Pass me a carrot!!!

I recently felt the itch to find a new case for my iPhone 4. From the moment I first got my iPhone I have kept in it an Otterbox Defender case in black and pink. Very nice case and offers fantastic protection for the phone. I had been searching online for ideas and didn't want to go with just anything and while watching YouTube I noticed in one of the videos the perfect case to change over to.

Cute lil ears, a fuzzy tail...PERFECT!

It's called the Rabito and it's a very uniquely fun case with tons of personality :)

There are tons of colors and you can mix up the tail colors and patterns as well to personalize it even more. I chose black since my iPhone is black which makes one think uhhhh boring but I went for an anything but plain tail and picked a calico brown and black patterned tail (I've also seen this tail listed as cheetah on some sites).

There are tons of sites that sell Rabitos but I chose eBay. Now I know there are tons of people that frown on the auction site because of the unknown nature of who you are buying from and if the product is exactly what the seller says it is but I can truly say that I've had nothing but good experiences purchasing from eBay and I use the site often in search of deals and other unique items. I do caution however that if you are going to use eBay to purchase an item do the ground work and look into who you are buying from. A seller's reviews can say so much about what kind of seller they are and if others have had good experiences with them. I also don't make purchases from sellers who only use stock photos of items, if I'm going to purchase something then I want to see a picture of the actual item and not a picture from a website. I make sure to read the seller's return policy, I have made purchases from sellers in the past that did not offer returns and I never had problems with the items but I do try to search for seller's who have what I'm looking for and offer returns.

More about the case, the shipping was quick from the seller I purchased from which is always nice since I like having my items right away without paying a fortune for shipping. The case itself is a stiffer silicone compared to some other silicone cases, it's sturdy and grips the phone well and doesn't slide or slip and upon inserting my iPhone into the case it sounded as if it snapped right into place which gave me confidence that it was going to hold my phone well and keep it protected. The case adds almost no thickness to the phone which compared to my Otterbox is a big adjustment for me. The Otterbox adds much more thickness and weight. The ears are one with the phone so there's no worry of them coming unattached unless you cut them off with scissors. If you use earbuds a lot for talking or music the ears have a second purpose in which you can wrap the earbud cord around the ears to keep them neat and handy. The tail is detachable which is great for versatility. Although the tail is furry and soft there is a stiffer inside (I have no clue whats inside it) which once it's attached to the phone via a small suction cup it allows for the phone to stand upright or on it's side. This feature is great for when you want to view videos or movies or even when using the speaker phone option or the FaceTime option for iPhone. The suction cup gives a strong hold and has only come lose a few times but wiping it off and pushing it back on is simple. Although I keep my nails short I'm still able to peel the suction cup off without a problem. I also want to add that the slot used for charging and syncing is open on the case but I had to adjust its size only by a small amount to allow for my charger to stay plugged into it. I used the smallest blade that came with my xacto knife from my craft supplies and trimmed what seemed like a tiny amount off to allow for more room. I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem, some chargers may be smaller I don't know but it was an easy fix so don't let this be a deal breaker in whether you purchase the case or not.

So far this case is working out great for me and I'm enjoying the lil extra piece of personality it adds to my phone :)

A Jane Austen's World Review

Because I am always in search of sustaining my appetite in "needing to know more" I began a search for books based on the Regency Period that surrounded Jane Austen's life. As always my search began with Amazon.com and I had found what seemed to be what I was looking for. I enjoy using Amazon.com for book purchases because of the reviews, I've found so far that they have never lead me in the wrong direction when it comes to reading. The reviews on this book were great and since a good used copy was readily available I made my purchase.

This book begins with a detailed timeline of Jane Austen's life. The timeline gives various information headlined by the year and then by the months following.

For example:

1811

February: Starts Mansfield Park 

April: Jane visits her brother Henry and his wife Eliza in London

November: Sense and Sensibility is published by Egerton

The layout of this timeline was easy to read and follow and I used it as I read through the chapters of the book as a reference to relate economic and social events to those of Jane's personal life. 

The next chapter breaks down Jane's life into more detail. Her appearance and character are further explained as well as her attempts at publishing and her earnings in doing so. I'm always interested in learning the differences in the monetary value of items between the decades. I find myself complaining how much the price of something has gone up nowadays and the value of a dollar but to think about how things were in eras before always intrigues me. 

The remaining chapters focus on the bread and butter of my "need to know complex" :)

The daily life of Jane Austen's time (Hooray!! I found myself whispering to myself, the good stuff lol)

Instead of going deeply into every chapter of this book (I don't want to spoil anything) here is a listing of just some of the very interesting points that this book goes into:

Beliefs and values, portraits, female relations, religion and church, love and relationships, meals and manners, housekeeping, dentistry, education, needlework, music and dance, courtship, theater, games and entertainment, travel, the royal family, politics and the military, farming and transportation, poetry and novels, gardening, the home and interiors...I could go on and on lol

Lastly the book dips into each of Jane's novels giving some background into the stories, theories into what Jane's thoughts could of been for writing that particular novel and the movie/theater adaptations of her novels. 

The artwork throughout the book highly compliments the descriptive writing and adds to the imagination of thinking what life was life back then. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Jane Austen's novels and the Regency Period. It is good reference material and definitely will provide good discussion for those who love history. 

:)

A brand new year!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!! With 2012 here and in full swing the possibilities are endless :)

I usually always make more than one resolution and 2012 is no different. I'm aiming high for a healthier me, obtaining a new career, getting back in touch with myself (in the past few years it's felt as if I've tucked pieces of myself away and hid behind a different person that I've not always liked), and lastly blog more!

To start the year off right I've begun the following reads to satisfy my inner bookworm:

"Jane Austen Made Me Do It" by Laurel Ann Nattress

Per one of the many Amazon.com reviews: "Jane Austen Made Me Do It is the rare short-story compilation in which each and every one of the twenty-two stories manages to shine. Each contains a new take on Austen, a new concept of what Austen hoped to do with her life and work or even a new take on modern romance from Austen’s viewpoint."

I'm excited to start this book and I hope that all of the great reviews are right for this one. I'm in love with the literary works by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice being my all time favorite :)

From reading her works to watching the movies based on her novels I've gained an interest in learning more about The Regency period. I'm all for learning more about royal history but never dug deep into this time period so to feed my need to know I picked up this intriguing read also:

"Jane Austen's World" by Maggie Lane

Per this book's description on Amazon.com: It takes a look at the historical and social period in which Jane Austen was writing, a time when England was developing into a colonial power, while George III sank into madness and the Regency took hold. Elsewhere, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars raged and the New World was developing.

After reading the above I was hooked!!

I hope to post my own reviews on here once I've finished reading them. If your interested in either one of these books I recommend Amazon.com for purchases, good prices and fast shipping :)