Summer Book Challenge: Week 8

via Tutu in Rose

Scoreboard:

1. Momma Sunshine @ Cross-Stitching Diva — 200 (DONE: First finisher.)
2. Heather @ A Cupcake Love Affair — 200 (DONE: Second finisher.)
3. Cristina @ Bonjour, Je M'appelle Cristina — 160
4. Nova @ My Seryniti — 160
5. Megan @ Semi-Charmed Kind of Life (host) — 145
6. Stacey @ Stacey's Daze —115
7. Amanda @ Down to Sanity — 115
8. Jessica @ Sweet Green Tangerine — 105 
9. Hannah on Goodreads — 100 
10. Jessica @ Eternally Enlisted —100
11. Joslin @ Joslin as Mrs. Williams — 80
12. Lindsay @ Lindsay in Progress — 75
13. Jo @ In Which We Start Anew — 75
14. Rebecca @ Garrulous and Bookish — 70
15. Sarah @ Books, Jeans, and Awesome — 70
16. Erinn @ It's the Journey — 60
17. Karstrel @ Infusions of Wit From an Everyday Girl — 60
18. Laura Swan — 50
19. Jen @ Grown in Southern Ground — 50
20. Book Dragon @ Book Dragon's Lair — 45
21. Kevin @ The Blog of the System — 45 
22. Angie @ Angels are Kids and Furkids — 40 
23. Patty @ Pitter from Patty — 40
24. Kelsey @ All-American Girl Living the Dream — 40
25. Jennifer S. — 35
26. Abby S. on Goodreads — 35
27. Amy @ Delightful Witticisms — 35
28. Pinar @ Pinuccia's World of Books — 35
29. Tina @ Like Ordinary Life — 30
30. Gabs @ Novel Ideas — 30
31. Jenna @ Cannery Row Reads — 25
32. Becky Ingle — 20
33. Jessica @ Random Thoughts — 20
34. Darlene @ Darlene's Book Nook — 20
35. Reading After Bedtime — 20
36. Amanda @ Amanda's Weekly Zen — 15
37. Annie @ Explanniefyfed — 15
38. Michelle @ Book Crazy — 15
39. Scribacchina @ Parole/Words — 15
40. Katrina @ Elements of Fun — 10 
41. Whitney @ The Observant Turtle — 10
42. Sarah @ The Roaring Twenties — 10
43. Erin J. on Goodreads — 5
44. Amanda @ Words From My Heart — 0
45. TiggerRD @ Hooks, Needles and Brushes — 0
46. Caroline @ Carenpants — 0
47. Michelle @ The True Book Addict — 0
    

My little (big) brother.

Michael is my little (big) brother because he's three years younger than me but about eight inches taller. That's how it usually goes, right? This little (big) brother of mine is turning 19 today, and I'm so excited I am home for his birthday! I missed his high school graduation and his 18th birthday last year because of my internship and being in Africa, so I'm excited to hang out with him today. Michael and I were those devil children that fought all the time when we were younger, but around middle school we suddenly became very close. I like it much better this way. :) So happy birthday, Michael! I love you!

Skiing in Tahoe.

Please don't steal my identity.

A few weeks ago, I photographed and shared the contents of my purse in this post. In the comments, one lovely blogger mentioned she had also seen people share the contents of their wallets. Well, that sounded fun to me, so here goes! (I think I censored all my personal information; hopefully my bank doesn't call me to approve possibly fraudulent charges in the next few days!)

First: The wallet. It was a gift from my sister and is my favorite wallet I've ever owned!

Happy Father's Day!

My dad is a pretty cool guy. He's definitely a kid at heart, and I mean that in the best way possible. He's always wanting to go off and do something with my siblings and me, whether that's taking a trip or going down to the river to shoot clay pigeons or just getting pizza and a movie. He always makes the most out of our time together when I come home, and I really appreciate that! My dad also visited me at Mizzou at least once a year, usually twice. Some of my favorite weekends in college were my sorority's Dad's Weekend celebrations. My friends were always excited for "Willie T." (inside joke) to fly in and show us a good time. So here's to you, Dad! I love you and I can't wait to see you when I get home this weekend. :)

I wasn't in a sorority freshman year, but Dad still came to a football game during Family Weekend.

Summer Book Challenge: Week 7

Photo via Joseph Robertson on Flickr

I've been such a slacker on my blog this week, I almost forgot to make the scoreboard! Wouldn't that have been a tragedy? However, I remembered at about 9 a.m. this morning and hopped to it. Here goes:

1. Momma Sunshine @ Cross-Stitching Diva — 200 (DONE: First finisher.)
2. Heather @ A Cupcake Love Affair — 200 (DONE: Second finisher.)
3. Cristina @ Bonjour, Je M'appelle Cristina — 160
4. Nova @ My Seryniti — 140
5. Megan @ Semi-Charmed Kind of Life (host) — 120
6. Stacey @ Stacey's Daze —115
7. Amanda @ Down to Sanity — 115
8. Jessica @ Sweet Green Tangerine — 85
9. Jessica @ Eternally Enlisted —80
10. Joslin @ Joslin as Mrs. Williams — 80
11. Jo @ In Which We Start Anew — 75
12. Hannah on Goodreads — 70
13. Rebecca @ Garrulous and Bookish — 70
14. Sarah @ Books, Jeans, and Awesome — 70
15. Erinn @ It's the Journey — 60
16. Karstrel @ Infusions of Wit From an Everyday Girl — 60
17. Lindsay @ Lindsay in Progress — 50
18. Laura Swan — 50
19. Jen @ Grown in Southern Ground — 50
20. Book Dragon @ Book Dragon's Lair — 45
21. Kevin @ The Blog of the System — 45 
22. Patty @ Pitter from Patty — 40
23. Kelsey @ All-American Girl Living the Dream — 40
24. Jennifer S. — 35
25. Abby S. on Goodreads — 35
26. Amy @ Delightful Witticisms — 35
27. Pinar @ Pinuccia's World of Books — 35
28. Tina @ Like Ordinary Life — 30
29. Gabs @ Novel Ideas — 30
30. Jenna @ Cannery Row Reads — 25
31. Becky Ingle — 20
32. Jessica @ Random Thoughts — 20
33. Darlene @ Darlene's Book Nook — 20
34. Reading After Bedtime — 20
35. Amanda @ Amanda's Weekly Zen — 15
36. Annie @ Explanniefyfed — 15
37. Michelle @ Book Crazy — 15
38. Scribacchina @ Parole/Words — 15
39. Angie @ Angels are Kids and Furkids — 10
40. Katrina @ Elements of Fun — 10 
41. Sarah @ The Roaring Twenties — 10
42. Erin J. on Goodreads — 5
43. Amanda @ Words From My Heart — 0
44. TiggerRD @ Hooks, Needles and Brushes — 0
45. Caroline @ Carenpants — 0
46. Michelle @ The True Book Addict — 0
    

A(n Ideal) Day in the Life

You might have noticed I finally decided to jump on the "sponsorship" train this month. I don't sell or buy ad space for my blog, but I have begun swapping buttons with some like-minded bloggers whom I think my readers will enjoy. (See all such buttons under "Blog Love" in the left sidebar.) One of these lovely ladies is Melissa from Press Play. Today, she's guest posting for me about what her ideal day in the life would look like. My creative juices weren't flowing enough for me to describe my ideal day, but I am sharing what a normal day in my life looks like on her blog today. Go check it out after you read about Melissa's perfect day here:

~ ~ ~

Hi everyone! Let me introduce myself; my name is Melissa and I blog over at Press Play. I write about many things, but mainly about reading, music, traveling, goals, and the everyday moments in life that inspire me.

Today, the lovely Megan and I decided we’d swap blogs! We have a lot in common-especially our love of books, travel, and accomplishing goals. I decided to combine all of them into my “ideal day”… If I could live one day HOWEVER I wanted, this is what I’d like it to look like:

Travel Tuesday: Week 16

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Travel Tuesday! This week's topic: What places in or near your town have you been meaning to see but haven't? Do you have a "local" bucket list? As always, you are free to write about anything travel-related; don't feel obligated to answer my prompt. And, of course, don't forget to link up below!

<a href="http://megancstroup.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel%20Tuesdays"><img src="http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w399/mcszr3/TravelTuesday3.jpg" alt="BWS tips button" width="500" height="338" /></a>

This week's Travel Tuesday topic was inspired by the Santa Fe bucket list I made last week. One week from today is the last day of my internship (eek!), so one week from tomorrow I'll be headed out of Santa Fe for good with all my worldly possessions in my little Ford Fusion. However, there are still quite a few local spots I have been meaning to hit, so I wrote the list as a way to kick my butt into gear and get around the town. I've made a small dent in the list since posting it last Monday, but there are still quite a few more things I need to fit in.

First, the items I've checked off in the past week:

1. Visit Bandelier National Monument or Pecos National Historical Park: I took advantage of the free national park admission for Get Outdoors Day on Saturday, June 9, to visit Pecos National Historical Park. I decided on this park over Bandelier because apparently most of the hiking trails in Bandelier are still closed due to the wildfires last summer, and Pecos was slightly closer to Santa Fe. The best part of my trip was when I walked into the Visitor's Center and asked the ranger where I could hike the Civil War Trail. He got so excited and told me no one has ever asked him about the Civil War Trail before; apparently most people just hike the shorter trail outside the Visitor's Center to see the pueblo ruins. I'll do a separate post on the park later this week to share more details and pictures with y'all.
2. Visit the Canyon Road art galleries: Summer Fridays started last week, which means we can leave after noon if our work is done. Yay! After grabbing lunch with a co-worker last Friday, I rode my bike out to Canyon Road to check out the art galleries and buy some cards for upcoming birthdays/holidays. Some of the galleries had some pretty neat stuff, like these windmill contraptions, but I wasn't looking to buy anything.
3. Eat at Del Charro: I did my research on Del Charro's $5 daily specials and decided Tuesday's was the best: blue corn chicken enchiladas. Several co-workers and I walked over to the restaurant at the Plaza after work last Tuesday to enjoy this fine deal. Also, when you order a margarita, they bring you the entire shaker. Can you say, "Bad news bears"?

While I did enjoy the above activities, I don't think I've been moving through my list quite fast enough. Here are the items I still need to complete:

1. Eat at Aztec Cafe.
2. Visit the Georgia O'Keefe Museum (only if I can get in for free as a New Mexico resident).
3. Eat at The Shed. (I've eaten at its sister restaurant, La Choza, and it's my favorite New Mexican joint in town. The Shed is more popular because it's on the Plaza, so we'll see how it stacks up.)
4. Get breakfast at The Pantry.
5. Order guacamole at Gabriel's. (Apparently it's the best, and they make it fresh right in front of you.)
6. Visit the Farmer's Market.
7. Get a burrito at El Tesoro.
8. Grab a slice at Backroad Pizza.
9. Eat at Tune-Up Cafe.
10. Get coffee at the Travel Bug. (I've been here before to look at the maps but have never ordered anything from the cafe.)
11. Eat at Jambo Cafe.

So, do you think I can do it? I can't wait to see your local bucket lists!

P.S. — Travel Tuesday will be taking a little break beginning next week as I move out of Santa Fe, attend a conference for my new job in Atlanta, soak up the Fourth of July holiday in Pennsylvania and then proceed to make four more cross-country trips within a month. I hope to bring it back after I get settled into my new job, but we'll see how my schedule looks! Thanks to everyone who has participated, and I still guarantee I'll be sharing my travels on my blog, just not in a themed link-up each week. Toodles!

Summer Book Challenge: Week 6

Photo via friends, lovers & chocolate

Wow! We had two participants finish in the past week. Kudos, ladies! Here's the current scoreboard:

1. Momma Sunshine @ Cross-Stitching Diva — 200 (DONE: First finisher.)
2. Heather @ A Cupcake Love Affair — 200 (DONE: Second finisher.)
3. Cristina @ Bonjour, Je M'appelle Cristina — 150
4. Nova @ My Seryniti — 140
5. Stacey @ Stacey's Daze —105
6. Megan @ Semi-Charmed Kind of Life (host) — 100 
7. Jessica @ Sweet Green Tangerine — 85
8. Jessica @ Eternally Enlisted —80
9. Joslin @ Joslin as Mrs. Williams — 80
10. Jo @ In Which We Start Anew — 75
11. Sarah @ Books, Jeans, and Awesome — 70
12. Hannah on Goodreads — 65
13. Erinn @ It's the Journey — 60
14. Karstrel @ Infusions of Wit From an Everyday Girl — 60
15. Jen @ Grown in Southern Ground — 50
16. Book Dragon @ Book Dragon's Lair — 45
17. Lindsay @ Lindsay in Progress —45
18. Kevin @ The Blog of the System — 45 
19. Kelsey @ All-American Girl Living the Dream — 40
20. Jennifer S. — 35
21. Abby S. on Goodreads — 35
22. Amy @ Delightful Witticisms — 35
23. Pinar @ Pinuccia's World of Books — 35
24. Tina @ Like Ordinary Life — 30
25. Gabs @ Novel Ideas — 30
26. Jenna @ Cannery Row Reads — 25
27. Amanda @ Down to Sanity — 20
28. Becky Ingle — 20
29. Jessica @ Random Thoughts — 20
30. Darlene @ Darlene's Book Nook — 20
31. Reading After Bedtime — 20
32. Amanda @ Amanda's Weekly Zen — 15
33. Annie @ Explanniefyfed — 15
34. Michelle @ Book Crazy — 15
35. Rebecca @ Garrulous and Bookish —15
36. Scribacchina @ Parole/Words — 15
37. Angie @ Angels are Kids and Furkids — 10
38. Katrina @ Elements of Fun — 10 
39. Patty @ Pitter from Patty — 10
40. Sarah @ The Roaring Twenties — 10
41. Erin J. on Goodreads — 5
42. Amanda @ Words From My Heart — 0
43. TiggerRD @ Hooks, Needles and Brushes — 0
44. Caroline @ Carenpants — 0
45. Laura Swan — 0
46. Michelle @ The True Book Addict — 0
    

Don't read these books ... yet.

Have you ever read a book that ruined another book for you? Earlier this week, I started Odd Thomas for my book challenge and it said who murdered Roger Ackroyd in Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd on page 4! I don't know if I ever would have read that book, but if I had wanted to, that would be very frustrating.

The book that always comes to mind when I think about spoilers, though, is The Double Bind. It gives away the entire storyline of The Great Gatsby. I know The Great Gatsby is a classic, so of course I knew some aspects of the story, but the level of detail in The Double Bind gave pretty much everything else away. In fact, when I finally read The Great Gatsby this year, I found myself constantly thinking about the parts that were revealed in The Double Bind.

I also recently finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which outlines the entirety of The Hound of the Baskersvilles in one of its chapters. It lists the suspects, the actual perpetrator, the clues, the red herrings: everything! I tried skimming over that chapter in case I ever read the Sherlock Holmes story for myself and wanted to be surprised, but I felt like I was missing out so I had to read it all.

Has a book ever ruined another book for you? Let me know so I can avoid them until I've read the other book!

A skirt for every woman.

Happy Friday! First of all, I'm featured on The Observant Turtle today as one of Whitney's June sponsors! Go check it out; her blog is awesome. Plus, I just found out we both graduated in December 2011 will practically the same degrees. She studied communications and history, and I studied journalism and history. Now if that isn't a sign we should be blogger besties, I don't know what is. :)

For the meat of this post, I'm participating in my first-ever Fashion Friday link-up with Blonde Episodes today.




Lately, I've been loving the pencil skirt trend, but I've also been wanting to branch out and get some looser styles to fill out my professional wardrobe. I was able to find a ton of adorable yet professional skirts on Shabby Apple. Fun colors, fun patterns, and you can find a skirt for any body type (though I realize all these women are about a size 2). Here are five of my favorites:

Clockwise, from top left: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Of course I included a few pencil skirts, but I'm also loving the looser style in the top two. (Is anyone surprised I picked a yellow skirt? Haha.) Which is your favorite?

The Fine Print: I am a Shabby Apple affiliate. Every time someone accesses the Shabby Apple site through a link on my blog and buys something within two weeks, I get 5 percent commission. So, if you're thinking of buying something from Shabby Apple, feel free to click one of my buttons first. ;)