Mackenzie Carose

I Drink My Tea

By Mackenzie 2 Comments

I stare out the window, overwhelmed by my to-do lists. Looking out that window, smudged dirty with fingerprints. I drink my tea and add “clean the windows” to my never-ending paper with hand-written tasks.

I long for some fresh air, but instead I am covered in dust.  Cleaning out the space that will soon no longer be mine. I look to the future but it is murky, and I feel like a rubber band, pulled to its limits.

I drink my tea and breathe in its aroma, honey mixed with chamomile. It calms me and I feel peaceful. The whirlwind that continues to swirl around me, I just let it unfurl.

Busy, busy, busy, like some demented bee, flying about from flower to flower. Pollinate, move on. Hive to hive, must get it done. Must complete the task.

Oh, but my wings are tired. I should keep flying.

But not right now. I need a break.

So, I’ll just sit here and drink my tea… and stop being a busy bee.

*** This post originally appeared several years ago on my previous blog ***

As The Page Turns: March Edition

By Mackenzie 18 Comments

This month was an interesting mix of books for me 🙂

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I don’t usually go in for poetry but I had seen a lot of fan-girling on the ‘ol interwebs about this book and its author so I decided to give it a read. I found her prose beautiful.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

Absolutely freaking hilarious! True accounts and tales from an actual bookseller (the author) who lives in Scotland and runs a second-hand bookstore. I read this book during my daughter’s naptimes and almost woke her up I don’t know how many times, from trying to contain myself from laughing out loud. A definite must-read! 🙂

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

I was super excited to read this book about a group of friends who meet up at a hunting lodge to ring in the new year together, as they have done for the past 10 years, but this time, someone is murdered. Sounds interesting, right?

As I am reading this book, I kept having the feeling like I have read something like this before. The same annoying themes that another author writes into her books that I find extremely off-putting. And it hit me: this feels like a freaking Ruth Ware book, and wait, whaddayaknow? Look what is on the front of the book??

*face palm*

I CANNOT STAND RUTH WARE BOOKS! And this book is chock-full of her nonsense. Characters who are drunk, completely plastered out of their minds but still somehow process information and figure things out? Check. Woman who just had a baby, but thinks it is a good idea to bring said baby and continue drinking as if this is not a problem? Check. Friends who literally can’t stand each other, but feel this compulsion to meet up with each other every New Year’s Eve because….why? Check. Knowing immediately who is going to be the murder victim and now having to finish the tedious book to find out why? Check.

Arghhhhhhh….

Y’all, do not read this book. Let this be a lesson to everyone: if the book positively compares the book and/or author to Ruth Ware, calmly put the book down, and run away.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

Ahhh, a breath of fresh air. Seriously. A great who-dunnit and I didn’t figure out who did it! Yay! 🙂

Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. by Ashlee Piper

I didn’t expect this book to be so amusing, but it was. A book on basically how to be a better human. Reduce, recycle, yada, yada, yada, but with a comical spin. Very, very funny 🙂

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

Really interesting book about really and truly, where all of our stuff comes from and where it is going, once we are done with it. Landfills aren’t the answer and she goes into detail about things that we don’t really think about, such as the fact that when you are not buying or using organic cotton, you are wearing/using cotton that has been treated with formaldehyde. *mind blown*

There is also a documentary of the same name by this author that she made. I haven’t watched it yet, but I plan to.

Well that’s it for me. Any good books that you guys can recommend? 🙂

As The Page Turns: February Edition

By Mackenzie 18 Comments

Hey all! A quick word before I dive into my book review post… Some of you guys didn’t see or receive my last post explaining my change-over from a free WordPress site to my new home here at mackenziecarose.com. It is still me! 🙂 Just a proverbial butterfly spreading her blogging wings!

Now on to the show…

The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker

This is a good book if you are just starting off in your decluttering/minimizing journey. If you are a seasoned pro and clutter is basically a four-letter word to you, then go ahead and skip it.

The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox by Katie Wells

Good overview about why being healthy is important not to just ourselves, but to our children. Chockfull of natural cleaning ideas/methods/way of life. I found it interesting. Also, you don’t need to be a “mama” to read this book. It really is for everyone.

Cocaine Blues: A Miss Fisher Murder Mystery by Kerry Greenwood

I love, love, love the series which is on Netflix right now, staring Essie Davis. It is sooooo good 🙂 I thought hey, let me read the first book in the series since I am watching the show. Meh… Not enamoured. That’s okay though. The series is worth watching guys, trust me!

Essential by The Minimalists

I enjoyed this book. It is full of essays from their website focusing on specific topics such as finances, health, relationships, technology and minimalism, just to name a few.

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie

Now y’all know I could not do a book review post without mentioning my girl!! All I have to say about this book, is that you’ll never guess who did the crime and why Mrs. McGinty had to die. Great page-turner!

A Pale Horse by Charles Todd

Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge has to find out why a dead man was left in the abbey of a monastery with a WW1 gas mask covering his face, when it also is apparently obvious that he wasn’t killed there. Intrigued now, aren’t you? 🙂

That’s it! Any great books that you guys can recommend?