June 2012 – Zezee with Books

“11 Cakes Based on Kid’s Books, Movies, and TV Shows” — Mental Floss

Published on June 17, 2012August 2, 2015 by ZezeeLeave a comment

I came across this post on Mental Floss‘s website. These cakes are wonderfully done and really mirror the characters of the children’s books they are made to emulate.

The first picture here is inspire by Alice in Wonderland. It looks like a cake that you might find at the Mad Hatters’ table – colorfully done and leaning to one side. It seems as if you might go mad if you stare at it too long. I can’t imagine eating a cake like this. I would instead sit and stare at it, too afraid to touch or even cut it. I would not want to spoil the beautiful creation. The creator of this cake, Karen Portaleo, did a great job of portraying the Caterpillar. He always looks uninterested in what’s going. He’s on a huge Alice in Wonderland cake, probably made for a big party. Big deal. He doesn’t care.

This second cake is inspired by Kung Fu Panda, obviously. I wouldn’t eat this one either. It’s too realistic and I’m intimidated. This panda looks menacing. He seems as if he would hop off the table and karate-chop me if I even think of picking up a knife to slice him. This cake was done by BCakeNY. They did a great job. If the panda didn’t look so menacing, I would think it is cute and cuddly. I would hug it and get cake all over myself.

Check out the other nine cakes here.

An Alice-in-Wonderland-Inspired Tea Party (warmhotchocolate.com)
♥ Cake love ♥ (pebbleandlace.wordpress.com)

“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King

Published on June 17, 2012July 23, 2015 by Zezee15 Comments

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is the first Stephen King book I’ve ever read. I’ve watched many of his movies on SyFy since I was a little girl and they scared the shit out of me so I decided not to read his books. If the movies are scary, then the books would be worse. My imagination would haunt me, I feared. Because I want to be a writer, and since I’ve heard and read great reviews about this book, I decided to give it a try.

King said that he would keep this one short and to the point. He did. He opened with a short memoir of his life, touching on those events that contributed to his writing and his development as a writer. He then included a brief section on developing a “writer’s toolbox,” which led to another section that discusses writing – how to start, continue, and develop your writing.

King’s answer to these questions is to write, and keep writing, and to read.

Great advice. I find it a bit intimidating. I always go into my scheduled writing sessions intimidated and clam up. I sit and stare at a blank page or screen because I can think of nothing good to write. But the important thing to do is write. So now, after reading this book, I’ve decided to write until something good comes out. If I don’t think it’s good today, it’s possible that I might think it’s great tomorrow.

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“20 Bookshelf Decorating Ideas” — Decoist

Published on June 12, 2012August 2, 2015 by ZezeeLeave a comment

Idea #15: Paint the back wall of your bookshelf.

Well here is one article that I am sure to store away until I can get my own apartment.

Decoist is an interior design and architecture blog and judging from the great decoration ideas that are provided in this article, I am sure to return for more tips (especially when I get my apartment).

I love collecting books (say No! to e-readers) and I plan to one day own bookshelves on which all of my books can comfortably sit instead of having to squeeze and squish together (as they are now), or just chill out on my bedroom floor. I only have one bookcase and because of the overflow of books, it looks pretty messy and ugly.

I would like to own a bookcase that shows off my books. That’s why I like Idea #15 here. I can get a simple bookcase and paint the back wall of it in a color that will cause my books to pop. There’s no way visitors would be able to avoid looking at them. My visitors will be transfixed by my bookcase, drawn in by the color, and will walk over to admire my collection.

Anyways, you can check out the other 19 ideas here.

Plus check out more cool bookcase ideas in the articles below.

Inspiration: 10 Beautiful Bookcases (chictip.com)
Bookshelf Heaven: Awesome “Containers” for Books (darkroastedblend.com)

“The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them Now” by Meg Jay

Published on June 10, 2012July 23, 2015 by Zezee3 Comments

Last year was horrible. I was a recent graduate with no job prospects and no idea of where I wanted to go in life. Marriage and family was far from my mind and I was suffering from a freshly broken heart. I was at a loss and I was hurt. I felt alone in the world, as if no one could understand my feelings of despair, loneliness, and pain. On top of all that were my surmountable student loans.

Despite such heavy feelings, I worked through them, built myself up, found joy in what I had, got a job, and tried to convince myself (still trying to convince myself) that one day I will pay off my student loans. I am currently a responsible young adult who is steadfastly focused on a career in the book publishing industry. Marriage and family are still far from my mind. Next to career, my other concern is to make sure to have fun and enjoy the hell outta my twenties (haven’t been doing that due to lack of time but I’m getting there).

I began to second guess all of this the day I began reading Meg Jay’s The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them Now. Apparently, some things I’ve gotten right while others I need to get started on.

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“Imagine: How Creativity Works” by Jonah Lehrer

Published on June 10, 2012July 23, 2015 by Zezee4 Comments

This book fascinated me. I am always curious about the mind, thoughts, and how creativity works (mine seems to come in spurts). Why some people are creative and others are not? Jonah Lehrer tackles this question and more in Imagine. It is a great read. The theories discussed are easy to understand and the explanations and experiments explained are easy to follow.

I did not expect to like this book or to even want to read it. Really, the only reason why I picked it up is because the cover looks cool (I couldn’t stop staring at it) and it had a 30%-off sticker on it– two good reasons to purchase a book. My plan was to buy it, stare at the cover until I got tired of seeing it, and then return the book to the store. I should have known that this plan was doomed because I have NEVER returned a book that I bought. I opened up the book and began to read and was unable to put it down.

Sometimes it got boring when experiment procedures are being discussed (it doesn’t last long) but because it is written in a simple, uncomplicated way and because I find the subject matter to be interesting, I kept returning to the book. I enjoyed reading about how successful companies like 3M, Google, and Pixar use the imagination to their company’s advantage. The discussion on those “Aha!” and “Eureka!” moments, those moments when you figure out the answer to a bothersome question, was of particular interest to me. It was also interesting to note that people tend to create greater ideas when they interact with others. Therefore, the internet and some social media outlets are actually beneficial for the progression of the human race. The more we interact and exchange ideas, the more we are able to develop outstanding ones.

Imagine is easy to read and engaging and because of this, all those who are interested in how creativity works and how the imagination influences us, will enjoy reading this book. Really, you don’t have to be a scientist to understand what is being discussed.