Book Review: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I finished reading Pillars of the Earth about a week ago. I just got around now to write a review about it- why?- because I still really don't know how I feel about the book.

This book was a selection in Oprah's Book Club back in 2007- and although I do like Oprah, I don't always agree with the books that she chooses (well, other than Middlesex which was a great thought provoking book) But I only found it that it was a previous Oprah book after I already started reading it.

The plot of the book is about the building of the Kingsbridge Cathedral.. which may not seem too interesting at first but it represents the dreams of a builder and a priest. The cathedral also represents the constant struggle for power in England between earls, kings and monks.

There are too many characters and too many subplots to go into the book in detail without revealing too much- so I am not even going to try. I was swept up in all of the emotions and hardships that the characters had to endure to build the castle. There were hidden loves, impossible loves and loves lost. The story moved fast and spanned 40 years with villians that you grow to loathe and suffering heroes that you know will somehow conquer in the end. There were many many twists in the story which made it sometimes frustrating but worth it in the end.

So why did I not throughly enjoy such an engaging book? Too many characters and strange plot twists. Follett tried very hard to let his reader in the mind of each and every character but can you really do that to the fullest when you have at least 10 main characters and 15 more supporting characters? Each section of the book focused on specific characters- but there was enough material in each section to write a novel in itself. I found myself dissappointed by the end because I wanted to know more about Ellen, Martha and even Walderan but knew too much about Aliena, Jack and Phillip. There were many many plot twists in the book- some that added interest to the story and some that were just far fetched. The love that Aliena and Jack shared was a great story but was Aliena's hunt for Jack through several countries in Europe really necessary? Did this really mesh in with the rest of the book?

So all in all- Pillars of the Earth was a very engaging book. It has love, drama and war- all the elements of a good book. But sometime less is more. I would have prefered a less complicated plot and just a few main characters instead of an army of them.

Sarah's Bridal Shower Pics.. finally

I'm actually quite shamed of myself that I didn't take more pictures of the shower. I'm usually the ubiquitous picture taker at most events- but eh- I was busy organizing (and chatting away..) making sure everything and everybody was fine.

Date: July 19th, 209


Time: 11:30am-4pm


Place: La Bonne Soupe @ 55th St between 5th and 6th Ave


Occasion: A bridal shower in honor of my BFF Sarah :)

This is Sarah in her bride-to-be sash shortly after arriving to the shower after her massage at Spa Ja surrounded by her Bridesmaids... Sandra in the white, Tang sitting in the middle, and Me and the orange and purple. That cute little girl is Isabella- Sandra's daughter.





All the guests were on time to the restaurant (Wow!!) and our bride arrived refreshed yet teary eyed at the sight of all her guests. I must say that I did have some reservations about the restaurant because of the fire they had back in February. They had to undergo extensive renovations and opened only 2 weeks before the shower. (Yes- it was nerve racking!) In my experience, restaurants are never the same after renovations. The food is usually not quite the same. But I'm so glad that I was proven wrong! Our four course meal was nothing but delish. My sister is still dreaming about the spinach quiche and I'm still thinking about that chocolate mousse.

We had some fun games lined up for the guests and 14 prizes in all to give out. Hopefully Sarah enjoyed them as well! By the end of the afternoon- we had papers, markers and pens flying everywhere. Good times!



But the crowd pleaser was definately the gorgeous cake that Amy graciously made for us. Raspberry and passion fruit mousse inside- nothing was left by the end of the shower.

And did I mention that it was sooo beautiful that we almost didn't want to eat it? I wish I had used my SLR camera to take the pictures for more details but oh well...



A big thanks to everyone who attended and everyone who helped out with the shower. Especially Danielle of La Bonne Soupe- this lady is great and so quick with responses. She really wanted to make sure that our afternoon was perfect. Big Thumbs Up to La Bonne Soupe!


For more shower pictures clickTO MY SMUGMUG PAGE.

Review: Beautychoice.com

Beautychoice.com: thumbs down

If you are a makeup junkie like me - you probably have watched a few makeup and hair tutorials on youtube. The Youtube gurus swear by Beautychoice.com for all their hair accessories and products. So since I have been on the fence about the Enzo Milano curling iron for a while now I decided to take the plunge with Beautychoice.com

I ordered the curling iron originally on May 18th 2009. The date my curling iron was received? July 11th 2009. Hmmm.. a little slow you think? Yeah and that was with Priority shipping..

What I found out is that BeautyChoice.com will sell you a product that they don't necessarily have in stock. When I placed my order it was for the pink Enzo Milano. The black clearly stated "out of stock" but the pink was supposedly in stock. After a few days, I checked the status of my order on the website- and lo and behold- the status says "backordered". I decide to wait it out a few more days. On June 1st, while checking the status of my order I find that the price has dropped significantly AND is available in a bundle with two hairsprays- supposedly in stock. I write an email to customer service asking to cancel my last order (since it's still on backorder) and reorder the bundle that includes the hair sprays for the lower price. Two days and no response- so I call customer service and tell them I want to cancel my order and place a new order for the bundle. The rep does so- then only AFTERWARDS tells me that I should have just asked for a price adjustment for the original product because by curler was supposed to ship THAT DAY and now because I canceled the order and placed a new order I would be put in back of the line again.

OK- so NOW I'm pissed. First off, she could have told me that my item was going to ship that day. I had prefaced the conversation by telling her that my item was on backorder so I wanted to order the bundle item that says it was in stock instead. Second, she tells me AFTER I change my order that the bundle that that is also on backorder!?!?!! The rep tries to calm me down by reassuring me that my curler is going to be shipped at the end of the week (which would have been June 5th)

The waiting game continues- as well as bi-weekly calls to customer service. Apparently "by the end of the week" didn't mean the current week.

On June 24th I receive this letter:

Dear Valued Customer,

thank you for your business and most especially, your extreme patience!

This email is to let you know your order will be shipping in the next two to three business days Enzo Milano Clipless Cilindrico Curling Iron 1" Round - Pink

If you have alreasy received your order, please disrefgard this message.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Oh how happy I was!! I had chosen 3 day shipping- so my curler would be here in less than a week! Or so I thought. I week later the status of my order was still on backorder. I call customer service again and was met with the usual politeness and promises that led to nothing. So I try a different approach- craziness and threats. My last call to customer service- it was the last straw. It was 6 weeks after my order and I was a raving lunatic on the phone and I threatened bad reviews on every website that I could find... I received a tracking number in 48 hours. Humph.

The moral of the story: being patient and nice doesn't always get you what you should have had over a month ago!

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The Classic Regency Romance--Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
Author: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Version: Kindle

I finished this book a while ago and many people have asked me my opinion on the book. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. That being said, the original Pride and Predjudice is by far my all time favorite book. I revisit it often when I am in need of something familiar and comforting. I really thought that I would like this comedy version a lot more than I did.

Oh sure, the first couple of chapters are entertaining enough. The sheer novelty of zombie fights mixed in with Austen's original text makes the reader crave for more. However- being that I am an Austen purist by heart- the changes that were made became irritating towards the middle of the book. Some of Austen's themes were removed entirely and the typos did not help with the annoyance any. Each zombie fight became predictable as well as every episode of vomit. There was also the constant reminder that the heroine was a shaolin master- ok, we get it so stop telling us in every chapter! When Lady Catherine's ninjas arrived- that was the end of it for me. Luckily the 2nd half of the book wasn't as zombie ridden as the first but it didn't stop me from skimming the book to the end where as I would normally cherish every Austinized word.

Entertaining? Perhaps, if you are looking for something light and mindless to read. Otherwise I would stick with the original.

New Beginnings

Oh Poo.. loud twitter is no longer working. I was wondering what was going on with the service. And so I haven't blogged since I was preggers- almost 2 years ago!

But I find that to reach my goal of baby fat weight loss- I'm going to have to make it public.

step 1: I'm giving up my favorite breakfast foods for more healthy and less appetizing alternatives.

Wish me luck- I'm gonna need it!