Kawaii Monday: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Dolls

You know how sometimes you're randomly browsing Etsy (because it's AWESOME!) and then you run across something super adorable? Well, that's what happened with these Snow White and the Seven Dwarves dolls. Ironically I wasn't even searching anything related to Snow White when I found them either. Weird.... Anyway, I HAD to share the cuteness with you guys!!!!

OH MY GOSH THEY'RE SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT!!!!

I love how these dolls are so simple and yet they're able to perfectly capture the magic and whimsy of Snow White and the seven dwarves. If I had daughters I would totally buy these for them to play with. SO TOTALLY CUTE!

I don't know about you guys but I am a HUGE sucker for Snow White and the seven dwarves. Even though she is super annoying in the Disney cartoon (seriously, her voice kills me) I still love that movie. Mostly because I love the dwarves so much. Especially Dopey. Ever since I was a kid Dopey has been my favorite dwarf. He's just so adorable!

Do you love these dolls too? Which dwarf is your favorite? Or do you like Snow White best?

You can buy these wonderful dolls here.

Julia :)

How The Hobbit has taken over my life

So back in December this movie came out that has slowly been taking over my life. I don't know if you've heard of it (SARCASM) but it's called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

In case you don't know this movie is the first in a trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic children's book The Hobbit and it also includes elements from the appendices at the end of The Return of the King.

It is no secret that I am the biggest Tolkien nerd. I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy back when I was in 6th grade and then I subsequently read the books and ever since then I have been obsessed. Like, I've read the trilogy so many times I've lost count and my old bedroom was painted like the shire obsessed. I've even dressed up as a hobbit for Halloween. My LOTR nerdiness knows no bounds. :P

So to say that I was excited for the first Hobbit movie would probably be an understatement. I mean, I have been waiting for The Hobbit to become a movie ever since I turned into a Tolkien fanatic. THAT IS A HECK OF A LONG TIME. Add that to the stress of the project finally getting greenlit, and then the director changing, and then crazy movie laws almost getting in the way of production, and then Peter Jackson needing surgery which prolonged filming, and yeah, you can imagine how much pent up excitement I had on the eve of December 14th. I was literally bouncing around my house I was so hyped up.

Going into this movie I didn't really know what to expect. I knew I would love it, but I didn't know how much. Would it live up to my high expectations? Would it capture my imagination like the LOTR movies had? Would it be as awesome and as epic?

To answer all these questions: YES. YES THE HOBBIT IS AMAZINGLY AWESOMELY PERFECT.

So the movie got started and my thought process was basically:

OH MY GOSH THE MOVIE IS STARTING THE MOVIE IS STARTING!!!!

Hey look it's Legolases baby daddy! Looking real good there Lee Pace. ;)

What's this? The elves won't help the dwarves fight Smaug? BURNNNNNN!!!!

FROOOODOOOO!!!!!! Dang Elijah Wood hasn't aged a day.... (but seriously, he looks almost exactly the same. O.O)

Martin Freeman, you are Bilbo.

GANDALF, GANDALF, GANDALF, GANDALF!!!!!! :D

And then this happened....

ASLDKFJLKSDJFALKDJFLASKD!!!!!!!!!! 

And in that moment, Kili stole my heart. And Fili too, but mostly Kili. :P

And then Thorin shows up who is about as majestically awesome as they come:

And basically for the rest of the movie my mind was playing a background track of "RIDICULOUSLY HOT DWARVES, RIDICULOUSLY HOT DWARVES, THIS MOVIE HAS RIDICULOUSLY HOT DWARVES!!!" >.<

But seriously, Kili *cough* Aidan Turner *cough* is ridiculously attractive. I mean just look at him:

He wields a bow and arrow. If that isn't attractive I don't know what is! He's like the Legolas of The Hobbit, except Legolas is actually gonna be in the next hobbit movies meaning TWICE AS MUCH ATTRACTIVENESS AM I RIGHT?!?!?!

So in conclusion, this movie is amazing. It's based off of an amazing book by an amazing author, has been put together by amazing people (shout out to Weta Workshop!!!), was filmed in an amazing place (hellooooo New Zealand!), has amazing actors, and is just not to be missed. And in case you still need to be convinced I will allow Gandalf to speak on the movies behalf:

JUST GO SEE IT.

So basically the Hobbit has taken over my life. I now have a room filled with LOTR and The Hobbit Legos (good thing I have a job right?), I have multiple The Hobbit posters on my wall, and I have watched the production diaries videos and interviews of the cast multiple times. On top of that last month I marathoned the BBC's awesome TV series Being Human merely because Aidan Turner *cough* Kili the super hot dwarf *cough* is in it. That show is AWESOME by the way, and not just because of Aidan Turner, though he is a plus. :P

If you have seen the Hobbit already, are you as obsessed with it as I am? Who are your favorite dwarves? Honestly, I love them all but particularly like Kili, Bofur, Fili, Thorin, Ori, and Balin. Kili and Bofur are definitely my two favorites though. I mean have you seen Bofur's hat? I WANT IT!!!!

Also, James Nesbitt and Aidan Turner are both so adorable and Irish. Ugh. They're just awesome.

ACCURATE STATEMENT IS ACCURATE.

So yes, share the hobbit love guys! FANGIRL WITH ME!!!! :D

Julia :)

Book Review: Second Chance Summer

Second Chance Summer
by Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication Date: May 8th 2012
Source: Library
Add this book to your shelf on Goodreads

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

It may be the middle of winter, but that didn't make me love Second Chance Summer any less. THIS BOOK IS SO AMAZING GUYS, BUT FOR REAL IT IS AMAZEBALLS.

So Taylor is a gal who tends to run away from her problems. But then along comes a problem she can't run away from and to top it off she has to spend the summer at her families vacation house, which really isn't so bad (REALLY) except that the last time she was at the vacation house she managed to piss off all of her closest friends. What's a girl to do?

Okay, so that summary probably made this book sound a lot fluffier than it really is. Second Chance Summer does have a bit of fluff to it (don't all good summery contemps?) but it also has so much more. In all honesty this is probably the best contemporary I've read since The Fault in Our Stars. It's that good.

Taylor was a protagonist that I found really easy to relate to. Haven't we all run away from our problems at one time or another? I also loved the relationship she had with her dad and the rest of her family. Oftentimes YA authors end up writing parents (and siblings for that matter) as obnoxious, nosy, rude, or some combination thereof. It was refreshing to read a story in which family was highlighted as something to embrace and treasure. On top of that Morgan Matson did a fabulous job bringing depth to each of the family members in this story, even the grandfather who only shows up near the end of the book. I should probably just flat out say that I LOVE the way Morgan Matson crafts her characters. They are consistently awesome, and unique, and I love each and every one of them. <3 p="p">
The plot itself seems fairly basic for a summer contemporary except that it's anything but ordinary. Sure, there's you're classic "blast from the past first boyfriend turned teenage hottie" situation (BUT HENRY IS TOTALLY ADORABLE AND A HE WORKS IN A BAKERY AND HE WINS ALL THE BOYFRIEND AWARDS!!!!) and there's the first awkward summer job situation, but it's all layered with Taylor finding herself, and finding out how to embrace love in all of it's forms (family love, friend love, romantic love) and I'm not gonna lie this book is a REAL tear jerker. I was a mess during the last 40 or so pages. A total mess. Throughout the whole book you're sort of preparing for the sadness and then it all just hits you like a ton of bricks and you aren't prepared and just thinking about it is making me feel all sad again. It's so heartbreakingly beautiful. You just HAVE TO READ IT.

The only thing I'm a tad bit iffy on was the "big issue" that had caused everyone to dislike Taylor. It really wasn't THAT big of a deal. It was basically just an awkward elephant in the room for nearly half the book which I really felt was unnecessary. A similar thing happened in Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. I know all authors have certain quirks to them (like how John Green always seems to have some type of road trip in his books) but I certainly hope that this isn't Morgan Matson's because I am not a fan. But regardless this book is still amazing!

In conclusion Second Chance Summer is a must read contemporary. Even if you aren't normally a fan of contemporaries I assure you, YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK. I give it 4.5 out of 5 ice cream cones!

Morgan Matson is quickly rising to the top of my fav contemporary authors list. Everything she writes is just SO GOOD and I can hardly wait for whatever she's working on next!

Julia :)

Book Review: Nobody + Giveaway!

Nobody
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
393 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publication Date: January 22, 2013
Source: Publisher for Review (Thanks Egmont USA!)
 Add this book to your shelf on Goodreads

The most dangerous people in the world... are the ones you don't even see.

Some people are Nobodies: ignored, unloved, practically invisible in every way. No one notices them. No one cares about them. They exist under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away. No one sees them coming. No one sees them leave.

That's why Nobodies make the perfect assassins.

Seventeen-year-old Nix is very good at his job. So when the organization he works for sends him after a teenager girl named Claire, he doesn't ask questions. He's a killer. She needs to die.

For sixteen years, Claire has led a normal life being overlooked. Her parents are absent. She doesn't have any friends. She has no idea what she is, or why anyone would want her dead. But she's about to find out, because from the moment Nix attempts to carry out his mission, the two are caught up in a conspiracy of murder, cover-ups, and betrayal.

Nix is a killer. Claire is his target. But when he sets eyes on her, everything changes, because only the two of them can truly see each other - and two Nobodies are more than twice as dangerous as one.

What if the world is not what it seems? What if people are not what they seem? What if there's more to that celebrity, more to your teacher, more to your sibling, than meets the eye? In Nobody there are people, and then there are people who are more than people. The Sensors with their heightened senses, the Nulls who care only for themselves and can make you care for them too, and then the Nobodies, who don't really matter at all, until they're sent to kill you.

Sounds like a riveting and brilliant idea right? If there is one thing Nobody has it's ingenuity. Jennifer Lynn Barnes has managed to create a world in which everything is as it seems and yet nothing is as it seems. It's a world we know well, and yet there is also a world of intrigue and evil bubbling up from beneath the surface.

In this world of The Society there is Nix, a Nobody. He's been a trained assassin for The Society for years and he's never questioned a kill. Not until he meets Claire. He's told that Claire is a Null, but it turns out that Claire is actually a Nobody, just like him. Someone that is basically invisible. Living life but forever unnoticed and forgotten. Jennifer Lynn Barnes spent the first 3rd of this book setting up the Claire and Nix dynamic and honestly I was not a fan. Let's just say that if I saw a guy outside my bedroom window about to shoot me with a sniper rifle, I would not be cozying up to him just days later. I don't care that he's the only guy in the world who notices Claire exists, HE TRIED TO KILL HER. RUN GIRL RUN!!!! And yes, he built you a bookshelf which is admittedly sweet, but let's remember what's really important here: HE TRIED TO KILL YOU. Just remember that.

So after the slightly torturous first 3rd of the book in which the Nix/Claire romantic uncertainty is center stage, the plot finally picks up and we get to the good stuff aka Society take down badassery!  It's pretty epic from here on out. Breaking and entering, the Fade, drug serums, and poison gas all come into play. Did I mention the finale involves total meltdown annihilation and magical healing blood powers? Yeah, stuff get's crazy. And to top it off the ending is reminiscent of a fairytale complete with "happily ever after." I'm not even kidding. It's almost ridiculous how ridiculous the ending is, but that's part of the fun.

So all in all I have a sort of love hate relationship with this book. I have a pretty strong dislike for the whole Nix/Claire romance, but on the other hand I really like the rest of what Jennifer Lynn Barnes created. I think idea that certain humans give off different levels of energy was really unique and everything that went with those concepts was really well thought out. The only thing is that I wish more time had been spent on developing the Society and how it was run. We get a bit of backstory, but most of it is left to the imagination. I just felt like it needed more. I also wanted more descriptions. They were so sparse in this book that half the time it was like the characters were running around on a blank canvas in my imagination. Give the reader a bit more to work with!

All in all Nobody has a promising premise but, in my eyes, it falls a bit short. I wanted to love this book so much, especially since the concept is so unique, but ultimately there were a few major flaws that I just couldn't get past. However, I still enjoyed it and I hope that if this review piques your interest you'll give it a read!

I give Nobody 3.5 out of 5 ice cream cones.

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!!! *throws confetti*

Kawaii Monday: Totoro iPod Case

You guys probably know by now how much I LOVE Totoro. Well I recently purchased one of the new 5th generation iPod touches from Apple. My old iPod was the first generation iPod touch and honestly it's a miracle that thing still functions. As nice and pretty as the new iPods are there is nothing quite as solid as the older generation models. My old one got tossed around and fell on the ground so much and there's nothing to show for it but a couple of scratches. Crazy right?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: TOTORO. So I've been shopping around for a case for my new iPod and I found this SUPER cute Totoro slip case on Etsy. Check it out:

OH MY GOSH THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ugh. I really cannot with the cuteness. Just looking at this picture makes my heart fill up with oodles of happiness! But as adorable as these cases are I'm sort of leaning away from one of them in favor of a more practical (and less expensive) clear plastic case. I figure that will guard from scratches while I am using the iPod as well as when it is not in use. But then again, that will not protect my iPod screen from scratches if I were to store this thing in my purse. THE CHOICES! Maybe I should just buy both? Or maybe I should forego both in favor of some other awesomely designed case goodness? I think it can be concluded that I am neither a smart nor decisive shopper. :P

So what do you guys think, practical clear plastic case, or adorable totoro case?

If you're interested in buying one of these for your own enjoyment check them out on Etsy here. The shop owner also sells a ton of other super cute electronics case designs!

Julia :)