What I've Been up to

Camp// Another summer, another few weeks spent at camp. This is my third summer volunteering at Warm Beach's Special Friends Day Camp. Each day spent there brings me so much joy and teaches me about love, our Lord, patience, happiness, and how to graciously deal with life. Working with special needs seemed daunting at first, but I've come to find that they're people just like you and me, wanting to be loved. Honestly, I am so inspired by all the campers and I long to live with the joy and passion so many of them seem to possess.

Books// It is no secret I enjoy a good book. My summer has been spent doing a plethora of things, and reading has taken up a lot of it. My responsibilities (extra schoolwork, blogging, cleaning, ect.) have occasionally been put on the back burner because of a good book. It's a problem, I know. Currently, a wonderful novel is calling me from across the room, but I'm doing my best to ignore it.

Friends// Fourth of July Festivities, shopping in Seattle, volunteering at camp, birthday parties, campfires, backyard baseball. All have been filled with wonderful friends and family. Summer is a spectacular time, a time of catching up with your loved ones while you take a break from the school year's tasks. I've enjoyed laughing, eating, and exploring with all the amazing people I've been blessed to have been placed in my life.

Puppy// May God bless my mother and the patience she has. Having a little puppy is like taking care of a toddler, except for the fact you can lock it in a cage and leave the house without it. In the short amounts of time I'm watching him for her, I get so frustrated! Murphy is so naughty, but so so cute and I can't help but still want to cuddle him. Still, if he wasn't adorable, he probably wouldn't be living in this house anymore after the many potty accidents and biting.

What have you been up to lately?

With love,

Elizabeth

Current Obsessions

Hamilton// Hamilton the musical is the best thing that has happened to the U.S. in a long time. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a tad, but seriously guys, it's amazing. If somehow you've not heard about it (How?? It's won a Grammy and like half of the Tony awards!!), this musical follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of our Founding Fathers. It's surprisingly wonderful, fun, and very addictive. It's basically all I've listened to for the past five months.

Zucchini// This is such a random thing to put down, but I'm loving some good fried up zucchini with avocado oil and onions. It tastes amazing and it's a vegetable, so better to be obsessed with that than say, chocolate cake.

Murphy// I love him so much! He is the fluffiest, cutest thing to ever walk the planet and I never want him to grow old. If you haven't seen this blog post, you may have no idea what I'm talking about. Murphy is our brand new, stinking adorable golden retriever puppy. He's a rascal and an idiot, but a very cute rascal and idiot.

Lipstick// I tend to keep my beauty routine pretty minimal. There's always been too much coffee to drink and too little time to drink it for me to bother putting on lipstick. Recently though, I've been trying out a few different shades. It adds something different to your look and I've been enjoying experimenting with it. I've been learning how not to wear lipstick by looking at my old middle school pictures. Not good guys, not good.

Quotes// Lately, I've been keeping a journal to document all the quotes I find on the internet through blogs and pinterest, or books I'm reading at the moment. I sometimes even write down what I heard someone say, or what I see on a billboard. It's nice to have a place to keep beautiful words, where I can flip through it whenever I want to gain inspiration.

BookOutlet// This site is a magical place full of popular, brand new, beautiful books for much less than they are sold anywhere else. Granted, they have select titles in stock, but only a certain amount, and you can't always find what you're looking for. But really, you can find so many great pickings and it's like a never ending hole. I can't leave that site without purchasing something.

Flannels// The perfect flannel is like that baby blanket you had as a kid. You know, the one you could never let go? I've been wearing my favorite flannel nonstop. My grandma just had to sew up a rip in it, and now there's another. It's quite heartbreaking, but I'm dealing with it.

Criminal Minds// This show has been my jam! It was one of the shows my older brother use to watch when we were younger and visiting the grandparents, and it really freaked me out. Granted, it still really freaks me out but I like it way too much to stop watching it. Instead, I'm just making a list of things never to do, like being alone, driving a car, talking to someone I don't know, going on hikes, walking around the city, working a day job. You know, just basic things I can live without.

What are you currently obsessing over?

With love,

Elizabeth

What I Read in June

Hello beautiful people!

Today is another monthly reads post. This month was a little bit better of a reading month, but I've been dealing with a reading slump and it's been hard to get myself to read a lot. Even so, I still enjoyed all my reads! It is the absolute worst when you read an entire book and it sucks. Then you think of all the time you wasted where you could've been reading better books. These bookworm struggles are a real issue.

1. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Plot: (Taken from goodreads). 

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace. 

My thoughts: 

Another reread in my journey to finally being able to read Lady Midnight. It was still good, but a lot of the times I found myself pretty bored. 

First problem I had, which is totally just a personal thing, I don't like Simon that much. I know, I know!! How dare I?? He's just kind of annoying and boring to me, and half of this book was from his perspective. When a character you don't like too much tells half the story, it can be hard to get into it. 

Second problem I had was just how slow it was. I know you're suppose to think of this as a first book in a trilogy and that it is setting the stage for the next two books, but it still took way too long to get to the climax. Both City of Bones and Clockwork Angel did not seem slow at all to me. But dang that ending is so good!! I'm pretty sure that's Clare's best cliffhanger yet, at least that I have read.

Of course, I still enjoyed this book, just not nearly as much as the others. I enjoyed how much character development went on with Clary, it was cool seeing her use her powers and mature in them. 

Oh! Brother Zachariah has entered the scene, and ummm, yeah *raises eyebrows* I see what's going on. I also want more Magnus! Magnus was barely in this book and I missed him. 

All in all, slow read, but good ending and I'm excited to pick up the 5th book. 

My rating: 

3.5/5 stars

Should you read it?: 

Yes, if you are enjoying the series you should definitely continue it. 

Favorite quote: 

"Power is a magnet. It draws those who desire it" 

2. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Plot: (Taken from goodreads). 

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart. 

My thoughts: 

If I could give this book a million stars, I would. 

Cassandra Clare is such an amazing writer and makes you feel so many things. I don't know how she does it, but she has created the only love triangle where I shipped both couples and actually enjoyed! I, a profound hater of all love triangles, actually found one I liked. What has the world come to? She has caused me to love and care for all character involved and the entire situation is breaking my heart.

Clare also has very strong, amazing characters. Each and every one of them has distinct characteristics that really cause you to fall in love with them. It's very important for me to have well written characters to read about and she does not disappoint. 

The plot continues to get more and more exciting. Although this is a reread, I have forgotten a lot of things and I eagerly await to start on the next book. I love these books and I highly highly recommend this series.

My rating: 

5/5 stars

Should you read it?: 

YES. Read this series!

Favorite quote: 

"Lies and secrets, Tessa, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind." 

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

Plot: (taken from goodreads)

First published in 1813, "Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners - one of the most popular novels of all time - tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." So begins the novel, that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.

This brilliant novel is a must-read of classic literature and will delight readers of all ages.

My thoughts: 

If you have not read Pride and Prejudice, why? If you have not read any of Miss Austen's works, how? And if you have no interest in ever reading a book from her, I'm sorry, but we cannot be friends. 

Jane Austen is the queen of romance, feminism and all around awesomeness. Isn't it amazing that a girl who was told she shouldn't write and couldn't sell a book because of her sex has become this popular? Almost everyone has at least heard of her, and her books are read world wide. I so badly wish we could go back in time and show her how her work has affected millions of lives.

Pride and Prejudice has everything you ever want in a romance book! It has drama, lots of it; attractive guys, the sweet and adorable one, and the dark, brooding one; it has humor, full of sarcastic remarks and funny jokes; and it has a wonderful protagonist, snarky, beautiful, smart, but also full of faults. The writing is suburb and it feels like you were snatched up into the Bennet's world, placed there to experience all that was going on in their life. 

I love this book! This is the third time I've read it and it never fails to make me completely happy and satisfied. I believe everyone should at least pick up this book and give it a try. It is a masterpiece and I'm sure it will continue to delight readers until the end of time.

My rating: 

5/5 (duh!)

Should you read it?: 

Again, yes. Yes you really should!

Favorite quote: 

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

What books have you read this month? Leave your recommendations down below! 

With love,

Elizabeth