Kara P.

  • A Visit to New Orleans, Part 1

    “New Orleans’ food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.” -Mark Twain For the past two years I’ve gone to New Orleans to volunteer with Rebuilding Together. Those trips have been the best experiences of my life. Getting to understand the importance of that city and to help them recover is something I will… Continue reading

  • The Scarlet Letter Revisited

    “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers,—stern and wild ones,—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.”  -The Scarlet Letter What I love most about The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is it’s timelessness. It is just… Continue reading

  • Voice on the Radio: Fictional DJs

    On the radio we heard November Rain                   That solo’s really long but it’s a pretty song                                      We listened to it twice cause the DJ was asleep –Regina Spektor Radio DJ Berry Lambert  lives her life shrouded with superstition in the novel With A Little Luck by Caprice Crane. She avoids black cats and… Continue reading

  • MISSING

    They say the first 24 hours are the most crucial when trying to locate a missing person. These stories don’t have that luxury… I was originally drawn to the book Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran because the story takes place in New Orleans and I have a certain fascination… Continue reading

  • Baking Day Adventure!

    Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts: 150 Recipes for Old-Fashioned Favorites and Modern Classics came in recently and I was shocked to find it had no holds so I snapped it up and promised my co-workers that goodies would soon be on the way. I had a whole day off set aside to bake! I read… Continue reading

  • Honk! Fest! West!

    This year the Fourth Annual Honk Fest West, a free three day community supported music festival, will be taking place on May 13th-15th. I luckily stumbled upon this event last year due to a friend of mine creating the logo for the event.  I attended the Georgetown location and it was a blast! There was… Continue reading

  • Bite Me

    “Vampire? Such a provocative word, wrapped in too many clichés and girly novels.” -Uncle Will, The Radleys Yup, more vampires…admit it, you love them…or love to hate them, but either way they are here to stay. They are making their way into our literature and our movies, but they don’t always have to leave a… Continue reading

  • Be Your Own Hero

    I’m currently riding the wave of anticipation. One of my most beloved childhood spots is making a comeback. The Southgate Roller Rink in White Center is currently undergoing renovation and is slated to open in April! I’ve already decided to have my birthday there and it will be the go to activity for my nieces and me…and I… Continue reading

  • Stupid Cupid

    Oh, Valentine’s Day … how I utterly dislike you. Every year I try to avoid this holiday like the plague and try to come up with different ideas so the day doesn’t choke me with its pink tulle grocery store displays, giant 7-Eleven Valentine’s Day cards and red “I LOVE YOU” Mylar balloons. One year I… Continue reading

  • And They Lived…

    As children our parents read us stories with happy endings; it’s just part of the innocence of childhood and into adulthood we come to expect that big Hollywood ending. The first movie I saw that didn’t go the way I wanted it to was My Best Friend’s Wedding starring Julia Roberts. I was angry that… Continue reading

  • It’s the End of the World As We Know It

    The leaves are falling, the bubble has been popped for awhile now, and the holidays are right around the corner, which means it’s the best time to read dystopian fiction! Knowing these characters have it worse of then we do definitely puts a spring back in my step. In Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde… Continue reading

  • Craving mystery

    Since the last book in The Spellman Files series has been written, released and read, I long to discover it again. Since I can’t, I gave myself a quest to find read-a-likes to pacify all those who got hooked on the life of Izzie Spellman and her crazy PI family. In Super in the City by Daphne Uviller, Zephyr… Continue reading

  • Uncertainty

    I remember the first time I saw Splendor in the Grass I cried hysterically. I saw it at a time in my life when the one relationship I thought I would be in forever had ended. I was at a crossroads and didn’t know who I was or what was going to happen. The uncertainty… Continue reading

  • By the Sea Shore

    It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of ANNABEL LEE; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me… Living in Seattle and having access to lakes, rivers… Continue reading

  • What I Made: Crocheted Creations

    Seattle is home to a thriving DIY ethic and culture.  As part of an occasional series of posts, we feature hand-made items created by staff at The Seattle Public Library and the library books, CDs, and DVDs that showed them how to do it themselves. We hope you’ll draw inspiration from their creations and check… Continue reading

  • The Modern Widower

    The neighborhood is alive with gardeners mowing lawns,                                        and trimming hedges,                  the mechanized hiss of twirling sprinklers           and for those just joining us,            it’s a beautiful day and Hailey is dead and I have nothing to do, nowhere to be. ~ How to Talk to a Widower From 1960s TV sitcoms such as the Andy Griffith… Continue reading

  • Peter Dinklage: Larger than Life

    It’s funny how people see me and treat me, since I’m really just a simple, boring person. There is just something about Peter Dinklage that I find so fascinating and it’s not the fact that he is a little person. The depth of his characters far exceed his four feet five inches. After his father’s… Continue reading

  • Not Just a Pretty Face

    It’s not the power of the curse – it’s the power you give the curse. Born with a pig snout for a nose due to her rich family’s curse Penelope, played by Christina Ricci,  must find one man to marry her from the world of high society blue blood to make that curse go away forever.… Continue reading