I have no idea why I am always so absent from this blog! I have loads of time, and am always making stuff, but don’t seem to post it. It's just a collection of things I like, which is absolutely fine, but come on! My goal for the next couple weeks is to post at least twice a week. I have lots of DIY coming up, a couple great recipes that I have tried and are delish, and some big updates to write about, so stay with me!!! 

I have a huge collection of things I love from these past couple weeks! 

Calendars and planners. I’m sure that I have said this before, but omg I have found some really good ones in the past couple weeks! One of my favourites is the Passion Planner by Angelia Trinidad. It combines your personal goals and professional goals into one great planner. You can download and print the whole planner (in two sizes!) for free by sharing the link on social media, or you can buy one from her online shop. I printed a couple weeks worth to finish the year off, but am thinking about pre-ordering one for 2016! 

Anything gold. Obsessed! I got a kraft paper planner by Sugar Paper (at Target!) last year with gold dots all over it and it has been an obsession ever since. I am loving gold foil backgrounds for my phone, gold accessories, and found the most perfect champagne gold faux leather for some bags! Yes to all the gold! 

Speaking of gold....Alex and Ani. My friend Rose got me my first Alex and Ani bracelet and I cannot wait to get more! She got me the Friendship Arrow which is turquoise with two arrows intersecting. Described as 'Two arrows with intersecting centers is a symbol for friendship. While each one points in its own direction, they meet at the middle, touching at their hearts. Wear the Arrows of Friendship Bracelet and feel the heartwarming ties that bind true friends.’ it is seriously SO PERFECT.  It helps to remind me that it’s ok for friends to go their own way, whether it be to England to live with their husbands or just off doing their own thing for a while. By looking at that bracelet it reminds me to leave a short message to say ‘hi’ (or to send a long email!) to all those people who are near and dear to my heart. I think this is one of the most important things-keep in touch with those you love and care about. It doesn’t need to be everyday, but let them know you are there for them and are thinking about them. ​

Vintage cars. I know I already wrote about this, but as fate would have it I found one!!! My mother in law said there was an old Fiat 1968 500L close to where she worked, and it was for sale! I said I was interested and we went to see it! It’s an oldie but a goodie-with only 76,000 miles! - but as it turns out it wasn’t really for sale. They guy said that if someone came and offered him £5,000 then maybe he would sell it, but I’m afraid it would be a money pit, so passed. It was so pretty though! 

#LetterItOctober. Have you been hand lettering along? I’ll admit I am a bit behind, but am definitely going to continue! Here are some of the ones I have done so far. If you’ve been following along, post some of yours as well! 

That's all for this week! Hopefully I'll have another post up in a day or so with some exciting news!!!! 

Leave me some love, 

​Tory xx

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick. 

The ticket booth clearly visible behind the gates is closed and barred. The tents are still, save for when they ripple ever so slightly in the wind. The only movement within the circus is the clock that ticks by the passing minutes, if such a wonder of sculpture can even be called a clock. The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold. The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight. The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to pass the evening. You yourself are debating departing when it happens. First, there is a popping sound. It is barely audible over the wind and conversation. A soft noise like a kettle about to boil for tea. Then comes the light. All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. The waiting crowd quiets as it watches this display of illumination. Someone near you gasps. A small child claps his hands with glee at the sight. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears. 

My feelings are so conflicted about this book. I don't know whether to immortalize it for all eternity in a frame on my wall, or throw it into the fire. 

So, how am I supposed to rate this book? A million stars, one star, 837 stars, what? In the end I did some crazy, overly complicated math that really makes so sense in my head, and came out with four (which I raised to 4.5 because I'm such a weakling) stars. 

For the longest time during the book, over two hundred and fifty pages, I thought that I disliked this book for some very specific reasons, but this is where the confusing part comes in so hang with me for a second: once you get to the end, you realize that you only thought you hated those parts, and it was really all part of Morgenstern's brilliant plan!

I'll explain! Let me start by saying that this is a book you definitely have to read twice. The first time, you really aren't going to understand all of the nuances and parts of this story until, well, until it's way too late. 

Most books and/or series that you read these days, you pretty much know the whole plot and how it's going to end: in a predicable, sappy, cheezy, blah blah blah you've read it a million times kind of ending; sometimes even just a couple of pages into the novel. In The Night Circus , you really don't. The plot strings start out so loosely that you can see little to no connection to them besides the two obvious ones with Marco and Celia. You've seen loose strings before in many a sloppy novel, so you just dismiss out all of ones you deemed "unimportant" in your eyes and focus on Marco and Celia. Wrong move. You get more and more confused as the book goes on; what's with all the other POVs and time jumps? Really, just a general what the hell is going on? But that's not the truth; while you're so eagerly and attentively looking at your two little strings, Morgenstern brings all of those other little strings closer.....and closer......and closer together until, unbeknownst to you, she starts weaving them in with Marco and Celia. As I said, you're still in the dark about most of it, but you do notice that the book is getting better, but don't realize until there's only about forty pages left that, holy geez, your two little strings that you started out with is now a huge, complicated, rope, but the book won't let you stop and analyze it. It carries you forward in a wave of sheer awesomeness as you devour every page. Then, you get to the end of the book, and your brain blows up. It literally blows into a million billion little pieces all over wherever you're sitting as your cat crawls all over you and nips your ankles (which is why I suggest you don't finish this book in a public place, because you will be incapacitated for several minutes and look like an invalid). 

When you finally get your brain back together, it almost blows up again when you realize that she planned for you to feel like this all along. She's been playing you and has had you wrapped around her little pinky finger from the start. Like Great Expectations, you're never really going to understand the plot and all of the strings fully until you read it through twice, when you can really fully comprehend every little detail that Morgenstern wrote into this story.

Now that I told you about how my brain exploded about twice, let me get on with this review and tell you what I thought was annoying:

What I'm about to tell you right now is not a joke. There are fifteen POVs/main characters in this book that you're supposed to keep track of, and in case you still don't believe me, I'll list them for you:
1.Marco 
2.Celia 
3.Tara Burgess 
4.Poppet 
5.Thessien
6.Pospero 
7.Mr. Barris 
8.Isobel 
9.Bailey
10.Chandresh
11. Widget
12. Mr. Murray
13. Lainine
14. Tante Padva
15. Tsukiko
​
There are also chapters where she does it in POVs of other people from the circus, and sometimes she writes as though you're the one walking through it. Like I said, the first time you read through it, this can be very confusing and overwhelming, but once you read it through again, knowing the ending (and you can bet that I re-read this amazing book the second I was done with it) you truly understand these characters and why Morgenstern did it. And, no, I'm not going to tell you what at the end of the book made me change my mind so suddenly, you'll just have to read it yourself and be as astounded as I was. It's definitely worth waiting for.

BUT I love love love her descriptions. I felt like I was truly THERE. 

The Night Circus was much like an aerial silk performer as the story slowly and gracefully wrapped itself around me, unfolding at the same time a magical world with intertwining stories of the past, present and future. Of love, hate, hope, pain all bringing together a story that is unforgettable. 

The circus arrives without warning.

Until the next chapter,
​
Kari

​​I've always wanted to work on my hand lettering and now that I've moved to England (and don't yet have a job) I've got some time to improve. The idea is that you have a different phrase, quote or saying to write every day. You can write in your loopiest calligraphy or simply use a pen. Join us and use the hashtag to see how other people have written the same thing.

The one good part of not having a job yet is that I can cook dinner all the time! I"ve made this a couple times for David and his mum and we really like it! It's quinoa, feta, cucumbers and tomatoes. Thats it! Such an easy meal if you don't have time and super healthy as well. 

That's it for this I heart Monday! Like I said, I'm not sure where this blog is taking me, but I am super excited to see what I come up with! 

Leave me some love, 

​Tory xx