Collaboreads: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch

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I'm so excited to be joining in on the first #Collaboreads link-up  Created by Amber and Rachel as "the best and simplest book link-up in the land."  It brings together reviews of so many different books by providing a broad guideline and allowing people to pick their own book.  You can find more about Collaboreads here.  This month's criteria was: on the NYT Best Sellers List when you started reading it.  Over the past month, I've been reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  The beautifully written book has been on the Paperback Trade Fiction List for 11 weeks now. 

On the NYT Best-sellers List when you start reading it. - See more at: http://www.mrthomasandme.com/search/label/collaboreads#sthash.xuqqVcss.dpuf

1. We will pick a random criteria for your book. It'll look something like: published the year you were born or mentions a city in your state or historical fiction about an era you really don't know. 
2. You find your book. (It's probably a good -or even great- idea to get a library card!) 
3. Read. -You'll have a month. 
4. At the end of the month we'll review(ish) our books. Rachel and I will both have places for you to share your links in our posts. 
5. Repeat steps 1 - 4. 

- See more at: http://www.mrthomasandme.com/2015/05/collaboreads-book-lovers-link-up.html#sthash.mx0KKuvh.dpuf

Balboa Park, San Diego

You could probably spend a weeks exploring San Diego's Balboa Park and still not see everything.  The park is home to many museums, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo.  And it is absolutely gorgeous.  We spent one afternoon walking around a few of the beautiful gardens, museums and theaters.

 The Casa del Prado Theater is a historic reconstruction used by the San Diego Junior Theater.

Old Town San Diego, California

Old Town San Diego-the birthplace of California.  Super accessible to public transportation and filled with history and beautiful architecture.  I loved walking around the park and through a few of the museums as well as the shops on the surrounding streets.

Southern Makers, Montgomery, Alabama

One thing Alabama is not short on, is creative souls.  Southern Makers was the first weekend of May and brought in a slew of chefs, artists, brewers, musicians and designers from across the southeast, majority being from Alabama.  Proceeds from the event went to E.A.T. South, a really cool local charity which uses urban farms to promote principles of food justice through education and sustainable farming.

A few favorite artists included:

The Union Station Train Shed 

Weekend Reading

Last weekend, the Southern Makers event was held in the Union Station Train Shed in downtown Montgomery, Alabama.  The event was full of southern artists, musicians, chefs and brewers, majority being from Alabama.  I absolutely loved it!  This was the third year for the event, but my first time attending.  It was great to see such a large turn out for this creative event.  Since then, I have been on a creative kick, working on calligraphy and new recipes.

San Diego Beaches

On a recent trip to San Diego, California, I took the opportunity to explore a few of the local beaches.  Pacific Beach had a great boardwalk filled with shops, bars, restaurants and bike rentals.  There were so many people forming a quite diverse crowd.  We walked south down the beach from there and it seemed to get more family friendly as we got closer to Mission Beach.  Mission Beach, as I understand it, is known for being pretty touristy.  But with Belmont Park, a small amusement park overlooking the beach, of course its going to attract people. After exploring a few shops, we rode the roller coaster, which was a lot of fun!

Each of the beaches we visited were lovely, and came with some of the largest seagulls I have ever seen.  However, my absolute favorite beach, was north of San Diego in the village of La Jolla.  La Jolla is home to adorable shops and restaurants, and best of all a bunch of seals.  We spotted so many birds (gulls, cormorants, and pelicans), beautiful views and seals.  I really could have spent a full day on trail and beaches around La Jolla.  It is definitely a must see for your San Diego travels.

Weekend Reading

I spent the last week in San Diego for a conference.  The week was full of good food and beautiful sites on top of the emerging work in emissions inventories.  I loved exploring the city and seeing the beaches.  The seals above were lounging on a beach in La Jolla and they were awesome.  I'm pretty sure seals are the grumpy old men of the animal kingdom.