Sunday Salon: October 26, 2014

The Scene: 5:45 am (Pacific Time) - am in SFO visiting friends so thought I would use the time difference making me a morning person and get some blogging done - finally!!

Reading: Lots of time to read this week with the 5+ hour flight out here so I finished most of the newest Shopaholic book by Sophie Kinsella - Shopaholic to the Stars. What an enjoyable way to spend a flight! Every time I pick up one of these books, I secretly worry that I will have outgrown Becky's antics or find it all too far fetched but the author does such a good job of making Becky loveable that I am never disappointed!

I had the chance this week to attend a fun event in NYC celebrating the author and her new book - Girls Night Out with Sophie Kinsella.  The event was held at the Red Door Spa - Union Square and in addition to the author speaking and signing, they had delicious food, wine and little spa stations dotted through out where people were getting make-up applied and having custom-matched foundation mixed up.  A fun way to spend a Monday for sure!  Unfortunately, my phone died as I walked in that night so I don't have pics of the festivities but you can check them out at Random House's Facebook Page.  As you can see by the pics, Random House does an excellent job with these events - they attend to every detail.  If you are in NY in November, I recommend joining them for their Open House on Friday, November 14th.  I attended the first one a few years ago and it was a great day of books, authors and mingling.  Let me know in the comments if you plan to be there this year.

Got my book autographed!

Listening: On the recommendation of Diane (from Bookchick Di), I am listening to We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas. So far I am really enjoying it and keep trying to find excuses to settle in with it (out for walks, cleaning the apartment).

 

Blogging: Much like California, this blog has hit a dry patch.  I apologize for the long absences between posts for most of this year.  I have been reading books and following many of your blogs, but somehow haven't always been able to muster the time and energy to settle down and blog here. As many of you know, I had surgery earlier this year and used that as a catalyst to get serious about getting back into shape and losing weight.  It has been a great year and I am thrilled with the results but honestly that has taken a lot of my attention.  As I rediscovered jogging, boot camp and just generally moving a lot more, it has been hard to sit and write at times. I find myself more readily drawn to Twitter and Instagram for quick updates.   As the year comes to a close, I intend to make a decision about the blog.  I will either reinvigorate things here or decide that it is time to move on.  Thanks for staying with me through this and please stay tuned!  If you have secrets for balancing blogging and keeping things fresh, please leave them in the comments!


Watching : Not much right now - I had been on vacation to Ireland for 10 days and then just back a few days before coming out here so haven't been watching much.  I will have stuff stockpiled when I get back to TV watching.

Looking Forward To: Getting my pics from Ireland downloaded from my DSLR - I was snap happy!  We had gorgeous weather (NEVER a given in Ireland) so everything looked that bit more picturesque. I absolutely love it there and this trip we got to some sights that either I saw as a kid and don't remember or saw for this first time on this trip including the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant's Causeway. Below is an iPhone pic of each from my trip.  I have some more pics on Instagram if you are interested.

Giant's Causeway

Cliffs of Moher (with Rainbow!)

Grateful: For the chance to travel to great destinations like Ireland and San Francisco - and for the comforts of home when I return!