I'm in love! I'm in love with a handbag from Banana Republic. It's this nice soft dark chocolate brown leather handbag. The color is beautiful. Its size is perfect and that aged creamy leather is delicious. I'm so in love!!!
I have a collection of 25 different bags (large and mini bags), purses, clutches and totes, but I don't have anything in brown, chocolate brown to be exact. I want it! I want that bag!

I went to the library Monday and checked out some books. I finished three books of “Fudge” series by Judy Blume. Love the characters and the funny happy stories. I know! It’s kind of late for me to read children books but I can’t help it. Sometimes, I need happiness and fun and innocence that comes from childhood. How can I have that without reading books? Maybe one day when I have a child I can share her/him happiness and playfulness but until that day; I’m happy reading children books.
The other book was “Not Another New Year’s” by Christie Ridgway. It was a typical romance, a cute but sad and betrayed school teacher, a hunky secret service agent, nice family members, passionate love from first accidental kiss, belah belah belah…. I wonder how these people can fall in love and decide to marry in just a couple of week? But hey, it’s romance-land and make-believes. It’s very unrealistic! Don’t authors think about real life at all? What if some reader believe all this nonsense and think they can marry the first stranger who draws their fancy? The thing is, I love good stories. If you can’t write well and answer all your readers’ questions, you better not bother at all; that’s my opinion on writing.
Another book was “The Accidental Florist” by Jill Churchill. It’s the latest book of a series and reads like a journal entry without having a journal format. “She woke up, she had breakfast…she talked to her friend…” no emotions, no thoughts, nothing… you can not relate to characters. It’s like a third grader's essay. It’s a report! Forget it. I’m not talking about it!
What I look forward to starting is (or rather are) three books by Dashiell Hammett. I heard so much about him, and I love love love “the Maltese Falcon”. I can’t wait to start them.
Why do I hate grocery shopping so much? I went yesterday (after a five days delay and eating out a lot!) but it was so exhausting! I don’t like supermarkets, that’s for sure. The only stores I like for food shopping are a couple of organic food suppliers. Not that I am addicted to organic, I just like the ambience, the different décor and displays and all those breads and cheese. Yumm!

Ok, I finished “Persuasion” by Jane Austen but I’m going to wait until the end of the month and discussion session in BBC (check the link) to write about it.
Three books were finished this week as well. The first one is: “I Went to Vassar for This?” by Naomi Neale. The story of a headstrong PR and Ad specialist who is aiming for a big promotion with her last project but instead gets fired. She goes home and by a freak microwave accident, ends up in 1959 and lives (and works) there for three weeks; inhabiting body of a young woman who is very much like her (physically). She falls in love too and when by another accident she is thrown back to her time, she has a new take on life and a broken heart. But hey, what was that BANG from neighbor’s apartment?
It was a good story, strong characters, nice humor, good plot and all!
The second book was “Art geeks and prom queens” by Alyson Noel about a girl moving to Newport Beach California and starting in a private high school, up and downs of teenage life, privileged kids and shopping. Yup, as a resident of Orange county reading about it was fun and the description of South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island had me laughing pretty hard! Shopping is good and South Coast Plaza is one of my favorite shopping malls so of course I had fun reading the book.
The third book was “The curse of the Holy Pail” by Sue Ann Jaffarian. It was about an over-weight middle-aged paralegal living in Orange County (yes, again!) and solving mysteries. It was innnnnnnnnnnnteresting! Kind of boring toward the end with all the scene descriptions. The author has a tendency to talk and describe a little too much about small simple things like warping paper of a famous chocolate (like no one has ever heard of those cheapo chocolates!!) I wonder if she was paid by words, but hey; that’s just my opinion!

Be good at what ever you do!

I finished three books of pet-sitter mysteries by Linda O. Johnston. Kendra Ballantyne in the first book “Sit, Stay, Slay” has a suspended law license and starts her new career as a pet-sitter for rich people and spoiled pets of LA. Her first client is a sexy PI, Jeff. She ends up being a suspect in murder (three of her clients) and she does everything in her power (and Jeff’s power) to clear her name. In the second book “Nothing to fear but Ferrets”, Kendra is working on her test for restoring her license, Jeff’s ex-wife is coming back to him as a damsel in distress, and Kendra’s tenants are accused of murder (all of two humans and their six ferrets). Kendra has to find the real murder if only for the sake of those cute weasels. Oh, yes; she passes the bar and starts in a cool law firm too. Best news is she keeps her pet-sitting business which leads to the third book “Fine Feathered Death”. In this adventure Kendra is avoiding Jeff but he is prime suspect of killing one of her law partners. She just has to clear his name so she can break up with him without feeling guilty. Her new tenant is another sexy guy and his daughter despite her childish dreams of stardom in Hollywood ends up helping Kendra in pet-sitting.
Murderer is caught thanks to our super pet-sitter and Jeff kicks his ex out (again!).
We should wait and see what will happen in other books!

I'm back!

Yeah, I’m fine, I’m alive, thanks for asking every one! Ha ha ha!
Sooo, I’m back kind of from hell although I didn’t move, it’s just that the hell moved! I mean it’s gone from my life for now! Good news all around! I have been busy with selecting classes for this quarter; have turned in a couple of sets of homework and attended one lab session (on mold and fungi in air! Such a fun subject! Don’t you like it?!). Yes, and yesterday best of the best things happened and I got my admission for grad school (that waiting and stressing and nightmares? That was the hell I mentioned!). Now I just have a couple of more impossible tasks to achieve like enroll in three classes and have them counted for credit in my Master. Ah, well, I’m working on it!
Aside from all these fun stuff I was going through, I was able to finish “the Mediator” series. Yeah, Jess became alive and he and Suze lived happily ever after.
Another book from Meg Cabot I finished was “Size 14 is not fat either”. Ok, Heather solved another murder case in Death Dorm and found a cute Calculus instructor to keep her warm instead of Cooper. Why he doesn’t date her and ends this series is beyond me! It is the second book of the series and I am tired of Heather and her endless complains and her low self esteem about her weight problem. She is just so irresponsible! She keeps eating and eating and eating and then worries that she has gone up a size? Give me a break! It’s like this, the other day I saw an over weight lady (one of the staff in college) going back to her office carrying one coffee, two large muffins and a bagel! I assume (and by one cup of coffee, I assume right!) that those were her snacks (in worse case scenario there is a %50 chance that they were). Ok, I’m asking you; what normal person can eat all that and not gain weight?! You know I’m not against eating sweets or cakes for that matter, just keep in moderation when you eat! Is it too much to ask? Or these people have no self control? I can understand sometimes a pastry is too delicious to pass, a cake is the fluffiest lightest best cake ever… so you eat, worse you make a pig of yourself, you go for second and third, hell; you even finish it all by yourself (happened to me in case of a large marble cake with cream cheese for filling, three types of cream cheese and a thick layer of chocolate cream on top! Ooh, heaven!!) But not always!!! I mean you don’t (can’t! shouldn’t!!) make a habit of it! Or if you have a large Muffin with your coffee at six in the afternoon, you better skip dinner (how can you eat after that, I wonder?! You would be so full!) Anyway I think Heather is tiresome and if she doesn’t do something about her eating habits, she’s going to have a stroke soon!
I read “The Big Over Easy” by Jasper Fforde. I love this guy! He is a genius, have I told you before? Jack Spratt in Nursery Crime Division is my hero! I like him much more than Thursday Next. He is more real and his flaws are endearing.
What else did I read? I can’t remember. Ok, I finished “Touch the Dark” by Karen Chance. First book in the series. Love the heroin, loved those vampires and that ghost character is just plain cute! Can’t wait for the second book “Claimed by Shadow”. It is out but I couldn’t find it in the book store.
I read one of the books in “Wicked woman” series. Not worth mentioning, very cheesy indeed!
Oh, yes! The story of Edward and Bella in “Twilight” and “New Moon” by Stephenie Meyer. Bella is this klutz who always ends up in trouble and Edward the gorgeous seventeen (and one hundred) years old vampire falls in love with her. He thirsts for her blood but loves her so much that he promises to stay beside her as she ages. Question is why he loves her, no apparent reason except the smell of her blood! And he can not read her mind either. Is it reason enough to love? I give her this, she is warm hearted and very kind and friendly but antisocial too! She didn’t want to make friends in her new school; she just wanted to be ignored. Yeah, ignored by humans and cold toward them, but warm and fuzzy with monsters! She admits it herself, she is a freak! Ok! And Edward?!! Ooh, too much Romeo and Juliet for my taste, head over heels and all that stuff but why? Has anyone asked the author why should we believe these artificial characters? But I confess I like Edward’s family, His mom and Alice are very nice and yes; I’m in love with Charlise his vampire father. He is so dreamy! Yum! Right now they have survived an attack from a crazy hunter and his mate and six months of separation, a couple of suicide attempts (mainly on Edward’s side) and a face-to-face with vampire royalty. Yeah, add to that a pack of teenage werewolves (specially one lovesick Jake, poor puppy!), some high school dramatic friends, an angry father, and an irresponsible mother! Sweet!! So when is the next one out?
Nothing special in chocolate-land, just one new bar of “Dove” dark chocolate filled with coffee crunches. Kind of sweet for my taste but yum all the same!
Shopping, yes; shopping. I went out shopping with a friend the weekend before last. Four beautiful t-Shirt/tops were purchased (ha! By me of course), Pre-ordered cosmetics were picked, and 3-4 hours were spend in fun. Then a couple of days after that I received a package from my parents full of beautiful clothes! Dear hubby was looking at closet thinking how I’m going to fit everything in! I managed it though, no worries!