Dark and Light: A Small Collection of Poetry

       Though I do love my classics I am also a hugh fan of poetry, being a part-time poet myself. So, I decided to embark upon the journey of reviewing a poetry collection for the first time.

       Dark and Light is a short collection of poetry (there are 5 poems in the collection) that was published in 2011 by, K. W. McCabe.True to its title, the collection moves from darkness to light
taking you from the depths of despair to the edge of the tunnel where you are just beginning to see the light again. I enjoyed McCabe's writing style and how the despair of the poems at the collection's beginning was interwoven with hope at the end in what was my favourite poem of the collection; Butterfly. To me Butterfly stood out from the rest of the collection as the strongest poem, the imagery of a butterfly in its cocoon solidified the dark theme of the collection and the diction brought to life the sense of hope and light that the title suggests should accompany the darkness. I would have appreciated a few more poems being included in the collection mainly because I believe it would have enhanced the emotionally journey of the collection. Overall I thought Dark and Light was an interesting, if short, collection of poetry.

The Old Curiosity Shop 1/5 of the way there...

      The version of The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens which I am currently reading has about 500 or so pages. Since my last post I've gotten to page 95, considering this is my first time reading Dickens I'm pretty happy with the 95 pages that I've read since last week. However, since I do take longer to read classics I've decided to post everytime I read another 100 pages.

Little Nell is Anxious

     Only 95 pages in and Dickens has me completely hooked! At this point in the novel I can already appreciate why Dickens is one of the most famous authors in the world. The characters simply come to life with his words, they are so vivid I feel like I am right there with them the entire time!

Spoilers Warning!

Little Nell as Comforter

    So, I've figured out what the whole secret is with the grandfather. And I can't say I condone his ideas for saving for Nell's future at all. His excuses are so typical of a gambling addict; I didn't do it for the pleasure, I did it just to make money. I mean come on! I get that he really cares for Nell and wants to look after her best intentions but it annoys me that he seems to be viewed entirely as this tragic person who was just a victim of his circumstances. Though he likely didn't have many other options, a little planning could have changed all that, had he maybe considered that they would need money to save for  the future maybe he would have spared a couple of dimes for the future! That being said, I really do hope that he does ok for himself and Nell as the book progresses.

The Legal Gentleman named Brass

    Nell is such a darling herself, she pines for her grandfather in the loneliness of her rooms all day. I think I like her so much because she is so relatable as a character, she has something that everyone can relate to; the struggle between staying hopeful and giving in to sorrow. I really hope that she and Kit (who might I add has been treated very unfairly) do get the chance to reconcile in future.

A Cool Proposal

     As for her brother, what can I say, I hate him! He is such a fiend trying to get her married off to some snobbish friend so they can steal the money the believe she has! Lets just say he and Daniel Quilp that nast little man that abuses his wife and steals from those who are already down; make my skin crawl!




   
    

Pretty Polka Dots



    Yeh I know, glittery copper polish is more of a fall/winter trend but, what's a girl to do if she feels metallic in the spring but go with it! This design is pretty simple, its great if you're just learning how do nail art or if you don't have the time to do realy intricate nail designs. I quite like this design because it incroporates the polka dots I loved when I was smaller without seeming too kiddish.

Nail Polishes I Used:

Revlon Limited Edition Copper Gleam

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails White Tip

Sally Hansen Ultimate Shield Base and Top Coat



Step 1: File your nails and paint them two coats of Copper Gleam

Step 2: Using a dotting tool make three white polka dot from one corner of you nail to the opposite corner of your nail in a diagonal line

Step 3: Paint on a top coat.

Its that easy, just 3 steps and you have a pretty polka dot nails!

Do you like the colour? Should there be more polka dots? Let me know what you guys thought of this design!

The Old Curiosity Shop

      For the past few years, I have been a big fan of BBC productions and costume dramas. There is simply something mystical that surrounds these tales of woe, strife and romance in Old England. And so here I am prompted by love of film, about to embark on the expedition of reading my first Charles Dickens novel.

     Though I do love reading novels which I have already seen on television or on the big screen, I have to admit there is something fundamentally special about reading a book before you've seen the Hollywod or BBC version. When you read the book first, you get to form your own version of how characters look and what sort of scenery the tale is set against. So, I figured that as I have not yet seen the BBC production of The Old Curiosity Shop, I thought it would be a perfect candidate for my first Dickens Novel.

    I'm only on page 15 so far so I can't really give much of an opinion on the characters or plot just yet. However I can say that I'm filled with intrigue as to who this grandfather is. He seems awfully suspicius to me, sneaking out in the middle of the night and leaving his 'granddaughter' if she really is of his blood, to fend for herself alone. And who is the young waif, Kit who appears for a short moment for dinner and then dissappears laughing to himsel? I do find myself rather endeared to the narrator so far, he is so keen to protect this young girl who stumbles upon him in the middle of the night. I'm really excited about this novel, the mystery of it is so intoxicating I think I shall have to go read some more right now!

Chase the Lightening

      This post was originally meant to be published about a week ago; when I actually finished reading Chase the Lightening but, due to a nasty computer virus my computer would crash every ten minutes... such a drag! Anyways... my computer is up and running so I can actually publish this post now!

    Chase the Lightening; I'm not even sure I know where to start! This book written by Madeline Baker, is a marriage between, science fiction, westerns and romance. It can definetley not be confined to a single genre, so if you do not like a book to stray from one genre to another then this is probably not a good choice for you. That being said, I loved it! I'm a big fan of the power of imagination and the way Baker wove these three genres together made my imagination tingle with excitement.

     The timeless romance between Amanda and Trey captured my heart as they travelled between Amanda's modern day country house and Trey's Wild West. It didn't hurt of course that the story was set (in part) in the Wild West and filled with page turning horse races that made it near impossible to put the book down. The magic of this Wester, Sci-Fi, Time Travelling, Romance gave me chills down to my toes; proving itself to be a heart-racing read!

 

Polished Lilac

My latest nail art design was fully inspired by all the beautiful blooms that I see this spring, well that and I really love floral designs!

For this design I used

• Sally Hansen, Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac
• Sally Hansen Ultimate Shield Fortifying Base and Top Coat
• Sally Hansen Hard As Nails in White Tip (White flowers)
• Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine in Lustrous (Centre of flowers)
• Wet n Wild Wild Shine in Hallucinate (Sparkley polish)

First file you nails a squareish shape with rounded edges and paint the base colour of your choice, I chose Lacey Lilac.

Then, using a dotting tool, make two white dots diagonal from each other in the corner of your nail.

After this, add two more white dots to the same corner of your nail so that you now have four white dots in a square-like shape.

>>>>>

Now, use a dotting tool to make a small black dot in the centre of these four white dots.                                  
     <<<<<<

Next, add three white dots in an L-like shape in the corner of each of your other fingers.  >>>>>


Finally, add a black dot in the centre of each L-shaped trio of white dots.
       <<<<<<

  If you want to add a bit of sparkle to your nails, paint a bit of sparkle/glitter nail polish over each of the flowers on your nails. When this had dried paint a top coat on your nails to protect the design and presto, you now have a beautiful floral design on all of your nails!

Run Rabbit Run Rabbit Run, Run, Run

Ok, so I was goona start this post all serious about how I'm trying to get in shape and what not and then I remembered this super catchy video that I just have to share! If you haven't heard/seen this video I feel obligated to warn you that you may find youself singing the theme song at random times throughout the day because its just that catchy!!

So you might be wondering what on earth posessed me to upload a video about a rabbit herding sheep on a blog where I've only posted DIY spa moments and opinions about books I'm reading and have read, but seriously I promise you there was a point to this post!

Recently I started to get into an exercise routine and I wanted to post my progress as I go so that I can keep track of me and maybe even offer some support or inspiration to anyone else that is out there reading this, and exercising to be fit.

In my opinion one of the most important things about getting started in an exercise routine is your
reason for doing it. If you have the wrong sort of motivation then you simply won't have the stamina to carry through with your goals. For me, I've decided to get into an exercise routine for two main reasons one, because I feel better for it, and two because god forbid I ever need to run for my life, I would actually be able to do just that, and not collapse two seconds into my sprint. Right now I run twice a week and workout (like strength training) at home twice a week. As of today I've completed both of my runs this week but have yet to do a work out (I'm kind of planning on working out tomorrow).

I think it would be awesome if you guys let me know how your own personal exercise experiences are going by sharing your thoughts on exercise and any tips you wanted to share in the comments below.

Until next time, enjoy the video because its Friday, and you know, every Friday is rabbit pie day so.... run rabbit run rabiit run, run, run!

Final Thoughts on Paradise House

     I can't believe that its been a whole week since I've written a post; how quicky time flies! I finished reading Paradise House during my absence from Lace and Lavender and can honestly say that it completeley ensnared me.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

    Though I did have doubts once or twice about the plot line, by the time I was 10 or so chapters in I could not put it down! The story is told from the point of view of Genevieve, the elder of three sisters, who is left in the commanding role of her family. I personally loved following Genevieve's story, from the flashbacks to her youth when she fell in love with Chrisitian and fell into a deep depression following their break up, to the fairytale ending when she and Christian meet up once again. Perhaps, I enjoyed Genevieve so much because she was entirely relatable, she felt the pain of losing Christian to that witch of a friend Rachel, and yet despite all he put her through she still felt a shy love deep inside her heart for him. In addition to being a bit of a bookworm, I am a hopeless romantic so I get how Genevieve would let herself still hold on to her feelings for Christian despite her heartbreak. I also get how she could eventually consent to let him back in her life even after he crushed her heart.

   In my opinion people don't let their hearts guide them often enough as Genevieve let her heart govern her. I think that the world would honestly be a better place if people just allowed themselves to think with their hearts as opposed to their heads. Don't get me wrong, I entirely value the usefullness of thinking with one's head, but some decisions ought to be made with your heart; especially when it comes to your romance life!

     To be honest, I didn't realize that the story was set in Britain until midway through the book when America was referred to as a vacation destination; up until that point I though that it was a small American coastal town. Either way it was a beautiful backdrop!

     Overall, I really enjoyed reading Paradise House and falling in love with all of the characters. There is definetly a sense of mystery as I hinted in my first post Reading a Small Piece of Paradise, not mystery in the sense of murder but psychological mystery as you being to unravel Genevieve's past; I would definetly recommend Paradise House, it has all suspense and action of a good read without being overwhelming.