Checked Out

After Monday's post, it may not come as a surprise to you that I am also in the middle of several books, and have others I'm waiting to start. So rather than a book review, I thought I'd let you know what I have checked out currently. In no particular order:

Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter
One Last Thing Before I Go, Jonathan Tropper
The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Clara & Mr. Tiffany, Susan Vreeland
Last Letter From Your Lover, Jojo Moyes

Writing Update: All Over The Road

Every Sunday that I can, I listen to "Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40," because it reminds me of home--my mom and I used to listen to it on the way to and from church, and it just makes my Sundays feel a little more home-y. Sometimes Nathan and I are working on house projects, sometimes I'm picking up the house and getting ready for the upcoming week, sometimes we're out running around town. I will take what I can get normally, but it's a really fun day when I get listen from 40 to 1 and hear all of the songs, the listener requests, and, unfortunately, the Netflix commercials.

Yesterday, Bob (yes, we're on a first name basis) was talking about the phrase "all over the road" (because it's the name of Easton Corbin's new album), and I thought that it was the perfect way to sum up my recent writing experiences.

Perhaps I am too much of a multitasker, but it seems I can't focus on just one project--I have to have several going at a time. First, I outlined a book, worked on it a little, then decided (again) to back to my very first original idea that I was working on for the first Camp NaNo, and outline it to see if it would be more inspiring to write. Now poor second book got pushed aside while I work on the first one. I guess it's a good thing that I have two books going at once, but I suppose the challenge will be finishing one of them before starting something else.

I have also started to set a schedule for myself so my writing becomes more of a priority. At 3:00 every day I can, I settle down at my desk to at least write somethign, which many authors recommend. At the moment I don't have a set amount of time/words/scenes I have to work on, rather I write while I feel like it and then move on. It is working pretty well actually, and I'm not surprised. For someone who loves routine and organization, it sure took me a while to add some structure to my often-chaotic schedule.

Bedroom Update: Nightstand Upgrade

In my recent end of summer summary posts, I talked about some indoor updates we had done that I hadn't blogged about. One of these is the new nightstands we got for our bedroom. Our old nightstands were free! from the closet downstairs, but weren't particularly nice looking or functional.

 

 

 

 

So we literally drove all over town looking for something else, because in case you couldn't tell by all of the random stuff on the rocking chair, there just wasn't enough space for all of my stuff. This is where my OCD/Nathan's cheapness comes in though. See, Nathan's dad built our awesome headboard, so it has a cool stain that, as it turns out, isn't necessarily easy to match. And anything that was remotely close to what we wanted was more than we wanted to spend. Enter Ikea. I made my mom go buy two unfinished three-drawer nightstands, and we brought them back with us in March. Then they sat in the garage in their tiny boxes until we finally decided to put them together a few months later (aka, Nathan was cleaning out the garage and told me that we needed to get them done). Here they are in their unfinished glory.

We figured out what color stain his parents used on the bed and got some at Menard's. However, whatever we got did not go very far and was gone by the time I finished the first nightstand. So I bought the gel kind, which smelled awful but did the job much more effectively.

Then I decided to upgrade to some nicer-looking knobs, since we only spent $60 total. And they look so pretty next the matching headboard. Even though they are now, once again, kind of covered in a lot of stuff.

Book Review: Dearie

The Book: Dearie, by Bob Spitz

Why I Checked It Out: I think Julia Child is one cool lady, but I didn't know too much about her life, other than what I'd seen in Julie & Julia. I had seen her kitchen at the Smithsonian (the first time, because when we were there in March the exhibit was closed!), and wanted to know more.

The Plot: A very in-depth history of Julia Child's life.

What I Liked: I liked all of the context that is provided in the book. I really felt like we got to not only understand Julia Child's life but her feelings about her life and the feelings of the people in her life. There is so much detail that you feel like you are watching her live. I also love that she couldn't cook initially.

What I Didn't Like: This sounds pretty silly, but I wish there were more pictures. One of my favorite things about biographies are the pictures that hang out in the middle of the book that I can flip through. There are pictures at the beginning of the chapters though.

Do I Recommend It: Yes

Staycation

Hello, and here I am, back again. Over Labor Day weekend, my parents came to visit, and then my mom and I spent the next week together--she had a Lincoln vacation and I had a staycation.

We had a LOT of fun while my dad was here. We got to watch the first Huskers game, shop for a door, put up some handrails so I don't potentially hurt myself when I fall up or down the stairs, and spend some time exploring Lincoln. We took the dogs (Macie the Newfoundland and Shelby, of course) to Branched Oak Lake and James Arthur Vineyard, Bread and Cup in the Haymarket, the stadium, and Pioneers Park. Everyone had a lot of fun, especially the dogs. Here they are swimming. Macie is a very experienced swimmer, and Shelby is the kind of swimmer that likes being in the water, but doesn't like everyone being all over the place. It's the herder in her.

 

During the week, my mom and I worked on embroidering a set of dish towels for my cousin's bridal shower and watching Netflix. Oh yes, and drinking wine. We went garage sale-ing on Friday and she found lots of good stuff, plus some stuff for me. Over the weekend we had two bridal showers: one for my friend Leah and then one for my cousin. On Monday, we went and saw "The Words," which I highly recommend, not just because it is about writing. She and Macie left Tuesday though, so it was back to real life for all of us.