2016 Holiday Gift Guide

One of the things I wanted to do this year was put together a short gift guide to give you—the blog readers—some ideas for small gifts and stocking stuffers. I wanted to stay away from the more costly items. Hence, most of the stuff I’m going to mention down below is $20 or less. Quick note: The availability of some of the items are subject to change, but they’re in the photo as a sort of general example for the things I want to mention. I will add the links for the items I can find available online (look for the bold and italicized sections). Let’s get started…

• Books & Gift Cards...

Pictured above: None.
Comments: I think this is an obvious one. Books just make great gifts, and gift cards are always nice to give and receive.

• Headphones... 

Pictured above: VIVITAR Stereo Headphones.
Comments: I firmly believe that you can never have too many sets of headphones. They break so easily or one ear goes out—and the other is soon to follow. With that said, a set of headphones could make a nice gift.

• Funko...

Pictured above: Alice in Wonderland Alice Funko Pop.
Comments: Funko is probably one of my favorite items from this list. There is such a wide range of them available—from TV shows to movies—that there’s almost something for everyone. They also look very nice on a shelf.

• Music...

Pictured above: Badlands by Halsey, Starboy by The Weeknd.
Comments: This is another great one. Having an extensive playlist is always nice, adding even more music to it is even better.

• Art supplies... 

Pictured above: Sketchbook from Walmart (I use this one regularly, and it’s good for dry mediums), Prismacolor Premier Dual Tip Marker, Sakura Gelly Role White Gel Pen, and Sakura Micron Pen.
Comments: Art supplies can be costly no matter which medium you use, whether that’s digital, dry, or ink. Individually, some of the supplies are under $20, like prismacolor markers.

• Bookmarks... 

Pictured above: Initial It! Bookmark from Barnes & Noble.
Comments: Perfect for readers who don’t habitually dog-ear their pages like I do. I rarely use a bookmark, but I absolutely adore the ones from Barnes & Noble.

• Hotwheels...

Pictured above: The Beatles Yellow Submarine, The Mystery Machine, and The Jetsons Capsule Car; (availability is not guaranteed but its always fun to hunt for the ones you want).
Comments: This is actually an inexpensive gift, and if you know what you’re looking for, you can find some pretty neat cars like The Beatles Yellow Submarine and the Ghostbusters Ecto-1.

• Accessories...

Pictured above: Pink Silicone Watch from Michaels, comes in a lot of colors and a few different styles (A lot of the colors are out of stock online except for hot pink. However, they might still be available in-store).
Comments: It‘s kind of simple to find all sorts of nice things and keep the cost down. One of my favorite items is the silicon watch I got from Michaels a while ago.

• Coffee mugs...

Pictured above: Owl Coffee Mug.
Comments: The only reason coffee mugs made it onto this list is because most of them are under $20, finding them is ridiculously easy, and they come in anything from the basic solid colored cup to ones with owls on them.

So that’s it for today. I hope you find this guide helpful in some way. Happy reading!

Music Monday (9) Kimbra, Samantha James & Haywyre

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Man, I can’t believe how close the end of the year is, and with Christmas and other holiday’s right around the corner, it’s almost time to do a holiday music edition of Music Monday—just not today, but expect that soon. In other good news, this week, Adri is back with more recommendations.

My first pick is Cameo Lover by Kimbra. This is probably one of my favorite songs by Kimbra, mainly because it introduced me to her music back in 2012. The style of the Cameo Lover music video is simple but really colorful and fun.

My second pick is also from Kimbra. Good Intent is another one of my favorite songs. And, I really love the tap dance sequence from the music video. It loosely of reminds me of Swing Time, the second major tap dance scene with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

For my first selection today, I'm going with an artist I recently discovered about a month or two ago. That artist is Samantha James. While I love a lot of her songs, Find A Way stood out the most to me. 

For my second pick, I was searching "doppelganger" on Soundcloud when I came across Haywyre (I'm obsessed with Two Fold part 1 and 2). Now, of course I like Doppelganger, and no one song is my favorite, but when Insight was released I couldn't help but to have it on repeat. As if I couldn't love it anymore, I listened to the live performance, and was wowed. 

Music Monday conversation corner (since we had too much to talk about this week, and couldn't fit it in above).

Breana: I totally agree with Adri. I'm really impressed with the live performance of Insight. It's the kind of song that I want to listen to on repeat. 

Adri: I know right. I told you so.

Adri: Also, now that you got me started on tap dancing, the Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather...OMG.  **pulls up clips for reference**

Breana: Yeah, OMG. They are good at dancing. I'm actually really impressed. By the way, thanks for showing me the clips.  

Are there songs you listen to on repeat? If so, tell us in the comments below. 

The Friday 56 (88) & Book Beginnings: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves?

Beginning: "The Sorcerer arrived on a Saturday."

56:"Blackwood shook his head. His expression was cold. "We'll do our best, but with her background, I doubt she'll be capable." 

My face felt flaming hot. I had to dig my fingers into the palms of my hands, lest the fire come upon me suddenly."

Comments: I actually like the beginning for this one. It didn't tell me much about the story, but it quickly got to the point. I read A Shadow Bright and Burning last week, and it was just alright.  

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Lost Lullaby by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny

Title: The Lost Lullaby
Author/ Illustrator: Jason Segel & Kristen Miller; Karl Kwasny 
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Hardback
More Details: Middle Grade
Publisher/Publication Date: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; September 13, 2016
Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Charlie Laird has a very bad feeling...

1. There’s a NEW GIRL at school, and Charlie and his friends have DEFINITELY seen her before.
2. He’s been hearing strange noises after dark, which is NEVER a good sign.
3. The nightmares are back, and they’re WEIRDER THAN EVER.

Not since he faced his fears has Charlie had so many bad dreams. Whenever he falls asleep, he finds himself in a Netherworld field, surrounded by a flock of CREEPY BLACK SHEEP.
They're not counting sheep. They refuse to jump. In fact, they don't do much at all. EVEN EERIER, THOUGH, is that it’s not Charlie’s nightmare. Somehow he’s trapped in someone else’s bad dream. And he’s pretty sure the twins ICK and INK are responsible.
Charlie and his friends thought they’d put the twins out of business, but it seems they didn’t quite finish the job. Now the WOOLLY NIGHTMARES are closing in, and INK has shown up at Cypress Creek Elementary! Charlie’s convinced that INK is up to NO GOOD. And if he’s right, it could be a very long time before anyone’s dreams are sweet again...

After finishing The Lost Lullaby, I can firmly say that Nightmares is just one of my favorite middle grade series. I love the ideas behind the stories and the lessons that the characters inevitably learn. Plus, the nightmares were some of the coolest things I’ve read about. I liked how they were incorporated into the story each and every time.

As for The Lost Lullaby, I’m glad I read it. After the end of the last book, I was curious to see where the story was going, and how the conflict would eventually be solved.

The Lost Lullaby picked up right after the end of The Sleepwalker Tonic with Charlie Laird and his friends immediately stuck knee-deep in another problem. INK is in town, the nightmares are back, and Charlie’s been hearing noises in the middle of the night. The Lost Lullaby is a fast paced story and there was a lot going on. The little clues and details placed throughout the story played into the plot, and I liked the end result.

One thing that I have especially enjoyed about this series is how involved Charlie’s father and stepmother are. It’s always nice to see the family so present in the story, and I liked how it was portrayed across all three books. The setting was also very nice. Of all the locations, the purple mansion that Charlie and his family called home was my favorite place. At first glance, it would be kind of spooky or even a bit mysterious, but its secrets made the house cool rather than anything else.

Another thing that this book got right was the characters—from the main cast to the secondary, and even the villains. There were a lot of moments where characters had to listen and learn and look past their own fears, assumptions, and biases. Those moments were gold. The end of The Lost Lullaby was fantastic. I loved how everything came together and it felt like a proper ending.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wait over there (**points to the left**) until Jason Segel and Kristen Miller write another book.

Music Monday (8) Chloe X Halle

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Adri is off to Hollywood to see a show, so today, I'm doing Music Monday alone. Hopefully, she'll have the time next week and be back with more recommendations. Until them, I'm going to go ahead and share some of the music I've been listening to recently.

My picks this week are Fall and Drop by Chloe X Halle. I absolutely love their music, and I’m only sad that I didn’t discover them sooner. The music videos for Drop and Fall are also really gorgeous. The locations used were just spot on. These are two of the best songs I’ve come across this year. Drop is positively fantastic and the first song I actually heard by Chloe X Halle. I really enjoy the background music as well as the vocals.

Fall is just as great. The vocals and lyrics are the star of the show, and just like Drop above, the filming of the music video is spot on.

What new music are you listening to this week?