Snow Day and Books 2 and 3

I'm accepting the fact that winter in NJ means snow, and lots of it.

Ice on the window

 In 1777 George Washington and his troops nearly died from the winter just steps from my front door. They lived in thick log houses and had fires to keep them from dying. 

Northern Jersey winters are violent

Our thin little house is nothing like a log house. Ours is open-minded and breathes in the cold....So we have adapted the house, jerry rigged it the best we could, and had lengthy discussions of what is the difference between what we are doing and being a hillbilly. The answer: nothing. So why did we get extensive educational degrees if we are just going to live like Duck Dynasty? Who knows. But that existential question is not what I am here to write about.

Today we awoke to 12 inches of snow, and a sheet of ice on the window:

I prepared the night before by bringing home a load of non-fiction books for us:

The public library is the best

His

Hers

Deciding what to read next

Here we go!

And these are the two books I've read in the past 3 days. I will try to summarize each in a paragraph:

1. (Fiction) "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

 This is a borderline teen book about a boy who witnesses the strange death of his grandfather who was a Polish Jew escaped to America. The main character, Jacob, knows that his grandpa was in England as a child, and was sent there to be saved from Nazi's. Jacob travels to England to see if he can find some clue as to the mystery of his granpa's strange death. Then the story gets good and weird, the kid Jacob falls into a time traveling hole that takes him to 1940 where he meets the other orphans his grandpa grew up with. They are all like freak show kids that can do strange things like floating, disappearing etc. And each night the day rewinds like Groundhog Day.

I enjoyed the first half of the book because Ransom built the characters pretty well. The story reminded me of my grandma and her experience with the war. However the second half of the book was one BIG moment after another and it got tiring and lame. I hope the movie is good. It turned out to be Harry Potterish and Lord of the Ringsy which I find totally strange and not my thing. In short, I think the author copied from those books.

2. (Non-Fiction) "A Guide to Elegance" by Genevieve Dariaux

This is perhaps my second favorite non-fiction book. Really good books are worth re-reading and this is for sure one of them. Mrs. Dariaux gives an A-Z guide on elegance for women. 

I enjoy how her chapters are spread out so if I have a question on handbags I can go to H, for example.

 I also like how she talks about choosing styles and managing a budget. This is one book I think every woman could benefit from and never pick up a self-depreciating magazine again thinking what is on the cover is in "Five Minutes to Tiny Thighs!". Those titles get painful. This book will also save women money from wasting it on passing fashions. 

I am not chic by nature but by force. If given a choice between candy colors and navy I will go for the wild by instinct. 

Wild happy socks are my favorite. Also the look on that face: sleep watching. Awww

I recently purchased a purse, had second thoughts, so had to re-read this book to see if I made the right choice. I am very picky about purses and rarely buy one. My last black leather Coach one has lasted me 7 years and the cost per use turned out to be 3 cents. (7 years divided by number of times I used it = 3 cents) It is still in good condition but the time has come for another daily purse that is small enough it won't hurt my back but big enough for rainy day essentials. So I went on the hunt to some outlets knowing what I was looking for and found it. Hunting was the worst because there were so many others that were adorable but didn't fit the bill of what I knew I needed. It was hard to say no. In the end, I got the one I needed. It wasn't the most fashionable purse, not a Tory or Michael Kors. It is something that I thought would be elegant with what I wear to work, can fit over my shoulder (not a cross-body or satchel type), is black, and has a contrasting interior so I can find my stuff. It also had to have enough space for a small umbrella and water bottle. All this while looking age appropriate and not matronly. I could read one chapter of this book everyday. To  my husbands sartorial horror (being Italian he has impeccable taste by nature) I copied the pages that suggest good color combinations. That is one big area of weakness for me. 

I'm so glad someone else thought of this so I don't have to!

All in all, I am ready for my new fiction. I like alternating. Though I feel I cheated on the last one by re-reading a favorite. And my favorite part of all is this one.

 Lastly, the cats are enjoying the cold. It makes them fluffy and snuggly.

They used to cuddle all the time when they were kittens. This is a rare event at 13.

Poof

my version of a Laz-e-boy

Bentley