Pearls

I love Thursdays, because then I can play along with Thea's meme at A Snap, A Set and A Song. 

This week's theme is Jewel, and because of my art deco obsession, my favourite jewels to wear right now are pearls!

My Snap:
 Isn't this just the prettiest picture!  I'm loving the colours.

(source)

My Set:

I'm looking forward to the Baz Luhrmann version of The Great Gatsby, mainly to check out the costumes, jewels and sets!

Gatsby Style by wendysice featuring 14k white gold jewelry

Gold high heels
$60 - bluevelvetvintage.com

BUBA foldover clutch
£335 - bubalondon.com

Kenneth jay lane necklace
$120 - charmandchain.com

Lagos dome ring
$550 - neimanmarcus.com

J Crew j crew jewelry
$50 - jcrew.com

Blue Nile 14k white gold jewelry
$380 - bluenile.com

Talullah Tu pearl hair accessory
£18 - talullahtu.co.uk

Apothia fragrance
$85 - barneys.com

Floral Impressions No 17 Roses Carte Postale Digital Collage Sheet...
$4.75 - zibbet.com

Beige Flower Corsage
$18 - wallisfashion.com

Casa\ Cortes Antique Reproduction Functional 1920's Brass Cradle Push...
$96 - amazon.com




                                                                   My Song:

This Katy Perry song, called Pearl, sounds so pretty:

Come and see some other jewel-themed posts at A Snap, A Set and A Song!

xx

My Favourite Scent

Over at  Sweet Little Pretties, Lisa is asking, What is your favourite scent?

There are dozens I could name, but I especially love the scent of roses.

I also love how my boys smell after they've had a shower! Especially if they've washed their hair. 

All fruity and sweet!

                                         

                                         

          

A few years ago I gave up using chemicals in my bathroom, and found miessence products to replace them. They smell so yummy and are good for you!  
On my sidebar you can press the 'Shop' button and it will take you to our miessence shop where we have a whole range of organic goodies for the bathroom. These are my two favourite ones:

Head over to Sweet Little Pretties to find more scents that people love, and add your own,

 if you wish!

xx

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! So what is everyone out there reading?

(Judy Garland)

I have discovered audiobooks! I had so much housework to do on the weekend, and a lot of walking from one room to another, so I downloaded an audiobook app to my iphone and listened to The Phantom of the Opera. 

I've been reading the book on my phone, but hearing it was just as good, in fact, I was able to hear the proper pronounciation of the French words in the story, so it was even better than reading it myself. I'm about a quarter of the way through and there is a lot of background story I am enjoying that was not in the musical or the movie.

This week I read Divergent, and am currently reading the follow-up, Insurgent. 

   

I find the idea of a world where people are divided into five factions really interesting, but Divergent was hard for me to read because of all the violence. I am finding Insurgent easier because it is more about family relationships.

I finished reading Catching Fire, which I really enjoyed, because it is about people banding together to rebel against a dystopian society. (Same theme as Insurgent.)

I also read The Woman in Black this week. I love the first person narrative, in the spirit of classic books such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Crime and Punishment. The story starts pretty slowly, and then centres around the home of a Mrs Drablow, who has passed away and left papers which need to be obtained by a solicitor. Said solicitor, upon entering the house, endures all manner of spooky moments, including glimpses of a woman in black, strange sounds coming from within a locked room, and a pony and cart being swallowed up by the mud of the surrounding marsh. 

The Woman in Black is a quick satisfying read, however not as enthralling as The Man in the Picture by the same author, which I read last year. I would think the film The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, would be much scarier than the book, as the visuals and sounds would create the atmosphere more fully than the book has been able to capture.

Ahead this week, I will finish Insurgent, and Phantom of the Opera, along with the third part of the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay. 

I'm curious to see what Katniss, Peter and Gale achieve in this part of the story.

Check out all the other books that people are reading here:

Happy reading!

xx

Food For the Soul

A couple of weeks ago, the young men from church held a Mothers' Day dinner for their mums. It was beautifully done, with set tables, and fancy serviettes, a yummy meal, and our sons taking our orders. 

They were so sweet! 

During dinner, we had the chance to catch up with all the other mums 

and talked about food, travel, camping and more.

After dinner, we watched a video of the young men being interviewed, answering questions like "What is your Mum's favourite food", "What colour are her eyes?" and "When was the last time she said she loved you?" The boys responses were sometimes funny, sometime hilarious, and sometimes really heartfelt. 

It was a gorgeous idea!

Our church has some wonderful programmes, and the youth ones keep them busy, learning and entertained.

xx

Escape to Rome

It's Thursday, and time to play along with A Snap, A Set and A Song! This week's theme is Urban, and I decided to think outside the box and go for an Italian city theme. I've not been to Rome, but my stepmum says it's the best city in the world! 

My Snap is one I found online, and it really makes me feel like travelling!

These are the Spanish Steps in Rome, but the bit of info that I found even more thrilling, was that the house on the right is where the great Romantic poets, Keats and Shelley lived!  I adore the Romantic poets and their stories, especially in the film Burning Bright.

It's been pretty stormy here, so for my set, I thought I'd choose a bright colour to go with the greys. I know it would be hot in Italy right now, but I added a coat anyway, and then the outfit would work for winter or summer.

Escape to Rome by wendysice featuring versace perfume

Warehouse cap sleeve dress
$134 - warehouse.co.uk

Mackage belted trench coat
421 CAD - eluxe.ca

Fab. yellow pumps
€149 - welikefashion.com

Kate Spade genuine leather handbag
$448 - lordandtaylor.com

Yellow ring
$139 - endless.com

Enamel earrings
$28 - macys.com

Versace printed scarve
£225 - net-a-porter.com

Hair clip accessory
$6 - etsy.com

Versace perfume
$67 - lordandtaylor.com

Vintage Rome in Yellow, Old Volkswagen Beetle, Italy Travel...
$25 - etsy.com

My Song choice is That's Amore, one of my favourite Italian songs, sung by the wonderful Dean Martin. This song is always so cheery, and romantic!

Pop over to A Snap, A Set and A Song to see more variations on this theme, and don't be afraid to join in!

xx

A Book I Would Recommend to Everybody

Over at Sweet Little Pretties, I play along with the Sweet Little Things About Me meme each week. This week's topic is A Book I Would Recommend to Everybody. Now, I read A LOT, and I read about books I could be reading, and the book that seems to have the most recommendations because of the great effect it has on people is this one:

It doesn't look riveting, but it shares the conversations of a man and his former teacher, who is dying. It is quite difficult to read of the older man's deterioration, but it is a situation many people have or will experience in their lifetime - the loss of a loved one to an illness. While dying, Morrie shares his most important lessons about life, and makes you think of your own values. Are we living selfishly or selflessly?

Being a quick, easy read, I think most people would be able to read this book and gain much from it, or at least a little. It is heartfelt, and even heartwrenching, and you would have to be made of wood to not feel a greater sense of the purpose of life after reading this! 

Pop over to Sweet Little Pretties to find some more highly recommended reads. 

xx

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday! 

Time to catch up on what everyone is reading!

(Lana Turner in They Won't Forget, 1937)

I have a heap of books on the go at the moment, because I keep downloading sample books from ibooks and reading the first 80 pages or so! The only 'real' book I am reading is

from the Hunger Games series, which I am loving more than the first book. I think I'm enjoying it more because, now that the people are beginning to rebel, they are not so oppressed. Also, I don't know the outcome, so I am turning pages quickly, to find out what happens!

On my iphone I'm reading:

and LOVING it! This book is similar to The Hunger Games in that it is in the young adult dystopian genre, but the people in the story do not seem to be as helplessly locked into the system as in the Hunger Games.

Also I have started

and

which are getting me back to one of my fave genres, ghost stories!

Have you read any of these books?

I am linking up with Book Journey to see what all my bookish friends are reading:

Have a great week!

xx