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Cutting through the Capitol grounds to get back to my car from the office This month has become an exciting, life-changing one. I started my first full-time job in the US, and it's far closer to my career interests than my previous. It's different in so many ways from teaching in Korea, but somehow my first week has been significantly easier. Everyone has been awesome so far, and the company has a sort-of cool, Austin-chill vibe. Working downtown means a longer commute, but it's fun being there five days a week! Speaking of Austin, it's official, I'm staying here for the foreseeable future. I am buying a house! How it all came to be is a long story, and a series of events (unfortunate for some, but fortunate for me!). It's brand new and absolutely adorable. The moment I walked in, I was in love. It's light and bright, and just has a happy feel. The cats and I move in next month. It's in area I wouldn't have considered, but the house is just so,...

First-Time-Reads The Driver's Clothes Lie Empty : ( Vandela Vida ) 2/5 A woman travels to Casablanca and is robbed of all her money and ID. Knowing that she won't get her possessions back, she feels liberated by her new freedom to be anyone she chooses. She becomes a stand-in for a famous actress and finds herself inhabiting the actress's skin off-set too.  This book was such a disappointment! It had such potential with the story, but the author chose to write it in a second person narrative ("you"). I absolutely hated that aspect, it threw me off, and rather than pulling me into the emotions of the story, it pushed me further away. However, if you don't mind books in this format, you may enjoy it quite a bit!   Emma : ( Jane Austen ) 5/5 Emma Woodhouse is content with her life and sees little reason to marry. However, she greatly enjoys acting as a matchmaker to those around her. When Harriet Smith comes to town, Emma takes her under wing an ...

May your day be spooktacular ! The cats and I are just about to snuggle down and watch Hocus Pocus. Best Halloween movie, hands down (in my opinion, but I don't like scary films!). New post coming up tomorrow ^^

As any proper book nerd knows, choosing one is hard/impossible. However, there are some standouts for me. This list is subject to change, and maybe in the future I will update it. We shall see. Author: Agatha Christie Christie's books are a guilty pleasure of mine, whenever I want a book treat, or am unsure what to read, hers are sure to please. I LOVE the Poirot mysteries, and have just started the first of the Miss Marple books. Series: The Harry Potter books (J.K. Rowling) I do believe I re-read these every single year. They helped define my middle and high school years. I don't think I will ever tire of them, and I doubt they will move from this spot. Stand Alone: The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield) I still can't explain what it is about this book that I love so much. Everything about it draws me in, and even when I reread it, I remember how I felt the first time I read it. It's about time to seek it out again... Movie Adaptation: The Devil...

It seems I never posted these photos last year, and since I'm missing proper autumn, I figured I would post a few of them now. These were taken roughly a year ago when I took a friend for her first (my third!) trip to Gyeongbokgung. I love walking around the palace, and the colours were stunning.

"The Knockoff is the story of Imogen Tate, editor in chief of Glossy Magazine, who discovers her twenty-something former assistant Eve Morton plotting to knock her off her pedestal, take over her job, and reduce the magazine to an app." I initially wanted to read this one because everyone seemed to herald it the new Devil Wears Prada , but with issues currently faced by the magazine and fashion industries. I had high expectations going into this book, but I was a bit disappointed in it.   Imogen is woefully out of touch, so much so that it felt unbelievable. There is no way someone in her position could make it to 2015 without being able to read her emails. I've met and know a few people who are in high positions, and all of them have adapted with the times. Especially those in news related fields. As such, I felt annoyed by Imogen initially, thankfully she adapts and learns. It just seems like she should have experienced this long before this year. Eve, on the ot...

First up, this week on Instagram: (a) I went to Cirque du Soleil for the first time last weekend, see more about it below. (b) My family and I went out for dinner on Thurs. to the nearby Nutty Brown Cafe. This photo just screams Texas to me, am I alone in that? (c) Sunday's are for Netflix marathons, and Mochi's got the controls. Cirque du Soleil's Kooza came to Austin, and my friends got tickets to go. Now, I've never been to one of their shows. So, I was ridiculously excited for it. The show was at the Circuit of the Americas, in a tent set up in one of the parking lots. Having never been out there before, I found the venue pretty cool, too. Especially hearing the race cars going round the track while we were parking.   The cats are 5 months old! How time flies, and how quickly they grow. Both have remained sweet and well behaved, so I'm happy and feel lucky to have such sweet kitties around. As I type this, Mochi is playing with my hoodie, and Pekoe ...