Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Game of Thrones + A Clash of Kings

Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin.

American Gods

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I didn't hate this book, but it wasn't my favorite. The premise was interesting, but due to the vague nature of the main character (this was done on purpose), I don't think I was really able to feel get behind him in his journey.

Bay Area

Food to try here...

• Alex Bakery
• Cinderella Bakery
• Red A Bakery (also Hawaiian food!) 
• Bi-Rite Creamery  Amazing!
• Cafe Bunn Mi  << Tried it - Delicious!
• Mission Pie 
• Tartine 
• Tony's 
• Candybar 
• Q Restaurant (Mac and cheese tater tots!) yum!
• Muka
• A16 Rockridge 
• Smitten Ice Cream
• The Ice Cream Bar, Cole Valley SF
• State Bird Provisions 
• SliderBar
• Cinnaholic
• Trattoria Corso 

Places to Visit

• Alameda Point Antiques Faire
• Berkeley Farmers Markets on Sat, Tues and Thurs
• Grand Lake Farmers Market on Saturdays
• swimming! (Lake Temescal)
• Temescal Farmers Market on Sundays
• Oakland Art Murmur on Fridays
• Pacific Pinball Museum
• Academy of Science
• DeYoung Museum
• Walt Disney Museum
• Berkeley Rose Garden
• SF Open Studios (October)
• Autodesk Gallery
• SF Ballet
• Lines Ballet
• Renegade Craft Fair (July 27-28)
• Eat Real Fest (Oakland Sep 27-29)
• artMRKT
• Street Food Festival - Aug 17
• Lair of the Golden Bear (Camping)

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.