Book Nook: Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite writers. I discovered her in early high school, and even since then I have read all of her books. She has ten to be exact. I really love them all, and can't pick favorites, but I'll do a little review on the ones that I have read more than once. Or twice. Or three times.

Dreamland

 "I was worn out, broken: He had taken almost everything. But he'd been all I'd had, all this time. And when the police led him away, I pulled out of the hands of all these loved one, sobbing, screaming, everything hurting, to try and make him stay."

This is about a girl named Caitlin. The book starts off with her "perfect" sister running away to be with her shady boyfriend. Her mother turns her attention to Caitlin, trying to make her everything that she lost with her sister Cass, like being a cheerleader. She soon meets a boy named Rogerson, who is complete trouble and turns her world upside down for the worse. I'm not going to say anymore, because I don't want to give anything away, but this one is a book that I couldn't put down.

The Truth About Forever

“It's just that...I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's the universe's way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It's how life is.” 

This one is about a girl named Macy. Her summer is looking pretty boring, because her stuck up boyfriend went away for some type of camp. She works at the library, and studies for the SAT all day. Her father has recently died, and she was there to experience every second. But then everything changes when she somehow falls into an unexpected job with a catering crew. She meets Wes who is artistic and understanding, and starts to change Macy's life by showing her not to be afraid to live.

What Happened to Goodbye

“It was so quiet, I could hear my own breathing, loud in my ears. Outside, the ocean was crashing, waves hitting sand, then pulling back to sea. I thought of everything being washed away, again and again. We make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose. But wiping the surface clean doesn't really make anything any neater. It just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go underground, that you can see who you really are.” 

McLean is an only child, who's parents got divorced recently. She moved away with her dad, who's job is to fix up falling apart restaurants, and has lived in four towns in two years. She decided to almost make it a game, changing her name and identity with whatever town she went to next. It made it easier for her to not get attached. But now, she has landed in a place where she wants to be herself, but she really doesn't even know who that is anymore.

Lock and Key

“It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching and rarely discovered--so many locks not enough keys.” 

This is about a girl named Ruby, who has not had an easy life. Her mother is frequently in and out of her life, and she has pretty much learned to live alone. Out of the blue, her sister Cora, who she has not seen in 10 years, invites her to live with her and her husband in their lavish home. It's a hard adjustment for everyone, and is kind of a Cinderella Story with a twist.

Mardi Gras Mambo: King Cake Edition

Yay! It's beginning to look a lot like my favorite time of year...Mardi Gras! Today at work my boss brought in a king cake, and I got so excited. I didn't even realize how close Mardi Gras is. Besides the parades and the partying, king cake is one of my favorite parts of the Fat Tuesday celebration. So, I have decided to dedicate this blog post to the history of king cake.

The term king cake is named after the three kings from the bible. The three colors of the sugar also represent something. Purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. The plastic baby represents baby Jesus. When my grandma was young,  they had king cake parties, and whoever got the baby in their piece had to have the next party and buy the next cake. Now a days, this isn't taken as seriously, but some families still participate in this. Before that, crews of parades would play a different game with king cakes. Who ever got the baby in their piece was the queen of that parade. Today, that definitely isn't the case, but I think it'd be fun if it was!

Makeup Bag Monday: Mascara

Every Monday I am going to look through my makeup bag and do a few reviews on my favorite products. Today, the makeup of the day is mascara. I love mascara because it makes the eyes pop so much, and it can really increase the level of drama you're going for. I have three favorite types of mascara.

1. CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Blasting Mascara

This product is awesome. This mascara is the great because it makes your lashes look super long, while keeping them full and CLUMP FREE! It’s inexpensive too! It's only about $6 and you can find it anywhere such as Target or CVS. They also have a great water proof mascara, which will stay on all day at the pool or at the beach. The only difference is the water proof is a bit more liquid based, so be careful when applying it.

2. L'oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes in Blackest Black

This mascara is good because it really pumps up the drama, and leaves your lashes feeling VERY full. It doesn't clump at all either. This is the ideal mascara if you are going out at night, because it's the most dramatic of my top three favorites. It can be found at many drug store, and it is about $7.

3. Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara Black

I recently tried this mascara for the first time and fell in love. It's great because it makes the lashes look really long, while keeping them looking natural. It's only about $9, and you can find it at CVS or any other drug stores. 100% of the ingredients are organic, and 44% of the ingredients are from organic farming!

"All They Ever See is Marilyn Monroe..."

I recently saw My Week With Marilyn. It was so amazing. It's about when Marilyn Monroe was making a movie with Sir Laurence Olivier. A young man named Colin Clark was helping with the movie. He's very interested in film, but even more fantasied with Marilyn (as most of the men on set, and everywhere else, are). Marilyn Monroe shares her secrets and the other side of Marilyn with Colin. Colin sees her ups and downs and her beauty: whether that be the blissful and careless kind, or the dark and depressing. This movie was wonderful. I am a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe, and I find her life to be very interesting. 

My Week With Marilyn Trailer

Here are a few quotes said by Marilyn Monroe:

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

“If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything.”

“No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t.”

"What do I wear in bed? Why Chanel No. 5, of course."

"A girl doesn't need anyone who doesn't need her."

"Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're going to fail at everything. So keep your head high, your chin up, and most importantly keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.” 

"When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, I'm already better then them anyway."

"I'm not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful."

Book Nook: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

So if you're a big reader like me, I am sure you have either read this, or at least heard of it. It's possibly one of the most amazing books I have ever read. If you ask anyone else who has read it, I can promise that they will say the same. It's a story about a boy. The entire book is composed of letters that he is writing to someone. You do not know who he's writing to, but it really doesn't matter. It's almost like a diary. It's about his life and his friends and family and just growing up. I highly recommend it. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

"Sam and Patrick looked at me. And I looked at them. And I think they knew. Not anything specific really. They just knew. And I think that's all you can ever ask from a friend."

"I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have."

"So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them."

What To Wear: School to Work

Since my schedule is so busy, I have work, and internship, and class. Sometimes I have all three in one day! I have to still be presentable for work and my internship, but I also want to be cute, casual and funky for class. Here's a idea how to can dress up or shag down an outfit with accessories.

Jeans, Tank

For Class

Boots, Sunglasses, Scarf, Tote Bag

For Work and Internships

Blazer, Shoes, Bag, Necklace

"One Good Thing About Music..."

Bob Marley said it best. Music really does relieve pain and can turn your entire mood around. Well, that's the case for me anyway. I love every genre of music, but my favorite type is the kind I can listen to and relax and get into the lyrics. Here are SOME of my favorite songs to relax to. Not all though, because that list would be crazy and never ending. I also added my favorite lyric from each song. 

Mellow Mood by Slightly Stoopid

"When lovers part you know the sky must cry, write you love letters til my pen runs dry."

Blackbird by The Beatles

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly."

Wet Sand by Red Hot Chili Peppers

"I saw you there, so unaware, those hummingbirds all in you hair."

Taylor by Jack Johnson

"Well mommy's little dancer has quite a little secret, working on the streets now, never gunna keep it."

Vienna by Billy Joel

"Where's the fire, what's the hurry about? You better cool it off before you burn it out."

Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer

"Strike up the band, and make the fireflies dance, silver moon's sparkling. So kiss me."

Piano Man by Billy Joel

"He says, 'Son, can you play me a melody? I'm not really sure how it goes. But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man's clothes.'"

Jolene by Ray LaMontagne

"A picture of you, holding a picture of me, in the pocket of my blue jeans. Still don't know what love means."

Thinking of You by Katy Perry

"How do I get better once I've had the best, you said there's tons of fish in the water, so the waters I will test."

Do You Realize by the Flaming Lips

"Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die? And instead of saying all of your goodbyes, let them know you realize that life goes fast, it's hard to make the good things last."

"You know I've got this theory, there are two kinds of people in the world. There are lyric people and music people. You know, the lyrics people tend to be analytical. You know, all about the meaning of the song. They're the ones you see with the CD insert out like 5 minutes after buying it, pouring over the lyrics, interpreting the hell out of everything. Um, then there’s the music people, like Brooke. Who could care less for the lyrics as long as its just got like a good beat and you could dance to it. I don’t know, sometimes it might be easier to be a music girl and not a lyric girl. But since I’m not, let me just say this. Sometimes things find you when you need them to find you, I believe that. And for me its usually song lyrics." - Peyton Sawyer, One Tree Hill