Raindrops on Roses and other August Favorites

I cannot believe it's the end of August.  School is right around the corner and I'm excited to start but I cannot deny that I'm going to miss these warm days.  Last year I had almost six months of summer because I was in Australia for the fall and beginning of winter.  I was seriously spoiled last year. Anyway I thought I would share some of the books, music, and other things that I have been loving this summer.

Reads!

Cinder was my favorite book I read this summer. If you want to hear me gush about it you can read my review here.  If you love Cinderella stories (and who doesn't really?) and a little sci fi this book is for you.  As a recap I also read Unwind by Neal Shusterman and The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson this month.  I'm currently reading The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmburg which is turning out to be a good read as well.

Tunes!

Finding new music is like my drug.  I love hunting for new music almost as much as I love listening to my favorite songs.  I have the habit of listening to a song on repeat until I am so tired of the song. Spotify has been my go to music player.  I'm a junkie.  I've been using the online music player for years and it's bad because I've always had gift cards for the premium version...until a few months ago.  I tried for two solid weeks to be okay with the free version but I cracked. Once you have the premium version the free version is just not as good.  Now I use their student discount, which means I pay $4.99 per month.  Not bad, considering the regular price is $9.99 per month.

          

This summer I've been listening to The National religiously.  I love their melancholy vibe and the main singers voice is super deep and calming.  Graceless is my favorite song from their newest album. They're a little like Bon Iver but with more of a beat.  

Blogs

I've been much more active on Bloglovin lately and there have been a few blogs that I've been loving lately.  You can literally find a blog for anything you love.  If I'm looking for a new book I can find a bookblog and if I want to

The first is Between Dreams.  While she hasn't written much lately I loved some of her original posts.  They are inspiring for anyone writing, or for life in general. I hope she continues to post soon!

The second is a long time favorite and many of you probably know the ladies over at A Beautiful Mess.  They always have great DIY projects (even though I'm crap at DIY projects) and recipes. (Check out this creamy pea and fresh herb fettuccini!)

Others

Now I know I don't post a ton of fashion or beauty stuff on here but what the heck.  I'm a closeted shoe a-holic so I might as well post what I love.  Converse have always been super comfy in my opinion. I went a little out of the box and got the high tops but I love them and think they'll be a great addition to the wardrobe.  

What have you been loving this month? I'd love to know!

ox Caitlin

Take Me Back to a Sunburned Country

One year ago I was headed to Boston to set off on the most amazing experience of my life.  Now that it's been a year I can say that I miss Australia more than ever.  It's normal to miss your abroad experience.  I never thought that I would miss my abroad experience more than I miss my own home.

Missing your abroad experience is more than missing the country itself.  It's missing the experience as a whole.  I went abroad with a group of people from my University and I stayed in a home stay.  Never again will I experience Australia with those same people again.  I will never spend days in the outback playing charades with my classmates or swimming around the great barrier reef with my professors and Australian professors by my side. I will never return to those specific moments with those specific people and that is a sad feeling.  There are times that I miss being abroad with people so much it hurts.

So if you're headed for an abroad experience this semester take the time to truly enjoy the experience because never again will you be in those exact moments with those people.  Try to remember small things like the bus ride home or the smell of your home stay.  Make sure you remember the moments when you spent bonding with your abroad friends over the experience.

I've never been in love but sometimes I think leaving my Australia experience was like falling out of love with someone.  It's painful because nothing will be the same but you cannot help remember the great moments with a smile on your face.

ox Caitlin

P.S.  I'll leave this little song here as a little piece of my Australian experience.

Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Goodreads | Amazon

I just finished The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.  It's the end of summer and I had to give my sister her kindle back.  (I've commandeered it for about a month now).  So I had to finish the story which wasn't difficult because it was a good story.  

The Girl of Fire and Thorns follows the life of Elisa, the second born daughter of the king who lives a relatively uneventful life. Her sister is always been destined to be queen and is always been the strong smart one.  But despite feeling like she doesn't deserve it, Elisa is blessed with the gift of the god stone.  It sits in her belly button and means that she has great powers that can be unlocked when the time is right.  This is why she is married off to the neighboring king, Alejandro, and why her life is in danger.  She soon learns she is the only hope of a kingdom in great peril and goes on a great adventure to help those in need.  But is Elisa strong enough to be the hero that the people need?

I decided to read this because I was ready for some high fantasy. I wanted something with a little magic and a lot of adventure.  I am happy about my decision.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, was a good read because of the characterization of Elisa.  Elisa is not your typical heroine.  She isn't destined to be queen and doesn't feel she deserves the power that the god stone gives the bearer.  She also makes multiple references to her weight.  While sometimes I felt these references were overdone I do think it is refreshing to have a heroine with a slightly larger figure.  Girls need better role models that show us that strength comes from within.

I thought the world building was well done.  I had a clear picture of what the world looked like and where Elisa was heading.  Because the major conflict was a war I think it's interesting to know the geography and set up of the world.  The faith of the characters was another interesting aspect and I think Carson presents their beliefs well.  By developing her characters' beliefs she creates a world with more depth.

The pacing was a little disappointing.  I often felt the plot was rushed or too drawn out.  This left me feeling bogged down or too rushed.  I also found the romance to be distracting and a little forced.  While I love having a little romance in my novels it almost seemed as if Carson added the romance just to have it.  In Young Adult novels romance is almost expected so I understand why the romance in the novel was included but I just wish it was more seamless.

This book is great if you are looking for a new fantasy series.  It reminded me a little of the book Graceling by Kristen Cashore, which is a book I love.  While I wouldn't say I liked this book as much it was a great book to end the summer with.

ox Caitlin

Heading Through the North Country!

I thought I would give a quick update because I'm in the middle of traveling all over existence (really just Maine to New York).  This week my sister and I are both moving back to school marking the official end to summer.  Some part of me is feeling a little more nostalgic this year because I will probably never do this drive again.  While bringing my sister back we drove through Malone, New York.  If you've never been you're not missing much.  There is just a lot of cows and even more corn.  Some parts are pretty beautiful, though.  If you're in to sprawling country landscapes you should head up to the north country sometime.

On the way to Malone we always see a ton of windmills.  Entire farms will be covered in them.  Usually they are surrounded by acres of corn.  I believe the farmers rent out their land to the windmill companies (though don't quote me on that).

Some people think windmills are ugly.  Maybe it is just the biologist in me, but I think that anything that doesn't spew horrible gasious fumes into their air is not ugly.

I'm sorry for the reflections in these photos and I will spare you from the blurry pictures of some cows.  Basically this is the whole experience of the North country.  

I'm heading into my senior year (Ahh!).  Classes start Monday so I'm going to snatch up as much summer as I can before the work gets piled on.  If you're heading back to school I wish you the best of luck.  Now that I'm in my last year I kinda wish I could do it all over again. No matter how difficult school ever got it was never as scary as the future.  The real, adult future.

ox Caitlin

A Little Update

Hey there.  I'm currently driving all over existence to get back to school so I thought I would leave you with a little update on Doctor Who.  I'll probably post some photos of the whole journey because I think it is a beautiful drive through northern New York.

Anyway I watched Doctor Who, for those of you that are wondering.  It was a wonderful episode, although I do love most of the episodes so that isn't saying much.  Peter Capaldi was brilliant but I have to say I was most pleased with Clara.  Up until this point her character development has been slow, if not nonexistent, but the show runners have finally stepped up her character.

I found this good quote that sums up Clara's development in this episode over at Literally Darling.

The article also states how Peter Capaldi will allow the character of the Doctor to change.  He is the oldest doctor since the reboot in 2005 and from Saturday nights show I can say that he is going to make a great doctor.

If you aren't in to Doctor Who, I can also say Literally Darling has some other great articles.  It's mostly millennials talking about things millennials will like to hear, but there are also some yummy recipes and some beauty stuff.  Overall, I'm pretty sure any young person could find something interesting to read on that site. 

Well I have to get driving but until next time

ox Caitlin

Call the Doctor

Today is the day!

The new season of Doctor Who premieres today.  I'm a huge Doctor Who fan.  If you aren't as nerdy as I am, Doctor Who follows the adventures of an immortal alien who flies around in a spaceship called the Tardis.  He spends his time saving the universe with the help of his human companions.  It's a long running BBC show that began in 1963 but was cancelled in 1989.  It was revived in 2005 and has been going ever since.  This season there is a new doctor played by Peter Capaldi.  He's older than all of the new Who doctors, and I cannot wait to see the dynamic between Capaldi and his companion Clara, played by Jenna Coleman.

I know it's kind of nerdy, but are any of you Doctor Who fans?  If not and you're a sci-fi fan in need of a new show quite a few of the seasons are available on Netflix.  Just be careful.  You might get sucked in.

ox Caitlin

Unwind Review

Goodreads | Amazon

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

 The cover says it all.  Unwind by Neal Shusterman is a terribly haunting story that questions faith and our current views on life.  I actually read this book about a month ago but I couldn't bring myself to talk about it for a while.  

Now I'm not a particularly squeamish person.  I can deal with blood, I watch Game of Thrones, and I was an avid Bones fan for a while. This book is not a bloody book but the content is difficult to read.  Kids are unwound during the course of this book and it was difficult for me to read.  I had to put the book down multiple times during this story just to get through it.  

Shusterman does a good job creating characters.  In real life, Connor might not be someone I relate to but in this novel he becomes a hero.  I was able to sympathize with him in a way I wouldn't normally sympathize with a character like him.  Then Shusterman makes an incredibly relatable character in the form of Risa.  She is a kid caught in a bad situation and you cannot help but feel for her.  The final piece of the puzzle is Lev.  In my opinion he has the most growth throughout the novel.  He grows from being a passive member of society to a strong hero who questions the rules he has been brought up to view as his destiny.  Overall, Lev embodies how we should all view changes to our society. 

This book is most haunting because it could happen. It addresses increasingly important issues within our society.  These aspects make this book a great example of the role dystopian fiction can play in showing us a possible future.  I recently read an article from Wired, which talked about how we need dystopian novels to help children understand the criticize what is occurring in our own society.  Dystopian novels mimic the uncertainty of our future and maybe make us better prepared for dealing with the future.  Unwind is just another example of how dystopian fiction is asking critical questions we may one day need to address.  

Unwind is a good novel if you don't mind being truly frightened by the content of being unwound.  I'm not sure I will continue with the series, not because I didn't like the book but I feel like I've had enough of this subject matter. Definitely give this book a try!  It's worth the feelings of terror. 

Also If you'd like to check out the Wired article here is the link. 

ox Caitlin