Lilacs

^^ Well, having many a lilac bloom is definitely a bonus for having a harsh winter! Our winter hasn’t exactly been harsh here in Virginia – it’s just been long and dreary. I feel like normally, by this time of year, we are having half-warm days in the 60s and 70s and half-winter days. I think we’ve only had ONE warm day thus far. (I also think my standards for warm are warmer than most people’s.) But perhaps I am just remembering previous winters wrong!

The above quote came from Lilac Girls, which I finished last week. I really can’t put a finger on how I feel about the book now that it’s over. I didn’t realize until about mid-way through that it’s based on a true story of the women-only Ravensbrück concentration camp during WWII. As I read the author’s notes at the end of Lilac Girls, I realized that all of the main characters were based on real people and the book was based on as much truth as possible. It certainly made me think differently about the story. While Lilac Girls is far from the top of my favorite books list (I enjoyed The Nightingale so much more), I found myself missing it when it was over. And I have a lot of respect for the amount of research that went into Martha Hall Kelly’s writing process.

In other media news, we LOVED The Handmaid’s Tale!! It’s definitely worth doing a free trial over at Hulu to watch. (Although I will say we have had some technical trouble with Hulu being overloaded in the evenings and the show not loading for us on Chrome.) The show definitely got a bit darker towards the end, but we couldn’t wait to watch each episode. The next season comes out April 26, so I have cancelled Hulu for now and will do another round when it comes out.

We didn’t love A Wrinkle In Time, which we saw in the theater over the weekend. While the costumes and scenery were beautiful, we just didn’t love the plot, characters, or the acting. The only conclusion I can come to is that a book from the 1960s doesn’t translate well to film. I didn’t connect with the main characters at all, and we thought it was quite predictable and cheesy. (And I like cheesy things!) I don’t like not giving something a good review and I absolutely love Oprah, Mindy, and Reese, but I left the theater really disappointed. (It crossed my mind that maybe I just wasn’t the target audience, but we all three loved Peter Rabbit a few weeks ago! I thought everything about that movie was super well done.)

Here is a lovely lilac smoothie for you with mixed berries, banana, oats, milk, spinach, and Vega vanilla. I had a side of cinnamon chip toast and butter with coffee for the warm part of breakfast!

I want to read something lighthearted, modern, possibly romantic, and a potential page-turner next. I would love your recommendations!

Happy birthday to my mom!

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