My own Personal Goals

Each year I set forth to stick to my New Year's resolution - and each year, about three days into it, I fail. I jump head first off the train - and purposely sabotage whatever I was planning on "sticking to." I am hoping this year will be different. It must be.

The goals I have in mind will start off small. Simply have monthly goals -

January's goal I am already trying to achieve and that is:

Simplify. Minimize. downgrade. We have SO much stuff - I really want to spend the month sorting through each room, and reorganizing furniture, wall hangings, belongings - and decide what we outgrew (or just what I outgrew), and rearranging everything so there is less.

My second goal (which I attempt every year) is to actually get healthy. Get on the path to rightousness through my diet and exercise (lack of!). I am carrying around all of this weight, making me feel less like me. If I could find excerise TWICE a week (in any shape or form) for the month of January - that would be 8x more than normal.

Craft space.

I would like a space of my own.

Those are my lofty JANUARY goals. I will post how I do at the end of the month, and hopefully - I will not dissappoint!

A little peak?

Adorning my Rainbow Brite pjs, I was not a child who ever snooped through the closets to find my Christmas gifts. I liked the element of surprise. Had I even known where the gifts were hidden, I don't think I would have given into the temptation of peaking.

This year, it wasn't hard for me to find my gifts - because I was the one buying them. Sad to say, but this is the first year I REALLY knew what I was getting :( .... (that should imitate a tear rolling down my computer face). But that isn't too say I didn't LOVE my gifts!

Mr. bought me a new SLR digital camera with all the perks, and though I have forgotten everything I learned in photography classes, I can't wait to take pictures of all my projects and fun times.

However, probably the funniest gift I saw this year was purchased by a dear friend of mine for another friend. My love for umbrellas and the unusual makes this single gift perhaps the most amusing.

A Samurai sword umbrella. Practical and cheeky. love it :) Thanks Julie for finding this wonderful gift, and thanks to Jeremiah for totally appreciating the humor and practicality.

One of my favorite purchases was a for a friend. However, I can not post about the gifts because I know they haven't received it in the mail yet. (That is mainly because the package is STILL sitting in place of where our Christmas tree was!) I will post soon.

Till then, Happy Tuesday.

Craft Room Part #2

I can't help but think that due to recent events, I really could use my own space (just to clarify: not a separate place - but a place in our home). A space that I could shut the door, and just focus on my own needs/wants. Till that day actually comes, I will gladly settle for a closet. And yes, that is what I am getting - a craft closet. Doesn't sound that appealing? My closet will put others to shame! After the new year, and the holidays are an after thought, my dad and I will construct the oh-mighty craft closet. I am so excited!

I can picture it now....shelves and shelves of buttons and fabrics. Oodles of glass jars filled to the brim with fine tipped scrapbooking markers. Oh the thought makes my heart flutter. I am hoping to put my sewing machine in there so I can just work away!

Fish eggs? Marshmallows? What?!

Wikipedia's definition of sushi:

Sushi (寿司, 鮨, or 鮓^?) is vinegar rice, topped with other ingredients, such as fish.

Kara's definition of sushi:

a ricey goodness that I unfortunately crave once every ten days.

Things you don't need but if you had a place for it would definitely find comfort in your home:

Sushi Service for Two: Adorable serving set for enjoying sushi at home

I think what wins me over with this set is the little men. They are adorable!

Sushi on my brain? Also found this clever recipe for cookies...

I stumbled upon this website Cake Batter and Bowl!

Ingredients

8 chewy fruit rolls

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 (10-ounce) package miniature marshmallows

6 cups crisp rice cereal

16 worm-shaped chewy candies or 24 fish-s

haped chewy candies

Preparation

Unroll fruit rolls, and place, with plastic sheet down, on cutting board.

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add marshmallows, stirring until melted; remove from heat. Stir in rice cereal until blended.

Spread about 1/2 cup cereal mixture quickly over each fruit roll, leav

ing a 1-inch border on 1 long side. Arrange 2 worm-shaped candies or 3 fish-shaped candies lengthwise down center of cereal mixture.

Roll up, starting at side without border. Press to seal securely. Repeat

procedure with remaining fruit rolls, cereal mixture, and candies.

Cut each roll into 4 slices. Serve with chopsticks, if desired.

Okay....so if you don't like sweets, this isn't the recipe for you :) But for me, its heaven! Though I still enjoy soy sauce and shrimp in my sushi!!!

As a student of mine says it- Sue-seeeeeeeeee!!!

In addition to candy sushi, real sushi men sets, there are also wooden sushi sets! How wonderful! Now you can introduce your little Mini Me to sushi at an infant age!

This wooden sushi set, created by Melissa & Doug (my favorite toy maker!), is absolutely adorable! Utilizing the magic of Velcro, the included chopsticks allow me er, I mean Baby, to pick up sliced off sushi roll pieces. The sushi roll pieces Velcro together to form a sushi log that Baby can chop using the included wooden knife (!). This is one way to raise a lil Foodie!

Promise Broken

I told myself. I pinkie swore. I promised that I wouldn't do it. Here I am, completely in over my head. I took too many books out of the library again. It started out smart, I only had five books -and I actually read/listened to them (if they were audio). Then I had the bright idea that instead of just browsing the shelves, I would put a lot of books on hold - and slowly they would trickle in from other sister libraries, and be at my finger tops. In my head it would take months! There was a clear understanding I wouldn't check them all out at once.

Then miracuously, ALL the books appeared in the library! It took less than one week - and they all were ready. I had exactly 24 books on hold - and now 24 books to pick up. I am a mix between excited and nervous. It's like a first date - I don't know what to expect, and I can't imagine what the librarian will think when I stroll in with suitcase, ready to be filled with paper goodness!

hours later....

I went to the library and met the evil and curous eyes of hte librarian woan behind the counter. They couldn't imagine how ONE person will read this many and not have to pay fines. I loudly and confidently told them all that I would return their darlings back before curfew. I snickered to myself, and wobbly walked out holding my weight in novels.

What books peeked my interest? What could I possibly want that I felt the need to take out 24 different versions of?

I took out some of the following books:

Book Thief by Zusak, Markus

World War X by Max Brooks

Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

Cooking Fun 121 Simple Recipes for Kids

The Magicians by Grossman, Lev

More from Magnolia : recipes from the world-famous bakery and Allysa Torey's home kitchen by Torey, Allysa

Bake me, I'm yours- cupcake by Belgrove, Joan

These are a few of the books that peeked my interest.....

Walk the Red Carpet

Though I should be monitoring the hallway, I am currently squinting over my laptop, ignoring all the students who walk by without passes. Let them is my attitude right now.

I have discovered, once again, what I would like to do when I move to a larger home! As I always knew, but never found the actual proof, I want to make my own movie theater! I found a woman, in Kentucky, who has done just that.

PolkaDotChair gave me an immense amount of inspirat

ion. If you have not visited this blog before, I urge you to drop everything you are doing (except if its holding a baby!), and check it out. She has the most vibrant projects!

Why I mention this site...

Mr. and I have talked for awhile about making own home theater outdoors. It just hasn't come to fruition yet. It involves a screen (which we don't have), a projector (can't check that off the list either), and chairs (got that!). However, the problem with outdoor theaters are - what happens when its cold? or rainy? I can't see myself sitting under our immense trees in the snow to watch a flick. Indoor theater is the only answer!

After searching on Polkadotchair's blog, I discovered she created her own theater in her basement! Wahoo! Yowza!! It looks JUST how I imagined ours to be! ...and I fell in love.

La-Z-Boy offers actual movie chairs! I checked out the website. I was completely speechless, as they were exactly what I would want in our home - I wish I could afford the very pricey seats of luxury! They have all different set-ups, which would work with any space. This person positioned the back row of seats on a "stage" so it was a bit higher - and all chairs could properly see the screen.

Since Mr. loves popcorn, and inhales it when we are at the movies (to a point in which I worry he will choke), getting a popcorn machine seems only the next logical step in my made-up theater. We could either buy a full size machine or table top. I figure the one that carries the most pop will be what we go with :)

Minutes later....

Could it be?! There is a website dedicated to my cause! A whole site filled with theater and concession signs, official chairs, cinema sconces, and theater rope!

http://www.cinemashop.com/index.htm

The Cinema Shop has opened my eyes to a whole new design plan!

Yes. You can actually purchase a concession stand. Though I'm not sure why you would buy this for $2,300 when you can take a trip to your local Home Depot, buy wood - and Voila! a case! (after you use nails and a hammer of course!)

Now that my decorating plans are underway....all I need is a space to put it in!

Project # 17,92832132

Read the Writing on the Wall.

Chalkboard? Not just for school anymore.

After deciding I was done teaching at 2:05 (twenty minutes before my Period 9 actually ends) - I started looking through trillions of blogs for my "next" project. It hit me like a ton of bricks. or chalkboards. Mr. and I (mostly me) are using pieces of scrap paper to write down notes in the kitchen, either about what our shopping list will consist of, or notes to each other. Why not write it in large letters on the wall?

How FUN would it be to have a blackboard in the kitchen! Because I don't see enough blackboards throughout my day - I thought I would bring the job home :)

I feel like Mr. and I bought the spray blackboard paint years ago to decorate in a five year old's room...but we never did it. I might have to steal away to my mother-in-law's house (oh my! I never said that before!) and see if the paint is hiding somewhere.

HOW TO:

Apply two coats of paint (try Krylon Chalkboard Paint) using a small sponge applicator or roller, as the fibers in regular paintbrushes tend to leave behind streaks. Chalkboard paint comes in both liquid and spray versions. If you try the spray, be sure to cover the surrounding area carefully to prevent spatter!!

You could really coat anything - cabinets, walls, trays, dishes....its endless!

I like the idea of writing little notes on the board...but then how do you erase? How wants one of those stuffy black erasers lying around in their kitchen? Not me! Glue scraps of vintage fabric, wallpaper, and old ads to the backs of standard erasers for retro appeal. Cheerful children's blocks are reinvented as erasers simply by gluing a piece of felt to one side.

Happy writing!

These are a few of my favorite places

BANNED.

That is what I was from my favorite place -the library. Well, I wasn't technically banned, but I felt like it. I had over $20 in fines (which stands for some VERY overdue books). And I didn't have any cash to pay it down to $5, which the limit in which you can have and still take out items. After many months of longing, I finally placed my pride on the shelf, and marched into the Bernards Twp library with a baggie full of quarters, dimes, and pennies. If there was ever a way to pay my fine, twenty dollars in change would be the ticket. I was desperate, and I needed to feel the "free books" in my grasp once more. Somehow, by the grace of God, my fines diminished enough that I received permission to take books out. I did a little kick jump with excitement! It had been over three months since I entered the library, and my list of "MUST" reads ran the length of me. I quickly got lost among cookbooks, sewing guides, and travel pamphlets.

My problem wasn't I didn't read the books or lost them. The problem was I always took out too many at once. My excitement and enthusiam always outweighed the time I had to read. One time, I withdrew over 40 books. FORTY! Now, with only two weeks to read these books, unless I was retired or bedridden, there was very little potential I would actually be able to read this many.

But THIS time would be different. I told myself before I walked into the library that I wouldn't get ahead of myself. I pinkie swore with myself that I would only take out five books. Only as many books as I have fingers on my right hand would I allow myself to take out. NO MATTER WHAT I FOUND.

WEAKNESS: Cookbooks. I went to the wrong aisle if I wanted to stay true to myself. I closed my eyes and grabbed the first four books I touched on the shelf. Cupcakes! I chose the right shelf!! My final and fifth selection stood in the front of the library under new releases. I wanted a book on zombies. Specifically, how to handle myself if zombies were to attack the world. WHAT WAS I TO DO IF I DIDN'T HAVE THIS INFORMATION AT MY FINGERTIPS?!

Five books. I quickly, and without looking around (too much) checked out and ran for my car.

Success! The library and I are one again.

Flower arrangments

Flowers!! They bring the bees, and make me smile!

There are so many interesting ways to display flowers - and instead of a glass vase, these are some ways to present nature!

For our wedding, we made paper flowers - I recently stumbled upon tissue paper flowers...which I fell in love with. Simply because they will last always!

This wire teapot can easily be found at a Home Goods store or Michaels Craft store. The flowers are simple - yet it looks wild and fun. Have a spot of tea?

This is perhaps my favorite arrangement ever seen by a florist. This is perfect for ladies day or just to spice up your day!!

Lose your drink? never again.

You are at a party, and there are atleast a dozen solo cups on the tables. You had the punch....but so did everyone else! You can use a marker and write your name on the cup, OR.....

http://etch-it.com/wheretobuy.htm

Etch it on!! This brings me back to when I was 6 years old, and I would turn the white dials of my etch-a-sketch to write my name. Now, 22 years later, I can use my finger nail to write my name on my cup at parties!

The only problem I might have is I wouldn't want people to throw them away!

The company sells solo cups with the labels, or just the labels.

Neither way, I think this is a fun and retro way to mark your territory!

Summer Soup served with fun!

Make any chilled summer soup look spectacular by serving it “up” in a martini glass. Chill the glasses in the freezer until you are ready to serve the soup for a nice frosty alternative to a bowl. A summer soup recipe that would definitely be ultra tasty is the Coconut Corn Chowder.

Perfect for the summer when corn is in season. Canned corn works well when you’re longing for summer.

Ingredients

1. 8 ears of fresh corn
2. 2 stalks of celery roughly chopped
3. 1 carrot roughly chopped
4. 1 bay leaf
5. 6 cups of water
6. 1 onion chopped
7. 1 clove garlic chopped
8. 1/2 – 1 thai red chili (adjust according to taste) roughly chopped
9. 1 can coconut milk
10. 1 tbs fish sauce
11. 2 in piece of lemongrass crushed
12. 1 kaffir lime leaf
13. 1 tsp salt
14. 1/2 c finely diced red and green peppers
15. 1 Tbs lime juice
16. 1 thai red chili finely sliced (or more according to your taste)
17. 1 finely sliced green onion

Method

1. Cut corn off it’s ears and set aside
2. Make a stock by simmering corn cobs, celery, carrot, bay leaf in water for 30 minutes
3. In a separate pot sweat onion over medium heat until translucent
4. Add garlic and thai chili and sweat for 1 minute
5. Add corn, coconut milk, fish sauce, lemon grass, lime leaf and enough stock to cover
6. Simmer for 20 minutes
7. Remove lime leaf and lemon grass
8. Pour soup into blender, leaving out half of the corn kernels
9. Blend until thick and somewhat smooth
10. Pour blended soup back into the pot with whole corn kernels
11. Bring back to a simmer and adjust thickness with more stock if needed
12. Stir in chopped peppers and lime juice, adjust seasoning to taste
13. Garnish with sliced chillis and green onion

*Note: Canned stock and canned corn can be substituted for fresh.

Dress your table!

Labor day is approaching, and to totally dress up the table - you could use seersucker napkins to put out during lunch or dinner! The preppy fabric reminds me of New England summers, though I only enjoyed my summers at the Jersey shore - this is how I would imagine it!!

Adaption

I enjoy rereading past entries to see how I have changed, developed - molded into a new better (I hope!) version of myself.

Sometimes, it completely blows my mind that I ever was the person I was six years ago. In 2003, I was someone I don't even recognize - I look back at past blog entries, and I am saddened by the girl who sat in front of the computer screen. It takes me back to the heartache and loneliness. I can't believe I made it. I survived.

I never thought I was someone who was weak. I always felt I was a leader among my friends. I came up with the ideas, the plans - I carried them out. It amazes me that in relationships however, it was completely different. I was weak. I left the boy tell me who or what I was. nothing. I felt nothing. or everything. In high school, I remember the tears. Oh the buckets I could fill.

But now, I couldn't imagine being with someone who didn't support me or made me feel less than me. I couldn't imagine not being comfortable in my own skin due to someone else's insecurities.

I can't help but think back 0 and I find myself doing this more often these days. I think back to college, high school, past relationships - and the girl in those situations is unrecognizable.

I have my family and my future husband to thank. He gave me the courage to believe in myself. My true potential. He saw and continues to see the best in me, and made me believe that all I was previously criticized for - those are things that made him fall. I am emotional. I am silly. I am beautiful. I am me. and I don't need to be anyone else anymore.

Ode to the Things I love

I want to write. I have the need to put my words down on paper. However, when I try, my mind draws a blank. The words are totally forgotten.

Here I sit, in front of my computer - with a list an arm's length long of things I should be doing. However, instead I am thinking of all the projects that I simply can not wait to attend to.
This is an ode to the things I love:

Sneakers. Purses.
There are two ways to tackle this. I love buying them, and I love the idea of organizing them. In my closet, I have shelves dedicated to the seasons. I have a winter, spring, and summer shelf for my purses and shoes.

Secondly, I like the idea of MAKING my own purses. I feel like there are so many patterns, fabrics and ideas out in the world - just waiting for me to grab on and create!

Recycling bags.
Mr. calls me a bag lady. I love to put things in bags. Our bills - in a plastic bag. Our junk mail - in a plastic bag. My gym clothes, my lunch, my graded papers, the one sock missing its twin - all in plastic bags. Perhaps I should invest in fancy pants recycling bags.

Books.
What to say? I love books. I love the smell, the feel, the texture - and the shelves full. I like organizing them, rearranging them, and stacking them accordingly to date, author and genre. I toyed with the idea of getting the Kindle - but the thought of not having the pages between my fingers was enough to draw a tear to my eye - I decided against it.

Board games.
As a child I remember fondly of all the board games I would play with my family. I still have my favorites, locked tight in a box under my bed - awaiting for when future allows my children (unborn) to play.
I like finding websites pertaining to board games and dreaming of the day that I will one day have a closet, or room, big enough to hold everything. My favorite site must be Lime Green. They have the neatest toys, but I especially like the board game listed here called Quelf. We put this on our registry - I hope we get it!

My last two words -Stationery supply.

The Time Traveler's Wife chills me

I am in the process of reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up a copy (and I hate to admit it but after $6 in library fines, and three separate times checking the book AND audio book out - I am ALMOST finished.)

I started this post over a year ago, yet I just couldn't find the time to finish the book - or the post. When the book came out on the big silver screen, I thought "this is the swift kick in the pants I need to finish!". Yet, now the movie is OUT of the theaters, and I am still only on disc 10 of the audio version.

I know my current post is not selling the book, but what I mean to say is - I SHOULD have made time. Though I am STILL not finished, I couldn't help but want to write about it.

I admit, the book had me at time travel. I am a sucker for "A Wrinkle in Time" - and to maybe have the adult romantic version of this, tickled my fancy.

The story introduces Henry, a librarian (my 2nd favorite job choice - next to a Blockbuster employee), who suffers from CDP (Chrono-Displacement Disorder) which carries him away from the present time to some time in the past or future. One moment you are reading how he is walking across the street to meet his wife Claire, then he is standing (naked) in a corn field circa 1980.

Originally the book was a little hard to follow, but the book technically follows the life line of Claire, Henry's wife - from her childhood to middle age. Henry appears and disappears time and again, at various ages and stages of his life - but Claire continually ages.

I would recommend this book to everyone, but I would make sure you have a set amount of time to read - as you don't want to put it down (and it could be confusing to restart!).

Happy travels!

Love your Honey with No Money

Not everyone can shower their love with candies and flowers (though it would be nice!) - so finding cheap ways to show your love on the 14th is ideal.

The typical date on Valentine's Day consists of dinner and a movie. To make this a little easier on the wallet, why not decide on cooking at home?

If you are looking for a little wine and chocolate, how about the Alba Wine/Chocolate Tasting? My kind of event - get to sample different wines and chocolates....all for a whooping $5! I did this last year, and their dessert wines were so delicious - I dreamt about them for many nights after.

How to be single without being such

Since writing last, I have finished that horrid book (if you didn't catch what I was reading- please don't even waste your time finding out) and started a new book - "How to be Single".
I started this book last Tuesday, the night before Mr. went on his work trip. He didn't have a chance to be briefed on my latest novel. When he came back Friday afternoon, I was still at work. He came upstairs to find the book laying on our bed. He told me later, he thought to himself "Gee - she sure got comfortable with the idea of me being away!" I laughed because the book was not a "How-to" yet a fictionalized story about a group of middle-aged women who have yet to find love in their lives.

This story is refreshing, funny and very addictive. I find myself taking it with me wherever I go. This book is very much like "Sex in the City", its outlandish scenes that make you wonder if its really possible in the world to be that outgoing (for I, myself, am not).

The past reminds you

I sometimes get caught up in things that used to be. Either past friendships, broken relationships - or situations that I never really quite understood. Tonight I found myself in that same place. I often can go back in time and read through old journal entries, blog sayings - and reconnect with the person I used to be. I often feel like I am two people. I think about the girl, who when put to the limit, expresses her feelings in such a way - that even years later, I still can remember the moment I wrote it. Then there is the modern me, I feel = but I feel I don't have time to write about it...or the emotions are strong enough to get a grasp on WHAT to write....

This is something I found, I almost wanted to give myself a pat on the back...because I remember the moment I realized I was worth more that what I was given. I thank God everyday that I finally realized that.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
you say i talk too much. that i think too much - that i read into everything and I look for trouble.
the truth is what you are hiding from - we dont talk enough. we dont talk at all. you dont know me. you dont know what happens each day -
we hide from ourselves the truth that we have grown apart. we are different people than what we were when we first started. I was foolish always to believe something like this would last.
I need more. i crave the attention that you withhold from me. i talk too much. i think too much. im just too much of everything for you. and you are just too little of anything for me. - kmw

I think about the me, now. I don't think I would even like Mr. tell me those things, but then again I don't think he would even think it. He likes that I talk. alot. enough sometimes for the both of us. Or that I read, and think, and ponder.

I'm with.....

Stupid.
Yes, that would be the name of the current book, by Elaine Szewczyk, I am reading. I would have to say it was the title at the library that won me over. That is, simply because the man ( I assumed) she was referring to is wearing green sneaks.

I started the book last night. I was immediately entertained. The "have to have" gay friend Max discusses with the main character, twenty-three year old, Kas, the way he is taking revenge on her X. From disguising himself as a police officer and knocking on all his neighbors' doors asking if they have seen any suspicious activity coming from his apartment, to handing out flyers with his phone number for Male Companion - who wouldn't want a friend who would find humor in making the person who broke your heart miserable?

Though, this book set in NYC, and most of the characters in their early 20s, I find this book hard to believe. I found her best friends to be rather immature. Max doesn't need to work - his father makes enough money to support him; mind you, the rather petty revenge he seeks on Richard in Kas's behalf was really funny. Libby, on the other hand, would rather not and simply lounge around all day doing just about nothing. For people in their early twenties, especially in a city like New York, I thought they'd be a little more mature and sophisticated than how they were portrayed. The story line, so far, is entertaining - but I am unsure how long that will last for.

Rain rain go away...

and come again maybe tomorrow! (Or at least when I can fashion these ultra-hip umbrellas).

I was somewhat productive at work today, that is - until I wandered across the website Umbrellas.net - then all was lost. I love the sun and bright weather, but after seeing all the adorable umbrellas - I wished it would rain more often!

Having not often used an umbrella in my former "run from house to car and from car to building" kind of life, the concept of investing in a good rain shield has never occurred to me. I believe it is time to not only shower myself with something that is durable, but cute.

new year - new deals

I can not believe it is 2009. I have started out this year right. I have been going to the gym, eating better, trying to stay in better contact with people - and just basically, trying to not have it flew by! I also felt that in years psat, I let my creative gene slip away - and I am attempting to contact it this year :)

On an intellectual standpoint, I decided I was going to read a book a week. Now, though I can read a book in a day (putting all work aside - in a few short hours!) but I thought I would cut myself a break, and attempt at a book a week.
There are other projects on the table as well, but I will get to that later.


Therefore, since this is the first FULL week of January - I have started a book called "Spellman Files"by Lisa Lutz. It is a clever mid 20s drunken Nancy Drew story. The book is a real easy read and the chapters are short, so in one short sitting - you can read through five chapters and feel you've accomplished something!
Is it really a mystery? Not really. But it is a hilarious, entertaining read with "snarky characters". Izzy is a private eye in a Royal Tanenbaum-esque family of private eyes who don't know boundaries when it comes to privacy or the invasion of it. One of the beginning scenes captures the lack of boundaries: Izzy, sensing she's being followed in a parking garage, gets in her car and screeches out of the garage. A car chase through the streets of San Francisco follows and, after Izzy can't shake her tail, she stops the car, gets out, walks over to the car chasing her and, as the window rolls down, says, "Mom. Dad. This has to stop."
Sadly enough, it was the cover that got me...like most books - I found it on m bookshelf one afternoon - and I thought the bright red cover looked modestly interesting. I also liked that the family of spies were hiding behind a newspaper - but looking at the characters a bit closer, they have different shoes which matched their personalities as I later read in the book...and it made me giggle.
The book is quirky and definitely worth the read :)