Fabulous Friday Finds

via heycaryl

Hello darlings! 

Are you a risk-taker or safe-player? I think I have been a safe-player for serious matters most of the time and occasionally a risk-taker on fun / harmless craziness. It is very comforting in being a safe player but it's also extremely fun and dangerous to be a risk-taker, but I guess once in a blue moon we all probably should try to be a risk-taker just to add more spices / sparks (whatever you call it) to our daily routine and activities, again, in my opinion. 

I'm not going to reveal my fun / harmless craziness here on this blog *grin* , however I could share the feelings I experience. Yes, my "20 seconds of insane courage" moments made my heart beating so fast like it could literally pop out of my chest, but the big laughter after the "20 seconds of embarrassing bravery" moments were priceless! I called them "my fun and silly things I did when I was young and will be the things I smile about when I'm old and ... *ahem* ... wise". *lol* I was really insanely courageous when I took those "leaps"! However, that was before I got married. Now I opt to always be a safe-player eventhough I secretly wish that I'd have "20 seconds of insane courage moment" when I'm at this parasailing facility someday. I hope I'd be brave enough to take that leap and overcome my acrophobia.

So what about you, darlings? If you haven't done those things, are you going to challenge yourself today, tomorrow or some time in the future or are you pretty comfortable being a safe-player? Whatever your decision is, I hope it brings you happiness and in peace with our daily routine and activities.

Now, unto the links for this Friday... 

Really like this iPhone case.

Etiquette Guide: First Impressions and Introductions.

Party idea: Little People Balloon Weights

Sloppy. Peanut Butter. Pie. 

DIY Sliding Knot Bracelet but I'll pick love charm or owl charm over the evil eye charm.  

The most heavenly and mouth-watering Pinterest account, ever!!!

Peplum top tutorial

I love madeleines!

Bring baby powder to the beach.

The best salsa you'll ever have.

Free stuff for photographers and scrapbookers!

'til next Friday, darlings! kiss.

Percy Jackson, A Good Addiction

My Precious Percy Jackson Series Book Collection :)

I loved The Lightning Thief, and was looking forward to moving on with the series. I didn’t expect to get into two, and three, and even the fourth volume so quickly and so completely. I haven’t gone through books in a series this fast since I discovered The Twilight Saga. Percy has claimed my devotion totally.

In book two, The Sea of Monsters, what’s interesting here is how certain rivalries play out. A character’s parentage doesn’t automatically label them on one side or another. Riordan’s characterizations of several of the gods makes for an entertaining read too. This was an exciting, worthy sequel to the first book.

In book three, The Titan’s Curse,  oh Gawd, my effort buying this book was simply grande ;) went to a lot of bookstores yet they were all out of stock. Thank goodness I got in 2 days after finished reading book two. The new characters in this volume work well to progress the story and raise new questions. After finish reading this book, I rushed back to the bookstore looking for book 4. I am completely addicted to this series.

In book four, The Battle of the Labyrinth, More questions, more new characters abound in this book. Perhaps more interestingly, Riordan packs this book with even more heroes, monsters, and incidents from Greek myth than any of the previous volumes. Someone versed in Greek mythology will have a lot of fun reading these books, trying to figure out which card the writer will play next and how, ultimately, it will all fit together.

For the fifth book and final book in the series, The Last Olympian. I had to booked it first at the bookstore. They ran out of stock, I guess everybody is reading Percy Jackson series now huh? I got the book last tuesday night finished it the next morning (this morning to be exact, February 17th 2010). And it's the most expensive one! It's 215,000 Indonesian Rupiah, the previous books were 99,000 each. They don't have the paperback version just yet, only the hardcover one. I had no choice. I was so blinded to even care about the book's price. It’s been a long time since I read any novel that fast, a long time since I was up until the small hours because I couldn’t put the book down… a long time since any book deserved that kind of devotion from me. But this book, and this series, deserved every minute I devoted to it and more.

It’s hard to explain just why I love these books so much. The story is formulaic, and Percy himself falls squarely into the “chosen one” cliche. But sometimes, the execution of a story can be so good that you forget about the cliches and the tropes and just enjoy it for what it is. I think that’s the case here. Riordan tells his story masterfully, with characters and events that grabbed me right away and made me want to read more. Harry Potter series has nothing compared with Percy Jackson series. This series has high adventure, real magic, rich characters, and a love story that doesn’t feel cliched and tacked-on.

I’m kinda glad I didn’t start reading this books until the last volume was already released. I got through the whole series in less than a month and had a wonderfully satisfying reading experience without the frustration of waiting a year in-between installments. But if Riordan gives us more, I’ll be in on the ground floor for the next series.