Five Friday Favourites
Another week down and only two more weeks of prac left, it feels surreal to almost be finished studying and that this chapter of my life will soon be over.
This week has been hard on me and I have come home at the end of each day of prac and just crashed (or as was the case on Monday and Wednesday gone to the gym and then crashed). Of course being the person I am I signed up for a Wednesday night talk series on challenging convictions being held at a nearby church and it's been really good but it's the last thing I want to do and made getting out of bed yesterday a struggle. This week's topic was on sexuality and it was such a good talk, I had a good conversation with one of my friends after it and we both agreed it was an amazing talk and wasn't being to forceful or giving us expectations that aren't practical. Last week's topic was on identity and how society likes to force different identities on us. Next week it's euthanasia and the final week will be about abortion both of which I am really looking forward to (if only I can stay awake).
I've kinda given up on applying for jobs at the moment and am just trying to focus on getting through prac. I am still looking but it's not active and more a quick glance if I have the chance once I get home. I know God has plans for me and I'm tying to ignore all my anxieties surrounding it and praying about it.
Tomorrow is the election and this is my reminder to everyone that you need to vote or risk a fine. I actually did a postal vote a couple of weeks ago as I am working at the election as a polling assistant, I did it a few years ago and the money is good but I am expecting to be exhausted by the end of it.
Onto Friday Favourites...
Kikki K Leather Trim Pouch Large: Luxury - so the other week I happened to stumble into Kikki K when there was a 30% off members sale and this pouch ended up coming home with me (among other things). I already have a couple of these pouches and I find I use them for so many things, from toiletries and makeup to storing my phone and lipbalm in when I go to the beach to keeping pens in. So I couldn't resist buying another, the colour is so cute and I love how bright it is so it means I will be able to find it easily. I also bought it in the smaller size so I have a set to use which will be good.
Rosie Luxe Top in raspberry - I tend to wear darker colours in the Winter months wearing scarves for pops of colour, but I came across this top in Jeanwest and loved it. It's such a fun colour and I find myself feeling confident when I wear it. I really like the luxe fabric that Jeanwest uses and have a stripy top that I bought last year in the same fabric that I love, I just find it has more weight and feels really nice.
There You'll Find Me movie production - one of my favourite books is There You'll Find Me by Jenny B Jones (I probably read it yearly as I do with all her books) so I was thrilled when Jenny posted that it was being made into a film. I have been following along on Instagram and love all the weekly posts and seeing the book come to life. I am really hoping that they do the book justice and I can't wait to see the Ireland scenery. It's due for release a year from now and I am hoping it gets to Australian shores.
Dusk Laser Lighter - I have a lot of candles and I like lighting them of course there are times when I struggle using lighters (this one is my favourite and the only one I
don't have trouble using plus you get free refills) and I have a love/hate relationship with matches as I am paranoid I will get burnt, but I have a solution! This lighter is super easy to use and it's rechargeable too which is great so it doesn't need refilling, and there's something about using a laser to light candles.
The Year After You by Nina de Pass - this book was such a good read and one I highly recommend. The blurb reads:
New Years’ Eve, San Francisco. The most promising party of the year ends in a tragic accident. Cara survives. Her best friend Georgina doesn’t.
Nine months later, Cara is struggling, consumed by guilt and grief. Her mum decides a Swiss boarding school will be the fresh start Cara needs. But Cara knows that swapping sunshine for snow won’t make a blind bit of difference. Georgina is gone, and nothing will bring her back.
Up in the Alps, Cara’s old life feels a million miles away. At Hope Hall, nobody knows about her past. And she intends to keep it that way. But classmates Ren and Hector have other ideas. Cara tries to keep her distance, but she’s drawn to the offbeat, straight-talking Hector, who understands her grief better than anyone. Her new friends are determined to break down the walls she has so carefully built up. And, despite it all, Cara wants them to.
The closer Cara grows to Hector, the more Georgina slips away. Embracing life at Hope Hall means letting go of the past; of her memories of that fatal New Year’s Eve. But Cara is quite sure she doesn’t deserve a second chance.
I actually haven't had much time to read lately and when I do it's a few minutes here and there, but this book got my attention and I found myself setting aside time to read it and not wanting it to end.
Cara was an amazing character and I could really feel her throughout the book, she didn't feel that she deserved a second chance and it wasn't fair that she lived whereas her friend died. Survivors guilt is something not many of us think about but for some people it's a reality and this book captured it. I also liked how it showed triggers for Cara that were unexpected such as a dress taking her back to the night. I loved the characters of Ren and Hector and found they complimented Cara and loved that they each had their own struggles but it didn't take away from Cara rather allowed them to find common ground with her.
The setting for this book was magical and I loved the whole idea of a boarding school hidden in the hills and found it was the perfect backdrop for the story carry out.
This book is well worth a read and I highly recommend it.
Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter - I love Denise Hunter and this book was such a great read, I
actually read this in January down by the beach which was the perfect location to read it. The blurb reads:
Once again Denise has written a great book and I loved how it wasn't focussed on romance, while there was romance themes it was really focussed on sisters rebuilding their relationships and forgiveness. As one of three girls I can't imagine not being close to my sisters and I liked how this book gave me another perspective on my family dynamic.
While I will say this book focussed on Emma and Connor, I didn't feel that Nora and Maddy were left out and enjoyed how their struggles were also focussed on. There is definitely a lot more to their stories than I first thought and I enjoyed seeing how their stories were all intertwined and tangled.
I also like it when books have a setting that has played an important in the history of the characters and Sea Haven was a place where there was a deep history with the characters while also being a neutral ground for them to move forward on.
Overall it's a great read and I found it was the perfect beach holiday book and I loved every chapter of it.
Summer by the Tides is out of May 21st
***As always both of the above books were provided to me in exchange for my honest review thanks to NetGalley
This week has been hard on me and I have come home at the end of each day of prac and just crashed (or as was the case on Monday and Wednesday gone to the gym and then crashed). Of course being the person I am I signed up for a Wednesday night talk series on challenging convictions being held at a nearby church and it's been really good but it's the last thing I want to do and made getting out of bed yesterday a struggle. This week's topic was on sexuality and it was such a good talk, I had a good conversation with one of my friends after it and we both agreed it was an amazing talk and wasn't being to forceful or giving us expectations that aren't practical. Last week's topic was on identity and how society likes to force different identities on us. Next week it's euthanasia and the final week will be about abortion both of which I am really looking forward to (if only I can stay awake).
I've kinda given up on applying for jobs at the moment and am just trying to focus on getting through prac. I am still looking but it's not active and more a quick glance if I have the chance once I get home. I know God has plans for me and I'm tying to ignore all my anxieties surrounding it and praying about it.
Tomorrow is the election and this is my reminder to everyone that you need to vote or risk a fine. I actually did a postal vote a couple of weeks ago as I am working at the election as a polling assistant, I did it a few years ago and the money is good but I am expecting to be exhausted by the end of it.
Onto Friday Favourites...
Kikki K Leather Trim Pouch Large: Luxury - so the other week I happened to stumble into Kikki K when there was a 30% off members sale and this pouch ended up coming home with me (among other things). I already have a couple of these pouches and I find I use them for so many things, from toiletries and makeup to storing my phone and lipbalm in when I go to the beach to keeping pens in. So I couldn't resist buying another, the colour is so cute and I love how bright it is so it means I will be able to find it easily. I also bought it in the smaller size so I have a set to use which will be good.
Rosie Luxe Top in raspberry - I tend to wear darker colours in the Winter months wearing scarves for pops of colour, but I came across this top in Jeanwest and loved it. It's such a fun colour and I find myself feeling confident when I wear it. I really like the luxe fabric that Jeanwest uses and have a stripy top that I bought last year in the same fabric that I love, I just find it has more weight and feels really nice.
There You'll Find Me movie production - one of my favourite books is There You'll Find Me by Jenny B Jones (I probably read it yearly as I do with all her books) so I was thrilled when Jenny posted that it was being made into a film. I have been following along on Instagram and love all the weekly posts and seeing the book come to life. I am really hoping that they do the book justice and I can't wait to see the Ireland scenery. It's due for release a year from now and I am hoping it gets to Australian shores.
Dusk Laser Lighter - I have a lot of candles and I like lighting them of course there are times when I struggle using lighters (this one is my favourite and the only one I
don't have trouble using plus you get free refills) and I have a love/hate relationship with matches as I am paranoid I will get burnt, but I have a solution! This lighter is super easy to use and it's rechargeable too which is great so it doesn't need refilling, and there's something about using a laser to light candles.
The Year After You by Nina de Pass - this book was such a good read and one I highly recommend. The blurb reads:
New Years’ Eve, San Francisco. The most promising party of the year ends in a tragic accident. Cara survives. Her best friend Georgina doesn’t.Nine months later, Cara is struggling, consumed by guilt and grief. Her mum decides a Swiss boarding school will be the fresh start Cara needs. But Cara knows that swapping sunshine for snow won’t make a blind bit of difference. Georgina is gone, and nothing will bring her back.
Up in the Alps, Cara’s old life feels a million miles away. At Hope Hall, nobody knows about her past. And she intends to keep it that way. But classmates Ren and Hector have other ideas. Cara tries to keep her distance, but she’s drawn to the offbeat, straight-talking Hector, who understands her grief better than anyone. Her new friends are determined to break down the walls she has so carefully built up. And, despite it all, Cara wants them to.
The closer Cara grows to Hector, the more Georgina slips away. Embracing life at Hope Hall means letting go of the past; of her memories of that fatal New Year’s Eve. But Cara is quite sure she doesn’t deserve a second chance.
I actually haven't had much time to read lately and when I do it's a few minutes here and there, but this book got my attention and I found myself setting aside time to read it and not wanting it to end.
Cara was an amazing character and I could really feel her throughout the book, she didn't feel that she deserved a second chance and it wasn't fair that she lived whereas her friend died. Survivors guilt is something not many of us think about but for some people it's a reality and this book captured it. I also liked how it showed triggers for Cara that were unexpected such as a dress taking her back to the night. I loved the characters of Ren and Hector and found they complimented Cara and loved that they each had their own struggles but it didn't take away from Cara rather allowed them to find common ground with her.
The setting for this book was magical and I loved the whole idea of a boarding school hidden in the hills and found it was the perfect backdrop for the story carry out.
This book is well worth a read and I highly recommend it.
Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter - I love Denise Hunter and this book was such a great read, I
Following a painful betrayal, Maddy Monroe’s love life is a wreck, and her restaurant career is in shambles. When her grandmother goes missing, she and her estranged sisters converge at the family beach house in Sea Haven, North Carolina. Being with uptight Nora and free-spirited Emma at the place where their family broke apart is a struggle, and undercurrents of jealousy and resentment threaten to pull the sisters under. In the midst of the storm, sparks begin to fly between Maddy and Gram’s maddening neighbor, Connor Murphy.
As the sisters pack up the family belongings, memories of idyllic, slow-paced summers are resurrected. But long-buried secrets also come to light as Maddy discovers that all was not as it appeared that last summer in Sea Haven—nor today in the seemingly perfect lives of her sisters.
As family tensions rise and Connor causes tumult in Maddy’s heart, the sisters must find a way to accept each other for the women they’ve become before the bitterness of the past destroys their hope for a future.
Once again Denise has written a great book and I loved how it wasn't focussed on romance, while there was romance themes it was really focussed on sisters rebuilding their relationships and forgiveness. As one of three girls I can't imagine not being close to my sisters and I liked how this book gave me another perspective on my family dynamic.
While I will say this book focussed on Emma and Connor, I didn't feel that Nora and Maddy were left out and enjoyed how their struggles were also focussed on. There is definitely a lot more to their stories than I first thought and I enjoyed seeing how their stories were all intertwined and tangled.
I also like it when books have a setting that has played an important in the history of the characters and Sea Haven was a place where there was a deep history with the characters while also being a neutral ground for them to move forward on.
Overall it's a great read and I found it was the perfect beach holiday book and I loved every chapter of it.
Summer by the Tides is out of May 21st
***As always both of the above books were provided to me in exchange for my honest review thanks to NetGalley
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