The Bone Season

I'm and avid reader and always have been.
My friends and family are the same. In fact, some of my closest friends are my book club ladies. Some of the best books I have read (*future post about my faves) are because of these spectacular women. And my sister has often clued me in on the best novels (I never would've have read the Potter series if it wasn't for her).
But every once in a while I choose a book for myself that is "knock your socks off" magnificent.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon is one such book. In fact, it is actually a series of books and the second one, The Mime Order, will debut on January 27th 2015 here in the States. (Sqeee)!
It has been compared to the Potter Series though this is not Young Adult. It has also been compared to The Hunger Games series. But it is neither; The Bone Season has it's own special darkness and it's own satisfying hope that the other two series simply do not possess. Read it. You won't be sorry.

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Cozy Autumn Cocktails

Cardamom Hot Toddy

The smell of fallen leaves, a fire in the hearth, the scents of apples and pie crust, a slow cooked roast...These are the things that let us know that Autumn is edging ever closer to Winter. During these darkening months, comfort often comes in ways that are different than the ways we achieve comfort in, say, Spring or Summer.

One of the ways I feel soothed in the Autumn is by the occasional after work cocktail. My favorite drinks to get while I'm out at this time of year are The Whiskey Fig at the Pour House and The Drunken Butterfly at the Shady Lady Saloon. But in an effort to save money it's always fun and frugal to create our own adult beverages at home.

These are some goodies I have found!

The Jonathan Chapman Cocktail: I call it Spiked Cider. I really like Food Republic.

Nutella Melt with Frangelico from "Winter Cocktails": More a dessert than a beverage.

Boozy Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

Pomegranate Vanilla Sangria

Pear and Ginger Sage Sipper

The Best of Mood Boards and Collage

Loretta at Creatively Driven: My inspiration for this post.

Regina says I should know some HTML (#17) to have a successful blog and be a serious blogger. I tend to agree with her; she is an uber expert. I think that because I have a lifestyle blog. In addition to knowing just a tiny bit of code, it would behoove me to also know Photoshop in order to create mood boards like the ones here. As in poetry, a mood board (or color board as some would call them) captures feelings, textures, ambiance and indeed feelings that cannot be expressed by words alone. Don't get me wrong; you know I fancy myself a poet and I love the written word, but I love a picture too; it is said, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Now if only I could muster the time and commitment to take a Photoshop class.

Here is a collection of some pretty boards I've recently found while scouring around this playground.

Brianna Rose: Her style is impeccable.

Colleen at Inspired to Share: Her spirit is captivating as you can see in her imagery here.

All of these items are sold on Etsy. This warm board was curated by Sofia Budman.. She is someone I follow on Pinterest and she hails from Tel Aviv, Isreal.

Sara at Salted Ink is amazing. Her style is fresh; her branding sensational.

This was arranged by Kayla Kits at HGTV's Blog: the concept of bubbles is refreshing. I love her addition of the illustrated Kitty.

And finally...

Something Calm at Swooned for the last selection. It was created by Lauren Kathryn. I like the diamond elements.