Book Club: Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess

The Blurb

Jobless. Clueless. Topless on Facebook.

Welcome to New York City.

Pia Keller is not living the dream. Unemployed, unemployable and broke, post-Uni life in a Brooklyn townhouse with her four best friends suddenly isn't so easy.

And that's before heartbreaks, hipsters, all-nighters, one-nighters, food trucks, screw-ups, loan sharks and jail-time make things a whole lot more complicated...

Who knew adulthood would be so damn grown-up?

The Review

I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book just as I was about to head off on my holiday to Egypt, so I took it with me as a bit of pool side reading. I ended up being rubbish company for my friend as the first day of our holiday was spent with me being completely engrossed in this book!

It took me a couple of chapters to get into the swing of it, but Gemma’s writing style is brilliant with a fab sense of humour, the characters just jumped off the page. This book is going to be one of five, telling the story of a group of early twenty something’s who live together in, you guessed it,  Brooklyn.

This book really sums up that journey into the ’real world’ and trying to find your feet as an adult. I found it very realistic and the girls all had issues I think we can all relate to.

Pia was very matter of fact and up front. I found it a really refreshing read, Gemma uses modern language and at first this took me a little get used to but I really liked this way of writing once I got used to it. It's an honest depiction of twenty-two-year-old girls and what they get up to behind closed doors, and doesn't censor itself when it comes to such things as one night stands and recreational drug use. It’s not a fluffy girly read.

I found it refreshing that romance wasn’t at the forefront of this novel and it focused on friendships, primarily with Pia’s housemates. The story shows the combination of a group of five girls all with very different personalities. You get a great feel for the different friendships Pia has with each of them and how they all support each other. It celebrated friendships, through the good times and the bad times. I can’t wait to read more about them as the series continues

The novel also looks at food trucks, I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give too much of the story away. However my friend who I was holidaying with also read this book straight after id finished. It led to great debates over food trucks and how we need food trucks and especially healthy one in the south west!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series brings.  

DIY: T-shirt Embellishment

I like my T-shirts loose and slouchy. The current styles tend to be very fitted which when you’ve got a few squidgy areas you don’t want enhanced it’s not a great look! I was recently given this cool Jaws T-shirt by a friend. It’s from H&M and is part of their men’s range. I know for some lovely ladies out there that’s a bit of a no no. But I figured if I can make it a bit individual and its comfy then who cares! So I got out my sewing kits and did this.....

 

Items Needed:

 

A T-shirt

Cotton and Needle

Various sized and shaped Studs (You can purchase these super cheaply on eBay)

Pliers

 

What to Do....

1.       I began by playing with the sleeves. I folded them up and put some stitches in to keep them in place. I think this takes away the men’s looking sleeve and makes its look a bit more feminine.

2.       I had some square studs and framed the picture putting them in a design in the bottom corners. To use the studs you push them into place and then use the pliers to bend the edges into place. It is really easy to do!

3.       I also have some star studs which I have wanted to use for a while so I placed them within the word ‘jaws’ and thought it would also be fun to put them in the sharks teeth!

 

I’m really pleased with the final look and have loads of complements on my tee! Have you done something similar?

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Pomegranate

 

If you’re a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have tried Barry M’s Gelly Nail Paint in Greenberry before and you can check out that review HERE. I love the Greenberry and felt I ought to give another colour a try, deciding on Pomegranate. This is a dark pink/reddish colour which I really like. I have to admit I am a huge fan of these Gelly Nail Paints. They are long wearing, hard to chip and have a gorgeous shine which you don’t tend to get with other nail varnishes. Highly recommend giving this range a try!

Food: Mediterranean Vegetables and Pasta Salad

 

I am not a great cook AT ALL. I will quite happily put my hands up and declare that now! However I have a few very simple recipes up my sleeve so when i have visitors over I’m not completely stuffed! This is definitely one of those recipes. It’s great for this time of year, as a dish to take to a BBQ or as part of a lunch.

Ingredients:

·         Pasta Tubes

·         Green Pesto

·         White Wine Vinegar

·         Courgettes

·         Red, Green and Yellow Pepper

What to do...

1.       Cook the pasta, when done rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent it from sticking together.

2.       Keep a small bit of the boiling water and add a dash of white wine vinegar and a couple of spoonfuls of green pesto. I’ve not put measurements above as this can be done to your personal taste.  Mix it together over the hob and then gentle pour over the pasta.

3.       Cut all the peppers and courgettes into strips and I personally then put them on my griddle pan and grill them. You could also roast them.

4.       When the veggies are slightly browned I then pour them into the pasta and stir.

Then Voila! You can either serve whilst warm or keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

For now we are young...

I love the song ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’ by Neutral Milk Hotel. Check it out in the clip below....

 

I think the reason I love it is because of the lyrics, especially these ones below. I really want them as a tattoo but am yet to decide where or how they will look like. I think for me they are so poignant as they remind me to take a moment and appreciate things. I think we can all be guilty sometimes, of living in such a fast paced world and not taking time out to fully take in what amazing things surround us.

 

 

I love it how sometimes songs really hit a nerve, are there any songs or lyrics that do that to you?

Review: Barry M Confetti Nail Effects in Dolly Mixture

 

I’ve wanted to try this product for a while, so when I came across the range in my local Superdrug I couldn’t stop myself from making a purchase!

I chose Dolly Mixture. The confetti in this polish Is White, blue, green, yellow and orange. It is pretty neon when you put it on which I thought was quite funky. I wasn’t sure whether to put a coat over the top of a coloured polish or try it on its own. I went for the latter option and just applied numerous layers for the look I wanted.

I’m a little on the fence with this product, part of me thinks it looks pretty cool and it’s something a bit different, whilst the other part of me thinks it looks a little scruffy. That may just be down to my personal taste.

In terms of wear ability this stuff is completely chip proof! I’ve had it in for 3 days no and not a chip in sight. This is usually unheard of for me!

I am definitely going to give it another go. I’m thinking perhaps a black base with one coat of the confetti would look awesome!

What a Week!!

I’m afraid this is going to be a bit of a mish mash post but bear with me! I know there’s been a severe lack of posts lately but last week was a crazy one with little free time. Work has been crazy and I’m going on holiday next week so I’ve been trying to get ready and together for that. However I should know better now and know that whenever I try and be organised the fates intervene and it completely fails! Take yesterday for example, I had so much I needed to do, I even had a to do list! But instead of being like a normal productive person, my car broke down, I had a poorly dog to contend with, I ripped my favourite coat and everything went out the window! Anyways enough of my whingeing! The positive of not being able to blog is that I’ve had loads of ideas and have a long list of things I want to write about, so after a week’s break I have returned excited and raring to go!

And what a week to start on! This post is no 101! Can you believe that! I’ve written over 100 posts! I didn’t know what to expect when I started this journey and even though I started it last August it took me till February this year to get into it properly. I just wanted a place to write, to put into perspective all the things I love, all in one place. I never expected anyone to read or take notice of what I put in this tiny little space in the blogosphere. However to my surprise I have had some lovely comments on here and on twitter and can’t thank people enough. I have nearly 200 followers, which baffles me!

I can’t imagine not being able to blog now and feel lucky to be such a lovely community so just wanted to say a massive thank you!