A Few of My Favorite Things

Not to beat a dead horse, but--- I'm going to anyway.  Honestly, I'm sad that I can't blog about the everyday happening of this faux Tannenbaum family. It throws a wicked curve ball into my post schedule. It's like I'm constantly racking my brains for something uber fascinating to share with you guys. Not to say that our daily life is uber fascinating, but you catch my drift...lol

So today I'm going to share some things that have caught my eye and are rapidly turning into some my favorite things as of late!

1. Ombre::

{via}

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2. Loafers::

{via}

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3. Soft Curls::

 

{via}

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 4. Open Yale Courses::

 

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 ::Side note::  So Royal, as of late, has been digging around in the computer world and is becoming familiar with a whole slew of new technology he never had time for before now. Basically his brain is growing to twice it's normal size. So in order to keep up with him and not feel like I was being left behind on the education front I decided to pick a topic that I love and wanted to know more about and dove right in. There was no real competition...I chose History. Have you ever used  iTunes U? It's an amazing place where you can listen/watch lectures give by professors at colleges and universities all around the world. There are thousands to choose from; Stanford, UC Berkley, Oxford, Harvard, Hopkins, and the list seriously goes on and on. When finding out that Yale {surprise, surprise} has one of the most sought after programs for History there was no turning back. I'm starting with American History with lectures given by Joanne Freeman. She's pretty fun for a published Doctor. {lol} If you click on the above link you can root through the course info, as well as others. Even if Yale isn't your cup of tea, if you love to learn iTunes U is for you.

  

5. Libraries::

 

{via :: Bodleian Library @ Oxford}

{via :: Codrington Library, All Souls College}

What are some things that have you wrapped around their little finger currently? Are you embracing neon or pastels this summer? Are you all about this summers must reads {Shameless plug for Shadow of Night} or summers blockbuster movies? Sound off below with some of your favorite things in the comments:)

Happy Monday darlings--
xO- Etheline

Big time storybook addiction:: A Discovery of Witches

Let me start out by apologizing for the disappearing act last Thursday and Friday. I was having major technical difficulties that could not be helped. To my great relief though things are better and back to normal and so I'm really excited to share with you a little review on a book I finished over the weekend. {I love it. 5 Stars all the way}

Back story:: When I was 23 years old I discovered this passion that silently laid dormant inside of me. I LOVE to read. Before than I had read maybe 10 books {and that included the harry potter series}. Don't laugh, but for me it all started with Twilight. Even now 3 years and 100 books later I still hold a special place in my heart for that book because it opened my eyes to a whole new wonderful world of books. Afterwards I went through a downward spiral procession of paranormal fantasy. So when I saw A Discovery of Witches sitting on a shelf at my local Barnes and Noble my mind reeled with the possibilities of long nights reading and getting swept away into the forbidden romance between a witch and a vampire that I was promised on the book jacket flap.

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I'll be honest the {witch and vampire fall in love} plot made me a little uneasy at first-- the whole genre has sort of been played out and I'll be the first to admit. First it was vampires, then werewolves which led to anything post apocalyptic that I get my hands on, and angels (fallen or any other kind). I stayed there for a while it was really fun. The more comfortable I become with reading, however, the more I sprinkled in some of the hard stuff. You know-- classics and women's fiction {affectionately known as "beach reads"} The good news A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harness includes a forbidden romance but, know that there is much more to it than that. For starters there's no teen angst or whining. This is {NOT} a YA book.

Our two lead characters, Matthew de Clairmont, resident 1500 year old vampire/scientist and fellow at Oxford, and Diana Bishop, early 30's witch/professor studying the history of science, particularly alchemy, are fully developed and well rounded. Their strengths and weakness are revealed throughout the story and they generally act like real people. Harkness has a gift for making the unbelievable; believeable. Like if there really were supernatural beings walking the earth with us, this is how you'd expect them to behave.

The plot unfolds gradually so give it a few pages for it to clamp onto you and never let you go. Trust me you will enjoy every bit of how Harkness unravels all the details of the story. As Diana and Matthew work together to understand the secret behind the bewitched document Ashmole-782 it seems that at every corner there is more than meets the eye. This includes all side of the supernatural world becoming interested in what the secret behind this manuscript means for them all.

Diana and Matthew's relationship slowly deepens over the course of the novel, but their love seems to run deeper than the average fantasy couple. They are far from perfect and somehow find ways to learn to accept the others faults and yet still choose to be together. They draw strength from one another and lift each other up-- and to me is much like a real marriage. 

If science and paranormal stories tickle your fancy than race off to the bookstore {or ebookstore} and get this book. You will not regret it!!

Take a peek at some of the places and things you'll spend time with inside A Discovery of Witches:

{via :: Bodleian Library at Oxford}

{via :: Great topic of debate}

{via :: Early morning crew}

{via :: All Souls College}

{via :: French Chateau's}

{via :: plus a little bit of this}

{via :: and that}

{via :: Upstate New York}

{via :: Grimoire}

You know what else? It's perfect timing to read this book because the sequel Shadow of Night hits bookshelves this July.  You can pre-order it here. So get reading my friends and of course don't forget to share your thoughts with me when you 're done. We can have our own little cyber book club. {Seriously...lets do that. Who's in?}

xO-Etheline

Weekend Wrap Up

As stated earlier in the week in went horseback riding. On a real horse- with horseshoes, a saddle, and reigns!! I'm not talking a pony here either. 100% bon-a-fide horse. That little girl in me was jumping for joy!!

{be advised} I have run out of mascara and refuse to fork over the amount of cash at the moment to replace my favorite make up item. So please excuse the extreme hot mess.

Salento

Royal and I

 All my life I have thought that if I tried enough things I would stumble upon something that I was an absolute savant at. When I was 17 I thought it was archery. Strange, right?? And in case you were wondering....it wasn't archery. When I got on to my horse it took a few moments to get my bearings but after that I was completely comfortable. I was even out in front of our guide. He complimented me through out the day which only made me blush, because when I was galloping through the countryside I felt like I was Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride {lol}

Pretend Pioneer Woman an MM

Cheese

Time of my life!

Beautiful right?

At the end of our ride:(

I was so surprised at how natural it felt for me to hold the reigns and ride. I absolutely loved it and told Royal so every 10 minutes. Time of my life kinda stuff. I have found my new hobby my friends. I would never get into competitions or anything, but I want to go out and ride all the time. Especially after my bottoms heals because man those saddles are HARD and we will leave it at that.

Have any of you ever been riding? "If you have the means....I highly recommend one." Anyone? {name that movie} Anyone??

Have a happy weekend my friends:)

xO-Etheline

A Regal Breath of Fresh Air

This weekend I gave in and watched Downton Abbey. It's not that I didn't want to watch it. I absolutely adore period stories, and therein lies my problem. I really really try to practice the saying moderation in all things, but sometimes I fall prey to the whirlwind of amazing storytelling. So when the mechanic called Saturday morning and said that our truck {which is our only vehicle that can fit all our family right now} wouldn't be ready until Monday morning I knew this was the weekend to give in. So now I am entirely caught up, having watched Season 1 & 2, as well as the Christmas Spacial.

Here are some of my favorite things::

I love this opening shot. I love the way Lord Grantham refers to himself as just a steward over Downton Abbey. That even though he is an Earl, he knows that there is a triviality about it.

Up next...Lady Grantham. I absolutely love that she is American. Not just because I am too, but it just seemed like such a perfect play to bring into the story. I think it is wonderful how she protects her girls and when necessary she rises to any occasion with grace and dignity. I really identify with that idea, although I'm still working on the execution. For my sake lets pretend that she isn't so easily be swayed by O'Brian, but more on that wretched bat later...

Anna and Mr Bates....Their story is so much more fun to watch to me than that of Lady Mary and Matthews Crawley. I adore the way Bates speaks to her. You can tell that he hold her in the highest regard and is utterly devoted to her. The words written for him truly come from another place. He is deeply honorable, almost to the point of self-sacrificing, but it suits him. I think it's great the Anna jumps in tells him she loves him even though it was so nontraditional for this time. Sometimes moments are presented to us in life and we cannot have them pass by without some sort of declaration to mark them.The way Anna stands by his side without question makes these two a perfect match! I am so happy that he isn't getting the death penalty. I kinda think I would have stopped watching!!

Seriously....I love this picture. Yes, it screams Twilight, but come one. This is a sexy snap! I wasn't a fan Matthew in the beginning. He nose was so obnoxiously up in the air at the whole idea of being the heir to the Crowley name. I'm not sure when it happened, but I quickly warmed up to the idea of him. I love that Lady Mary gives him a run for his money. It's fantastic to fall in love with someone who matches your wit and passion in life. Trust me...I know;) And that sealing kiss in the snow. Can we say, FINALLY!

and really...don't even get me started on these two! Absolutely wretched. They fuel the flames to each others nasty fire. Why must it be so? Let's hope in season 3 we see something that resembles a redeeming bone in their bodies.

Well that wraps things up here. It has been said that season 3 will begin filming this spring with actress Shirley MacLaine to join the cast as Lady Cora Grantham's mother. That should be interesting and entertaining, to say the least! Let's hope that we don't have to wait to long to see what happens next to all our friends at Downton Abbey.

Have you seen Downton Abbey? Are you a fan? Who's your favorite?? I'd love to hear.

xO-Etheline