Yearly Archives: 2016

“Where is Human Nature So Weak as in the Bookstore?” – Henry Ward Beecher

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I love to read! I’ve also been a member of the most wonderful co-ed, young professionals book club (filled with the smartest and most fun people in Rochester who all just happen to love a good book, tasty food, delicious drinks, arts and culture, and parties/socializing just as much as I do!) for the past three years. I’ve been able to dive into some really great reads through book club (and have made some truly awesome friends), but outside of book club picks, I just haven’t been reading nearly as much as I’d like to. A very exciting but very busy job, lots of travel, adult responsibilities, and maintaining hobbies and relationships with family and friends will do that to you. Somehow – as much as I hate to admit it – reading just seemed to fall lower and lower on my list of priorities amid other demands, necessities, and desires. So, this year, I made a list of 21 books I’ve been eager to enjoy and that I think I can, reasonably, make time for in 2016. It was really tough to narrow down the long list of books I’m itching to read to just these 21, but there are plenty of years ahead to delve into the ones that didn’t make it onto this year’s list for one reason or another. Alas, in no particular order, my 2016 reading list is:

The History of Love
All the Light We Cannot See
What Alice Forgot
Queen of the Fall
To Kill a Mockingbird
Go Set a Watchman
N.W.
The Mercy of Thin Air
A Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing
Church of Marvels
Night Vale
Yes Please
Cannery Row
Neverwhere
Landline
A Tale for the Time Being
My Accidental Jihad
Persepolis
Geek Love
The Shadow of the Wind
The Big Oyster

I post this list partially to hold myself accountable (I’m off to a good start! I’ve finished All the Light We Cannot See and am about halfway through both The History of Love and What Alice Forgot, and our book club meeting for Queen of the Fall – which is also the “If all of Rochester read the same book…” book for 2016 – is on March 3rd, so I have to finish that one by then), partially to see what others who have read these books think of them, and partially to hear what my friends and family are planning to read this year.

I’d love to hear what you have read recently and highly recommend, and what you are very excited to read in the near future…please share!

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Dresses, Junk Food, and Boy Bands

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A few weeks ago, my good friend and bowling league buddy (yes, we’re in a bowling league…those still exist) and I were reminiscing between downed pins and delightful, greasy platters of tater tots and chicken finger sandwiches and jack & cokes about our high school days – music, fashion, prom…PROM. And then we, and the other women on our league, talked about nothing but our proms and prom dresses and prom shoes and prom accessories and prom dress shopping experiences and wedding dresses and wedding dress shopping experiences for the remainder of our games that night. By the time we left the bowling alley, Bethany and I had hatched a plan to do what any awesome, sane, grown, married, career minded, family women would do…drive to the mall listening to our favorite boy band the entire way and try on prom dresses.

And we did.

On Sunday we left all our responsibilities behind us (and for that I think we owe a pretty significant ‘thank you’ and ‘you rock’ to Bethany’s husband for walking in the front door from work and immediately being on daddy duty to their two young daughters and one needy pup for the remainder of the day while Bethany and I went off to shop like care-free teenagers), plopped our favorite Backstreet Boys CD into the CD player of Bethany’s car, drove to the mall, ate Marble Slab ice cream and Auntie Anne’s pretzels and lemonade, and went nuts in Lord & Taylor, in search of the most fabulous (and also hideous) formal wear we could get our hands on.

It was glorious.

Seriously, you wouldn’t believe how much fun we had. This mental health day was a very-much needed, excellent idea.

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We learned that Bethany looks amazing in mermaid gowns (which she previously thought were not a good look for her) and that she can rock super low-cut v-neck dresses with a sheer overlay like no other, and that the sheer-waisted black and white dress I tried on as a complete joke (just to see how horrendous and immodest it was) was actually the most comfortable, flattering, and fantastic dress for me! We also learned that most pant-suits are hilarious, that there are some super ugly dresses for sale out there that multiple someones must have approved of (for what reason, we cannot fathom) before they hit the racks, and that we wished we had a spare $300 to spend on unnecessary dresses…and somewhere to wear them to. We also re-remembered (though I know we never forgot in the first place) how delicious Auntie Anne’s pretzels are, and why we loved boy bands.

But, really, if you need a mental health day, grab a great friend, step back in time a decade, and go prom (or cruise or gala) dress shopping.

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Cactus Makes Perfect

This week I took a short trip to Lamberton Conservatory (a.k.a. my new winter reading nook!) in Rochester’s Highland Park. I’ve passed by the conservatory dozens of times in the past four years, but someone finally posted a picture of the inside of it. All you had to do was tell me there were cactus in there, people! If I’d known, I’d have gone in years ago! I’m a sucker for cacti. After all, you can take the girl out of Texas, but she’ll always love cacti, tacos, and Blue Bell.

This is the perfect place to spend a few hours during the bitter winter months because it’s toasty warm and dry in there, which is really the only thing Rochesterians crave in January (and soup). At $3 for a single visit or $10 for an annual pass, the price is right too. Also, there are dozens of lazy turtles and sweet little quail who live in the conservatory to keep you company. While I was there, I saw an older gentleman reading his book on a bench by the Spanish moss, and I realized he was a genius. I intend to plant myself on the oversized chair in the Southwest room, surrounded by cactus, with the next book on my reading list, ASAP.

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On the topic of cactus, these two adorable pieces, the Medium Format Memory Tunic in Cacti and the Cacti and Time Again Watch, both from Modcloth have totally had my attention lately. I think my wardrobe needs them!

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Do you have a favorite reading nook in your city?

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Christmas in Tuscany

When you’ve neglected your dear blog for six long months, the only way to come crawling back to your loyal readership is with the sincerest of apologies and a darn good post to make up for it. And so, I present “Christmas in Tuscany: A slideshow”. Obviously, it was terrible. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. Especially not the olives. Or pastries. Or cheese. Or wine. Or wild boar salami. Or gelato. Or the Tuscan countryside. Or the art. Or the architecture. Nope, nothing magical here. I’m sure you’ll agree, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. Just in case. Anyway, turn on your speakers, hit play, and expand to full screen view using the button on the bottom right of the video frame to check out all the reasons why you should absolutely never visit Italy, ever:

For real though, while I could probably do without the adventure of driving on the world’s most narrow, sharp, and winding roads (in pitch darkness, while coated in a persistent blanket of thick fog, with an overlay of terror and nausea, and a Renault Twizy going 3x the speed limit 2 feet behind you before finally deciding to pass illegally on the narrowest of one-lane roads with a steep cliff just inches to the right), those hairpin curves snaking up and down the hills and valleys of central Tuscany did lead to some pretty stunning sights.

Our villa was in Strada in Chianti (see it here), and we visited Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo, Monteriggioni, Siena, Greve in Chianti, and Milan.

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