myfoxycorner - Page 9 of 26 - just one little fox trying to enjoy each day she receives

06
Feb
2014

Blog Love #1

Happy Waitangi Day!

I spent the holiday working because for some reason I can’t say no and always end up working the holidays. More money for me though (aka our trip to Europe, YAY!)

Today I wanted to start something new but what I hope I can do every now and again. I spend a lot of time reading blogs so I figured I could sometimes share with you a few bits and pieces that stick out in my mind. A couple of these were guest posts which I think are such great ways to find new blogs that you might not have come across otherwise.

1. First off and most importantly considering what day it is, I couldn’t help but include this really well written post by Madicattt on the way that history is conveyed in a very skewed way, exemplified by Waitangi day and the ignorance most people (including myself) often have about the background and history behind the holiday. Maddy’s blogs are always well thought out and opinionated and give the reader a chance to learn about the other side of the story. I wish I could write (or think) half as well as she can!

2. From the political to the pretty, here is the blog where I get my work wall papers each month. Love Mae is a blog as well as a store full of crafty pieces that I continuously browse through. My favourite part though is changing my desktop each month to the beautiful monthly designs.

3. The Dizain Collective is one of the first blogs I check daily and is always full of beautiful mood boards, delicious recipes or in this case wonderful guest posts featuring incredibly cute Valentine’s day printables by Lovingly, Kate (a wonderful blog which is where these were originally featured) . If a big present isn’t your thing these gorgeous vouchers are the perfect gesture and a fun way to make Valentine’s day more personal.

4. Everyone knows A Beautiful Mess, and for good reason. Recently this post on making a macrame curtain was posted and it’s something I would love to try one day soon. It looks deceptively easy…

5. Last but not least, if baking is your thing (or you have a friend who will bake stuff for you) then take a look at this recipe for Chocolate Praline Pie. Yum. High Tea with Dragons is one of my favourite baking blogs and this guest post by Melissa from Baking Makes Things Better looks absolutely delicious (and has given me a new blog to add to the list of must reads).

What blogs have you been loving lately?

29
Jan
2014

Brunch Club #2: Al’s Deli

categories: Brunch Club, Restaurants

So I sadly missed last month’s Blogger’s Brunch Club but this month was back in motion with a visit to the trendy new Al’s Deli near the top of Queen Street in Central Auckland.

We chose this place due to its central location and delicious sounding menu! Maddy and Laura were there as well as Sandi who it was a pleasure to meet! We started off with drinks and luckily the coffee here is strong and full of flavour.

On to the good stuff, what we ate! Al’s Deli is famous already for its delicious homemade bagels (they even do gluten free ones!) as well as their selection of amazing sweet treats. Naturally most of the lovely ladies opted for the Bagels, testing out “The Plateau” (crispy chicken, aioli, roquette and tomato) as well as “The Saint” (featuring their home cured maple smoked salmon with the classic combo of cream cheese, capers and red onion). Being a newly fledged vegetarian I couldn’t wait to get my hands (or rather fork, I have some rare manners) on their Roast carrot, beetroot and haloumi salad. My salad was nothing short of wonderful with a generous amount of roast vegies, thick slices of tasty haloumi, crispy bagel chips and lemon vinaigrette. The bagels looked delicious and seemed to go down a treat however the twice fried chips didn’t quite live up to our hefty expectations.

We couldn’t leave without tasting a few sweet treats (despite being rather full) so shared a Maple Butter Moose Ear (a unique Canadian pastry, something between a pancake and bread), a cronut (if you haven’t tried these yet you are seriously missing out!) and the apple fries with caramel sauce. I love a good cronut but the highlight for me were the apple fries which were too delicious for my brain to handle, especially when smothered in home made caramel sauce (ie the best thing ever). What a wonderful way to end a meal with lovely people and a nice location! You can read more about another time I tried some of their sweeter menu items over at nzgirl!

Look at all the delicious things to enjoy! And the funky decor :D

The amazing apple fries with homemade caramel sauce. Could life get any sweeter?

Can’t wait to find out where we are going next month!
If you would like to take part in Blogger’s Brunch Club just let us know on twitter (@liz_lock).

One more photo of a cronut….just because. Drool.

Lizzy xx

p.s. Go show my facebook page some love!

26
Jan
2014

Photo Diary: The Coromandel

categories: General/Life, Photo Diary

Hi Guys!

So I may have taken a rather long break from blogging. It was well worth it for a week long holiday away from the big smoke and staying at our favourite bach in the Coromandel at Hot Water Beach (near Hahei). I thought the most appropriate thing to do upon my return would be to share some snaps from our week away, showing off a few of our favourite places to go. Edd and I go with my family to Hot Water Beach every year and I can never get enough.

Our first couple of days were pretty dramatically terrible in terms of weather but this made for a good excuse to go visit Coromandel township on the other side of the peninsula and eat plenty of good food.

We stopped in to the Driving Creek Railway which is full of amazing art and also hosts a wonderful train ride into the native bush. Well worth a stop, especially with kids.

There was also a lot of wonderful bird life in the native bush.

These little guys are so fluffy.

A very small taste of the incredible sculpture at the railway. The pottery in particular is stunning.

There is no such thing as too much beach

Just ask Mr 6

Evening walks along Hot Water Beach and candy floss skies

These two had an awesome time once the sun came out.

Lucky for us it stayed out for the rest of the trip. Most of our time was spent on the beach, usually with a book nearby.

Occasionally we ventured away from the beach to visit some of our favourite spots. This place is amazing and does a huge range of delicious liqueurs.

And Eggcentric cafe is another place we always ensure we stop at. The food here is amazing and again, the art in the gardens is wonderful to be around.

There is always the little ferry ride across to Whitianga if you are in need of some serious shopping or a bit of night life (by that I mean the sports bar…)

This guy was sitting right outside the bach, just waiting for his photo to be taken.

On the way home we stopped at a wonderful hidden river spot, just by the state highway.

My 12 year old brother is much braver than I am.

All in all it was so wonderful to get away from work and general life in the city and take some time to be with family. I’m already excited for next year.

Lizzy x

14
Jan
2014

Not Your Average Brownie (Gluten-Free)

categories: Recipe, Uncategorized

Hey Guys!

So just a quick post today featuring one of my favourite gluten-free recipes ever. I am a big fan of brownies and my ultra-rich recipe is one I turn to a lot but when I was doing my gluten free trial I tested out this recipe and found it to be equally as delicious and just as easy to make. Compared to the my usual brownies these aren’t quite so rich but still chocolatey with less cocoa, more chocolate and the addition of cranberries and caramel drops (which add a little bit of a black-forest spin to a simple brownie recipe). This recipe makes about 18 little muffins (which I think are kind of adorable) or you can make about 18 slices using a tin.

The recipe is taken mostly from a Julian Lelerc recipe for GF brownies (which I cannot find online and which I have a cut out article of which gets increasingly dirty and damaged each time I make these) and really is incredibly easy whilst being wonderfully tasty and full of chocolate goodness.

Ingredients:

200g Butter cubed
200g Dark cooking chocolate, chopped roughly
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
4 Eggs, lightly beaten
I C Gluten-free flour (available at Supermarkets)
2Tbsp Cocoa powder
Roughly 1/2 Cup of craisins and 1/2 Cup of Nestle Caramel Drops (but you could add/substitute with mini marshmallows, almonds, chocolate drops, or anything else that takes your fancy

Method

Preheat oven to 180.C and either line your muffin tin or baking tin with muffin cases/baking paper.
Place butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Or if you are lazy like me just pop it directly in the saucepan over a very low heat/microwave with 30 second bursts with heaps of stirring in between. Melt until everything is smooth and combined (i.e. the chocolate is melted..)
Sift in the flour and cocoa and stir into the chocolate mixture,
Add in the extra ingredients and stir to combine.
Pour into your chosen baking receptacle and bake for around 10-15 mins in the muffin tin (test after ten mins quite often with a skewer, or in my case a piece of spaghetti past (uncooked!) to test. These will be best if the skewer/pasta comes out almost clean, moist but not completely dry). If using a rectangle brownie tin bake for approx 45-50mins. Remove to cool then enjoy! Or if you can resist long enough sprinkle with icing sugar cause it looks pretty

These are delicious and moist, rich but also complex with the taste of tart craisins/cranberries and delicious morsels of caramel. These also last really well if you store them in a airtight container. I am sure you could substiture the GF flour for normal flour but I have no idea if it turns out the same. I think the dense nature of GF baking really works for this recipe and creates the perfect little lunchbox treat for work, firm on the outside but deliciously chocolatey on the inside. Definitely give it a try, they are basically fool proof. The only real warning I have is to make sure you don’t overcook them. These are 100x nicer when they are still a little under on the inside. This is harder to acheive in muffin form but with a little careful testing can still be done.

Give them a try and let me know what you think! Also if you have any other great ideas for additions please share below. I will making this many more times in the near future…

Lizzy Xx

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07
Jan
2014

My Big Little City: Waiheke Island

categories: My Big Little City

Hey Guys!

Is it just me or does this week feel like it is taking forever? I swear I woke up today and thought it was the end of the week then realized I had many more days to go. It was a devastating moment I think we can all agree.A while ago Edd and I took a day trip to the rather wonderful Waiheke Island that lies off the coast off Auckland. It was Edd’s first time going over and he took some great photos so I thought I would share them and tell you about my favourite NZ island (although I may be biased due to the wonderful people who live there).

So yeah the weather wasn’t looking so good when we left. And then it started raining. The city totally looks like it could be some sort of Gotham city with a kiwi Batman running amok though right?

How to get there:

There are two main ferry companies (Fullers and Sealink) and both run pretty regular ferry services from either Half Moon Bay or Auckland CBD. The ferry takes about 40-50 minutes and will cost you around $36 return for an adult or $20 for a child. You can also pay to take a car or motorbike. The ferry ride over is beautiful with amazing views of Auckland harbor and so definitely try to grab a seat outside so you can enjoy it properly.

Pirate ship? Maybe not.

For us the trip over was nearly a nightmare in that it was pouring with rain 90% of the time and I was pretty sure the day was going to be a disaster. Luckily there were atmospheric photos to be taken and then much to our surprise the weather changed its mind once we arrived (ah, even on Waiheke one cannot escape the crazy psychopath that is Auckland weather). There is no doubt Waiheke and it’s ferry rides are nicer in the sunshine but there was something quite peaceful about sitting out and experiencing the ride in the rain.

What to do there:

Our first stop was to get something to eat. Luckily the weather was clearing and the bus takes you straight from the ferry to the main shops at Oneroa Village where there is a plethora of cafe’s and shops to wander through. We ate at a Turkish cafe called Delight which has the best views possible over Oneroa beach. A gorgeous setting to eat brunch and the food was delicious too. Edd had their lamb pita and I had a Turkish lunch plate. It was all very tasty and delicious although their breakfast options looked even better.

Tasty…although not as tasty as their Turkish tea which I think I could live on.

After brunch there are a bunch of really lovely gift shops to explore (which was handy seeing as this visit fell just before Christmas).

In my opinion the best part about Waiheke is the beautiful beaches. As we were limited transport wise we just visited Oneroa Beach however my favorite would have to be the more wild Palm Beach (although be warned, there is a nude beach just a few rocks away so don’t go exploring too far without this in mind).

See what a stunning day it turned into? I think we were a little lucky.

Arguably competing for first place with the best thing on Waiheke are the huge number of incredible vineyards with tastings and incredible views all around.

On our trip we visited two, the first being the ultra modern, classy Cable Bay vineyard. The wine tasting was $10 per person for 5 wines (the price was deducted from our purchases at the end) and took place in a modern looking cellar (which I found a bit strange as the views from the outside garden area and restaurant were seriously breath taking and would make for a much nicer tasting experience in my opinion).

The second vineyard we visited was the extremely popular Mudbrick which although is just down the road from CableBay is a complete polar opposite. The buildings look like they were plucked from Tuscany and dropped on a beautiful Island, hence why it is a favourite spot for wealthy Aucklanders to get hitched. Unfortunately for us Mudbrick was just closing for a marriage ceremony when we arrived (a common problem so get in there early). Despite not actually doing the tasting I would go back in a heartbeat (hopefully next time to drink some wine) due the amazing setting. No doubt it is one of the prettiest places in Auckland to visit.

Seriously. Mudbrick is one stunning location.

So if you are looking for a day trip or a weekend away Waiheke is a perfect spot to get away from the smoke of city and enjoy some good food and wine. Check out this website for a lot more information (most more useful than mine) on things to do and places to stay. Next time I go I think we will take a full weekend and maybe try out the archery… You can just call me Katniss from now on.

Thanks as per usual to Edd for his gorgeous photos of a gorgeous island

06
Jan
2014

A Mindful 2014

categories: General/Life

Hey Guys!

So I haven’t really posted in a while due to the crazy, psychotic time that was Christmas and New Years! I spent some of it working, some of it drinking with friends and a lot of it with lovely family. Still, we are 6 days into the New Year so time to start thinking to the future and what 2014 may hold. 2013 was a great year in some ways and awful in others but there is no way but forward and this year will be something different again.

The best goals involve cheese

So goal setting doesn’t seem to be that effective for me. I am only being honest when I admit that I did not look at my 2013 goals once, the entire year. Which is extremely sad but also kind of demonstrated that this year would need to be different. So instead of a list of specific goals I have one theme for 2014 and that is going to be Mindfulness. Confused? Don’t be. Mindfulness for me relates to being present in each moment, attentive to each event whether it be a beautiful sunrise or an unexpected emotion. According to Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn mindfulness relates to “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” and so in my mind this translates to being more aware and contemplative of what happens in our present moment. Being receptive and contemplative in life I guess. Ok so maybe I am a little rusty on the concept but hopefully you grasp the idea.

So for me this year is about being more aware and accepting, of my external environment but also my internal one (thoughts and feelings in all their weird, complicated wonderfulness).

Basically this year I want to be more mindful in general of different aspects of my life. I think a theme is easier for me to refer back to as it is simple and easy to remember without referring to a list of goals that really don’t change from year to year.

So having a theme doesn’t mean there aren’t specific areas that I think this will be most applicable to. The first one is my health e.g. how I look after it in terms of exercise and eating. One life change (in relation to what we eat) Edd and I have chosen to make and started on the 1/1/2014 was to become vegetarian which terrified me before hand but now that I am doing it seems like the most natural thing in the world. Other areas I think will benefit from some mindfulness include how I treat myself mentally and how I let others treat me. Lastly I don’t think a blogger could blog about New Years resolutions without referring to their blog so of course I am hopeful that by being more mindful of what I enjoy about blogging and what I find stressful I can optimize my little hobby and get the most out of it possible.

Other things that this year will bring include the start of my first ever book (and wine) club and I am VERY excited. Although not quite as excited as I am for the two month Europe trip that Edd and I are planning for May/June (tickets to be booked asap!).

All in all 2014 will be an exciting year with lots of new things and challenges and hopefully with a bit of mindfulness I can make the most of it!

What are your goals this year?

If you want to read a little about Mindfulness Google brings up a host of easy explanations such as here and here. I should warn you that my idea of mindfulness may not be 100% the same as the technical definitions but it is a theme I would still like to incorporate more of into my life.

31
Dec
2013

My Final Foxy Reading Corner 2013 #45-50!

categories: Uncategorized

Hey Guys!

So I am very happy to end the year with the completion of the 50 books for 2013 challenge (all tracked through one of my favourite websites of 2013, Goodreads!). I really enjoyed doing this challenge and it forced me to keep on top of my reading which sometimes I forget about and ignore for months on end. I’m not sure what kind of reading goal I will set for 2014, probably not a quantity based one purely because it meant I often ended up ignoring the longer books that I wanted to read (I’m looking at you Game of Thrones which I never got around to finishing ). So maybe a quality versus quantity take on reading for next year…let me know if you have any ideas!

Anyway, here are my final 5 books for 2013!

photo (3)

45. Mindbend by Robin Cook

I’m pretty sure I have read this one before but it didn’t stop me from enjoying this 1985 medical thriller that was easy to get hooked into and fast paced. The plot revolves around abortions, suspicious medical cruises and a young, confused couple. A fun read as I expect with classic Cook. 4 Stars

46. Death Benefit by Robin Cook

I ended up reading two of these in a row however this more modern novel by Robin Cook I didn’t enjoy as much as the previous. The characters were interesting but it was more of a challenge to stay interested in the first third of the novel before it got to the mystery murders. The science side of these novels I love but the plot was a little slower than I like and made for a more average read. 3 Stars

47. Looking for Alaska by John Green

After reading Fault in our stars I knew I would both enjoy and hate reading another book by John Green. Enjoy its incredible story and characters that are well written and so incredibly believable but hate the tragedy that I knew was to be expected. This YA novel didn’t disappoint. Full of quotes that I just wanted to tattoo into my skin so I would never forget and relationships that were complex and beautiful I couldn’t help but love this book just like I loved Fault in our stars. 5 Stars

48. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Yet another incredible book to finish the year on. This novel focused on a n friendship that ended in tragic circumstances and the life of a young Afghan boy who grew up in a world of turmoil. At times this was hard to read due to the continuously awful events that just kept occurring but the masterful writing simultaneously made this impossible to put down. A powerful book and I look forward to reading more of Hosseini’s work. 5 Stars

49. The Dead of the Night by John Marsden

This is the second book in the Tomorrow series about an Australian invasion and a group of Kids trying to make a difference whilst surviving through the chaos. I definitely enjoyed the sequel and the character development it brought with it. A fast paced, easy read with a group of quite different characters in some pretty extraordinary circumstances. Very enjoyable just as I hope the rest of the series will be. 4 Stars

50. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

By now it’s obvious I enjoy Tess Gerritsen but somehow I had never read this book which was the first in the Maura and Isles series. A typically fast paced and gripping thriller that was a reliable and satisfying end to the challenge (albeit nothing ground breaking). 4 Stars

Well there we have it! To be honest at the end I wasn’t sure I would finish the challenge but it is nice to finally complete something (I am one of those people who never finish anything, apart from a good book). What were my favourite reads of the year? Wait for my Best of 2013 wrap up to find out!

Also if you want to follow me on Goodreads you can find me here! And don’t forget to like MyFoxyCorner’s Facebook page

30
Dec
2013

A Glimpse into My Foxy Christmas

categories: Christmas, General/Life

Hey Guys!

So as this year draws to a close I wanted to share a few photos from my rather hectic Christmas day. We have our Christmas routine down to a science now and I kind of love it. It involves 3 families, a few animals, lots of driving but also lots of presents and as the photos will show too much food. Also, thanks to my husband for all these awesome photos. I was far too busy eating.

I love a Christmas tree with mountains of presents underneath. Best sight ever.

Does anyone else get sad thinking of the moment all the decorations are packed away?

Oooo Blurry lights….so arty

I think my favourite part of Christmas is all the nibbles. Cheese and salami and crackers, Oh my!

I also love bringing blue cheese to parties cause no one else likes it which leaves more for me!

That face.

Spider is not impressed by Christmas. Not at all.

A day of family means wine is a necessity. Just kidding. But not really.

Meet cookie the devoted yet extremely scruffy jack russell.

Each time I spell Poinsettia correctly I give myself an invisible pat on the back.

Watching kids open presents can be extremely satisfying. The end result is a wrapping paper bomb site.

A better combination than tomatoes and fresh basil does not exist. Except maybe peanut butter and jam.

A fresh take on an old classic (Waldorf salad)

This salad was amazing. I was fed so much good food its not even funny.

The best part about a Kiwi Christmas? The ham.

This had whiskey in its glaze. It was fantastic.

Okay I spoke to soon…The pavlova makes a worthy competitor for the ham. It wouldn’t be Christmas without one.

Our Christmas also involved turkey, a very cute baby, pancakes, our car deciding to break yet again, terrible Christmas jokes*, a hilarious game to end the evening and a game of mini golf to round off boxing day (which I very much won, highest is best right?).

What did your Christmas entail?

*My personal favourite: What do you get if you eat Christmas decorations? Tinsilitis! (okay, its funnier with a couple of glasses of wine I admit)

20
Dec
2013

Friday’s Letters: Dear Callie

categories: Friday's Letters, Uncategorized

Dear Callie

How do I put into words the sadness I have in my heart for losing you. How do I apologize enough for not being able to save you. How do I go from being a crazy cat lady to mourning the decision we had to make for you.

Everytime I think that life is going back to normal I see a reminder of your place in our household. A forgotten toy, a rogue cat treat that you were saving for later or just one of the many photos of you. Suddenly that feeling like I am choking on nothing returns and I feel like I will never move on.

I wish things had been different. I wish we had known what to expect. I wish we had had you in our lives for longer than the last two, short years.

Some people won’t understand what it is like to lose you but for me its like I have lost a member of my family, albeit a smaller, fluffier one than most. I won’t feel ashamed for missing you but I will be hopeful that eventually it will stop hurting so much.

I have so much to say but the words don’t come easy. I know you are better now and no longer in pain. I am glad that now we carry the pain instead whilst you move on. I am also glad I got to hold you for those last few moments of your short life.

Thank you. For inviting yourself into our lives. For sharing our meals even when we didn’t want to. For spending each night as part of our bedtime huddle and enjoying long weekend sleep ins. For taking up my instagram with endless photos of your gorgeous face. For being awake with me at night when I couldn’t sleep. For being the sassiest cat I knew and scaring away all the neighbors despite your tiny size. For being there for me when I felt alone or sad, even if you didn’t understand why I needed your cuddles. For annoying me when I chopped vegetables and then looking at me with disgust when I offered you some. For sticking your head in bags of Doritos. For watching cat videos on youtube and loving them almost as much as me. For sitting on my lap through endless hours of study and blogging even though there wasn’t much room under my desk. For being a part of lives that was so much bigger than I could have expected.

Thank you for reminding me to cherish each moment we have with our loved ones.

We won’t ever forget you

If you tame me, we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I will be unique

10
Dec
2013

My Foxy Reading Corner: #39-44

categories: My Foxy Reading Corner

Hi All,

Apologies for the long gap between posts. Life sometimes takes an unknown turn and suddenly blogging takes a back seat.

I know I should be blogging solely about all things Christmas but I am in dire need of throwing a quick reading update in as I have one more after this to do at the end of the year. So hear are books 39-44!

1. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

I had high hopes for this book but was a little disappointed in what was a rather busy, shallow chick lit read. The characters were mostly rather unlikeable and the story lines were nothing spectacular. It took me a while to get into it and once I did I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the read to some extent but not something I would recommend seeing as there is so much to read and so little time. 3 Stars

2. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Okay so confession time….I didn’t enjoy this very much at all and thought the characters lacked proper development, the reader was thrown into the middle of a pretty confusing story and it was pretty average. Here is where it gets rather shameful. I realised after reading and complaining about this that it is in fact the third book in a series. The conclusion in fact. And somehow I read the entire thing thinking it was the first. Suddenly the lack of information on characters and sub plots make a lot of sense whilst I sit in a corner sorry for all my criticisms. So yeah, average book but mainly because I am sure the two books before hand do a lot for the story. It still wasn’t good enough that I can be bothered going back to the first two… 3 Stars (Probably deserves more but who knows)

3. Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen

Ah, I love authors that never fail to dissapoint. Whilst this isn’t my favourite novel of hers I can always rely on a very enjoyable read when it comes to Gerritsen. This creepy story centered around a child who is the lone survivor of his family’s mass murder and a pretty strange school sanctuary this book was a quick and satisfying read. One of my favourite crime/thriller authors and the two females leads are great characters throughout most of her books. 4 Stars

4. Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale by Zack Whedon et al.

Are graphic novels cheating cause if so I kind of cheated. I have been pining after Serenity since falling in love with the TV series and Shepherd’s mysterious, religious character was one I was desperate to know more about. I don’t read many graphic novels but this one was a quick and easy read however I was left with a sense that I had just seen the shorts for a movie and not really delved into a character’s past like I had hoped to. The drawing was nice to look at but at times it was a little difficult to read. Not bad but could have been SO MUCH MORE. 3 Stars

5. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

So this is the third book in another series but I had actually read the first two in this case so I guess that’s progress.. I loved this dystopian series and was very excited for this books released. The conclusion to the series was okay but also felt a little forced in some places. The narration by the two characters was weird at first but worked once I got used to it. I like that the author wasn’t afraid to make big moves and overall they were done well. Very enjoyable thought not perfection but a good end for a must read series. 4 Stars

6. The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides (I will never say his name right. Ever.)

I was excited to finally read my first book by this rather popular author and the novel did not disappoint. At first I kind of floundered around in what felt at times a little over written but by a quarter of the way I was taken. Not everyone loves this book and I can see why. Some sentences are just so strange and bizarre but at the same time were what made me fall in love with the writing and the characters. For me I guess the juxtaposed characters, pretentious prose and the beautifully written love triangle cliche come across as unique and absorbing. A book that I just wanted to spend hours with so I could savour every word and that doesn’t happen very often. 5 Stars

All in all a bunch of solid books but a couple I could have happily missed. If you want to keep an eye on my reading follow me on Goodreads where I am happy to announce I am officially on track for reading 50 books in 2013! Exciting stuff guys.

Hope you are all having a great week!

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