Thursday, March 31, 2016

March Snapshots


1 & 2. Spring has arrived and seeing everything bloom makes me so happy. 


3 & 4. I haven't been buying a lot of vinyl recently and I decided to fix that. Also notice the girl power going on there ;) 


5 & 6. The new wave of Harry Potter Funkos was released this month and obviously I had to get them. I added 7 new ones (Harry with the gryffindor sword is from the first wave) and I'm waiting on quidditch Draco to arrive. I'm still on the fence about getting the rest of the series, I plan to add Yule Ball Ron but maybe I'll just cave and get the rest. 


7. This month I read so much of Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters books, I finished both The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices trilogy this month and all the Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy novellas. I also went to the book signing for Lady Midnight, I didn't get a chance to get to this book this month, but I've heard such good things so I'm hoping I will get to this next month. - Jessica

Monday, March 28, 2016

Spring Playlist


Spring is probably my favorite season. This year we had a disappointing winter but I will forgive mother nature because this spring has already been so nice. As someone who has grown up in Texas, I know it's officially Spring when bluebonnets and other wildflowers start popping up off the highways. This year I saw my first bluebonnets while walking to class last month and it was a nice thing to see so early in the year. So here's my playlist of songs that transfer from the winter season to warmer weathers:


- Jessica

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Instax Diaries #6

I preordered the Lomo'Instant Wide when it was first announced, and I have had it for several months but I haven't had a lot of time to shoot with it. Since I haven't been able to shoot with it as much as I like, I'm still not sure how I feel about the camera compared to the 210. I have some of the same problems that I have with the 210 with the Lomo'Instant, like focusing (probably because I don't take enough time to frame my subject), but I have been really impressed with how it handles colors. I need to order some more film and experiment with all the features before I make a decision about the camera, but I have seen some pretty amazing shots on Instagram. Alright so here are some of my first shots using the Lomo'Instant Wide...


- Jessica

Monday, March 14, 2016

Lazy Spring Break Days

Spring break is finally here and I fully intend to spend as much time of it relaxing as possible. I have had such a busy semester so far and it has been so nice to take a break from school and catch up on some much needed sleep. Today was my first day off from both school and work in almost three months and I've taken advantage of it by lying in bed, listening to music, and finishing Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. So here's a couple of snapshots from my lazy day off...


I've been struggling a lot lately with making content, and I thought this would be a fun post. I have this mindset that everything I blog about has to be challenging my creativity, so I decided to take a different approach to that. I also thought that this would promote some others to take part in a lazy day and maybe I'll make this a regular type of post because I had a lot of fun with this - Jessica

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Books I Read In February 2016


February started out as a really good reading month, I read 5 books in the first week(!), and then school took over my life. Overall I managed to finish 9 books, and I started Persuasion by Jane Austen and the fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series. So here's the books I read last month and my thoughts and opinions on them:

A Hero for WondLa and The Battle for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi - These are the second and third books in the WondLa trilogy, which follows a girl who seems to be the last human on earth. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, and I really loved the last two books in this trilogy. I really loved the journey and development that the characters went through. I was really satisfied with the conclusion of this series, and I look forward to reading more of DiTerlizzi's works.

Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay - This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, that follows a blind princess as she tries to save her kingdom that is falling apart. I love a good fairy tale retelling, and this was a very good retelling. I really enjoyed the story and the romance aspect. I also really liked Jay's writing style, and reading a story from the perspective of someone who is blind. Jay also has written a Sleeping Beauty retelling, titled Princess of Thorns, and I'm looking forward to picking it up soon.

The Siren by Kiera Cass - This book follows Kahlen, a siren, who is working for the ocean to repay her life debt when she falls in love with a human. I'm a huge fan of Kiera Cass' works and this original version of this book really didn't interest me, but it was recently rewritten and rereleased so I decided to give it a chance. I ended up really liking this book, I really liked the Greek mythology aspects as well as Kahlen's relationship with her sister sirens and the ocean. But I didn't really buy into the romance of this book, it had it's moments but I think it could have been developed more, because it seemed very insta-love. Overall I did enjoy this book, I just didn't love it as much as Cass' other works.

Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca - This book follows former best friends, Kelsey and David, and is told in alternating perspectives from before and after their fall out. I thought this book was okay, I liked it enough to continue reading it, but nothing really stood out to me. But I was a fan of some of the family elements and it was still entertaining enough that I managed to fly through reading.

Books 1-3 in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare - I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and started reading this series. I have seen so much hype about this series, and going in I knew that the series starts to pick up after the second book. So far that information has really helped because so far I feel that the series is just okay, I'm enjoying the books but I have yet to be blown away. I really like some of the background characters more than the main characters and I've had some problems with the plot of these books but I do look forward to continuing on.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - This is the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, the prequel series to the Mortal Instruments. I've seen better things about this trilogy than I have about TMI series, and I can understand why. I prefer the characters and the storyline of these books so far, partially because these books are set in the 1800's so the characters aren't as whiny... But anyways, I like how the two series intertwine, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Clare develops the relationship between the two.

And those are the books that I read in February. This month I intend on finishing Persuasion, the rest of Cassandra Clare's books (I'm working on those in the order that they were published), and a ton of new books came out last month that I didn't get around to reading. I'm really looking forward to spring break this month, because I intend on spending a good chunk of my time reading. As always, feel free to follow me on Goodreads to see my ratings for these books and to see my progress this month. - Jessica