Hooked on the Delirium Trilogy

This past weekend I finished a new book series that one of my co-workers recommended. I was skeptical at first because I wasn't too keen on the name the author had chosen for the book. However, I am SO glad that I decided to start reading them. I was instantly hooked! The series is called Delirium by Lauren Oliver. The three books in the series are: 

1. Delirium

2. Pandemonium

3. Requiem 

The series is profiling a future world in which 'love' is a disease. People are 'cured' of this disease, amor deliria nervosa, on their 18th birthday. It reminds me of the Hunger Games series in the sense that there is an uprising and revolution happening throughout the books. It is very well written and you get to know the characters really well and start feeling for them emotionally.

I don't think I looked up from my kindle throughout my entire 4 hour flight to California, when I first started reading the trilogy. When I finish a particular good book, or series of books, I don't feel like reading else because I feel like nothing else can live up to what I just read. But, now I have something almost as good to look forward to: FOX has picked up a pilot for a Delirium TV show! I think this is so much better than creating a movie because there are so many different directions the TV show can go, and it doesn't limit it to a specific time frame. Can you tell I'm excited? I don't know when the pilot will air, but when I find out, I will be counting down the days!!

Check out Lauren Oliver's website to find out more about the series and TV show. She has also written some smaller books that focus more on different characters you encounter in the series, and explain their story. Now, I'm off to figure out who is going to be cast in this show... Hmmm...

D

Bridal Shower for the Ultimate Book Lover

About 6 months ago my sister, 'P',  got married, and I (along with our other sister, 'A') were in charge of putting together the bridal shower. After weeks of trying to figure out a theme for the shower, I finally thought to myself, "What would 'P' do all day long if she had the chance?' READ!

Therefore we decided to create a literary themed bridal shower. Complete with a library card printout as an invitation, and decorations made from old book pages.

I never thought of myself as much of a crafty person. I've always loved painting and making different things here and there, but I never thought I would have the patience to make something extravagant. But, making the decorations for the shower was so much fun, and we really went all out! Below are some of the gorgeous pictures that 'A' took of the shower!

We made about 12 of these book wreaths, and put a different picture of her favorite book in the middle of each of them. She was so surprised that we got all of her favorite books right! (Considering all she did was read growing up, I better have gotten them right!!)

We took all of the hardback books we had lying around the house, tied them together with twine and put them around the living room where the shower was taking place. Can you tell I come from a family full of Harry Potter fans?

This wreath was meant to have a welcome sign across it, but we forgot to add that part in during the rush getting everything set up. It was still a big hit though, and it was a little clue as to what the theme was for the shower since guests saw it outside on the front door before they came in.

These little jars were so fun to make! Twine makes everything have such a vintage look to it. 

I have to give credit to my sister, 'A', for making these rose bouquets.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the hang of making the little roses. She did a great job though!

These flowers were pretty time consuming to make, so we only made around 10 of them, but they really added to the shower decor.

For the actual food, we made a lot of mini brunch-type items. We didn't get pictures of all of them, but they consisted of mini pancake stacks, mini quiches, mini bagels, tea sandwiches, mini cinammon rolls, fruit skewers and fruit parfaits. I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting right now, but we had so much food leftover! For drinks, we had mimosas and lemonade :) 

We also played some games during the shower that stuck with the book theme, such as guessing what books different romantic quotes were from, and having all the guests fill out mad-lib cards for the bride. We played the "What's in Your Purse?" game, which is where we called off various items from a list that we generated beforehand, and whoever could present the item from their purse first would get a point. It's always surprising how much stuff gets accumulated in girls' purses!

We gave out prizes for the games that consisted of barnes and noble giftcards, calendars, and bookmarks. We used old book pages as wrapping paper. 

Overall, I think people had fun and I'm glad it went well! I was so nervous beforehand, but 'P' said she loved it, so I guess it was a success!! :)

D

Life Is...The Small Stuff

Finally! My blog is up and running. I have spent way too much time trying to think of a name for this blog that was both witty and genius, and also screamed "This girl is the most amazing person ever!" Sadly, I came to the realization that I am really not that witty, and I have serious issues with working under pressure. Anyways, so after a weekend and half a day of trying to look up synonyms for 'chaotic' and 'blissful', I gave up and promptly went to take a nap. And lo and behold a name just came to me! (Amazing, I know).

So, Savoring the Small Stuff is officially born. This is going to be a blog about life: traveling, fashion, cooking, crafting, and anything and everything else. I have always been the type of person who gets way too excited over picking out a new nail polish color, or trying out the new hazelnut macchiato at Starbucks (It's delicious). It's the small things that make life exciting and worth living! I hope you enjoy it, and learn to savor the small stuff.

D