Words to Live By: In Memoriam

By now I'm sure it's not news to you that Nora Ephron has passed away. It really is a sad day when the world looses such a great talent.

Now in my opinion shes not as great as say Nancy Meyers, she is hands down the best in this house, but Nora Ephron was pretty amazing all the same. You've Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally have been long time top 10 favorite movies of mine.

One thing that I have come to realize over the past few years is that society immortalizes a certain actor or actress because of their performance in certain films. While I agree most of the time there is a reason they were awarded the role in the first place, let's face it-- they'd be nothing without fantastic writers laying the ground work for them to build off of and bring a character and story to life. So with that we say farewell to another amazing writer and multi talented woman, Nora Ephron.

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I just love this quote. It reminds us to be strong and fierce. It reminds is to take charge of our life and make our own descions even if they turn out to be the wrong ones, because usually it's those ones we learn the most from.

What is your favorite Nora Ephron work? Do you love Sleepless in Seattle or are you more of a fan of I Feel Bad About My Neck? Sound off in the comments below. I'd love you hear from you.

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}

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{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

A Few of My Favorite Things: Blogs

As stated in my last post I have been trying to weed out the things in my life that take away more than add. This is especially true for my blog reading cause, boy can I ever get sucked in. I can have 20 tabs open if I'm not careful; just exploring new blogs. Let's be fair though-- visiting and commenting on new blogs can be fun and even good for your own blog. For myself I have come up with a few simple ways to help me decide if they are a keeper of if I'll throw them back into the sea that is the world wide web.

Tips on Keeping You Blog Roll Simple: 

 - Chances are if you fall in love with one, you'll fall in love with their sponsor! Beware. This is how I got hooked the last time..lol That being said it's how I have found some of the best blogs that I feel cater to my life at this time, so go me!!

- Once I found one that has convinced me that we were friends in a past life, or something equally as embarrassing I save them to my bookmarks banner. Easy access ya know.

- If after commenting on a few of their posts and they are sweet enough to take the time and visit mine and comment as well...Well, duh, they are officially a keeper.

- This last tip is the easiest one-- if they keep you coming back for more, give up. You are hooked my friend. Like a fish on a line! I usually give them about a week to a week and a half depending on how frequently they post.

Current Top 5 Favorite Blogs: 

 1.

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  La Famille is all about...family. Alicia is a mother of 3 and home school super hero! She posts about life, family, and has the best sense of humor! She runs a great Etsy shop and once you learn about The Happy Day Project you will return not once or twice, but dozens of times. {Is my hook showing?}

 

2.

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The Simply Luxurious Life is one of my most recent obsessions. Shannon runs a clean site filled with great photos {thank you pinterest}, but more importantly great words. Her posts always stay with me throughout the remainder of the day as they are smart, practical, and forward thinking. Her "Why Not..." series is my absolute favorite.They include questions from Why not....stop competing with others, to Why not...Invest in your dreams? Great stuff, really!

3.

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So TJ runs this blog and when you stop by you will know why His Little Lady is on the list. She is a Peeta fan and in my book, well that's just enough. Her little notes are so cute and always levels with her readers. I love that! Her readers are loyal gals...we are talking upwards of 70 comments daily. {oi!} And she's nice enough to stop by Her Eclectic Life and leave some love. Awesome!

4.

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Brunch at Saks? Yes please? Who wants to meet me? This fun lifestyle blog is run by Annemarie out in LA. She focuses mainly on fashion, home decor, and entertainment....just a few of my favorite things. You wouldn't believe some of the things she finds or the people she meets. Guess that's Hollywood for ya. I wouldn't know though, I'm an east coast gal!!

5.

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Reviving the charming arts of Etiquette. I absolutely adore this! I mean the whole things really just sounds like a reading a book while floating on a cloud or something. Honestly though...in a world that gets to wrapped up in technology I think sometimes we forget how to interact with others, let alone properly. Anastasia provides excellent tips to help with this. She also does great old Hollywood celeb spotlights that I just can't get enough of  as well as a "best dressed of the week" poll for fashion which is fun if you are into that kind of thing. Which; I am.

Well that about raps it up here for this edition of A Few of My Favorite Things. I hope you take a peek at some of these blogs. I promise you won't regret it. These women provide me with great inspiration for my life and I hope they will do the same for you. So thanks. What are some of your favorite blogs that you read all the time. Share them with me in the comments section so I can check them out too.

xO- Etheline

{I should also mention if any photos have been used in an unpleasing manner I apologize. Let me know and I will remove them immediately. I'm still very much trying to get the hang of this all. Thanks in advance for understanding}

Words to live by

I was so very excited to see The Help, but forbid myself to watch before I read the book. I find that 9 times out of 10 I prefer the book to movies and didn't want to miss out on anything good. So as time was running out and we were packing I got the audio book and listened while my days zoomed on around me.

I'm happy to report that I loved it. I found myself hugging my baby girl extra tight everyday, because I found Ms. Leefolt's obvious disregard for her daughter appalling. I loved the relationship that formed between Celia Foote and Minny Jackson because even though their social status', amongst other things, were at two different ends of the spectrum their womanhood and trials as such bonded them together.

As popular as a quote this is now I still believe in the power of its simple truth. What a wonderful thing to remind yourself each morning as we wake with a new conviction to take on this world we live in. Tell me, have you read The Help? Is it on your list? What about the film-- did you see? What were your thoughts? Share them with me; I'd love to chat about it. Books are my very favorite things {that don't breath}. I have a massive "to read" list right now and find myself having a hard time narrowing down what I want to settle on. Any suggestions??

One more thing...Do you have a Good Reads? I do:: If you are interested here is my page. This is the greatest way to keep track of all the books you want to read, have read, or are currently reading. Plus you get to have friends:) Friends are great!!

 Have a radtacular Tuesday-

xO-Etheline