52 Books in 2014: 4/52

4/52 Books

Hurray!  I took a little detour in my reading this week and didn't accomplish the book I was planning on reading.  I switched gears and read the play Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill.  I am currently designing costumes for the show and since I've been busy with that as well as a few other things, I decided I could count this.  After all, I did read it.  Plays count too!

It's a pretty strange play.  Including witch accusations and hangings set in the 17th century.  So that's my current costume endeavor!

For this coming week I will continue to read The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory.

 Here are the books I've read so far this year:

The Constant Princess

by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl

by Philippa Gregory

The Boleyn Inheritance

by Philippa Gregory

Vinegar Tom
by Caryl Churchill

52 Books in 2014: 3/52

3/52 Books
I'm proud of myself for staying on track so far!  Three books in three weeks :D

I've been reading The Tudor Court Novels which is a book series written by Philippa Gregory about the Tudor Court.  You know, Henry XIII with his 6 different wives - that time period.  So this week was the third book of the series - The Boleyn Inheritance.  And it was another fantastic book!  I love Philippa Gregory's writing style.

This book is written from the perspective of three different women in King Henry XIII's court.  Gregory splits each chapter into a perspective from one of them.  The three women being Anne of Cleves (Henry's fourth wife), Katherine Howard (Henry's fifth wife), and Lady Jane Rochford (George Boleyn's widow).  Sometimes I found myself getting confused when I would start a new chapter, thinking I was continuing with the same woman.  But I just had to remind myself to read the title at the start of the chapter which told me which woman I was reading about.

Now I'm on to the next book of the series!

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

 Here are the books I've read so far this year:

The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory

The Boleyn Inheritance
by Philippa Gregory

Tassimo Storage

When I went home for Thanksgiving, my Grandma gifted me her Tassimo coffee maker :)

I was so excited to have it!  So my roommate and I have had it for a couple of weeks now and I had no idea what to do with the boxes of Tassimo pods.  They are bulky and take up a lot of space.  And for Christmas I was gifted some Chai Tea Latte pods!  Definitely needed a storage solution.

Tassimo does sell their own storage carousel for about $15.  But I wanted to see if there was something I could do for less and without taking up more counter space.  So I did some Pinterest research! 

Some people used old pringle cans, and others used baskets.  So I decided to take a trip to my trusty Dollar Tree to see what I could find.  And I found the perfect solution!

I spotted these little storage bins in the section of, go figure, storage bins!  Haha.  Since I didn't have a Tassimo pod with me and wasn't 100% positive they would fit, I bought one set.  Which handily came in a pack of 3!  So it went in my shopping basket and then off to my apartment we went!

Here were just some of the Tassimo pod boxes we had sitting on our counter.  When my grandma gave us the Tassimo, she also gave us the Tassimo pods she had.  Plus my new Chai Tea Latte pods!  Lots of boxes.  So I tested one of the pods in the storage basket and guess what?!  Perfect fit!!  How lucky is that?!

Look at how beautiful they all look housed in their new baskets :)  The Tassimo machine is on the counter above the spice drawer (right next to the oven).  And, luckily, there is plenty of room in that drawer from when the spice drawer makeover.  So in the drawer they went.

Since I only bought one pack of 3 baskets, not all of the pods fit.  But that's perfectly fine!  The three baskets fit perfectly next to the spice jars.  So what to do with the extra pod boxes?  They fit snuggly behind the baskets.

Now there isn't the clutter of the Tassimo pod boxes on the counter but they are still organized and easily accessible.

Any of you have a Tassimo or Keurig at home?  How do you organize your pods or k cups?  I'd love to hear about it!

52 Books in 2014: 2/52

2/52 Books
So I took an extra day on this one, but I have completed two books so far this year :)  The plan was to finish reading it yesterday but I got a little behind and finished it up today.

Last week I read The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory.  So this past week was on to the second book of the series: The Other Boleyn Girl.  Another fantastic book!  I've been reading some reviews on it and a lot of people have trouble with the historical inaccuracies in the book.  Well, it is historical fiction.  It is not meant to be a biography.  And the book itself is wonderfully written!  Definitely kept me interested all the way through - and this was my second time reading it.  I think the only big historical difference that I wish hadn't been changed is the birth order of the Boleyn sisters.  Historians believe Anne was actually Mary's younger sister rather than her older sister.  Why Gregory chose to make Mary the younger sibling I'm not sure.  But hey, it's fiction.  And a great book!  Highly recommend it.

So now it is on to the next book in the series:

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

Here are the books I've read so far this year:

The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory

52 Books in 2014: 1/52

1/52 books
I have completed my first book of the year!  Even though it's only been one week and one book, I am still proud of myself.  Celebrate the little things!  Another thing I want to try this year.  Find little things you do each day to be proud of.  And this is definitely one of them - for me at least.

If you read my last post you'll know my first book of the year was The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory.  This was my second time reading it and I was just as pleased and moved as the first time I read it.  I would be a liar if I said I didn't cry more than once during this book.  Philippa Gregory does a fantastic job of keeping the story interesting and involving on every page.  I would absolutely recommend it if you are looking for a great book!  The Constant Princess is a wonderful historical fiction novel and an amazing portrayal of Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England.

Since this book is the first of six books in Philippa Gregory's series The Tudor Court Novels, my next book of the year will be the next in the series:

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

This will be another second time read for me.  Which I normally don't do, but I wanted to finish the series and since it's been a while since I read the first three books, I wanted to start fresh from the beginning.

I will try and keep a list of the books I've read at the end of each of these types of posts.  So the list so far:

The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory

Welcome to 2014

Welcome to 2014 everyone!!  We made it.  I don't know about all of you, but I am hoping and praying for a better year than 2013.  My family and I have had a pretty rough year and I'm ready for a new start in 2014.

Of course now is the time for everyone to make their New Year's Resolutions and, in a week or two, will have forgotten all about them.  Haha.  But maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to keep our resolutions for 2014!  Originally I was keeping my resolution simple - "To live a healthier lifestyle - eating well and exercising."  But!  I just found out that a friend of mine is challenging himself to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  And I have decided to jump on that challenge.

This is going to be pretty difficult...reading a book a week is a lot.  But I'm up for the challenge!  For now at least.  Anyone else with me?

I've started making a list of all the books I want to read.  If any of you have suggestions I'd love to hear them.  First up I will be reading The Tudor Series by Philippa Gregory!  Well some of them I will be re-reading.  But I want to start from the beginning of the series and read my way through chronologically.

Anyone up for the challenge with me?  Either reading what I'm reading or choosing your own books.  It will be a lot of fun!!

My first book of 2014 is:

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

I'm so excited!  Hopefully I will be able to keep up with it.

So let me know some of your New Year's Resolutions!