urban center + the palace

Miss going to the Urban Center for Books! It was the best little store for Architecture and Design Books. When will you come back???

(image by: vivien chin)

famous frocks

Embarking on new adventures! Just purchased this book, “Famous Frocks: Patterns and Instructions for Recreating Fabulous Iconic Dresses” by Sara Alm & Hannah McDevitt. I just bought a sewing machine to learn how to make my own clothes as well doing some artistic material explorations if the machine can handle it. I’ve never made my own clothes before, but this book seems perfect. The are dresses from the 1930′s-1980′s I believe. Seeing some patterns for Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Jackie O, Diana Ross and more. Perfectly matched to my love of the retro and dresses. Ready to design!

pages…pages…pages

Time to get down to it….

 

(images by cara barer)

the time has come….

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”

 

~from “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There” by Lewis Carroll

where the wild things are_the movie

scenes from today’s movie viewing…

pride and prejudice and zombies

There are some books whose opening lines stick in your head.  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” 

Oh sorry wrong book…This one actually starts with “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains…”

Just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.  Definitely give it a thumbs up.  I really liked it and found it really entertaining and funny.  I think whether you are a Jane Austen/Pride and Prejudice fan or not you’ll still like this book.  The writing style is still very Jane Austen, but the way the topic of zombies is incorporated into the story line seems very natural and it works.  I had added amusement when reading it because I have read the original “Pride and Prejudice”, so looking for the variations on the original content was pretty funny at times.  And as an added surprise…ILLUSTRATIONS!!  This is a fun read and I recommend it.  I was hooked from the first page.  Great twist on a classic!

the chronicles of narnia

Just finished reading the full series of books in the “Chronicles of Narnia” set by C.S. Lewis.  Been working on it for awhile off and on.  Great series!!  I never read all the books when I was younger, so this was a first for me.  The book I have has you read the books in chronological order according to Narnia Timelime as opposed to the order of publishing release. 

My favorites in the series were of course “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” (a classic and fun) and “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (enjoyed it’s portrals of a variety of myserterious lands and characters).  Favorite character: Reepicheep (both fun character and fun name to say).

Great books, Excellent series, amazingly talented author to come up with these lands.  I’m sure I will pick this series up again to read soon.  A definite must read for anyone.

alice in wonderland by lewis carroll

Nostalgic for classic illustrations from Lewis Carroll’s, Alice in Wonderland, that were drawn by illustrator, John Tenniel, for the book.  Shown here are a few excerpts of the many illustrations that were included in the original book.  This is definitely one of my favorite books.  Think I may have to read it again soon.

mr. men

 

 

ok…who doesn’t remember the mr. men books when they were little?!  These little square books with quirky characters who’s names reflected a characteristic about them were so fun.  The book series was started in 1971 by Roger Hargreaves and was later turned into a tv cartoon series as well.  Saw a girl on the subway have a mr. happy bag and it made me smile .

where the wild things are

Soooo excited for the “Where the Wild Things Are” movie!  Can’t wait