2 in 1: Book Review Edition

A few days ago I finished two books! One of my best friends recommended (and forced) these books for me to read and so I did!

 

I thought to myself, why can't I write two posts when I can just combine them into one?

So here are brief summaries and my opinions for each of the books.

+++First of all, Nantucket Blue is definitely an older teen book, about the struggles and romances of a 17/18 year old girl, Cricket Thompson, who follows her best friend Jules to the island of Nantucket for the summer.  There are a few heart throbs of the male variety included *wink wink* 

It's for a more mature audience, and I wish my friend warned me before I read it. It's not too bad, I just wish I knew what I was getting into, if you know what I mean. 

Other than that stuff, it was a very compelling read with lots of twists, turns and emotions. The characters were very relatable as well. If you're cool with teen romance novels, then you would most definitely love it.  I'm not really that kind of girl, but it was still a pretty good book. Not tooooo cheesey ;) (((Sorry Rowan and Phoebe!))) 

There is a sequel to it, called Nantucket Red. I would read it if someone gave it to me, but I don't really feel like I need to read it right this very minute, and that may simply be because of the romantic side of it. +++

+++The Maze Runner was more my speed. Adventure and logical thinking. Granted, it is post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction instead of twenty first century romance, so I guess that explains my liking for it. None of that kissy kissy fluff!

 Unfortunately I saw the movie a couple of months ago so I sort of knew what was going on, but the book was different, in a much better way. 

The main character, Thomas, finds himself in a box that has only one exit, to a place called the Glade, filled with smart teenage boys. They all live their together next to an ominous maze that is chock-full of BIG SCARY MAN EATING ROBOT SPIDERS! RAWWR! All of the boys have come from the Box, one every month and all they remember is their name. Thomas is a little different than the rest of the boys, and strange things begin to happen soon after he arrives, and he plays a major role in changing all of their lives.

"I go on many thrilling adventures and wonderful escapades through books"

It is also quite a page turner, and I really enjoyed watching the characters grow brotherly bonds, and building rivalries too. I plan on reading the rest of the series as well!+++

I liked both of the books, however in all honesty, Maze Runner was much more my style and I would recommend it to more people. Now go read some books!

This is basically my summer right now...I'm a princess I guess

Have you read either of these? What is your favorite book genre? Let me know in the comments!

Best Trail Mix EVER

I, Brenna, love trail mix. I can eat it at night or in the day, for lunch or breakfast or elevensies. 

But one of my least favorite things is when I buy a bag and only like the m&ms and peanuts! That is wrong! So below I have made a list of things that should be in a trail mix. 

• banana chips
• almonds
• large sunflower seeds
• m&ms 
• cashews
• dried coconut chunks
• peanut butter & dark chocolate chips
• dried mango
• yogurt chips
• cheerios
• peanuts
• dried pumpkin seeds
• dried cherries/craisins (NOT RAISINS)
• goldfish
• pretzels

Via bloganataveres.com

Being able to balance crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet, sugary and protein-packed is an ART! So mix these carefully and maybe one day you can become a master mixer like myself. Also, be reckless in combining these finger foods and discover strangely creative flavor combinations. 

Most importantly, enjoy the trail you are traveling that accompanies your snack.

What is the most important ingredient in your trail mix?

The Ichthus Experience

Wednesday morning I got up at 6:30, grabbed my bags and headed to church to have a short Bible study, then drove to Lexington, KY for the Creation Ichthus Music Festival. Little did I know how much fun I was going to have and how much I was going to grow.

Day 1

Day 4

On the first day, my group got there around 10, after talking to the most random people and getting lost several times. I didn't really know the people I was with because I only moved to the church a couple of months ago, so making new friends was really good for me.

If you've ever been to a camp of any sort, you know it's pretty common to connect with people extremely fast and be able to mess around and still get to know each other through deep conversations. I really enjoyed being able to do that.

Newsboys Concert

The concerts were crazy! I saw a whole range of artists from rap, to indy, from heavy metal to contemporary pop and hymns. I loved all of it, and got 2 albums. My favorites were a band called Author and a singer/songwriter named Abe Parker.

I also got a whole bunch of free stuff, but aside from that I bought 2 t-shirts that I love and really want to show you!

On the second and third days it rained really hard and since the festival was held in a horse park, everyone got muddy and gross and smelled of something quite similar to animal poo.
I had to give up my poor green flip flops which did me no good anyway, and battled the rain head on.
Everyone was stationed at a canopy pole in our camp ground during the storm so we wouldn't blow away. I secretly enjoyed the rain because it was cold like back home, instead of hot and disgusting.

God's promise after the storm :)

Saturday was a gorgeous last day. We played Frisbee with strangers and tied dental floss to the legs of one of thousands of June bugs. I couldn't believe that it was already over, and how much I had learned about God through talking to others and hearing music.

A henna tattoo I got for free (before it dried and peeled)

 :) I'm sorry to bore you all to death, so I'll wrap it up. Thank you for reading and hopefully you all have had a blast this week too!

Have you ever been to a music festival?

Top Summer Picks

In this warmer weather, everything is cuter. I don't know why, but the world looks a little more kawaii in the summer. Also, I have been spending quite a bit of time on Pinterest, and I wanted to share some of my favorite summery things with all of you!

Via marthastewart.com

Dessert: My favorite summer time treat is a delicious bowl of affogoto. It's a scoop of vanilla ice cream and two shots of espresso, perfect for a small after dinner dessert. Starbucks doesn't serve them, but you can make it at home with just coffee and ice cream, and some independent shops sell them too. THEY ARE HEAVENLY

Via goodhousekeeping.com

Nails: My family is taking in 2 interns this summer and one of them really enjoys painting nails, so she did these comic book nails for me last night, which I really love. We kind of modified them, by using red gel polish, then outlining the nails with a sharpie and adding the white streaks. These are super cute!

Via target.com

Accessory: A couple years ago my wonderful mommy bought me an owl watch for Christmas I believe, and it has come back into Brenna's wardrobe for the summer. The mint green watch goes with a lot more outfits than I expected, so this is my favorite accessory right now!

Via blog.justinablakely.com

Print: Right now I am obsessed with pineapples! I don't have a single piece of clothing with any pineapple on it at all which makes me very sad, so instead I adorn my Pinterest boards with them. Also I recently dyed my hair a little lighter and one of my friends told me I have pineapple hair :)

Via francinerivers.com

Book: My mom just introduced me to the Francine Rivers books. I unfortunately can't remember the name of the series, but these book are spectacularly written, based off women of the Bible who barely got a sentence about them. They are really interesting and if you are a Christian woman, or interested in different cultures, I definitely recommend these! It opened my eyes to the Old Testament. 

Do you think I missed something really important? What are you summer favorites, or your favorite out of these?

Let me know by commenting, tell me what you think!

Have fun this summer and be safe~

Bree♥

A Father's Day Home

Yesterday was a special day for me, because as well as celebrating my dad and grandpas, it was the one year anniversary of leaving Washington. 

One year ago yesterday, my mom, dad, two sisters and I said our final goodbyes to our close friends and family and drove to California. Of course we didn't get to Kentucky until 11 days later, but still, it was a big day XD

Anyway, yesterday felt like we went home a little bit because we went out for Japanese food. In the PNW we'd usually go to Koto's Teriyaki but they don't have that here so INSTEAD we went to this fancy-ish restaurant that I forgot the name of, but it was delicious! I had way too much fried rice and yakisoba, and I loved it. Interestingly enough, Kentucky doesn't have much teriyaki places. 

Afterwards we drove to a park with a nice river. We fell in a couple of times and pretty much basked in how much like home it was. Not too hot or humid, nice cold water, quite a bit of mud and lots of trees.

Plus, I collected shells! They are pretty small which is perfect for sneaking home in your pocket. Don't worry, no snails or oysters were harmed in the making of this post. 

You can see a much better picture of this on my Instagram, just click the button!

Speaking of the shells, I was wondering if anyone has any good craft ideas that I can use them for. I really like them but they can't just sit by the candle forever. Any spectacular ideas?

>Also after the park, we watched Back to the Future and I love Michael J Fox so that was a fantastic ending to a fantastic day<

I'm considering yesterday a success. How did you spend Father's Day?

Much love, Brenna :)

How To Clean Your Bedroom

Since school is over for me, I've been spending way too much time in my room, and in order to get anything done, I need my space to be clutter-free and organized. Cleaning your room could take 30 minutes to a few weeks, depending on how messy your room is, so be prepared to do some work!

• Get ready! I like to put on some music that I can sing along to, that will distract my mind from straying too far into cleaning. Let your family know that today is official cleaning day! When they know you are already doing something productive, they will be less likely to add random chores to your to-do list.

• The first step is to make your bed. That is usually the main part of a bedroom, so wash your bedding, including pillow-cases, and make up your bed again!

• While your bedding is in the wash, perhaps move onto a smaller project, like removing trash, getting rid of useless papers, organizing your makeup, nail polish or something like that. Organizing the little things makes your bedroom look much more efficient!

• Get as much as you can off the floor. If you don't have a lot of shelf space, place items into specific stack-able boxes. When less is on the floor, it's easier to vacuum/sweep and your room looks bigger.

• Laundry is always on the floor in my room, and it is my #1 problem. (I might be writing this post to avoid putting it away) My dresser is rather small, so fitting everything in is always a struggle. If you have the afternoon off, put on some music or a movie, and get rid of all the clothes you don't wear. You can give your old clothes away, donate them, and I usually give them to my younger sisters as hand-me-downs. My shirts are about 50% camp shirts, 20% School shirts, 10% ugly and 20% wearable, so I try to give away my old school tees and the ones I don't like. DON'T GET TOO ATTACHED TO CLOTHES

• Re-organize decorations. I have a cork board in my room and every couple of months I like to replace the items on it with newer things. I have post cards, drawings, quotes, pictures and a ton of other stuff that I can rotate through, to leave my room looking just a little bit newer and more exciting.

Those are just a few ways to start de-cluttering your room!  Remember to work on one project at a time until it is finished, so that you don't have several different messes in your room and no work done at all. 

Did I miss something important, or do you have a great way to clean? Let me know in the comments!

Have fun cleaning and don't procrastinate too much! -Bree

Travel-Photo Journal

Before I show you some of my pictures from last week, I want to say happy birthday to two old friends of mine, Maiya and Kasumi and one of my favorite aunts ;) I love you guys, hopefully we can visit soon
Anyway, here are the rest of my pictures from New Jersey last week. Enjoy

Cape May NJ

Benjamin Franklin House, Philedelphia

Menagerie Coffee, Philedelphia

Street corner in Philly

Really cute/historic room

Room where Decleration of Independance was signed

5 Books I've Never Read

Earlier today I was thinking about how I enjoy writing lists. That's great for getting things done, but not so much for creative writing. If I could write a story in just a list, I would, but I fear not many people would like to read it.
Any how, with school out of the way, I become a book worm, and there are lots of things I'd like to read. So here's to adding a list to my list of lists.

 1. The Maze Runner//James Dashner 

My good friend Rowan has suggested this to me so many times, I should probably read it. I saw the movie and I feel that if I had read it before hand it would make much more sense. Spider robots?

2. Don't Even Think About It//Sarah Mlynowski

I read a positive review about it on a cute little blog I found today, and I really want to read it! It's about mind-reading little children.

3. Looking For Alaska//John Green

Honestly, who doesn't like John Green? I loved TFIOS and Papertowns so I can't wait for this one!

4. Lost on Planet China//J. Maarten Troost

I got this one from the library last week and have yet to read it. It's autobiographic, and looked interesting.

5. Dune//Frank Herbert

As a sci-fi classic and dad's favorite, I really should read it. It's 800 pages of new worlds and customs. I started it and haven't picked it up in a while, but the beginning was rather intriging. Don't be frightened by size

So this summer when I am hiding in my room, these books may or may not be read. Hopefully they will. 

Are there any books you really want to read?

Love, Bree :)

Teen Summer Tag

Now that summer has started for real for me, I've decided to make a tag! If you get tagged, answer the questions and tag more people!

1. Is it summer where you live?
Yes!
2. What is your favorite part of the summer-time?
Being able to breathe. In my bed. Instead of at school.
3. Do you have any summer traditions?
I used to go to my best friend's house every Thursday and swim in the lake at her house, but I've moved away now, so I guess I need to make some new ones!
4. Name your number one summer song, ready go!
Pineapple Princess by Annette Funicello
5. What is your most memorable memory of the summer, ever?
Probably spending my summers at the lake with Julia :) I miss you girl. See her blog here
6. One blog you currently can't get enough of!
Definitley Reckless or Clover & Dot
7. Give your top blogging tip, even if you're a newbie. What do you want people to know?
If you don't like blogging at all, stick with it just a little longer but if you just can't, then don't. Do things that you enjoy. I blog because I love it and I need a regular creativity outlet, and this is a reliable place to spill!
8. If you could travel anywhere this summer, where would it be and why?
Apart from back home, I would visit Europe and see all the touristy things, and then some. See the real European country sides. :)
9. What is your favorite accessory to wear in the warm weather?
Well, in the nicer days I like to dress up in flowy clothes and accent necklaces/bracelets are always fun, so definitley those! I have a silver anchor necklace that I really love to wear.
10.  Set one goal to challenge yourself this summer. 
I am going to fill a whole notebook/journal with doodles, quotes and to-dos. I swear!

Now tag as many people as you want! Anybody can do this---Feel free to do this and please post the picture with it. But specifically I tag the following blogs-

The Teenage Puzzle

Super Swankified

A Little Bit of Sunshine

Star Girl Productions

Self Known
Vivian Ines

Brenna's Road Trip Essentials

This past week, if you were paying attention, you saw that I took a family road trip up to see some friends in New Jersey and visited a lot of really cool places. 

It was about a 10-15 hour drive, and in a mini-van, I can get a teensy bit stir crazy.

 I need to keep myself entertained somehow! 

So here are 5 things that I MUST HAVE on a road trip. 

First things first, you need a bag! I really like taking a backpack because of how much space is available. Since it's summer, I emptied my school backpack and used that! 

///

I always listen to music when I'm bored so I make one or two playlists before-hand. I use Spotify, and you are welcome to check out what I'm listening to by clicking here. Make sure you bring headphones and a car charger so you don't use up all of your phone's battery.

Depending on the other passengers, the car can get uncomfortably hot or freezing cold, and the simple answer is to bring layers! I wore a tank top and shorts, with converse and a change of flip-flops in my back pack. I also brought a plaid long sleeve shirt and a fuzzy blanket, which was super easy and convenient to throw over myself when I got cold.

///

If you don't get carsick, I suggest bringing 1-2 books! Right now I am reading Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire, and it was just getting good during the longest stretch of road, which was perfect for keeping me occupied. Another idea is if your car is small enough, have someone in your family read aloud or get an audio book. It works wonders, keeping my younger sisters quiet.

This one is a little obvious, but you have to eat! Snacks and water are really important on roadtrips, because it lets you keep driving without having to stop for meals as often. I like to have an assortment of protien-packed granola bars and trail mix, and a small amount of candy. Not too much though, because sugar head aches are miserable when you are sitting in the same spot for 15 hours. I may do another post soon, about my favorite things to put into a trail mix. What do you think of that?
///

Thank you so much for reading! I hope next time you have a road trip, it's a great one.

Have you ever driven anywhere? Tell me in the comments!

Love, Brenna

#brennaonbroadway

Yesterday I went to New York City! And it was wonderful! Since I grew up in mostly small towns and only visit Seattle or downtown Louisville every once in a while, so going to a huge city like this was a completely new experience.

Manhattan is so old, beautiful (a little smelly) and completely filled with history and music. 

I'm a big Broadway person, and the TONY AWARDS were happening. I walked by Radio City Music Hall during the big rehearsal, I didn't see anyone, but I was REALLY REALLY CLOSE to Kristen Chenoweth. There was one lady in a very fancy nude, rhinestone and black dress that looked very serious about being in New York. I wonder who she was. :)

Across from Radio City Music Hall

 I also walked past the Belasco Theatre, where I mentally met Darren Criss, who is currently starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He was in Glee and pretty much wrote (and starred in) Harry Potter the Musical. 

DARREN CRISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I also sang at Carnegie Hall and saw The Lion King on Broadway ;)

Singing at Carnegie Hall

Look closely

We also visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, and it was beautiful. They were actually having Puerto Rican mass, which was completely in Spanish. I'd never been to mass before, but it was pretty cool. The building, though, was something else. Huge stained glass windows, sculptures and detailed stone walls. I bet the whole experience for a Catholic visiting the city is amazing. 

Front of St. Patricks

Stained glass in St. Patricks

Ceiling Detail in St. Patrick. 

At the end of the day, I saw the One World Trade Center, which is quite a pretty building, and seeing how smooshed together the places are, I was able to picture the 9/11 attack, and that day must have been one of the most terrifying thing anyone has ever had to experience, and America will never forget that. 

One World Trade Center

I also saw Lady Liberty from across the river, but it was too far away to get a good picture, so you'll just have to imagine it. ;) This was an amazing experience and I am really hoping to visit again in the not too distant future, but no promises. 

I hope everyone is starting off summer with fun memories and lots of sleep! 

Have you ever been anywhere really special to you?

Love, 

Brenna