Monday, April 30, 2012

What I'm reading: April

Since I'm cutting back on my blog reading, I'm catching up on my book reading! Here was what I read this month:

The Raw Shark Texts. I don't know if I can sufficiently describe this book, because I'm still mulling over exactly what happened. Eric Sanderson wakes up in his house, unable to remember anything about his life. Using letters left for him by his former self, he begins to unravel the mystery of who he is. More sci-fi than I normally read, but interesting. 

The Descendants. Matt King is dealing with the coma of his wife and the news of her affair. At the same time, he must make a decision on what to do with the land he inherited from his family - sell it to developers, or keep it? Like not love. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain. This book is told from the point of view of Enzo, a dog belonging to Denny Swift. Enzo describes how Denny's family grows, then how they fall apart. At times it got a little mushy, but it was quick to read and cute. 


The Lucky One. (Definitely had to post the picture for this one) It's Nicholas Sparks, so it's self-explanatory. Soapy, romantic, beach read. 

Friday, April 27, 2012

Half Dome


Hiking Half Dome has been on my "to-do" list for a couple of years now. My dad mentioned a while ago that he would like to hike it before he dies. After doing a little bit of research on it, I decided I wanted to too. Last year, we procrastinated and never got permits for it. This year I was determined to make this happen. I wanted to challenge myself! A few family members all said they wanted to hike it too. I nagged my dad every week or so to apply for permits. Finally in mid-March, we sat down and planned our trip. By that time, hotels in Yosemite were fully booked until late September. Whoops. September it is. So we made reservations and picked a weekend to apply for permits. Permits are given out on a lottery basis, with only 400 allotted each day. I was a little nervous that we wouldn't be approved, but a few weeks ago we got news that we were good to go! At nearly 9,000 feet, this 14-16 mile hike is gonna be brutal. Gotta work on that training! 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

New York, New York

The New York Department of Records recently made 870,000 rare images of the city available for viewing online. Aren't they amazing?

Building the Manhattan bridge, 1908

40th Street in 1940

Looking out from the George Washington Bridge, 1936

Painters on the Brooklyn Bridge, 1914


Sunday, April 22, 2012

The weekend, in pictures

berry, banana and spinach smoothie (2 days in a row)

avocado toast

giant stack of magazines


and a george clooney double feature. 

all in all, a good weekend. 


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Spring cleaning

I know posting has been sparse on ye olde blog as of late, but I've been working on trying to do things, instead of just reading about them. It got to a point where I spending more time online, reading blogs just out of habit, and then complaining about not having enough time to do the things I actually wanted to do. Silly! So I cleaned out my google reader and now read only what I love. It leaves a little bit more time to do things like catch up on my reading and work on my college scrapbook. Not to say I've totally broken my online addiction, but it's a work in progress. 

I'm also working on spring cleaning my closet - I feel like things need a re-vamp. Since I can wear anything I want to work, that typically means I dress very casually. I'm hoping to go shopping and polish up my basics. Maybe take some inspiration from these:


[J. Crew, as always]

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thursday night dinners

Tonight I tried out 2 new recipes, this lemon chicken (just ok) and broccoli cole slaw. I may need to make this cole slaw every week, it was so good. My mom and I couldn't stop eating it. I did add both seasoning packets, as the dressing tasted a little bland with just one, but it's a definite keeper! Would be great to make ahead for a party, since it is so easy. 

In other news, the power was out last Sunday for 18 hours. 18 hours, people. Do you know how much that cramped my netflix watching? But every so often, it can be nice to remind yourself that there's more to life than internet and tv. Plus I got a lot of reading done!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Friday, Friday

Hey Friday! Long time, no see. Have any exciting plans? I gave up candy and girl scout cookies for Lent, so I've made quite the pile of sweet treats for me to dive into on Sunday. I'm also working on catching up on my TV shows - I've been bouncing back and forth between Community, Downton Abbey and Breaking Bad. (All so good!) 

Emma Stone is my favorite person EVER. (We are now planning our own Easter dance dares - watch out family!)

This tumblr makes me giggle. I can't stop guys. 

Awkward Hunger Games moments. 

Happy weekend!