The Hunger Games????

Has anyone read these books?  And I'm not talking about 13 year olds!  I hate to read something just because of hype but my curiosity is slightly peaked...what do you think?  Worth the read? 

MIA

Sorry I didn't blog this week...been feeling very uninspired and blah (yes, that is a word!).  But I will be back at it shortly!  Stay tuned:)

Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn

So the other day I heard that some movie producer is wanting to make a movie based on the books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  This got me thinking that I have never read these classic books.  I'm thinking that maybe I should put them on my reading list.  If you have read these books I would love to hear what you thought of them.

Dance Party

So last night I didn't feel like doing my usual workout so I decided to have a dance party for 1 in my living room.  Here was my playlist:

1.  The Golden Age by The Astroids Galaxy Tour
2.  Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson
3.  Can't Fight the Moonlight by Leanne Rhimes
4.  Body Movin' by the Beastie Boys
5.  Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas
6.  Hynotize by BIG
7.  Crazy in Love by Beyonce
8.  SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
9.  Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
10.  The Show Goes On by Lupe Fisaco
11.  The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie by Red Hot Chili Peppers
12.  Lady by Lenny Kravitz
13.  Tighten Up by the Black Keys

By the last few songs you should be cooling down with some stretches.

It was really fun and I highly recommend it...have you ever had a dance party?  If so, what songs did you dance to?  I would love to create another playlist!

Time Crunch

Perhaps you have noticed that I haven't talked about my current knitting project lately.  Well, whenever I work on a large project somewhere in the middle I get kinda bored.  So I guess you could say I have been in that place for the last few weeks.  Well, since this afghan is a wedding present for my nephew I have a deadline.  I happened to look at the calender this weekend to convince myself I still had lots of time...well...the surprise was on me.  I need to knit approximately 35 inches and I have 7 weeks.  Based on quick math I need to knit 5 inches every week.  So the pressure is on!  Knit hands knit!

What are you doing puppy?

Someone got into my knitting bag...

Janet Evanovich's - One for the Money

Thanks to my friend at The Life I Want my curiosity was peaked about Janet Evanovich's book series for Stephanie Plum.  I just got the first two books from my local library and can't wait to start reading them!  Check back in a few days to see what I think...

Book Review: Angelina's Bachelors by Brian O'Reilly

My library called me on Tuesday to let me know that some books I had ordered were available.  Whenever I get this call I get excited because I never know which or how many books it will be.  I keep my 'list book' with me at all times and one of my never ending lists is 'books I want to read', so whenever I hear about a good book or see a review or anything that peaks my interest I write the title and author's name down on my list.  Then once my list starts getting full I go to the library's website and order them all up.  Usually the books I request have a waiting list or need to come from another library but that is okay, I always have lots to read in the meantime.

So, one of the books I picked up on Tuesday was Angelina's Bachelors by Brian O' Reilly.  I don't even remember where I heard about this book and I don't even remember ordering it so the waiting list must have been long and that means the book must be in demand!  Well, let me tell you, it was worth the wait.  This is one of the cutest books I have read in soooo long.  I finished it in four days and just found it absolutely enjoyable.

Angelina is a chef and the book actually has all her recipes in it!  If you love good food and/or love to cook you will love this book even more.  I can't say that I am a huge cook (I do it cause I have to eat) but I still was able to appreciate Angelina's various recipes and love of cooking.  As much as this book is about food and cooking it is also about love, friendship and growth.  I highly recommend this book.

Since I had such success with this book I can't wait to start reading the other books the library had for me!  Stay tuned...

Day Off!

Today I:

• slept till 8:00 a.m.
• made breakfast with my husband and loved it!
• organized all my meals for the next week / grocery shopping
• put together a new picture frame and hung it up all by myself
• caught up on my tv shows (I love Smash!)
• baked banana bread
• cleaned my kitchen;
• opened up the windows today because it was so beautiful outside
• organized my jewellery into a new organizer I bought
• checked out more blogs
• sat back and had a cup of tea

What a great day off and I didn't rely on my 'same old' hobbies to spend my time.  Sometimes change is needed to spice things up.  How do you love to spend your time off that isn't part of your normal routine?

Blogs blogs and more blogs

I am feeling very lazy this afternoon so I have spent about an hour looking at other people's blogs.  I just love looking at people's blogs.  People are so creative, inspiring and energetic!  What a great way to get ideas and enjoy other people's creative work.  I suggest that you also use some of your downtime to check out what other people are doing for some inspiration!  Happy blogging!

Book Review: I am Half-Sick of Shadows

Have I mentioned before that I love Alan Bradley's series of Flavia de Luce novels???  I know I have but I just LOVE it!  I am now reading the third installment and I get such a kick out of Flavia (an 12 year old little girl) who is the main character and all her 'adventures'.  It really is a feel good book.

I found out that Alan is an Canadian author which makes me love him even more.  Regardless, I recommend, once again, this series and I know you will enjoy it!

Book Review - Sarah's Key

I finished reading Sarah's Key and really enjoyed this book.  I was kinda nervous reading it because I thought it would totally depress me (it is about a horrible war and terrible things that happened to Sarah and her family) but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the positive tone the author was able to capture.  Don't get me wrong there are sad moments...but the whole book is written with a positive tone or at least some hope that positive things will happen for Sarah and the main character.  I have never written a book by this author before but I am now intrigued about her and would like to read her next book. 

I don't want to give the plot of the story away because I think that is part of the special fun of discovering a book but I do want to encourage people to read it, it is well done!

Current Project - for my nephew

So now that I have finished a couple of projects I should let you know about the one I am currently working on.  My nephew is getting married in May and I want to knit them something to go with their wedding gift.

Of course, if you have followed my blog previously you know that would be an afghan! 

The colour for their living room is apparently chocolate brown.  So I found a pattern from a book I have of all afghans of one that I think is modern enough to give a young couple but classic enough that they won't be embarrassed to use it for years to come.

I have knitted about 50 rows so far - here is a snap shot of what I have so far:

I'm not sure if you can see the checkered look it has from the pictures but the bigger it gets the easier it will be to see the pattern.  I will keep you posted on my progress!

New project to add to my knitting list...

Recently while I was checking out Lion's Brand's website I came across this pattern for another afghan that I want to try.  Has anyone made this before?

Here is the link:

Slip Stitch Sampler Throw

Finished lapghan (small afghan) for my in-laws!

Recently my husband and I were treated to a cruise in the Caribbean by my in-laws.  As a way to thank them for their present I knitted them an lapghan (not a full size afghan).  My sister in law gave me an idea of the colours in their living room (we have never seen their place since they moved away) so I hoped that I picked the right green.  I wanted an olive green but my colour selection was limited because I was using Lion's Brand Thick & Quick.  I ended up using 'grass' and I thought the colour was really nice, especially for a living room.

Here is the finished project:

We received a telephone call from my in-laws saying they got the package and loved the gift.  My mother in law specifically said that the colour was great for their living room - huge relief!

This pattern was considered a 'lace pattern' which some people find very intimidating.  I think this pattern and most lace pattern have a very elegant look to them, not necessarily modern, but sophisticated.  The hardest part about them is that you usually need to keep count all throughout your row and for each and every row.  Some patterns you do the same stitch across the whole row and this is not the case in lace patterns, your stitch is constantly changing.  So they are not harder per se you just have to pay more attention while you are knitting.  Not my favorite pattern to work on when I am watching a movie, for example.

Here is a link to the pattern I used:

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90210AD.html?noImages=0

I recommend trying this.  If you do, please let me know how it turns out.  Thanks!