My week: We had a pretty good week here. It included a yummy dinner out, macarons, bubble tea, Starbucks, a rainy afternoon, puppy playtime and puppy snuggles and a puppy bath, nice clean floors, a rainbow, ribs from Jarrod's smoker, and happy mail. It also included the single worst poop disaster in Alohi's crate I've come home to yet, but we won't get into that.
Reading: I finished both "Maisie Dobbs" (review) and "Umentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners." Both were decent reads, though I wasn't quite as impressed with "Unmentionable" as I'd hoped; the constant sarcastic tone got a bit grating. "Maisie" was good -- though a bit more historical fiction and less mystery than I expected -- and I'll be continuing the series.
Now I'm reading "The Lost City of Z" by David Grann and I'm really enjoying it. It's non-fiction that reads like a novel, which is always a plus in my book, and it's about an ill-fated expedition to the Amazon in the 1920s, something that always fascinates me. I can't imagine living in a time when parts of the world were still a mystery. I wouldn't want to be one of the explorers (it seems they died more often than not!) but I sure do like reading about them.
Watching: I finished "This Is Us" and, ohmygod, what a phenomenal show!!! We also watched a movie from the '90s, "Primal Fear," which my boss at the library recommended. It stars Richard Gere as a defense attorney, a very young Edward Norton as his client, and a very young Laura Linney as the prosecutor (and Richard's character's former lover and protegee). All is not as it seems, of course, and I was glued to the TV! THIS is the kind of thing I hope for every time I open up one of the ubiquitous (and inevitably formulaic and predictable) psychological thriller novels. Do you have any favorite '80s and '90s movies? I'd love your recommendations!
Listening to: "Crazy" by Seal. I heard this song for the first time in ages on TV last week and just had to pull it up on Spotify!
Buying: Yarn! I totally splurged and ordered a kit of five skeins of gorgeous hand-dyed yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts to make the So Faded sweater. I can hardly believe I spent so much money on yarn, but we all deserve to treat ourselves once in a while, right?
(Picture from Tanis's Etsy shop.)
Loving: My Roomba! It arrived last Tuesday and I'm pretty sure it'll go down as one of the best purchases I've ever made. The floors are SO CLEAN! And I have done ZERO WORK to make them that way!
Also loving: The absolutely gorgeous orchid my grandma sent me for Mother's Day! (I'm only mom to people with four paws, so it was so very sweet of her to think of me on Mother's Day.) I've always wanted an orchid but I'm really super great at killing plants and they're kind of pricey and not very hardy, so I've never gotten one. Any advice on orchid care would be appreciated!
Blogging:
Looking forward to: Memorial Day weekend! I could use an extra day off!
*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
I love books like Lost City of Z. Glad you are enjoying it, too.
ReplyDeletehttps://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-book-day.html
It was good -- though sadly I've heard the movie is not! It's put me in the mood to read more adventure/expedition books; luckily I have PLENTY of those on my to-read list!
DeleteHow sweet of your Grandmother. I used to be obsessed with that Seal song and since reading your post, I'm sure it will be going through my head all day!
ReplyDeleteI just listened to it on my way to work today! It's one of those songs that's so easy to sing along to!
DeleteSounds like you are busy. The yarn looks lovely. I kill all sorts of plants and have no advice to offer except: get silk flowers. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHa -- that's probably the advice I SHOULD take! ;)
DeleteI loved that movie Primal Fear...I think I have the DVD somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThis Is Us was my favorite show this past season...can't wait for them to return.
I've only read one Maisie Dobbs book, but I'm planning to read more.
Enjoy your week, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
I'm so glad my boss recommended "Primal Fear" -- I probably never would've picked it up on my own.
DeleteI can't wait for season 2 of "This Is Us" to start! At least since I binge-watched it on the DVR, I have less time to wait for the new season than most people! :)
I loved Primal Fear! The first movies that come to mind along those lines are Fight Club and The Talented Mr. Ripley, though I don't recall the details of either one, I just really remember liking them.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about the author's sarcasm in Unmentionable. It was more snarky than informative.
I've seen "Fight Club" but not "The Talented Mr. Ripley." I'll definitely check it out!
DeletePretty yarn. I had a great week of reading and a fun mother's day. Come see what I'm reading now.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? I'm so excited for it to come in the mail!
DeleteYay for This Is Us! I think it's one of the few shows to come out recently that I really love.
ReplyDeleteI have no plant advice for you. I am notorious for killing all kinds of plants, with the exception of my very hardy aloe plant! Good luck!
Yeah, I definitely didn't inherit my mom's and grandma's green thumbs. Hopefully the orchid will survive my not-so-great record with houseplants (as well as the puppy, who loves ripping leaves off things)!
DeleteThe So Faded jumper looks super cute, and the wool you chose is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteGlad it was a pretty good week!! How awesome was This Is Us?? Can't wait for next season!! The yarn is so pretty :)
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