Digging, Watching, Reading

Digging
Check out this super-cute mug I got at CostPlus! It looks like a take-away, but it’s really stoneware and the lid/cozy are rubbery like a cellphone cover (kind of like this one, but I didn’t have to buy two). It is perfect for my morning cup (or two) of mint green tea.

I saw an avocado pendant featured on The Kitchn. I went to check it out and immediately fell in love with all her jewelry. It’s only a matter of time, my pretties!

I saw these super cute name labels called Name Bubbles somewhere in my travels. I’m really tempted to order some for Tabby since she is starting daycamp today and needs all of her stuff (swimsuit, towels) labeled. I know sharpie eventually fades …

Watching
Since Blitzen took out my Tivo, I have not been watching much. But before that, I wasn’t watching a whole lot of TV either because it’s SUMMER, yo.

I did watch Losing it with Jillian 2x. I’m a sucker for all things Jillian and I really enjoyed the show, that is when I wasn’t wanting to punch people for being whiny and lazy (I’m mean like that).

I also watched a cute movie, Like Stars on Earth about a little kid living in India. He is a trouble-maker and getting terrible grades, but then he meets a special teacher who changes his future. It’s a bit slow to get going and the story is peppered with musical sequences some of which I loved and others I found irritating. But the story is heart warming and it was fun.

We saw SATC2 for my mom’s birthday. It was a funny movie and I didn’t check my watch nearly as often as I did during Iron Man 2. Nothing deep, for sure and it was kind of like a long episode, but I enjoyed it. The Miranda/Charlotte mommy guilt scene was priceless!Reading
I didn’t finish that book about the school system. It had to go back to the library or I’d be fined (more). I wasn’t too sad because it fell into an irritating pattern of dissecting study after study and telling us what’s wrong with them without a lot of how to make it right. I might like to read the last couple of chapters sometime, but not a priority.

I was very sad, however, to return Radical Homemakers before I could finish it. It looks at homemaking and how its changed over the years from a position of production (canning, sewing, gardening, etc.) to one of consumption (shopping and chauffeuring). It is pretty radical in its views: quit or downsize your job into something that gives you more time and live mostly off the land. Get rid of at least one car and trade for what you need. Yea, probably not going to happen, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from this book and be more conscious about how you live your life and spend your $$. I’m going back on the library’s hold list and hope to finish it.

For a (much) less serious book, I read Savor the Moment, the third book of Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet. I love all these books and this one was especially good. I can hardly wait until #4 shows up in November!

I also read Liar, a critically acclaimed YA book about a girl known for lying. Her boyfriend tragically and mysteriously dies and she and her lies come under a lot of scrutiny. Though it was well written, I didn’t enjoy this book much. I don’t really see the point of a book where the narrator lies and jerks you around constantly. It just irritates me. I’ve got pundits and senators for that, thanks.

Now I am in the midst of Nothing to Envy, a thoroughly interesting book on the everyday lives of North Koreans. So far, it is the best sort of social study book – the reality of the people living it.