What I’m Reading: The Girl on the Train

Posted in Book Review, Books, What I'm Reading by

22557272From Goodreads.com:
EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My review:
Yet another book that I’m certain I’m one of the last people on the planet to have JUST read it. And I didn’t even realize it was being made into a movie until I downloaded and wondered why the F Emily Blunt was on the cover. Either way, I digress …

So, The Girl on the Train is/was referred to frequently as the “next Gone Girl.” I personally think that Gone Girl is the better read out of the two, but that’s not to say that The Girl on the Train was bad; the characters weren’t just as captivating for me as Gone Girl’s. I found Rachel to be messy and irritating, and Anna just drove me bananas. And what happened with the guy with the red hair? I felt he would’ve had a bigger role in the end, but apparently not.

Still, I found myself chewing through the pages because I just needed to know who did it, and the guilty person surprised me a little. Hawkins did a great job keeping me guessing, I just wished the characters were more likeable. There wasn’t a single character that made me think, “She/he COULDN’T have done it, I like them too much!”

Overall, I’m giving The Girl on the Train 4 stars out of 5, only a half-star less than Gone Girl.

 

 

TGIF v.38

Posted in TGIF by

A high of the week was winding up slo-pitch season with all sorts of good feelings in our dugout. We came in 2nd in our bracket and really came together as a team over this past season. I’m going to miss playing with those goons and am already looking forward to the spring!

And of course, I mustn’t forget about the epic 11-inning AL Wild Card game that the Blue Jays won on Tuesday, sending them to the ALDS! I was on the edge on my seat for the whole game and they absolutely KILLED it yesterday! Lets hope the trend continues today!

A low of the week was Isla catching her second cold of the school year. I knew it was bound to happen when she started school, but so far we’ve had one a month, and that’s ridiculous.

An internet find I loved was this video:

The best money I spent was spent at Costco so I could restock my freezer and pantry ;)

My favourite Isla and/or Norah moment was being able to go on a field trip with Isla’s preschool on Monday. We went to the pumpkin patch and Norah got to tag along as well! We fed sheep, picked pumpkins, went on a tractor ride, and fun was had by all!

The song that has been stuck in my head is “The Greatest” by Sia.

My meals of the week were:

Monday: Spaghetti
Tuesday: Take-out pizza
Wednesday: Sausages
Thursday: Fried Chicken

My plans for the weekend are lunch with friends who are visiting from out of town, dinner with my mom, and a much-needed movie date with Kyle!

What are you weekend plans? Did you watch any baseball this week??

Basement renovation!

Posted in House and Home, Renovations by

Back in the summer Kyle and I searched high and low for a new house. While our current space works, there were a lot of things that we still wanted in a home that this one wasn’t giving us. We did find a house, but as luck would have it we lost out in the end and we were left in a “Well, now what?” situation.

So, we figured that we’d stick around here for a bit longer and make this house a bit more usable, mainly in the basement.

While our basement was a decent size, we barely spend any time down there. The exercise equipment was occupying our front den and the rec room was unused for the most part other than sending Isla down to watch a movie. There was also a storage room that we kept our extra dry goods in and some other junk, but really, it was a waste of space.

So, we decided that we’d take out that storage room, rip out the carpet, and create something a bit more welcoming and more enticing to use! A friend I play slo-pitch with just so happens to be a carpenter by trade and he was more than happy to help us out with the project for beer money his son’s college fund ;)

basement_progresscollage

So there you can see what it looked like before and during the tear-out process! Isla had a grand ol’ time helping Kyle rip down the walls for the storage room.

basement_4

And there’s what it looked like after the studs came out and part of the flooring was laid. We had an electrician come in and  fix the wiring for the lights and the outlet that was on the outside wall, and a drywaller came in to remud the walls and texture the ceiling.

Kyle’s dad and his girlfriend were kind enough to come into town last weekend to help us repaint the walls, and on Monday while Norah napped and Isla watched an excessive amount of television, I repainted the trim. And now?

basement_6

basement_oppositeangle

Ta da! (Norah and Daphne clearly approve!)

The exercise equipment that was in the front den now lives happily in the space that housed all of Isla and Norah’s toys, their toys have been relocated to where the storage room was, and the couch and fireplace have been reconfigured and have a much more cozy feel!

Our front den also got new flooring to match the rec room:

office_collage

I’m thinking about making it into a guest space, but it’s too small to house a bed permanently. A futon and a little desk will work well, but we’re also toying with the idea of turfing the old suede couch and getting a full pullout sofa. I’m open to ideas!

Whatever I decide on for that little room, Kyle and I are so glad that we were able to get this project done! It took less than a month (working on it only on weekends) and it was way more affordable that we thought it was going to be!

This project has also shown me that renovations aren’t so bad afterall, and that maybe – just maybe – buying a bit of a fixer-upper in the future isn’t such a scary idea after all.