favorites
honestly, not much has changed from the february favorites since 2/2 of that list made it to this one. still hamilton trash, and honestly, i think this “hamilton phase” will last longer than a few months.
driving
THAT’S RIGHT. i finally began driving! i took lessons before, but my parents would never let me practice with them until now, 10 months after getting my permit. it miiiiiight be because i scheduled my driving exam and basically forced my parents to allow me to practice? but in my defense, my driver’s permit is going to expire soon so it’s now or never. i’m hoping to get my license by the end of next month and (hopefully) i’ll be able to drive myself to YALLWEST! (it seems very unlikely right now, but… pray for me!)
beauty & business(?)
after reading #GIRLBOSS this month, i’ve been motivated to put more effort into 1/ my sense of style, and 2/ my plans of being an entrepreneur. soooooo i bought some more makeup products (go me!) and stalked some fashion & beauty bloggers/vloggers (jenn im is probably my favorite). i used to find it pointless for me dress nicely (instead of my usual sweater and shorts) since the only place i go to is ballet (and we only wear leotards & tights), but it’s been surprisingly satisfying to make an effort and pamper myself. i’ve also been brainstorming new ideas with my sister for our business! look out for some new (bookish? BOOKISH.) products soon. *wink wink*
lent 2.0
last month i mentioned how i was trying to be a pescatarian for lent. i was going to dedicate an entire post to my experience with it, but then decided against it (and changed my mind three times, but ultimately deciding against it – mostly because i would’ve posted it way past easter and partially because there’s not that much to say). i was doing a fairly good job up until the week before easter (with only one more week left!) when i went to boston with my sister. i think lent really changed my perspective on sacrifices and my thoughts on veganism. it’s too difficult and inconvenient for me to truly become a pescatarian (or vegetarian or vegan) since it would affect my parents’ eating habits as well. perhaps it could happen when i grow older and move out on my own…
#bookstagram shots:
farewell, march
a lot happened in the month of march, considering that i flew to a few different places, began driving, and saw snow for the first time(!!!). i’ll have a recap of my adventures in san fransisco, boston, and new york, so i’ll spare you the details until then. (i’m also extrememly behind on posts as i was planning on publishing that before the month ended……. UGH.) i didn’t do much of anything else, but it was still productive and fun notheless.
read this month
- ME BEFORE YOU, by jojo moyes – ★★★✩✩
- HALF BAD, by sally green – ★✩✩✩✩ DNF
- AGAINST ALL ODDS, by patricia vanasse – ★★★✩✩ (review to come)
- #GIRLBOSS, by sophia amoruso – ★★★★✩
- THANKS FOR THE TROUBLE, by tommy wallach – ★★★★★
on the blog
bookish:
- REVIEW: thanks for the trouble, by tommy wallach
- HAMILTON BOOK TAG
- REVIEW + DISCUSSION: lady midnight, by cassandra clare
- REVIEW: in real life, by jessica love
other:
on reply:
aside from the hamilton soundtrack, i’ve been listening to my über motivating pre-performance/competition playlist. i made it a few years ago (made some changes since then) and will always come back to it whenever competition and audition season rolls around. when you’re surrounded by so many other dancers giving you the side-eye and i’m-sooooo-much-better-than-you look, you need some motivational music to remind yourself that HEY! you’re not so bad yourself. and this goes for anyone at an audition, interview, competition, or whatever.
foresights of april
i can hardly believe it’s already april; it’s already SPRING and we can start wearing SHORTS. in terms of events, my sister is coming back for a weekend to take ballet pictures. annnd that’s about it. OH, and there’s YALLWEST on the 30th of this month, but i’m still unsure about my attendence. april will mostly be focused on my goals and school and ballet and getting back in the ~groove~ of things.
goals for the month:
- PASS MY DRIVING EXAM
- get as caught up on school as you can
- convince my parents to allow me to go to YALLWEST; go to YALLWEST
Jenn Im is also currently being my favorite youtuber. She goes straight to the point, but with exact amount of cheerfulness and friendliness instead of chattering endlessly 😀 And her edit and looks are always on point! I also should start to have a driving practice since everyone in my year seems to drive already and I just not brave enough to do it… Good luck for next month!
yes! i love how her videos are always edited so beautifully and aren’t too long. everything about her sense of style is so admirable. and i completely understand what you mean about driving… i was soooooo scared when i first started, which is probably why i delayed the exam to the last minute :// but it’s not so bad now; hopefully you’ll start driving soon as well! thanks for visiting my blog xxx
I’m not the only one who didn’t like Half bad!! I finished it, and got a bit into the second, but still. I feel so much better now. Lately I’ve only been reading good things about it and I keep getting paranoid like “did I read the same book??” so it’s nice to know there’s someone else out there. What did you end up not liking about it?
there wasn’t anything really particular that i didn’t like about it; it was just sooooo slow and the writing style was really unnerving. it was the type of book that i knew i wasn’t going to enjoy all that much so i just stopped (got around halfway through and it wasn’t going anywhere *sigh*)
It is a lot of backstory and setting the stage, and then a weird amount of time on childhood. I think the others are more actiony? Not that it matters if you can’t get people through the first one >__<
I’ve heard so many great things about Girlboss that I feel like I should really read it soon myself (and hopefully also get inspired) Good luck on driving! I was SUCH a nervous driver when I was learning but that was kind of also because I never really WANTED to drive; I just wanted my parents to also drop me off at practice and stuff. (haha sorry mom) Here’s my wrap up! 😀 https://tamaraniac.com/2016/04/march-2016-wrap-up-april-tbr/
you should!!! it’s so inspiring in both the empowering-girl-i-can-do-it sense and the starting-my-own-business-is-totally-a-good-idea sense. i like how sophia amoruso didn’t sugar coat her process and said she really did work for everything she got.
i also feel you on the driving thing! that is the #1 reason why i’m forcing myself to get my license. there have been way too many missed book events, movies, and library visits for my lack of driving skills haha.
Girl, we basically had the same March?! I got my permit a couple months ago so I’ve been practicing driving as well! I don’t think I’ll be able to drive myself to YALLWest, but hopefully my parents will still bring me ;). As you already know, we have lent in common & our 5-star reads of Thanks for the Trouble! Also, yay for Troye Sivan on the music list again (OH MY GOSH, AND WALK THE MOON)! Good luck on your driving exam :).
ah that’s such a happy coincidence! i got my permit almost a year ago which is why i’ve been cramming my driving *hides* i brought up YALLWest to my mom the other day and she was like NO WAY because she’s still really paranoid about my driving *cries* i’ll try to convince her otherwise (or convince her to let me take an uber; i don’t live too far from the venue and it wouldn’t be super pricey.) we’ve kinda been twins this past month and that’s honestly SO COOL. hopefully we’ll get to (maybe maybe maybe) meet at YALLWest! xxx
It’s interesting to see you DNFed Half Bad because I didn’t really enjoy it but I got the trilogy sent to review, so I decided to read the sequel and OMG I LOVED IT! One of the best books I’ve read so far this year?? But I can totally understand why you DNFed the first book because I contemplated doing that myself because nothing happened UGH.
I can start driving this year but I’m currently studying for exams which are NEXT MONTH (dsljhlsd how??), so I want to focus on that and then go for driving lessons which I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT. I can drive myself to the library whenever I want, then! :’)
RIGHT?! okay yeah, that’s the main reason why i DNFed it. it honestly felt like a chore and it wasn’t getting anywhere :// but i’m glad to hear that you liked the sequel! it’s too bad i couldn’t stick around long enough to get there.. ugh.
GOOD LUCK ON YOUR EXAMS! i’m sure you’ll do great 🙂 driving to bookish places – store, library, events – is the main reason why i started driving ahah. hope your april goes well!
I actually remember liking Half Bad but I read this book when it came out so I don’t really remember the whole details. I also haven’t managed to read the sequel and I don’t know if I should continue with this trilogy. I will have to read some reviews before I buy the sequel.
Anyway, I hope you’ll have a great reading month!
Andie