Instagram Catch up

Wow, it's been such a LONG time since my last post! Lately I have been making short cute videos each month of my Instagram photos using the flipagram app, and since I haven't posted anything for over a month I thought I'd share my videos for a fun quick post. If you want to follow me on Instagram my username is: love_sami

January Photos

February Photos

March Photos

April Photos

May Photos

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How they survive now

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts
194 pages
Released: November 2004
Buy it @ book depository

“Every war has turning points and every person too.”

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.

As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.

A riveting and astonishing story.

Review 

It's so hard to like Meg Rosoff books. Because they are always a little strange and hard to relate to. This is only the second book by her that I've read so I can't really judge all of them, but so far the record isn't good. 

It was an interesting book, a book about war, first loves, family and much more. I listened to this on audiobook and I'm so glad I did, because I've seen how it is written, and that could've been a huge downfall for me. Daisy is the main character and the book is written from her point of view with no talking marks or indication of who was speaking at times.

A few things I'm going to mention about the story and they may be spoilers, so read ahead at your own risk. I have to mention the incest, I know you can't help who you fall in love with but I found it a little weird. I didn't see how it was important to the story, Daisy can have love for her family and still want to protect them, she doesn't need to be romantically in love to need to protect them. Something I wished had been explained a bit more was Edmunds mental/mind reading powers. Did he have them? I'm going to say yes!

What I liked about the book was the ending, it was true to how war can affect someone so young. I also liked the strength of the children, surviving all by themselves. I have lots of respect for them!

After finishing this I watched the movie and I got a huge shock. They had changed character's personalities and many other things. People even died who didn't die in the book. It was a terribly sad movie and I don't plan on watching it again. The book is so much better!

 

On the cover 

This is a beautiful cover, you can't see it in this picture but the book actually has shiny parts where some of the butterflies are. I wouldn't think by looking at this cover that this would be the type of story inside.  There are so many different covers for this, but I think I like this one the best. This isn't a pretty book on the inside but it is on the outside.

What I'm listening to next: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

 

Good Old Classic Movies ~ Part Two!

I did a post over 6 months ago showcasing some classic movies that I watched for the first time. Here are a few more that I have watched and a small review about each.

 

Funny Face (1957) In Colour

Starring: Audrey Hepburn & Fred Astaire

  

I am even more in love with Audrey Hepburn after seeing this movie. I love her dancing and her fashion style. She is so adorable and even more because she is working in a bookshop - my kind of gal. I don't know about Fred Astaire as the love interest though, he's an awesome dancer/actor, but not that attractive in my eyes.

How to marry a millionaire (1953) In colour

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Gable & Lauren Bacall

I thought this was the movie that Marilyn sang 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' in, but it's not. I still really enjoyed it. The only thing that I was annoyed with was how they made Marilyn look like a ditzy, clumsy girl. They made her seem like the stereotypical blonde.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) In B & W

Starring: Gregory Peck, John Megna & Frank Overton

This was an ok movie, but not a favourite. I haven't read the book and after watching this it doesn't make me want to read it, I still will but I'm not in a hurry to read it. Great acting and story, I just don't think it was up my alley.

The Birds (1963) In Colour

Starring: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren & Suzanne Pleshette

Was a little slow, but I can see that for it's time it would've been terribly scary and the special effects would've looked fantastic. I'm not saying that it looks bad, it still looks pretty good. I just didn't like it as much as Psycho. I also felt there wasn't really an explanation for why the birds were attacking people, which let the movie down a bit for me.

 

Singin' in the rain (1952) In Colour

Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor & Debbie Reynolds

This was fantastic!! The story, comedy, dancing, singing and acting were all of high quality. It has become a favourite movie and I will watch this again for sure! Gene & Debbie are so gorgeous together!

  

An Affair to Remember (1957) In Colour

Starring: Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr

A romantic movie with a twist at the end. Was quite good, but I'm not dying to watch it again.

Do you have any classic movie suggestions for me?

 

 

More from Patrick Ness please!

More than this by Patrick Ness

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
472 pages
Released: September 2013
Buy it @ book depository

A boy named Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust, and completely abandoned. What’s going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this. . . 

Review

Patrick Ness has done it again! This book is like "A Monster Calls", it's hard to truly explain how you feel when you finish it. Anyone who reads this will get a different meaning or take something away from this. 

For me, what I take away from this is that we as humans live such short lives and we should try to make the most of what we have now. There is always more out there and never feel like 'is this all my life is going to be?'. If your life isn't what you want it to be, then go out there and do what you want and make it how you want it to be.

Seth was a refreshing character, I didn't particuarly like or hate him, but I can understand him. He was realistic and I liked that. I really loved Tomasz, always saving the day and giving us some comic relief in a world where there's nothing much except confusion and fear.

As with Ness' other books that I've read, there are always so many questions needing to be answered and lots of twists along the way too. This book is no different. There was action, suspense and mystery. I want MORE Patrick Ness please!

The next part of my review is a bit of a spoiler so read at your risk if you haven't read the book. Ness really made me think: How would I feel if all my life until now had ony been a sort of dream, not real and that I was living a life that meant nothing? If this isn't real then I would be happy with the descisions I've made. But, I don't think I'd like to live two different lives. I'm happy with the one I have now, I can see how for some people this would be a blessing to have a chance to live life a different way.

 

On the cover 

Something I have to mention about this cover is the feel. When holding this book in your hand and rubbing the cover it has a weird almost soft feel to it. Pick the hard cover up and have a feel. I love this cover! So simple but it draws my eye straight away. It's telling me could there be more than this? Open up this book to find out.

What I'm listening to next: How I Live Now Meg Rosoff

 

Chocolate Birds Nest Treats

I was extremely busy during March and it showed in the amount of blog posts for last month. Only 1! That has to be some sort of a record for me haha! We are just over a week away from Easter, Have you bought all your chocolates and gifts for family & friends yet?

Have you got your special treats organised to bring along to an Easter party? No!? Well, here is something I want to share with you all. They are so simple to make, look fantastic and most of all taste delicious!

These are just your everyday chocolate spiders with some cute easter chocolate eggs on top! Peanut butter lovers will gobble these up!

Makes: approx 20 (it all depends on how big you make them)

Prep & Cooking time: approx 30mins

Setting time: Min 3hrs

Ingredients:

1 100g packet of Chang's Original Fried Noodles
1 350g block of Cadbury Chocolate
2 Tablespoons of peanut butter
1 Bag of Chocolate Candy Eggs

Instructions:

1. Prepare trays with grease-proof paper

2. Cut or break up all the Cadbury chocolate, then melt it along with the peanut butter in a large saucepan over another saucepan filled with water on the stove.

3. Once this is melted and combined, remove from stove and add in the noodles. Mix very carefully, trying not to break too many of the noodles.

4. Taking a spoon (I use a table spoon) scoop out mixture and place onto prepared tray until all is used.

5. Now you can artisticly arrange your eggs on top of the nests however you like!

6. Put this into the fridge and let it set for at least 3 hrs. ENJOY!

TIP: You can put the chocolate and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl, then microwave for approx 1min instead of melting it on the stove if you prefer. This way is a lot quicker. Make sure that mixture is smooth before adding in noodles. You may need to reheat if not completely melted.

Have you ever tried making these before? How did it go?

The reluctant reviewer

The Reluctant Hallelujah by Gabrielle Williams

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
264 pages
Released: February 2012
Buy it @ angus & robertson

But there I go, getting ahead of myself. Skipping straight to the part where I was front-page news and they were calling me Dorothy, instead of starting at the beginning...

When Dodie's parents go missing just as final year exams are about to start, she convinces herself they're fine. But when the least likely boy in class holds the key – quite literally – to the huge secret her parents have been hiding all these years, it's up to Dodie, her sister, the guy from school, and two guys she's never met before, to take on the challenge of a lifetime. So now Dodie's driving – unlicensed –to Sydney, and being chased by bad guys, the police, and one very handsome good guy.

Review

 

I have been waiting SO long to read this. I've heard all sorts of really amazing things about it and couldn't wait to find out what was in the basement. Unfortunately for me, the big secret of what was in the basement was spoiled by someone opening their BIG mouth! It would've been awesome not knowing and finding out through reading the story. I would never have guessed what was down there. ::grumble grumble::

Anywho, What I want to talk about is the actual book now. It was such a strange, but simple story. I wonder where the author got the idea from. (If anyone follows her or has read anything about it, please leave a comment, thanks!)

Now that I've read it, I don't think it's as awesome as I thought. Maybe I hyped it up too much or it could be that the mystery surrounding the book had been revealed to me. Either could be true, I still really enjoyed reading it and it was a nice short book with under 300 pages. Something else that let the book down a bit was the ending. I'm a little disappointed, it felt like what happened with Jones (people who have read this may know what I'm talking about) was a way to wrap up the story quickly and didn't need a lot of explaining. There was a good amount of romance and intrigue to keep me going, but not enough to get 5 stars.

Overall, a pleasant story with likable characters and an interesting twist. Worth the 4 stars and I will definitely try something else written by Gabrielle Williams

On the cover 

 

Now that I've read the book I can understand what that sparkly cross means. Why sparklers though? I guess because they are used during special occasions, and this journey will always be remembered in the characters hearts? All I know is that I think it's an awesome cover and I'm drawn to it!

What I'm reading next: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

 

DIY Heart Baubles

I recently got engaged and am underway organising my engagment party. I love doing crafts and wanted to make some of the decorations myself. I found this great tutorial on how to make 3D Heart Christams Baubles so I followed the pattern, except my baubles have five sides instead of seven.

Materials needed:

• Scrapbooking paper (mine is double sided, twice the amount of designs)
• Bakers Twine
• Glue
• Scissors

Step 1.

Using a template cut out all your shapes. For my design you wil use five hearts to make the bauble.

Step 2.

Fold all your hearts in half, with the design you want on the inside of the fold.

Step 3.

Glue one out side of your heart only.

Step 4.

Using another heart, press one side of it to the glued edge of the other heart.

Press down firmly and make sure the hearts are even from top to bottom.

Repeat this until you have one more heart to glue down.

Step 5.

Add glue to the whole side of the heart and place the bakers twine down the middle of the two hearts.

Using the last heart, press it to the glued sides.

Press down and once again make sure the hearts are even from top to bottom.

 

Here is your final product. I decided to make nine but I may make more depending on the rest of my decorations for the engagement party.

 

What have you created lately?