Happy Monday!!

November 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Happy Monday! What time is it?  Well, I had every intention of writing this post and pushing it live by 9:30 this morning before I began work cleaning out my desk. Well, I woke surprisingly early despite daylight savings and completed my morning workout, then headed to make the boys lunch for today. But wait…no bread!!!! Arrrrrggg!! So I tell them both that I will pick up bread when I run to grocery shop and then drop off their lunches. I run my errands and drop off the boys lunches then I go to make their beds (yup, I’m back to making them on weekdays because they will never get out on time) and realize they didn’t wash their sheets this weekend so off the sheets must come and of course my planned 2 loads of clothes today must be bumped back to wash sheets. Ahhhh!! I almost made matters worse by boiling some eggs for a late morning snack when I realized it was Meatless Monday. Luckily I remembered so this morning has not been a complete epic fail!

Hmm and you wonder..is it a happy Monday? I still am very happy for I have so many things to be grateful for. Our renovations are coming along. Slowed by the scheduling of the carpet installation but this gives us more time for the painting. The crown molding is complete and taped for painting to begin. I had been working in my living room for the past week and missing my craft room dearly. So today I decided to clean my desk and block out all the furniture, books, mattress etc. that has invaded my craft oasis. So after the clean, I sat down to write to you. I am also tickled because I get to spend the entire upcoming Saturday from morning until night with my crafty girlfriends. It’s been too long indeed!

I am also happy for the cute tea mug you see in the today’s photo. I had been eyeing it at the Starbucks in Target until I finally go to buy it today and it was sold out. Luckily my town seems to breed Starbucks so I drove to the next one which is literally less than 5 minutes away and picked up this beauty. Now, any of you that have read more than a few posts on my blog know my love affair with tea and all things to do with tea. So this mug is making me smile right now. Don’t you love the cork bottom? No dishwashing but I don’t mind. The size fits perfectly in my hand and I love the lid. Bumped to my new favorite right now.

I must go because now that I have a clean desk, I still work catch up on before pick up.

I hope you all are having a blessed day!

Belinda

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Happy Mondayish: Connection to Nature

October 31, 2017 by 2 Comments

Hello everyone! How are you feeling today? I hope you are well and had a relaxing weekend. We experienced a storm Sunday night into Monday with heavy rains and high winds. Our internet access was spotty in the morning so I wasn’t able to get out my normal Happy Monday post, hence the “Mondayish”.

I had a really nice weekend with Leao and our boys. We hung around home and while Leao worked on our bedroom renovations, Apollo and I spent time taking turns reading his latest book for his school book report. The weather was so warm, we spent some time on our deck reading together and that is when I noticed this beautiful butterfly enjoying my late fall blooms. I confess that I am like a kid every time I see a bird (especially a Hummingbird) or butterfly in our yard. I ran out to capture some photos of this beauty. So this post will be plastered with pictures. It’s always special no matter how many birds or butterflies I have seen in the past.

My hydrangea didn’t bloom this year and all of the sudden two stems have bloomed! Crazy. I will walk among my plants until it gets too cold looking to see what they are doing. Even the ones that are preparing for the winter are fun to observe. I like all stages of my plants’ cycle.

I love how the underside of the butterfly wings are lighter. I will have to remember that when coloring in butterfly images with my Copics. I like using images of nature in my garden for color inspirations when coloring.

This one let me get so close and then I set my phone for close up photos and captured this beauty. I don’t take their visit for granted because I am aware of all the damage chemicals and pesticides are creating for our birds and insects. I hope we will always be blessed with their visits.

Who would believe that I took these pictures on Saturday and today we are talking about overnight frost!!!

Renovations continue in our bedroom. The popcorn ceiling is gone and Leao will be installing the crown molding and after selecting a carpet we were informed it would take approx 5 weeks for installation. Partly because they are so busy and the holiday coming up. So I will have to live with my home in disarray for longer than I would like. But it will be worth it and I am not rushing it at all. Just enjoying the process.

Have a blessed day and I will return with more happenings and crafty things soon!

Belinda

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Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

October 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Now that Dimple Shah has graduated, she’s ready for a break from her family – especially from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the Ideal Indian Husband. Ugh. But Dimple knows that her mother must respect that she isn’t interested in doing that right now – otherwise, she wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers, right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic, so when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him – during which he’ll have to woo her – he’s totally onboard. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself. Although their parents hadn’t planned suggesting the arrangement so soon, when their kids signed up for the same summer program, they figured why not?

My Thoughts:

I kept hearing about this book in the summer and people said it was a great light summer read. I tend to agree that it is a nice light book that could be read in the summer or between really heavy books that require your brain a rest.  That said, I am not suggesting the book is fluff. It is a nice story with cute characters and of course a little romance thrown in. It also touched on commonly believed cultural expectations marriage. Often when I read books that feature characters from a different culture from my own, I seek more insight to the culture and history. That said, this is a young adult book and this may be new to them.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this book even though I have the physical book and found it very enjoyable to listen to. So if you are looking for something sweet and light, this might be a great read for you. For the reasons mentioned above, I give this book 3 butterflies.

Belinda

Title: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Copyright: May 30, 2017
Genre: YA fiction
Format: hardcover book and audiobook Narrated: Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam Pages: 380

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Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Unique Book Titles

October 24, 2017 by 6 Comments

Hello! It’s Tuesday and you know what time it is…Top Ten. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week, they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I looked at this week’s challenge and thought I could easily participate. As may or may not know, my bedroom is in the process of being renovated and so my house is in a state of pure chaos with bedroom furniture, books and so much more moved to other areas in my house. Needless to say,  I still wanted to play Top Ten so I dug around some of the displaced books and some still shelved to find 10 unique book titles. Now, I did not go online to verify but these titles are unique to me.

The Goat Woman of Largo Bay by Gillian Royes – This is the book one in a series that features a detective in Jamaica. I can’t believe that there is a book out there with this title. It was the first one that caught my eye while searching for titles. I have not read this book yet but have been collecting the book in the series to possibly binge read them.

419 by Will Ferguson – The Canadian edition has a stunning cover, mine edition not as much. It won the Giller Prize (The Giller Prize, is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries.) I was attracted to the book from this part of the summary:

419 takes readers behind the scene of the world’s most insidious internet scam. When Laura’s father gets caught up in one such swindle and pays with his life, she is forced to leave the comfort of North America to make a journey deep into the dangerous back streets and alleyways of the Lagos underworld to confront her father’s killer. What she finds there will change her life forever…

Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt – This one sounds like a movie title and the cover is cute. It’s a book about sisters that meet for a reunion and they are forced to rethink their past beliefs. Sounds like a light, fun read.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell -I heard about Sarah Vowell a few years ago and started collecting her books from used bookstores.  This one sounds very interesting and I can’t wait to finally sit down and actually read it. It is her collection of personal stories that travel through the past and covers a wide range of topics. Have any of you read her books and if so, which would you recommend I start with when I begin reading her works?

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson – I read this book in 2015 when it was first released and really enjoyed it. You can click to see my review. I recently purchased book 2 to read it and I believe book 3 is either already out or out soon. So I have some catching up to do.

Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa – I picked up this book at my local Savers for 50 cents. The cover caught my attention but the story sounds interesting. It is a non-fiction, autobiography of the author and the evolution of her relationship with her birthplace, Nigeria. I know very little about Nigeria and thought this would be a great entryway. I have an around the world challenge for myself and this one definitely fits the criterion.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley – The cover of this book caught my eye the year it came out and I snatched it up. It’s absolutely stunning. The story was so unique to me and I finally picked up book two. I think I need to start a list of series I have started and haven’t completed.

The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson – I remember picking this book up at Savers because of the unique title. I never read this author before and the description sounds like a spy, thriller set in Sierra Leone.

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon – I pretty much think I am the last to read this series. The covers are fantastic, I always hear positive feedback so now I just need to sit and read. I bought two of the books from book outlet way too long ago and yet I haven’t cracked one open. Sad, right? One day I will get to them. For those who aren’t familiar with this book, it is book 2 in The Bone Season Series. I won’t describe it because I never like to read the description if I haven’t read the preceding book.

NW by Zadie Smith – Come on, this title has to be unique. It pulls you in because it has no meaning when you first see the book on the shelf. I believe it stands for northwest London which is where the story takes place. I want to read Zadie but I am nervous about where to start because so many people like her writing and I hope I do too.

Ok here is my list. Have you read any of them? I can’t wait to see what titles you all list.

Happy reading!

Belinda

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