Lost in a Bookstore

Yesterday I ran a few errands: I had a few boxes in my car that I've been wanting to take to Goodwill, plus clothes to take to Plato's Closet and finally, a box full of books that I wanted to take to Bookman's.

If you're not in the state of Arizona, you probably won't know what Bookman's is. Basically it's a chain of used bookstores here in the state (they also sell music, records, DVDs and more) that you can take your books to and either get cash or store credit. You will definitely always get more for store credit, however.

So I dropped off my box of books - they said it would take about 15 minutes to look through them and decide if they wanted anything - and started to look around. So you may know I work in a bookstore (Barnes & Noble), but it's still amazing to me how lost I can get in them. I wanted to look at everything, as well as try to get some things I've been wanting for a while.

Something that used bookstores have that Barnes & Nobles don't is books with a story: they aren't straight from a warehouse, they've had owners before. I like to see those stories, collected under one roof.

First I found these cute notebooks that had the covers from old Harlequin books on them. I ended up buying a smaller version.

I love going through the kid's section of bookstores - I'm always on the look out for UK editions of Harry Potter, which you can sometimes find at Bookman's - but I also just love running into old favorites.

Like I said, the store has a little bit of everything.

In the end they wanted about half of the box I brought in, meaning I got $50 in store credit. I already had $11 from a previous donation so I was able to get myself a few things this trip and have $30 left over. 

                                       

Of them I got "Falling Skies" Season 1 for my mom's birthday on Friday, plus that notebook and two books:

I found this randomly and judged a book my its cover and title. It sounded great!  

This is actually one of my all time favorites. I had give my copy to someone and have been needing another for myself. 

So concluded my trip. I'll have to go to a different location with my store credit to see if they had any of the books I was looking for but couldn't find. 

Until next time, 

Rose

Apple Store + Window Shopping

So I had to go to the Apple Store at La Encantada today - which is basically an upscale shopping center here in Tucson - because my phone was having some problems. Thankfully it's nothing serious - probably just my charging equipment - so after charging my phone a bit at the Apple store I decided to stop by a few places in the shopping center. Because why not.

First off: Crate & Barrel. I love this store, though I haven't gotten to buy too much from due to the prices. Everywhere you look is absolutely beautiful, so I decided to torture myself a little and look around. Plus I got 75 Shopkick points. Score.

So here are some of the photos of the items I really liked seeing today:

I want a couch like this so badly in the future!

Wall of throw pillows! I'm obsessed. 

After Crate & Barrel I walked over to AJ's because I'm ridiculous. I knew I didn't need to buy anything, but I just love it in there. I thought at the very least I'd grab my favorite lemonade that I can only get there and one other place. I usually get the pizza by the slice because it's so good, but I had pizza the other day and wasn't feeling it. Then I saw some delicious looking California rolls (a new thing I just started to like) and then went over to the bakery and saw they had a package of 6 macarons for a killer price. Well, at least this impulse lunch purchase was worth it.

Well, that's all for today's exciting day off. 

Until next time - 

Thoughts on this as a way to "sign off" on blogs? I didn't really like any other font enough.

Initial Review: Lullabies by Lang Leav

I'm so excited because today I got to buy "Lullabies," a collection of poetry by Lang Leav after work! It's not "officially" out until the 16th, however there seems to be a lot of stores with it already out on the shelves. I work at Barnes and Noble, so even though it was still in the back room, I was able to purchase it as it's not a book that has a strict on sale date.

"Lullabies" is the sequel to "Love & Misadventure," Lang Leav's first collection of poetry. Both explore the themes of love and loss.

Excuse the cover; my copy is rather well loved.

I've only flipped through the book a bit, since I've only had it for a few hours, but already have a few favorites. Leav's style of poetry is something I enjoy so much - it's modern, often short and concise. She also delves into some of my favorite style of poetry - prose poetry. 

Lang Leav's poetry is emotional and clever. Like any successful poet, she makes you feel every word and makes every word count. 

Here is her reading some of her poetry and talking about her craft, from her first book "Love & Misadventure."

I ardently recommend this to anyone who even casually enjoys poetry. It's not some sort of epic, like "The Odyssey" or anything. It's from a modern author, as well, and easy to grasp if you find older poetry harder to relate to. If I'm leading a customer over to the poetry section when I'm working, I like to point out the copies of "Love & Misadventure" whenever I can.

The cover is beautiful, with a golden title that is such an elegant touch. The book also features the author's drawings, something it shares with her first collection of poems. 

If you want to learn a bit more about Lang Leav, visit her website/Tumblr. She has her About and FAQ there. It's also very exciting to see an author that is so in touch with her fans. Check out both "Love & Misadventure" and "Lullabies" here on the Barnes and Noble website (yes, that's a plug!)

I'm quite happy to have both of my copies side by side now! I like how they complement each other. Having a collection of poetry is nice in that you don't have to sit down and read it cover to cover. You're able to flip around its pages and explore. It does have a unique story to tell if you do read in in order, but can be just as interesting if you skip around. Especially the first: it's a very personal journey from its start to its end and when you flip through the pages, it feels like you're time traveling through years of a life. I expect that "Lullabies" will be just as good a journey.  

Until next time, Rose

Recipe: Coffee Cupcakes

I've been wanting to make these cupcakes for weeks now and I finally had a few days off work that I could really work on them! I hope you enjoy this post and the recipe (also spoiler alert: they are delicious!)

First off, your ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar ½ cup butter, softened to room temperature 
• 2 eggs 
• 1¾ cups all purpose flour, sifted 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 
• 1 cup brewed coffee, chilled (use any kind you like, I used decaf since I can't have caffeine)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
• ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips 

My first step was to brew my coffee so I could throw it in the refrigerator (and later in the freezer) to chill while I got all my other ingredients ready. 

After that I pre-measured a lot of the ingredients so I didn't have to worry about them too much (yes, I'm that person that reads a recipe like twelve times). You should pre-heat the oven right now to 350 degrees.

The very first step is to cream your butter and sugar together. I had no idea how to do this and wasn't sure if I would be able to do it by hand, but good old YouTube didn't let me down. Here is the video I watched to teach myself how to cream the butter - it worked out great! (I used a rubber spoon/spatula). A great thing to remember is that you can't over cream the mixture and the longer you do it, the smoother it becomes, which helps your cupcake's consistency! 

Mix together your flour, baking powder and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Add the vanilla to your coffee (which should be chilled by now) and set them both aside. 

Next add your eggs, one at a time, to the butter mixture and blend them well. 

Finally you're going to start adding your dry ingredients and your coffee mixture to the butter/egg mixture. Add them gradually, one at a time. I did dry, mix, coffee, mix and over again. Then fold in your chocolate chips.

(Around this time, Elphie decided she wanted to help and parked herself in the middle of the kitchen and I almost tripped over her. Adorable.) 

I might have spilled a bit of flour on her.
Flour + black cat = pretty hilarious.

When everything is all mixed together, it's time to fill your cupcake pan. About 1/4 a cup per liner. Then throw it in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until you can put a toothpick inside and it comes out clean. (You are now required to lick your batter bowl while you wait, unless you're too scared of salmonella.) 

Yuuuuuum!

Next up: let your cupcakes cool completely. I basically cleaned up my mess (or your roommates/parents will be mad with you!) and then showered so I wasn't constantly checking them. When I came back from my shower they were ready to decorate - and here is the really fun part. I made them look like mini fraps from Starbucks. 

I got these Cupcake Gems, which worked out great, because they made them look like a Carmel Ribbon Crunch!

I bought icing bags and attachments to decorate, because I wanted the frosting to look like whipped cream on top of the cupcakes. I was nervous at first, because filling the bag can be a little tricky, but most will come with instructions and once again - YouTube is your friend if you want to see someone do it practically! The actually icing worked out amazingly. I felt like I was on Cupcake Wars or something! (Once again, you are now required to lick the spoon/spatula that you were using to get the icing into the bag.)

Next up: the Cupcake Gems!

Finally, I "borrowed" a few extra straws from the cafe where I work (Barnes and Noble) which brews Starbucks drinks. Obviously you can get them at an actual Starbucks, or buy a pack of green straws at the store. I cut them up, about an inch or so (though I should have gotten an extra straw because I had to cut a few in half because I didn't have enough). Then you stick them in the cupcake and frosting, making it look like a straw! 

And done! The next test is obviously the taste test. I took one where the frosting wasn't the prettiest and it was so good. You can taste the coffee - though I imagine that regular coffee might be stronger than decaf. There are also a lot of possibilities with flavored coffee: hazelnut, glazed chocolate donut (which my roommate loves!), or whatever else you like to have in the mornings. That is definitely a good personal touch. And if you don't want them to be chocolate cupcakes, leave out the cocoa powder and maybe add something else. Experiment a little!

I hope you enjoyed this and I wish I could let you try some. I was going to take this to work, but I think this batch will be for roommate consumption only and I'll make another for my co-workers later. 

Until next time, Rose

Afternoon Out and New Watch

I had the day off work today so I ended up messing around with this blog layout and then baking cupcakes (post for that to come tomorrow). Later in the day I went to pick Marissa up from campus after she was done with her classes. From there we went to Walgreens, to pick up some photos I sent in to get printed for scrapbooking and decorate my wall.

Next we made a horrible decision to get dinner when we were out and then made an even worse decision (because it wouldn't be Marissa and I if we didn't) and went to The Cheesecake Factory.

I got the Baja Chicken tacos and they were just amazing!

While we were at the mall to eat, I wanted to run into Charming Charlie, because I've been wanting to get a watch and get in the habit of wearing it. At work I can't carry my phone around and I'm not always near a computer, so I thought why not. I need to wear a watch. There were so many beautiful options...

But I went for this watch on clearance, so if I end up not wearing it as much, it's not as big of a waste of money. I absolutely love the color regardless.

So, I don't know if this was interesting enough to post about, but here it is!

Until next time, Rose

Album Review: Midnight Cinema, Lightning in a Bottle

Artist: Midnight Cinema

Title: Lightning in a Bottle

Release Date: August 26th, 2014

Some of you may or may not know about the band Thriving Ivory. They were Vh1's Artist You Ought to Know in 2008 or 2009, I believe, with their song "Angels On The Moon." That's how I personally discovered them, when I watched the music countdowns and collection of videos on MTV and Vh1 in the mornings before school. They are in my top five favorite bands and their first and second albums are absolutely amazing. I would describe them as sort of pop rock, indie with a big emphasis on lyrics. The lead singer Clayton Stroope has a very unique, sort of raspy voice that I just love. It truly makes them stand out in the sea of voices you hear on the radio now.

Since then, they've gone through a few changes. They are now known as Midnight Cinema and just put out this album, Lightning in a Bottle, which adds to the handful of songs they had on a previous EP. I just bought it the other day and decided to do a listen through a few times and do a review.

"Perfect Stranger," "Edge of the Earth," "Back to the Butterflies," "Sooner or Later," "Love Your Lights Out," and "Someday Never Came" are all songs that were on the previous EP or a special release. I've been listening to these songs for a good six months, I think, and I love them all. The band, though a little different now, still has a very similar sound. The songs are different, of course, and there is variety between albums, but you know you're listening to the same band. A song not included is "Crazy Beautiful," which is from that initial EP and I absolutely adore.

The band, like so many, has a way of heightening emotions in a way that is completely relatable. It's hard to put into words. In their first album, there are dark tones and themes to many of the songs inside the lyrics, but the actual music is more mellow or even upbeat as a contrast. I've found that they become more upbeat from album to album. On first listen to the new songs on this album, I definitely get that feel.

The album begins with "Counting Down," which has a sort of roadtrip vibe.

One day we're gonna leave this all behind

Driving down the coast of ninety-nine

We were searching for a place we could never find

In contrast, the same song has an acoustic version at the end of the album - this little detail is great to "bookend" the album itself - and is obviously slowed down. It also features singer Emily Rath. Her vocals pair with Clayton's fit perfectly. They both sound like they belong in a smokey bar or coffee shop, with a keyboard and acoustic guitar. 

On to the title track, "Lighting in a Bottle." I already love the lyrics here. The chorus is very wordy, which I love to see from this group. I can see why it was picked to be the title track. I'm not sure if it stands out starkly from the rest, but it does take the front seat of the album. 

The album was just what I expected to see from Midnight Cinema - based off their previous discography from their Thriving Ivory days - catchy, lyrical and stunning vocals. Which, on a side note, is as amazing live as it is recorded. In a previous EP that features quite a few live tracks from a show in Salt Lake City, Clayton Stroope definitely proves that not all artists are overly auto-tuned.  

Check out the new album on iTunes, but definitely go back and see their previous work as Thriving Ivory. You will not be disappointed. 

I leave you with the music video for one of the songs off the album, "Edge of the Earth" - eat your cinematography heart out!

 Until next time, Rose

An Introduction to Me and This Blog

Well this is certainly going to be an interesting experiment. In the past when I've tried to do "actual blogging" and not Tumblr micro-blogging, it's sort of failed. But last night I was thinking a bit about wanting to review an album that was just released and I thought that this - based on my friend Izzy's use of it - would be the best platform. (Her blog is here, if you want to check it out.)

So to start off, a bit about me:

My name is Rose. I'm 22 and from Tucson, Arizona. When I say "from" I mean I currently live here and I happened to have been born here. I've moved around a lot in my life so I don't know if I'm "from" anywhere. I moved from here in Tucson when I was only around a year old to North Carolina, where I lived until the end of first grade. Then I came back to Arizona, but to the Mesa area - then I moved house around there several times until my mom moved us up to Northern Arizona, in a small little town called Cottonwood. (Yes, it's okay if you haven't heard of it.) All and all, I went to a total of eight schools from Pre-K until finally High School. I came to Tucson for my last two years of school at the University of Arizona. I just graduated in May and I'm just trying to figure out the whole "career" and "adult" thing now.

I have a Bachelor's degree in both English and Creative Writing. That's obviously the thing I love most - reading and writing. I might put some of that here, but I'm not sure. I love television, movies, books, and music (like most people my age) so for now I'm going to focus a bit on reviewing certain things in those areas. I'll also do personal posts, if I end up doing anything super interesting.

I'm going to now take a page out of Izzy's book and leave you with the song that is currently my everything: Centuries by Fall Out Boy.

Enjoy and I hope you continue with me on this little experiment!



Until next time, Rose