Book Review: A Handmaid's Tale

I read this book when we first moved to McAllen this summer. 

 

The Handmaid's Tale

Offred is a woman living in a incredibly strict society where the slightest indiscretion is likely to get you killed. She has to watch everything she says, everything she does, and even her body language. Her station in this cold society is a handmaid, who have only one purpose to fulfill, and her time is running out. The question of who she can trust in this impersonal, cold world, is vital to her survival. I could not put this book down! I loved the descriptions of her day to day life, the flash backs to her old life, it all pulled me into her world. The society in this book is reminiscent of the one in 1984 by George Orwell (one of my favorites). As the pages flew by and I was sure this book was going to end up on my favorites list too, then I got to last quarter of the book. There were several plot twists and events that felt too easy, too convenient. To me, it felt as if the author had become bored with the story and was ready to be done with it. In the end, I felt dissatisfied with the end, that is why I'm not giving the book an A. Although, be sure to read the "Historical Notes" at the end of the book, they add to the story!



Rating: B+

Apartment Update

Joe and I have been in our new apartment for 6 months now and although we haven't made many changes to the decor, there have been a few I wanted to share. 

 New bedspread!

One we had before: 

New one:

Curtains! 
We put curtains up in bedroom. 

Before:

After:

Now I want to get curtains for every room! They make such a difference.

 

 

New artwork! 

We put up a new picture in the dining area. 

New plants!

I love snake plants!

 

We still have more to do but it's a good start!

Gone with the Wind Night

 For Christmas Joe gave me Gone with the Wind on blue ray, so naturally we had to do a themed movie night, duh! Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite movies (I've read the book several times and love it as well), so of course I was super excited to plan a night themed around it. First I picked out my most Gone with the Wind-y outfit, a maxi skirt with a belt and a button up shirt. I wish I could have worn a full on hoop skirt but seeing as they aren't in style (except on Halloween or at a renaissance festival), and really aren't very practical, I decided not to purchase one. Here is a pic of my outfit:

 I even did my hair in an updo:

  After I planned out my outfit and hair, I started on the menu. For our cocktail hour I made Georgia juleps (peach flavored mint juleps). They were delicious!!! Also very dangerous, it would be easy to drink them quickly because they taste so good but they are very strong.

 For dinner we made fried chicken breast, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and buttermilk biscuits. We'd never fried chicken before and it turned out really well, Joe loved it. During cocktail hour and dinner we listened to songs from the Civil War era. After eating our home cooked southern meal, we watched the movie. I always forget how long it is and we were both pretty tired by time it was over. Joe had never seen the entire movie so I kept nudging him when he would nod off (I'm awful, I know). The night was a blast, more movie theme nights are definitely in our future. 

*Disclaimer: while I love Gone with the Wind, I completely realize that it inaccurately portrays of the lives and attitudes of American slaves. It was published in 1936 and reflects the racism that was, sadly, so common in society back then.

Happy New Year everyone!!! New Year's Eve is one of my favorite holidays! Champagne, sparklers, cocktail parties, what's not to love? This year we decided to throw a New Year's Eve party for just the two of us. First we went to the movies then we headed home to ring in the new year with a homemade dinner. We made French 75s, one of my favorite cocktails, and for dinner had chicken parmesan, one of Joe's favorites. Everything was delicious!

This year I decided to make simple New Year's resolutions, my main one is to take more photos. Here is the first photo I took in 2014:

I got new champagne flutes for Christmas and I love them! Perfect for ringing in the New Year.

 

What are your New Year's resolutions?

The Holidays & A Little Puppy Named Leo!

I hope everyone's holidays were merry and bright! I had planned on putting up several holiday themed posts but alas, time got away from me. Since it has been so long since my last post I thought it would be best to post a summary of the holidays and what's been happening around here. 

Thanksgiving:

This year Joe and I went to Austin for Thanksgiving. We are originally from Austin and our families still live there. I would've loved to host dinner this year, but now that we live 5 hours away instead of 3 hours, it's harder to get people to come visit. This year we had to split Thanksgiving three ways and it was a little hectic. Hopefully we will get the hang of it and next year will go more smoothly. 

Holiday shopping and crafting:

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas my mom came down to McAllen. It was wonderful, we went shopping, fussed over her new puppy (more about him later), and did some crafts. When she was here, I got all of my Christmas shopping done! That's a big accomplishment for me, normally I'm still out shopping on the 23rd. 

 

Christmas:

We went to Austin for Christmas. Joe's brother and his wife came down from New York for the holiday, they don't always get to come so it was a real treat to have them with us.  Ok, so quick side note, I adore my sister-in-law! She got me the sweetest gift, it's a bracelet that spells out sister with beads in Morse code. Isn't that cool? I think so. We had a very nice Christmas, nothing too eventful, just good times with family. A few days after Christmas I had lunch with my best friend. She lives in California now and we don't get to see each other very often, which of course makes me sad. So getting to see her, even if it was only for lunch, was wonderful!  




Now on to some exciting news: as I mentioned above, my mom got a puppy!

 He is the cutest!!! His name is Leo and he's a dachshund mix. We think he is probably a chiweenie, which is a mix between a dachshund and a chihuahua, but we're not sure. She got him from a shelter in Austin. He had some health problems when my mom first got him, but now he is all better and being a rascal (chewing, nipping, you know the normal puppy stuff). I posted some more pics of him below (I'm very attached to him even though he isn't even my puppy):

Movie Review: Gravity

 I saw this movie in 3D at the theater. 

Gravity

This film is the story of astronauts dealing with catastrophic events that occur during a spacewalk. Without giving too much away, it's a story about the strength of hope and the human spirit. Wow! This movie was awesome, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. As a child I wanted to be an astronaut, I no longer wish that dream had come true. Not only did this movie make me realize I don't want to go to space, it also made me feel like I had been to space. Sandra Bullock's acting is superb, it would have been easy to overact and make this role melodramatic and unbelievable. George Clooney is charming as usual (feel like he always plays himself, you know, charismatic, handsome, funny). The special effects were fantastic, again it made me feel like I had been to space. My prediction is that this movie is going to be a major contender at the Oscars (lots of people have predicted this). I highly recommend seeing the movie in 3D. If there is a theater near you that's playing it, go see it. Now. 

Rating : A+

DIY: Luminaries

Halloween is over and that makes me sad. I love Halloween for many reasons, costumes, candy, cooler weather (some of the time), jack-o-laterns, parties, scary movies on t.v., and the decorations, just to name a few of them. Not many people know my love for Halloween because unfortunately we have very few Halloween decorations. Every year we carve a pumpkin but that's really it as far as our decorating goes. This year I decided to rectify this situation. A DIY project that could be used for indoor or outdoor decor would be perfect and after some research I decided to make luminaries! You know the paper bags with designs cut out and candles inside illuminating them. I posted a picture of a lit luminaria I made in my Halloween post.

Here is what you will need: 

• Paper bags- I found that gift bags with no handles work best. I got the ones pictured below at Michaels for about $3. 
• A design to cut out of your bags- I picked out a skull design for mine. Just remember the more intricate the design the  more difficult it will be to cut out, also it will take longer to do.
• Scissors, x-acto knife, thumb tack-the thumb tack is for really small holes.
• Tape-to secure your design to the front of the bag.
• Tea candles- I used the fake plastic ones, they don't look too bad in the bag and they are A LOT safer.
• Sand- or something to weigh the bag down.

    

Instructions:

1. With small pieces of tape, tape the design to the front of the bag (the front is the side without the seam). If you cut your design out on the side with the seam, it will show up as a dark line when lit. 

2. Using the x-acto knife, scissors, and thumb tack cut your design out. Be careful not to puncture the other side of the bag, I put a folded up newspaper inside the bag to prevent this. 

3. When you have finished cutting out your design, carefully remove the tape and design from the front of the bag. 

4. Next place about 2-3 inches of sand in the bottom of the bag. If you are not using real candles then you can use something else to weigh bag down. I used two lemons in mine. 

5. Lite the candle (or turn it on if you're using the fake ones). Enjoy!

Important: if using real candles, NEVER leave your luminaria unattended! Paper bags are extremely flammable, so again be careful when using real candles!

Luminaria without lit candle.

I loved the way the luminaries turned out and lucky for me the skull design I picked works for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos!