2014 - The readings

Hello one and all! I trust you all had a fantastic Christmas and are all busy reviewing how 2014 went. Since we're getting close to the end of the year it's time for me to do the same, starting with the readings!

1. A Storm of Swords - Blood and Gold, George R.R. Martin ****
2. Looking for Alaska, John Green ***
3. Madrugada Suja, Miguel Sousa Tavares ****
4. Night Circus, Erin Mogenstern ****
5. A Feast for Crows, George R.R. Martin *****
6. The Book Thief, Marcus Zuzak ****
7. A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby ***
8. Levels of Life, Julian Barnes ***
9. The Bone Season ****
10. A Dance with Dragons - Dreams and Dust, George R.R Martin ****
11. A Desumanização, Valter Hugo Mãe ****
12. Forgive me, Leonard Peacock, Matthew Quick ***
13. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger ***
14. Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell ****
15. The railway man, Eric Lomax ****
16. The Color Purple, Alice Walker *****
17. A Trança de Inês, Rosa Lobato Faria ***
18. Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick ****
19. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens *****

And that's it for 2014! More exciting new reads in 2015!

Thankful Thursday # 13

So today of all days I thought it would be a good idea to bring Thankful Thursday back to life after so long. Here we go!

1. Christmas! It's that magical time of year, the most magical of all seasons! It's one of my absolute favourite days of the year because of all the great things it brings.
2. Fuzzy socks - because it's so darn cold!
3. My boyfriend. Of all that I've been blessed with throughout my life the fact that this wonderful person happened to think I was special and could make him happy still astounds me and it's still the biggest hit on the blessing list. I'm really lucky to have him in my life and only hope I can make him as happy as he makes me.
4. Lovely Christmas food. This year I'm trying to be good and not go overboard with the food frenzy and it's actually been okay. I haven't felt like I've eaten an entire village's calorie intake (which is in itself a massive success as most of you can attest) or that the food I've had was extremely indulgent. 
5. Christmas decorations. I'm a massive Christmas tree fan and if I could I'd have several around the house. As it is we only have the one, but we make a grand event of it, decorating it with Christmas decorations and other things that make us happy (like spaceships!). Also a recent fan of spreading our Christmas cards around the living room, it reminds us of the lovely people we have in our lives.
6. Scented candles - because they make any evening a bit more special.
7. Christmas at home. This year we happened to spend Christmas in our flat, just the two of us. We do miss our families and spending this day with day, but at the same time we're having loads of fun with just the two of us. No running around, no feast after feast, no one else around, just us in our pajamas, playing games and watching movies from our comfy sofa under a massive blanket. Chilled and fuss free.
8. Skype. Because this way we can still connect with the family and feel close to them on this special time of the year.
9. Sunny mornings. No justification needed, sunny mornings are just better. Period.
10. Extended Christmas break. This year the holidays have fallen perfectly on a Thursday and a Friday, giving us a nice four day break. In a word: bliss!

30 ahead

It was just another day, commuting back home from the office, and just like that it hit me that in little over 14 months I'll be turning 30.

30.

I've spent most of my life yearning for my thirties, daydreaming about how put together my life would be and how much I'd have achieved by then. I truly believed that by the age of 30 I'd have moved out of my dad's, I'd be in a serious relationship and have a proper grown-up job. I'd drive my own car and plan my own life, taking pleasure in even the smallest and dullest of details, like doing my own laundry and managing not to turn all my clothes marshmallow pink. I'd have time for my hobbies, for the musicals and the books and the movies and everything else under the sun that caught my eye. And I'd have good friends around me. And I'd travel somewhere new a couple of times a year.

And to be honest, it's not like I'm that far behind (reading the words as they pour out of my fingers you'd think I'm actually right on schedule!), but I want more from my twenties. And so it's time to start planning my grand exit. To make 29 the best year yet. And then let the next decade try and top it up!

Yeah, that sounds like a plan...