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recipe; lighter tomato cream pasta
Pasta was my go-to meal of choice when the husband and I were living in New Zealand. We were both students, and it was just easy to make after a long day. It never hurt that pasta is always yummy. So there was always at least two cans of tomatos in the apartment and a packet of fusili and gnocchi. I adapted this recipe from Texanerin, and after realising I could make pink sauce with cream cheese instead of cream and cheese, I have not looked back. I’ve even adapted my cousin’s three cheese sauce into a cream cheese type sauce! This can be made with any pasta ever. I’ve…
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;an incomprehensive list of badass fictional mothers
It is almost Mother’s Day here in Malaysia, and I figured I’d make a list – I keep making lists!* – of fictional Moms that are awesome! *Lists are so easy to do and so much fun, but is anybody getting tired of them because maybe I should stop… So, as the title suggests, this is NOT A COMPLETE LIST because I’m definitely going to wind up forgetting someone and people might definitely not agree, and I might run out of Moms to gush about. Oh, who am I kidding, with the ‘absent parents’ trend in YA, I might definitely run out of Moms to talk about, but I refuse…
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review; blue lily, lily blue
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost. Friends can betray. Mothers can disappear. Visions can mislead. Certainties can unravel. Review:
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;five books for rainy days
I’ve been stumped on what to write for this month, I’m going to be honest. I’ve been doing a lot of last minute blog post writing and a lot of last minute everything, and I can’t seem to drag myself out of this procrastination and this slump. But apparently yelling into the Void (i.e. Twitter) helps, because one of my friends suggested writing something about books for the summer. The weather we’ve been having here in Malaysia has been more rainy than summer-y, so instead, here’s a little list of books that are, in my opinion, fun to read when it’s raining outside and you’ve got a mug of something…
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unboxing; blu’s bookish bag, april 2018
Twice in one year! This year has really been a ‘treat your self’ kind of year. Or ‘treat yo’ shelf’, if I’m more accurate. Okay, shameless plug to my bookmarks shop over. When I heard the theme for the April Blu’s Bookish Bag, I could not resist. I was already planning to get another bag after January – and am probably getting another one later this year? – and the April theme just caught my attention. The bag arrived some time last week, and this time, I waited till my daughter was napping to open it and take photos. Can we say ‘lesson learned’? SPOILERS AHOY! The theme this time…
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handle with care; the tropes edition
More tropes! I’m not going to lie, I sort of imagined myself throwing some confetti in the air while shouting this. I don’t know why, but it is possibly because I’m running on a little sleep and nothing but coffee in my stomach. In the last post, I talked about tropes that I will always read – and sometimes be disappointed by, of course that happens. But in this post, I will talk about tropes that might be over-done, but sometimes? Can be written in a fresh way that I find myself enjoying them. And surprisingly, this time all the tropes are not romantically inclined! Just – most of them.…
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review; ace of shades
Ace Of Shades by Amanda Foody Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets… and secrets hide in every shadow. Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school – and her reputation – behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted. Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected – he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also…
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review; tales from a tiny room
Tales From A Tiny Room by Wayne Ree What happens when two gods sit on a park bench and compare universes? Why does a reporter’s world fall to pieces after he meets someone who can fly? What’s the secret of the man who changes with every city he’s in? Eleven short prose pieces taking you from the everyday to the extraordinary. These are the Tales From A Tiny Room. Review:
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recipe; vanilla cupcakes
The first time I made these cupcakes was about four years ago for my youngest sister’s 11th birthday. She was having a purple zebra themed party, and I wanted to make something, so I attempted a simple recipe, but I coloured half the batter purple and tried layering it. The layering wasn’t done brilliantly, but the cupcakes were a hit. Which is a surprise in our family where everybody always asks for half a cupcake because nobody wants to finish the whole thing. Except this time, our cousins were asking for seconds. (There were not enough cupcakes for seconds.) Since then, these cupcakes have been my go-to when I want…
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SPOTLIGHT; time to educate yourselves
We interrupt our regular schedule to bring you this post. This is not my usual type of SPOTLIGHT posts. Not even close. But I am tired, you guys. I am so tired. How many times do we – readers of colour – have to remind other readers that you can educate yourselves? How many times do we have to inform you about things you feel entitled to knowing by, what? Reading a book by an author of colour? How many times do we have to point out that authors of colour aren’t there to educate you, but to tell stories? Sometimes those stories include a little bit of the things…