my week in pictures 30

monday 11/4 - sunday 11/10

I only have a few pictures this week because it was all work. Actual projects at work, and working on the house, with a few breaks in between. I am so happy that we are starting to wrap up some of the big projects so that I can do a house post soon... at least some more before and afters... 

[[ shameless outfit selfies. a fun new project at work. dinner date. friday morning latte. finally taring down the ugly wallpaper in the kitchen. getting through some orwell: animal farm & 1984. ricky is getting so big! ]]

my week in pictures 20

monday 8/19 - friday 8/25

During my Birthday week I was totally sick, so I don't really have too many pictures to post unfortunately. I think lack of sleep and my overactive trip to the gym on Monday sealed my fate. At least I had a book to read, my coworkers book actually... about murdering her ex boyfriends... should I be concerned? I had it completed by Thursday and found it highly entertaining.

On my actual Birthday Pat made my chocolate pancakes, took me out for some drinks, for my birthday hat from Boneyard, and to get my birthday present (a Kindle so that I can start reading more!). Since I still wasn't feeling 100% we kept it fairly mellow, and finished up the evening with some Grand Cru (my favorite!), a homemade bacon covered scallops dinner, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It turned out to be a really good bday after all. The only thing missing was ice cream, I was still too sick for ice cream. Sunday we went over to Pat's dads place to have some puppy time.

[[ a little something i am working on. reading at the gym. chocolate chip pancakes! free birthday hat! a few brews. beautiful sunset. awesome instagram collages from my friends. playing with my birthday present. rickie! ]]

game of thrones

I am pretty sure that by now everyone and their Mother is as addicted to Game of Thrones as I am, but in case you have not started watching yet, you are definitely missing out.

Me and Pat were introduced to the first season of the HBO series sometime last year and although we were initially a bit thrown off by the pilot episode/prologue we decided to keep watching and realized how incredible everything about this "show" really was. From the set design and costuming, to the amazing acting and character development, to special effects and shooting locations, the quality of this television series is truly incredible. However, to praise the success of the show we must first praise the author George R. R. Martin for coming up with such a detailed and twisted plot and describing it in excruciating detail over what will be seven books in A Song of Ice and Fire series. These are not any teenage novels. Love, lust, deception, betrayal, black magic, secret plots, twists and turns around every corner, opposing royal and lorded families, war, vengeance, sex, murder, the undead, and of course, dragons.

The books mainly follow four houses throughout the series (although many other characters and families are introduced along the way): the Starks, the Baratheons, the Lannisters, and the Targaryens. Although I will not trouble you with the details of each house, I will say that you are initially prompted to fall in love with the Starks, and then find yourself torn among them all as you begin to side and sympathize with other characters as well. Because the books are not written from one perspective but switch back and fourth between characters (as does the series), it is hard to simply choose one favorite character. I initially was drawn to Arya Stark and Daenerys Stormborn (Targaryen), but have found myself sympathizing with Jon Snow (Stark), and Tyrion Lannister as well.

Since we just watched the finale of season two last night I thought I would take the time to post a little bit about the series. Me and Pat are also on the 5th book.

As a visual reference for this post, I decided to throw up the opening sequence. This is a compilation of all of the castels shown on season 1, and those from the beginning of season 2, as created by Michael Delving (before Quarth and Heronhal were shown). The opening is incredible, it seriously amazes me every time I watch it, (and as with the series, it is ever changing to match the books and chapters being explored).

"When you play the game of thrones, either you win or you die."

the hunger games - movie review

The first weekend of April me, Megan, Pat, Tony and a few more guy friends went to see The Hunger Games (finally). I was definitely excited about it and could not stand to wait anymore.

I am not trying to go in to a bunch of detail, yet again, so I will try to keep this short.

[[ theater sign. ]]

The costume design in the Capitol was really incredible. Think Victorian meets Geisha with some runway thrown in there as well. Not so unlike some Alexander McQueen designs I have seen. I have read some interviews with Elizabeth Banks who definitely expresses it being near impossible to walk or use her hands due to her insane fake nails and shoes. I loved the contrast of Sector 12, which was reminiscent of depression era, with the opulent capital.

In terms of the film itself, I overall thought they did a really good job interpreting the book. There were definitely a few characters cut out, but understandably so. I appreciated the length of the movie in general, and the amount of time spent setting up most of the story before the beginning of the actual games, including the important components of training, and a bit of the tension between competitors. I do wish that they would have made Haymitch more Haymitch. He hardly seemed like a battered old competitor with a drinking problem.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised with the way they did the actual games because all of the important scenes were included and it was still fairly brutal despite its PG13 rating, which is something I was worried they would sugarcoat too much. And I definitely cried during a certain scene in the movie...

[[ at the movies. ]]

Ok, so I guess that was me failing at "keeping it short". In a sentence: I was pleased with it, and all of the boys liked it too, including Pat much to my surprise.

accidentally excited for the hunger games ... shh, don't tell

Ok, so I may have accidentally gotten a little more into The Hunger Games then I originally intended to...

I swear I will stop posting about these silly books soon! Probably just one more after I actually see the movie, so bare with me.

[[ poster compilation from imdb. ]]

Upon beginning the series I put up this post with my initial reactions and comparisons which I concluded were pretty spot on once I completed the series and posted a second time. I thoroughly enjoyed the books but decided not to pay too much attention to all of the film hysteria. However, my attempts were a little bit trumped by my lingering curiosity and maybe a little bit of excitement. I could not help but purchase the special editions of Entertainment Weekly and People magazine when I came across their covers glaring at me while picking up my groceries. I similarly could not help but look up some early film reviews to ease my worry of this turning in to a teen franchise with no actual claim as a quality adaptation. So fine Hunger Games, I surrender. After reading a few reviews I am finding myself pleasantly surprised and actually more eager to see the film.

The most important review of not only the film but the book as well is this article by Greg Garrett. He goes into detail about the story itself comparing and contrasting it with our current society which is exactly what I was thinking the entire time. He even agrees with my early review comparing aspects of the story to "A Brave New World". I knew I was on to something...

If you want to read a well written review that is simply about the movie the following article by Jenny Block was quite satisfactory, though be aware that there are SPOILERS in this one if you are not familiar with the books.

I will undoubtably be adding my own little review upon seeing the movie, but who knows when that will be. No, I did not go see it at midnight last night, nor do I intend to see it today, or anytime this weekend. I live in a town with only two theaters and a large import of 18 year olds on top of the standard amounts of high schoolers for a city this size, so that sounds like a nightmare. Plus, I am not positive I will be able to convince Pat to see it with me so I will have to enlist the help of someone else. I do feel a little bit silly for being so interested in this super mainstream story especially with as popular as it is among high schoolers, but, what can I say, sometimes it happens. Case and point, Harry Potter. So bring it on. I am hoping for a well made trio of movies.

the hunger games - wrap up

Yesterday while I was working on my image heavy post I finished listening to The Hunger Games series. Each book took about two work days to get through, so it was a pretty quick listen. Despite hearing from someone else who hated the ending, I actually liked it. I thought they finished exactly how they were supposed to, (though I did think the epilogue was a bit unnecessary, but no matter). It would have never worked with a fairytale ending. I can't really say much more than that without giving anything away, but I had a good time with them and the author did an amazing job of creating a new world for readers to emerse themselves in.

After quickly finishing the first book I kind of had a feeling of where the series would go, but there were definitely lots of twists I did not see coming, and of course I could have never actually guessed how it would go from point a to my assumed version of point b. My main criticism was the love triangle throughout the books which I could have happily done without, not completely because some of it was necessary for character development, but perhaps a little less heavy handed. Luckily there was enough of a plot outside of that detail to keep me interested. So, overall I would say it was an entertaining, disturbing, thought provolking, and can't-put-this-down type of "read" with plenty of interesting turns and details, and I would recommend it to anyone interested.

I will watch the movie eventually I am sure, but based on the marketing I think it is going to be a washed down teen version. Thats what I get for reading a popular book among teens haha, oops. The book has young characters, but the story is really about the brutality of a government and revolution, not sure I anticipate that being conveyed too intensely in the film(s), but, I can always hope they keep some darkness to them.

[[ district seals, from google images. ]]

the hunger games

I have been curious about The Hunger Games for a while and with the hype about the upcoming movie I thought I would see what the books were all about. I just started the first one today (audiobook) and am already through almost half of it! So, obviously, they are interesting.

A post apocalyptic world that incorporates physically dividing social classes by food rations, grotesque upper class materialism, and a survivor esc. fight to the death competition determined by a lottery system. See, interesting. I am reminded of Huxley's A Brave New World (one of my favorites) in the aspects of "the capital", a short story written in the 20's called The Most Dangerous Game, and surprisingly enough a recent movie called In Time which has class separation by sectors itself.

So far I like what I am hearing.

[[ image from themoviebanter.com. ]]

(P.S. I really hope they don't make the movie(s) too little kid and cheesy, which I think they might since the characters are primarily young).

midweek inspiration 14

So, this is super random, and really nerdy too! Ah! It falls under midweek inspiration because I could look through this for hours.

I do not fully understand what sparked this sudden remembrance of a favorite childhood book, but it popped into my head today out of nowhere. Dinotopia. If my memory serves me correctly, it is a essentially about a utopian world where dinosaurs and humans coexist in a victorian esc. society (1800s I believe). Though I do not remember details of the story, I do remember spending hours looking through the whimsical illustrations and "scientific sketches" created by author James Gurney. I briefly remember the creation of a pretty horrible TV spinoff that came out far past the point that I was interested in the subject, but the book itself is pretty awesome. They could do some sweet cinematic things with a real budget, just sayin.

I really want to buy myself a new copy asap, but I will have to sit on it for a while, since it is close to a hundred dollars and I have other expenses to worry about currently. I think the original might have even been my dad's copy that I would steal from him...

Do you know what this book is too? Pat has no idea, he thinks I am insane.

[[ imagery from the book. from google images. ]]

terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Yesterday was not a great day. I was grumpy and did not feel like posting.

Everything was ok until I got home and was greeted by a red light ticket that came in the mail for me. Two hundred and eighty seven dollars... I am a good driver. A safe driver. I do not speed. And I do not run red lights. The circumstance was two Sundays ago when I was trying to find my way back on to the freeway from Bridgeport so that I could get my super sick self home. I was lost in an area with no traffic whatsoever, literally no other cars, and completely thought that the light was green in my sick state of mind. Apparently, I was wrong. :( And all for a silly signed Deftones album for Pat. It was worth getting sick for, but the trickle of bad things stemming from that Friday night are starting to get larger and larger. Now I have to show up to a court date in the middle of the day an hour away from where I live at the end of next month to try and at least get that outrageous fine reduced. Sad Jenn.

I also just found out that the only house in town that we have even considered renting that we just looked at yesterday is more then likely off of the market because we did not fill out paperwork right then and someone else scooped it up right out from underneath us. We are never going to find a place to live and I am honestly completely discouraged and depressed about it at this point.

Did you ever read this book when you were little? "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Dad Day". I used to love it. Some days/weeks nothing seems to go right.

[[ a very relevant book from my childhood. ]]

our growing book collection...

I have mentioned before that I have a thing for books... I am not always all that in to reading, but have always loved collecting them. Since me and Pat discovered Barnes and Noble's Leatherbound Classics Series a summer or two ago, we are obsessed! Not only are they beautifully packaged/designed, but they include some of my favorites and some very notable novels that everyone should read at some point in their lives.

Earlier this week Pat went online to buy something from their website, and I asked him to purchase "To Kill A Mockingbird" for me, because I have been wanting to re-read it for a while, and guess what I found?! B&N just released more books to the collection, including "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", another I have been trying to find for quite some time. I am equally excited about adding these two to our collection as I am about finally reading them again.

We do not have the entire collection, but at this point we are pretty close... keep them coming! I should probably pick up Jane Austen's book at some point, I have actually never read any of her novels. They also just put out "Dracula" which I think would be sweet to have.

[[ new books. our collection. ]]

My goal is to work on reading most of the top novels throughout history (the ones I find appealing at least), or re-read them if necessary. Here is a little list that someone compiled... I wish I could remember the name of the book that this came out of, (I will try to find out and put that information on here)... I snapped this picture on my phone while over at a friends house on Superbowl Sunday.

[[ "books everyone should read in their lifetime". ]]

I can cross off some of these, but a long way to go. I should probably start with the boldest ones and work my way down... "Brave New World" is one of my recently re-read favorites. 

harry potter?

Quite a while ago Pat started listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks. I made fun of him because I thought it was really silly to be listening to a book instead of reading one, and Harry Potter at that. I have now officially eaten my words completely.

I initially resisted the Harry Potter obsession due to my little sisters constant attempts at impersonating a british accent, and based on my impression that this series was for children after the first movie was released back in 2001. Therefor I never really had any desire to read any of the books... until the story started getting a bit darker, as evident by the films. Then it sparked a bit more of my interest.

So, over the summer I started listening to each of the seven books chronologically while it was a bit slower at work. I JUST finished the second part of the last book 'Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows'. 1) I currently feel like the biggest nerd ever. 2) It was soooo good. 3) I would definitely listen to the whole series over again, in fact, I might at some point. 4) I am kind of sad that I finished it, that must mean it is good. And 5) I would absolutely recommend the Harry Potter audiobooks (as read by Jim Dale) to anyone who has some time to listen to them.

My apologies to Pat. ♥

[[ harry potter box set. and yes, pat does own this. i bought it for his birthday. ]]

P.S. Sorry Edward/Jacob lovers, I'm still NOT into Twilight. :)

"don't quit your day job"

I stumbled across this book today when I was looking through Etsy and reading the success stories of people who have quit their day jobs and are now self employed working on their crafts. (which would be amazing by the way). The book "Don't Quit Your Day Job: The Artist In The Office" by Summer Pierre seems to be about realizing the value and potential in your day job, while finding time throughout each day to feed your artistic need.

This is a concept I can totally relate to because it is something I strive for every day. I obviously need my job to support myself financially, and though it is creative in nature, the vibe is much more corporate than my self authored work. Therefor I think of things to work on every day to keep myself engaged with design, and to feel more productive. This blog is a huge part of that. Since starting it in September, I feel like I get more accomplished every day because I am devoting my time to creating something I like. Just for me. Because I want to.

I think I need this book asap.

[[ cover. sketch like artwork from the book. ]]

grenades, wine, and a book.

One of my least favorite things is when a new video game comes out... let me be more specific... when a new shooter video game comes out that Pat is interested in. I get the pleasure of listening to fake explosion sounds and Pat yelling to his friends "What the *%$# I totally got like five headshots, how is that guy still standing!?" All night.

Thanks to Call of Duty, I have not exactly been able to enjoy much company from the boys this week... So in order to feel somewhat constructive, I poured myself a glass of wine and decided to FINALLY revisit "A Lion Among Men". I have been sort of reluctant to read it because it fills me with memories every time i pick it up, and I sort of feel as though it is my last real connection to Johni. I am not really sure how to explain it, but I am hesitant to actually finish the book... although last night I read about 60 pages unintentionally. I think I will try to finish the section that I am on tonight, but I am not sure if I want to move on much further past that just yet. Soon though...

[[ canas feast wine. pasta with chicken for dinner. book. halloween candy. ]]

book collection.

Me and Pat started collecting the special additions of some classic books released by Barnes & Noble a while ago. At this point we have almost all of them. Although I have read some of these copies, I must admit that they are mostly for display based on their interesting designs both individually and as a series. I think this is starting to be a problem though... there are so many amazing redesigns and I want them all! Like these F. Scott Fitzgeralds by Penguin Classics! They would look so pretty on a bookshelf.

[[ beautiful redesigns of f. scott fitzgeralds classics. i want. ]]

P.S. I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my Step Mom Patty!! Thanks for always being there for me and Megs when we really need you. (I highly doubt she will look at this, but I thought it was worth noting).

wicked

Oh man today sucked. I got stuck running something to Troutdale and straight back for work... So like 4.5 hours in the car. (Got a little lost finding the little airport in the middle of nowhere...) The car was a big company truck mind you that made me feel like I was in a perpetual earthquake and sounded like the engine was going to explode because everything was so loud. This whole transaction gave me the pleasure of getting one of the worst migraines I have ever had. I seriously didn't think I was going to make it back to Corvallis.

[[ series: wicked. son of a witch. a lion among men. ]]

Anyway...
I started reading the Wicked series a while back after being curious about it for a long time... Johni decided to read the series with me, which was awesome, because I actually had someone to talk to about it. We were on the third and final book, "A Lion Among Men". As of right now I am a little more than halfway through it, but I stopped reading when Johni wasnt on Skype last week because I wanted to make sure I wouldn't pass her. Now I feel like I really need to finish it, but I can't bring myself to do it yet! :[ The first book is still our favorite, but I am anxious to see if this one answers all the questions about the series I have left. I sure hope so..................

Yesterday I found these images by Lissy Elle that are beautiful!! Wicked is definitely NOT the story from The Wizard of Oz, but I can totally see one of these with some ruby slippers or even better, green skin. Love the dirty feet too. <3<3<3

[[ harry potter. peter pan. alice in wonderland. beauty & the beast. ]]