Summer Reading List

I made two New Years Resolutions.

1. Read 30 books in 2009

2. To finish all of the book club books before the meetings

So far in 2009 I have read 9 books. I need to step my game up a bit. I have read all of the book club books except for one. I was about 3/4 of the way done with it before the meeting. It was just a sucky book and I could barely force myself to pick it up.

In an effort to inspire myself to get reading I started browsing Amazon and I have compiled a list of books I would like to read before September 1, 2009.

The book club books are a must and I would like to read them first.

Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon

If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

Technically this was a book club book from last year. My pick actually. I started it and for some reason was not enjoying it at all. The members of my book club could not say enough good things about it. I am going to give it another chance and see what I think.

Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb

I may be the last person on earth to have never finished the Harry Potter books. For several years now I have avoided all conversations and websites that may reveal a plot twist. Unfortunately I have not been very successful and have a general idea what is going to happen. I was not really planning on reading these any time soon but I think its become necessary if I want to be surprised at all. I cannot keep plugging my ears and singing "la la la la" every time a preview for the movie comes on television. Honestly I am little hostile when people bring up Harry Potter. I threaten bodily harm if they spoil anything for me. In the interest in not catching an assault record I really want to pick up the last of this series and just get it over with. Harry Potter books 4,5,6, and 7.

I may run a little bit over my set time limit....but I am going to try my best.

All images courtesy of Amazon.com.

**Edit** I do not know what is up with the weird spacing.....I cannot seem to get it to do anything I want it to. So you get my jumbled up mashed together entry today....grrrr

What my day looks like

First, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Second, the camera phone pictures are as good as it gets today and probably most days. I have a love/hate relationship with my camera phone. I love it cause its always ready but I hate it cause the picture quality sucks. If I waited to post things that were photographed then downloaded to a computer things would never get posted. Lets face it I am not the most regular blog poster type person anyway.

So without further ado this is what my Friday looks like:

This man right here is a keeper. (The dog is his mother's that we were dog sitting for and is not allowed on furniture. Us being the rule abiding couple invited the dog on the couch to take this picture and send to his mother no less than 10 minutes after the dog was dropped off.)

The lovely man in the above picture surprised me at work with these.

and this. (5 layer dip and chips)

No meal of chips and dip is complete without a beverage. Notice the concern for my health (read: Green Tea) and my weight (read: Diet). I won't read too much into the "Diet" part and just enjoy the sweetness that is Ryan. (also notice my cleavage is about to attack the bottle. Maybe I should reconsider having pictures with that much cleavage on my desk at work.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!!

Collecting

I am a thrift store shopper and a flea market regular. Anyone who has shopped at either knows that it can be overwhelming. I spent years buying things with no rhyme or reason. I ended up with an eclectic mix of things. In some cases eclectic can be good. In my case it was bad, very bad. Everything just appeared hap hazard and random with little styling. Not a bright spot in my decorating history. I am a firm believer in buying what you love and figuring out where to put it later, but within a few limits. For me if I am browsing a thrift store and I see something that catches my eye it must meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. Am I currently collecting the item?

2. Do I love it?

3. Is it vintage?

4. Is it in a color that would coordinate with my house?

If I answer "yes" to number one then it goes in my basket. If I answer "yes" to number two I must also answer yes to one of the other questions or it goes back on the shelf. The same goes for questions three and four.

By asking myself these questions it helps to assure what I bring home is something will be a part of my house for years to come. Take a look at a few of my collections. Pardon the crappy camera phone pictures. I am having a hard time locating my normal camera.

Here we have my globe collection. By default you can also see my vintage typewriter collection. I only have two so far but I plan on adding more as I come across them.

Here is a close up on one of the typewriters. If you look below the typewriter you can see my collection of Strawberry Shortcake Miniatures from 1980-84. Of course there is my vintage jewelry collection. I also plan on adding more to the wire lady. Eventually I expect she will be covered in costume jewelry.

For those of you wondering about the Strawberry Shortcake Minis this is a picture of one of the 64 that are available. This image and mini are from the Etsy shop Trunkofprettys.

I have many many more collections. I'll post pictures soon.

Cardigan of the Day

This cardigan is brought to us by Ann Taylor LOFT. I like it for warm weather. Just enough to keep your shoulders warm in a movie theatre. Its cure enough to be warn on casual Friday around the office. Toss it over any tank and jeans.

Etsy Break

Its no secret that I am addicted to Etsy. In this economy its extra important to support the little guy. Take a look and see if there is something you can't live without. (personally that fabric is calling my name) Its summer and i have been loving all the strawberries.

This lovely lady is from a seller I have had the pleasure of buying from Trunkofprettys. If you are looking for strawberries then you have to at least take a peek at the one and only Strawberry Shortcake.

Print of her original painting Diana Evans.

This fabric is a real treat from the 1930s. Thank you Rubysdaughter.

Hand made cups from ElegantWare. These would be so pretty on a window sill above a sink.

WWII Keep Calm and Carry On Strawberry chapstick from LeastLikely2Breed.

The most darling stud earrings from Fluffington.

Happy shopping folks!

Back in the saddle.....

This is a picture of what my day looks like.

To the untrained eye that is a grouping of things that seem totally unrelated and they are....the only common thread is that I had to remove them all from my purse to photograph them on my desk at work. Things are slow here. I have a sneaking suspicion that I may be in line at the unemployment office soon. Until I actually get that news officially I am in the office and waiting for something to happen. In the meantime I have to find ways to entertain myself. The book is next month's book club selection. I'm on page 130 and I would recommend My Sister's Keeper to anyone who is looking for a quick read. The fabric, needles and the orange pancake thing are supplies to make fabric yo-yos. I have posted about these before and this is what I am going for here:

Image and inspiration from Heather Bailey.

I plan to make this out of the yo-yos.

Image from Allsorts. S. jealous that she found this at a garage sale.

The orange pancake is actually a very handy tool for making yo-yos. Sandwich your fabric between the two plates and do a running stitch around the edges using the little notched provided and you have a yo-yo in about 3 minutes.

I have a tendency to walk away from projects half way through so we'll see how much I actually get done.

Cardigan of the Day

What is the one article of clothing that can fix most of your clothing woes? The cardigan! Retaining water today and need to hide your tummy? What do you need? A Cardigan! Need to take that cute tank top from summer to fall? Cardigan! Want to make that questionably sexy top work appropriate? Cardigan! Meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time? Cardigan!

So to honor the one and only piece of clothing that is appropriate in all social situations I am starting a Cardigan of the Day post to my blog. I am not committing to posting about a cardigan every day but I will post about a cardigan whenever the mood strikes that particular day.

So without further adieu here is your first cardigan today brought to us from the always appropriate J. Crew.