Wednesday Wants

want one

{From Paper Source}

I'm usually not a fan of heart-shaped things, but these measuring cups from Paper Source are too sweet to pass up! Just looking at them makes me want to throw on an apron, whip up some cookie dough, and spend the afternoon making sugar cookies. Who wants to come over?

want two

{From Catbird NYC}

Speaking of sweet things, I really love this teeny tiny ruby ring from Catbird NYC. I'm not much of a jewelry girl---I don't own any bracelets or earrings, and I usually like to keep my fingers naked---but this ring is calling out to me. I love the super-skinny band and the barely-there stone. Simplicity!

want three

{From Jason Wu for Target}

Oh, la la! Love, love, love. On February 5th, be sure to mark your calendars because the Jason Wu collection debuts at Target. Wu is a posh Taiwanese-American designer who has dressed the likes of Michelle Obama and Blake Lively, and he has teamed up with Target to offer a fun-and-springy line of skirts, dresses, and blouses. I'm seriously drooling over this dress. 

Although, admittedly, I'm a tad nervous about wearing white. It brings back memories of a certain white skirt that I once wore to my internship at the good ol' Air and Space Museum. I thought I was being all stylish and cute---hey, I was 22!---but then I proceeded to drop my Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice cream cone all over myself. Chocolate! On white cotton! Oh dear. That was very embarrassing....

                                                      

want four

{From Amazon}

And lastly, in book wants, I'm definitely intrigued over The Snow Child. I was strolling through the New Literary Fiction section at Barnes & Noble last night and my eyes immediately fastened onto this lovely cover. (The power of eye-catching artwork!) The prose inside was equally lovely: sparse, vivid, and just a tad haunting. The author, Eowyn Ivey, has a knack for simple-yet-beautiful prose and, yes, she was named after the character in Lord of the Rings. :) 

Also, be sure to check out the book trailer for The Snow Child. It's one of the best book trailers I've seen!

So what about you? What are you drooling over this fine Wednesday morning?

Reading Nooks and Book Reviews

I'm curled up in bed on this lazy Saturday afternoon, reading and revising and staring off into space. As much as I love my bed (any bed, really!) and my warm comforter, I'd love to carve out a little reading nook to call my own. Like these!

Or this lovely outside nook:

Maybe one day I'll win the lottery and move into a seaside cottage with lots of land with old fruit trees (and a mini horse! and a koala!) and I'll make myself a cool reading nook.

'Cause that can totally happen. 

On a book-related note, I thought I'd give a quick rundown of what I've been reading the past month. Between long plane rides and rainy Seattle afternoons, I've been able to consume quite a few novels and science-y books. A few them include: 

CINDER by Marissa Meyer

While Justin and I were in Washington state, I was lucky enough to attend Marissa Meyer's book launch in Tacoma. (Justin was very kind to tag along. And he waited in the 90-minute line with me! A true husband.) Marissa is simply lovely and I proceeded to gobble her debut novel the next day, in about five hours.

My favorite part? The world-building. I have never encountered a setting like this before, a futuristic Beijing populated with robots and palaces, with cybernetic girls and imperial princes.  I simply loved getting lost in Cinder's world. 

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukheejee

Sometimes I get in a mood where I only want to read science books. Which is a litte perplexing since I despised my chemistry and physics classes in high school. (I don't care about velocity! Or the structure of atoms!) The weird ironies of life, huh? 

The Emperor of All Maladies caught my eye because it received all sorts of praise from book reviewers. It also won the Pulitzer. In essence, it is a "biography" of cancer: how mankind has dealt with this awful disease, how we've defined it, and how we've battled to cure it. Admittedly, the book got pretty darn technical in some chapters but I just skipped those parts because this book really is good. 

It amazed me  to learn how cancer has been treated in the past. Gruesome, really. In the 1800s, doctors used to "cure" breast cancer by chopping off a woman's breast along with the muscles that extended to the collarbone, effectively causing the woman to droop over for the rest of her life. But, despite the gruesome details, this book truly honors the hundreds of doctors who devoted their lives to curing cancer and the thousands of patients who volunteered for these radical---and sometimes deadly---new treatments. A must-read. (But, yeah, skip those dry chapters.)

Starters by Lissa Price

I was lucky enough to snag an e-galley of this much-buzzed novel, which debuts in March 2012. (Thanks, NetGalley!) The premise itself is ready for a big Hollywood movie: 

In a world ravaged by war and genocide, becoming someone else is now possible. Sixteen-year-old Callie discovers the Body Bank where teens rent their bodies to seniors who want to be young again.

In a single word, this book is fast-paced. Holy mother! I couldn't stop flipping the pages on this one. The plot had me guessing at every chapter. The good guys? Not always so good. The bad guys? Not necessarily all bad. And there were some really fantastic twists at the end of the book, one of which made me go Whoa, I never saw that coming. 

Okay then, back to work! I need to finish my latest revision on my YA alternate history so I can send it to another round of beta readers. Then, onto Agent Jim! But what have you been reading lately? Any good recommendations? 

Sunday Six

One

After five weeks in Seattle, Justin and I finally arrived in DC yesterday morning. It's so good to be home. It's so very nice to sleep in our own bed, to curl up on our couch, to be surrounded by my much-missed books. 

But it's also bittersweet. Only five weeks ago, we were packing our bags, getting ready for our trip to the Keys, chatting about the beach and the sun. And now, well, everything has changed. Everything feels a bit strange. A bit off. I wish we didn't have to adjust to this new sense of normal but it's something we have to do. 

Two

On a lighter note, I'm so grateful that I could spend time with my niece, Rowan. She's three right now and being three comes with so much wonderful-ness: the little girl giggles, the pouty stubborn lips, and especially the sheer joy over the small things. Like stickers. Or candy. Or snow. Good Lord, she'd open her eyes so wide whenever she talked about snow! It was like twenty-dollar bills were falling from the sky.

Gosh, I want to be three again! 

Three

Once Rowan discovered that I had a camera on my laptop, all was lost. She especially liked making funny faces. A few of our masterpieces:

Four
On another lighter note, Justin got me a Kindle Fire as a belated Christmas present! Aside from a few kinks, I'm loving it so far, which surprises me because I was very much anti-ereader for years. (Paper books forever!) So I suppose I have ventured to the dark side... (Full review to come.)

Five
So. Some bad news. Justin is leaving for Afghanistan again, this time for six months. *Insert super sad face* But some good news? We'll get to do some traveling for his R&Rs! Right now, I'm a little enamored with Croatia, mostly because I want to visit this place:

Courtesy of Jack Brauer

Six
Well, I feel completely out of the loop in terms of blogging! What's going on with you guys? What's new? What are your reading? How's life?

Happy 2012?

Justin keeps telling me that I should post something new on my blog but I've been hemming and hawing. Truth be told, I'm not sure what to post about. More stories of Aimee? Or my little niece Rowan? Or, perhaps, delve back into the reading and writing realm?

I don't know. I guess that's why I've been avoiding my little blog for the past week. I'm not quite sure what to say, what's right to say.

But, lately, I have been thinking a lot about 2012 and what I'd like to hope for and strive for this year. I noticed that a few of my friends have chosen specific words as their New Year's goals, which I think is a fantastic idea. Of course, when it came to choosing my own word, it took me a really long time since I'm the most indecisive person in the word but I've finally settled on one.

Peace.

Peaceful emotionally. Peaceful mentally. Peaceful professionally.

2011 wasn't a very peaceful year for me and Justin. It was a year bookended by tragedy--in January we attended his father's funeral and in December we attended his sister's. And in between, there were two trips to Afghanistan for him and some major writing woes for me.

That isn't to say we were miserable, of course! Because we've laughed and we've traveled and we've loved spending time together, whether it's on the couch or at the movies or gawking at giant sea turtles in Oahu.

But...it was a trying year. And it was made even more trying because I didn't let myself feel peace. Whenever I got angry with my writing, I let those feelings stew. Whenever I got frustrated with my mom, I let that eat away at me. When I felt disappointment, I let it takeover. Overall, I'm a rather happy and positive and upbeat person but 2011 tested that.

So, yes. Peace. I need that this year. Very much so. This will be tough for me since I'm the kind of person who's ruled by her emotions. (Did any of you ever take the color personality test? Yep, I'm a blue through and through.) But I really need a sense of peace to anchor me this year, so I can get through the hard times and keep a level-head during the good ones. Whatever comes my way in 2012, I hope I can face it with grace, with humility, and with peace.

Here's to a wonderful new year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Sometimes, Life Isn't Very Fair

Sometimes, life isn't very fair.

I feel that sentiment now, in my bones, in my heart. I feel it every day, every hour even. I feel it every time I look at my niece, Rowan.

Today, I watched after Rowan while her father, Pat, was at work. We had a tea party with grandma and with Uncle Justin, and then we settled down for some cartoons. (Dora, her favorite.) At one point, Rowie climbed over to me, curling her little body next to mine, and she stared at me with her great blue eyes.

She said, "I love you, Caroline!"

And I melted. And I hugged her close. And I thought...

Life isn't fair. Aimee should be here. She should watch her little girl grow. She should wake up next to her husband. She should be here, instead of there. Here, with us. Here, with Rowan.

Can I tell you guys a little story about Aimee? I'm babbling now but it's a nice story and it shows what a kind and loving and generous person she was.

When Justin and I started talking about marriage, I told him I didn't need a fancy engagement ring. He was a soldier in the Army; I was a lowly curatorial assistant. I rationalized that it would be more practical to spend that money on furniture or bills or simply save it. Justin asked me if I was sure. I told him I was sure.

But...I'm a bit of a girly girl and engagement rings are rather pretty and it would have been nice if... Well, my practical side won out anyway.

When Justin told Aimee about our plans though, she told him she had an idea. Aimee had a diamond ring, one that meant a great deal to her. And she offered to give the diamond to her brother so, in turn, he could give it to me.

I had only met Aimee once at that point. Yet, here she was, offering up such a lovely gift. I was incredibly touched but, as I got to know Aimee more, I came to see that this was how she always was. Ready to give. Ready to smile. Ready to love.

I've worn my engagement ring every day for the past five years. It's pretty, it's lovely, just as Aimee was. And, now, every time I look at it, I think of her too.

______________

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful and supportive comments, emails, and texts. I can't tell you  how grateful I am for your friendship and outreach. I know I haven't been able to respond to everyone individually (I'm workin' on it!) but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your support. It means the world to me. It really, really does.

A Tragedy

I'm stunned, shocked, and I don't know how to say this.

My wonderful sister-in-law, Aimee Rhoads, died on Sunday in a terrible boating accident. We were in the Florida Keys, vacationing as a family to celebrate Christmas and to commemorate the passing of my father-in-law who passed away last year on December 19th.

And now, we have to mourn Aimee's death as well.

On Sunday afternoon, Aimee and I went scuba diving together off the coast of Key Largo. My husband and I have been diving for over a year, and Aimee told us how she has always wanted to try it. And so, she signed up for a discovery scuba course and I tagged along with her to keep her company.

After our first dive, we returned to the boat to change our tanks and take a short break. But before we could start our second dive, our boat started filling with water and we capsized quickly thereafter. Six of us managed to get out, but Aimee was trapped inside and the crew was unable to rescue her in time.

Justin's family is reeling. Aimee leaves behind her husband, Pat Rhoads, and her three-year-old daughter, Rowan. We are all currently in Seattle, where Aimee resided, to make funeral arrangements and to grieve together as a family.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season. And please hold your own family close. Love them. Hug them. Spend time with them. Life can be so tragically short and we are heartbroken that we have lost Aimee. She was the best of all of us.

________________

If you are interested, Aimee's husband has started a blog to commemorate her life. You can access it here.

Friday Five

One
A thousand apologies for being such a horrible blogger this past month! Between Justin coming home from Afghanistan, a Thanksgiving trip to Shenandoah, and now a quick trip to North Carolina, I've barely had time to breathe!

Two
Right now, we're in the very military town of Fayetteville, NC where Justin is giving a presentation at Fort Bragg. We lived here for three years while Justin was in the Army and I, um, was very grateful when we moved away. Hahaha. What can I say? I'm just not that into pawn shops and gun stores!

Three
Traveling has made me a terrible blogger but it has given me some time to catch up on reading! A few books I've read in the past few weeks:

All great reads! The writing in Magic Under Glass was simply lovely. There were so many passages that made me sigh and wish I could write as beautifully as Jaclyn Dolamore. The Art of Racing in the Rain had a terrific voice---the book is told from the POV of a dog!---and it could have been gimmicky but it wasn't. I also enjoyed The Future of Us (I sped through it in one afternoon) and all of the references to the 90s was a great blast from the past.

Also, it made me feel old... Discmans? Caller ID? American Online? Um yeah, those were my teen years!

Four
Speaking of traveling (ha!), Justin and I are leaving on Monday for the Florida Keys! We're celebrating Christmas early with his family and I've already stocked up on a few books from the library to keep me company.

I've already started Blood Red Road (isn't that cover awesome?) and, while it takes a bit of time to get used to that slang, it's a fantastically written novel so far.

Five
Lastly, it's my birthday tomorrow! Egads, I'm becoming an old woman and I'm not exactly looking forward to turning a year older. But! I was able to treat myself to a few things from Anthropologie, thanks to Justin and an Anthro b-day coupon. Yay, coupons and nice husbands! Boo, getting older!

On the left, I bought myself a cute blouse since I'm a sucker for lace. And on the right, I also got an owl candle that was 30% off! Whenever I get myself my own desk, he's going to keep me company. What should I name him?

So what are all of your plans for this weekend? Anything fun? Staying warm?