RIGHT NOW

I AM SO EXCITED!! Seriously, I am so thrilled right now because I just came home from classes and found that I had a package in the mail. First of all I have to say that anytime I get something besides bills in the mail I'm excited, however, I was extra excited to see that it was from Nely, who has the fabulous book blog, All About {N}. When I got up to my apartment I almost had a Glee moment in which I sing while opening the envelope to reveal three books that I have been wanting to read since seeing them on Nely's blog, yes, that excited. However, instead of traumatizing my cats with my horrible voice, I calmly yet quickly sat down on my futon and pulled out my goodies from the envelope. Revealed: 'Breakfast in Bed' by Robin Kaye...'A Black Tie Affair' by Sherrill Bodine...and 'Matched' by Ally Condie. I feel like Emeril Lagasse is the sense that I want to yell "BAM!" right now because I now have these fantastic books thanks to Nely!! All About {N}

So, I'm pretty sure I'm going to start with 'A Black Tie Affair' by Sherrill Bodine. This book is about Athena, a fashion curator, who gets the job of her dreams. But, something goes horribly wrong and Athena joins her ex, Drew, to solve the mystery at hand. Along the way feelings, old and new, emerge as the two work together...Can't wait to read!!

 























Currently Listening To:
Space by M.I.A.

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:
"We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading." ~B.F. Skinner

 

The Nanny Diaries

Last night I finally finished 'The Nanny Diaries' by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus and it was pretty darn good! Surprisingly, the movie goes pretty well with the story line of the novel and I really liked that. Also, I think my favorite parts in this book was when Nanny, the main character, had inner dialogues that only the reader knew about. Almost making you wish that what she was thinking she would say out loud, because lets face it; most of us wish we could in our everyday lives. I would recommend anyone read this if your looking for a simple but entertaining book! Also, if you haven't seen the movie yet I would check it out, its cute and heartwarming; just like the book.  

Tasty Tuesday's

Farfalle with Tomatoes, Onions, and Spinach

Add grilled chicken for an even heartier meal.

Total: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture and 3 tablespoons feta)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces uncooked farfalle pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup vertically sliced yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add pasta, and cook according to package directions; drain.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and oregano; sauté 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and vinegar; sauté 3 minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften. Add pasta and spinach; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with feta.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 374
Fat: 13.3g (sat 5g, mono 6.2g, poly 0.9g)
Protein: 13.7g
Carbohydrate: 51.1g
Fiber: 3.8g
Cholesterol: 22mg
Iron: 2.6mg
Sodium: 632mg
Calcium: 212mg

{David Bonom, Cooking Light, JULY 2010}

Currently Listening To:
Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

Picture Of The Day:

Quote OF The Day:
"When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story's voice makes everything its own." ~John Berger

Mindless Mondays

Well folks I have come across some pretty important headlines that I would like to share with you on this lovely Mindless Monday…let’s dive right in shall we?

So, everyone knows Will Smith, you know; tall dark and handsome. His adorable daughter Willow Smith has come out with a single ladies and gents! What is this masterpiece called you ask? ‘Whip My Hair’. I have to confess that my roommate and I actually like this song, and soon there will be a video coming!! Pumped? I sure as hell am! However, my question is what will this do to her later? Ms. Smith I only 9 years old and I have to wonder if she will be just another star pop-singer who falls of the map? Yes, both of her parents are talented and have big names for themselves but is this young lady coming into the media spotlight too soon?

Lindsay Lohan. Oh Christ…really? So according to zimbio.com Lindsay along with her mom and sister went to the Dream Center, a mission and outreach program, which houses teen girls. The trio handed out purses as gifts and in my opinion probably some brilliant words of advice and encouragement…give me a damn break. Send this girl to a padded cell and throw away the keys I’m so done hearing about her is anyone else with me?





...You can all thank me later for updating you on these very important stories, I know your lives are better for having this tid bit of information. Happy Mindless Monday's everyone!


Picture Of The Day:

Currently Listening To:
Misery by Maroon 5

Quote Of The Day:
"On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are created jerks." ~H. Allen Smith

Sleepy Sundays

It is a beautiful Sunday here in Philadelphia, PA and I am feeling extremely lazy today and the only activity I could think of is to head over to Rittenhouse Square with a blanket, and plop down down with a good book. Rittenhouse is a really pretty park in Philly with tons of great people watching, adorable dogs, and a perfect place to read, have a catch with some friends, or simply sit down on a bench and watch your surroundings. So on this Sleep Sunday head over to your nearest park and relax, that's what Sunday's are for after all right?

Picture Of the Day:

Currently Listening To:
She's Her Own Woman by Brad Paisley

Quote Of The Day:
"I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done." ~ Steven Wright

Thoughts

So, I’ve been noticing that quite a few bloggers do themes for days of the week. They have a catchy title with the day of the week in it and have a certain topic or subject matter that they talk about on that day. Well, I want to try it out! This is what I was thinking…

Monday’s would be “Mindless Mondays” – I would talk about the things happening in the current social media. I feel as though we get so much information through TV, internet, radio, news, even word of mouth that we become mindless with all of this information we’re getting about famous celebrities (information that we really don’t need in order to get through our day). So, “Mindless Monday” would be a gathering of meaningless happenings that the general public is obsessed with.

Tuesday’s would be “Tasty Tuesdays” – I don’t know about all of you but I L-O-V-E food, especially the tasty kind! So Tuesdays I would have a couple of recipe idea’s maybe even breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.

Thursday’s would be “Thrilling Thursdays” – Every Thursday I would have a thrilling activity, place to go, etc... That I would talk about.

Sunday’s would be “Sleepy Sundays” – I believe Sunday’s are for sleep, or lazy things. So, this is when I would talk about relaxing things to do, go, buy, etc…

AND OF COURSE I’m still going to talk about books! I’m definitely not heading away from that so don’t worry!

What are your thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? Let me know!

Currently Listening To:

Que Sera, Sera by Aly & the Family Stone

    

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day
"Everywhere I have sought rest and not found it, except sitting in a corner by myself with a little book." ~Thomas ã Kempis

RIGHT NOW

Yesterday afternoon I went to my second home, also known as Borders, to find a book. Well I had some luck and ran across ‘The Nanny Diaries’ by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus. As some of you may know this book was made into a movie in 2007 staring Scarlett Johansson. I loved it! It was a very sweet and heartwarming movie. Surprisingly, I had no idea this had been a book. Can you say clueless? Anyways, I excitedly bought the book and started reading it last night. So far I’m loving it! The banter the main character, Nanny, has going on in her own head, describing how a job interview goes to be a care giver to a child of wealthy parents is fantastic! I even had one of those moments in which I laughed out loud, realized it, and slowly lifted my eyes to see if anyone heard me…Can’t wait to keep reading!






Currently Listening To:
'I'll Be Your Man' by The Black Keys

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:

"There should be a little voice in your head like the storyteller is saying it.  And if there's not, then you're just lookin' at the words." ~LaKeisha (9th Grader in San Francisco)

WRONG.

Hello Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic and relaxing weekend! I was definitely busy however; I got to finish two great books! In my last post I mentioned that I started to read ‘Halfway to the Grave’ by Jeaniene Frost and that I wasn’t too impressed. Now, I am the type of person to hate admitting when they’re wrong BUT in this case I have no problem whatsoever saying that in fact “I WAS WRONG” because I thoroughly enjoyed reading not only ‘Halfway to the Grave’ but the second book in the series as well; ‘One Foot in the Grave’.

This series is about half vampire, half mortal; Cat Crawfield and the dangerously sexy Bones. Cat has vowed to rid the world of vampires; those nasty bloodsuckers that kill every living human in their path (or so she thinks). However, her mind is reluctantly changed after a run in with a “vicious parasite” vampire named Bones. These books are about their difficult journey into trust, love, and danger. And in my opinion, an excellent read!

I can't wait to read the rest of this series in which there are five books with two on the way but I'm going to venture off and read something else...what my next book will be I'm not sure so Borders...HERE I COME!

Currently Listening To:

Zoe Keating



Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:

"Choose an author as you choose a friend." ~Sir Christopher Wren

Tweet-tweet

"YAY! For Twitter!" So I started a twitter for my blog and I'm pretty excited about it. I already have a personal one so why not have one for 'A Watson Blog'?! I just started it yesterday so I only have a few 'tweets' but follow me on twitter please! @awatsonblog or me personally @alwats

Also, I stated reading 'Halfway to the Grave' last night and I'm only on page 22 because I passed out with book in hand...BUT so far I'm not too impressed. I like the story but not too fond of the dialogue. We shall see though as I get further into the book!


Blog Twitter: http://twitter.com/awatsonblog
Personal Twitter: http://twitter.com/alwats



Currently Listening To:
Pack Up by Eliza Doolittle

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page." ~St. Augustine

New Layout

My layout has changed! Thanks to btemplates I found this great layout for my page! I'm not sure if this is the one I'm going to keep but for now I love it and it's going to be stickin' around! Let me know what you think!

Currently Listening To:
I Love Rock n' Roll by Joan Jett

Picture Of The Day:



Quote Of The Day:

"The libraries have become my candy store." ~Juliana Kimball

Water Bound

So a few minutes ago I finished reading 'Water Bound' by Christine Feehan. It was the first of her books that I've read and I really enjoyed it, I'm definitely going to come back to her when I'm in need of a good read! The two main characters Lev and Rikki fit so well together. Both had tragic pasts, different, but equally damaging to who they became...or so they thought. The two of them brought out the good in each other and even the good in Rikki's disability. They also fit together in the sense that both had paranormal abilities that benifited the other. Ms. Feehan's way of discribing what someone was doing or what something looked like or felt like was amazing. I'm an extreamly visual person and the way she writes really appeals to me and I'm sure it will to others so read it people! I know you'll love it!

Next Book:
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Currently Listening To:
Love the Way You Lie by Eminem Ft. Rihanna

Click HERE to watch the music video!

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:
"A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face.  It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy."  ~Edward P. Morgan

Precipitation

It is Sunday September 12th and its raining here is Philadelphia. I am strangely happy and sad about this. I’m happy because it’s the perfect day to curl up on your couch, under your softest, warmest blanket with a great cup of coffee and of course, a good book. Sounds amazing right? I know. Well, the sad part comes in when I tell you I am currently at work sitting at a desk, freezing. It’s okay, don’t feel bad for me…I don’t need your pity [tear*] However, I do need you to grab a good book and burrow yourself into your favorite spot on all of your rainy days; no matter when they might be.

Currently Listening To:
The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:
"I was born with the impression that what happened in books was much more reasonable, and interesting, and real, in some ways, than what happened in life." ~Anne Tyler

RIGHT NOW

I mentioned the book 'Water Bound' by Christine Feehan in my previous post, and I have begun reading! I really like this book so far, it's a little frustrating at the moment because I'm a good ways into the book and the two main characters, Rikki and Lev, will not just give into their damn feelings! Besides that, Ms. Feehan is extremely descriptive when it comes to her characters, scenery, and emotions...which I love. Also, both Rikki and Lev have serious issues but completely except them in the other person, however, they can't deal with the fact that the other person is willing to except and learn about them. It's a lot like regular people; we all have 'ticks' and we deal with them however, we think that people can't love us because of it when they are blatantly telling us that they do...I'm excited to see where this story is going. The tension is building and it has to give way soon!!


Currently Listening To:
When I Grow Up by Fever Ray

Picture Of The Day:

Quote Of The Day:
"Never judge a book by its movie." ~J. W. Eagan

Pot

I have been taken hostage by a TV show, parish the thought! But I can’t deny the fact that the show Weeds is absolutely fantastic. My wonderful mother who I love and adore has allowed me access to her netflix account. Totes heart netflix…at any rate; this is where I found Weeds. The show is about a single mom in a rich suburban neighborhood who sells weed to her community. Hysterical! Now, because I have been taken hostage I have been putting off starting the next book I want to reed. Have no fear, I will begin reading soon…

Soon To Be Reading: Water Bound by Christine Feehan

Off the shores of Sea Haven, a beautiful diver rescues a man from drowning, a man with no memory of who he is--or why he seems to possess the violent instincts of a trained killer. But soon, he and his savior will be engulfed in a storm of dizzying passion and inescapable danger.

Currently Listening To:

Lilac Wine by Jeff Buckley

Quote Of The Day:

"My home is where my books are." ~Ellen Thompson

In Other Worlds

On September 1st I talked about the book I was reading, 'In Other Worlds', by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Well I just finished it last night, or should I say this morning at 1:52 am, and I really enjoyed these 3 short stories!

The first story; 'Fire and Ice', is about a moody, temperamental, sexy, ex-assassin and a beautiful, young, virgin who is trying to escape an arranged marriage. After running away she meets this striking man in a seedy bar and from there both of their lives take a turn neither of them could have imagined...

The second story; 'Knightly Dreams' is almost like a fairy tale: Witches, knights, and a damsel in distress. Two people, from two different worlds, wish for love and a chance to flee the lives they currently lead. A witch gives each of them the opportunity to change their lives forever, the question is: will they take it?...

The final story, my favorite story; 'Dragonswan', is an exciting tale of a shape shifting dragon and a...historian? A quite and simple historian works her way to discovering the meaning of an old tapestry, little does she know, the stunningly beautiful man who wonders into her life holds all the answers, and her heart…


Currently Listening To:
Everywhere I Go by Lissie

Quote of the Day:
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~Charles W. Eliot

Lust

I am seriously lusting over these books! I was on the lovely blog of Nely, All About {n}, and if you haven’t checked out her blog yet you really and truly should…anyway, back to my lusting…I was on this blog and found a lot of books that I now want to go out, buy, and read immediately! However, being a college student, I unfortunately do not have the funds to do this so, I will continue to yearn for these books until I can get my pink-nail-painted hands on them…
The List:

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
2. Breakfast in Bed by Robin Kaye
3. Matched by Allyson Condie
4. Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
5. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
6. The Chosen One by Lynch Williams
7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
8. Willow by Julia Hoban
9. Beastly by Alex Flinn
10. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
11. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
12. A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bondine
13. Cum Laude by Cecily von Ziegesar
14. And One Last Thing by Molly Harper
15. She’s Gone Country by Jane Porter
16. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
17. Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
18. Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love [Anthology]
19. 20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
20. The Mark By Jen Nadol

 {Picture's of the books are in order of the list above from left to right}

To visit the fabulous book site I mentioned above, All About {n},  CLICK HERE

Currently Listening To:
Sweet Emmylou by Joey + Rory

Quote of the Day:
"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts,others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention."
~ Francis Bacon ~

RIGHT NOW

Right now I am currently reading 'In Other Worlds' by my long lost love, Sherrilyn Kenyon. This book has three different stories in it. Normally I don't like this kind of thing; the combining of books. I honestly didn't think that in this 304 page book I would get to know the characters, let alone that love could happen in that short amount of time. Proved wrong again by Sherrilyn Kenyon! I've already read the first story and I'm currently in the middle of the second. When I finish reading I will give you all more details on this fantastic book! 

Currently Listening To:

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - "If I Was From Paris"