The Miracle : The Iron Traitor- Julie Kawaga

So excited! I am procrastinating on my AP world notes to write this but this news is too exciting not to document. The greatest miracle in the world happened today when I somehow was given an Advance Uncorrected Proof copy of The Iron Traitor by Julie Kawaga. It was like all of a sudden the literary gods decided to bless me with the greatest happiness in the world possible.

I have been a fan of Julie Kawaga ever since I began her Iron Fey book series. It is the perfect, ideal picture of everything one looks for in a piece of good teen literature when one is taking a break from the unholy classics one has to read in English class.

Anyways, I am really excited to read it and post a review about it as I have been craving this book since the day The Iron Prince first came out. I am currently crossing my fingers that Ash and Megan show up more in this book, along with Puck, because I just fell in love with them in The Iron Fey series. I know this book is supposed to focus more on Ethan and friends but I really hope they make an appearance... fingers crossed!

I will probably finish consuming the book and review it in a week or so. I cannot say it enough but I am so excited!

BTW: it comes out officially on October 19, 2013

My lovely not yet for sale book on my AP Euro book. It looks so tempting.

* This series hasn't been as great as her previous one I hope this book turns my opinion around and makes it just as wonderful. I really want to love it!

Sonnets, AKA more poetry

So sonnets this time... I was warned that there was to be a composition of a sonnet section on our test to I composed these two to prepare. I really like them and have put effort in inserting poetic devices all that jazz. I hope you all will find them enjoyable, perhaps even more so then my other two cause personally I do. :D

The End of a Vain Attempt

So I watch the dawn rise through the pane,

what is there really in the world left to see.

I've wasted and thrown my life for not but pain,

in hopes of finding my soul's true key.

I ran the gauntlet in attempt to run,

to be the gleam I thought myself to be

But the puppeteer always holds the string and runs the fun

and I the puppet could soon no longer see.

As now all is wasted, torn and in vain.

Hope, the bastard born child left to die all alone.

I had thrown my life for naught but a game,

a gamble, a race from society's steady drone.

Now I am left living and breathing in musk,

Living in dreams where bastard born hope hadn't died at last's dusk.

The Weight of a Guilty Shopper

The glitter, the wealth, the attraction to shine,

held more dear at the heart then any lover's promise.

So vain I am when preening to be fine

that no matter the forewarning I walk towards the darkness.

Such lowly sin resides in my heart,

the weakness of my soul for all that burns bright.

That though at most by next season your beauty depart,

the weight of my longing sinks with heavy might

How is it and how easily I fell into sin,

I dig my grave with a grin and my fine gems a shining.

And as waves of time lap away to the din

my soul runs to greet the merry reaper; together we go drinking.

My bones now are white and they prod and gleam against time,

but yet my hands are still reaching still reaching for all that is fine.

Poems for School

Yes, it has been a while and yes, this was indeed a school assignment but I felt it necessary to share some of the words I have put to paper. They are probably not the most wonderful things you'll ever read but I enjoy them and I hope you all find them enjoyable too.

To Exist

Does one live because he was born,

because he can, because he fears death.

Or does one live to see the sun,

to see its rays shine in the dawn.

Does one love because of love,

or really just of need.

Of selfish want of selfish need

of me of me of me.

So tell me now, what do you think

on human morals raw,

Of why we really do exist,

for good or bad cause. 

~ Personally this next one is my favorite because I put the most though into it. My new English teacher has put great emphasis of living to our trueselves and the conflicts in conformity. This poem does appeal to to those themes and I hope the message isn't too blatently obvious. Enjoy! 

A Piece of Paper

I hold a piece of paper

and put it to my ear.

I make a rip, a sliver, a tear.

What perfection have I ruined,

what beauty have I marred.

The once perfect square,

now harbors a jagged scar.

But yet what beauty have I crafted,

the song of rip and tear.

The sound of separation

Is music to my ears.

Is perfection really beauty, 
the pristine, blank white square?

An untouchable, alienated wonder,

an innocence held dear.

Or does beauty lie in tears,

in rips of jarring red?

Of wounds and of scars,

of experiences of the dead.

I now hold this square,

now ruined by a scar,

and stare and stare and stare

to fix or to discard.

In sudden revelations,

my thoughts in all a blur,

my pen is raised and makes a mark

right along the scar.

Then all sane thoughts forgotten,

my hands make rips and tears,

my pen becomes a sword

slashing ink and blood.

I look down at my paper,

a mess, a piece of trash,

I smooth it out and wonder

as I stare I stare I stare.

~ Are we not like clean sheets of copy paper? We are all the same in till we try to make something different of ourselves and even then, are we truly different?  

Some Summer Flowers and Harvest

Summer Flowers and Fruit! I thought I'd share some pictures of some pretty things that grew in our yard this summer. I'm personally not a very big gardening person. To put it short, I touch it, it dies. :( Fortunately both my mother and sister love to garden so I still get to enjoy pretty flowers and plants along with home grown fruits and vegetables! Enjoy the pictures!

I had to put the roses first. Roses are definitely one of my favorite flowers of all time. There are so many songs about roses and their beauty. I remember in middle school, our choir performed the song "O Lovely Rose" by Mark Patterson which was a beautiful piece. The first line of the choral piece just repeated itself in my head the whole time while I was picturing these roses. This line just suits so well.

"O lovely rose, lovely rose, where does your beauty begin?"

And then, of course, is my all time favorite song for Roses, and one of my favorite songs of all time, based off a poem by the Irish poet Thomas Moore, The Last Rose of Summer. The message in the poem and the melancholy tone to it is wonderful, along with the fact that it's melody is gorgeous too. Search it up if you haven't heard it before. It's worth it.

The Last Rose of Summer ~ Thomas Moore

'Tis the last rose of summer,

Left blooming alone;

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone;

No flower of her kindred,

No rosebud is nigh,

To reflect back her blushes,

Or give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!

To pine on the stem;

Since the lovely are sleeping,

Go, sleep thou with them.

Thus kindly I scatter,

Thy leaves o'er the bed,

Where thy mates of the garden

Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,

When friendships decay,

And from Love's shining circle

The gems drop away.

When true hearts lie withered,

And fond ones are flown,

Oh! who would inhabit

This bleak world alone?

I don't know what these flowers are called but they are so pretty. They remind of fairy dresses.

Close up picture. It looks so delicate and could be used as great inspiration for a lamp....
I'd make a great fairy lamp. Just imagine it hanging from a ceiling.

Pumpkins! They are a Japanese Pumpkins so they are ripe even though they are green. These taste amazing anyway you cook them. Personal favorite is to slice them into pieces (skin stilled attached but scrubbed clean), wrap them in aluminum foil,and throw them onto the grill or in the oven till done. They taste like roasted chestnuts! They are also good for diabetes I think.

Something about this little red flower standing out among it's dead companions is just so pretty. 

It looks so cheerful and smiley to the sun!

Figs! They taste really good but unfortunately the birds and squirrels usually get to them before I can. :(

The sudden gray sky... Dun Dun Dun!

A Brief Recap of Summer before School

Joys! Just one more day and I will be once again stuck in a hard plastic seat behind a desk. I remember those day when I was in elementary school or even middle school when I thought summer was just the most dreadful thing ever. Sure, I enjoyed the first few weeks of freedom and sleeping till its half-past noon, but after a while I would always grow bored. None of my friends lived close by enough for me to bike or walk over and so the rest of those two months of summer would be filled with boredom, and no other social contact with the outside world. (This hasn't changed by much. I'm pretty much still antisocial during the summer.)

Now, though, what would I give to go back to those days summers which I considered boring. In high school, these lovely 2.5 months of nothing to do was filled with something to do and just flew by and were not all that relaxing either. Most of my summer was spent behind a desk. What! That's preposterous! The pains! Well yes. I spent 8 weeks of my precious summer "training" for the SATs at Elite Educational Institute in their boot camp program. I wouldn't say it was horrid, cause it was definitely worth it and my score really increased but it was high stress and tedious. A test every Monday, along with quizzes in writing, critical reading, and math spread throughout the rest of the days. (There were quizzes everyday) Also there were those lovely vocab quizzes of 50 vocab words that practically ruled my life. I would walk around with my current 50 vocab word flashcards tucked in my pocket everywhere I went. I was a walking, talking SAT robot.

Now those other two weeks of summer that I had to relax and spend to my own accord. I shut myself in my house and became a vampire that slept till noon. What a summer life. So now I wave farewell and adieu to summer. Sleepless nights and high stress days here I come!

The Costco eos Splurge

This isn't anything new but for all those that don't know, Costco sells eos lip balm in packages of 5 for $11. Of course I bought some. Calculated, buying from Costco saves you cash with each eos lip balm costing $2.20 in a pack than $3 dollars by themselves at a store like target. 

Although, I enjoy the savings offered at Costco, I am disappointed at the options in the 5 pack. They are always a repeat of the same 5 flavors. I wish that they would add some more of their limited addition flavors in the packs. The flavor passion fruit is slightly more exotic than the original flavors but I really covet for the watermelon, and pomegranate flavored ones. If only they would add those flavors in the mixed pack too. 

They look so pretty all lined up in a line.
Flavors in order right to left: summer fruit, strawberry, melon, mint, passion fruit

eos flower!

all lined up!

Alexandra Aldo Oxford

Again with the shoes, I know. This time it is the Alexandra Aldo Oxford. These shoes were again, another love at first site. I was shopping a summer sale and there they were staring back at me from it's shelf. I declare it fate. Just look at that array of shining studs! I bought them on a whim but they are certainly beauties.

The Alexandra Aldo Oxfords. They are synthetic leather with a rubber sole. (Photo: aldo.com) 

What I like about them:

My attraction to this pair of oxfords is the fact that they shine. I have a certain attraction to shiny things. ( Look! Sparkles! Mine!) They have a classy/edgy look to them that I like and I feel that they can worn for both formal and casual occasions. One can easily dress up a casual daily outfit or add even more "Wow!" to an already dressed up outfit.  

They are also rather slimming on your feet if you get the right size. But most importantly, those studs! The fact that the studs are rounded not spiked makes them allowed in the dress code for school. Yay! 

Faults:

Yes, unfortunately these shoes do have faults. I would love to say they are perfect but I can't. :( Unfortunately this oxford runs large. I wear a size 6.5/37 and that's the size I usually buy. Flats, I sometimes buy at size 6/36 but those really need to stay on your feet. I was planning on wearing these with tights during the winter, nice cozy tights, so I bought them in my normal size. I had tried them on at the store but since it was the summer, I didn't have socks and assumed they'd fit better once I got some tights/socks on. However, when I tried them on later in the evening with socks/tights on, they were still too big. It isn't extreme to the point of falling off my feet, but it was enough that if I was to wear them, that I would be worried of them staying on correctly. (Insert shoe padding and stuff). 

The only other thing I would say about these oxfords is this question I have of the material. 

Inside the shoe, it is printed genuine leather upper. However if it says synthetic material upper on the website. What? Does the shoe lie or the website, I do not know. I do believe that the upper is synthetic material though, maybe it is just the sole that is genuine leather? Because they are synthetic leather, the sides of the shoes do fray easily from wear.

My Lovelies

The inside of the shoe says genuine leather but the website says synthetic upper. Maybe it is just the sole that is genuine leather?

The edges of the shoes do eventually fray from wear. I've worn these once so far and the fraying has already started. Disappointment. I was hoping to make these last a while, even though I wouldn't wear them very often.

 Purchase and Price:

When I bought the Alexandra Aldo Oxford, it was on sale at the Aldo outlet store. The price was around $20 (with tax around $22 estimating up). They are currently still on sale at the various Aldo outlets but they might have run out of certain sizes. When I went to the outlet store closest to me and checked, they only had size 8 left. They are also on sale online at aldoshoes.com but are also missing certain sizes but have a wider range. The original price of this pair of shoes is $60. They are located online at aldoshoes.com in the women's clearance section.

The link: 

http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/clearance/womens-shoes/flats/94564404-alexandra/96

The Purchasing of My Darling Rockport Boots

Buying boots in August. I know, why would I do such a thing! Their visual appeal were just too enticing to resist.The boots that I purchased were the Rockport Tristina Lace Up Mid Boot. I had been eyeing this style of boots for quite a while but never had the right opportunity to purchase a pair. Being highly critical of every flaw, I could never find the perfect pair. At first I had been leaning toward purchasing the Steve Madden Troopa Boot because they seemed to look great and I like the fact they are genuine leather and that they have such a wide color selection. However, whenever I read reviews for the boot they seemed rather mixed. There would always be plenty of 5 and 4 star reviews ( which I read) and there would be some 1-3 star reviews ( also read) that seemed to point out particular flaws in the shoe like the leather easily cracking. The ratings seemed to have a 4 star average from all the sites I've been on that sold them. As I am a careful shopper I was slightly doubtful and wasn't sure if I should buy them. And then, after doubting my choice for months ( I first started eyeing the Steve Madden Troopa Boot around April. I know long time.) I saw in my daily email from MyHabit a sale for Rockport Shoes. Of course I went and browsed the selection before I finally saw them: the soon to be mine Rockport Tristina Lace Up Mid Boot. It was like shoe love at first sight. I fell in love with the detailing and all its qualities. Deciding that there is no chance that I would ever again fall so deeply in love with a pair of boots I made my purchase.

 The Steve Madden Troopa Boot that I was going to purchase at first. They have a zipper that you can't see at the side for easy removal and are genuine leather with a synthetic bottom.  I just really liked the natural leather color but there are more options to choose from. Even purple! (photo: zappos.com)

The Rockport Tristina Lace Up Mid Boot that I purchased. They are a lace-up boot with no zipper bur are really easy to get on and off. They lace up to tie at the top with little bracket shoe things. I purchase them in black as shown above but there were brown ones too. They have a genuine leather upper, are waterproof, and have a synthetic bottom with technology. (photo: rockport.com)

Personal Comparison of the Two Boots:

I think that both these boots are great but by it was the Rockport boot that won me over. I really liked its design and the fact it laced up with out a zipper. I felt that without the zipper you could wear the boots in more ways. I also liked the fact that the boots have flat laces unlike the rounder ones on the Steve Madden boot.  (They vary depending on the boot apparently from what I see in the pictures...) Tiny details, I know, but they matter. The color selection that the Steve Madden boot offered was great, and I know I probably wouldn't have chosen black if I had that choice with the Rockport boot. Still, the Rockport boot just looked sturdier, more polished, and would probably last me a good 2 years or more.
Finally, the pricing of the tow boots also helped me determine which one I chose. Since the Rockport boots were on sale at MyHabit, they were only $90 in comparison to the original price of $180 on the Rockport site and also featured free shipping. SUCH A DEAL.
The Steve Madden Troopa Boot were $100 and also featured free shipping.

I believe one can still purchase both of these shoes online. You just have to google it. Zappos.com has the best color selection of the Steve Madden Troopa Boot. All the prices for it averages around $90-$100-ish. The Rockport Tristina Lace Up Mid Boot can be found on the official Rockport.com site for $140 (on sale in comparison to original price of 180). You can also find it at other various websites like Amazon.com but certain sizes might be unavailable.

My Boots:

The Box and Packaging my RoIckport Tristina Lace Up Mid Boot came in.

Wearing them boots. :D They are very comfortable.

I love them. They're perfect. 
(Ignore my awkwardly long jeans that rumple.)

The Birth of a Blog and a Quote Book

So, first entry. What can I say! Excitement? I really don't even know how a blog works but what is life without something new. With summer coming to a close and school riding up around the corner, trying something new felt like the right thing to do. I could never keep a journal so maybe a blog might be the right way for me to organize my life and paint a picture.

Also in the midst of starting something new, I had the idea of starting and keeping a quote book/journal. There is just a gorgeous little notebook my grand-aunt gave me one Christmas and I've never had a reason to fill it up. Now it is to have a purpose! What better way to enjoy a notebook and not let it lie in waste then to fill it up with my favorite lines and quotes from books and people! I am such an avid reader and sometimes one line in a book can just haunt me forever and ring in my head. Those lines are like the jewels of literature. The book is the pit and you have to dig to find and retrieve those shining lines that are deep with meaning.

The Notebook! Just admire that gorgeous cover! I love paperblank's notebooks. They always have a great texture to their covers and the craftsmanship of them are wonderful. They even have a little folder built in the back cover (I can tuck little papers with quotes on them inside!) .

The inside of the notebook. It's so blank I'm afraid I'll ruin its its perfection with my handwriting. 

I might as well reveal the first quote I am to write in since I am sharing my excitement of starting this journal.

"It wouldn't do for us to have all our dreams fulfilled. We would be as good as dead if we had nothing left to dream about."

-Anne ~ Anne of the Island by L.M.Montgomery

This quote appeals so deeply to me with its truth and its melancholy tone. I feel it is something that would inspire one when he/she fails, as a reminder of the purpose of dreams, which is to keep us going and to give us a reason to live. Plus its from one of my favorite classics of all time. I have to say that the romance in old novels are sometimes so much deeper with their quiet and few romantic lines than all that sappy stuff they feed us nowadays steeped in romance, not that they aren't good. They just lack in that sentimental tone. I will further discuss this in another entry cause I could just rant forever. 

More stuff (and honorable quote mentions :D ) to come! Bye till next entry!