Origami Butterflies

Sarah got a book of origami paper for Christmas one year and she hasn't used much of it yet, so we decided to make origami butterflies with a tutorial we found on Pinterest.

Here's a link! The instructions are in German, but the pictures are sufficiently helpful on their own.

We each made a couple regular-sized ones, and then Katie, in her love for tiny things, suggested dividing a couple sheets of paper into fourths to make itty-bitty butterflies. Here are the results:

Regular Butterfly 

Tiny Butterflies

Now we're off to watch Anne of Green Gables. Happy Friday! We'll be back at the end of the month to give you an update on our reading.

Sweets and Netflix

It's been a very long week. We realized last night that we had a blog post due today, and originally it seemed like just another obligation. But when Katie got home from Friday classes (finally) and we were able to get started on this post, it ended up being just what was needed to wind down.

We decided to make a treat and watch some Gilmore Girls, because all the news on the forthcoming revival has left us with the need for a Gilmore Girls fix. So we whipped up these chocolate-covered peanut butter hearts, which are quick, easy, fit with the month's theme of Valentine's day, and are a no-bake recipe (essential, since our oven isn't working). Plus, chocolate and peanut butter is a winning combo, as we all know.

These Reese's-esque treats use just seven ingredients:

• peanut butter
• powdered sugar
• vanilla
• butter
• milk
• chocolate
• shortening

So now we're going to eat a couple of these lovely little things and watch an episode or two on Netflix. Let us know in the comments if you too are excited about four new mini-series style episodes of Gilmore Girls! You can also share your Valentine's day plans with us, if you so choose. We plan to have a sister day - eat some pizza and chocolate, watch a movie (probably a Disney one), and play some games. See you in two weeks!

Bonus Post - What We Read in January

We plan to put up a brief bonus post at the end of every month to catalog where we are in our goals to read 100 books this year. Here's the breakdown for this month:

Katie:

• Five Stories by Willa Cather
• The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

I've liked everything I've read so far, but will include a word of caution for The Walls Around Us as it contains some mature content. I'm currently reading the second book in L.M. Montgomery's Emily series, entitled Emily Climbs. I've also read two volumes of World Trigger this past month, which is a manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Ashihara. I'm not sure if or how I should count manga for this challenge, so your suggestions would be most welcome!

Sarah:

• Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• One by Sarah Crossan

I'm currently reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein. My reading journey has been enjoyable thus far. Of the above I would especially recommend Daddy-Long-Legs, Mere Christianity, and The Graveyard Book.

For now we're just listing things off, but please feel free to help us continue discussion in the comments. We're always happy to discuss literature, and whether you want to know what we thought of a book, suggest one we might like, or mention something else entirely, we'd be happy to get your input.

2016 Reading Challenge

Hey, ya'll!
If you know us, then you know we love reading. The problem is, both of us feel like we have no time to read, which is not true. We just like making excuses for our procrastinating issues. No more!

Thanks to a friend of Katie's, who suggested the idea in the first place, our goal for 2016 is to read 100 books each. Sound impossible? It's not. It's going to be difficult, but also a whole bunch of fun. At the end of the year, whether we make it to our goal or not, we'll post a list of some or all of the books we read. We'll probably also give you occasional updates throughout the year.

If you've made a 2016 reading goal, let us know in the comments - whether you're shooting for 10, 20, 100, or 110 books. Tell us your favorite titles, or the books that you plan to read this year. We'd love to hear from you!

Before we wrap up our post, we want to give a few tips on achieving your reading goal:
1. Aim a little higher than you think you can/should, but not too high. Chances are, if you try for more than you think you can do, you'll end up impressing yourself!
2. Don't decide ahead of time exactly which books you will read. Make a comprehensive list of all the titles that interest you, then choose as you go. You can always add to the list over the course of the year.
3. Make it a fun, relaxing thing to do, not a chore; you've got enough of those already.

With that, we hope you have an amazing year filled with all the best books. See ya later! We've got some reading to do!

2016

Happy New Year!!! Here's to a 2016 filled with fun sister projects. Thank you for your readership, and God's blessings on your holiday!

Love,
Katie and Sarah

Book Review: Phoenix Rising

Hello friends!

This week we are discussing the book Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse. The first thing you should know is that this novel is not fantasy, which is what we were initially expecting based on the title. Rather, it is set in the modern day, with a realistic premise. The story is about a girl named Nyle and her grandmother, and how their lives are affected by an accident at a nearby nuclear power plant. 

Sarah's opinions: I found this book to be thought-provoking, but it was too depressing to be called enjoyable. Granted, this is not the measure by which books should be judged; I think I may have been in the wrong frame of mind to read it. In addition, I never really felt a strong attachment to any of the characters. However, there are things to be said in its favor: the writing was well done, and it was clear that the author had done her research. All in all, it was a decent read, and it brings an important issue to light.

Katie's opinions: I too felt that I never developed strong attachments to any of the characters. I'm not quite sure why I experienced this disconnect, because the events of the story definitely felt real. That said, I did end up liking the book, especially as it drew to a close. Though it was set amidst depressing circumstances, I think the overall tone was one of love, hope, and personal growth. Upon reading the inside cover, I discovered that Karen Hesse is also the author of a book I read several years ago called Letters from Rifka. I now plan to revisit it and see how it compares to Phoenix Rising.

Thanks to Alyssa for the recommendation! Have you read Phoenix Rising? Share your thoughts with us in the comments, and feel free to give us your recommendations for future book reviews!

Christmas Movies

Christmas is coming! The goose is getting fat. Except I think we're having turkey, and it's already dead, so it's not currently gaining weight. But you get the point.

Our dad has asked us to make a list of Christmas movies to watch this year, so we decided to share that list on our blog. Obviously, we won't watch every single one of these this year - we don't want to spend our entire Christmas break in front of the television - but we should be able to get through all the priority movies plus a few extra.

Movies to watch:
(Underlined titles get the highest priority. Titles in bold are movies most or all of us have never seen before.)

• It's a Wonderful Life (If our family watches only one movie on any given Christmas, it'll be this one! Add it to your own "to be watched" list if it's not there already.)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated version)
• The Nativity Story
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Veggie Tales Christmas
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• The Santa Clause
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Eloise at Christmastime
• The Little Drummer Boy
• A Christmas Story
• Home Alone
• Holiday Inn
• STAR WARS: The Force Awakens (!!!)

If you are unfamiliar with these titles, give them a try, and let us know what you think. There are probably a lot of good movies we didn't include here, so please give us recommendations in the comments section! Happy movie watching, everyone!