May 16

June Book Club Poll

Exciting word-smith related news! I found out last night that I made the 3rd and final round of the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge I posted about before – wahoo!! My assignment for the 2nd round was science fiction, with the Olympics and a personal trainer, and I had 3 days to write it. I’ll probably post it sometime next week if you want to read. This last round is down to just 25 people, and we have only 24 hours (this Saturday) to write our final story. I’ll find out Friday at midnight what the genre, etc. assignments are. !!!!

Ahem. Anyway, back to book club business. Trying to get ahead of the game a bit here, so the poll for the June book club pick is below. The genre for June is Paranormal. The nominations are:

June Book Club Poll

  • Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger. A tongue-in-cheek murder mystery about vampires, werewolves, and a soulless woman who can defy them, in Victorian England.
  • Gone (Gone #1) by Michael Grant. Mysterious disappearances, a sinister creature, and strange new powers in a world without adults.
  • Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Mysterious powers, ancient curses, and star-crossed love in the murky swamplands of the South.
  • Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare. Magic, vampires, warlocks, angels, and more in a steampunky Victorian England.

Vote below! Voting will be open until midnight on the 23rd (Thursday next week).

Just a reminder, the Classic book for May is 1984 by George Orwell. We’ll be linking up our reviews on the 30th of this month, with a Google Hangout chat at 7pm CST that night. I hope you’ll link-up with us. Let me know if you want to join in on the chat!

For July, the theme is Fairytales, and it’s a choose-your-own month. So, pick whatever fairytale-ish book you’d like. Want to read the original Hans Christian Andersen tales? Or a sci-fi re-telling of Cinderella? Or the inspiration behind a Disney movie? Have at it!
 

What paranormal book should we read for June book club?

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Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl0%
Gone by Michael Grant0%
Soulless by Gail Carriger0%
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare0%

Create a poll like this


 

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posted in Books by Amanda
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May 15

Red Graphic Tee 4 Ways

Red Graphic Tee 4 Ways

As you might know by now, I run an Etsy shop that sells screen printed goods, primarily t-shirts. And I thought it’d be fun today to show a few different ways that a bold graphic tee from my shop could be worn. So, this is the shirt:

Phoenix Tee

A simple scoopneck tee, in bright red, with my phoenix design in black. I made a duplicate of this one for myself, and have been wearing it different ways for about a year. Here are some that I have photographic proof of, all appropriate for the hot Texas weather we have 90% of the year:

Look #1

With a shorter patterned skirt, tucked and belted. Top with a blazer to dress it up that tad more and add a pop of a contrasting color.
(see full look here)

Look #1
 

Look #2

Super casual, with regular blue jeans (skinny or bootcut, I’ve done both). Easy and comfortable. Nothing too revolutionary about this, just a good ol’ jeans & tee combo.

Look #2
 

Look #3

With a maxi skirt or over a maxi dress for effortless boho-ish layers. Loose hair and interesting accessories add to the effect.

Look #3

Look #4

With bold patterned jeans to match the bold design on the shirt. Add pops of an accent color in the accessories and shoes if possible.

Look #4
 

For colder weather, add some boots over the skinny jeans, and a cardigan here or there, or layer over a longer-sleeved tee.

How would you wear this shirt?

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde, Kiwi Womens Style, Style Elixir, Because Shanna Said So, Glamamom, Lena B Actually, and Two Thirty-Five Designs.
 

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posted in What I Wore by Amanda
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May 14

Tuesday Treasure Trove

Tuesday Treasure Trove: this week's round-up of read-worthy links

 

Things of Note:

*yawn* I’m pretty sleepy today. Yesterday was a bit of a beeotch. But! I did finally completely finish the project that’s been languishing on my craft table, and the table is now free! Back to screen printing. :) And yes, a post on said project will be coming later this week.

Reader peeps/80′s kids: did any of you grow up watching The Last Unicorn cartoon movie like I did? Got a bit of nostalgia for it? Well, the movie and the author of the book it’s based on are coming to the big screen here in Austin (and a bunch of other cities!). I present The Last Unicorn Screening Tour. I already snagged some tickets, and may or may not be disproportionately excited about it. :-D

Also, a new Torchy’s Tacos is opening here in Round Rock, this week on the 16th. They’re offering one free breakfast item to anyone who stops by between 7am-10am. Free yummy breakfast taco? Yes, please.

What are you up to this week?
 

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May 12

10 Words

10 Words

I’m linking up with Jenni again for the May blogging challenge. I’m a day late, but yesterday’s topic was ‘sell yourself in 10 words or less.’ Jenni herself did a list of 10 words, and I liked that better than trying to come up with a-10 word coherent sentence to do the job. So! Here are my 10 words about me:

Creative
Introvert
Stubborn
Bookworm
Reserved
Monogamous
Perfectionist
Independent
Globetrotter (whenever possible)
Nightowl

 

What are your 10 words?
 


 

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posted in Thoughts by Amanda
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May 11

Book Review: The Bone Key

The Bone Key

The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth
by Sarah Monette

The Bone KeyI was a big fan of Monette’s Doctrine of Labyrinths series, so when I saw she had a standalone book, I grabbed it from the library without really reading much about it. So I was a bit surprised when I went to start reading, as I had been expecting a novel; this is in fact a book of short stories. My own faulty assumption, and no big deal, because this book is a fun read. The stories all have the same central character (Kyle Murchison Booth) and they are sequential and reference one another occasionally, which is how I like my short stories. I like them to be at least somewhat connected, and give me time to get to know at least one character well. This delivered on both counts. Booth is an awkward, intelligent, and eccentric guy, who works at a museum and unwillingly gets drawn into all sorts of paranormal escapades. Some are creepy, some are funny, and one was actually quite sad. Each story is its own mini-mystery. I’m not sure what else to say that won’t give away some plot points, but I really enjoyed this. Check it out, along with her other books.
 

I give it 4/5 stars.

 

The Bone Key


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May 10

Right Now

Right now, I am…

doing laundry. Glamourous life over here. :)

happy that some paychecks came in today.

wondering why I no longer receive text notifications about stuff being in my PO box.

looking forward to the comedy show we’re going to tonight, and a friend’s all-day birthday extravaganza tomorrow. :-D

one day into a 30-day squat challenge. 50 was no problem. 250 by the end? Yeesh, we’ll see.

excited that we’ve narrowed in on some plans for vacation later this summer, especially since it involves the beach.

about to call my mom for our weekly Friday evening catch-up chat.

watching Sienna barrel crawl across my office.

waiting for Ian to get home so we can have dinner.

drinking water. I’ve been better about this lately.

trying to decide what color to paint my toenails. Last color was a lightish purple.

waiting for a project to dry on my craft table so I can finish it up, get the honking thing off of there, and get back to screen printing.

loving the Brookside dark chocolate pomegranate sample that came with a package today.

What are you up to this weekend?
 

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