Rolling in

Ooooh - so nice.

Beef cake!

Bigger, Stronger, Faster is a documentary told from an interesting point of view. The filmmaker has two brothers who both use steroids and so he tries to capture what steroids are and why people use them.

I loved his perspective. He's a guy who doesn't agree with their use, but he makes such a well-meaning attempt to understand his brothers and it comes off feeling so loving.

And I adored the side by side comparison of how the G.I. Joe doll has changed through the years. I give this one a 6.

Blowhard

Didn't even finish - not even close. While I love a good chef-ish read, The Seasoning of a Chef annoyed me greatly. It's all about the background and beginnings of a man who became a successful chef. I was turned off right in the beginning after mentioning more than once how he came from a modest background and then pointing out his brand new Nike's when he was 10 or the nice house he was raised in. Yeah, he was no Hilton, but the tone of it all rubbed me the wrong way.

It may be his age (not so very old and around my age) or the fact that his brother wrote the book, but the whole thing felt like more distance was needed. If I feel the need to listen to some young blowhard tell self-important tales of how he struggled to make it big, I'll hit the bars. I just couldn't give a damn about this one. Only a 2 in my book.

Smells of napalm

Okay so can someone explain the ravings over Apocalypse Now? I was with it all the way up the river until they reached their destination. All the bombs and the guns and the crazy commanders and the pointlessness of war.

And then came Kurtz. And I was bored to tears and unimpressed. Maybe it was way cooler back in '79. Shoulda figured - I was never a big Heart of Darkness fan either. I give it a big old meh. Only a 4 in my book. It probably deserves a 5 but I was so underwelmed by the end.

Your pal

Mo Willems rather rocks my socks off. Although the pigeon books are my faves of his, Leonardo is pretty adorable. If you don't have kids, read them anyway cause they are adorable. If you do have kids, go get them right away!

I give this one a 5.

Fever

Fever 1793 is all about the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia - something I hadn't known about at all. It's a YA novel and told from the point of view of a teenage girl whose family runs a coffee shop.

I liked that the book felt no need to have some grand romantic story - there's a small one but it never takes the focus. However, the characters never felt very 3-dimensional (except for maybe the grandfather). There just wasn't much to most of them so I never felt very concerned over who would succumb to the fever and who would survive.

I give it a 3 out of 10.

Instant

Instant love.

Mocha

Oooooh....my wardrobe NEEDS this. So comfy and versatile looking.

Worms

Fruit clothing IS one of my things.

Middle Eastern beauty parlor

A few weeks back I watched Caramel, the story of many women based around a Lebanese beauty parlor. It's such a pretty film. I like how the stories all fit well together and no one is guaranteed a happy all tied up in a bow ending.

And seeing as how is set around a beauty parlor, it got me promising to spend more time on not always looking like I just rolled out of bed. The woman above directed and acted in the film. Just look at that eye makeup!

Delicate

I know better than to put this particular color near my face, but it doesn't stop me from wishing I could!

Day late and a dollar short.

Cute! But they played here LAST night.

Colors that just belong together

Pretty pretty!

ETA - or even better said by kaunis: "That's so beachy and perfect! I want one! It just makes me think of sipping ice tea and lemonaid listening to the waves. I love the messiness of it."

Lucky girl

I turned 30 last week and so many folks helped me celebrate with cupcakes and cake and good wishes. The boy even was kind enough to gift me some of my etsy loves - this and this. And I made tons of these and drank too many of my yet to be named new concoction.

Zipped right through

If only I could remember who reviewed this! One of the brilliant blogs I read reviewed this which made me pick it right up. I raced through it in a day.

And Only to Deceive is a Victorian mystery novel about a newlywed and suddenly widowed woman who discovers more and more about her deceased husband until she becomes kind of obsessed and falls in love with him. Looking into his character reveals more and more questions about the kind of man he was and the dealings he was involved in.

Very quick and cleverly conceived plot. Mostly fluffish by the end though - like a more clever less bodice ripping Amanda Quick novel.

I'll give it a middle of the roadish 5. Fun but forgettable.

I hate when they don't let you embed

Still its worth the click!

Not Fair - Lily Allen

Lolita

Still time

For wearing sundresses and sipping lemonade.

Fantastic

Reminder

I really must learn how to knit. (Items from TickledPinkKnits.)

Sad household

(Picture by Algo)

Woke up on my 30th birthday to an entirely yellow world - like an oversaturated filmstrip. That sort of thing feels promising and auspicious.

Ended the day in the worst kind of funk. We had to put one of our cats to sleep. Eleanor, the shyest, softest, purrs-like-an-engine cat with lynx-ish tufted ears, was so ill and nothing could be done for the sweet babe. We're a sad household tonight. Give your critters an extra scritch behind the ears tonight for Ellie.