September Favorites

I say this every month. Heck, I say this just about every day, time is going by so fast. I can't believe October is here and it's time to get ready for the holiday season.

We lost all of our Fall/Autumn/Harvest/Halloween decorations in the flood so we have to shop for new stuff this year. This is the second time I've had to replace these decorations. The first time, movers lost our box. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. 

September was rather uneventful if I stop and think about it. Lots of job searching going on for both myself and the Mister. His official last day as an active duty Marine is today, September 30th. We're still figuring out health insurance, retirement pay, VA benefits, etc. Making this transition is daunting to say the least. Anyway...

Books and TV

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is by far, my favorite read for September. I remember when this graphic novel was first published and EVERYone was talking about it. I read the synopsis out of curiosity and didn't like the sound of it at all. It sounded all political and dull. This year, I decided to read it for Banned Books Week and because I'm trying to find graphic novels that I like. I love this. Persepolis is a story that is going to stay with me a really long time. 

It's about an Iranian girl and her family and how they experienced, lived, and survived the Islamic Revolutions. It's a first person memoir told from Marjane's perspective from the ages of six to fourteen. As an American, I see the news reports on the Middle East and the places that we are bombing and the terrorists that we're fighting against and it makes it very easy to forget that normal people and families have to live this life. Marjane tells her story without any "woe is me" despite the hardships and losses she and her family experienced. Can you imagine being a teenager in the early 80's and being assaulted for wearing a jean jacket with a Michael Jackson button on it? If that had been happening here in America at the same time, just about every teenager would have been accosted on the street. Marjane brings these realities to life in her memoir and makes her experiences relatable to all her readers. 

I also remember thumbing through this novel ten years ago and not being very impressed with the artwork. You have to read the story to appreciate the artwork that goes along with it. I can be a real numskull sometimes. The artwork, in its black and white simplicity, is poignant and portrays the emotions of the characters and the starkness of living in a city under attack without taking your focus away from the words. 

As for TV, basically, I got caught up on The Big Bang Theory and watched its season premier and watched the season premier of The Goldbergs. Frankly, TV holds very little interest for me these days unless I'm watching old sitcom reruns on Netflix. Since we've been back in our house, we've probably watched less than 24 hours of new TV. Not counting sports and news. I really wonder why we continue to pay for cable.

Health and Beauty


After many years of looking, I have found a liquid foundation that I can actually stand to wear! It's L'Oreal's Magic Nude Liquid Powder Bare Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 18. It's a medium coverage foundation that applies very easily with a brush and feels so lightweight. It comes out of the bottle as a liquid and dries to a powdery finish. I LURRRVE it! I also love, love, love my Tarte Smooth Operator Finishing Powder, which I apply on top of my foundation and the combo leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. There are other liquid to powder foundations out there that I plan on trying just to see if they're any better than a drug store brand, but I'm pretty happy with this one.

The Internets

Another booktuber I'd like to tell you all about is Sanne from booksandquills. Sanne is fantastic. It really helps that I don't think I have completely disagreed with any of her book reviews that I've watched so far. Also, she can be so funny. She's originally from the Netherlands and occasionally, she'll do a video on Dutch "speakwords" and I find them very entertaining. Sanne is living the life that I want, in London working at a book publishing company, so I hate her just a little bit. Don't let that stop you from checking out her channel.

Food and Drink

I have to tell you all about another wine that the Mister and I discovered at the Vine. It's the Grand Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon. Omg people! This is such a great wine. "Lifted aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry and vanilla are accompanied by vibrant, dark berry fruits on the palate. The finish is long with fine-grained tannins from sixteen months maturation in a combination of new and older French oak hogsheads. Although drinking well now this wine may be cellared for up to ten years from vintage." I love the blueberry notes in this wine. Yum. This is such a good wine, that the Vine can't keep it in stock. I have no idea where you can buy this wine. Sorry. A "specialist" at www.wine.com says this wine is similar and this wine too but I haven't tried either so I can't say one way or the other.

A Review of MateVana Herbal Tea

This post is a little different for my blog. I don't think I've ever reviewed a tea before and this is more or less a reference for me so that I can remember my first impressions of this tea. My memory isn't what it used to be, lol. I've probably reviewed a tea and just can't remember and I'm too lazy to look.

I had a tea haul from Teavana delivered yesterday. This is probably one of the most missed stores that I miss from San Diego. There are some things that you should buy in person rather than over the internet and loose leaf teas are definitely something that you should buy in person. I really hate Teavana's high-pressure sales techniques, but seeing and smelling loose leaf tea in person is a great experience. When you live in the boonies, what are ya gonna do?

I loved the sound of the description of this tea from Teavana's website:

It’s not coffee, is it tea? Taste this coffee-like maté and red rooibos blend. Sweetened with cocoa and chocolate chips, this mochaccino inspired blend infuses smooth, dark rich sips that are soft and robust. 
Roasted infusion with rich chocolaty overtones

A palmful of MateVana Tea. You can see the marigold and chocolate chunks clearly.

This Mate tea has a bit of caffeine in it and I love a tea that I can drink in place of a morning cup of coffee because some days, I'm just not in a coffee mood but can use an energy boost. This is a very aromatic tea with strong chocolate overtones and nutty undertones. It has a strong tea flavor with chocolaty/nutty flavors. I think it also has a bit of a light anise taste to it as well. Something that bothers me about this tea is that I can swear that I'm tasting an artificial sweetener but it isn't listed in the ingredients. I would almost put money on this tea having an artificial sweetener in it.The ingredients do list sugar and "artificial flavors" soooo... Despite the troubling sweetener taste, I have enjoyed this tea this morning. While the chocolate comes through very strongly, I would not compare this tea to a mochaccino. It's just not what I think of when drinking this tea. It's very tea-y versus having a coffee flavor. It's also something that I would rather drink on a cold morning and/or evening rather than a hot and humid morning like we had today at my house. 

Very dark brew. It looks like coffee but tastes like tea.

Esther Ehrlich: Nest

Disclaimer:  I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher for my honest review. Everything written below is my honest opinion and of my own free will.

Title:  Nest

Author:  Esther Ehrlich

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Pages:  336

Genre:  Middle school fiction

Setting:  Cape Cod in 1972

Where did you get it? This is an ARC from Netgalley.

Why did you read it? If I remember correctly, I was invited to read this book. That being said, I read it because I liked the sound of the book from the blurb. I also thought the cover was pretty.

From the publisher:  For fans of Jennifer Holm (Penny from Heaven, Turtle in Paradise), a heartfelt and unforgettable middle-grade novel about an irresistible girl and her family, tragic change, and the healing power of love and friendship. In 1972 home is a cozy nest on Cape Cod for eleven-year-old Naomi “Chirp” Orenstein, her older sister, Rachel; her psychiatrist father; and her dancer mother. But then Chirp’s mom develops symptoms of a serious disease, and everything changes.
   Chirp finds comfort in watching her beloved wild birds. She also finds a true friend in Joey, the mysterious boy who lives across the street. Together they create their own private world and come up with the perfect plan: Escape. Adventure. Discovery.
   Nest is Esther Ehrlich’s stunning debut novel. Her lyrical writing is honest, humorous, and deeply affecting. Chirp and Joey will steal your heart. Long after you finish Nest, the spirit of Chirp and her loving family will stay with you.

What did you think? I loved this book. I had reservations about reading a book intended for such a young audience, but Esther Ehrlich doesn't "write down" to her readers. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of Nest. This books was full of "feels" and normally, I'm not into that. While Chirp and her family deals with illness, which is a serious subject, you aren't left with a heavy feeling after reading Nest. Quite the opposite. 

I absolutely fell in love with all of the characters in this book, even the sometimes annoying psychiatrist dad. This family is so real because they are a family in the very real sense of the word but they aren't perfect either. Ehrlich's writing is so spot on that you identify with their angst, but it's their perfection that makes you completely feel their losses. 

For a debut novel, well, you can't even tell this is a debut novel. It's really amazing and I am so a fan of Esther Ehrlich. I can't wait to see what she publishes in the future. I am also totally buying a copy of this book when it comes out so that my kids can read it. 

You can read the intro to Nest by clicking on the author's name above and visiting her website. Click on the book cover to head on over to B&N to preorder.

Faux Autumn Day

You know when you wake up to a day that is completely gloomy? It's all dark and gray and the clouds look heavy and ominous.Without checking the weather or stepping outside, you just know that it must be chilly outside and so you lay in bed just a couple minutes longer anticipating a cozy day filled with tea, warm socks, and a good book.

This is just the morning that I had. Oh! But wait! It was gloomy and dark and drizzly outside however this is FLORIDA and it's still almost 90 degrees outside. What does dark, gloomy, drizzle mean in Florida? Not only is it hot, but the drizzle adds to the humidity. ::sigh::

I didn't indulge in fuzzy socks, jeans, and a sweatshirt (not wanting to die of heat exhaustion) but I did haul out my tea. Oh tea! How I missed you! First, I made a tumbler of a peach blended tea. After guzzling that down, I made a tumbler of seven berry sangria rooibos and blackberry mojito green tea blend. I'm also drinking my tea out of my favorite teacup. Do you enjoy teas?

I'm also indulging in my book and books in general today. I'm currently reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I had a really hard time getting into this one but I'm finding it interesting now that I'm smack dab in the middle of it. It's definitely different from what I normally read. As for as "books in general" goes, I got myself organized to do a Goodreads challenge called The Seasonal Reading Challenge. I know that I'm not good at these things, but this is so different with so many varied tasks that you can pick and choose from, that I want to give it a try. Plus, the challenge runs for the entirety of the Fall season, Sept 1 - Nov 30 so I'll have a lot of time to play. You all should give it a look see if you need something to do with your time.