Yarn Along: "Black Rabbit Hall" and Cap Sleeve Lattice Top

Yarn Along is a wonderful weekly link-up hosted by the Small Things blog about two of the best things in life, reading and knitting.

I'm so excited to be writing my first Yarn Along post in two months! Jarrod and I are in the process of moving from Ohio to Hawaii -- with a month-long pit-stop at my parents' in Colorado for me while Jarrod takes a class -- and between move preparations, selling our house and getting to Colorado, there wasn't any time for knitting. I had planned to pick out a short-sleeve sweater pattern once I got here, but I couldn't settle on a pattern or a yarn. Finally I landed on one and ordered some yarn, and it's such a relief to be knitting again!

Reading: I've only got a couple pages left of "A Gathering of Shadows," book two in V. E. Schwab's Shades of Magic trilogy. I enjoyed the first book, but I liked this one even better despite the fact that it's less action-heavy. I got a much greater sense of the world our characters inhabit (magical, beautiful Red London, one of four parallel universe Londons with varying degrees of magic). Later today I'll start "Black Rabbit Hall," a gothic British tale I've been looking forward to. (But it's been so long since I requested it from the library -- my parents' library, that is -- that I barely remember what it's about! Sometimes that's the best kind of reading, though.)

Knitting: The Cap Sleeve Lattice Top by Purl Soho, knit in Knit Picks Comfy. I've only worked with cotton yarn once before, but I thought it would be best for Hawaii; wool isn't exactly the fiber of choice when it's in the 80s every day. The body of the sweater will be navy blue and the cream yarn is for the lace pattern on the chest and shoulders. It's coming along well so far; since this part is just straight stockinette stitch it's perfect TV knitting. I'm a little nervous because this'll be my first experience with mattress stitch. Every time I've had to seam something in the past I just winged it (and hated every second), but now I'll finally have to buckle down and learn the professional method of sewing knitted pieces together. Eek!

Book Review: The Blue Bath by Mary Waters-Sayer

"The Blue Bath" by Mary Waters-Sayer
First published in 2016
320 pages
My rating: 2.5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Short Of It:
I was a little disappointed in this book, about the consequences of rekindling of a decades-old love affair. The writing was great -- and the cover is gorgeous -- but the plot fell flat for me.

The Long Of It:
Mentions of Paris, London and art are just about enough to get me to pick up a book, and when you add in a pretty cover like this one, it seals the deal. Unfortunately, "The Blue Bath" didn't live up to my expectations. You know you're in trouble when you start skimming halfway through.

Kat Lind is a fortyish wife and mother living in London, and she has a secret: she occasionally allows herself to pull out and savor memories of a passionate love affair she had with a young painter when she was studying abroad in Paris at 19, a romance that, for some reason, ended badly. Twenty years later, chance reunites Kat and Daniel, and thus begins chapter two of their relationship.

Unfortunately for Kat, she's married to a well-known businessman and they have a young son. And it turns out that Daniel has been painting sensuous pictures of 19-year-old Kat for the past two decades -- now on display at a London gallery -- and she's terrified someone will put two and two together and uncover all her secrets. The end.

Well, not quite. There's a little more meat to the plot than that, but not enough to ever really pique my interest. Stories of infidelity and old flames rekindled are nothing new, and I didn't find anything special about this one to set it apart. Worse, I never warmed up to Kat and I really didn't care how things worked out for her. In fact, I sometimes disliked her. Not to get on a high horse here, but as a wife who has managed to avoid cheating on her husband, I need some incentive to empathize with an adulteress who sometimes comes off as self-absorbed and needy, and I never learned enough about Kat to relate to her.

Harsh, I know, but when you have a character-driven novel like this one, it's important for the reader to feel a connection with the protagonist and that just wasn't there for me; I wish the author had spent more time delving into Kat's life, aside from her relationship with Daniel. I read about her for 320 pages but never really got to know her. I also wanted more information about how Daniel spent the last two decades; for instance, references were made to scars on his wrists but never expounded upon. And it's alluded to that Kat's marriage is on the rocks, but the author never tells us why.

Mary Waters-Sayer is definitely in command of the English language and her writing was beautiful. I also enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel, especially the Paris passages. The bare bones of "The Blue Bath" definitely had potential. Unfortunately it just wasn't enough to support a rather uninspired plot.

Monday Musings from Colorado #4

Highlight of the week: I spent four days in Dallas visiting my best friend, Katie, last week. I only get to see her a couple times a year so it's a big treat! We had a fun few days; we visited Fort Worth to see the stockyards and the daily longhorn cattle drive, we went to the Dallas Zoo where Katie's a zookeeper, and we traveled to Waco to visit Magnolia Market (of the TV show "Fixer Upper"), the Dr. Pepper Museum and Waco Mammoth National Monument (Columbian mammoth fossils -- so cool!). Plus, Katie is fostering two baby raccoons that were displaced by construction at the zoo, and they were just about the most adorable things ever. Katie was also dog-sitting a goldendoodle puppy, so it was just cuteness all around!

Reading: I finished "A Murder in Time" by Julie McElwain and liked it pretty well; it was a page-turner, which is makes for great travel reading. The writing was nothing amazing but I enjoyed the plot, which involves time travel to 1815 England and a series of grisly murders. I also read "The Blue Bath" by Mary Waters-Sayer, an advance-read book I had from NetGalley that came out last Tuesday. It was ok... I didn't love the plot, though I did find it to be very well written. And last night I started "A Gathering of Shadows" by V.E. Schwab, book two in her Shades of Magic series, which features four parallel universe Londons. I liked "A Darker Shade of Magic" (review) and I have high hopes for book two!

Knitting: Finally, something to report on the knitting front! I ordered some yarn from Knit Picks before I headed to Dallas and it arrived on Saturday. Some of the yarn will be turned into a short-sleeve sweater, the Cap Sleeve Lattice Top by Purl Soho. I'm so excited to have a project back on the needles!

Buying: I ordered some earrings from one of my favorite Etsy shops, happyment, and they arrived the other day. This is my second pair of earrings from the shop and I absolutely LOVE them. I get compliments every time I wear the pair I bought several months ago. They're a bit of a splurge, but they're so well made and so pretty! Here's a picture of my new earrings (stolen from the shop listing).

Eating: Katie took me to Velvet Taco, an awesome little gourmet taco shop in Dallas. I had the annatto shredded pork taco and the spicy chicken tikka taco, along with a corn cup, something I'd never even heard of before but which was absolutely freakin' delicious. We also went to Sprinkles Cupcakes, one of the original cupcakeries and something Katie and I do every time I visit her in Dallas. It was Cinco de Mayo so I got a yummy margarita cupcake.

Watching: "The Big Short." The movie was cleverly done and the plot -- based on the 2008 housing crisis and crash of the big banks -- was fascinating and disturbing.

Looking forward to: Jarrod's been in Florida for a month-long training course for the job he'll be doing in Hawaii, and he gets back this weekend! Also, my little brother graduates college -- my alma mater, Colorado State -- on Saturday!

*

I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Book Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

"Jane Steele" by Lyndsay Faye
First published in 2016
416 pages
My rating: 5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
"Reader, I murdered him," instead of "Reader, I married him." That about sums it up.

The Long Of It:
I loved "Jane Eyre" when I read it in high school, but I may just love this re-telling even more. I mean, Jane Eyre, vigilante serial killer? Lovely prose? What's not to like?

Like her counterpart, Jane Steele is an unfortunate orphan who attends a terrible school, then becomes a governess and falls in love with her emotionally tormented employer. But Jane Steele's temperament is not quite like her idol Jane Eyre's (the main character of her favorite novel); it's decidedly more modern in many ways.

Jane Steele is incredibly intelligent, cunning, devious and inventive, and she possesses a fighter's spirit. She's a master liar. She commits her first murder at age 9. She's also fiercely loyal and kind and finds solace in the company of horses. Faye has given us an extremely dynamic, lovable but flawed main character.

Of herself and Charles Thornfield (her Mr. Rochester, a.k.a. the haunted, agonized master of the house), Jane Steele says, "...even if we were both poorly stitched together creatures made of scar tissue and regrets, I wanted only to find a way to live in his world more fully."

I appreciated the myriad ways Faye worked the original "Jane Eyre" into her new story (though I definitely don't think you'd have to know "Jane Eyre" to enjoy "Jane Steele") and I loved that she kept somewhat true to the writing style of the 19th century -- and I was enthralled by her beautiful command of the English language.

I also enjoyed the completely unexpected -- and edifying -- element of Sikh culture in the novel. Charles Thornfield, the man who hires Jane as a governess for his young charge, and his household staff hail from the Punjab region of India. I was only vaguely aware of the terrible wars in the 1800s between the Sikhs and the British (the East India Company) and I enjoyed learning about an interesting culture I knew next to nothing about.

"Jane Steele" was a completely fun and engaging read, but it also had its share of serious, poignant moments. It was a tale of overcoming all odds, a romance, and even a mystery, and it featured a totally badass heroine. I commend Lyndsay Faye for this awesome re-telling of a classic romance that never fails to pay homage to its inspiration, Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre."

I'll leave you with another gorgeous quote from the book that exemplifies both Jane Steele's spirited narration and Lyndsay Faye's beautiful writing: "If you expected to find yourself in a Gothic snowscape, reader, ears tickling with spectral whispers as the plucky protagonist breaks into a cottage haunted by the shades of her past, regrettably you are mistaken. The door was already unlocked."

I Judge Books By Their Covers: "Kitchens of the Great Midwest"

 Hello, my name is Lindsay, and I judge books by their covers.

Confession: I always judge books by their covers. A book's appearance -- from the artwork to the font to the colors to the texture to the weight and cut of the pages (I like the deckled-edged ones) -- is very important to me. And there are certain kinds of covers I like and certain ones I'd never pick up unless I was already planning to read the book. It's fascinating to see how covers change between editions -- hardcover and paperback, or U.S. and international -- and it's so fun to see who prefers what!

U.S. hardcover // U.K. hardcover

U.S. paperback // U.K. paperback

I loved this charming and unique book (review) and I loved the cover of the U.S. hardcover when I read it. But the paperback versions are about to come out and I thought it'd be a perfect time to do a cover battle!

This is a tough one for me because I like all the covers well enough. If you've been reading these posts, you know I like pops of color on cover art, especially eye-catching red, and these all have plenty of red.

I like the whimsy of the U.K. paperback with it's kitchen utensil constellations and what looks like gold foil font, but I miss the pepper element of the other covers. The U.S. paperback is a simple, less-is-more cover, which I like, but when the more-is-more covers are so gorgeous, it's hard not to favor those.

It's a difficult choice between the two hardcovers and I love them both. I really like how the U.S. cover features the main "ingredient" of each chapter and it's just so darn pretty. But... something about the pepper-filled U.K. cover just keeps drawing my eye away from the U.S. cover. The primary colors, the hand-drawn font and the wallpaper-like pepper background combine to make a beautiful cover that I would definitely pick up (but again, I totally love the U.S. cover too!).

Winner (by a hair): the U.K. hardcover

Monday Musings from Colorado #3

Highlight of the week: Colorado got quite a bit of snow on Friday and I loved it! The roads stayed clear, but heavy, wet snow floated down all day long and piled up on the grass, trees and cars. My mom and I donned our snow boots and took a chilly after-dinner walk, which was such a treat because all the flowering trees in the neighborhood were dressed in white and so pretty. The other exciting part of my week is that last night I arrived in Dallas to spend a few days with my best friend, Katie!

Reading: I finished (and loved) "Jane Steele," a gorgeous, riotous and engrossing "Jane Eyre" re-telling. And I started "A Murder in Time" by Julia McElwain, about an FBI agent who travels back in time and must solve a crime in the 19th century that could affect her life in present-day. Just look at these two gorgeous covers!

Knitting: I have been positively itching to get my hands on some knitting needles these past few weeks, and I finally ordered some yarn to start a short-sleeved sweater, the Cap Sleeve Lattice Top by Purl Soho. The yarn should have arrived by the time I get back from Texas and I can't wait to get started!

Watching: "The Shop Around the Corner," an adorable 1940 black and white movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan, two co-workers who despise each other but fall in love through an anonymous penpal exchange. It's the movie that inspired one of my favorites, "You've Got Mail," and it was just so cute and fun!

Following: samlarson on Instagram. He does gorgeous pen and ink nature drawings, and I found so much inspiration for my next tattoo. (I've got a Hawaii/beach-inspired seahorse and now I need something to reflect my home state of Colorado and love of the mountains). Here's one of my favorite potential tattoos:



Eating: Red Robin, yummmmm! No Red Robins in Hawaii, so I've got to eat my fill now!

Looking forward to: The next couple days hanging out in Dallas with my BFF!

*


I'm linking up with Kathryn at Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2015 Travel Recap: Colorado Part 1: Lost Lake and Pikes Peak

You can see part one of my travel recap (Hawaii) here, part two (Gettysburg) here, part three (New York City) here, and part four (the Biltmore and the Smokies) here.

In September Jarrod and I headed back to my home state of Colorado to visit my family and imbibe in some Rocky Mountain air. The weather was perfect, and we got to spend lots of time in the mountains. We hiked to Lost Lake, a breathtaking mountain lake near Buena Vista, with my parents, and Jarrod and I drove up Pikes Peak. I'd been to the summit a million times, but Jarrod had only been to the top via the cog railway and it was long past time for him to experience the fun of driving up the curvy mountain road -- sans guardrails! We also spent two wonderful days in Rocky Mountain National Park, which will be a separate post.

Lost Lake. Absolutely stunning.

At the Pikes Peak summit, 14,110 feet!

Me and my new friend.

We enjoyed the must-have high-elevation donuts and hot chocolate at the summit house, and on the way back down we stopped at an alpine meadow and visited with several yellow-bellied marmots, one of my favorite animals.