Review: "Sleeping Embers of An Ordinary Mind" by Ann Charnock

As I was perusing through the Kindle book store, looking for an ebook that was reasonably priced and had some pizzazz, I stumbled across Sleeping Embers. I hoped the book would imaginatively delve into the life that female Renaissance painter Antonia Uccello could have led. I wanted a book that explored the lives of women who broke with tradition in the Renaissance; after all, the book does get its title from Laura Cereta, a feminist writer in fifteenth century Italy. I did not get the book I hoped for; instead, I got the strangest book I've ever read.

"My ears are wearied by your carping. You brashly and publicly not merely wonder but indeed lament that I am said to possess as fine a mind as nature ever bestowed upon the most learned man. You seem to think that so learned a woman has scarcely before been seen in the world. You are wrong on both counts... I am a school girl, possessed of the 

sleeping embers of an ordinary mind. 

~ Laura Cereta

   January 13, 1488 "

 In Sleeping Embers, Charnock travels the story-lines of three different women, Antonia, Toniah, and Toni, in three distinct time periods, 1469, 2113, and 2015. Surprisingly, these three women have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The book opens with Toniah, a "second gen partho" who is working at the prestigious "Academy" in 2113 to basically re-write history to make women more prominent and lessen the roles of men. We find Toniah struggling to find fulfillment in her job, uncovering family secrets, and quietly bickering with her sister. Next, we meet Toni. Toni is a fifteen year old girl living with her widower father, who just happens to be an artist. Together, they struggle to cope the loss of their mother and wife. Interestingly, they find "healing" in visiting the ignored grave of their family relative. Last, we meet Antonia, the daughter of famed Renaissance artist Paolo Uccello. Antonia, unlike the other two, is learning her craft and having her martial fate decided for her by her father.

"The artist must have a strategy every bit as cunning as that of the commander of a great army" 

The three story-lines are interesting, but they feel strange contained in the same book. Toni, Toniah, and Antonia seem to fight for attention leaving the reader wishing for a little more Antonia and a little less of whiny, spineless Toniah. Charnock would have been better suited to write three separate books about each one of the main characters. After all, they are all three interesting in their own right. 

"everyone alive today is a survivor of the Black Death. Of plague. 

Our ancestors were immune, so we are." 

Honestly, I drudged through this book without any pleasure. Of books that I have hated, Sleeping Embers runs right alongside Uncle Tom's Cabin. When I finished the book I was left with no take away message and no enjoyment. I was actually happy that it was over, a rarity in my world.

"From a distance, the future always seem serene" 

Bottom Line: This book is oppressively boring and unnecessarily confusing. Charnock has created a novel that is completely and utterly forgettable. The only thing that redeemed it was the several quotable lines that are sprinkled throughout the novel; however, that isn't enough to save it. Unlike most things I review here on DC, I can not recommend that you read Sleep Embers of An Ordinary Mind. 

Love and Happy Reading,

Gayle

xoxo 

Closet Musts for the College Girl

If you search Pinterest for "College Girl Wardrobe" you're going to find a plethora of blog posts explaining to you how to "not look like a freshman" or "transition your wardrobe to college". Basically, these bloggers are telling you that you need to scrap all the things that you loved dearly in high school to suddenly become more posh, polished, and snobby for college. The fact of the matter is that you are going to be stressed and overwhelmed during your first semester of college and you definitely don't need to add the worry of trying to master a brand new wardrobe to everything else your struggling with. Here's my advice: hold on to your wardrobe. Keep what makes you happy, that's what fashion is all about. If a pink cat sweater makes you happy: ROCK THAT CAT SWEATER. Just make sure that you are comfortable and happy in your clothes. Wear what makes you happy. 

Today, I'm just going to suggest some really comfortable, versatile pieces that you can easily incorporate into your wardrobe. 

1- Black Leggings 

Whether you're in to wearing leggings as pants or not, you definitely need a pair of good, solid black leggings. They are really a value buy in that you will incorporate them into so many outfits. You can wear them under a dress, a flowy top, or, my personal favorite, an oversized long sleeve shirt. If you want to be really fancy, buy an unlined pair for warm days and a fleece-lined pair for walking to class on those cold mornings. 

Quick Tip: Pick up a long sleeve shirt from the university bookstore, pair with your black leggings and Sperry's. On cold days, add a chunky knit scarf and a messy bun to achieve the perfect "basic white girl" look.  Honestly though, this is a really comfortable outfit to wear for long study sessions in the library. 

2- Rain Jacket

There's a saying in Morehead, "If it's not raining, it's snowing". Since we don't get a whole lot of snow, you can assume that it rains a lot which makes rain gear an absolute must. I got my lovely jacket at the Cotton Market. If you're in the Richmond area, you definitely need to check them out before you head to school. 

Now, no matter where you end of going to college, you are going to spend your fair share of time of walking in the rain. Sure an umbrella does the trick, but sometimes you need the umbrella to protect your precious backpack and the rain jacket to protect your clothes. 

Quick Tip: Pick a rain coat in a bright color so that you stand out on dreary days. This will help you feel bright and pretty so you can beat the rainy woes. Pick up a pair of cute rain boots at Tractor Supply (they're just as cute as Hunter boots for half the price), braid your hair back into pigtails, where a light colored t-shirt under your jacket, add a bright lipstick, and you're ready to kick a rainy day's butt. 

3- Pretty Flats

I am sure that you all have a decent collection of boots, tennis shoes, and heels, but trust me when I tell you that you definitely need a couple pairs of pretty flats. They go with so many different things that you will get plenty of wear out of them. They are also fairly cheap! My favorite pair is a bright orange pair that I picked up at Old Navy a couple years ago for about $7.00 

4- Professional Attire

You need to have a few pieces in your wardrobe that are professional. This can be a business dress, a sensible pantsuit (a la Hillary), dress pants, a blazer, whatever you feel the most comfortable in. You never know when you might be headed to the state capital, meeting the president of your university, interviewing for a position, or attending an SGA function. You need to always have the option to be professional, but remember that just because you're in professional attire doesn't mean to have to be frumpy or masculine. Professional attire can be young, fresh, and feminine. 

Quick Tip: Make sure that whatever you choose fits correctly. It's really tempting with professional attire to pick things that don't fit. Don't fall into this trap. Be confident in who you are and remember that clothes are meant to touch your body. 

5- Statement Jewelry

Start building your jewelry collection now, and don't just leech off your mother's (trust me on this one, you'll thank me later). Buy pieces that are pretty and versatile. NEVER buy a necklace that only matches with one outfit. If you can't wear it with at least two outfits, don't buy it. 

Quick Tip: Pick out a pretty collar button up. Button it all the way up and wear a pretty necklace with it. Add skinny jeans and some cute shoes then you're ready to take on the day! 

This is by no means a definitive list, but it at least gives you an idea of some of the things that you have in your wardrobe. Hopefully this helps you mark clothes of the list of things to worry about. Let me know if you liked this list and I will definitely do more. 

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo

Craft Goes to Keeneland

About a week ago I posted this photo on my Instagram,

This was such a fun day. We started out by leaving Morehead around 6;30 and headed to Lexington. After some mishaps we ended up at Keeneland and got to eat breakfast in the track kitchen. There were jockeys and trainers and other "horse people" eating with us. It was fun to eat around people who know more about horses than I ever will. 

Then we got to take a guided tour of Keeneland. 

Even though nothing was in bloom because it was super cold, Keeneland is breathtakingly beautiful. We started at the paddocks. 

Then we went through the tunnel. This tunnel has actually been used in several movies including Secretariat! You can see our lovely tour guide in this photo. She was amazing and knew so much about Keeneland. 

Then we went into the Winner's Circle and looked at the track. We were supposed to have been able to see the horses workout, but time constraints meant that we had to skip out on this. 

From the Winner's Circle you have a perfect view of the stands, which are absolutely gorgeous. Honestly, there is nothing at Keeneland that isn't beautiful. 

We also saw these nifty little statues which all have a meaning, but I'm not a horse person so I can't remember what they mean.

Then we went to the Sales Pavilion which is where all the horses are sold. Our tour guide gave us a pretty detailed explanation of the process that is involved when people decide to sell their lovely horses. 

We also got to go behind the sales stage and see where the horses are brought in from. Most of Keeneland's money is made in sales and you can tell this by the amount of money they've spent in their Sales Pavilion. 

Keeneland is an absolutely beautiful place that if you get the chance to visit you definitely need to visit. I am super excited to back during a race and see the racetrack with actual horses on it.

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo

Cheesecake Mini and Regular

Cheesecake is one of my favorites. It's rich, decadent, and just all things wonderful. This is a recipe that I lifted off of Pinterest (where would we be without it) and I've been slowly working on for some time now. Cheesecake is one of those things that I just can't seem to get to come out consistently. Sometimes the top cracks, sometimes it gets golden brown, sometimes it's pale and perfect and wonderful. Either way, this filling is absolutely delicious!

This is what I call an "afternoon cake", meaning that it is IMPERATIVE that everything be room temperature. Leave your cheesecake out over night and then early on the day you want to make the cake set out the milk, eggs, and sour cream so that they come up to temperature as well. I promise you, nothing crazy is going to happen if you leave the eggs and milk out all day.

Start by making a graham cracker crust. In a gallon sized plastic bag, beat one and half packets of graham crackers to a pulp. I keep some large bits in mine, but you can just keep the going as small as you want. Poor the contents of your bag into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Melt some butter and pour it over the mixture. Mix until just combined.

Firmly press the crust into your well greased backing tin. I was making mini cheesecakes and a regular cheesecake. If you're using a spring form make sure to line the bottom with parchment paper. Pop the pans in the oven for three to five minutes to let the crust set.

I'm really, really terrible at taking pictures. Anyways, this is what it looks like when it's all done and ready to go in the pan. 

To fill up the mini tins, use a small ice cream scoop. It cuts town on mess and fills up the cups perfectly. 

Pour the rest into the well-greased spring form (sorry about my awkward hand). 

Pop the pans in the oven at 325. The minis will be done within twenty minutes so keep an eye on them. You just want to make sure the centers are set. If when you jiggle the pan and the centers don't wiggle it's set. The fullsized cheesecake will take about and hour or longer. Again, just until the center has set. 

Take the little guys out, turn them out on a cooling rack to cool. In a double boiler, melt some chocolate with a stick of butter. Drizzle the chocolate on top of the minis with a spoon (or glob it like I did, that works too). You can also chop up so peanuts and put them on the top for a scrumptious topper. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Now, you might be wondering where the finished fullsize cheesecake is. Well, like I said, consistency can be difficult. The top got brown on me and sunk down. Oh well! Life will go on. It tasted good! 

Here's the recipe. 

Gayle's Cheesecake 

Ingredients: 

- 4 8 oz cream cheese blocks at room temperature 

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract 

- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

- 4 eggs room temperature 

- 3/4 cups sour cream room temperature 

- 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream, whole milk, or 2% (less preferred) at room temperature 

Directions 

1- Beat together the cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extract together for approximately four minutes in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

2- On low speed, gradually add the sugar then turn back on high for one minute. 

3- On low speed, add one egg at a time. Mix until well combined. 

4- Stop and scrape sides 

5- Add sour cream and heavy whipping cream (or milk, whatevs). Beat for one minute. 

6- Scrape sides and mix thoroughly with a spatula. 

7- Pour into a spring form pan and back at 325 for until the center is firm (approximately 1.5 hours) 

Organizing Your Closet? There's an App for that!

Guys, I have recently discovered this cute little app that helps you get ready by allowing to catalog all of your clothes and beauty products. 

It's called ClosetSpace and it's super adorable. 

It's got a cute little place to catalog your entire wardrobe. It automatically separates everything into categories for you so it's super easy to find what you're looking for when you're planing outfits. 

It has a section for you to come up with outfit ideas and it tracks how often you wear said outfits. This way you know the outfits that you wear most. 

And if you're struggling, it has a whole section for outfit inspiration. This is nice because you don't have to leave the app to go to Pinterest to get the inspiration you need. 

It also contains a calendar to log your outfits in with ease. The calendar can sync to the calendar on your phone so you can see when you have important dates that you'll need to look extra spiffy for. 

And it's all organized in a super pretty app! This app is great to help you get ready and can help you when your shopping so you don't buy something you already own. The only downside to this is that you do have to catalog your wardrobe, which can be kind of a drag. As you can see, I'm not dedicated enough to do this fully but it would be really great if I was! 

ClosetSpace is available on iTunes and in the Google Play store. 

Enjoy! 

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo

Back to School

I've been back at school for a week now, and what a whirlwind week it's been!

I've had some dinner with a great friend.

Done quite a bit of homework. I mean after all, this is college and I am here to learn something. 

Helped with Registration Day for Craft's incoming class.  For those of you that didn't know, I'm a Craft Academy Ambassador. Which means that I get the really awesome job of representing Craft at various functions and events. (I also get a really cool name tag). It's really an amazing opportunity and I'm so thankful to have been chosen.

I also went to Keeneland! I posted this photo on my Instagram Saturday, but it's just such a great shot of the racetrack that I couldn't help but put it up yet again. I'm not going to say much about this day as there will be a post here on DC coming out, hopefully, next week. For now,


Love and Happy Reading,

Gayle

xoxo