THE ROMANTICS

      "Laura and Lila were once as close as could be – college roommates at the center of a tight-knit group of friends. But the friendship has wilted a bit. Now, six years after college, the friends – and the boyfriend they shared – have reunited for Lila’s wedding at her family’s seaside estate in Maine.

        Laura is reserved, single, and the only Jew in the group, while the bride, Lila, is a WASPy, moneyed golden girl. And the groom, Tom, a swim-team star from a working class Catholic background, is a perfect paradox of confidence and confusion. As the wedding draws near and the wine flows faster, the disappointments and desires of the reuniting friends come quickly to the surface. A drunken game on the estate’s dock goes awry when the revelers are puled out to see by the current. When they swim back to shore, they are short by one – the groom. The search throws the group’s shifting allegiances into relief and results in new betrayals as well as confessions.

        With Lila’s family’s picture-perfect Maine summer house as the backdrop, Laura not only sees her old friends in a new light but reassesses herself as well: Is he the only one of the group destined to be unmarried into her thirties? Was it always this obvious that she was the only Jew in a pride of WASPs? Struggling with the traditionally thankless role of maid of honor – not to mention contending with Lila’s formidable mother, Augusta – Laura also realizes she can’t stop thinking about her complicated, long and intense relationship with the groom. But isn’t that relationship far in the past?"

 from front flap

You may remember a posting about the movie that is based on this book. Since the movie looked pretty good, I thought I would try the book first. It was so good! I read some of the reviews on Amazon and it seemed to be split, you either love it or you hate it. Although the author is very descriptive (i would venture to say even more so than Stephen King), the plot was so interesting. It all takes place in one night, but there are a lot of descriptions of the characters and we see what it was like for them back in college and how it has changed to the present. The only complaint I have about this book is that it was too short! I had to rush to finish it so I could return it to the library so that might have something to do with it, but I felt like she sort of just finished writing. Of course, I love the way it ends, but still I think there is a lot of the story that could have been told.

The way the chapters are written is one of my favorite parts of the novel. When the group splits up into search parties, you get everyone's background and their thoughts on the whole situation. This keeps it interesting and you really get involved with the characters. There were a couple of times that I was so excited for one and then another when I was annoyed by someone else. I'm just a huge fan of books with multiple character's perspectives. 

I would recommend this book to anyone. It was a super quick and interesting read that anyone would enjoy!

DAYS 167 - 180

Day 167:

I made one of the most delicious dinners ever! I was wondering what to make for my roommate/family dinner night so my one of them suggested I search The Pioneer Woman's site. I've heard of her, but I've never made anything from her recipes. This one was so easy and delicious! I added some things in there (like broccoli) because I had some laying around and it only enhanced it. Now, if you are not a fan of lemon, then I don't advise you to make this. It has a very strong lemon taste, but if you do like lemon, then go for it! You will not be disappointed!

Day 168:

I don't think I've ever bought jeans from Target, but I was in need of some (or so i thought) and I decided to try them. I am now a huge fan! They are inexpensive and they feel like they'll hold up for a while so I thinking this was a bueno decision.

Day 169:

You can never have too many boots, which is why I am on the search for a pair of dark brown ones now. I added this pair to my collection and I pretty pumped to wear them as soon as it starts cooling off (which i hope is really soon).

Day 170:

Max decided to be our little doll for the night so I made him a bow out of toilet-paper. Yes, I know, I'm classy. The first five minutes of trying to put this on him were pretty amusing, but then he finally gave in and I got this wonderful shot.

Day 171:

Are you surprised? After doing these posts, I am now aware of where all of my money goes. On Sunday, I went shopping with Mom and got 5 shirts! I didn't spend to much (thankfully) and now I have some new clothing to show off!

Day 172:

I wasn't a big fan of a grade I got back on Monday, but hey, it doesn't really matter anymore because I'm dropping the class! It makes me kind of nervous to drop it since we're only allowed 4 the entire time we're at UGA, but I'm in my third year and I haven't dropped one yet so I think I'm good.

Day 173:

(i couldnt think of a picture)

So, the bad grade on Monday confirmed what I've been thinking about. I was a Consumer Journalism major focusing on Public Relations and Child and Family Development, but since I've been in the major classes, I've been more drawn to the CFD portion. I was wondering if I should drop the PR part and go straight CFD, but I didn't know if that was the right decision. After getting the grade, I knew that it was definitely the right thing to do so I changed. I can now say that I am a Child and Family Development major!

Day 174:

Cutest movie! This was so adorable! I love all of the characters and I really want a little minon to carry around with me.

Day 175:

Grey's Anatomy premiered!!And it was pretty good! I'm really glad Yang and Hunt got married and that Lexie and Alex broke up. FINALLY!

Day 176:

I didn't really do anything other than go to school and work so I'm skipping this day :)

Day 177:

(p.s. i kinda like these watches! they seem very popular. i just dont know if i could handle something that large on my wrist...)

Saturday was such a long day! I worked from 11 until 10 because one of the shifts didn't get covered, but it wasn't too bad. The day went by pretty quick and after work, Sara and I went to Kerry's birthday party...she's finally 20!! :) It was a very fun, but tiring day.

Day 178:

I'm out of my slump! YAY! We have a quota we have to meet at work for credit applications and after over 2 weeks of not getting any, I finally did! I'm so glad to be back.

Day 179:

The Romantics. Check it out. Read it. (ill do a review soon)

Day 180:

Here's the situation. Going home, I have to turn onto R Pkwy from R Rd. Pkwy is the road that has all of the apartment complexes on it so if you're turning left onto it from Rd, you have the right of way. I was turning right onto Pkwy from Rd; since there were no other cars around, I decided to yield at the stop sign and go ahead and turn without completely stopping. BIG MISTAKE. There was a cop sitting there on Pkwy and of course, I got stopped and had to pay a $125 ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign. That's a load of crap. Since there weren't any cars coming and I was turning right, I shouldn't have had to stop, but apparently what I think doesn't matter so I paid it. Now instead of buying something useful with that money, I had to pay the stupid police department. I'm not too happy as you can see.

NYC BABY!

In approximately 7 months, I will be visiting this wonderful city!



I absolutely canNOT wait!! For my 21st birthday, a trip to New York City will be my present from my mom and stepdad (aren't they the best?!). I've already been looking up hotels and flights online, but I've never had to plan anything like this before so I really don't know where to start...any advice would be amazing! So far, I've been on Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, and other sites, but what I've found is that Orbitz gives the best deals. I think I've gotten the hotel narrowed down to three: Doubletree in Times Square, NY Marriott Marquis, and InterContinental in Times Square. It would be amazing if the Marriott Marquis worked out because it's right in the center of Times Square, I can only imagine how great this would be!

Since Spring Break is always close to my birthday, I think we're going to aim for going that week sometime, but nothing's set yet. I just hope the weather and everything are good in mid-March! As for what we're going to do there, I've had people tell me the things that I definitely need to do, which are go to China Town, a show on Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, and Ground Zero. I'm hoping to make an agenda for everyday we're there and to fit everything in!

I'm sure as the time draws closer, you'll be hearing a lot more about the trip, so be prepared! :) Oh, just thinking about it makes me so happy. You don't know what this means for someone who's never been farther north that North Carolina, I've been stuck in the southeast for 20 years so this trip cannot come soon enough.

P.S. If you know of anywhere I should go, or if you've heard anything about good hotels, please share! I'm always looking for advice about this trip!

BEST ONE YET?

I don't know if you recall, but I've been trying to finish the sixth season of Grey's Anatomy for quite some time now. Well guess what?? I finally did! And I would have to say, this season finale was one of the best ones yet. Of course, nothing will ever beat the season 2 finale with Denny, but this one came super close.

The previews, of course, tell you that there's a shooter in the hospital, but what happens with all of the characters and the shooter is so shocking! I don't see how the writers come up with any of this stuff, but they are amazing at what they do.

**THE REST OF THE POST CONTAINS SPOILERS**

*First off, I can't believe they started off the show with Mr. Clark shooting Reid. Not that I was a big fan of her or anything, but that was definitely a shocker! I still can't believe that they killed off two kinda big characters!

*And don't get me started on the whole pregnancy deal. That was so sudden and I was so excited for Meredith, but then they kill the baby? I don't understand the whole point of mentioning it in the first place; the episode would have been equally as dramatic if she hadn't been pregnant. I'm sure it added a little something for other viewers, but I just didn't see the point. UNLESS they're going to bring it back up next season...

*Karev saying Izzie's name?? Personally, I really strongly dislike Alex. I think the show should get rid of him. I don't care how, but if he was never on the show again, I would not complain. But that's beside the point, I think what he said to Lexie when he thought she was Izzie should be a sign to her that she should get out of the relationship with him and back into the one with Sloan. They were such a great couple! A few episodes before the finale when he told her that he still loved her and that he wanted to be her husband was so touching! They should end up together. No questions asked.

*There were some other things that happened on the episode, the whole situation with Arizona and Callie and the triangle between Hunt, Teddy, and Yang, but they were all resolved in ways that I liked. This one was so drama-filled, you know next season has to open with a bang. I know some people have said that Grey's should end while it's ahead, but I think they should keep going! There's so much more they could do!

I am super pumped for the premiere in 2 days!! I hear it starts with a marriage...if it's Lexie and Karev (i doubt it) it'll be hard to watch the rest of the season!

JACK VETTRIANO

A little over a year ago, I was looking for a painting to go at the head of my bed when I stumbled across this one:


"The Singing Bulter"

It was on sale at Kirkland's and it was the perfect size so of course I purchased it. I then went home and tried to find more paintings by Jack Vettriano. Not only did I look online, but I also looked at Kirkland's again and at Hobby Lobby and I found this one:


"Elegy for The Dead Admiral"

The other day, I revisited the site and decided to share the other paintings that I would love to have on my walls :)


"Midnight Blue"


"Sweet Bird of Youth"


"The Big Tease"


"The Road to Nowhere"


"Mr Cool"


"Altar of Memory"


"Mad Dogs..."


"The City Cafe"

all images from the exhibition link on the jack vettriano homepage

DAY 159-166

Day 159:

Since I was home, I had to go pick up Levi from his little boarding vacation. He's always so excited to go home after he's been there!

Day 160:



For a class assignment, I had to watch a children's television program and read a children's book. Since I read Mary Poppins a while back, I decided to use that for the book and for the show, I watched The Fairly OddParents. I hadn't seen that show in a while, but it was still as entertaining now as it was when I was younger.

Day 161:



It was grocery day!! I decided to make some pasta salad that I could munch on for a while. Instead of making just enough to last me a few meals, I ended up making a ton. It filled up a very large container...I have a feeling I'll be throwing some of it away soon.

Day 162:



My pictures came! I ordered close to 700 pictures from SnapFish recently and they finally arrived! For some reason, I hadn't ordered pictures in over a year, so the result was a large package. I'm glad they're cheap though!

Day 163:



I made the tastiest breakfast needed to fuel my 10 hour shift. It consisted of a waffle sandwich with Nutella and strawberries in the middle. It was absolutely delicious!

Day 164:



As you can see from this post, the family and I traveled to Summerville for the family reunion which was a lot of fun!

Day 165:



It has been so much fun having Bella and Alexi living here!

Day 166:



Oh ya know, just Max watching some quality TV. The VMA's replayed so he insisted on watching them. Did anyone else think that Rihanna and Taylor Swift didn't perform that well? I think my favorite performer of the night was Usher. He can sing and dance and who doesn't love "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love"?!

FAMILY REUNION

part of the family in Summerville, GA


me and laurel showing off our awesomeness


with the ma


i dont know why i find this picture semi-humorous :)


isaiah trying to fish in the trees. too cute!


the flags at half-staff for 9/11


the lake from the paddle boat


having some fun while getting a good leg work-out


mom and the newest family addition


jackson, weyman, mom, and me...missing three!

TAG

I was tagged by Sara, my roommate who resides over at My Fancy Tuna, to do a list of seven random things about myself. As you can see from my last post that included doing something like this, I run out of things to say very quickly. But here goes nothing!

1. I would like to eventually work in a children's hospital
2. I love to read, but I doubt I could pinpoint my one favorite book
3. Horror/thriller movies are my favorite
4. I get very nervous doing ice-breakers in class, most of the time I don't participate
5. My favorite song to belt out in the car is "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston
6. Thunderstorms are excellent (unless I'm home alone)
7. I personally have never dialed 911

So, I assume I'm supposed to tag people to do this, but instead, I'm just going to do what most others do; if you would like to do this, feel free!! So I tag everyone! :)

COULD IT BE?

The most delicious cake is now available in a cookie form! I mentioned making red velvet cookies on previous post and it sounded like something everyone wanted to try, so....here's the recipe!!

Red Velvet Cookies
from Joy the Baker (who originally got if from Rachael Ray)

*1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
*1 tbsp of cocoa
*1/2 tsp of salt
*1/2 tsp of baking soda
*5 tbsp butter
*3/4 cup of sugar
*1 egg
*1 tbsp red food coloring (i used 1 tsp and it was fine)
*1 tsp vanilla
*1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have this, you can substitute it. put 1/2 tbsp of white vinegar in a measuring cup. fill the rest of the 1/2 cup with milk. let sit for 5 minutes and you have yourself some buttermilk {kinda})

Preheat oven to 350.
Line cookie sheets with foil. (DO NOT use Pam or oil. this will make the cookies spread out and the edges will be crunchy)
In one bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
In another bowl, cream the sugar and butter together. Then add in an egg, the food coloring, and the vanilla.
Mix the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the sugar mixture alternately.
This is supposed to make 10 large cookies, but I made smaller ones and used a spoon to measure them out. After putting them on the sheet, spread them out to the size of the cookie that you want. They won't bake much larger than how you spread them out.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.



Cream Cheese Frosting
from Food Network

*4 tbsp of unsalted butter
*4 ounces of cream cheese
*2 c of powdered sugar
*1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together
Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time.
Mix in the vanilla.

In the original recipe for the cookies, it said to use a vanilla and chocolate frosting, but I think with red velvet, you have to have cream cheese frosting, so I replaced that part :)

ENJOY!

MRS. KIMBLE

I absolutely loved Jennifer Haigh's book The Condition. Since it was a great one and her writing style was so easy to follow and get into, I thought I would try her first book, Mrs. Kimble. This book is about three different women who marry the same man, at different time though. A portion of the book is dedicated to each of the women and you see from their point of view how they feel about Mr. Kimble and how he affected their lives. Throughout the book, his son, Charlie, is also incorporated with all of the women.

I loved the different perspectives and the timing of when we meet the characters. By including Charlie in every part of the book, it was a good way to see how everything that Kimble did affected others.

Now I know I shouldn't play favorites, but I would definitely say that the first part of the book with Kimble's first wife, Birdie, was the most interesting. You meet her right after Kimble left and you see how it impacts her life and the lives of her children.

Again, with the writing, I love how the entire book isn't told from one character's point of view. It keeps it interesting!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone. It was a pretty quick read and it was so entertaining. I felt so involved with the characters and I'm sure you will too!

DAYS 154 - 158

Day 154:



Instead of working in my usual department at work, I worked in the Juniors department. It wasn't as crazy as it usually is, but the couple pieces of clothing I was bombarded with were black and red dresses. Since it was two days from game day and apparently everyone procrastinates with picking out dresses, I felt like I was putting up the same dresses all night!

Day 155:



To get ready for the breakfast tailgate we were having on Saturday, I baked some muffins when I got home from work Friday. They weren't the best muffins, but they looked pretty! (this is not a picture of them, i actually forgot to take one :) )

Day 156:



GAME DAY!

Day 157:



I spent yesterday with my grandma! I felt like I was a little kid again. We baked cookies and then watched Pocahontas. It was free OnDemand so how could we pass that up? Hopefully, I'll get around to posting about these cookies soon. They are the red velvet cookies I mentioned earlier, but this time we made them into sandwiches. Excellent idea!

Day 158:



I am headed to this place today! I haven't been to the Mall of GA in quite a while so it will be fun! And I actually plan on buying some things, unlike the last time when I left with a single shirt.

I HOPE YALL HAVE A GOOD LABOR DAY!