book haul, bad puns, and a blind date with ... a book?!

That moment when you can actually feel your future self cringing at this post. Brace yourselves for the overload of text, puns, and a lot of "I hope this is good".

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :)

This post was meant to be the monthly Recent Reads post, yet because I'm lazy I haven't had much time lately, I didn't have any interesting books to talk about. Unless you want to hear me puzzle over Shakespeare, or squeal over Percy Jackson (the only cool thing I read lately was the first book in Heroes of Olympus! Yes, I'm late to the bandwagon. My excuse? Couldn't find it in ANY library. Admittedly, I only look in two. But I checked both of them pretty frequently for over half a year, so... I think it's a valid excuse ;D)

And if you're super desperate to see what we've been reading lately, why don't you check out a couple of our previous ones, here and here? *shamelessly promotes hehehe*

Anywho. I'll stop waffling. *sniggers*

So yesterday (or the day before, I've already forgotten) while I was at school, my mum went shopping and came across a bunch of brand new books for $1 each.

ONE DOLLAR EACH.

She got a few for me, and luckily I liked all the ones she got! ^_^

So today I'll share with you some books that I've bought and received in the past few months, and because I've already showed some of them already on my blog, I won't talk about all of the ones pictured above.

To be completely honest, I'm not the biggest fan of buying books. I've grown up going to the library almost every day and borrowing stacks of random little books at a time, so buying them just doesn't make much sense to me when you can go to the library and have a massive collection for you to choose from, all of which are free! For me, to buy a book I normally will have to have read the book multiple times and it has to be one that I love and will eagerly read more. 

But I have to admit, if they're super cheap, you'll definitely find me carrying an armful of stories I have never seen before. xD

Enough rambling, let's begin.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Susanne Collins

I read the Hunger Games series waaay back in 2011-12, and little did I know that reading this series would begin an obsession with the books, and also a love for dystopian fiction. Funny thing is, I've never actually owned any of the books until last year, which would explain why my (incomplete) collection of the trilogy bears what I believe are the movie edition covers. My obsession with the series has definitely dwindled a little, due to my hunger (see what I did there) to read a larger variety of books. Catching Fire itself was an awesome read though, and is almost as good as the firest (puns, gotta catch 'em all love 'em) one, which is saying something.

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

The main reason why Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite authors is because every single time I finish one of her books, I'm left alone (heh)with a feeling that the book I had just closed was the best book I had ever read. *sobs dramatically* To be honest, it probably wasn't. But the resonating impact her books have given me every time I finish one is still there nevertheless, and Lone Wolf was amazing the first time I read it. Can't wait to start it again!

The Pact by Jodi Picoult
I haven't read this one yet, but I've come close to buying it before (at a much more expensive price than $1 ;D).

The Girl from Snowy River by Jackie French
As a child, I loved Jackie French and her historically based stories. Even though most of her novels are for a younger audience, I feel like anybody can read and learn from them. I haven't read this one yet, so I'm looking forward to it.

No Shame, No Fear by Ann Turnbull
This was a free book from my school library. I have no idea why I picked it up, nor do I have the slightest inkly of what it is about. (see what I did there, inkling, books are printed with ink, yes, yes...? ;) )

Having it All by Maeve Haran
Whilst browsing through a bookshop, I found this book for $2! Admittedly, what drew me to it was the cute cover (see below). No idea if it's good or not, so I hope so! xD

Tersias by G.P. Taylor
So when I went to the register to pay for the previous book...
Woman at counter: Okay that will be two dollars. And now I'll give you two free books. *turns around and starts rummaging through piles of books on ground*
Me in my head: ... huh?!
Woman: *comes back* Okay, I couldn't find a second one, but here's one. *hands me this book* It's a fantasy one. Is that okay?
Me: Ah.. urr...erm... o...k?
Me in my head: WHY IS THIS WOMAN GIVING ME FREE BOOKS
Woman: Wait, unless you like... *goes away* *comes back holding two Sculduggery Pleasant books* Do you want one of these?
Me: *kicks self for having never read any of them and is slightly overwhelmed by what is happening* Uhh ... no thanks. It's okay.
Woman: *hands receipt* Have a nice day!

So yeah. That doesn't happen to me on a regular basis. I have no idea what this book is about, but I do enjoy a bit of  fantasy, so hopefully it's great!

And now, as if this post wasn't weird enough, let's throw in something random yet related!

The other day I purchased this little brown package from Elizabeth's Bookshop in Newtown, Sydney. Basically, there are a bunch of different sized packages on the shelf, each with a few keywords on the front. The only thing you know about the book underneath the wrapping is from the words on the package, and it's a simple yet ingenious way for shoppers to "not judge a book by its cover" (I really love proverbs asd;flj xD)

The book inside the packaging turned out to be:
Tully by Paullina Simons
And like most of the books in this post, I have no idea what it's about xD

Most people avoid buying one of these little guys, in case they don't like the book. But for me, the risk is all part of the fun! ^_^

So what are you reading at the moment? Or if books aren't your thing, what do you love to do? :D

Stay fabulous! ;{D

Lena xx

PS Feel free to chuck me a comment below with a lame pun about books or something, so I can cry laughing at them later.

how to spend the holidays (by yourself)

Greetings fellow viewers of the interwebs,

Anyway, this blog post was inspired from my current situation: staying at home by myself being bored out of my mind whilst having to practice piano daily for my upcoming exam (so stressed T_T). Yep, doesn't sound like a great holiday, so I've come up with a list of things to do when you're alone and bored at home.

1) Draw!

Whether its a huge artwork or a little doodle, drawing makes time go by quicker. I usually find inspiration from Pinterest, as there's so many different styles of art out there in a very convenient place (plus, you can pin and save them so you don't forget!). One of my favourite types of drawing are simple, quick watercolour sketches. You can literally paint a blob and turn it into the cutest little bird by drawing in a few features.

2) YouTube

Just don't get too carried away watching videos until you end up in the weird part of YouTube. (Yep, we've all been there.) Trust me there's actually a few videos that will blow your mind (aka "10 hours and 1 second of pure black screen"!?!?) Don't try and find it if you still want to be productive with your life (I'm joking, but still.)

No, I'm not kidding about the video.

3) Pinterest/Blogs

I spend hours on Pinterest, casually pinning random things that I'll probably never make but nonetheless admire. If I'm not doing the above but am still searching for inspiration, I go hunting for blogs. You can find a lot of inspiration for things (to do things instead of sitting there doing nothing for 24 hours.)

4) Read

Now I know that reading isn't a favourite for some people, but if you are fond of the practice then go read a book! If the book is well-written, you'll find yourself reading for hours and hours on end. (At least that's what I do, I'm sure I'm not alone on this.) If you want to find good books to read, Goodreads is probably your go-to place!

Le fleur on le book

5) Reorganise things!

You know, switch things up a bit. Maybe tidy your desk or reorganise your book collection.

Of course there is a lot more to do, but this is how I've been spending (*cough* wasting *cough*) my holidays. Hope you've found this post not utterly useless, and maybe even a tad bit entertaining. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest and Goodreads, and I'll see you later.

Cheerio,

~ Judy x

travel essentials of a 15 year old

Gooooood morning / afternoon / night! :)

By the time you read this, I would have already come home from my trip to China! You'll probably see photos and things soon :D

Minus all the actual necessities such as toiletries, passports and what not, here are some of the things I like to bring while travelling, mainly for entertainment.

• Books, a necessity of LIFE! Although I tend to finish them within the first day of a trip...
• Sketchbook, for doodling in.
• Diary. Despite my commitment issues with things, meaning I often don't finish / keep up things for very long, I try to record some of my daily events, mainly so I can facepalm later at what an idiot I am.
• Watercolours. Sorry for the messy palette, I'm that kid in every art class who mixes all the paint colours together... sorry!!! I don't do it on purpose! xD
• Glasses. Bleurgh, who am I kidding, I haven't worn my glasses properly for YEARS. Funnily enough, my eye sight has improved since I've stopped...
• Pens and stationery. For the doodling.
• Lip balm. For those dry-cracked-Sahara-desert-or-the-Aussie-outback-lip days.
• Nail file. I'm constantly chipping my nails. Judy, the blog's co-writer, gave this one to me actually! She knows me too well :')
• Candy. 'Nuff said.
• Phone. It ran away when I tried to include it in the photo.
• Camera, what this picture was taken with.

A whole new worldddddd~ ♫

What do you like to take with you while travelling? Or if you don't travel and camp in your bedroom 24/7, what do you need to survive? xD

Talk to y'all later, and stay fabulous :D

Lena xx

meet fresh || waffle-tastic adventures

Hellooooooo!

So a while back, me and a friend visited a shop called Meet Fresh! I was so eager to try the waffles after weeks of waiting, I finally got to try the highly anticipated waffles.

I ordered the matcha and red bean waffles (which tasted AMAZING) and while my friend ordered the vanilla and strawberry waffles! These photos were taken on my phone and not the normal camera I use, which may explain the quality :)

Lantern!

*blurs photo to hide people's faces*

These were the funky things that rang when it was time to grab our food

My friend's cute rabbit card holder thing ft. my hand

Yay waffles!

Strawberry and vanilla icecream waffles! (Looks funky, but were delicious)

Waffles with matcha icecream and red bean (with a side of vanilla icecream and a slice of strawberry!)

MATCHA ♥

The waffles were fabulous, and even though the presentation wasn't exactly on point, they still tasted amazing! I'll probably be visiting the shop again to try more of the menu although I have tried their normal milk tea with pearls before.

Thanks again for reading and I'll see you next time!

~ Judy x