Book Talk: A Game of Thrones part 1

For those of you who haven’t already heard, I’ve been reading A Game of Thrones, the First book in the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.  This show is also a current HBO tv series.  Currently I’m absolutely loving the book, and I thought I’d share my thoughts with you on the book, and tell you all why you head to the bookstore immediately and start reading it.

I had never heard of the book, series, or tv show until Miss Glamorazzi (yet another example of her influence on my everyday life).  She went on and on about this book so much that I just had to look into it.  And it turns out that it is exactly the type of thing that I would LOVE.  So, I got the book and within a few chapters I was hooked.

To view Miss Glamorazzi’s video, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlYiBLCHoq0&feature=relmfu

The story is told in 8 different character perspectives, so each chapter is told by a different character.  That may seem confusing, but each character is very distinctive and easy to tell apart as long as you are paying attention to the details when you are reading.  Meaning, don’t read this thinking you won’t have to use a little brainpower.  This is not like Twilight where no brainpower is needed (not that I didn’t enjoy the Twilight books, because believe it or not, I genuinely did enjoy them).  These books just require you to piece bits of the story together on your own and remember who is related to who and what the relationship ‘status’ of each character is with the people around them.

The characters telling the story are Lord Eddard Stark (Ned, Lord of Winterfell), Catelyn Stark (Ned’s wife, Lady of Winterfell), Jon Snow (Ned’s bastard son), Sansa Stark (oldest daughter of Ned and Catelyn), Arya Stark (daughter of Ned and Catelyn), Bran Stark (brother to Sansa and Arya), Tyrion Lannister (younger brother of the Queen), Daenerys Targaryen (survivor of the old dynasty).

If you’ve read Harry Potter and/or The Hunger Games and are looking for something to fill the empty hole in your life created by the ending of those series, try this series out.  I know it’s not the works of J.K. Rowling, but it’s pretty darn close.  If you like Potter, you’re sure to like this.  Game of Thrones is a mystery filled with adventure and danger, and I can’t wait to tell you guys more of my thoughts as I keep reading the book.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Beauty Tag

Hey everyone!  Today I’m going to be doing the Seven Deadly Sins of Beauty tag that’s gone around YouTube, but once again, I’m doing the tag in blog form.  Enjoy!  Don’t forget to leave a comment below with your answers to the questions!

1.    GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item?  What is your most expensive?  My most inexpensive item would be my foundation brush by elf that I got at Target for $1.  And my most expensive items would be between my Sephora palette for $34, my Makeup Forever HD primer for $34 and my Makeup Forever foundation for $42.

2.    WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with?  I have a love/hate relationship with my foundations, the eyelid primer that I’m currently using, and all lip products because I just have a hard time picking out lip products that work for me color-wise.

3.    GLUTTONY: What are you most delicious beauty products?  I absolutely love my Makeup forever Lab Lipshine lipgloss and my EOS lip balm.

4.    SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?  Foundation because sometimes not only do I sometimes want to give my skin a break from wearing a full face of makeup every day, but sometimes I simply don’t feel like putting all of my makeup on in the morning.  I also often neglect using lip product because I’m lazy and don’t want to take the extra minute to put it on, meaning I have a lot of useless product just sitting in my makeup collection.

5.    PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self-confidence?  Despite what I just said, a good foundation and a good even skintone gives me a great deal of confidence.  Having had bad acne in the past, having great looking skin now is just such a great boost to my self-esteem.

6.    What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex? A great sense of humor, and a willingness to be accepting of quirks that I may have, especially when I take a risk and open myself up to someone.

7.    ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift?  Any type of palette, or Bath and Body Works 3-wick candles.  A giftcard for Sephora or Ulta would be great too!

Book Challenge

#1: Your favorite book and why: The entire Harry Potter series because I love that it gives me the escape from the real world, and the story is just pure gold.  Outside of Harry Potter, my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice.  I love this book because of the relationship between Lizzie and Darcy and how it grows throughout the book, and the minor characters are absolutely hilarious.

#2: A quote from said book: There are too many quotes from Harry Potter to choose from, and I have a whole post series on my favs, (so go check that out!).  I also have a lot of quotes I love from Pride and Prejudice but one of my favorites is “I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding— certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of other so soon as I ought, nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.” 

#3: Your favorite author and favorite book by them: J.K. Rowling, Jane Austin, Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice (see above!!)

#4: Your favorite book from your childhood: Harry Potter, Princess Diaries series

#5: Guilty pleasure book: Teresa Guidice’s cookbook (does that count??)

#6: If you were stranded on a desert island, what book would you want? All of them!!!

#7: Favorite movie adaptation of a book: I can’t think of one in particular, mainly because I’m very critical of movies when I’ve read the book.  I do like movies that are based off of books, but I can’t think of one stand-out movie based off a book.

#8: Favorite quote from any book: “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.”

#9: What are you currently reading? A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

#10: Write a review of the last book you read: The last book I read was…. I honestly can’t even remember because I’ve been working on Game of Thrones for a while now.  This one is 900 pages and very small print so it’s coming along very very slowly.  But, for anyone who’s considering reading it, it’s completely worth it, and I highly recommend it!

#11: Favorite book you had to read for school The Iliad and the Odyssey.  I love Greek Mythology so these two books were right up my alley.  If you’re interested in Greek Gods and Goddesses, read these!

#12: Favorite classic: The Scarlet Letter

#13: Favorite poet: I’m not really into poetry, but I do have one poem that I’ve always really liked, so if I were to pick a favorite poet, I’d pick Walt Whitman.

#14: Post your favorite poem

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, 
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won, 
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, 
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; 
But O heart! heart! heart! 
O the bleeding drops of red, 
Where on the deck my Captain lies, 
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; 
Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills, 
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths - for you the shores 
a-crowding, 
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; 
Here Captain! dear father! 
This arm beneath your head! 
It is some dream that on the deck, 
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, 
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, 
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, 
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; 
Exult O shores, and ring O bells! 
But I with mournful tread, 
Walk the deck my Captain lies, 
Fallen cold and dead.

#15: Recommend 5 books to your lovely followers J

1.    Harry Potter series

2.    A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire series)

3.    The Truth About Forever

4.    The Hunger Games Series

5.    Mr. Darcy’s Diary (if you like Pride and Prejudice)

Today in History... May 24th

1961 Civil rights are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi

1941 The British battleship Hood is sunk by the German battleship Bismarck. There are only three survivors.

          

            -Bob Dylan is born (singer and songwriter)

1861 General Benjamin Butler declares slaves to be the contraband of war

1846 General Zachary Taylor captures Monterey

1844 Samuel morse taps out the first telegraph message

1819 Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1836-1901) is born

1798 Believing that a French invasion of Ireland is imminent, Irish nationalists rise up against the British occupation.

1764 Boston lawyer James Otis denounces “taxation without representation,” calling for the colonies to unite in opposition to Britain’s new tax measures

1738 The Methodist Church is established

1689 English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants.  Roman Catholics are specifically excluded from exemption

How To: Melted Crayon Art

Hey Everyone!  Today I thought I’d give you all an arts and crafts tutorial– how to make melted crayon art.  I made one for my apartment bedroom a few months ago and I recently made one for a friend’s graduation gift.  I’ve been asked for help by a lot of people with making them, so I thought I’d share it with you guy too.  So let’s get started!  And if you make one, let me know how it turns out, and tweet me a picture of it!

Materials:

·         Crayons

·         Canvas

·         Hot Glue Gun/Glue

·         Hairdryer

*When determining how many number of crayons needed, consider the size of the canvas and the specific colors desired.  Overall, it is a bit of a guessing game.

Instructions

1.    Once you determine which colors you would like to use, line the crayons up in order of desired look on canvas.  (this may require you to add or remove crayons)

2.    Now that the crayons are lined up in the desired order, use the hot glue gun to give the crayons to the canvas.  (I recommend starting from the middle and working your way to the sides)

*A little tip for the gluing- put the glue on the canvas and place the crayons down on the glue.

3.    Once the glue is dry, take the canvas outside or place on newspaper to protect from splattering. 

4.    Use a hairdryer to melt the crayons, letting the wax drip down the canvas.  It may take a minute or so for the wax to begin to melt, but be patient, it will start flowing rapidly once it starts.  You can use the hairdryer to control the direction of the flow of the wax and the thickness of the way the wax hardens on the canvas. 

The rest is up to you!  The great part of this art is that it is so customizable for each person.  You can use the hairdryer to get the desired look that you would like to achieve, and even once the wax has hardened, adjustments can be made if you heat up the wax again.

Today in History… May 19th

1964 U.S. diplomats find at least 40 microphones planted in the American embassy in Moscow.

1935 The National Football League adopts an annual college draft to begin in 1936.

1921 Congress sharply curbs immigration, setting a national quota system.

1895 Johns Hopkins born (merchant and philanthropist)

1864 The Union and Confederate armies launch their last attacks against each other at Spotsylvania, Virginia.

1863 Union General Ulysses S. Grant's first attack on Vicksburg is repulsed.

1780 Near total darkness descends on New England at noon.  No explanation is found.

1588 The Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon, Spain.

1568 Defeated by the Protestants, Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England where Queen Elizabeth imprisons her.

1568 Anne Boleyn is beheaded on Tower Green

715 St. Gregory II begins his reign as Catholic Pope

My Favorite Quotes From Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

"I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick."

When there's strife and when there's trouble

         Call on Peevsie, he'll make double!

                                                                                    - Peeves

"'Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?'"

                                                                                    - Ron

"Harry, that's it - get lucky!"

                                                                                    - Ron

But he understood at last that Dumbledore had been trying to tell him.  It was, he thought, the difference being dragged being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high.  Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew - and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents - that there was all the difference in the world.

Harry looked around; thee was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him.  And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.

And Harry saw very clearly as he sat there under the hot sun how people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, an finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over.  He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort; he must abandon forever the illusion he ought to have lost at the age of one, that the shelter of a parent's arms meant that nothing could hurt him.  There was no waking from his nightmare, no comforting whisper in the dark that he was safe really, that it was all his imagination; the last and greatest of his protectors had died, and he was more alone than he had ever been before.

His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, bit in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione. 

Gilmore Girls Challenge Part 3 of 3

Day 21. If you were a character on Gilmore Girls; who would you be, when would you come in and what would you do?

I would love to be one of Rory’s close friends.  And if I wasn’t lucky enough to know her in high school and college, then I would at least like to know her in college, because that’s when I feel like she comes out of her shell and really becomes a true, alive woman.

Day 22. Would you rather eat at Luke’s or go to a Friday Night Dinner?

I would love to experience both, but if I had to choose, then I would choose a simple meal at Luke’s.

Day 23. Is your dad more like Luke, Richard or Christopher?

          A combination of the three

Day 24. Which episode have you seen the most?

I’ve seen all of them so many times, but I’d probably say season 3 and 4 the most times

Day 25. Would you go on a date with Kirk if you met hm?

          Um……. I have no idea

Day 26. Is your best friend more like Lane or Sookie?

          Sookie

Day 27. Would you rather eat at Al’s Pancake World or watch a movie at the Black, White and Read movie theatre?

          Movie on Big Red!!

Day 28. Have you discovered any band/artist because of the Gilmore GIrls?

I’ve gotten more into certain bands because of them, but I already knew of them. 

Day 29. If you could choose just one character to bring in to your life, who would it be?

          Lorelai

Day 30. How has the show affected you, even if it’s in the smallest way?

Given me a different insight into a mother/daughter relationship and has also given me a different way of thinking about the future.

Gilmore Girls Challenge Part 2 of 3

Day 11. If you could have had a crossover episode with Gilmore Girls and any other show, which show would it be?

I would love to have a crossover episode with Gilmore Girls and Big Bang Theory.  I would love to see how the girls would interact with Sheldon!!! Classic moments in the making!!! And I think the Big Bang Theory guys would fit right in as Stars Hollow townspeople.

Day 12. What do you think Lorelai is doing right now?

Ordering Chinese food or pizza and getting ready for another movie night.

Day 13. What character do you wish was in the show more than they were?

Luke- and maybe I mean that I wish he had taken on a different role other than ‘diner guy’ earlier on in the show.  I wish we had seen him as Lorelai’s significant other (in a situation where she felt the same way) earlier than the end of the fourth season.

Day 14. What’s the weirdest/most unexpected couple that you secretly ship?

Rory/Logan – but I don’t know that that’s weird or unexpected…. Though I know a lot of people who hated Logan.

Day 15. Who is your favourite Gilmore boy?

Out of Rory’s boyfriends, my favorite one was Logan, and my favorite of Lorelai’s boyfriends was Luke.  My other favorite male character on the show was Jackson, when they let him be in his element as a character, he really became this funny man, and not just the vegetable guy or Sookie’s husband.

Day 16. What do you think Rory is doing right now?

Picking up junk food and helping her mother get ready for movie night.

Day 17. How long was your longest Gilmore Girls marathon?

          7 days, but I did sleep at night if that means anything.

Day 18. What is something that will always remind you of the Gilmore Girls?

          Coffee

Day 19. What is the first line that comes to your mind right now?

          “Oy with the poodles already!”

Day 20. What other fandoms are you a part of?

          Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Vampire Diaries