Friday Favorites

And just like that another week is over! One step closer to my birthday, Halloween and Christmas! All the good stuff right? With it being Friday we all know it is time for Friday Favorites!

{ Erika | Andrea | Narci }

This week I finally got out to the movies to see A Star is Born and it is really a great movie. Everyone in the movie did a wonderful job and if you watched Alias it is a bit of a reunion which me and my sister loved haha. Lady Gaga was great, she is such a great singer so it was really the perfect role for her. And hello Bradley Cooper has a great voice too! I have been listening to the soundtrack for most of the week and I definitely recommend getting it, the songs are great! I did not cry, got teary but did not cry! There was many women around me who I could hear sniffling. Also, Bradley's used his own dog in the movie and holy cow so stinkin' cute!!

Last week, I told you about the novel I was reading the Tattooist of Auschwitz, well I finished it and it was a wonderful story to learn about. The hell that everyone went through in those camps is just horrifying. The author did a good job telling the story of Lale and Gita, but she is screen writer, so I find the book goes flat sometimes where you would assume more emotion would be. I think this might be because she was hoping it would be movie and the actor would be the one to bring more emotion to it. I do believe it would make a great movie but for a book I need a little more. I would still recommend this book though. Stories from this time in history are some of my favorite to read even if they are harder to read because of the extreme horror that this era had. Even with the horrors they endured Lale and Gita had a wonderful love story so if you enjoy this genre of book I would say read it. 4 stars out of 5 from me.

Thursday was also I favorite for me just because I didn't have much to do and I had the day off so I just lazed around, baked cookies and made dinner in the slow cooker! I may or may not have also watched two Christmas movies...shhhh

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday and hope you all have a super fun weekend!



Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday everyone! Here we are at the end of another week and we made it through with flying colors! I swear the older I get the quicker time passes though. This week was a short one anyways because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. How was your week? Quick or Slow?

{ Erika | Narci | Andrea}

Again this week I'm linking up with the girls for Friday Favorites. For this week I did have more favorites then the past few weeks so lets get on it...


On Wednesday evening I headed over to the final debate for our leadership race for the PC Party of Nova Scotia. This is the one I really wanted to go to since it was the last one and the closest to home for me. Since it is coming down to the final weeks of a very long (too long to be honest) race for leader things have gotten somewhat nasty. I will not lie, I'm profoundly disappointed by one of the candidates who I know is a truly good man, but lets not get into that because we are here for my favorites of the week. The candidate I'm supporting Tim Houston, has anyways made me proud, I have watched him grow since coming onto the scene as MLA for Pictou East in 2013. Wednesday night at the debate I watched him take on petty/nasty bull (for lack of a better word), with the grace I want in my leader. My heart swelled with pride for him, happy knowing I call him a friend. Now, I'm even more excited for the leadership convention, even though I have already mailed in my ballot. Win, lose or draw he has done an amazing job and will continue to do great things.


Another one of my favorites which has been basically on repeat since it came it has been the Carrie Underwood album Cry Pretty. I love Carrie and this album is another great one. I actually love all the songs which is not always the norm for me because normally there is always one or two that I will skip over, not so with album. I think my top three songs from the album are Love Wins...because it just seems like something we all need to hear right now with all the issues going on around the world and how really we all just need to love each other and figure things out....Champion because it is just an awesome song, great to have on the work out playlist by the way....Ghosts on the Stereo, again just another great song. If you like Carrie and you haven't checked out this album yet I strongly suggest you go and listen to it soon!

I started a new book on Monday, The Tattooist for Auschwitz by Heather Morris and it is so good so far. Here is the about section from Chapters on it to give you the idea of what is it about...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews, who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival—literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims’ arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

There have been many books about the Holocaust—and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov’s incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners and he was determined to survive—not just to survive, but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also—almost unbelievably—a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale—a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer—it was love at first sight and he determined not only to survive himself, but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story—their story—will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.
These stories of survivors of the Holocaust are some of my favorite stories to read because I can't imagine how they survived and the devastation they lived though. I haven't gotten too far into yet but I know already that it is going to be a great read that is for sure.

Alright, that is all from me this week. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will be back on Monday with something great for you to read (fingers crossed). Happy Weekending!

Wednesday Rambles

Okay, it is Wednesday! We have made it through half of the week already! I can say this easily since Monday was a holiday! I have been trying to figure out something to post about this morning for too long so I have decided to just wing it and see what comes out! Sometimes you just can't plan out a blog no matter how hard you try.

Yesterday, after work I got some extra energy and decided to finally clean out some of the cupboards in the kitchen! They have been needing a clean out for a long time but instead of just cleaning them out, we just stacked more stuff in there. For me, there are few things better than that feeling you get when you have cleaned and organized something. I know I'm a tad crazy but I much prefer having everything in its place especially when it actually has a proper place. Now, if I could just get people to put things back in said place I would be a miracle worker!

 

Not to bad huh? Plus I love having a good clear out of the cupboards before the baking season of Christmas starts! Knowing what you have and what you need to get is pretty much a must. It is always a plus when you can actually just take a quick peek when you're making your lists enough of having to basically clean them out then.

 

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. I completely forgot to take any pictures at all! I can tell you we had a wonderful dinner thanks to my mom and sister (which I clean up for the big meals and they cook), great company and just a nice relaxing weekend. For Sunday, my dad's side of family normally comes over, which is nice since we don't have as many family gathers with them since they don't live in the area like a lot of mom's family does. It was nice for me especially since the last family get together we had was the week before I went into the hospital so I was not feeling the best that is for sure. For Monday, it was leftovers and being basically a sloth! I did do some laundry but I mainly just laid around on the couch and read my new book The Tattooist of Auschwitz, so far it is very good.

 

Alright, I think I'm done rambling for one day. Hope you're all having a great Wednesday and a great week! I will be back on Friday with some favorites!

 

 

 

A little reading material....A Book Review

Surprised to see me again aren't you? Thought I was going to post once and run away for months again! Well, I'm at least giving you two posts before running away again. This one is a little different for me because I do not believe I have done a book review on here but this books begs for a review and to be read. The book I'm talking about it is Unflinching The Making of a Canadian Sniper by Jody Mitic.

For Christmas my dad got this book from my sister. I had remembered seeing Jody on Canadian AM talking about it and I remembered him from Amazing Race Canada because I had thought how crazy and amazing it was that he was on the show when he was working with prosthetic legs (came in second by the way! Nothing stops him!). I thought it would be an interesting read and actually I wanted to read it once my sister bought it for my dad but I figured I should not read it before it was given as the gift it was meant to be. Dad always gets a number of books for Christmas so I ended up 'borrowing' it before he could get to it anyways. I spent the whole day reading it, which takes a lot for me because as much as I can enjoy reading it is not something I do as often as I may like to. 

This book is well written and very easy to read, the flow of it works well. Autobiographies/memories are some of my favorite genres to read even though they can be hard to get through sometimes. Jody has a pretty amazing story, his determination is inspirational. If you put your mind to something you can accomplish it and Jody shows that a number of times during his memoir. I do not want to give too much away because I do not want to make anyone feel they have read the book by reading this review. Jody will forever be a soldier at heart and has never let his injury hold him back. This is a story about courage, bravery and overcoming adversities most of us will never even imagine. Don Cherry's quote is so true "Makes you proud that Jody is Canadian". Jody wrote a book that sheds light on a number of issues both good and bad. I love how he tells his story, he seems like one hell of a good guy. Son, husband, father, friend, soldier etc he is doing it well. If you enjoy a memoir I truly recommend this book, even if memoirs are not your thing maybe try this one you might just like it!


Chapters: Unflinching

Sunday Social

1. Favorite Childhood Book? I don't remember just one but I loved the Berenstain Bears and My Little Critter books! When I got a little older I loved the Babysitter Club books :)

2. Favorite Book Lately? I enjoyed finally reading the Hunger Games (still reading the 3rd one) I also really like Portia deRossi's book Unbearable Lightness

3. Book You Wish You Could Live In? For sure When In Rome by Gemma Townley

4. If you could be any character from a book who would it be and why? Probably Georgie Beauchamp from When in Rome or Becky Bloomwood from Confessions of a Shopaholic! Crazy lives but fun!

5. Favorite Book Turned into a Movie? The Devil Wears Prada mainly because I love Anne Hathway and Meryl Streep!

6. Favorite Magazine? Vogue, InStyle and People 

xoxo