I wrote this little blurb out and posted it on Facebook back in July, and although I never bothered to edit it, I thought I would share it on the blog.  I never gave it a title, and I don't really have any further plans for it, but since this blog is a scrap-book of sorts, I feel that it is okay to add this little writing exercise in. I wrote this on a humid Saturday morning at work when I was supposed to be catching up, but for some reason could not stop narrating everything that I was doing that day. I was training myself to be more appreciative of the present, and this was the result. 

Warm Morning In July

So this one time, The Party Cats threw a prom! Why? Because themed parties are fuuuuun, and, two out of three Party Cats never made it to prom, so of course we had to throw our own! Duh!

We originally were going to have prom outside with a bonfire and all sorts of cool stuff, but because we live in Michigan, it decided to be cold and rain all damn day. So! At the last minute, we transformed the basement into prom! We even had our own theme: Intergalactic love! Jen and Mariah made awesome decorations. We had creepy-cut outs for photos, we hauled the arch inside for prom-style photos, we had glitter EVERYWHERE, balloons, space water guns, sparkly dresses, stars, paper lantern "planets", our own playlist that we created, jello shots, a jet pack (thanks, Alice!) oh, and loads of booze. Like, so much booze that I *may* have consumed a crap load and forgot to take photos of about half the other guests at the party. Whoops.

Needless to say, we had a lot of fun! The Party Cats have a bunch of cool things planned out, and I can't wait to get started on all of them! Until then, happy Tuesday!

It's been six years, and yet I still haven't been able to figure out how to pose for a photo properly. I don't think I could stand more stiff and awkward if I tried. Bloody hell. Anyway, this has been one of my favorite outfits these past few weeks, now that summer is upon is. I found this gem of a dress while thrifting with a friend, and it is perfect for hot days at work. Our office stays cool, but I walk through the warehouse a lot, and the thing is a damn oven. Cool, cotton dress FTW!

Work has been so crazy-busy lately, and I can't seem to get caught up. I foresee some long nights coming up, but overtime is always nice, so there is that. I have also been hitting the gym pretty steadily the past two weeks, and it has helped my mental state of being immeasurably. The party cats and I are throwing a shin-dig at my house this weekend, and have been plotting this event for a month! I am planning on taking loads of pics, so blog post to follow on that. Also, as if I didn't have enough going on, I am running the Run, Walk, Boom! 5k Saturday morning! I hadn't ran since November, but I managed to get some miles in this week, and am looking forward to a run. 

I think I am sort of addicted to being insanely busy. I think it comes with so many years of being a student while working full time, and I *almost* miss being in school. I like being busy though, it keeps life interesting, and it forces me out of my comfort zone. I am very excited for so many projects, trips, and events this summer. I typically am not a huge fan of this time of year, but, this year has been pretty good to me so far, and I am just taking each day as it comes. Which is a really nice change for a control freak like me. 

Details

Dress-Forever 21

Shoes-Payless

Purse-Thrifted

Necklace-Gift

Ears-Amazon

I know summer isn't officially over until September 23rd, but I always feel that once the school year starts, we can welcome autumn. So, I figured I would do a little post on the books I read over the summer. I used to do one book review post per book, but I never knew how to do them properly. I was an English major, I am used to really getting into the details of a novel, and therefore would struggle with giving too much away. 

Then, I started to just give the "back-flap" summery, and those posts didn't really feel worthwhile. So instead I thought I would just lump all of the books I read together, give a very short summery, and wither or not I liked it. Keeping it simple seems to be the best way to go about this, so here it goes!

The Oregon Trail- First up we have a book that I wasn't entirely sure if I would like. The Oregon Trail is the gripping account of the author Francis Parkman's journey west across North America in 1846. The bulk of the story is how he sets out with three companions on a horseback journey that would ultimately take him over 2,000 miles. 

I had a hard time recounting what this book was about, as I actually read it in the late spring. However, it was very simply written, and pretty interesting once I realized that it was basically the personal diary of the author. Granted, I am not entirely sure how much of the story could have been altered if he had the intentions of profiting off of this account, but nothing really stood out as extreme, and the frustration at times came off as believable. 

Little Dorrit- By Charles Dickens, is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period (originally published 1855-1857). The focal point of this novel was on the debtor's prisons, in which people who owed money, were imprisoned-therefore unable to work, until their debts were paid. Dickens's own father was imprisoned in the one featured in this novel, giving the story some personal flavor. There is also a blossoming love story involved, to help aide in the personal lives of those the debtors prison affects. 

Despite the thick spine of this novel, it seemed to move along pretty quickly.The satire was really great, and the characters well-written. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. 

Atonement- By Ian McEwan, is a British family saga novel, about the understanding and responding to the need for atonement. Set in three time periods, 1935 England, World War II set in England and France, and present day England, it covers a young upper-class girl's half-innocent mistake that ruins lives, her adulthood in the shadow of that mistake and a reflection on the nature of writing. 

I am so glad that I completely forgot that I saw this movie when it came out, because this book was very captivating. I think the character development is what is really key in this novel, as it is relatively short, but covers so much. 

So there you have it, my summer reads. I tried my best to balance some classic literature with some lighter stuff, and I think it went pretty well. Have you guys read any of these books, and what did you think? What were your favorite summer reads? 

Happy Friday guys!

Kyle and I didn't actually know about the 1920's attire thing until a few hours before we were supposed to leave, so we were rushing around after work Friday getting ready. I think we did okay! I am bummed that most of the pics I took of Kyle were blurry, he looked so spiffy! We actually met with my brother and sister in-law for dinner before we went out, so it was funny walking around in this getup with people giving us questioning looks. 

I also got to meet two awesome ladies, Whitney and Julia! Thankfully Jenny remembered her camera, so I stole pics from her and had to give them a little vintage-vibe. Seriously, so much fun! I felt super-fancy for someone who usually just heads to the bar that has pitchers of PBR and karaoke. 

"Everyone say: Gatsby!" -Aaron 

My friend Stevie uses this quote a lot, and I have to say that it is quickly becoming one of my favorites:

“If my life wasn't funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.” 

― Carrie Fisher

Some instagrams of our vacation week last month (as if I didn't post enough of them).