Restaurants in Philadelphia

1. Federal Donuts < went! DELICIOUS 
2. Garces Trading Company (Endless Steak Frites)
3. Magpie (pie!) < went! DELICIOUS 
4. Nan Zhou hand drawn noodles << went!yum!
5. Carman's Country Kitchen 
6. Vic sushi < went! Yum! 
7. European Republic (Belgian fries) 
8. Pitruco Pizza food truck < delicious =) 
9. John's Roast Pork
10. Hot Diggity 
11. Fat Salmon Sushi 
12. Amis (waffles) 
13. Artisan Boulanger Patissier 

On a side note, I want to go to Joseph Fox Bookshop and the Barnes Museum before I graduate too! 

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier

Poison Study

Poison Study by Maria Snyder

Room

Room by Emma Donoghue

Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

I really liked this book. It was incredibly thoughtful, and not just about Asberger's Syndrome, but about real life issues and conflicts.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Children of Men

The Children of Men by PD James

Unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Lemon Cookies

I'm obsessed with these lemon cookies! But we can't always make it to Maggiano's so here are some recipes I'm hoping to try from Live Fit and Healthy and QueenMotherBlog. 

The Shadow of the Wind

Summer time is finally here! That means I can begin to read again. The first was a book that I had tried to read while still in school, which was a massive failure, of course. "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon began relatively slowly for me - I wasn't quite hooked from the start. I must say I did enjoy it a lot, though, as once I finally started reading again about a day ago, I became pretty determined to finish it as soon as possible. It is definitely a novel. A lot of adventure, intrigue, romance. I can't say this book is life-changing for me, but I did really enjoy reading it. Though, I don't mean that it was an empty adventure - it's a complex novel and I didn't feel like I was reading anything empty. A good book to start off this summer! It's wonderful to sink back into imaginary worlds again. I feel like I was unable to do that for the majority of this semester, sadly.

Almond Jello

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 2 packets Knox gelatin
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 c. cold milk (2% or whole)
• 1 can 8oz fruit cocktail

Directions:

1. Bring 1.25 cup water to a boil, when it is ready pour into a mixing bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it.
2. Let sit for a minute, then stir the mixture until all the gelatin is dissolved. Hint: set the bowl over low heat to keep it hot enough to melt all the gelatin.
3. Add sugar and almond extract. Stir until dissolved.
4. Add cold milk
5. Pour liquid mixture into a casserole or baking pan. Bonus points if it is Pyrex or Corningware, and even better if it’s something you can serve the dessert in!
6. Refrigerate until firm.
7. Cut the gelatin into 1″ cubes and then carefully mix with fruit cocktail and syrup, thinned with cold water to taste.

Ferragamo Pre-Fall 2012

Pinterest

Waiting to be able to sign up for Pinterest...

• http://pinterest.com/katea/lovely-ladies/ 
• http://pinterest.com/eatsleepwear/beauty/
• http://pinterest.com/dannyroberts/my-girl-looks/
• http://pinterest.com/dannyroberts/my-girl-wears/
• http://pinterest.com/luckymagazine/
• http://pinterest.com/bergdorfs/
• http://pinterest.com/ninagarcia/

White Tattoo

And the location:

Handy Things

1. Using mint tins to contain small things (I already do this for bobby pins, but can also use it for push pins, thumbtacks, etc.
2. Binder clips for wires (specifically my phone charger wire)
3. A safety pin pinned to the hem of a skirt to remove static cling 
4. Single use packs (for traveling!) 
5. Hosiery over Hairbrush!
6. Stain remover (I need this...)
7. Emergency ingredient substitutions
8. Which spices go with which foods
9. Photography cheat sheet 
10. Unclogging drain with vinegar and baking soda  
11. Magic erasers = Melamine foam 

Printing on Paper Bags and Fabric

This basically requires taping down the flap and taping closed the open end. Easy!
Found at The Gunny Sack

AND printing on fabric! Found at Rustic Interiors

Cheesy Mushroom Bread

This looks amazing. From Beantown Baker.

Suite Francaise

I managed to finish this before school begins again. I really enjoyed this book. The second appendix is so hard to read - and by that I mean painful because of its content (not because it was technically tricky). The fictional parts were great as well, though sometimes I found myself needing to push onwards to finish. WWII novels can be so difficult to read. I will never be able to understand how someone could inflict so much pain on so many people.

Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky

Nicola-Formichetti

Nicola-Formichetti Store by Gage/Clemenceau Architects. Images from Knstrct.

Estonian Academy of Art

Estonian Academy of Art Competition - Gage/Clemenceau Architects. Images from Gage/Clemenceau.

Stardust

I wasn't supposed to read. I have a lot of schoolwork and work to finish during this holiday break, so I purposely prohibited myself from reading. Unfortunately, I have a fresh stack of used books in the corner of my room that were given to me for Christmas and I was too tempted. It started as a way to pass time as I waited for Sketchup to stop being temperamental. And Stardust is not a difficult read, so I managed to get through about half the book this way. I ultimately stopped working and just finished the book. It was not bad. I enjoyed the plot and the final sentence in the book was so hauntingly sad and beautiful that it pushed the book, in my mind, into the "good" category. That being said, the characters were not very well developed. I watched the movie long ago and watched it a second time recently and I really enjoy the movie. In fact, the characters are better developed in the movie and if it hadn't been for that fact, I think I would have enjoyed the book less. The storyline in the book differs from that in the movie and I like that aspect, to some degree. Overall, it was a pleasant read. This type of fantasy novel always appeals to my romantic (in the nostalgic sense), imaginative side.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

A tree in Hawaii. Photography by Brandon Russell

Bourrasque

By Paul Cocksedge
Images from Dezeen

Busan Opera House

Images from suckerPUNCH.