Cheers from the UK!

I can't bear to spend more than a few minutes on a computer while I'm traveling in England, but can I just tell you how amazing this place is? Tonight we pulled up to our perfectly quaint Bed & Breakfast - the Devonshire Arms at Pilsley (we're mere minutes from the Chatsworth House that was portrayed as Pemberley in the most recent Pride & Prejudice). After my dinner of roaster chicken and garden vegetables from the pub, I walked through cobblestone streets lit only by the remaining daylight in a dusky blue sky. The air smelled of flowers and rain. Plain and simple - I am in love.

Restart Button for the Book Club

Once upon a time three girls who had batted the idea of an online book club around decided to finally start one. Hence the Pickwick Society Book Club was born. And we read a few books, wrote a few reviews, answered a few questions, and talked on the phone about how we needed to pick up the pace of our respective reading. Now it's June 9th, and things have gotten more than a little behind and our posting has been sporadic at best.

We are picking a new book for June and will be reporting its title to you very soon. Even if you're working extra hours, have little people hanging off you constantly, or are traipsing to various locations for summer travel, we'd love to have you read the book and then tell us what you think.

As always, happy reading!

May Obsessions

My May obsessions are a bit all over the place and involve too much TV watching, but I'm not working at the moment...so somehow I've decided it's okay.

So in love with Mad Men and missing it already after having caught up on Netflix. Why Matt Weiner had to delay season five until 2012, I just don't know. ps. I am most in love with Christina Hendricks (the red head who plays Joan Harris) and her style. I really wish sometimes that I were a ginger.
With Mad Men finished, I turned to The Good Wife for distraction. It's strangely remniscent of watching Nurse Carol Hathaway (from ER) all grown up and fighting crime and political corruption (some of which is in her own house). I can't say it's love yet, but I'm not finished with the first season yet, so we'll see. ps. Knox Overstreet from Dead Poets Society is her boss. When did the boys from that movie become middle aged?!

Emerald Nuts' Breakfast On-the-Go is delicious - The Smore version is Jenessa and my favorite. We have purchased multiple boxes to take on our European adventure (you never know when you'll be hungry - yes, French food is better, but if you're in the middle of a train ride or at a museum...)
Glee. I shouldn't even have to expound, but between the concert, the new iTunes tracks, and the finale, I am a very happy woman.


ps. Did I mention how much I adore Blaine, Kurt, and Rachel? Their voices in person are jaw-droppingly good. Mercedes really is too.

Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen's new movie) is a love letter to Paris and the ex-pats who made Paris their home in the 1920s. I loved the shoutouts to the great writers, artists, and musicians that made us all long for the City of Lights. I hope I too walk into a dream where I get to hang out with the Fitzgeralds and listen to Cole Porter play.... ps. I feel like I should add the disclaimer that I'm not a huge Owen Wilson fan, and yet I adored this movie. How could you not with Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Adrian Brody, etc.?

Tracy recently supplied me with a whole new array of chapstick flavors including the perfectly delectable watermelon. So, so good.
Last, but not least, Ted Kennedy Watson of my beloved Kennedy Watson store fame in Seattle started blogging daily. Between that and Pinterest, I now have way too many pictures and plans saved for a house that I don't have yet. It is definitely fun to dream though.
Happy June!!

ps. I hope you know that I, of course, though of writing Mae Obsession for my title, but I didn't see her during the month of May. I am counting the days until I get to see her, Jewels, and Brett. Cannot wait!

The Crucible

The Crucible by Arthur Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You can tell it's love when you pick up a book or play just because you have missed the characters. I have missed the Proctors and Arthur Miller's snarky commentary on society, and so last Sunday night, I curled up and poured through the Salem witch trials yet again. I won't bore you with my recitations of my favorite lines or scenes - just know that if you haven't read it, you are missing out. (June 2011)

I love this play with everything that's in me. I recently wrapped up "The Crucible with my juniors - it's my third year teaching it, and by far, my best experience with my students (they gasped at Elizabeth's lie in the courtroom! fantastic teacher moment!). I am in so awe of John and Elizabeth Proctor - their conversation in Act IV breaks my heart. "I counted myself so plain, poorly made that no love...[etc, etc]." It is a play that transcends its pages and the stage and teaches lessons so applicable to life. If you haven't read it recently, read it - one of my all time favorite works of fiction. (Fall 2008)

Oh The Places I'm Going

In one week I will be in...
In two weeks I will be in...
In three weeks I will be visiting... (seeing the Munsons takes precedent over where I'm visiting though I am excited to add Louisiana to my "states visited" list)

And in four weeks I will be in...
Too many possibilities for words - can't wait for the traveling to begin!