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You can usually find me on Twitter @dreamstobecome
or over at Comma-Chameleon.com
but not so much here. But you never know... :)
Monday, July 22, 2013
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Book Roundup! "The Janus Affair" and "Hunter and Fox"
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...
This blog has been dormant. I apologize for that. I've been busy exploring Tumblr and Pinterest and Instagram and other really distracting things you can do online without much effort. But tis time now for some reviews... for tis the time of year when books I have long been waiting for have FINALLY come out and I can review them to my heart's content.
The first review is for HUNTER AND FOX, the first in a new line by lovely and talented Phillipa Ballantine. It is listed as "A Shifted World novel" which fascinated me from the get-go. Pip is queen of creating a complex, imperfect world that is both like and totally unlike our own in so many specific ways... and then sucking you right on into that new world without your even realizing it. I love fantasy, I always have, but certain types of fantasy can be, well, dense sometimes. Pip is never dense. Her work in the Books of the Order (Spectyr, Geist and the forthcoming Wrayth and Harbinger) is exquisite, and this new beginning with Hunter and Fox is equally if not more complex and wondrous. Talyn is the Hunter of the title, a dark, cool-hearted assassin under the thumb of the ruthless tyrant, the immortal Caisah. She is not a drone, however much she is attached to the Caisah's will; she has her own thoughts and agendas hidden beneath the calculating mask of a killing machine. The world fears her as much as it fears the Caisah, though Talyn's true wishes are to find her way back to her roots, despite the fact that her people the Vaerli have pretty much been wiped out. Her brother, Byreniko, is on the run, also seeking a way back to the beginning of their people's troubles. Finn, a talespinner and the Fox of the title, is a rebellious, storytelling fool of a man whose heart is too big for his own good; he has a great love for the incredibly long-lived Talyn, despite her horrifying deeds and reputation. Throw in a Blood Witch called Pelanor whose duty it is to destroy Talyn, whisperings of rebellion against the Caisah from the lower tribes, and some chaotic primal forces at work the wilderness, and you've got the wild ride that is Hunter and Fox.
I don't want to give too much away; part of the excitement of Hunter and Fox is the tangled web of characters and stories that you find yourself flung into, and before you can help it, you're hurriedly trying to weave each strand together to form a fuller picture. There is always a twist, though, and Pip is masterful at delivering small discoveries along the way to tantalize a reader's tastebuds. I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment... because another thing she's excellent at is CLIFFHANGERS. I fall for it every single time. Ugh. I will also say this: I recently re-read some of my childhood favorites (The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce) and it made me feel as though Hunter and Fox is a similar kind of thing that Tamora Pierce might deliver for a more adult audience. That's not to say it's explicit in any way, but it's certainly a touch more advanced. But I loved Tamora Pierce as a kid, and it's amazing and deeply satisfying to find an author to feed me fantasy of a high caliber to match what I read as a child and go even further with adventure, magic, and mystery.
The second book is also partly Pip's design.
THE JANUS AFFAIR (A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel) is FINALLY AVAILABLE.
Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. The sequel to "Phoenix Rising" is now available in bookstores pretty much everywhere. If you haven't read Phoenix Rising, drop what you're doing, purchase and READ. Then immediately follow with The Janus Affair before you explode from anticipation. Because that's nearly what happened to me in the last year that I spent waiting for this damn sequel.
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a top-notch, top-secret agency within Her Majesty Queen Victoria's government in London. A sort of steampunk X-Files if you will. Archivist Wellington Thornhill Books, Esq. and rowdy colonial field agent (now Junior Archivist) Eliza D. Braun are a match made in odd couple heaven. He prefers the quiet of the Ministry's Archives, she prefers exotic blends of dynamite. You get the picture. Currently restricted to the Archives, these two find themselves unwittingly in the midst of a Peculiar Occurrence when Eliza's suffragist friends start disappearing in a startlingly bizarre manner. Someone has a device which essentially teleports the victim out of the spot they are standing in to an unknown location, and these women are never heard from again. Despite the Ministry's strict orders to leave the case alone, Books and Braun plunge headfirst into a private investigation for various reasons of their own, one of which being that the agent assigned to the actual task is deemed incompetent by Eliza. Mischief and mayhem are indeed afoot as they enlist the help of Eliza's part-clockwork maid Alice, a ragtag group of street urchins known as the Ministry Seven, and a former lover of Miss Braun's, one Douglas Sheppard. Tensions are high and intrigue is heavy as things start to unravel for them... but this is a no-spoiler zone, and let me just tell you that the reveals are absolutely worth it when you get to them in the book.
Authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris are absolutely hands down two of the cleverest authors I know. Phoenix Rising was a fantastic jaunt into a steampunk world with wit and intrigue. The Janus Affair not only meets that standard but triples it. I felt my jaw drop open so hard several times that it popped audibly. I was white-knuckled gripping the pages. I was up till three in the morning to finish because I needed to know what HAPPENED. And the authors do not disappoint. I am positively drunk with excitement for the third installment, and utterly gobsmacked that I am partly involved in the development of the Ministry's world; I will be contributing to Volume Two of their podcast/ebook anthology "Tales from the Archives" and I can't believe it's true. Tee and Pip are heartily my heroes, and I recommend this book to everyone all the time. It has everything. EVERYTHING. And it gets better and better with each page turn.
I need to stop getting addicted to books by authors that like suspense. These cliffhangers and teasers of what's to come are just killing me.
Stay tuned for more fun later. ;)
-A
The first review is for HUNTER AND FOX, the first in a new line by lovely and talented Phillipa Ballantine. It is listed as "A Shifted World novel" which fascinated me from the get-go. Pip is queen of creating a complex, imperfect world that is both like and totally unlike our own in so many specific ways... and then sucking you right on into that new world without your even realizing it. I love fantasy, I always have, but certain types of fantasy can be, well, dense sometimes. Pip is never dense. Her work in the Books of the Order (Spectyr, Geist and the forthcoming Wrayth and Harbinger) is exquisite, and this new beginning with Hunter and Fox is equally if not more complex and wondrous. Talyn is the Hunter of the title, a dark, cool-hearted assassin under the thumb of the ruthless tyrant, the immortal Caisah. She is not a drone, however much she is attached to the Caisah's will; she has her own thoughts and agendas hidden beneath the calculating mask of a killing machine. The world fears her as much as it fears the Caisah, though Talyn's true wishes are to find her way back to her roots, despite the fact that her people the Vaerli have pretty much been wiped out. Her brother, Byreniko, is on the run, also seeking a way back to the beginning of their people's troubles. Finn, a talespinner and the Fox of the title, is a rebellious, storytelling fool of a man whose heart is too big for his own good; he has a great love for the incredibly long-lived Talyn, despite her horrifying deeds and reputation. Throw in a Blood Witch called Pelanor whose duty it is to destroy Talyn, whisperings of rebellion against the Caisah from the lower tribes, and some chaotic primal forces at work the wilderness, and you've got the wild ride that is Hunter and Fox.
I don't want to give too much away; part of the excitement of Hunter and Fox is the tangled web of characters and stories that you find yourself flung into, and before you can help it, you're hurriedly trying to weave each strand together to form a fuller picture. There is always a twist, though, and Pip is masterful at delivering small discoveries along the way to tantalize a reader's tastebuds. I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment... because another thing she's excellent at is CLIFFHANGERS. I fall for it every single time. Ugh. I will also say this: I recently re-read some of my childhood favorites (The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce) and it made me feel as though Hunter and Fox is a similar kind of thing that Tamora Pierce might deliver for a more adult audience. That's not to say it's explicit in any way, but it's certainly a touch more advanced. But I loved Tamora Pierce as a kid, and it's amazing and deeply satisfying to find an author to feed me fantasy of a high caliber to match what I read as a child and go even further with adventure, magic, and mystery.
THE JANUS AFFAIR (A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel) is FINALLY AVAILABLE.
Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. The sequel to "Phoenix Rising" is now available in bookstores pretty much everywhere. If you haven't read Phoenix Rising, drop what you're doing, purchase and READ. Then immediately follow with The Janus Affair before you explode from anticipation. Because that's nearly what happened to me in the last year that I spent waiting for this damn sequel.
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a top-notch, top-secret agency within Her Majesty Queen Victoria's government in London. A sort of steampunk X-Files if you will. Archivist Wellington Thornhill Books, Esq. and rowdy colonial field agent (now Junior Archivist) Eliza D. Braun are a match made in odd couple heaven. He prefers the quiet of the Ministry's Archives, she prefers exotic blends of dynamite. You get the picture. Currently restricted to the Archives, these two find themselves unwittingly in the midst of a Peculiar Occurrence when Eliza's suffragist friends start disappearing in a startlingly bizarre manner. Someone has a device which essentially teleports the victim out of the spot they are standing in to an unknown location, and these women are never heard from again. Despite the Ministry's strict orders to leave the case alone, Books and Braun plunge headfirst into a private investigation for various reasons of their own, one of which being that the agent assigned to the actual task is deemed incompetent by Eliza. Mischief and mayhem are indeed afoot as they enlist the help of Eliza's part-clockwork maid Alice, a ragtag group of street urchins known as the Ministry Seven, and a former lover of Miss Braun's, one Douglas Sheppard. Tensions are high and intrigue is heavy as things start to unravel for them... but this is a no-spoiler zone, and let me just tell you that the reveals are absolutely worth it when you get to them in the book.
Authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris are absolutely hands down two of the cleverest authors I know. Phoenix Rising was a fantastic jaunt into a steampunk world with wit and intrigue. The Janus Affair not only meets that standard but triples it. I felt my jaw drop open so hard several times that it popped audibly. I was white-knuckled gripping the pages. I was up till three in the morning to finish because I needed to know what HAPPENED. And the authors do not disappoint. I am positively drunk with excitement for the third installment, and utterly gobsmacked that I am partly involved in the development of the Ministry's world; I will be contributing to Volume Two of their podcast/ebook anthology "Tales from the Archives" and I can't believe it's true. Tee and Pip are heartily my heroes, and I recommend this book to everyone all the time. It has everything. EVERYTHING. And it gets better and better with each page turn.
I need to stop getting addicted to books by authors that like suspense. These cliffhangers and teasers of what's to come are just killing me.
Stay tuned for more fun later. ;)
-A
Monday, August 8, 2011
not a eulogy, but sort of a eulogy.
(this was written on the train on July 26, 2011, just two days before Meghan LaRocca passed away.)
There are always certain pieces of mortality that you encounter and experience even though they don't belong to you. I don't mean grief, I mean tangible moments of profound clarity regarding the blind injustice and revolting fragility of life itself, moments that seize you and take you by surprise, and you are emotionally pushed to the wall. You give in, maybe for a minute, maybe an hour, a day, a week. Time is nothing. Pain is everything. Then it passes ad you wonder what it must be like for the person actually living the problem. You remind yourself that you are a bystander, close to the crash site but still in one piece.
I wonder in these moments what it will be like to attend everyone's funeral. If death is inevitable, it follows that at some point in my life I will be attending a funeral, and more likely than not it will be a wonderful person's funeral. It will belong to someone beloved and irreplaceable and beautiful, and I will cry an obscene amount of tears, and wonder how I'll ever recover.
This, I suspect, will happen many times in my life, for many loved ones, and it will be exactly the same and absolutely different each time.
I suspect this is how it will be, and I know my suspicion will do nothing for me in preparing me for those moments.
What would the last two years be like if I had cancer instead of her? Or if it weren't either of us, but someone else? A stranger?
I think about everything which makes up a person. All of the time, experience, education; all of the soul and emotion; all of the senses and quirks. I think about her, specifically. All that she was when I first met her, our freshman year of college. All that she is at this moment.
I don't want to write a eulogy. She isn't dead.
I am not writing a eulogy.
I wish I could look through the archives of our souls. I want to read every text we ever sent, look at every moment, the inception of each inside joke, each first experience we achieved while in each other's company or close vicinity.
We take so much for granted because it drives us mad to consider time as irreplaceable. It is foolish to think that because a person is young they have "all the time in the world." What is time? How could anyone possibly have all of it, let alone any of it?
Let alone her?
First of all, it isn't fair to have an incurable disease. That's death cheating the shit out of us, and we're already weak, brief underdogs.
But to have an incurable disease and no biological defenses at all?
There isn't a word for that kind of cheating.
Would it be worse if we lived hundreds of years ago and I had no way of knowing how she was except by carrier pigeon?
Would it be better, not being able to text her and wait for days on end to hear one word of reply?
I wish there was anything at all I could do to make it better, even a tiny bit.
I hope and pray and tell her I love her. That's all I can do. Love is all you can give, first and last and unending.
There are always certain pieces of mortality that you encounter and experience even though they don't belong to you. I don't mean grief, I mean tangible moments of profound clarity regarding the blind injustice and revolting fragility of life itself, moments that seize you and take you by surprise, and you are emotionally pushed to the wall. You give in, maybe for a minute, maybe an hour, a day, a week. Time is nothing. Pain is everything. Then it passes ad you wonder what it must be like for the person actually living the problem. You remind yourself that you are a bystander, close to the crash site but still in one piece.
I wonder in these moments what it will be like to attend everyone's funeral. If death is inevitable, it follows that at some point in my life I will be attending a funeral, and more likely than not it will be a wonderful person's funeral. It will belong to someone beloved and irreplaceable and beautiful, and I will cry an obscene amount of tears, and wonder how I'll ever recover.
This, I suspect, will happen many times in my life, for many loved ones, and it will be exactly the same and absolutely different each time.
I suspect this is how it will be, and I know my suspicion will do nothing for me in preparing me for those moments.
What would the last two years be like if I had cancer instead of her? Or if it weren't either of us, but someone else? A stranger?
I think about everything which makes up a person. All of the time, experience, education; all of the soul and emotion; all of the senses and quirks. I think about her, specifically. All that she was when I first met her, our freshman year of college. All that she is at this moment.
I don't want to write a eulogy. She isn't dead.
I am not writing a eulogy.
I wish I could look through the archives of our souls. I want to read every text we ever sent, look at every moment, the inception of each inside joke, each first experience we achieved while in each other's company or close vicinity.
We take so much for granted because it drives us mad to consider time as irreplaceable. It is foolish to think that because a person is young they have "all the time in the world." What is time? How could anyone possibly have all of it, let alone any of it?
Let alone her?
First of all, it isn't fair to have an incurable disease. That's death cheating the shit out of us, and we're already weak, brief underdogs.
But to have an incurable disease and no biological defenses at all?
There isn't a word for that kind of cheating.
Would it be worse if we lived hundreds of years ago and I had no way of knowing how she was except by carrier pigeon?
Would it be better, not being able to text her and wait for days on end to hear one word of reply?
I wish there was anything at all I could do to make it better, even a tiny bit.
I hope and pray and tell her I love her. That's all I can do. Love is all you can give, first and last and unending.
Friday, July 8, 2011
poem.
These nights, you see,
where I am alone and whole
and there is a white, hard
bone china chip aglow
against the blackened dark blue
and the vastness of the earth
and wholeness of the sky
is perfectly balanced
to my smallness, my tiny breath:
limited only by my bones,
I know, deep down within them
(even in the very walls of
this little prison!)
my mind is loosed as lightning
jettisoned with need
to that which is nameless
and beyond my tiny self:
so young, so small
and yet I know my clarity
is of a rare feathered kind
granted through genetic grace
and entrusted now to my
opened, expectant, faithful hands:
The wonder becomes truth,
and magic becomes that
soul-deep root of self
and knowledge.
I am
like the air in my own lungs,
lingering and reveling
til I can hold no longer
and must expel myself to the world
with safety, knowing that
in fearlessness
I will
be breathed in again
and therefore, I will breathe.
where I am alone and whole
and there is a white, hard
bone china chip aglow
against the blackened dark blue
and the vastness of the earth
and wholeness of the sky
is perfectly balanced
to my smallness, my tiny breath:
limited only by my bones,
I know, deep down within them
(even in the very walls of
this little prison!)
my mind is loosed as lightning
jettisoned with need
to that which is nameless
and beyond my tiny self:
so young, so small
and yet I know my clarity
is of a rare feathered kind
granted through genetic grace
and entrusted now to my
opened, expectant, faithful hands:
The wonder becomes truth,
and magic becomes that
soul-deep root of self
and knowledge.
I am
like the air in my own lungs,
lingering and reveling
til I can hold no longer
and must expel myself to the world
with safety, knowing that
in fearlessness
I will
be breathed in again
and therefore, I will breathe.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Review: Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
Ahoy, readers of the strange and exciting!
I've got a special update for you... special insomuch as I don't use this blog nearly as often as perhaps I should, but this is an update of sorts, and in any case, I present to you a book for your perusal and future entertainment. Generally nowadays I would post about it over at LAAAADIES (and books) but since the Ladies have taken something of a break from reviewing to catch up on actual reading, I thought I'd continue broadcasting here, lest I forget all my thoughts about this book I just read before I get a chance to actually review it.
I've said it before: social media is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing. The steampunk community is particularly active on Twitter, as I've experienced before, and it was through Twitter that I found two authors I'd previously not heard of, one Pip Ballantine and one Tee Morris, whose joint venture was released in May and bears the title "Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel."
There, isn't that lovely?
I've also said before: I'm a sucker for a good title and great cover art. Insta-purchase.
The tale presents us with a unique view of later Victorian London, wherein a very hush-hush government agency called the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences works to track down the strange and mysterious all across the Empire in a kind of Torchwood-meets-the-League-of-Extraordinary-Gentleman kind of way. The first chapter finds us racing along with rebellious agent Eliza D. Braun, from New Zealand, rescuing agent Wellington Thornhill Books, Esq., from an enemy base in... Antarctica. With much aplomb and dynamite, Eliza succeeds, and upon returning to England, is demoted from field agent to work with Wellington in the Archives. Yes, friends: Braun loves explosions, and Books loves books. Well, cataloguing. Well, archiving things. Well, you get the idea. What an odd couple! Not to mention Eliza's colonial personality clashes with Wellington (soon firmly referred to as Welly) and his bookish sensibilities. (I'll stop with the puns, shall I? They aren't getting me very far.)
It soon comes to light that Eliza's last partner was someone very important to her, and he's currently residing in Bedlam among the undesirables. A few clues are discovered here, a few names dropped there, and before Welly knows what's hit him, he's helping Eliza uncover the tracks of her former partner's last case, one which remains unsolved by the Ministry. It's very much against regulation, but Welly and Eliza make a deuced good team, each bringing out more from the other than either one realizes at first.
Phoenix Rising is full of action, delicious witty banter, and fascinating twists and turns. The characterization of Eliza and Wellington is deeply detailed and utterly entertaining; I do wish I knew more about the rest of the Ministry, and hope to see more from Morris and Ballantine regarding the other agents as well as the future of Eliza and Welly. I recommend Phoenix Rising for a rush of steampunk fun that's more on the action film side of things than the steamy romance side, though it's undeniable there's chemistry between Welly and Eliza at some points....
Not to mention, Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine are delightful people (as far as I can tell from Twitter, anyhow!) and I highly recommend you pick up the book to show a little love for the steampunk community. It's extremely inexpensive and it's paperback, so you've really got no excuse, have you?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to submit my application to work for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences...
Purchase the book from Amazon!
Purchase the book from Barnes & Noble!
Check out the Ministry's website!
I've got a special update for you... special insomuch as I don't use this blog nearly as often as perhaps I should, but this is an update of sorts, and in any case, I present to you a book for your perusal and future entertainment. Generally nowadays I would post about it over at LAAAADIES (and books) but since the Ladies have taken something of a break from reviewing to catch up on actual reading, I thought I'd continue broadcasting here, lest I forget all my thoughts about this book I just read before I get a chance to actually review it.
I've said it before: social media is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing. The steampunk community is particularly active on Twitter, as I've experienced before, and it was through Twitter that I found two authors I'd previously not heard of, one Pip Ballantine and one Tee Morris, whose joint venture was released in May and bears the title "Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel."
There, isn't that lovely?
I've also said before: I'm a sucker for a good title and great cover art. Insta-purchase.
The tale presents us with a unique view of later Victorian London, wherein a very hush-hush government agency called the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences works to track down the strange and mysterious all across the Empire in a kind of Torchwood-meets-the-League-of-Extraordinary-Gentleman kind of way. The first chapter finds us racing along with rebellious agent Eliza D. Braun, from New Zealand, rescuing agent Wellington Thornhill Books, Esq., from an enemy base in... Antarctica. With much aplomb and dynamite, Eliza succeeds, and upon returning to England, is demoted from field agent to work with Wellington in the Archives. Yes, friends: Braun loves explosions, and Books loves books. Well, cataloguing. Well, archiving things. Well, you get the idea. What an odd couple! Not to mention Eliza's colonial personality clashes with Wellington (soon firmly referred to as Welly) and his bookish sensibilities. (I'll stop with the puns, shall I? They aren't getting me very far.)
It soon comes to light that Eliza's last partner was someone very important to her, and he's currently residing in Bedlam among the undesirables. A few clues are discovered here, a few names dropped there, and before Welly knows what's hit him, he's helping Eliza uncover the tracks of her former partner's last case, one which remains unsolved by the Ministry. It's very much against regulation, but Welly and Eliza make a deuced good team, each bringing out more from the other than either one realizes at first.
Phoenix Rising is full of action, delicious witty banter, and fascinating twists and turns. The characterization of Eliza and Wellington is deeply detailed and utterly entertaining; I do wish I knew more about the rest of the Ministry, and hope to see more from Morris and Ballantine regarding the other agents as well as the future of Eliza and Welly. I recommend Phoenix Rising for a rush of steampunk fun that's more on the action film side of things than the steamy romance side, though it's undeniable there's chemistry between Welly and Eliza at some points....
Not to mention, Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine are delightful people (as far as I can tell from Twitter, anyhow!) and I highly recommend you pick up the book to show a little love for the steampunk community. It's extremely inexpensive and it's paperback, so you've really got no excuse, have you?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to submit my application to work for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences...
Purchase the book from Amazon!
Purchase the book from Barnes & Noble!
Check out the Ministry's website!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Coming of Spring
Morning all!
Just wanted to pop in and say I've got a few reviews up over at LAAAADIES (and books) that you oughta check out if you haven't already. The other Ladies are reading fabulous stuff too, so please go look and leave us some love.
Also wanted to let you know (if anyone's even reading this, which I'm not convinced anyone is) that I am trying TRYING trying to revise Till No Clocks Move, my NaNoWriMo novel, which will shortly be beta read by renowned romance author Ciar Cullen and thereafter begin the journey towards becoming published myself. If you see me on Twitter or Facebook, whoever-you-are, fucking TELL ME TO GET BACK TO WORK. It's slow going and I need to get through it. Please please tell me to finish it. Tell me you want to read it. I want you to read it, but not before it's ready.
One of my dreams is to get onto the El and see someone reading my book. Anyone at all. Maybe that's egotistical. I just want to see it happen someday. Just once.
Ok. That's all for now. Also, keep an eye out for me on the season finale (May 23rd) of The Chicago Code (the airs Mondays on FOX, 8pm CST). Yay.
Just wanted to pop in and say I've got a few reviews up over at LAAAADIES (and books) that you oughta check out if you haven't already. The other Ladies are reading fabulous stuff too, so please go look and leave us some love.
Also wanted to let you know (if anyone's even reading this, which I'm not convinced anyone is) that I am trying TRYING trying to revise Till No Clocks Move, my NaNoWriMo novel, which will shortly be beta read by renowned romance author Ciar Cullen and thereafter begin the journey towards becoming published myself. If you see me on Twitter or Facebook, whoever-you-are, fucking TELL ME TO GET BACK TO WORK. It's slow going and I need to get through it. Please please tell me to finish it. Tell me you want to read it. I want you to read it, but not before it's ready.
One of my dreams is to get onto the El and see someone reading my book. Anyone at all. Maybe that's egotistical. I just want to see it happen someday. Just once.
Ok. That's all for now. Also, keep an eye out for me on the season finale (May 23rd) of The Chicago Code (the airs Mondays on FOX, 8pm CST). Yay.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
things of beauty, thoughts of spring.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Some coworkers and I went off to Old Orchard mall this morning for a shop-the-competition (you may remember a previous post similar to this one) and I thought I'd share some yummy tidbits with you. Whoever 'you' are, reading this here blog post. Anyway.
These are some LOVELY bags by Vince Camuto... sumptuous leather (in black, grey, and orchid, oh my!) with a flower detail, carrying handles AND crossbody straps. Friggin delicious. Yes please. That's about $400 worth of "yes please" but whatever.
Kate Spade! For the most part, I was uninterested, but that rolled up newspaper there? THAT'S A CLUTCH. A clutch that looks like a rolled up newspaper. KATE, you genius, WHAT A CRAZY IDEA! I love it.
Aaaaand now for a little ditty from J Crew. Spring 2011 is going to be freaking YUMMY as far as J Crew is concerned. Talk about pops of color and updated classics. I am hankering for this schoolboy blazer and watercolor scarf. Please please please, I beg of you, oh little brother who works at J Crew, obtain for your sister! Just too marvelous for words. Also the following flats should be on my feet, like, stat:
...and this gorgeous ensemble... SO MUCH ORANGE (butIcan'thelplovingitttt)...
YES, J Crew, yes to all of the above. I am totally on board. Especially because my brother has a discount. Yeeeeesssssss. Anyway, on we went, towards Anthropologie (which we all know is my personal Shangri-La), but were interrupted by THIS!
LIKE OMG. Have I mentioned yet that I'm on this show?! I was an extra in the season finale. But you'll definitely see me. By God, you'll see me. *shakes fist*
Annnnnd THEN we went to Anthro. Which was overhwelmingly delicious as usual. But these two were standouts. Duh.
Blue and yellow polka dots by Girls From Savoy. So 40's/50's. I can't even stand it.
And yellow and white from Moulinette Soeurs. Like, damn, how do these designers KNOW what my brain thinks up?!
This lovely number by Diane Von Furstenberg is silk with a watercolor splash pattern. I lurve this watercolor thing we're doing. It's on almost everything this spring, and I LURVE it.
And to finish today's fashion blurb up, I purchased the upcoming season's go-to color (most people are calling it honeysuckle, FYI) in a nail polish by Essie (found at J Crew, $8) and painted my nails on my lunch break! Hoorah!
And that's all for now. Pretty colors, ahoy! Is it spring yet?
These are some LOVELY bags by Vince Camuto... sumptuous leather (in black, grey, and orchid, oh my!) with a flower detail, carrying handles AND crossbody straps. Friggin delicious. Yes please. That's about $400 worth of "yes please" but whatever.
Kate Spade! For the most part, I was uninterested, but that rolled up newspaper there? THAT'S A CLUTCH. A clutch that looks like a rolled up newspaper. KATE, you genius, WHAT A CRAZY IDEA! I love it.
Aaaaand now for a little ditty from J Crew. Spring 2011 is going to be freaking YUMMY as far as J Crew is concerned. Talk about pops of color and updated classics. I am hankering for this schoolboy blazer and watercolor scarf. Please please please, I beg of you, oh little brother who works at J Crew, obtain for your sister! Just too marvelous for words. Also the following flats should be on my feet, like, stat:
...and this gorgeous ensemble... SO MUCH ORANGE (butIcan'thelplovingitttt)...
YES, J Crew, yes to all of the above. I am totally on board. Especially because my brother has a discount. Yeeeeesssssss. Anyway, on we went, towards Anthropologie (which we all know is my personal Shangri-La), but were interrupted by THIS!
LIKE OMG. Have I mentioned yet that I'm on this show?! I was an extra in the season finale. But you'll definitely see me. By God, you'll see me. *shakes fist*
Annnnnd THEN we went to Anthro. Which was overhwelmingly delicious as usual. But these two were standouts. Duh.
Blue and yellow polka dots by Girls From Savoy. So 40's/50's. I can't even stand it.
And yellow and white from Moulinette Soeurs. Like, damn, how do these designers KNOW what my brain thinks up?!
This lovely number by Diane Von Furstenberg is silk with a watercolor splash pattern. I lurve this watercolor thing we're doing. It's on almost everything this spring, and I LURVE it.
And to finish today's fashion blurb up, I purchased the upcoming season's go-to color (most people are calling it honeysuckle, FYI) in a nail polish by Essie (found at J Crew, $8) and painted my nails on my lunch break! Hoorah!
And that's all for now. Pretty colors, ahoy! Is it spring yet?
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