When The Universe Works In Your Favor

My mom likes to joke that the universe is always against her, but every so often, I find that the universe actually works in my favor. Take some of these fine examples:

On Monday, I woke up at 4:30A for water and in my sleepy stupor, I missed my mouth and got water all over myself and my bed. Unable to fall back into a deep slumber, I looked at the clock, which was flashing 12:05A. Apparently the wind had temporarily knocked out the power, but because I was awake, I was able to fix it, not miss my alarm, and get to work on time (though reeling from lack of sleep).

Last Saturday, Michael had tweeted about BOGO BBW 3-wick candles, which is a rare thing indeed. I was planning on getting some since those are my go-to candles, but I completely forgot. I saved at least $22.50 just by having poor memory. Holler. 

In other forgetful news, I ordered Blue a new toaster since hers crapped out last weekend. The next day, I received an email informing me that my payment didn't go through. After my missing debit card fiasco last month, I had forgotten to update my Amazon account with the new card number. This was great news, since that same day Blue told me she had already ordered one.

On Easter Sunday after a visit from my mom, I decided to clean out one of my closets. I found a brand new Visa gift card that I'm sure I had gotten as a gift for someone but had misplaced. I never buy those for less than $50, so YAY for new found monies! 

Still riding on my closet clean out high, my next goal was to clear off my dining room table and sort through (and actually open) the pile of mail that was sitting there. I found the clean-out bag from Thred Up that I've been looking for since it arrived, my train pass for April that I hadn't realized they had already mailed, and two student loan settlement offers that I had assumed were just bills.

Total Money Saved/Found: ~$22,200
I'd say that's a pretty big win!

Has the universe been helping you out lately? 

Linking up with Kristin, Joey, and Amanda!

Confessions

I wasn't actually planning on posting today but once I started thinking about it, I realized I had quite a few thangs to 'fess up to. Or maybe just going-ons, but humor me, ok? 

- I went out to buy a birthday card last night and accidentally bought shoes. Actually, two pairs of shoes. They're so cute though! #buyalltheshoes

- I've all but stopped buying heels/pumps, but these are low enough to walk in and surprisingly comfortable. And the side cutout makes them perfect for spring/warmer weather. 

- I also found a present for someone while in the checkout line, and love it SO much. It was misplaced and had an initial on it, and I wanted one for myself but... lines. Plus it was at TJ Maxx, so who knows if they even had one with my initial. 

- I'm a good gift giver, and it's something I pride myself on. I wish I could share the gift box I put together last night, but I'm pretty sure the person reads my blog. 

- I've been seeing a lot of posts lately with people saying they have a lot of drafts in their blog post folder, with "a lot" being like, 20. I have 85. Eighty-freakin-five. A lot of them are music posts that I'll likely delete because apparently no one likes my music posts, but I had a lot of fun finding the songs for them. 

- I saw Batman vs. Superman on opening night. I know Erin doesn't agree, but I thought it was really good! I loved Wonder Woman. I agree that Batman's voice changer sucked. And Ben Affleck (Batfleck) is JACKED!  

- Since Nadine introduced me to Two Dots, I've become minorly OBSESSED. I was never into Candy Crush, but you lose lives in this game too, and I check constantly to see when/if I have more lives even though I know it takes 20 minutes. 

- Since Easter was on Sunday, I wasn't able to watch TWD, and then had to stay off all social media so I wouldn't see any spoilers. I didn't realize how much time I actually spent looking at social media until Monday. 

- Speaking of Easter, I had given up Coke for Lent since I was having a can a day. The last week I was craving it something awful, but now that I can have it again, I don't really want it. #breakthehabit

- The only debt I carry is student loan debt, and I am ECSTATIC that I can say I paid off two loans in full this week. There's a lot more to go but these are the first two, and I really could not be happier to finally feel like I'm making a dent in them. 

What are you confessing today? 

Share it with Nadine and Kathy! 

How I Do: Grocery Shopping

Back in February during the Wallet Watch, I successfully spent less than $60 on groceries for the entire month. A few people asked how I did it, so today I'm pulling open the cupboards and sharing my grocery tips. 

1. Know what you already have
I take stock of what's in my refrigerator and pantry before I go to the grocery store or attempt to meal plan. 

Don't judge my Ragu- pasta sauce is good to have on hand in a pinch!

2. Make A List

I keep a running grocery list on my refrigerator, and update as I go. As soon as I run out of something, I write it down so I don't forget. 

3. Check the Store Circular

Does anyone even look at these anymore? I look at it online. If I see things I would normally buy on sale, I buy it now, even if I haven't run out of it completely yet. 

4. Coupons! 

I love coupons. I try to make sure to buy the newspaper every Sunday and cut out coupons for myself and Blue. I also save digital coupons on to my loyalty cards at my grocery store, CVS, Rite Aid, etc. One thing I keep in mind though: I don't cut coupons/buy products that I wouldn't normally buy or use just because I have a coupon. That's a waste of money. 

Restaurant coupons, my coupons, Blue coupons

5. Get Cash Back Using Ibotta
Ibotta is a savings/cash back app. Unlock rebates on products by answering a poll, watching a minute long video, or reading a tip/recipe. If you purchase the products, scan the barcode and then take a pic of your receipt to get your rebate within 48 hours. Or you can get cash back by simply linking your loyalty card if you shop at their preferred partners. You can either request cash back through Paypal ($20.00 min) or to purchase a gift card to stores like Amazon, Best Buy, Sephora, and more. Use my referral link to get $10 after you join and make your first purchase :) (not sponsored- I just really like this app!)

Screenshot from my phone

Other Helpful Tips: 

6. Don't go to the store hungry.

7. Limit your shopping trips- I go once a week or less.

8. Meal plan- save time AND money! 

9. Sunday morning is possibly the busiest time to shop, and I'm not a fan of crowds or being rushed, especially if I'm using coupons- I don't want to be "that" person! I go on Tuesday or Thursday evenings. 

10. Check out your local farmer's markets for cheaper (and oftentimes better quality) fresh produce. 

What strategies do you use to save on groceries? 

Friday Favorites- Out Like a Lion

Happy Friday! Who's at work today? The first thing I heard this morning was that those bankers on Wall Street and I-bankers in general (who are off today) average income is $404,000. Then that they were whining about not get another day off until May. That's funny, I don't make nearly that much, and can't take off until May either. And really, that's only a month away. Stop your bitching! #fwp Anyway, if you are at work today (like me), I hope the day goes quickly and that you have a great Easter/regular weekend! Now on to my weekly favorites with Amanda!

Favorite Song: Love is- Inas X

Favorite Reads:

• First and foremost, Chipotle is giving away FREE guacamole. Get on that! 
• Close second, it's Ulta's 21 days of beauty until April 2nd! 
• This Democratic Senator Twitter tirade on Trump (say that 5xfast!) 
• Anyone out there miss That 70's Show? Looks like Mr. Kutcher is at it again with a new show to debut on Netflix on April 1st. 
• Not sure how I stumbled on this, but I absolutely love it. The Complete Guide To Not Giving a F*ck

Favorite Idea: Easter Beer Hunt!

"My mom is smart.She could tell that her kids enthusiasm for the annual easter egg hunt was waning.When hard boiled eggs lost their luster, she introduced candy-filled plastic eggs.As the kids got older she would fill the plastic eggs with coins, and then dollar bills.But when we hit our 20’s, the Easter egg magic was gone.One year, after a nice Easter breakfast, Mom announced, “Time for the Easter Hunt!”Jim and I groaned. But our exaggerated disinterest evaporated when Mom produced the baskets.She set out a bunch of empty cardboard 6 pack holders, filled with plastic green grass.“The front yard is filled with micro-brews,” she announced.” “Each of you is responsible for finding 6 beers. There are wine coolers and cans of Ensure for Grandpa. You can trade bottles after the hunt is over.”And so the Easter Beer Hunt was born. And what was a withering tradition gained a new fervor."

Favorite Moments:
Receiving an email telling me my book was available at the library.
Having two wishlist books become available on Paperback Swap, and promptly ordering 3 more.
Going to see Batman vs. Superman tonight!
Ordering tickets for the Go-Go's Farewell Tour!
Getting my "Big Fat Check" from E-Bates :)

Favorite Quote: 

Favorite Video: Only in NJ! The Easter Bunny brawl at the mall!

Favorite Funnies:

Soundtrack of my Life

I saw this circling the interwebs and thought it would be fun to *attempt* my own soundtrack.  I was trying to compile my personal soundtrack in 3 songs/decades, but that wouldn't be a full description, so I'm going to try to condense that to my Top 15. 

As an 80's kid, I was addicted to The Elephant Show, along with Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Reading Rainbow, and Sesame Street. 

I took dance classes for 10 years, starting when I was 3-ish. "Hey Mickey" was one of my dance songs, however the earliest one I actually remember was Madonna's "Lucky Star." 

Middle school consisted of a lot of Mariah Carey. "Fantasy" was the one I remember the most vividly. Obviously we knew all the dance routines to all the songs as well! 

The first CD I ever purchased was Boys II Men, followed by The Spice Girls. (I really wanted the Green Day "Dookie" soundtrack, but my mom wouldn't let me buy it.) "Spice World" was taking over. I wanted to be Baby Spice, even though I dressed more like Sporty Spice.

High school must be broken down by year. During my Freshman year, the kids from Dawson's Creek were also starting high school. My friends and I would be on the phone or at each other's houses to watch every week. I was a big Dawson/Joey fan for the record. 

By Sophomore year I had joined Marching Band, which continued for next 3 years. The first band competition I remember being in was held at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (ya know, where they had the Superbowl in 2014). We played selections from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

In my Junior year, I became co-captain of my tennis team. I remember riding the school bus to tennis tournaments and singing Nelly's "Country Grammar" terribly and at the top of our lungs. 

Nelly Furtado hit the scene in 2000. I hated "I'm Like A Bird" because it was obnoxiously overplayed; I couldn't get away from it at all. But then I really liked her second song and video, and third, and then became a super fan and bought everything she ever released. Also, the title of this blog is a song lyric from "Trynna Find A Way." The full line is "Faster than forever in the blink of an eye." Anyway, all through high school my band director (who was also the director of the drama club which I was a part of) wanted me to come out of my shell, but I was always too nervous in auditions/groups of people/on stage. Well, I popped that cherry my senior year of high school. I auditioned for and performed in our first Talent Show with Nelly Furtado's "Turn Off The Light." 

Senior year gets another one because Vitamin C's "Graduation" was our song (along with everyone else who graduated between 1999-2002). 

I would be remiss not to mention Backstreet Boyz/N*Sync/Jessica Simpson/Britney Spears/98 Degrees, who would need to be included in my soundtrack because of the sheer number of times I've heard all of their songs. (Also, I was team N*Sync.) 

1999: the first Z-100 Zootopia concert. I was there!

The college years 
I did a pre-college program for multicultural students to get "acclimated" to college life and while earning credits. This song defined that program for me. Truth Hurts- Addictive was in fact, addictive. This is also the time I was introduced to hoop earrings, thongs, and liquid eyeliner. 

Linkin Park- In The End was on repeat blasting from my college dorm's windows much to the annoyance of my fellow residents. 

My freshman year I was introduced to Bhangra, a traditional North Indian style of dance, by my ex-best friend's sister who found me and needed an extra person to be in her dance group, even though I had zero experience. It stuck with me. There was no bhangra team, so my (white) now ex-boyfriend and I created one, and later choreographed all the dances and put together all of the music. We performed in cultural events and competitions. You can see me on the left in the purple outfit.  I can't find the video where I was a human jump-rope, but there's a small stunt at the 7:55 mark. 

This song will always be a reminder of my Spring Break senior year, as it was playing constantly both here and in Puerto Rico, where we went: Chris Brown- Run It

Post college was kind of hard. I had recently broken up with my college boyfriend and got a job out in the middle of the sticks, PA. I was lonely, bored, and far away from all of my friends, who mostly moved towards NYC. This time period was characterized by Nelly Furtado's Folklore album (specifically "Try"), Evanescence's Fallen and The Open Door, Halestorm, and Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone." 

I don't really know what song(s) I would use to characterize the last few years, so I'll just fast foward to last year-today, when Ed Sheeran won me over with "Thinking Out Loud." 

What are some songs you would include in your soundtrack?

Linking up with Andrea and...

Easter Confessions

No preamble, just a few confessions!

I hate Cadbury Creme eggs, jelly beans, Peeps... basically any and all Easter/Spring related candy.

We used to get Good Friday off at work, but last year they made it a "Floating Holiday." I can't take off now because 10 other people in my dept (of 20) already claimed it. I can assure you nothing will be getting done that day.

Blue's family calls Easter "Eat-ster" because that is all they do the entire day. Her aunt makes a HUGE feast and they play games and it's glorious. I'm super sad that I won't get to participate this year because my mom wants me all to herself. I hope Blue saves me some leftovers!

I still thought it was really funny when her aunt made the "kids" do an Easter egg hunt last year. These "kids" are almost in their 20's now, but the littlest cousin is 10, so she still makes them do it. It's pretty hilarious, especially since she's not so great at "hiding" them.

The only downside is that I can no longer steal the candy (I still like chocolate!).

The Easter bunny failed to make it to my house every single year growing up. I would leave carrots out and everything and somehow he skipped me! But my mom always set up a scavenger hunt for me and would laugh take pictures of me doing ridiculous things like hop on one foot while singing "Little Bunny Foo Foo" to get my next clue.

I don't miss being forced into poufy ugly dresses.

those sleeves though...

I don't remember the last time I dyed Easter eggs, and I don't remember ever liking it. Wasting eggs never really appealed to me. I'd rather eat them. Preferably scrambled, with ketchup.

I also don't remember every being afraid of the Easter bunny, but I think it's pretty hilarious when little kids have a shitfit taking picture with him at the mall.

How creepy is this "Bunny" though?!

What are you confessing today? 

Linking up with Nadine and Kathy!

Spring Goals

Heyy-o! Remember that time two months ago when I made all those goals and then only really accomplished one (mostly... the Wallet Watch)? Well, that's not exactly true... I mean I started on some of the other ones, I just didn't finish them. And since I seem to be better at seasonal goals than monthly ones, I figure this is the perfect time to tackle those once and for all as well. So here are my goals for Spring:

Closet. Cleanout.
Like I said, I started some of those other goals. As in, I picked out stuff to send and finally ordered and received my ThredUp Cleanout Bag. I even took "before" closet pics! All I need to do is wash the stuff and put it in the bag. Easy peasy.

Download Microsoft Word/Office/Whatever
This goes with that resume goal from February. You see, when I went to update said resume, I realized my new laptop did not come with Microsoft. I work at a college, so I'm going to talk to IT about getting a free version, otherwise I'll just buy it.

Send in my passport registration
I wanted an international vacation.... until I realized that my passport had expired. Woops. The it took me two months to get the damn passport picture. Now I just need to send it in, and ya know... get it back.

Get back in the habit of meal planning... at least once a month. 
I think I was a little over-zealous in my goal to meal plan every week. Sometimes you need to scale down, and that's the plan this season.

Try a new recipe once a month
In keeping with the goal above, I have a lot of saved recipes that I really want to try, so hopefully I can do at least one a month,... ya know, if I plan it out :)

Finish the craft I started 3 (4?) months ago
This is just silly. I painted an initial to go over my bar area at least 3 months ago, and I wanted to put corks around it. I even picked out and separated the damn corks. I literally just need to hot glue them on, but I've hesitated because I don't know if I want them on the initial, or on the circle surrounding the initial. But really... who CARES?! Just get it done, Dani. Ugh.

Fix Screen Door
The screen door to my back porch has been broken due to a certain adorable Godson for almost two years. I asked the landlord, and he said it was my responsibility. The time has come.

Spring Shearing
I normally let my hair grow out in fall/winter to keep my neck warmer in the cold winter months. But it grows pretty fast and it's thick, and I'm getting too lazy to straighten on the regular, so off it must go.

Pay Off One Loan
A trade-off. And one I'm not too keen on doing, to be honest. I recently received a letter asking for/offering to receive a lump sum instead of the monthly payments. While I was in grad school part time last year I didn't have to pay my student loans, and I've been squirreling away that money in order to be able to buy a car. But... then this opportunity came up. I mean, it would be nice to not have this loan looming over my head, but it's not the only student loan I have (long story for another day).

Administrative Crap
My iPhone hasn't been backed up in over a month because I know there are hacks to get rid of stuff on it instead of paying for more storage. Remember that time I lost my debit card? I never updated my Hulu account with the new number. And Amazon just sent me an email saying that I needed to update my "Kindle for PC" even though I don't use Kindle on my PC. I'm sure there are more, but these are the three that I remember right now.


Do you work better with seasonal or monthly goals? Are you tackling any Spring goals? 

Sample Overload

Even with awesome apps like Spotify and Songza Google Play Music, I still listen to the radio quite a bit, particularly when I'm commuting. And lately, I've been hear a LOT of songs that I used to love being sampled. I know this isn't anything new, per se, but I think the issue is that I remember when some of the originals came out, so it's more annoying to me. Like hey artists, why you gotta ruin a good thing? I feel like the most obvious offenders are Flo Rida ("Right Round" vs. Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)" and "Sugar" vs. Eiffel 65 "Blue" to name a few) and Pitbull ("The Anthem" vs. Enur's "Calabria" and "Feel This Moment" vs. A-Ha's "Take On Me"). But here are a few others that have made me slightly rage-y and immediately change the dial:

Baby Bash- Suga Suga vs. Robin Schultz- Sugar

Jackson 5- ABC vs. Sigala- Easy Love (Original Mix...hahaha)






Duran Duran- Hungry Like the Wolf vs. 5 Seconds of Summer- Hey Everybody!






Etta James- Something's Got a Hold of Me vs. Avicii- Levels  vs. Flo Rida- Good Feeling

Slick Rick- Hey Young World vs. TLC- Creep vs. Zendaya ft. Chris Brown- Something New (obviously NOT something new...) 








In case you wanted more, there's a huge list right here.
Have you noticed this lately? Does it bother you as much as it bugs me?

My Top 10 Spring Essentials

Anyone else feeling those warmer temps coming their way? I dare say, I don't think we'll be getting any more snow in my parts, and I'm super excited for spring to make it's grand appearance! As I'm switching out the closet, here are some things I'll be keeping handy and wearing regularly.

My Spring Essentials by lildesiqua featuring Marc Jacobs

Hunter Boots: Any rain boots will do, but I really like these because I feel like they're sturdier than some of their less expensive counterparts.

A strong umbrella: Walking to work is like walking directly through a wind tunnel ,so this is a must have for me. And April showers, right?

Sperry top-sliders: A classic. (And I just bought my first pair last year so I'm looking forward to wearing them!)

All the cardigans/lightweight sweaters/hoodies: I wear layers year round, but especially in spring/fall when it's usually cooler in the mornings/evenings and I'm commuting to work. Plus, cardigans are work place friendly, at least in my office.

Tissues scarves: Again, protection from the wind tunnel and a perfect layering piece.

Colorful pants: I wear a LOT of neutral colors because they're easier to match and perfect for work, but spring makes me want to bust out all the colorful pants. Or, all 2 that I own.

Brighter lipstick/gloss: I don't wear a lot of make-up, and usually my lips just have chapstick on in the cold, winter months. But just like my nails, I like to go a bit brighter in spring.

Spring nails: Dark nail polish take over my digits in winter, but in spring I'm all about the lighter pinks, purples, and pastels.

Floral scents/perfume: Daisy is my old standby and has been for a few years, but the fresh, slightly floral scent is perfect for spring.

Happy, upbeat tunes: In winter I'm sluggish and in hibernation mode, and usually my personal soundtrack reflects that. Warmer temps make me want to move more, and I need upbeat, happy tunes to get me up and keep me going. These are my top 10 at the moment:

What are some of your essentials for a happy spring? 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends! You know what's really weird? When you get a LinkedIn request from someone who you knew and were close with once upon a time but now you're not (not even on FB), are not frenemies,... in fact might be enemies if you cared enough about them or thought about them at all. Like- why are you requesting me? I don't want to be in your network. I don't want to be in your "squad." I don't want to coexist in the the same world as you because you're a pretty scummy person but we're cool since we don't interact and I never have to see you.  Let's just keep it that way, yes? #Denied. It's almost as weird as getting a friend request from your ex's mom. Almost.  /rant. Let's get this weekend started with Amanda and some favorites from this week! Oh, and don't forget to "spring forward" on Sunday! Yay to more daylight hours!

Favorite Song: This song is all over the radio these days an I'm sure I'll get tired of it sooner rather than later, but it's so damn catchy! Megan Trainor- No

Favorite Cocktail: In case you missed it yesterday, I shared this amazing Rumchata Hot Chocolate recipe I got from Monica before it gets too warm out to drink it!

Favorite Find: I just learned about Litcube from Brittany during the Show Us Your Books linkup, and I'm so glad I did! I just signed up for one of their Limited Edition Gilmore Girls Boxes!

Favorite Links:

• Did you know there's going to be a new addition (literally) to the Bridget Jones' series? I just found out that "Bridget Jones' Baby" is coming out this September!

• The topic of blogging, "How to Blog" posts, blogging solely for money and/or followers came up in length during my blate last weekend. There seems to be a growing lack of personality in Blogland today: the rants, the daily life posts, the opinions, the everything in-between posts. The lack of creativity. Lindsay posted about it this week and hit the nail on the head. 

• It sucks when friendships end. Sometimes it's gradual, sometimes it's not. Some people just ghost as daily life takes its toll and you grow apart, while others need to have a straightforward "break up talk." Cat wrote about it in a clear way that really struck a chord with me. 

• I think I've seen this before but I can't remember for sure so I'm sharing it again, just in time for St. Patty's Day. Because who wouldn't want to receive a mystery potato or glitter bomb?! 

Favorite Lust: This is adorable, inexpensive, and useful.

{Available here}

Favorite Funnies:

Stuff and Things from the Weekend

Oh hey, it's Thursday and I'm just now posting about the weekend. My bad. Normally I would skip it altogether, but I hung out with my favorite bloggy peeps and cooked things and "it didn't happen unless there are pics" or something. So...

On Friday night, I went out with Blue's family because her niece was on break from college, and we went to our favorite pizza place, Patsy's Tavern. This place is tucked away on some non-descript back street in Paterson, NJ. Honestly, you wouldn't notice it unless you already knew about it. These types of hidden gems are my absolute favorite. Patsy's has been around for at least 70 years, as Blue and her sister mentioned that their parents used to go there when they were teenagers. It' old-school Italian and though I'm sure all of their food is delicious (telling from the aromas and the smiles on my fellow patrons' faces), I can personally attest to their ridiculously good mussels marinara and bar pies (pizza). Everything comes out piping hot, the cheese is all gooey, and they don't skip on sauce or serving sizes. 

We planned poorly on Saturday. We decided it was a good idea to go to Costco in the middle of a Saturday. (I actually questioned this plan on the Wednesday before, but we couldn't think of a more suitable time to go). DO NOT DO THIS. After several rounds of shopping cart roulette and snaking through the aisles trying desperately to avoid other people's carts and screaming children, we got out somewhat successfully. Also, the customer service people were awesome and took back my too-big Hunter boots that I ordered online without any issues. So yay for that. 

Saturday Night I met up with Alyssa, Michael, and Jenn for pottery painting and dinner at Doin' Dishes and Casa Piquin, respectively. I of course forgot to take pics of the pottery-ness, because I was way too focused on trying to find a  suitable piece to pain and then actually attempting to paint it, but Jenn took some. I'm sure my piece looks like crap (it's still being fired) but it was fun to catch up and do something creative nonetheless. Thing I learned this weekend: I do not like fried ice cream. Everyone ordered it so I sampled Jenn's, and... I think it's a texture thing. I didn't like the crunchy coating. I also thought the coating tasted like coconut which I hate, so that may have had something to do with it. 

This week was Blue's turn to choose Sunday dinner, so we kept it super simple with chicken strips and "dem wedges" (potato wedges). They are seriously so tasty and so easy. Cut your potatoes in quarters (we left the skin on), throw them in a Ziploc baggy with a bunch of spices and shake, and pop them in the oven for 45 minutes. Boom. (I also love the recipe comic format in the above link- so much more fun!)

On Sunday nights we have a few neighbors over to watch The Walking Dead. Usually someone makes a warm cocktail, so I decided to try this recipe for Rumchata Hot Chocolate. Again, ease is the name of the game. Chop up some Andes candies, throw a bunch of dairy products and Rumchata in the crock pot on high for 2 hours, and you're done. And it's delicious. Sidenote: it was Blue's first time trying Rumchata and she guzzled two glasses on the rocks before we even started. I've created a rum-onster. 

Linking up with Kristin and Joey for Stuff and Things! 

Show Us Your Books: February Edition

It's time again for my favorite link-up of the month! This month's reads were all courtesy of Netgalley. A quick note about Netgalley though- they change up the archive dates on a whim and never let you know. As a slow reader, I write the archive dates down to keep track. I read in order of the soonest archive date initially listed and review in the same order.And then sometimes I go back to post the review, only to find that it has already been archived. You have to keep checking to make sure they didn't move it up which is kind of a pain. Anyone else experience this? Just curious. Anyway- onward with this month's reading! 

Missing Pieces- Heather Gudenkauf: 4 Stars

Overall, I liked the pace of this book. I had a good idea of "whodunit" about halfway through, which would normally make me give a lower rating, however there were enough additions and twists to keep me on my toes and second guess myself, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Another aspect that kept me guessing and added a layer of mystery were the emails featuring the nursery rhyme with a twist. They were dark and creepy and definitely made me nervous for Sarah, even though she shook them off. I didn't particularly like Sarah because her questions came across as accusations rather than morbid curiosity or concern, and her timing seemed very inappropriate and inconsiderate considering the nature of her trip there. Also, her motives were insincere. She wanted to know for herself, not to clear anyone's name or find justice. I also didn't love her relationship with Jack. They certainly didn't act or talk like they were married for 20 years. They didn't seem to have sort of intimacy, trust, or comfort in one another. What DID Sarah know about his past? And why would he shut down every single time she tried to talk to him about... well, anything really? They just came across as very awkward. (view spoiler)

The Girl in the Maze-  R.K. Jackson: 2 Stars

I wanted to love this book, and it started off promising, but I lost some interest along the way. There were a lot of extraneous characters introduced in the beginning that served no real purpose and just confused me with all of the names. Also, there were a lot of ideas that seemed unfinished. I got a serious chill factor from certain imagery, but the stories and questions associated with them were never explained.

I loved the descriptions of Shell Heap in the beginning. The lush forests, the pristine dunes, the village where the people lived- I saw it and felt like I was there. I also really liked learning about the Geechee people and some aspects of their culture and wish there was more of that. I was surprised by the ending though, which is why I'm giving it two stars.

The Passenger- Lisa Lutz: 4 Stars

Everything I could possibly ask for in a psychological thriller!
It had me guessing until the very last sentence. And I still don't know what to think of Blue!

Lutz spends a good bit of time introducing us to Tanya and had me asking questions from early on, but I instantly liked Tanya. Even though she picks up and runs as soon as her husband dies, you can tell she's pretty new to all this by the sheer number of mistakes she makes, which make her all the more likable. I really like the emails between "Jo" and "Ryan" as well, as they gave tiny snippets of what the big secret from her past might be. A fast-paced, well-thought-out, page-turner that certainly kept me on my toes!

(I still don't really know why it's titled The Passenger though. )


Anything For You- Kristan Higgins: 4 Stars

First of all, I've only read one other work by Higgins, The Best Man, and that was a long time ago. I remembered some of the characters and were happy to see them here again.

I really liked how Higgins started with the proposal and then took us into the past leading up to that point, and then brought us back to the present. It instantly drew me into the story. It also made me realize why Jessica declined and seemed so flippant about the whole situation. I instantly despised her attitude, but once I saw how they got to that point, I actually felt for her and even began to genuinely like her.

I loved Connor from the beginning. His fumbling attempts to try to win her over, even though she had said no to him, were endearing. Though he tried to go on a few (unsuccessful) dates, he kept her in his periphery. He cared about her enough to take things slowly, and even attempted to "fix" the one thing that Jessica kept using as an excuse as to why they couldn't be together.

Also, I also thought that Connor's sister and her husband were hilarious, and a breath of fresh air from the back and forth between Connor and Jessica's on-again, off-again relationship.

The Restaurant Critic's Wife- Elizabeth La Ban: 3 stars

I liked the story for the most part, but I felt like the reader was beaten over the head with the idea that Lila was bored, deprived of friendships and normal adult socialization, and wanted to get back to work, at least part time. Also, the side story with Lila and Sebastian and Lila and Tom didn't really pan out; they seemed underdeveloped and a bit forced.