Sunday, March 17, 2024

Surprise Surprise! Guess Who's Back?

I think there needs to be a big grand entrance performance or something because who knew this moment would ever even come? At least I didn't. I really thought this was it, I would never get back to my blog again. But then I pushed myself and here I am, making a grand entry. Or shall we say a grand re-entry?

No excuses, no sugar coating, no nothing. It is pretty simple; life took a bad turn back in December of 2023 and since then I've totally lost it. I have hardly had time to breathe and when I get my rare moments of me time, my brain is too exhausted to do any of the stuff that I actually love. My rainbow wall, so proudly shown off several times on this blog, tumbled down to the ground. Major rainbow rubble. Shit hit the fan. Major poop splatter. And guess who has to clean it up? Yours truly. 

That's that. Shit happened. I gotta flush and get going right? Can't sit in the poop pile forever. And this blog post right here is THAT attempt. It is THAT flush. It is me standing like a potty training toddler, waving goodbye to the poop vanishing away down the drain. It's me, hi, I'm that toddler, it's me. Once I'm done typing this out, I'm hopeful I'll be back to blogging properly. Because you know what? I really used to enjoy this place. I loved my beautiful blog. And I really want to be back here. So I did some things!

I used the old makeover-when-nothing-works trick to get some of the passion and interest back. A new background and some other changes here and there and my blog is all new and ready for me to put my life back together one post at a time. No promises, I'm just literally going to blog for fun for myself. I'll make no plans, no posting schedules, nothing at all. I'm just going to be here, taking one day at a time.

I have to clean up the poop splatters off the rainbow rubble. First things first, I have to switch off that fan! Then I have to clean up, one bit at a time. Finally, I have to get to the rainbow rubble. Who knows if that rubble will ever build back into a wall or not? But even if it doesn't, I'll sit in my rubble pretending it's my collection of Lego pieces or something. It's my party, I'll cry if I want to right? Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll enjoy the heck out of my party? Either way, it's gonna be me. (And I hope you read that last sentence NSYNC style!)

Let's see what I can make of this ...

Be back soon! (hopefully!)

XoXo,

Sara

Friday, November 3, 2023

You Shouldn't Have Come Here - Spoiler Free Book Review

This review is spoiler free until the MAJOR spoiler warning in RED!

I finished reading 'You Shouldn't Have Come Here' written by Jeneva Rose a couple days ago and let me tell you, I am still thinking about the book. I still have the book's story on my mind, I feel like I'm still connected to the characters' thoughts, and I am still wrapping my brain around that plot twist. I give this book FIVE stars because I haven't read a good thriller since forever and this one was a great read for me. Now, before I type my review of this book let me tell you this ... After I finished reading, I went and checked what others had thought of the book and I was shocked to find bad reviews there. I'm glad I didn't read them before I got the book because I would have totally missed out on a good read! Moral of the story: try a book yourself before you let the reviews decide something for you!

Let's dive into the book's plot. There's Grace from New York who is this gorgeous perfect woman looking for a retreat to get away from her busy city life. She throws a dart at a map, lets the dart pick her next destination. She says she has her life planned for her so the spontaneity is what she craves. She ends up in Wyoming on an Air BnB ranch in the middle of nowhere. Owned and run by a super handsome Calvin, this place is cut off from the world. There's no internet, no network, and to top it off Grace's car breaks down. Then unfolds Calvin's family drama. Dun dun dunnnn! There are several characters and Jeneva Rose makes sure there's mystery around each name. There's a possessive girl best friend acting out of jealousy because she's clearly in love with Calvin. There's the crazy shady brother with a secret that keeps him acting guilty. There's the old lady, the mother-like figure who has been off her meds for months. There's an eerie feel around the ranch, talks of deaths and looming curses, screaming heard in the dead of night, and just to spice it all up further the police show up looking for a missing woman.

Regardless, Grace and Calvin develop a connection. Their chemistry is intense and you get to experience it from both of their points of view as the chapters progress. Grace doubts Calvin and can't decide if he's a goody good boy or the possessive boyfriend kind looking for an always-and-forever kind of love. Calvin is falling madly in love with Grace but can't figure her out completely; who is she, what is she thinking, is she really so perfect? And what's with the missing woman? Who is lying? Who is cheating? Who'll be the villain in the end? Who'll turn out to be innocent? And most important of all, whose side are you on and will you be proven right when the author finishes the story???

This book will make you pick sides but doubt your own judgment again and again. And when you'll finally reach towards the end and the villain will be revealed you'll be hit in the face with THE plot twist. This book played out like a movie in my head. I had so much fun reading it and that ending was so well done. It was the perfect thriller punch in the face you'd expect out of a good movie. It was the kind of book where the ending leaves you satisfied. I found a lot of reviews complaining that the author had saved the plot twist for the very end and then abruptly finished the book after the big reveal. Well, I found that the short and sudden hit gave a big and bold blow. If Jeneva Rose had revealed everything midbook it wouldn't have been half as much fun. That climax was everything! Saving it for the end made me shut the book and then sit in my room all alone and think. Wait, was the book over, I wanted more? What happens next? Like ... HOW did that just happen and what am I supposed to do now that this book is over?

I'm going to recommend this book to everybody looking for a good read. Do not listen to the bad reviews and give it a shot. Everybody has different tastes and to me this book was great. I found that every single complain in the reviews section was actually something I really liked. Except one little thing: Hay is for horses! That was sooooo annoying! Hahahaha! I'd totally want Jeneva Rose to write a sequel for this one. I really want to see what becomes of the villain next. It could make for another great read for sure!

A little note: The book does have an intimate scene written in if it's something you don't prefer to read. But it isn't full of sexual content and you can totally skip a couple paragraphs if you want to avoid something.

NOW THE SPOILERS BEGIN.

************************

If you don't want to read spoilers this is where you stop reading!

Again, I repeat! SPOILERS AHEAD!

************************

I did want to share some of my thoughts about the book! First of all, I was falling for Calvin! Hahaha! Yes I was. There, I said it. I desperately wanted him to be proven innocent and I was a bit heartbroken when I found out he was a psycho killer. As for Grace, I didn't trust her since the beginning of the book. Obviously I had no idea WHAT she'd turn out to be, that was a huge shocker, but I had a bad feeling in my gut about her. I somehow couldn't trust her even after she found out about Calvin's secrets hidden in the basement. After that point in the book I knew Calvin was up to no good but even then my heart told me Grace wasn't to be sided with either. The woman gave me all kinds of bad vibes! And I was scared to the bone when she started talking to ME in the end. Haha! I was like whaaaaat, don't talk to me you psycho! My heart kept sinking more and more when she mentioned the itch, then I found out she had a loving husband, then little kids who had no idea what mommy dearest was up to. Loved that ending! Who had she killed before Calvin? Who would she kill next? Was this her pattern; did she travel, make the person fall in love with her, kill him, then leave? Or was it random and she'd kill just any host whether she got attached to them or not? Somehow Calvin and Grace were both psychos but all that I was left with was Grace being a serial killer. Not once, since finishing the book, have I thought about Calvin killing one woman after the other. All I can think of is Grace and her serial killing spree! I'm definitely going to try more books from this author!

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Make Summer Stop ~ Summer 2023 Decor

Everyone knows I am a big Summer hater. I hate hate HATE the season with a passion. I hate it so much you can sense HEAT through the screen while you read this. The word HATE in this blog post is burrrrrrrrningggggggggggggggg. Yes, I hate Summer that much. Heatwaves, sweating, bugs ... hate hate HATE! Hate it so much! But I still do some Summer decorating in my room, you know, just to get the mood to lift up a bit. I put together a Summer hating Awesome Board this year but mostly I did some colorful cutesy decor all around and I'm here to show it off today!

Let me start with my desk! Some cute things here and there, lots of colors, and the Awesome Board that shows my hate for the season in the happiest way possible! I've added some cute pieces to my desk's decor to rep the 90's kid that I am. Everything looks super cute now. You'll find a shark reference, that's an inside joke of the Bubbster Club! Hahaha! I have loved how pretty all of this looked as I got through the most hated season of all. It was the perfect trick to keep my spirits up! Take a look ...


Next I'm showing off my FabBoard. Yes, I recently named it because I figured I needed a name now that I was changing seasonal displays on it. So if one is the Awesome Board then the other is the FabBoard. For my FabBoard I just went bright, happy, and girly. Flowers, ice creams, happy quotes, self love, all of that good stuff! Happy vibes is what I needed to counter the Summer curse. Check it out ...


Now finally finally FINALLY, after what seems like forever, Summer is almost about to end. These are the last few days that I have to survive before my darling Fall season begins. I'm ready to take down all of this Summer themed decor and bring out everything Fall. I'm just so excited! I know it'll be awesome. Can't wait to get a chance to decorate and then show it off!

BOOHOO SUMMER. Go burn yourself.
Hello Fall, how are yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Exceptionally Ordinary Luna Lovegood Shoes

Sometimes you come across a little something that just baffles you with its beautiful fabulosity. That's what happened when I received my pair of Luna Lovegood shoes. I was blown out of my senses with how incredibly pretty these shoes are. Beautiful! Just beautiful! The iconic Luna icons print, the gold glitter details, the Spectrespecs hanging on the side, the pink and blue laces, the vibrant colors ... SO BEAUTIFUL!

Rewind a bit to a couple years ago, one or maybe two - I have forgotten ... Abbie and I had bought ourselves a pair of the same shoes but they had been way too tight and we had ended up returning them. Back then the reviews stated that the shoes ran large and we should size down at least two sizes. Turns out the reviews were misleading. Then we gave up on them until a couple weeks ago when I saw them again and started bugging Abbie that we needed them in our lives. This time when we checked the reviews said they were true to size. So we decided to take a chance and placed our order on Fun.com

Yes, they are true to size length wise but they run a bit narrow in the toes area. So if you have a chubby foot like mine and wish to get a more comfy fit, size up one size. Thanks to my Achilles tendinitis, I can no longer wear shoes without shoving a custom orthotic sole in them so I have to accommodate for that. My foot is a size ten and I got a size eleven. It is BIG, yes, but once I tie the laces it is perfect. My foot doesn't feel like it'll slide out when I walk and I like having the comfortable space to wiggle my toes. Also, these shoes don't have a cushioned sole insert in them so if you like to add one yourself, definitely sizing up is the way to go!

Now, I'll leave you to enjoy pictures of these beauties. Let me just say this one last thing, get these shoes if you can! They are worth the hassle of trying out sizes and returning if you have to. They are SO worth it. Super duper beautiful!

Exceptionally ordinary!!! You can't convince me these shoes don't have magic involved. Pretty sure they do! JUST LOOK AT THEM! I can't stop looking! Can't wait to pair an outfit with these and take them out for a spin!


Friday, August 4, 2023

Second Half of the Year Vibes!


Well, well, well, what haaaaave we here!?

I am back after hosting another very successful, fabulous, magical, super duper awesome Potterific July! So much happened during the month and so much more is coming up - I feel like I have a huge load of catching up to do! I'm feeling second-half-of-the-year kinda energy vibes here!!! You know what I mean?

First, let me talk about how brilliant Potterific July 2023 was. Well, it was BLOODY BRILLIANT! Hundreds of Potterheads joined me once again for the sixth year of Potterific. I was nervous that it was becoming old and maybe people wouldn't be too enthusiastic this time. I was also worried how the recent insta changes of no longer having a 'sort by recent' hashtag feed would affect my beloved Potterific. BUT it was as magical as ever. In fact, I think it was even more awesome-er this time! It felt like a celebration and the amazing Potterheads who joined me felt the same way too! It was a MAJOR hit and I couldn't be happier!!! People are already waiting for the next year and so am I! Hahaha! Love it!!!

Aaaaaaand now that that is done I'm sliding into August feeling a renewed creative energy! Let me brainstorm my upcoming plans and brain dump my ideas right here.

There was a recent scare of Google closing down its photo albums and potentially erasing everything here on my beautiful blog. I had become so upset and demotivated. But thank God even with the albums being shut down Blogger continues and my darling blog is still here. GOOGLE PLEASE DON'T EVER SHUT BLOGGER DOWN! It'll ruin me and so many other bloggers here! Sooooo I knew the first thing I had to get back to was blogging my heart out. There's so much to talk about and I'm here!

Next, I'm planning Hushly's birthday party and cake. It's all set in my head and as usual I'm nervous and excited to see if I can bring my plans to life and do a good job. He's turning three and is such a bore! Hahahahahahaaaa, I shouldn't have said that (Hagrid style!) ... So planning out a birthday theme and all for him has been slightly more challenging. But Abbie and I have come up with an awesome plan and even if he decides not to react I know my nieces will be thrilled to see what we did! So looking forward to that and hoping I can pull off another cake!

I've also actually put together a Summer Awesome Board, regardless of my hate for the season, believe it or not! So photo dump blog post coming soon after which I'm going to start planning for Fall! *insert heart eyes here* My time of the year approaches. (Dil dance maarey vibes! - look it up on Google translate!)

What else? Let's see! YES! My Disney shelf is looking great already and I have also bought some stuff that I needed to add more magic to it. That has to be done next. Oooooh and scrapbooking! My scrapbook is coming along soooooooo beautifully but I'm also thinking of starting a second one which I can begin updating with current events. See I started off with my 30th birthday so instead of just always catching up I think I should start a current one alongside so I can enjoy real time scrapbooking too.

I have a lot of really pretty shopping to show off too. I don't know if I'll do another photo dump blog post for that too but I need to figure out something because some of the stuff is just way too cool to be ignored. I have added some really cool things to the Harry Potter collection too and redecorated a bit and it allllll has to be shown off! Wow I have a lot to show and tell!

As far as my reading goal for 2023 goes I have read some really good books and am wondering which one will be my next read. Of course, those too, I have to talk about right here on my blog. Some book reviews and some book discussions are long due!

As usual, I have a million things to do and like five something minutes of free time to do them! Hahaha! Let's see how and when and what I end up doing. Right now, my Friyay off day is almost coming to an end and I'm wondering if I should play Sims in the remaining free hour or play Hogwarts Legacy or scrapbook or go decorate my Disney shelf.

Let's start with getting off of here and standing in the middle of the room, scratching my head and thinking what to do next! Hahaha! Sometimes it works.

XoXo,

Sara

Friday, June 9, 2023

Mexican Rice - Deliciosa!

Did I have to say Deliciosa just because I tried a Mexican Rice recipe? Yessssss! Hahaha! I just had to. Because. How else will I get a chance to, right? These Mexican rice really are DELICIOSA, okay? Trust me on it! This has to be the easiest rice recipe I've ever made. It is literally a few ingredients, all added together and within a few minutes ready to be devoured! Quick and delicious, just how I like it these days in the kitchen when life has gotten pretty chaotic and busy. Oh and did I mention this is kid approved? My nieces and nephew loved these rice so much. Gubby tried a bite and started jumping and said, "Beeya, I'm going to name these HYPER rice because they're so good they make me hyper!" So there you go, you may also call them hyper rice!

Now, let me say this ... I have always been scared of trying rice recipes because I worried I'd mess my rice up and either make a mushy mess or have half done rice on everyone's plates. So I know it can be intimidating for some. But then I decided I wouldn't learn unless I tried and I'm glad I did because I love everything I've been making so far. Doubling rice recipes can also be a challenge so I'm going to be a superhero here and give you the recipe for a bigger batch of these rice too. Aren't I such a sweetheart? Thanks! You'll find both recipes below so you can go from there (and I can too the next time I cook these again! Hahaha!)

What You'll Need:

Here's the recipe if you're cooking 2 cups of rice.

  • Oil
  • Rice - 2 cups (See my little note below!)
  • Salsa - 1 cup (I used a mild salsa but you may use whichever you prefer)
  • Red Chili Powder - According to taste
  • Garlic Powder - 1 tsp.
  • Salt - According to taste
  • Cumin Powder - 1 tsp.
  • Water - As required by the rice you use (See my note below!)
  • Black Pepper Powder - Optional! For garnish!
A little babble: How much water you'll need and how long you'll need to cook the rice will depend on which rice you use. In my house we use a Low Glycemic Basmati Rice (Laxmi brand from the Desi store) because my parents are diabetic. They require pre-cooking soaking and don't easily become a mush. So adjust water and time according to what it says on your rice's packaging. I'm just beginning to try new rice recipes so I'm no expert here and I won't recommend the volume of water and time required to save my life! Haha!

Now since I'm an angel, here's the recipe from when I cooked a bigger batch of rice - 3 1/2 cups!
  • Oil
  • Rice - 3 1/2 cups
  • Salsa - 2 1/2 cups
  • Red Chili Powder - According to taste
  • Garlic Powder - 2 tsp.
  • Salt - According to taste
  • Cumin Powder - 2 tsp.
  • Water - As required
  • Black Pepper Powder - Optional! For garnish!

Let's Get Cooking!
If your rice require soaking, rinsing, or any special treatment, begin with that. Then heat oil and add rice to it along with all the other ingredients. So in go your rice, Salsa, Red Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, and Cumin Powder. Fry the rice in all of these glorious ingredients for about a minute or two.

Then add water according to the instructions your rice gave you. Bring your rice to a steady simmer (see picture below!) and then cook covered until you see the water level has gone down and rice begin to show again.

Uncover the rice and cook till the water evaporates and your rice are done. Make sure you keep stirring so you don't end up burning your rice.

When the water is all gone and your rice look this beautiful, sprinkle some Black Pepper Powder (optional), give it all a good stir and then dish them out and get ready to DEVOUR!
Done! Quick and easy and so delicious!

Just look at that. Doesn't this picture make you want to grab a spoon and just dig in? I love that cooking these in Salsa adds the little peppers and onions and tomatoes to it. It gives me an idea of trying to add veggies in too. Maybe I'll add some peas or beans and see how it goes. I bet it'll taste awesome!

Here's a video from when I cooked a smaller batch of these delicious rice!

Friday, May 19, 2023

Too Much To Do, Too Little Time


Here I am feeling like the White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland again! I've felt that way before as well but this time it is different. This time I'm not panicking like that poor rabbit dude (seriously, he needed to chill the heck out!) but I'm still feeling like I'm hanging from the hands of a ticking clock. I'm hanging from its hands not trying to catch up like he was, but I'm hanging to slow it down. If I could somehow hang on it so it doesn't tick tick tick its way into another hour. If I could instead have that hour for myself because I have too much to do, too little time!

Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go. Woah.

Pressure like a tick, tick, tick, till it's ready to blow. Woah oh ohhh.

Wow. Disney is so relatable.

I know I haven't had time for myself since forever and I often write about it too, there's nothing new there. Trust me though, it's gotten worse. Now it's like no breaks at all. I'm suddenly expected to be at everyone's service twenty four seven ... literally. Before if it used to be one kind of task or chore in a day, now it's countless tasks with not even a peaceful bathroom break in the middle. I'm expected to attend to work stuff, cook, clean, laundry, workout, shower, and repeat some of these things all in one day at the same time. There's no longer the concept of resting or even taking a few minutes to breathe. I'm not even sure how it got to this point, when it did, or if it'll even ever get better. I'm pretty sure there are still the same number of hours in a day and still a single me so I guess what has changed is the shameless ruthless audacity of the people around me who get the privilege of ordering me around.

But you know what else has changed? I've lately been feeling a strange determined obstinance towards making my own things happen. It's like I'm trying to juice out every second of every minute of every hour of every day. I'm squeezing as hard as I can so every little second juices out of that minute. If there's even a tiny moment in the midst of the chaos that I can take for myself, I'm grabbing it by the horns, hands, legs, derriere, you name it. Whether this rare moment is past midnight as I wait for my turn in the washroom after Abbie or mid day between the work and chores and what nots ... I'll take it. I'll stick one little thumbtack on the pretty pinboard in my room if I get one little second at 1 am. I'll do a round of weight lifting exercises with my dumb bells if there's even five minutes before we have to head out to a doctor's appointment. I'll get those steps in that I need to lose weight even if it is before and after cooking the day's food no matter how tired I am. I'll move things in my Harry Potter shelves an inch to the right and an inch to the left even if I have a single minute free. I'm just not stopping. I don't want to, I don't find myself able to. I don't know if I'm wearing myself out. It does feel like I am. But truth be told, this seems like the only way.

I guess it is both fortunate and unfortunate to be a person with too many hobbies. Think about it, if I had no hobbies I wouldn't be finding a shortage of time to do my things. But then if I had no hobbies I would have probably gone crazy and gotten crushed under all the pressure. I guess it's pick your poison. I'd gladly take my hobbies. At least they make me happy!

Okay. End rant.