So, I don't know if anyone actually reads this anymore, but I(brooke) have decided to step away from my tumblr addiction and come back to blogger :P Since Sydney has full editing and posting to this blog, I made my own fashion kind of, just to get more creative with my outfits.
It's Blue Lilies, link here. So yeah, follow that if you wish :)

Thrifting!

It's my new addiction. I have hit up every thrift store in town.. well, mostly. And wow, loves them. My favorite has to either be this small one, or this HUGE one. Seriously, the huge one is amazing, it has shoes, bags, aisles and aisles of clothes. A little separate room for SHOES and kids toys. Not to mention I seen a lot of cute guys in there. :) I have found 3 of the cutest vintage vests.. & sweaters.. and ahh. I also have a youtube & I do hauls on that, so I shall post some videos sooner or later.

Sigh, anyway! School is basically a day away. As always I am dreading it. All I seem to do these days is complain.. I wish I could stop, so much to complain about though! Which is bad, so one of my thing for goals for this new school year is to start finding stuff to be positive about stuff!

xoxo brooke

13 Reasons Why

Hello hello again! Happy August : )
I'll probably mention it every time I write in, but it has been a while.
Brooke and I met up with our friend Korianne who has a blog as well, and she gave me the motivation to get back into this.
Schools in 5 days for us! Blechh aha. The shopping part is good though ; D Brooke and I went thrifting this afternoon with Korianne. And I ordered a bag, tunic, and boots online. Ahh the beauty of it!

I've read this book a while ago and I think people should read it. Ha. It is a bit depressing, but it's a good read.




Summary:
Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Bakerahis classmate and crushawho committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, heall find out how he made the list.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Not the typical "wonderland" eh?
I can't even begin to tell you how stoked I am for this movie which comes out in March 2010. Not only because of the amazing cast, (Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, etc.) but because Tim Burton movies are always amazing, and dark and ah, so great!


-Brooke

Impulse.

Ellen Hopkins has got to be one of my favorite author's ever. I've pretty much loved everyone of her books, but my all time favorite has got to be Impulse.






Quick synopsis: Three teens are sent to a psychicatric ward for those who have attempted suicide. Vanessa calls to the blade. Tony finds peace through pills. And Connor appears to have the most amazing life but hes at a constant battle with his parents, life, and self.


Review: If you're not one for books that seem to be or blatantly depressing, probably not for you but it really makes you think. For me I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. Theres about 666 pages but the writting format has like 4 paragraphs that have 20 words max. I fell in love with all of the main characthers and I could never exactly pin point what would happen next which I happened to enjoy. Really if I had to rate it I'd give it a 5 out of 5. Then again these are just my kind of books x)


Happy readings.

In my opinion..

Better Then Running At Night by Hilary Frank
amazon: Ellie Yelinsky is starting her freshman year at the New England College of Art and Design, and it's not exactly turning out like she expected. She falls for the devil at a costume party (in reality, cute sophomore Nate Finerman). She finds that her hippie parents have hidden pot in her baggage. Her beginning art instructor is a hysterical arm waver who only speaks in one tone: earsplitting. But the most disturbing discovery Ellie makes is that her paintings, mostly "screaming heads strangled by boa constrictors" are not dark, brooding masterpieces, but cheesy melodrama. However life, like art, isn't always what it seems. Nate actually is the devil, or at least a smooth-talking painter who considers himself the campus de-virginizer. Her dad only put pot in her suitcase in an attempt to make a meaningful connection with her. And even if Mr. Gilloggley is in desperate need of volume control, the more Ellie listens to him, the more she sees that what he has to share might actually help her grow past teen angst into true art.

My Review: I was attracted to this book by the cover, obviously it's very awesome looking. :) Unfortunately, the writing inside wasn't as awesome as the cover. Honestly, the main character annoyed me, she's really naive.. but in a way i can sort of see where she's coming from. Sam, one of the characters in the book is totally lovable. I probably would have put the book down if he weren't in it, honestly. So, I honestly wasn't to fond of this book..
Rate; 2/5

Long time, no post!
Brooke here. I haven't been reading much at all in these last few months, and I've gotten back into it! I made an account on paperback swap, so hopefully i'll have a bunch of new books coming soon :)



For high school senior Parker Rabinowitz, anything less than success is a failure. A dropped extracurricular, a C on a calc quiz, a non-Jewish shiksa girlfriend—one misstep, and his meticulously constructed life splinters and collapses. The countdown to HYP (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) has begun, and he will stay focused.
That's why he has to keep it a secret. The pocketful of breath mints. The weird smell in the bathroom.
He can't tell his achievement-obsessed father. He can't tell his hired college consultant. And he certainly can't tell Julianne, the "vision of hotness" he so desperately wants to love.
Only Parker's little sister Danielle seems to notice that he's withering away. But the thunder of praise surrounding Parker and his accomplishments reduces her voice to broken poetry:I can't breathewhen my brother's aroundbecause I feel smothered,blank and faded
Brooke's Review: It's a book about a eating disorted BOY. One of the few books about guys with eating disorders. What really grabbed my attention about this book was the quote on the back, ""Sometimes trees can look healthy on the outside, but actually be dying inside. These trees fall unexpectedly during a storm." It's a book that switches characters each chapter, between Parker and his little sister who feels like she's always in the backround when Parker gets the spotlight. I really liked this book, actually. Not THE best read, but pretty good.

Rating; 3.5/5

Rawrr

Anyone else notice I haven't posted in like... a month and a half.
haha. yeah. practically given up? shrug* I dont know. aha lame-but I feel like no one even reads this anyway. Merr...

Anywho. It's been all school work and the presence of spring being here lately. About the other day I went to B&N and got this book called Perfect Chemistry. Started it around 11pm, finished about 2am aha. Couldn't put it down, so go read it : )



Twilight came out yesterday. I was all excited to get it and watched it about 3 times...and the more I watched it, the more I was annoyed with it : pp. For what the movie was, it wasn't horrible. But I feel like they took out some essential parts and I don't know. I had a hard time feeling the chemistry between Rob and Kristen. I mean sure when they were all making out it was there, but when they talked it was just sorta akwardish and I felt Kristen was blahh. No jumping down my throat for that x] I just wish it was different...maybe New Moon will be better.

Lovely Bones

Anyone read it? I thought it was really good. Aha, won't lie, I did skim since I got a little bored with parts but overall it was a really good book. After I read it I went on an internet binge of looking things up on it. Their coming out with a movie of it, it originally said march of 2009 but I figure not since its already mid februray, but look out for it in december. I'm gonna be so thrilled to see how it turns out : ) You can't help but compare books to movies all the time now can you?

Daphne Loves Derby

Heard of em? Probably not aha. I pretty much fell in love with them in 7th grade, haven't been so engaged with them lately, but their an all time fav. Their pretty mellow so if you like laid back stuff, may be for you.

Favorite Songs:
How It's Going To End
To Struggle With Light Colors
Love & Mercy
Kirby
& Practically their whole Good Night, Witness Light album : )

I've Been Slacking : )

Well it sure had been a while since I posted aha.
What can I say? New semester, tests, quizzes, projects-all that yada.

So on Friday Brooke and I went to this...how to phrase it. I wouldn't call it a concert because basically its just this dudes house where a ton of bands in the local Bloomington Normal area play. You do have some bands that are from chicago and all that area who come up such as The Please And Thank You's. Truthfully we went because this band from our school was playing there. They have an annoying groupie system I swear. Like 8 chicks come who just dance around lamely and shriek the entire time and don't listen to anyone elses music except the band they came to see. So then they just leave and let me tell yah, they missed out. Tina Sparkle was oh so amazing x] Check em out on iTurnes-Their styles sort of like The White Stripes, and The Who-classical rock with a twist. You can check out all these bands on Myspace as well. I'll give you stuff on them at a later date. Nearly all the bands were pretty cool...cept one that just wasn't much of my style aha. And we met the dude there whose house it was. It's a pretty cool area. And he doesen't allow drugs or booze which I do like because I know my parents would not go for that, not that they really even knew where I was going cause I didn't either lol. So I encourage you to go find some underground local bands in your area. You'll find some hilariously great people : )


Now what have I been up to these past few weeks? Reading-music, what else? Haha. Truthfully I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series since I never read the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. And of course we all know about Harry Potter so I won't bore you with that : ) Buuuuttt their are a few good series to be noted that im just polishing off.


Sloppy Firsts, love this series. Theres four-Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds, then Fourth Comings. It's about Jessica and these are her journals that she started writting when her bestfriend left her at a high school full of people she hates pretty much. Then she gets intangled with Marcus Fluttie, who the school knows as an infamous pot smoker and chick banging loser. But theres so much more to him then you think : ) Trust me. I wish I had a Marcus Flutie : ) So check out the series, tell me what you think, and happy readings to you!





~Sydney

:DD

perks of being a wallflower.

BUY IT, CHECK IT OUT, BORROW IT, STEAL IT!
i loved it. it was so good. I hated that it had to end.
:[


-BROOKE

After the big hand hits 12

So it's after New Years : ) 6 days after actually aha Hope everyones was better than mine. My friend and I were all like "oh its 11:57! 3 more minutes!" Then before we knew it it was 12:03. Haha.
For once I didn't watch all those New Year shows. Guess I'm getting a little too old for that. Nothing much new to post. We finally took our last final tuesday.
German sucked ahaha. Oh well. I need to make a trip to the library pronto.
I'm currently reading a book called Little Bity Lies. Not too bad but eh, not my cup of tea.
I read it at 1 in the morning when I can't sleep, like now for instance : )
Anyone else having sleeping trouble? Oh getting back into normal routines is such a bitch.
I sleep around 2am, get up at 6 for school.
It SUCKS.
Haha.

Heres a little new music for yah. Probably heared of them, may not have really checked 'em out-but this album...brilliant x]

Without further delay:

Fall Out Boy : Folie 'A Deux

Fav Tracks:
Americas Suiethearts
She's My Winona
I Don't Care
Headfirst Slide Into Copperstone on a Bad Bet






~Sydney

BOOK!

I don't want to be crazy by: Samantha Schutz
Back of the book;
This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities -- freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she revelled in the independence ... but as pressures increased , she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated. Thus began a hard road of discovery and coping, powerfully rendered in this poetry memoir.


I really reccomened this book. ESPECIALLY if you have history with anexieties/anxiety attacks. It's written in poetry form, so it's not too long. I read it in a day :P It's written in great detail and it's vivid. I could pretty much picture the whole thing in my head the whole time.
Ellen Hopkins wrote a review on it, she really liked it. So if you're a fan of her work then you might as well try to read it (:

next read; Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
-BROOKE

British Invasion

So lately i've totally been into bands from Great Britain. Catchy lyrics, garage band sounding, their cute British accents x] What's not to love?! So heres some bands I've been seriously hitting up.

The Wombats:



Favorite Songs:

Kill The Director
Let's Dance To Joy Division
Patricia The Stripper
School Uniforms
Here Comes The Anxiety

All in all I recomend their whole A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation album.
You won't be dissapointed if this is your style.

The Cribs:



Favorite Songs:

I'm A Realist
Mirror Kisses
Men's Needs
Hey Scenesters


Ha. You might noticed how a lot of British bands start with 'The'. Along with those bands who are from Britain, we have some pretty good bands in the states that are similar to them that you might like if you like the ones above.

We Are Scientists:



Favorite Songs:

After Hours (May know from Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist)
It's A Hit
Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
This Scene Is Dead
The Great Escape


I also like a song from The Hushpuppies called You're Gonna Say Yeah.

Enjoy!


~Sydney

Real quick!

My friend showed me a band right after my last post; check them out too.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=314314823
They're from Illinois which is great for me :D

-BROOKE

HI!

I'm Brooke. & i'll be posting on this thing too.
Hum. What to update about. . . .
band update! i found this band on youtube, and i like them. Turns out so do my two friends sarah & annie, so i think they're listen worthy. :P
They're called Making April. I love the song These are the Nights. So, go check them out.



Oh, and this other band too.
http://www.myspace.com/thesophomoreattempt
They're goood :D

-BROOKE

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Overview: Just Listen is about Annabel Greene, a girl who had everything. She has a modeling career, a good family, good grades, and cool friends. But it all went to pieces when Annabel spent the summer alone. Once beginning school she's ignored by her peers and harassed by her ex-friend Sophie. Not only dealing with that her family's dealing with her older sisters eating disorder, shes trying to forget the horrifying experience she had the school year before. She finds an unlikely friendship with the school loner Owen. He has problems with anger and has learned to control it and helps Annabel realize the dangers of holding her own emotions in.


Now I love to read a lot of books and this is one I did not expect to like. I have never been a big Sarah Dessen fan as my friend Brooke who loves her knows. Since were on Christmas break and I was bored out of my mind, I picked up this book that my friend lent me months ago, which was currently sitting in my closet untouched. I started reading and before I knew it I was on page 100. Dessen did a great job with wrapping me in. Maybe it's the theme or the insecurity's of the main character, but whatever it was, I was hooked. I read it in under two hours and found that this book really spoke to me. Not just on a 'this was a good book' level, but something more. Whether your a Sarah Dessen fan or not, this book happens to be well written and interesting. It has my vote :)

What Do You Do When You Love Her Outfit?

No matter where i'm at i'm always scouting for looks that I love. Today I was in Peoria at Northwood mall in Macy's. I was waiting for my sister to finish looking when I spotted a girl in an outfit similar to this. In my drive for new ideas I followed her a little acting as if I was just looking around. Crazy me : ) I know. I was so tempted to ask her where she got her sweater, but I figured it'd be a little strange. The girl had a great fashion sence wearing skinny jeans with a brown turtleneck, grey boyfriend sweater, cream colored flats, and a trendy black scarf. Take my weird stalkerish ways as a compliment cause your my look of the day : ]

Explosions In The Sky

These guys may seem weired and gawky to you, but you shouldn't always rely on the things you see. A close friend of mine showed me a youtube video of a song these guys wrote. Typically I don't go for music without lyrics-but this, this is absolutely brilliant. The raw energy of their songs, the way they start out so sutlely then end with a bang. I find a story behind each minute of a song (which typical last 5-10 mins). "Your Hand In Mine" and "The Only Moment We Were Alone" are truly my favorite. I don't think I could begin to explain the feeling you get when you listen to them. The power, the emotion. Just listen-you'll see.