Banned Book Barge

I first heard about The Book Barge a few months ago when it was docked along the canal in Islington, not far from my flat. In a tougher and tougher independent book market, The Guardian calls the Barge is the "brainchild" of Sarah Henshaw. I've read about several independent booksellers who are interested in making the purchase of books about the experience more than about the bargain.

Now, the Book Barge, which sells new and used books, has made it's way to Bristol and the crew has been told that their license isn't being accepted in the port. Here's a link to the article.

Either way, a neat shop. I'd gladly buy my books from a barge!

Vintage Bike

Every Wednesday, I look forward to getting my free issue of Stylist Magazine, which is handed out at tube stops. For the past few weeks, they've been on vacation, so I was especially excited to nab my copy on my way to work this morning.

This week, one of the stand-outs on their style list is this vintage inspired bike, on sale at made.com for only £179. (It comes in pink too!)

Wouldn't you like this bike for touring around town? All it needs is a basket!

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

If you're in the mood for a happy read, look no further. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a cozy adult love story that gently explores issues of race and prejudice and hammers home that it's never too late in life for love. All of the characters in the book are flawed, but most of them are likeable. I genuinely enjoyed Major Pettigrew and rooted for him along the way. A lovely debut novel. 

Emerald Street

Emerald Street is one of my go-to London blogs. They send along a newsletter a few times a week with suggestions on fashion, bars, etc. They aren't always to my taste (especially the fashion suggestions), but it's neat to read their newsletters.

Today, they've included their list of The 20 Books YOU Must Read. I have to admit, I don't agree with all of their picks (I'd definitely replace The Blind Asassin with The Handmaid's Tale), but it's worth a browse.

What do you think? What are books you always find yourself raving about?

Texas Gothic

 If you haven't read any Rosemary Clement-Moore, you're missing out. While I preferred Prom Dates from Hell, I did thoroughly enjoy Texas Gothic. Clement-Moore's books are a breath of fresh air in the over-crowded paranormal romance YA market. Her characters are part Nancy Drew, part Veronica Mars, and a teeny, tiny bit Twilight (in that they are dead-pan characters who can't believe that something out of the ordinary is happening to them. My suggestion: get Prom Dates from Hell first and see what you think.

London Rainbow

Last Friday night, I got caught in a Downpour (with a capital "D"). Just as I was walking home along the canal, I came out from under a bridge to the below sight--so neat!

Sadly, I did not find a pot of gold.

Willow!

As previously mentioned, Willow is one of my favorite moves of all time. Therefore, I'm a little bit excited that Warwick Davis is starring in a new show with Ricky Gervais. I will not comment on the trailer other than that Ricky Gervais' laugh is contagious. Clip below:

Hey everyone, there's a new Poet Laureate in town...

Congratulations, Philip Levine. Here's an article about Levine's poetry.

 Poets.org has a few of his poems if you're interested in checking them out too.

50 of Poetry's Most Poignant Lines

Stylist, my new favorite British magazine, has a great article called "50 Of Poetry's Most Poignant Lines". Click here to read it!

One of my favorite picks is by David Lehman, the head of The New School poetry department and also the series editor of The Best American Poetry series:

"When a woman loves a man, they have gone / to swim naked in the stream / on a glorious July day / with the sound of the waterfall like a chuckle / of water rushing over smooth rocks, / and there is nothing alien in the universe."

-When a Woman Loves a Man, David Lehman

Buster Plughole Unblocker

Living in a foreign country, there are inevitably things you end up missing from home. Here are a few examples of things I have yet to find in London: Tide to Go Instant Stain Remover Stick, Luna Bars, J. Crew (sometimes they have stuff on the Outnet...), Crest toothpaste.

When I first moved into my flat here, I noticed the drain was clogged. Immediately, I wondered if Dran-o was even available in the UK. But, my worries were for naught as I soon discovered the British equivalent simply has a different name:

Buster's Plughole Unblocker.

Warm French Lentils

Initially, this was supposed to be a Meatless Monday post. You have to admit, it has a certain ring to it. But last night, my supplies were limited. So, tonight I made a delicious lentil recipe for dinner from Ina Garten's How Easy is That? So far, I love this book. All of the recipes are really easy and super delicious. Here's a link I found to the recipe online. I also took a lovely photo, but just managed to delete it.

Since it's summer, I served the lentils with a salad and a baguette. Pretty tasty!

Word of warning: I usually half the butter / oil and salt in the Barefoot Contessa's recipes. 

Beach Hair

Confession: though I don't normally spend a lot of time styling my hair, I am a sucker for trying new hair products, especially in summer when my hair tends to get dry and tangled so easily. My go-to detangler for years has been Bb Tonic Lotion: 

While Bumble and bumble products are not cheap (an 8 oz. bottle is about $19), once I bought my first bottle of the Tonic, I was a convert. It works on damp hair as a de-tangler and rumor has it if you want to skip washing your hair for a day, you can spray some on the roots and then blow them dry. The larger size lasts for ages, and the playfully labeled bottles cheer up a bathroom.

I've recently cheated on Bb with Oribe Foundation Mist:   

 

I have to say, I'm a fan. It's approximately $3 more expensive than the Bumble and bumble, but it smells heavenly (the tonic has a slightly medicinal smell), and it works as well, if not better. Overall, it's a nice change. I may even be a convert.

If you're looking for something to cure your parched summer locks, check out Kaitlin's post on argan oil.

Guilty Pleasures

This week, Kaitlin and I have decided to talk about our guilty pleasures.

When I think of guilty pleasures, I can't help but remember a night out a few years ago. My roommates, some friends, and  I were at a bar on the Lower East Side in New York when someone came up with the idea of a playing a drinking game called "I Hate". The basic concept of the game was that you went around in a circle saying the name of something (or someone) you hated. So, one person would say something like "I hate Paris Hilton" and anyone in the circle who liked Paris Hilton, would take a sip of their drink.  It was a pretty funny game, though a few rounds in, my roommate Adam suggested we switch it up and admit to guilty pleasures rather than "I hate ________." It seemed more positive, so we agreed. Our friend Scott started "I like....Enya?" And the game was on.

So, I'm here to confess a few movies that are guilty pleasures for me. Here goes:

• Dirty Dancing. Why? Because "nobody puts my baby in the corner." Plus, the line "I carried a watermelon" is one of my favorite movie quotes of all time. 
• 10 Things I Hate About You. This movie is so good, I don't think I even need to explain it. But, since I watched it (literally) 10 times the week I saw it for the first time, I believe it deserves a place on the list. I mean, Heath Ledger. Favorite quote (though there are lots of great ones to choose from):That must be Nigel with the brie!
• Annie. I was obsessed with this movie as a child. My favorite character: Pepper. She was so tough!
• The Reality of Love (initially titled "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks"). ABC Family movie classic starring Jason Priestly, Emma Caulfield, and Bradley Cooper. It's so horrible, but it was the movie that made me like Bradley Cooper even before I knew he spoke flawless French.
• Grease. Despite the terrible message that if you wear spandex and dress like a whore, you'll get the guy, my sister and I spent countless hours lip-syncing and making up dances to different songs from this film. I think at one point, we may have even put together a water ballet production in the pool in our backyard. Okay, we definitely did.
• White Fang. Adventure + Ethan Hawke. Need I say more? 
• Willow. Amazing.
• Someone Like You...which is now apparently called "Animal Attraction". Despite the disappointing smooch at the end, I loved this movie. Ashley Judd is just so likable in this. Then I married a roommate. Hmmm.
• South Pacific. So many good songs!
• Silverado. This movie was AMAZING. Kevin Kline, Kevin Costner, Scott Glenn (who, as a child, I thought was an actor and an astronaut), Danny Glover, John Cleese, and cowboys. It's worth watching just for the scene where Kevin Costner shoots 2 guys at the same time. 
• Save the Last Dance and Step Up. I'm grouping these 2 together. Maybe because I'm hoping you'll skip this bullet.
• Blue Crush. Kate Bosworth was so hot in this, I really wanted to be her. Plus, if you're a fan of The Vampire Diaries, you can see Alaric back in the day.

There's 12 I can think of now. I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton. Just FYI, The Goonies, The Princess Bride, Labyrinth and The Never-Ending Story totally don't count as guilty pleasures even if I have seen them countless times.


Bonus Picks: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. I know. It's Justin Bieber. But, I defy you to watch this movie and not like it

Baby Beluga

Such a great video:

Monday Mix

Happy Monday! Here are a few songs I've been listening to lately that are hopefully upbeat enough to help speed up your first day back at work:

Pump Up the Jam  - The Lost Fingers
Toxic - Marc Ronson
Holland, 1945  - Neutral Milk Hotel
Nantes - Beirut
Antarctica- The Weepies
Fire at the Pageant  -The Felice Brothers
Animal - Miike Snow
Oh My God - Ida Maria
Be Calm - fun.
The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Graceland - The Tallest Man on Earth
Tonight You Belong to Me - Josh Ritter ft. Erin McKeown