Tag Archives: Book Bloggers

The Sunday Salon: Lunch + Bloggers + Book Shopping = BLISS

Book Blogger Lunch

Yesterday, a group of us bloggers met for lunch in Santa Barbara. Helen, offered up her home, which was very nice of her, and we had a fabulous time. The Hub and kids dropped me off at her house and then headed to the beach. Don’t you love it? I go off to enjoy “me” time and send the Fam to the beach. We met up for dinner later though.

Top Row, Left to Right:

Florinda – The 3 R’s
Jill/Softdrink – Fizzy Thoughts
Amy – My Friend Amy
Leah – Amused by Books

Bottom Row, Left to Right:

Helen – Helen’s Book Blog
Danielle & her son Jase – There’s a Book
Me

After lunch, some of us headed over to Chaucer’s Books on State Street. I visit Santa Barbara all the time but have never been to Chaucer’s so it was a real treat.

Chaucer's Books Santa Barbara

Chaucer's Books @

Books

What I Purchased:

Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I am working through Orwell’s lesser known works. I really enjoyed Coming Up for Air so I have high hopes for this one as well.  As for Lord of the Flies, it’s one of my favorite books, but the copy I own is falling apart so I picked up this version which includes an introduction by E.M. Forster.

Sunday Salon

Today, I plan to finish Invisible. It’s one of those very strange books that sort of resembles an acid trip, or what I think an acid trip would be like since I’ve never actually dropped acid. Later, lunch with the Fam and then tonight I am sneaking away for dinner with some friends from book club. I know! I am once again abandoning the children. The shame.

Tomorrow, I start my Contemporary Lit class. It’s wonderful because I am not taking it for credit so I should be able to really enjoy it and not feel pressured by it.

On Tuesday, I will be reading the book that everyone will be reading. I just wish I had taken the day off from work. It will be hard to read it while I work.

Oh well, off to eat some breakfast. Hope you have a great Sunday!

Breakfast, Books and Fun

Barney's Beanery Front

This past weekend, I experienced a rare moment. So rare, that it only happens once every couple of months and when it does happen, I am giddy with excitement. I spent a day without the kids. Oh! The horror! Yep, I headed to Downtown Burbank to have breakfast at Barney’s Beanery.

Barney's Beanery

These pics make it look like a bar. There is a bar, but it’s also a pretty neat restaurant with all sorts of stuff on the tables and walls. The food was okay. Not wonderful but what made it wonderful was the company…

Jill and Jim

I went there specifically to meet Jill of Rhapsody in Books and her husband Jim. Don’t they look cute? They really are too. We ate and talked and boy, did we talk! Poor Jim was such a good sport. All of our gabbing and he is still smiling in this photo. As the table behind us lushed it up with Bloody Marys (we secretly wanted some), we indulged in pancakes and book talk. I can’t think of a better way to spend the morning.

Vroman's

Okay, maybe I can… After breakfast we headed to Pasadena to visit Vroman’s Bookstore. I was like a kid in a candy store. I kept telling Jill how neat it is to be walking around a bookstore in peace. There’s something so, utterly comforting about wandering around a bookstore without kids. Sigh. It was glorious! What was also fabulous was being able to discuss all the hot titles with a fellow blogger right at my side. 

I don’t know why, but I like to take photos of bookshelves. I got so distracted with the book chatter that I forgot to get a photo of the three of us. Next time!

Oh, you’d  like to know what I bought? Well, I bought The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. Just the one book! Now that I have a Kindle, I am only buying books that  I know I am going to like. That way I can lend them out, etc.

The Unit Book Cover

I had such a good time. I can’t thank them enough for spending the day with me. I always say that blogging is about the people and this was no exception. Jill is just as warm and funny as she is on her blog, and Jim (who also reviews books on her blog) is just as pleasant as pleasant can be. Nice people, good eats, books and conversation. What more can a girl ask for?