Getting Twiggy With It

Yesterday I caved and went to Borders after work. Damn you book bloggers/twitterers for getting me hooked on two new-to-me series with huge back lists *shaking fist at you* and no libraries in the DC area carry paranormal romance apparently. Harumph.

So. There I was at the bookstore, walking in with a smile on my face, good cheer bubbling up inside me just looking around at the treasures, and even with a To Buy List in hand I was drawn to the front displays. I’m a marketer’s dream, what I can say? If they had had any of these perfume sticks I would have bought it on sight.

Then I noticed it…Between the two front tables a common cover theme caught my eye. Twigs everywhere! What is up with this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find these covers super attractive and although the only book I know much about is Shiver my guess is the twigs/trees/branches may be symbolic of nature and literally the woods play a role in that story, but not too sure about the others.

Edited To Add: Also ever since I saw these covers I have this song/book stuck in my head from when I was a teeny tiny tot. Does anyone else remember this???

If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise

If you go into the woods today, you’d better go in disguise

For every bear that ever there was has gathered there and that’s because Today’s the Day the teddy bears have their piiiicnic.

I can’t remember the rest of it…

The covers are different enough, but still so similar I wonder if this is a coincidence or if some cover artists in New York have a twiggy conspiracy going. What do you think?

When Our Powers Combine

Back when hubby and I were dating we would talk about where our relationship was headed in the future by saying “when our powers combine…” We both felt that so many aspects of our lives and our relationship would only improve once we were totally and irrevocably combined.

We were right. This weekend we celebrated our one year anniversary and with our powers combined even in just 12 months we achieved so much. I mean, hello! We bought a house! But more so than that, we are making it a home. We’ve celebrated the little things from first time signing our names as Mr. and Mrs. to our 6 month anniversary.

Our wedding day here in DC was perfect…well it did rain in the morning, and I did want to do something violent to my mother-in-law when she tried to cheer me up by saying, “A wet knot never slips!” But then we wouldn’t have had a rainbow while we were taking pictures after the ceremony!

Romance in real life certainly beats any novel.

Now hopefully we will be around to celebrate more anniversaries after eating the top layer of our year old wedding cake that’s been in the freezer all this time. When we went on our honeymoon we forgot to put it in a ziploc bag, so it was just sitting in the freezer, naked it it’s icing for a while.

Hmmm, it tasted fine last night, but I’ll be checking in with hubby throughout the day just in case!

Guest Dare Post

Morning y’all! Today I am blogging over at the puppetmasters who pull my book buying strings – The Book Smugglers!

When they dared me to read a comic book of all things I don’t think they envisioned me talking about kama sutra, where’s waldo, and making new friends on the metro…at the very least we’ll get some interesting search terms out of this one.

So please, head on over the Ana and Thea’s place to check on my guest post on Fables Volume 1, Legends in Exile.

Could I wear these if I wasn’t Tardy for the Party?

I watched Episode 8 from this season’s Real House Wives of Atlanta this weekend and admired Kim’s dress choice.

Yes you read that right, the nut job with a blonde wig. I loved her pastel pink, flowing, floor length, billowing, tight ruched bodice with black ribbon details, boobs pushed up-and-out dress.

Don’t get me wrong she looked RI-FECKING-DICULOUS* but still, she wore it. She didn’t pull it off, but how does she get away with it? Just walking out of the house like that?

She rocks some dresses I would LUUUURVE to wear! just for fun. They are straight out of my romance novel fueled imagination, what I picture some of my heroines wearing and ME WANT.

While googling my brains out to find a picture of the one to which I am referring I found that my thoughts matched another “Real Housewife” cast member whom I ABSO-FECKING-LUTELY** adore, Bethenny Frankel. Just love her – Her bitchy comments, her sharp rejoinders, her scathing put downs of everyone, herself included…she cracks me up.

On her blog she wrote, “I also love Kim’s pink, flowy Harlequin Romance dress. She should be running toward Fabio in a field in an “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” commercial.”

Great minds think alike, Bethenny! Be my friend?

Since I couldn’t find a picture of the one she wore at Kandi’s studio while reluctantly recording “Don’t Be Tardy for the Party” here is the clip. Best shots of the dress around the 2 minute mark, from 2:08 to 2:30ish –

In my crazed-googling for photos of this dress I did find a comment thread where someone referred to it as a “Little Whore on the Prairie” dress. Hmmm, now that you mention it? Yeah, a little bit. But I still want to wear it for fun!

Here are a few others Kim wore that appeal to my romance novel loving side of frilly, frothy, girly dresses:

This little black-and-white number would probably be perfect in one of Kristie J or Wendy Super Librarian’s Western Romances for the secondary character of a hooker with a heart of gold or a misunderstood can-can dancer living above the saloon.

Or this cotton-candy-on-crack concoction? I have no words. But wouldn’t it be fun to wear?!?!

I like Kim, she entertains me, and even though she’s barmier than bats in the belfry*** I really enjoy her dress choices. And am sort of jealous I can’t prance around in DC in them.

______________

* and ** Just finished a novel set in Ireland where all the characters said “feck” instead of fuck, it’s stuck in my head

*** This was not in the book, I just made it up and am not sure what it means. But Kim is totally CAH-rayzay.

Edited to Add: here is what my heroines in my romance novels ACTUALLY wear, just for your frame of reference. What I wouldn’t give to waltz in one of these

I should really just give my credit card to The Book Smugglers

The book loving blogosphere is celebrating Book Blogger Apperciation Week (BBAW) through awards, blog topics, memes and interviews.

Today’s blog discussion asks us to name a book you read only because another blogger recommended it. Oddly enough I already had most of this post typed up in an email to two of my favorite bloggers anways. Sort of a private “Ode To Them” but figured, why not share it with y’all too!?

So my choice was easy – Ana and Thea of the Book Smugglers, bien sûr, but of course!

Because they’ve prompted me to read not just ONE book, but So Very Many. It’s going to take me a bit of time to tally them up.

BRB.

Ok I’m back, what follows is my open letter to those sneaky book smuggling ladies:

Dear Ana and Thea;

In the past 6 months I read the following books thanks to you:

1. Gone, Michael Grant
2. Hunger, Michael Grant
3. Secret Society Girl, Diana Peterfreund
4. Under the Rose, Diana Peterfreund
5. Rights of Spring Break, Diana Peterfreund
6. Tap and Gown, Diana Peterfreund
7. Revealed, Kate Noble
8. Scandal, Carolyn Jewel
9. The Laurentine Spy, Emily Gee

And that doesn’t even count the many I’ve added to my wish list based on your recommendations.

Ana, you jokingly asked if I trusted you in a comment on one of my other posts where I was worried if I would like the rest of the books in a series as much as I liked the first one. Trust you? I could really just give you both my credit card!

Also, I think one or both of you has some weird mind-connection or time traveling power. Whenever you mention old favorite YA books they are ALWAYS on my list of favorites too!

It’s getting a little creepy to be honest guys, Thea I think I’m looking specifically at you. Every time you mention, “Oh I just LOVED this book when I was younger” it is just too eerie that it holds a prominent place in my memory too. So far you have mind-read all these:

1. The Song of the Lioness Quartet, 4 book series about Alanna of Trebond, Olau, and Pirate’s Swoop by Tamora Pierce
2. Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden
3. The Last Silk Dress and so many other Ann Rinaldi Books
4. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi
5. Mara, Daughter of the Nile, Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Now the ONLY ONE you haven’t mentioned is Back Home by Michelle Magorian. I can’t decide if it would be increasingly weird or very cool if either of you also adores this one. But at the very least I mentioned it first!

 So merci buckets to both of you, my TBR and reading list has been forever improved. I have not yet reached the level where my books must be smuggled, but we can all hope that someday I might!

Yours faithfully,

Lusty Reader

*Edited to Add*: Your persuasive powers are far reaching, Katidom also wrote a great post listing books she’s read on your recommendations!

Book Tower: nice looking yet distressing

 

Today dmbosstone thought of moi upon seeing this “arrangement” of books…

  

 

My first response was, “Oooooh pretty, precious books! *gazing in wonder* Sooo many of them. Want. Them. All! *slobber/drool* Must touch, must hold, must have!”

Then I envisioned my trembling-in-awe fingers reaching out, unable to stop myself before the Book Jenga of all Jenga’s collapses, eviscerating my lust forever.

 

 

   Some of the comments in the post with these photos came from fellow bibliophiles such as myself with similar reactions. Upon reflection while I found the “art” (i guess art? i dunno, im no good with artsy stuff outside of books) aesthetically pleasing, it is useless and vaguely frustrating to a true book lover. It is the epitome of “look but don’t touch” one of the things you lust for the most.

While twittering about it I agreed with 12minds most vehemently when he said:

@lustyreader It’s pretty but hurts my heart. Meant to be read! And loved! They belong on bookshelves or the nightstand!

Exactement, mon frère.

So there are no book towers in my future. Built in bookshelves though? DisTINCT probability!

A Feast For Your Eyes

There has been a dearth of curvy leading ladies in my reading choices of late. They are thin, willowy, slender, trim, petite, etc. Sometimes they are described as such in a negative way, like “she hated being thin, she was awkward and gangly, she looked like a boy, men dismissed her upon a glance,” but STILL I haven’t read of a larger, very curvy, very buxom, big hipped, big bottomed heroine in a LONG TIME.

In my house more than a handful and more to love are very acceptable if not preferred.

So I put together a feast for your eyes…

Here are some of my favorite people who come to mind when I think of this body type who I have crushes on and consider WAY MORE attractive than any spindle-y model any day:

#1 Martine McCutcheon

I fell in love with her when I saw Love Actually in the movie theatre in 2003. I remember exactly what year it was because I saw it when I studied abroad in France. I paid 20 Euros to see that movie and only ate bread for the rest of the week because of it. This movie was soooo worth it because of Natalie/Martine.

I actually didn’t even know her name until I looked her up for this blog post just now!

My work wardrobe is based on her outfits in the movie, I wear tight pencil skirts because of YOU Natalie!

….and I also may or may not have cut my bangs in my host family’s basement bathroom to look like her, she is just too cute!

#2 Katy Mixon

It’s time to point out the obvious, I have a thing for brunette women. Most of the guys I dated (the Hubster included) are blonde with blue eyes, but for girls? I love me a brunette.

I’ve seen Katy around (Four Christmases and maybe somewhere else?), but not until my newest HBO obsession East Bound & Down came out and I saw her rip her shirt off did I truly appreciate Katy’s fabulousness:

My rule is if I search the first 10 pages of Google Images and don’t find what I’m looking for, I give up. So…no shirtless pictures of her. I found one of her naked boobs, but yeah, not gonna post those here! But I liked this one:

 

#3 NOT Scarlett Johanson or however you spell it. I hate her. I feel like she is a requisite “curvy woman” but I dislike her intensely. Why, you ask? NO reason. Something about her face maybe? Definitely the red lipstick, hate that. Whew, better stop there before I get any bitchier.

#3 Beyonce (of only one name)

I like her lots, not as much as the first two, but I am comfortable with her on this list, so feast your eyes on this bootay:

That reminds me of my #4 Jennifer Lopez

Sorry, but I heart her. And *stamping my foot* I don’t feel like explaining why. I just do. I think she is pretty and I like her figure. She is just normal, well exceedingly good looking, but she strikes me as normal. Like the girl next door, like from around the block, she’s just Jenny from the block y’all!

Sorry I can’t help it, but seriously she is so normal/freaking gorgeous:

One more because that wasn’t the most flattering, but she’s from the block, she can handle it:

And lastly #5 Catherine Zeta Jones

When I saw her in Zorro with my family when I was in middle school (yeah children of the 90s!) my mom said I looked like her. She lied. But I became a CZJ fan for life.

So I feel terrible about my lack of non-brunette curvy women coming to mind, who am I missing?

August Reading List

I wanted to get this post up yesterday, but as I was explaining to mylittlebecky on twitter, we only have the one computadora at home and hubby HOGS IT.

When he sees me in my google reader taking avid notes on book rec’s from KB, Ana and Thea etc…, or giggling over lilu’s latest he’s all, “Look I have REAL stuff to do on that, you’re just blogging.”

Harumph! I mean he’s all over the internet getting us homeowners insurance, pricing security systems, reading the WSJ, finding real estate lawyers, filing tax thingies…hmmmm ok maybe he is pretty legit.

*Edited to Add* Forgot to mention his stupid Fantasy Football Draft last night…After two hours of “special auction” and “chat room” crap I think I felt the same way about it as he does about my blogs. Annoyed.

So I mostly blog at work. Sorry boss!

Without further delay I present…my August reading list! I had a bit of a slumpas you may recall, but my discovery of Nalini Singh’s fabulousness made up for that!!

1. Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh A
2. Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase reread A+++
3. Duchess By Night, Eloisa James A-
4. Blue Diablo, Anne Aguirre, B+
5. Pleasuring the Pirate, Emily Bryan B+
6. A Wanted Man, Linda Lael Miller B-
7. Start Me Up, Victoria Dahl B-
8. Intertwined, Gena Showalter C+
9. An Affair Before Christmas, Eloisa James C
10. Paris Hangover, Kirsten Lobe C-
11. Laced with Magic, Barbara Bretton D

Movin on up

I haven’t read one book this week. SAD FACE to the max :(

Our closing on the new house was delayed due to paperwork problems, we found a leak our first day after moving in, the shower heads don’t work, and the closet is too shallow to fit a hanger.

So I’ve been a little wrapped up in all that BS and basically shut myself off from the rest of the world, including blogs.

But it’s all worth it since we own our very first home all to ourselves! And we are going to make it SO fabulous y’all! And our neighbors are super nice, introduced themselves and invited us over for drinks already! And our home is gorgeous!

Hopefully with the long weekend we’ll finally get totally unpacked, I will finally be able to return all my friends’ phone calls and I will read AT LEAST one book! But mostly I hope to sleep, like this:

But shhhh, don’t tell hubby, because Kedzie is totally not allowed on the couch!