One Life.

"The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and make a difference. Not change the world exactly, just the bit around you. Go out there with your double-first, your passion and your new Smith Corona electric typewriter and work hard at … something. Change lives through art maybe. Write beautifully. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved if at all possible."

- One Day, David Nicholls

I read One Day about a year ago.  The novel stuck with me for many reasons (no spoilers!), but in particular because of the above quote, which kind of serves as a beautiful life mantra.  Figurative hands up if the slow move into spring each year makes you a little more reflective about your role in the world.  Can't just be me, right?  ;)

xo. di.

*image via

Party | A Feast of Thrones.

So this past Sunday's Game of Thrones was pretty intense, yes?  I'm still not over it, and I read the dang book over 2 years ago now!  We had a couple of fellow book readers over for the big event (we didn't want to torture any newbies ala this compilation), and leading up to it, I purchased this cookbook to make ourselves a very authentic feast.  The cookbook was written by two huge fans of the books and show who created the foodie blog Inn at the Crossroads years ago, where they posted recipes inspired by the feasts detailed with loving care by George R.R. Martin.*

*Though some of their recipes remain on the blog, you'll understandably have to purchase the book for most.  

I was most impressed with the cookbook for 2 reasons: (1) for most recipes, there is both a medieval and a modern version (we made a mix of both), which is a really helpful touch; and (2) each recipe begins with the quote from the book where the food was mentioned.   

The recipes are also broken up based on their region of origin.

{Special GoT-related decor, of course!}

{Iced Mulled Wine - Summer is Coming, after all!}

{Aurochs with Roasted Leeks}

{Baked Apples}

If you're a fan, with the finale coming up this Sunday, I'd say you have the perfect excuse to try some GoT-inspired dishes of your own!  Sift through the recipes currently on their website, grab the cookbook, try Tom Colicchio's Lemon Cakes recipe (which I made 2 years ago for the series premiere - they are delish!) or invent your own twists on medieval recipes (think turkey legs, shepherd's pies and mead!).

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

guest post on literary inklings.

I'm celebrating the fabulous Neil Gaiman by sharing the All Hallow's Read Project over on Literary Inklings today.  Come say hi here.

xo. di.

P.S. You might have noticed that I switched over to the DISQUS commenting system late last week.  I like that we have the ability to reply directly to each other's comments and you guys will know when I respond to you via e-mail.  Get a little more dialogue flowing, ya know?  Let me know if you have any issues with the system and I'll try to work it out!

*image property of Diane Crary

books of fall.

i have been anxiously awaiting the release of two books this fall.  i put together some book-to-outfit concepts to share my excitement with you all.  

today marks the highly-anticipated release date of j.k. rowling's first non-harry potter book (and first adult novel!), the casual vacancy.  and while small town english politics aren't something i would normally seek out in a book (no offense to the small town english polticians who are clearly reading this blog!), she's garnered enough good will that i preordered my copy on amazon months ago.  

1. sweater / 2. necklace  /3. leggings  / 4. casual vacancy  /5. lipstick  /6. boots / 7. watch 

and just a month from now, just in time for halloween, the second novel in "the passage" trilogy by justin cronin is finally out.  the series, about a vampire apocalypse, is stephen king-esque (in fact, it comes stephen king recommended): thrilling, chilling, terrifying, heart-warming, heart-breaking, etc etc etc.  the first book came out in the summer of 2010, and c, my mom and i all devoured it.  since it's a trilogy, practically nothing was resolved at the end of the first book, so we've been dying for over 2 years to find out what happens next.     

1. sweater / 2. parka / 3. backpack (similar) / 4. vampire survival guide / 5. the passage / 
6. leggings / 7. boots / 8. watch / 9. the twelve

any books you're looking forward to reading this fall?

xo. di.

*images as denoted above

friday free for all: currently reading.

i am currently reading 2 books, which i rarely, if ever, take on.  but i picked up the hobbit last weekend to reread (first time since freshman year of high school!) before the movie comes out in december.  then, the very next day, the everygirl's blog post on their new book club popped up, and i just loved the idea of this virtual community tuning in every week to discuss a book section-by-section.  after reading the feature on author melanie gideon last month, i was super intrigued by wife 22, and thus here i am, alternating between 2 books i'm really enjoying. 

these books are so obviously different too - one clearly in the fantasy genre i care deeply about, while the other could be any woman struggling to find her place in her 40s.  i'm not comparing them by any means, but both transport me into their worlds the way only well-written books can.  reminds me of this quote from another favorite author:

“Books fall open, you fall in. When you climb out again, you’re a bit larger than you used to be.”
- Gregory Maguire    

have a wonderful weekend.  reading anything good right now?

xo. di.

*image 1, 2 by me

book corner.

i would very much like a quiet corner in the world to read the afternoon away. 

“we don’t read novels to have an experience like life.  heck, we’re living lives, complete with all the incompleteness.  

we turn to fiction to have an author assure us that it means something.”
- Orson Scott Card

did any of you read ender's game by orson scott card in your younger days?  i picked it up for a reread after recommending it to c a couple of months ago, and we are now both engrossed in the rest of the series (which i never continued after the first read for some bizarre reason).  don't be afraid of the ender series' science fiction ties - the books are beautiful and deeply-moving.  they stay with you in the way good books tend to do.   

xo. di. 

*image 1,2,3,4

roald dahl.

being a lifelong roald dahl fan, i was a little giddy when a cup of jo clued me in to the royal mail collection bearing the images of roald's enchanting book covers.  seeing as how i live in the colonies, the uk stamps wouldn't do me much good.  but the postcard collection was soon on its way to me in the u.s. of a!

“it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you.”  

-the witches

“i understand what you're saying, and your comments are valuable, 

but i'm gonna ignore your advice.”  

-fantastic mr. fox

“matilda said, 'never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it.  be outrageous. go the whole hog.  

make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it's unbelievable...'”  

-matilda

“my dear young fellow,' the old-green-grasshopper said gently, 'there are a whole lot of things in this world 

of ours you haven't started wondering about yet.'”  

-james and the giant peach

“but there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance 

might be of striking lucky, the chance is there.  the chance had to be there.”

-charlie and the chocolate factory

“meanings is not important, said the BFG. i cannot be right all the time.  

quite often i is left instead of right.” 

-the bfg

i hope to pass them on some day to a future generation of little roald dahl enthusiasts :)

xo. di.

*images by me, all quotes via

fire and ice.

i know not all of my readers will appreciate this post, but for those who watch game of thrones on hbo or read george r.r. martin's a song of ice and fire book series, on which the show is based, i have a feeling you will adore the crocheted version of the stark family, direwolves and all. 

 

"drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover’s kisses, and melted on her cheeks.  at

 the center of the garden, beside the statue of the weeping woman that lay broken and 

half-buried on the ground, she turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes.  she could 

feel the snow on her lashes, taste it on her lips.  it was the taste of winterfell.  the taste of 

innocence.  the taste of dreams."

- George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords 

xo. di.

*images via

chill in the air.

"sometimes i wonder about my life.  i lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes i wonder, do i do it because i like it, or because i haven’t been brave?  so much of what i see reminds me of something i read in a book, when shouldn’t it be the other way around?  i don’t really want an answer.  i just want to send this cosmic question out into the void.  so good night, dear void."

-kathleen kelly, you've got mail

what is it about the turn to cooler weather that makes one turn more internal and thoughtful?!  like kathleen, i don't really want an answer either.  just sending it into the void.  

 xo. di.

*image 1,2,3,4

all hallows read.

"you know, there aren't enough traditions that involve giving books." 

- neil gaiman, october 23, 2010

and with that blog post just over a year ago, mr. gaiman, a favorite author of this here blog owner, created a tradition that took off immediately.

it's called all hallows read.  and the concept is simple: "on hallowe'en or during the week of hallowe'en, we give each other scary books.  give children scary books they'll like and can handle.  give adults scary books they'll enjoy."

"new books or old or second-hand, beloved books or unknown.  give someone a scary book for hallowe'en.  make their flesh creep..."

c took up the challenge immediately, gifting me let the right one in last hallowe'en, which i am too scared to read (i'm a wimp).  but this year?  it was salem's lot.  my first stephen king read.  i finished it in less than a week.  wow.  terrifying.  and awesome.  but mostly terrifying.  

but that's ok.  it is hallowe'en, after all.  a scare or two each october is good for me.  

i like to display my favorite hallowe'en books during this time of year.  ones from my childhood, like happy birthday little witch and scary stories to tell in the dark, right next to newer favorites, like wicked, dracula, and practical magic.  books are so good at holding memories.   

my suggestion for the perfect all  hallows read book?  neil gaiman's own the graveyard book.  technically for children but so well-written that any adult will enjoy. 

now go buy someone a book!

xo. di.

*images by me

book art.

after hearing about the ongoing mystery at the edinburgh library, i have been semi-obsessed with book art.  su blackwell's work is so in my wheelhouse.

"i often work within the realm of fairytales and folklore.  i began making a series of book sculpture, cutting out images from old books to create three-dimensional dioramas, and displaying them inside wooden boxes...i tend to lean towards young girl characters, placing them in haunting, fragile settings, expressing the vulnerability of childhood, while also conveying a sense of childhood anxiety and wonder. there is a quiet melancholy in the work, depicted in the material used, and choice of subtle colour.”

-su blackwell

 {the baron in the trees}

 {alice in wonderland}

 {peter pan}

 {little red riding hood}

 {the secret garden}

 {wild flowers}

 {the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe}

 {wuthering heights}

"paper has been used for communication since its invention; either between humans or in an attempt to communicate with the spirit world.  i employ this delicate, accessible medium and use irreversible, destructive processes to reflect on the precariousness of the world we inhabit and the fragility of our life, dreams and ambitions."

divine, yes?

xo. di.

*images via su blackwell

the room.

i showed this room to c a few weeks ago and said something like, "don't you see us living in this?"  his answer?  "phenomenal."  i'll take that as a yes.  i am just obsessed with this room and the warm, cozy, home feeling i get from it.  surrounded by books...and that's practically a hobbit-hole door leading into the other room...with natural light streaming through the windows. 

you know i'm saving this one some place safe for future inspiration.    
 

 

“when I was growing up, i was a voracious reader; i loved sitting in my house and jumping into new worlds.  but more important, i loved meeting new people. reading was a way to make friends or enemies, a way to discover how all these different people exist in the world and to rub shoulders with them.  the ability to feel as if you’ve met someone, as if that person exists in flesh and blood and that you relate to them somehow, makes you feel a lot less lonely.  and it also makes you feel very brave.”

- amy poehler

xo. di.

*image via live creating yourself

between the books.

i so hope libraries never become obsolete. 

"a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.  the man who never reads lives only one."

- george r.r. martin, a dance with dragons, book 5 of a song of fire and ice

xo. di.

*images via bookshelf porn