spinthread on etsy
I want to wear this right now with a white v-neck shirt, dark jeans, and brown boots.

I’ve been thinking about ways to decorate my first grown-up apartment this holiday season. Aren’t these advent calendars lovely?

brooklyn advent calendar by nouveaudesigns

Matryoshka Advent Calendar by thymbyldesigns

advent assignment tags by ormolu

advent notes by ziggiau

Joan from Mad Men often wears a simple, elegant pencil necklace around the office. What other piece of jewelry could be so beautiful and practical at the same time? Pick up your own from one of these Etsy sellers or 1928 Vintage.

Lovely gold pen necklace from Beryls‘ Esty shop

A black and white number from etcetrix

Gold pencil necklace with your choice of beads for the chain by mswedowsky

A simple gold pen necklace from 1928 jewelry

I love the costuming on the new Fox show, Glee, especially that of guidance counselor Emma played by Jayma Mays. She’s very prim and proper, but always has colors that pop and fabulous necklaces.

(all screencaps from Evangiles)

Lately I’ve had a hankering for some big, plastic, retro specs. I’ve been spying them around lately — on TV, in fashion blogs , etc — and I’ve been meaning to upgrade my glasses anyway. Here some style inspiration.

(Reading glasses from AJ Morgan Eyewear)

(EyeBuy Direct)

(39 Dollar Glasses)

(Zenni Optical)

Blogger John McKerrell hacked together a working “Weasley Clock” that shows where he is—home, traveling, pub, or work—based on data he inputs online.

Gorgeous typography mug. (via I love Typography)

Of the books I read in January, none were stellar, but all were entertaining enough. Here are some brief reviews.
Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson
Clio is forced to give up her dream summer job (complete with cute co-worker) to accompany her estranged father on a mysterious archaeological expedition in Italy. Lots of hijinks, locked doors, misunderstandings and, of course, unexpected romance. A bit over-the-top and very predictable in parts, but Clio is mostly likable and it reads fast. A good summer beach read.

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
Eleven-year-old Primrose Squarp becomes an orphan when both her parents are lost at sea. She holds out hope for her parents’ return while continuing her life in small Coal Harbour amid a collection of quirky townsfolk. The story has humor and heart, without being too cloying. Plus, each chapter ends with a delicious-sounding recipe that Primrose collects. Great for the 9-12 set.

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
The second of Meg Cabot’s Heather Wells mysteries, the action centers on the murder of a popular cheerleader who lives in Heather’s dorm (excuse me, “residence hall”). Despite her promises not to get involved, Heather finds herself once again leading her own investigation and getting caught up with a fraternity drug ring. On top of all this, she has to deal with her just-released-from-prison Dad, her about-to-get-married ex-boyfriend, and the major crush she has on her roommate. It’s all a little over the top and gets resolved too nicely, but still an entertaining read.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Meg Murry, her younger brother Charles Wallace, and schoolmate Calvin O’Keefe are whisked away on a journey through time and space to save Meg’s father from an evil shadow threatening the universe. They encounter fantastical creatures and bizarre places, while struggling against internal and external forces. I read this as a kid and remember loving it, but wasn’t as taken with the story this time around. The ending seemed simplistic and I disliked the overt religious talk. I would still recommend it for kids and adults looking for sci-fi.

Madapple by Christina Meldrum (audio)
Sixteen-year-old Aslaug has grown up cut off from the rest of the world. She lives with her mother in a house with no electricity, heavily curtained windows and no mirrors. With her mother’s death, Aslaug suddenly has the real world thrust at her. With some suspicion at her involvement in her mother’s death, she searches out a familiar place from her few ventures into town and comes upon her Aunt and cousins. She slowly learns more about her mother’s past and becomes entrenched with the lives of her newfound family. The narrative alternates between a transcript of the court proceedings of Aslaug’s murder trial for her mother and others, and Aslaug’s own recollection of events leading up to the trial. This is a complex story that delves into religion, trust, teen pregnancy, rape, and the reliability of one’s own memories. I really disliked all of the characters, but that seemed to be purposeful. The story itself was compelling and provided enough mysteries to make me keep listening. Definitely for an advanced reader.

Jobs I maybe want to pursue some day if librarianship doesn’t work out:

• Wedding/portrait/interior photographer
• Wedding/event planner
• Interior designer/set decorator
• Boutique owner
• Cafe owner
• Roller rink owner

I guess I want to be my own boss, make things pretty, and organize things/people.

The following is a book talk I wrote for The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by e. lockhart. Book talks are like trailers for books, usually given to students while on a class visit. For more book talks, visit Booktalks Quick and Simple.

Frankie Landau-Banks is sick of being invisible. Luckily, she grew four inches and curves in all the right places over the summer before her sophomore year, attracting the attention of popular senior and her longtime crush, Matthew Livingston.

With her newfound status, Frankie eats at the senior table, has lots of friends and gets invited to late night parties thrown on the golf course. But, she still can’t help feeling invisible. Matthew corrects her grammar, instead of listening to her opinions, cancels dates when he gets texts from his best friend Alpha, and seems increasingly preoccupied.

After Matthew ditches Frankie yet again, she decides to take matters into her own hands and follows him late one Friday night. She ends up in the school’s abandoned theater, witnessing a secret meeting of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds — the infamous, all-male secret society at their boarding school. Overhearing plans for the group’s
Halloween prank, Frankie knows she can come up with something much more exciting and thought-provoking than Matthew and his friends. But with his reluctance to really let Frankie into his life, she knows she definitely won’t be welcome with this exclusive group.

So Frankie hatches a plan that allows her to secretly send the boys on increasingly complicated and harebrained schemes, launching the school administration into a frenzy trying to figure out who’s behind the bras adorning all the artwork on campus and the giant basset hounds in the windows of the old gymnasium. Frankie enjoys the rush she gets from planning the pranks, trying to outdo herself and disrupting the status quo of the old-fashioned boarding school rules. And of course, no one suspects the once invisible sophomore girl, even her seemingly perfect boyfriend.

How does a girl go from being a mildly geeky wallflower to a criminal mastermind overnight? And how long can she keep it up without getting caught? Read The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks by e. lockhart to find out.