Animalium by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom

I have been sick since last Wednesday, so please excuse me for not taking outfit pictures. I am sure you would not want to see how sick I can look. The weather is also not behaving. It was rainy and cold the whole weekend.

But the only good thing about being sick and stuck with a toddler is, that you have time to bring out some books. And because the little one is now a bit gentler with books we can also bring out non-board-book-books, hooray! I have to admit I really like a lot of board books, but normal children's books are so much more interesting (although surprisingly expansive here in Germany). So I rediscovered this gem of a book, Animalium (or in German Animal Museum).

The book is about animals (surprise) and a bit about evolution. It is made like one of these old museums, where you would have all the displays with the animals and some text about them. The pictures are amazing. They really look old, despite being made specifically for the book. I love it! The pictures alone make this book worth the buy. And it is great for children of all ages. The small ones can look a the pictures and discover all the animals and the older ones can make use of all the scientific background given. And even adults will enjoy looking trough the book and discover new (or old) things.

There is also a book about history, one about evolution and an activity book in this series. You can bet these are all on my wish list.

Globe Theatre Romeo & Juliet

Again a bit of culture for Mommy. I love Shakespeare and this version is really well done. The actors are great and costumes and set are amazing. I really enjoyed to watch this. Although it was a bit difficult for me, being all in English (Shakespeare is one of the few exceptions were I prefer the German translation). One day I want to see a play live at the Globe Theatre.

Little Vampire Woman

I was really skeptical about this book. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies was a nice read, although I did not like that the author used almost all of the original text and only added zombies. Then I read a zombified version of Goethe's Werther which was amazing, because it was a new text, but really well written. But I was curious how you could write a good book with the March Sisters as vampires and not losing the context of the book. Would the sisters be bad girls?

But I have to say, the author did make it. The feel of the original story is still there and I still like the sisters. The vampire story fits in well and it was fun to read this new take on the book. And for a change no zombies.

Stephanie Plum Novels

Okay, I admit I watched the movie before I read the novels. And it did take some time to start on the novels.

I started to read these when I was still pregnant and it were the first books I finished when the little one was already born. I read book two and three while breastfeeding the first weeks (the Kindle is great for breastfeeding). I enjoyed all three very much. It is the kind of light read I really need right now. At the moment the only thing I want is fast and light entertainment and a bit of non-baby-related stuff.

The main character Stephanie Plum is likable and by far not perfect. Which I appreciate. I really don't care about characters who are pretty, know everything and are good at everything (also called Mary Sue). Of course this is no serious literature, but it is clever enough to be worth reading. If you like detective novels, maybe you should give them a try (but don't expect Sherlock Holmes).

The novels where entertaining enough that I think about reading some more of the books.

Babylit

Ok, I am a nerd when it comes to books. Especially classic literature. And how could I resist classic literature for babies?

BabyLit are board books with themes from classic literature. They don't really tell a story, but are the normal numbers, colors etc. books for little ones. But of course inspired by classic tales.

I really like the style of these and love to browse through them. At the moment I don't use them too often with the little one, but instead read fairy tales to him, which he seems to enjoy. But I hope a bit later, when he understands the content better, he will have fun with these books. Right now I try to collect all of them. Dracula is so far my favorite. I like that it has darker colors and not the usual bright color scheme of children's books.

Royal Ballet Tchaikovsky Collection

When Mommy can't go to the theatre, the theatre has to come to Mommy. So I wished for this Ballet DVD set from the Royal Opera House for Easter after I discovered this on Amazon. And what should I say, each Ballet is fantastic. I really enjoyed all three ballets. The little one was normally asleep after the first act and I could relax (I think he really likes classical music). And I fell in love with Marianela Nunez. She is such a great dancer.

If you are interested in Ballet and want a good deal, get this box. It is a great collection and all three ballets are more than worth the price.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

This is a novel about two sisters. One has a special talent with plants. She can use the plants to influence peoples emotions. One day the other sister comes back to her home village and a lot of things change for the two.

This novel was nice read, but nothing special. The idea of the plot was interesting, but the story lacked a bit. At the end everything went a bit fast. The characters were nice and I liked them. I think, the author could have done more with the story and the characters.

This is a nice quick read for the summer, but no must-read.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I read this book before the birth of the little one and it was a really good read. The main subject of this story are religions. I really liked the ideas transfered in this book. It was no light read and especially the ending left me speechless for a while, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The start was a bit slow. I waited for the tiger the whole time, but without the beginning you don't understand the rest. But I am not very patient as you know. But when the "real" story started I enjoyed the book very much.

You really should read this if you like a bit of philosophy or religion.

Eco-Friendly Crafting with Kids by Kate Lilley

I know it is still a bit early for crafting with the little one, but I thought a crafting book for the future could not hurt. This book has really great and simple crafting ideas. A lot of them are not new and I discovered some things from my own childhood. But this does not bother me, because often the simple things are the best and really who can remember all things from childhood? A little reminder is always welcome.

I can't wait till the little one is old enough for this, but until then I enjoy that he is so small and easy to handle.

Julekuler by Arne & Carlos

I know it is far too late or far too early for christmas stuff, but I wanted to show you this book nonetheless. In this book the nice looking guys from the cover show you how to knit christmas baubles. I think this is a great idea and I plan on making some for next christmas and to teach myself colorwork.

The book is in German and unfortunately there seems to be no English translation. But if you can read German you should check it out.

The Vintage Sweets Book by Angel Adoree

I got this book by my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. It is the third book by Angel Adoree and as always the overall layout is simply adorable. I could spent days only browsing through her books.

This time it is all about sweets. The recipes are interesting, but I am not sure if want to make a lot of them. Maybe it's only my lazyness. But it is nice to have such a book in case I want to make something. If you are interested in making your own sweets you should get the book, because it is a great addition to any bookshelf. Many of the recipes would make great gifts.

I fear I will not have time to try anything from the book soon, but hopefully someday this will happen.

The Worst WItch and the Wishing Star by Jill Murphy

I am a huge Worst Witch fan. I loved the TV series when I was a child and only discovered the books some years ago. Despite being children books I really enjoy reading them and of course I had to have the newest book.

This time I think Mildred really made a development, which I liked very much. She grows up and this is nice. Otherwise it would be quite boring. The book was entertaining, but maybe a bit more uneventful than the other ones. But this did not bother me. I liked the book and enjoyed reading it. Hopefully Jill Murphy will come up with another one soon.

I would give this book 4/5 stars.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

 I got this book by my Mom and was at first not sure if I really wanted to read it. But I am really glad I did, because this was really entertaining.

The main character of the book is Molly, who lives in a little English town in the 1830s. It is the story of her growing up to a young woman with all the challenges life has to offer, first love, broken heart and the loss of a loved one. The book is mostly about the characters, their habits and development, not about the story. There is not so much that happens, but you get a good insight at the character's feelings. I really enjoyed the book, despite it being very long. Molly is very a likeable person. She is a nice and loveable character, but not perfect. I hate characters which are all good and clever and pretty and so on. Molly is nice and she is clever, but she is no super-human. She has her flaws and so is a very real character.

I would give this book 5/5 stars.

Bomb Girls Season 2

I finally got my hands on the second season of Bomb Girls and I loved it. The second season really didn't disappoint. The story was very good and the characters developed in many interesting ways. Maybe the story was a bit more drama than in the first season, but that did not hurt. And of course the costumes were amazing. I love that this show has a lot of everyday clothes displayed.

Unfortunately this was the last season and it has no real ending. There are rumors there will be a movie, so I hope for the best.

Once upon a knit by Genevieve Miller

As I already mentioned I am a sucker for fairy tales. So I was really excited when this new knitting book by the author of Vampire Knits came out. This time she collected knitting patterns inspired by fairy tales. What I really like is, that there are not only the well known fairy tales but also some more uncommon ones.

I like almost all of the patterns and could imagine wearing a lot of these. There are some nice bolero patterns, which I eventually want to make in the future. In the book are patterns for beginners and more advanced knitters alike. So this book really has something for everyone. There is not only stuff to wear for adults and children, but also some decoration and toys. It is a well made book,which I really like to have in my collection.

The Flow Book for Paper Lovers

I recently came across a magazine for all kind of paper crafts. It is new here in Germany. I did not buy the magazine, but ordered their anniversary book which is full of templates, papers, postcards, stickers and so on.

This book is such a treasure chest, I really love it. It is fun to only look at all the pictures and papers in there and I can't wait to use some of the things for my filofax, my scrapbook and to use the letter papers. This is a great buy if you want a lot of different papers and paper stuff for a real good price.

You can order the book here.

Craft-a-Doodle

I am really a sucker for paper art. I wish I had more time to doodle and make cards and so on. For this purpose this is a great book. It has some really nice ideas to get you drawing. Most are not very complicated, they only need time. This book is so creative. The different artists offer a nice range of styles and ideas. I think everybody could find something in here.

Lost by Gregory Maguire

This was a somewhat strange book. I had some problems to really get into the whole thing. The story centers around a writer who lost her inspiration and travels to London to get it there. She stays at her cousins house and suddenly strange things happen. This book was kind of a ghost story, but somehow more about the ghosts that hound as from the past.

The book was interesting and sometimes even scary, but it left me a bit helpless. There were many things put into it. It is definitely no light read.

I would give this book 3/5 stars.

Eat your art out by Ida Frosk

I stumbled first over the instagram of Ida Frosk at Pinterest and when I discovered that she published a book, I decided to buy it. And I love this book. There are some great ideas in there. What I like most about her food art is that she uses normal things. With all the bento books I always have the problem that they use stuff I can't get here or don't like. But in this book are simple designs with everyday food, so everyone can make these.

She even made some themed designs like an art series and a sightseeing project.

I really can imagine to make some of the designs for special occasions and maybe later for the little one.

The new Vintage Life Magazine

This issue is all about Valentine's Day. There are articles about dating, gifts and corsets. I really enjoyed reading this. The photo shoots were amazing and I really wish I had the money to buy some of the dresses.