The Black Dahlia

This post is a little delayed, as I finished The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy in the middle of this week. However, I feel that keeping a reading log is an important part of remembering who I am. Reading books (fiction mostly, but I always appreciate the non-fiction reads I finish) as a huge part of my life. I also do a lot of travelling for my AmeriCorps job, so I go through books rather quickly (Last year i read over 30 books and the majority of them were read AFTER I started working in September) and thus, would like to remember my thoughts on each one. Now, I do have a goodreads account-so if you have one too, you should look it up!

Now, I decided to read The Black Dahlia mostly at random. I am working on Peter Boxall's 1001 fiction books you must read before you die (I'm at 3%!) Now, my experiences with his list have been mixed. I appreciate the quality of each work he has picked, however, if you are going through memorable, couldn't put it down books I would not recommend his list. Instead, I would use themillions.com or just the kindle list to see what popular America is up too. Anyways, I had mixed reviews about Ellroy's book. To summarize, the book is a crime drama in which two cops get mixed up in a homicide investigation involving this woman, Betty Short. Betty's last few months of her life have been particularly interesting and full of semi-illegal sex situations in Hollywoodland, Los Angeles. The book follows the cop, Bucky Bleichert (who was also a wrestler) as he grapples with this murder and the people that surround him in the moment.

This is the book, but not the exact cover. 

Alright, now for the review. Ellroy really attempts to follow Bleichert's stream of consciousness and actions. At times, this makes for a super exciting book! Other times, I was lost and confused. Situations would happen and defuse so fast, I had to go back and re-read parts. I also did not appreciate all the 'macho-ness'. I felt like it was such a cliche. However, I assume that is just because I am not really a fan of crime fiction and chose this book on a whim. You will never hear me call 'shopaholic goes to the mall' fiction a cliche, because I could read that all day :). I also read Ellroy's afterword to the book that he added in 2006 (if you are going to read the book, get the one with the afterword!) Apparently, Ellroy has a personal connection with the murder story and that made the book like 100x more interesting. I am assuming this is because it's easy to shake off the gruesome details and the horribleness of the murder in the first place when the book was fiction and the characters at time seemed so manly and cliche. However, once you can ascribe a personal connection to the tale, the book suddenly seems plausible and emotionally charged, which made it more interesting to me!

Now, I am on to my next novel-11/22/63 by Stephen King. It's a whopping 850 or so pages, so it will probably take a while to read. However, I hope to update on that soon!

Rachel

Long Weekend Skiing at Schweitzer

I did not find any computer time this weekend because I was busy skiing for a wonderful 3 days at Schweitzer Mountain near Sandpoint, ID. It was an epic weekend with tons of new snow and powder, times with family and Dustin and lastly, wonderful food!

I am pretty much the worst photographer ever. One, because I caught only the clouds and not any of the sun that was present at the moment. Two, Dustin is super far away!

Upon my arrival home I had two wonderful boxes for me from Amazon and Bloom.com. Amazon contained two books: Williams-Sonoma Baking Book (to help me on my new hobby of baking stuff) and the Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts (I was sick and tired of searching them on the internet and transcribing them).

Bloom's box offered the fun stuff, such as shampoo, conditioner and lotions. I prefer bloom.com because I get 10% rewards whenever I buy something from them. I want to save all my rewards to splurge on a Clairisonic Mia or super nice hair dryer. Something that I think could radically change my skin/hair regiment but am too thrifty to normally buy. Last night, I tried this new moisturizer by Ole Henrikson (which I splurged on a little bit by my face is so dry, I was desperate!!!). I was a little worried because I put it on after the shower and I didn't feel that my face was that moisturized. Like, it did not feel super saturated with creme. However, the peeling and dehydration of skin was mostly gone when I woke up this morning so I was pleasantly surprised. One note about this formula is that seems to be mostly aloe vera, glycerin and chamomile. I am thinking that I could make this concoction with drug store ingredients (aloe vera is super cheap!) for much less money, so I will give that a try when it runs out.

Woven Flats

I have a little bit of time on my hands so I am going to write a quick blog while I'm on 'lunch break'. Wednesday's are typically slower days at work, but have become a little bit more interesting as I started going and doing environmental activities at Cleveland High School.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my latest purchase that I received in the mail last night.

They are shoes from Sole Society, which is kind of like ShoeDazzle. The shoes at Sole Society are 50.00 instead of 40.00 and profess that they are better quality. I can't really attest to that because I have not worn my Sole Society shoes yet (They are woven flats, and sadly its still rainy and cold here in Seattle). Typically, I am a little weary of 'cheap clothes' because of my disasters of Forever 21 and Wet Seal. Clothes will break, fall apart in the wash, etc. Instead, I prefer to pay a little bit more to make the clothes last a little longer. I loosely try to follow the 'cost per wear' formula that all the fashion 'rags' swear by (I do have a budget though that inhibits me from buying designer). But, I still enjoy partaking in these shoe by the month clubs. I feel that the cheap prices allow me to step out my fashion comfort zone a little bit and try shoes that I wouldn't want to pay full price because I don't feel they are versatile or practical enough. For instance, living on a student budget in Seattle sets you up for a lifestyle of public transit and A LOT of walking up HILLS. Thus, heels don't really fit into my lifestyle. ShoeDazzle and Sole Society still allow me to still afford the luxury of these shoes without feeling guilty about buying something that I might not get a lot of chances to wear. Accordingly, this also works for funky colored flats, sequined/studded shoes, and more! I suggest you fill out the sole society survey and give it a try, even if you don't end up buying anything.

Anyways, 1/3 of the way done with my book. I will give a full update when its finished.
Cheers!

Introduction and food!

I began blogging in full force when I was a young teenager. I posted on AOL message boards describing what I wore each day, I had a 'zine' that detailed my whole life, and both a xanga and livejournal that disclosed personal thoughts and a plethora of now-embarrassing situations that I participated in (please don't google me!). Yet, with all the negative results that arose from my exposing blogs, came some clarity and serenity in putting my thoughts into words.

Thus, I am trying the journaling thing once again. I want to write about the recipes I cook, about the clothes I buy and the fashions that I dream to try! I want to talk about books. and more books. I have no one in real life to discuss books with! I am at a point in my life where my friends are distancing themselves from the social scene and settling down with other people in other cities. My real life social sphere consists mainly of my mother and my boyfriend. My hope is that blogging will allow me to express the opinions and thoughts that I have while I have this void of real-life people to blabber on with. 

So, I am beginning this journey with this particular Sunday. Right now, I am in the process of making Italian Sausage Soup. I have never made this before, but I picked up a couple pounds of Italian Sausage from the Farmers Market earlier this month and have been slowly unfreezing and using the meat. Just a note, I TRY TRY TRY to buy all meat/animal products from local, organic farmers. This is for two main reasons. First, The ecological footprint of local meat is much lower than any meat you could buy in a typical grocery store. The animal is born, raised and killed in the same state as the meat is packaged and sold to you. Get it? Yes, the price is a bit more expensive (Ground beef is only a dollar or two more), but its cheaper to the Earth. Sounds cheesy, but its true. And..I care. Second, accountability. 'anybody can poison you, but if you get sick from a small-scale farmer, you know where to find them.' This point of view can be applied to anything from meat to fixing your material goods to buying drugs. If you know the person involved, things get safer on a smaller scale economy.

I am also trying to make my first two loaves of bread. This is happening right now and I am super unsure of what I am doing at all parts of the process. I think the loaves have risen, but I don't know if how much. My cousin's wife started her blog with two pictures of beautiful homemade bread. I think mine will commence with two pictures of uneven loaves. C'est la vie. (LATER NOTE: YAY THEY TURNED OUT GREAT!) 

Lastly, I would like to quickly introduce the book I am reading: The Black Dahlia, by James Ellroy(?). It's on the list "1001 books to read before you die" list, which I try to base half of my reading choices off of. Right now, I feel that the book is saturated with testosterone and I cannot possibly see how I will get any joy out of it. Needless to say, I am going to stick with it. 

Alright, I will try to post more often. Even with random purchases and like "OMG! I cannot believe with what just happened!!!"

 Love,
Rachel