Aaaand I'm Back! No Really, I Am.

So, the dust has settled from these crazy last few months and...what was I thinking that I could fit blogging into my schedule??  I wish that I was that organized but it was just NOT happening :)

On the Ponte Vecchio with the hubs

What has happened in the time I've been away? Welp, I took a fabulous trip to Rome, Venice, Florence, and London.  I also moved to new city (helloo Indianapolis!) the day before I left for Europe - talk about stressful!  Since then, I have been busy with smaller weekend trips and getting settled into our new house.

Of course, throughout this time I've managed to fit some reading into my schedule.  The reviews for these books should be coming shortly:

As you can see from my previous post, I really wanted to read some historical fiction set in the European locales I'd be visiting.  Unfortunately, I always start packing my books early (it's a lengthy process in our house) and I had already sealed away the few books I owned that would fit my reading wants.  I definitely want to check out some of the books that y'all recommended.  Oh, and when I was in Florence EVERYONE was talking about the newest Dan Brown book as it apparently is set in Florence.  So I may have to check out that sucker too!  Be on the lookout for some new reviews, TTTs, and Towering TBR posts!

Sorry for the loooooong hiatus

Hey folks!  Sorry for the crazy long break from blogging...once again life is getting in the way.  I am moving AGAIN (remember I talked about it before) so things are pretty hectic right now!  Most of my time is spent packing books away rather than reading :(

Indianapolis here we come!

I have been reading but it's been more re-reading rather than taking on new books.  I think when I get stressed I prefer the comfort of my favorites rather than getting engrossed in a new book.  Does anyone else feel that way?

Another event on the horizon that I'm really excited about is a trip to Italy and London!  Does anybody have any recommendations of books with settings in Rome, Florence, Venice, and/or London (especially historical fiction)?  I think it might make my sightseeing more fun if I had some bookish context.  My updates might be a bit slapdash and sporadic for the next few months but I will try and post while all of this craziness is happening :)

Pin it and do it: Faux Inlay Dresser

Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity is once again hosting the "Pin It and Do It" challenge which I finally decided to partake in this month!  For this challenge you can use anything you've pinned whether it be recipe, craft, etc. and try your hand at doing it.  I'm a total Pinterest addict so I knew I had to take part (with actual photographic evidence).

Here's the pin I used for inspiration to transform my boring IKEA dresser (original post located on Design Sponge):

I have to admit while the idea to use this pin for my dresser and the sketched outline were both by moi...the hubs stepped in for the staining because "I was doing it wrong."  Haha...little did he know that his staining the dresser was exactly my plan!  All kidding aside, I am super excited by the results.

Here's my before pic:

And here is the dresser post-transformation (please excuse our clutter):

Yay!  I'm so happy with the results.  All we have left is to stain and put on the knobs and this sucker is ready to go!

Towering TBR: Early May Edition

This new segment on the blog came about because my desire to read new books vastly outstrips my ability to dwindle down my TBR list...oh, to have more free time!  Anyways, these are some new additions to the good ol' TBR:

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini - I've loved both of his other books so I'm super-excited about this one!

Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer - I always love a good Heyer novel...and someone somewhere must've recommended this (I wish I could remember)!

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway - I can't resist time travel novels and this one sounds especially good!

The Three Loves of Persimmon by Cassandra Golds - I found this recommendation over at the Book Smugglers blog and it really piqued my interest!

What new books have you guys discovered?

In Honor of National Poetry Month: Part IV

In Honor of National Poetry Month: Part III

Since it's National Poetry Month so I thought I'd add a few posts to the good ol' blog sharing some of my favorite poems!  This time I thought I'd share a poem from a local poet (she's the Director of the MFA Creative Writing Program at IU) from the collection Notarikon:

I Want To Be Your Shoebox by Catherine Bowman
 
I want to be your shoebox
I want to be your Fort Knox
I want to be your equinox


I want to be your paradox
I want to be your pair of socks
I want to be your paradise


I want to be your pack of lies
I want to be your snake eyes
I want to be your Mac with fries


I want to be your moonlit estuary
I want to be your day missing in February
I want to be your floating dock dairy


I want to be your pocket handkerchief
I want to be your mischief
I want to be your slow pitch


I want to be your fable without a moral
Under a table of black elm I want to be your Indiana morel
Casserole. Your drum roll. Your trompe l'oeil

I want to be your biscuits
I want to be your business
I want to be your beeswax


I want to be your milk money
I want to be your Texas Apiary honey
I want to be your Texas. Honey


I want to be your cheap hotel
I want to be your lipstick by Chanel
I want to be your secret passage


All written in Braille. I want to be
All the words you can't spell
I want to be your International


House of Pancakes. I want to be your reel after reel
Of rough takes. I want to be your Ouija board
I want to be your slum-lord. Hell


I want to be your made-to-order smorgasbord
I want to be your autobahn
I want to be your Audubon


I want to be your Chinese bug radical
I want to be your brand new set of radials
I want to be your old-time radio


I want to be your pro and your con
I want to be your Sunday morning ritual
(Demons be gone!) Your constitutional


Your habitual—
I want to be your Tinkertoy
Man, I want to be your best boy


I want to be your chauffeur
I want to be your chauf-
feur, your shofar, I want to be your go for

Your go far, your offer, your counter-offer
your two-by-four
I want to be your out and in door


I want to be your song: daily, nocturnal—
I want to be your nightingale
I want to be your dog's tail

In Honor of National Poetry Month: Part II

Since it's National Poetry Month so I thought I'd add a few posts to the good ol' blog sharing some of my favorite poems!  This time I thought I'd share a classic from the collection Songs of Experience:

The Tyger by William Blake

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?


In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?


And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?


What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!


When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?


Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

In Honor of National Poetry Month: Part I

Y'all it's National Poetry Month so I thought I'd add a few posts to the good ol' blog sharing some of my favorite poems!  Here's my first selection from the collection Hip Logic:

Nuclear
by Terrance Hayes

How to make a nation say,       uncle
In other words:       how to rule.
We learn
there will be no clue
before it happens.       No clear
sign from the Cosmos.       A clan-
destine airplane will appear       wrapped in the lace
of a black dream. Then a flash       like an ulcer
bursting in God’s gut. Citizens who goggle & race
about the city      as the sky becomes a caul-
dron.      The bones burn clean.

Any thoughts?  I always find poetry interesting fodder for discussion.  Happy weekend!

Quickie Review: The Shadow of the Wind

I lucked out big-time when I was on vacation because I read three amazing (5 star rating) books in a row!  The last of which I already reviewed here.  Whenever I try and review books after some time has lapsed since I've finished, I tend to lose the details.  Thus, I decided to just do a quickie review post.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Goodreads Summary:
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

My Thoughts:
OMG!  Where has this book been all my life and why have I waited so gosh darn long to read it?!  The Shadow of the Wind has a little bit of everything: historic and foreign setting, mystery and intrigue, romance, and it's a gothic coming of age tale to boot!

This book had a very eerie and murky atmosphere that had me on the edge of my lawn chair.  Plus there were ghosts, masked men, and evil policeman adding more and more layers to this historical mystery.

The amazing characters - wowza! My favorites were Fermin and Daniel.  Daniel was just such a good-hearted little protagonist whereas Fermin was the more colorful and passionate character.  Sometimes I was smacking my head in empathetic agony over some of Daniel's actions but that's a typical feeling I have when reading coming-of-age stories.  Fermin stole a piece of my heart with his heroic displays of friendship.

Touching, atmospheric, and expressive...all of the books I read over my vacation were 5 star reads but The Shadow of the Wind is my personal favorite!

Towering TBR

This new segment on the blog came about because my desire to read new books vastly outstrips my ability to dwindle down my TBR list...oh, to have more free time!  Anyways, these are some new additions to the good ol' TBR:

Eon by Alison Goodman

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell

 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Orleans by Sherri Smith

Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer

Gulp by Mary Roach

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recommended

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's topic: Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most. This list is truly a mixed bag - I hope you enjoy!

1.  The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness - for anyone who wants to feel all the feelings!!

2.  The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - I just freakin' loved this book...amazing how Miller breathes new life into a well-known tale.

3.  The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - his amazing storytelling makes this series a true genre-buster.  Even if you're not the biggest fantasy fan I definitely recommend giving Mr. Rothfuss a go!

4.  His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman - if you haven't read this amazing YA series go do it!  Now!

5.  Just Kids by Patti Smith - such an interesting time period mixed with powerful writing and a lovely story of friendship.

6.  The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - a strange premise but really amazing book.

7.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - another emotional rollercoaster of a book...I seem to like these :)

8.  Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - so unique!

9.  Divergent by Veronica Roth - for all my IRL reader friends looking for the next YA phenom :)

10.  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - just read this one but it will definitely top the list of my most recommended from here on out!

Weekend Miscellany: Intro

Hey folks!  I'm introducing a new segment to the blog "Weekend Miscellany" where I take off my reader glasses and share some non-bookish musings.  Today I thought I'd share the little cleaning schedule I made in a fit of clean house envy.  I must be getting a bit of the spring cleaning bug!

I'm kinda thinking that this is a little too ambitious but I'm not sure.  What do you guys think?  Do-able?

Top Ten Tuesday: Must Buys

Whups...I'm late posting today but here goes!  Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's topic: Top Ten Books I HAD To Buy...But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread

1.  Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones...I bought this book based solely upon blogger recommendations but still haven't read it!

2.  Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys...What the heck?!?! Why haven't I read this highly acclaimed book yet??

3.  In the Night Garden by Catherine M. Valente...this one has been on my TBR for wayyyy too long.

4.  Passion by Jude Morgan

5.  The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar

6.  The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy...um, if you've read Prince of Tides then you know why I want to continue reading more by this author!!

7.  The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

8.  The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood...why haven't I read this yet??

9.  A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore...I've only heard great things!

10.  Kindred by Octavia Butler...I've wanted to read anything by this author for ages!