love about all of you is that I don't have to because you can understand how I feel. We still aren't living in the condo because all of our belongings are in the hands of the Army delivery people. The ETA is anywhere from June 20 to July 2! Luckily, I have an awesome mom with some spare room for us to occupy until it arrives. The good thing that came from that is we were able to do all the painting/fixing up of the condo while it was completely empty. The bad news is my mom lives in the boonies (yes I have brought this up before) and she doesn't have internet. So you can see why my posting has been off. I have been so busy that this is the first chance I have had to visit my favorite coffee shop with free wifi. Things are finally starting to settle into a pattern so I will hopefully be more on track for blog stuff. Slowly but surely I will be caught up....