Books for a Monday

Books people! It's time to talk about them. I'll admit, I'm having to cut back on my reading because I'm taking an online class (for work) and that is now taking up my precious reading time (boo).

BUT! Last weekend, when I was sick and at the airport in Las Vegas, I needed a way to kill time until my plane left. I couldn't really eat anything, so I bought two books. And they were just as delicious as could be.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Do we really need to talk about how awesome this is? I watched the first season of the show and I decided I really needed to read the books. So I'm starting with the first, even though it is basically the show, but that's how we do things around here. I'm hoping I can finish most of the series by the time the second season rolls around in the spring.
But what is it about? It's about the game of thrones, politics of getting and keeping the throne in the Seven Kingdoms. It's an alternate world, with lots of characters and history...it's so detailed, I honestly recommend you check out the the series wiki to get more info...or you know, read the book. It's the perfect escape book, I really forget everything that's going on while I'm reading and get so involved with the characters and their world.


The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
Creepy, gothic mystery set in 17th century Germany, during a time when witches were everyone's greatest fear. I just started this book, but I already love it. I think it may be a perfect Halloween read. I am only a few pages in, but I will give more details as I go along...I think it's going to be full of character and plot twists, torture, mayhem, magic...I'm excited!









That's all I got right now folks! Have you read anything interesting lately?

Update of sorts

Image via

Vegas, it was epic. At least for a first timer like me. I've got stories and pics from the trip, but I also got a cold, so they will have to wait. But I promise and update soon, friends. For now, I'm going to drown my sickly sorrows in a glass of wine and some Game of Thrones.

How was your weekend?

Obsessed much?

So I know I put this song on my Vegas playlist, but I had to give it its own post. I love it so much. I wish it never ended...enjoy!

VEGAS BABY

This weekend I am making my first ever trip to Las Vegas. I am so freakin' pumped! I'm only going for two days (Friday-Sunday), but I honestly think that will be enough. I plan on making it epic!!! Dancing, cocktails, pool lounging, dancing, cocktails, pool lounging. That's all I want to do and I'm gonna make it happen.

Packing heels, dresses, and bathing suits. Yes

So, for Friday's music (even though it is still Thursday) I was feeling the Vegas vibe, as in fun, loud, and music I can, as cheesy as it sounds, get my groove on to. Hope you love it!

Some fall reading perhaps?

Blog schedule: I am sticking to it. So, books. It should have been yesterday, but alas, kickboxing kicked my butt and I couldn't muster up the energy to turn on the computer. I instead passed out while watching The Bad Girls Club. I know. I know.

Gawker recently put out a list of new books coming for the fall, and I'm very interested in a couple of them, mainly these two:

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
According to Gawker:
"Beaton's a Canadian-born web comic artist who satirizes famous people from history and popular culture and places them in absurd situations. Marcel Duchamp "pushes the boundaries" of his breakfast, Jane Austen deals with a friend who asks if the writing she's working on includes any "hunky dreamboats," and Nancy Drew talks to a skull. Surprising! Refreshing! Not your mother's "Garfield"!

I love me some historical satire and humor. I think this will be a good when I am in need of a laugh on a cold, dreary day.

 

Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label by Bill Adler, Dan Charnas, Rick Rubin, and Russell Simmons
According to Gawker
"A silver-anniversary retrospective and oral history of the hip-hop record label that brought us LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Rihanna, and many other beloved American culture-product innovators. Founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, label artists, and music executives share pics, flyers, ads, cover art, and anecdotes about the olden days. Annie Leibovitz pictures are in there, too."

I'm not even a big hip/hop rap person, but I find history of record labels and music history in general so fascinating. Especially one is important as Def Jam and it's contribution to the musical landscape.

Also, there are some books I've read that I always consider "fall" books. They have a darker feel, maybe a little gloomy and existentialist. I also strangely LOVE reading detective novels in the fall. So here are a few good ones I highly recommend.

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Contains three short stories: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room. I love Paul Auster, he also wrote one of my favorite books,The Book of Illusions, and his stuff is just so well written and absorbing...I can't even describe how much I love his work. Anyway, the trilogy is a series of short detective stories but not quite. They're kind of like meta-detective fiction or mysteries about mysteries. They also are kind of absurd and weird and you will definitely be thinking about them when you've finished the book.

The Spellman Files by Liza Lutz
A family of private investigators in San Francisco who are very close knit, yet highly suspicious of one another and actually investigate each other most of the time. So funny, so real. I read this one last fall and really enjoyed it. It's the first in a series, so I think this fall I will have to get the next one to get my Spellman fix. Oh and I defintely laughed out loud many times while reading this one.





Are you reading anything exciting right now? Or do you have an recommendations for a good fall book?

It Ended with a Fashion Show

This weekend I went to my mama's house for a quick day trip to see my aunt and uncle visiting from Texas. We ate some really tasty, home cooked food, hit up the Capitola Art and Wine Festival (there was a lot of wine...it was good), and had lots of good conversation.

On Sunday, I came home and got to walk in an Anthropologie fashion show! Thanks to my awesome friend Amy, who works there, for such a fun night! (And a little discount, some delicious food and champagne). Oh, and my outfits were pretty dang cute too! First one is pictured below. I covet that fur vest. It might just have to join my closet soon.  Hopefully I'll get some more pictures because it went by so fast, I forgot to snap a photo of my second outfit!

It was so fun to hang out with a bunch of girls, dress up in pretty clothes, and get my hair and makeup done! I know it's cheesy, but I felt so fancy and fashion-y, it was a great end to the weekend. I hope they do another fashion show, cause I'll be all over that.

How was your weekend?

Friday Tunes

I tried to get a playlist up last Friday, but failed. My apologies, but I wasn't at home and didn't have access to my computer. But today we have music!

I personally go through phases with my music. Like, I'll listen to only one CD or one Pandora station obsessively for weeks at a time. This summer has been no different. Right now, or for that last month or so, I've been listening to my Carole King Pandora station pretty much nonstop. I find that all the songs capture that laid back, end of summer vibe that I feel every August and September. So the playlist I made today features some oldies, but most definitely goodies, and I hope you enjoy them on this lovely Friday, as we say bye bye to summer (it was a good one) and hello to fall.

P.S. Last weekend was awesome, and I will be doing a recap post, I just need to get the pics off my camera. So it might be a little late. Just sayin'.

Hairstylin'

I'm trying this new thing where I actually take the time to make myself look pretty everyday. Because when I do, I realize that I tend to be much happier and positive. You know, that old adage "look good, feel good", well go figure, it's actually true.

I've never been the greatest at styling my hair. It's pretty thin and the most I would do in the mornings is blow dry with a round brush and go. Sometimes I'll straigten it or pin some back to make it semi-interesting, but nothing fancy. Well, now I take my showers at night because I have to get up so dang early, so the blow dry-and-go doesn't really work anymore. I also realized, after getting my hair cut and styled last week, that I really like how I look with curls. But I don't really have the time in the morning to curl it with an iron (plus that's bad for one's hair), so I started researching ways to curl without heat, besides the old ways of braiding it while wet (boring) and sleeping in pin curls (too time consuming).

This is where google and youtube come in. I did some searching ("no heat curls") and found some great videos!

This one is the first one I've tried. I think it's pretty cool, friends.

I did this last night and I really like it. I don't think I put enough hairspray, but I still think I look pretty cute.

I've also found a few more, I especially like the tutorials for new styles, like the sock bun (I'm dying to try this one because I love ballerina inspired buns).

I'm also into messy updoes, and I've never really known how to pull them off. But I like these two videos, and I'm definitely going to have to try them soon.

I just though this one was really cute, and this girl has a lot of great tutorials.

What I really wish was that my hair was a tad bit longer. I'm thinking of investing in some clip in hair extensions, since my hair, despite my best efforts, refuses to grow. But I'm also planning on dying my hair soon, so that may have to wait so I can make sure my colors match....have any of you ever tried clip ins? What do you think?