Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

** Note:  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. In the city of Chicago in 1892, the rules and expectations for Victorian women are strict, their roles in life limited.  But sisters Rebecca and Flora Hawes are not typical Victorian ladies.  Their love of adventure and their desire to use their God-given talents have taken them out of society ballrooms and delivered them to the Sinai Desert -- and into the teeth of a sandstorm.   Accompanied by Soren Petersen, their somber young butler, and Kate Rafferty, a plucky street urchin learning to be their lady's maid, the two women are on a quest across the desert, chasing rumors of an important biblical manuscript. As the expedition becomes ever more dangerous and uncertain, all four travelers sift through memories and adventures of their past, recalling the events that shaped them and the journeys and providence that brought them to this very time and place....

The lovely Ruth over at  Amongst Spring Blossoms tagged me back in October!  Thanks so much, Ruth!  I haven't done a tag in a while, and a tag about animated movies is even more welcome. :)  Everyone, be sure to check out Rachel's blog -- it's fantastic!! <3 Okay, here we go. *cracks knuckles*  (Since the title just says "The Animation Tag," I'm including all sorts of animated movies, not just Disney.) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 1. Who's your favourite animated heroine? Yikes, that's asking quite a bit.  Pocahontas, Esmeralda, Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, Jane, ALL OF THEM??!!  *gasp*  Oh, and Jenna from Balto .  The last time I watched it, I was more than a little concerned that I was low-key falling a little bit in love with a female dog. 2. Who's your favourite animated hero? You're killin' me, Smalls!  Quasimodo, Aiden (from Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus , don't judge), Dmitri, Prince Eric (which surprises me), Flynn, Shang (...

I love that I have these as filler post possibilities. :D I love the patterning and the colors of this piece.  Very simple, fresh, and pretty. :) The whole look of the piece is so cool, and works so well for Emma Stone.  Her styling is awesome, too.  The dress makes me think of the "flapper" style, for some reason. I love the red and the patterning (brocade??  That's just what comes to mind, probably not accurate), and this is probably one of the few instances where that kind of cut-out style would appeal to me.   This is so pwetty.  Very classy and elegant. :) As I've mentioned before, this isn't always my favorite color, but I've been finding more and more red carpet looks incorporating it that grow on me the more I look at them.  I think Carrie Underwood pulls this off well, even if it's still not her BEST color.  It's still very pretty, and one thing that CAN be said for the shade is that it really lets the ...

[I just spent an afternoon writing a very long and very fangirly Goodreads review of one of my top three favorite books:   The Princess Bride , by William Goldman.  And then I was like, "Hey, I should post this on the blog, too."  So here it is. :D  *confetti*] "Sonny, don't you tell me what's worthwhile -- true love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops. Everybody knows that." You know how you have favorite books, and they're on one level in your heart, and then you have one of your top three favorite books, and it's on entirely another level because you absolutely, utterly adore it and there's an actual soul-deep connection because not only do you get the book, but the book gets you ? WELL, MY DEARS. I don't know how I can express how much this book means to me, or why it means so much to me. I grew up with the movie, yes, and I loved it of course, yes, but it was never what I'd call a 'favorite'. But ...

It's been a while since my last month in review post, so I thought now might be as good a time as any, especially since I've seen quite a few new movies over the past two months. :) [Instead of trying to do a content warning for every movie, I decided to just place an asterisk next to those titles that contain content that I would want to mention before universally recommending the movie.  (That sentence didn't pan out so well.)] An Affair to Remember {1957} *happy screech*  AAAGHLKFDHG I FLIPPING LOVED THIS! :D :D :D In case you couldn't tell, this made me really, really happy. ;D  It was just my kind of love story.  First o' all, I need to address THE BANTER.  I love Cary Grant, and I liked Deborah Kerr from The King and I , but the two of them together had what might be the CUTEST FLIPPING CHEMISTRY I've seen in a long while.  Nicky's playboy-ness is of course very un-okay, but that's part of what makes this awesome, because THEN HE MEETS...