Disney's Food & Wine Festival 2015

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! After missing last year's festival, I aggressively prepared for what was sure to be the most epic Food & Wine Festival yet at Disney.

It also helps that this year is the 2oth Anniversary of the festival! So hang on tight because I ate a lot.    

20th Anniversary Merch

But first! The merchandise. Disney takes its anniversaries seriously. This means mountains of merchandise to commemorate the year. 

I don't have the heart to tell you how many of those items I now own. But let's just say me and my wallet came to an agreement based off of the wise words of Agent Cooper:

I may have gone overboard. 

My biggest splurge this year was a Dooney & Bourke purse designed specifically for this year's anniversary. Full disclaimer: I'm not a purse person. I'm definitely NOT a designer purse person. But I figured that if I were to ever get one, this would be the purse of my dreams. Zoom in. See? Many different foods and countries from the festival are printed here, along with monorails (love) and Disney characters eating. Perfection. And then I got to experience what it's like to actually buy one of these things. Like the fact that each purse is completely unique because of how the pattern was printed. My brain stuttered when the cast member pulled out three different purses and asked me to pick which one I wanted.

What do you think?

I also couldn't resist getting miniature garbage cans. I should probably mention that these are not replicas of garbage cans actually used in the park, like the Magic Kingdom series released last year. But still. You never know. 

And lastly, Annual Passholders were given gifts this year - but we have to work for them.  If we came three times to the festival, on the third visit, we would get a commemorative wine glass. You can see the stamps I got for visits #1 and #2 (they tore the page out in exchange for the wine glass, alas) and said wine glass. It's tiny but terribly cute. 

The Eats

Time for the food! There were a few new booths this year, but the key feature was the two booths inspired by the television show, The Chew: Chew Lab and Sustainable Chew. I don't think these booths will be back next year since it seems like The Chew's appearance is an anniversary special. A total shame, since one of my favorite dishes comes from the Chew Lab: the Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel.

The main draw for me was the fact that it's frozen in liquid nitrogen. The novelty of it caught me (I mean, how many years have I watched chefs on the Food Network dunk things in liquid nitrogen? It always looks impressive and somewhat mystical). I took a video of the truffles being pulled from their cryogenic slumber via my Instagram:

A video posted by Kim (@kimkaralius) on Oct 31, 2015 at 2:49pm PDT

After eating another truffle during my fourth visit to the festival, a cast member came up to my mom and I and asked how we liked the dessert. Of course we said we loved it and I couldn't help but gush about the liquid nitrogen. He gave me a weird look and said, "You do know that all it does is freeze things, right?" 

Me:

I see his point, but can't I be impressed?

Another home run this was the Hard Cider Flight from the Farm Fresh booth! This was another one of my attempts at adulting that actually worked out well! I love hard cider, but I had no idea that there were so many different flavors. The raspberry hard cider was good, but the pear one? WOAH. The pumpkin cider made me feel like it was actually October for like... five seconds (it's still really hot in Florida, sorry). The elderberry was my absolute favorite! I've never had elderberry before. Funny the first time is in cider. Hurrah!

Beyond the above treats, I have to say that everything I tried this year was wonderful. Which of these sounds good to you? Have you been to the festival this year and tried any of these?

Mango Jasmine Tea with Bubbles (China Booth)

Traditional Haggis with Neeps and Tatties (Scotland Booth)

Bulgogi BBQ Short Rib with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi (South Korea Booth)

Pork Spareribs with Red Wine, Fennel, and Cheesy Mascarpone Grits sustainably presented on VerTerra Dinnerware (Sustainable Chew Booth)

Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise (Hawai'i Booth)

Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies (Australia Booth)

Kielbasa and Potato Pierogi with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream (Poland Booth)

The Tipsy Laird: Whiskey-soaked Cake with Lemon Cream and Toasted Oats (Scotland Booth)

Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie (Ireland Booth)

Souffle de Yuca: Yuca Souffle topped with Griddled Cheese (Dominican Republic Booth)

Lechon Asado: Roasted Pork with Mangu, Pickled Red Onions, Avocado (Dominican Republic Booth)

Loaded Mac 'n' Cheese with Nueske's Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers, and Green Onions (Farm Fresh Booth)

Meeting Robert Irvine... Again!

Getting to see Robert Irvine at the festival was the Big Exciting Event for me this year. After seeing him for the first time in 2011, and then again last year, I was thrilled to find out that he was returning for a demo and book signing. 

His new book is called Fit Fuel; it's an interesting combination of healthy recipes and workout routines to help lead readers towards a heatlhier lifestyle. Of course, the book has much more to offer than just that, including full color photos of Robert Irvine demonstating exercises and other fun stuff. You'll just have to grab a copy ;) 

It's been inspiring to me since I've made a big effort to eat healthier (and therefore balance out my love of junk food) and exercise (to combat the hours I sit in front of a computer at work + writing time).  My mom and I have been a team in this - she's been doing much better than I have and I'm proud of her. 

Knowing how challenging it was to see Robert last year, Mom and I got up VERY early in the morning and arrived at the park before it opened. I've actually never been to Epcot before opening, so it was pretty fun to see how my favorite park starts its day (lots of bubbles) compared to Magic Kingdom's grand welcome. We ALMOST ran all the way to the Festival Center to get our wristbands for the signing. Almost. More like extreme power walking. But we got the bands! 

Then we got to watch Robert Irvine's demonstration (hilarious and unpredictable as always) and got in line for the book signing. 

Was Robert Irvine awesome? YES. Even though I've grown so much this year from all my experiences chatting with readers and booksellers, I STILL found myself tongue-tied and less-than-eloquent when we approached his signing table. Oh well. I guess some things never change ;) 

Does that book in my hand look familiar? I decided to give a copy of Love Fortunes and Other Disasters to Robert Irvine. My mom and I have been reading his books and watching his shows for years; he's someone who gives so much and I wanted to give something back. Plus, I have a feeling he'll get a kick out of Fallon Dupree and her parents ;) 

The below pictures can't convey the feels. I signed my book for him, my hands shaking like crazy, and he was nice enough to hold down the book cover for me. After Mom and I were ready to head out to World Showcase, we took one last peek at Robert's signing and saw Love Fortunes still on the table. I hope he enjoys the book! 

Another Festival has gone by with so many great memories and one happy stomach. As always, I'm so happy to share the food and fun with you all. 

Thank you so much for being patient with me as well. Balancing Love Charms work and other upcoming bookish machinations kept me fully occupied over the past weeks, but I can't wait to reveal those surprises in the months to come!  

Summer is for Music: New Bands I Discovered

First things first - I know this blog says my last post was in May, but actually, I've been blogging all month at the Swoon Reads blog as July's featured Swoon Author! Did you miss my witty posts (the GIFS, though!)? No worries. You can find them over here on the "Other Publications" page.

A strange phenomenon happened this summer: I discovered multiple bands/musicians I loved so much on first listen, that I bought all their albums immediately. Yes, that’s right. Are you saying that’s normal?

Not for me. I’m usually a one song kind of girl. When I find bands I like, it’s kind of a big deal for me. But apparently the universe has sent me some great tunes to listen to as I spend my sticky hot summer in my cubicle. Music is like air when you’re working. It’s better than coffee (not that I drink it). Music wakes me up and keeps me inspired throughout the day. 

The bands I discovered will inevitably have their songs end up on my writing project playlists sooner rather than later. But right now, I want to share the magic with you! 

THE HOOSIERS

Music video by The Hoosiers performing Cops and Robbers. YouTube view counts pre-VEVO: 14,879 (c) 2008 Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited

Since I'm a huge Gotham fan who's trying to survive the weeks before Season 2 hits TV, I listened to other fans' playlists. I found "Cops and Robbers," a song a Gotham fan had thought was perfect for James Gordon's snarky partner, Harvey Bullock. It IS perfect in so many ways. So's the song. 

SEABIRD

BEHIND THE SCENES - http://youtu.be/jV3C7G1e0ZM "Love Will Be Enough" - http://youtu.be/dlDnX-1aTX4 "Troubled Days" - http://youtu.be/Xo-oBgHI0Vc NEW RECORD AVAILABLE NOW - "Troubled Days" https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/troubled-days/id668023664 Download the live-recorded songs from this session on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bellwether-sessions-live-ep/id709540471 Every Bellwether Session is LIVE recorded with video. This is not a studio recording.

I don't remember how I found Seabird, but the dreamy, feel-inducing songs have stolen my heart. "Please, Please" was the first song I stumbled upon, and I'm pretty sure I had it on repeat while revising a heartwrenching scene for my editor. 

HEY OCEAN!

Change by Hey Ocean! From the album 'IS' on iTunes - http://smarturl.it/heyocean Visit Hey Ocean! online: http://www.loveheyocean.com http://www.facebook.com/iloveheyocean https://twitter.com/heyoceanband Watch more videos by Hey Ocean!

Hey Ocean! is delightful in so many ways. I love the catchy, upbeat tunes paired with cheeky music videos. This video for "Change" is one of my favorites. Plus, I have a soft spot for zombies with heart (no pun intended!). I have a lot of favorites from Hey Ocean! but there's one song that is what I consider THE theme song for my Second Book with Swoon Reads. More on that later.

FOREIGN SLIPPERS

By Foreign Slippers from the album 'Farewell To The Old Ghosts' http://foreignslippers.bandcamp.com http://facebook.com/foreignslippersmusic http://twitter.com/foreignslippers You can buy it from iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/avalanche-ep/id467238770?uo=4 Produced by Brendan Lea and Harry Amies Directed by Harry Amies (harryamies.com) Photography directed by Brendan Lea (brendanlea.com) Camera operator: Jason Hall (jasecd.com/​) Wardrobe and makeup: Ailsa Morton Gabi's Sequined Couture by Louis De Gama (louisdegama.com) Marionettes: Harry Amies EPK material & Production support: Matt Bell twitter.com/​mattjbell Brendan Lea's assistant: Lisa Stanbridge Post production by Harry Amies and Brendan Lea.

I probably found Foreign Slippers while clicking on You Tube's sidebar for interesting tunes to try (that's usually how I stumble on new songs at work). The haunting melodies and moody lyrics caught me immediately. Plus, as far as music videos go, I love creepy puppets. 

ROSE & THE HOWLING NORTH

This is the debut single from Leeds based band, ROSE & THE HOWLING NORTH called CUCKOO. The video was a co production collaboration with Natasha Acriniega and Nick Padley (Hear Me Roar Productions & Giant Leap Productions) , Hair and makeup provided by Chloe Wilson (Blonde Fury).The single is available from 4th mach released on CUCKOO RECORDS.

Well, okay, I love swing and electro swing music. So falling for Rose & The Howling North was inevitable as soon as I heard this song, "Cuckoo." I love the lyrics and the turn the song takes later on. I think I'll be writing to this song for multiple projects. I can feel it :) 

Have you discovered any new bands or musicians this summer that have made you want to write? 

Summer of Swoon Tour: Kim's Recap

*warning: this blog post is long, mostly because of tour photos.

I'm a terrible diarist. When I was little, I kept a diary, but never managed more than a handful of entries before giving up. Then trying again. Then stopping again. My problem was that I wrote too much, determined to remember everything that happened after each day, no matter how mundane. And that meant that my entries looked more like little novels than, well, a reasonable diary. 

Thankfully, I've become slightly less obsessed with rehashing. 

It's been two days since I returned from the Summer of Swoon tour, and I'm feeling more human than I had been on Wednesday when I dragged my suitcase into the house and collapsed on the couch. My fellow Swoon Author, Sandy Hall, once said that after a few days on tour, the stops start to blend together and you forget details. I can understand that now. So I'll do my best to share the highlights of the tour with you, but please refer to my Instagram account for anything else #SummerofSwoon - I'll try not to repeat too many photos that I already posted there. 

For those of you who missed it, the Summer of Swoon Tour featured me and three other Swoon Authors Sandy Hall, Katie Van Ark, and Temple West, visiting seven cities (Cincinnati, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Saratoga Springs, NY, and New Brunswick, NJ) between May 12 and 19.

Tuesday, May 12
Cincinnati: 7 p.m. at Joseph-Beth Booksellers

Wednesday, May 13
Dallas: 2:30 p.m. at the RT Booklovers Convention

Thursday, May 14
San Francisco: 7 p.m. at Books Inc. in Opera Plaza

Friday, May 15
Seattle: 6 p.m. at University Bookstore

Sunday, May 17
Chicago: 2 p.m. at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court

Monday, May 18
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.: 6 p.m. at Northshire Bookstore

Tuesday, May 19
East Brunswick N.J.: 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble

DAY 1: CINCINNATI 

On May 12th, I woke up as a bundle of nerves, packed the last of my belongings, and went to the airport to catch my flight to Cincinnati. Most authors probably spent their book birthdays at home, getting ready for their book launch parties or just checking the internet for the first book spottings in stores. Me? I was going on a book tour. 

This was literally the first time I've ever flown by myself. I've never needed to - whenever I flew, it was always a family trip (unless we're talking about my study abroad trip to England, in which case I flew with my classmates). 

My internal compass has been broken since... forever. I was worried about navigating the airports with only my brain for help, haha. 

Turns out, my brain is perfectly capable of following the big signs posted everywhere in the airport. YUSSSS.

The plane left on time, especially pleasant because no one was sitting next to me. Katie, Sandy, Temple and I were texting each other the night before, so we let each other know when we arrived at the Cincinnati airport. Katie's flight landed early, but in an extreme twist of luck, Temple, Sandy, and I's planes ALL landed within minutes of each other. So we met at baggage claim, hopped in a cab, and chortled with relief at having found each other after a long day of flying.  

I should probably say that we've never met each other in person until now. Did I recognize Temple and Sandy right away, despite that? YES. It was like we'd always been friends. That sounds cliche, but it's completely true. More on my fellow Swoon authors later! 

The hotel was strange and gorgeous, with chocolate coins and pillows with George Clooney's face on them. I had to include a picture of the bathroom, because it had a giant print on the wall of hands and lace. VERY strange.  

After getting settled in, we met at the hotel restaurant for dinner. I got to meet Katie Van Ark for the first time, as well as my publicist (and our publicist for the trip), Nicole Banholzer. And our editor, Holly West. I ate sea bass drenched in pistachio butter (PISTACHIO BUTTER WHAT) and then we headed over to Joseph-Beth Booksellers for our first event!

Delicious pink cupcakes. Beautiful bookstore with fireplace display for our Swoon Reads books. Cute "autographed copy" stickers to go on our stock signings. To top it all off, I met a fellow Figgie (Figment.com) and got to talk about our stories and the site. So fun!

.@kkaralius & @kvanark are so excited about meeting fans! Also, cupcakes. #SummerOfSwoon pic.twitter.com/A19jC5AtD8

— Swoon Reads (@SwoonReads) May 13, 2015

DAY 2: DALLAS

My photos for Dallas are a little more all over the place. Which makes sense because we weren't just going to Dallas. We were attending the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention! Even though I've been to conventions before, this was my first time at RT. It was awe-inspiring to be surrounded by so many authors and blown-up cover photos of steamy male abs. Abs, abs everywhere. My hotel room was like an oasis, and probably one of my top favorites of the tour: 

The chairs were fantastic. I spent my downtime in the chair by the window - with a great view of the noisy trains below. On both Day 1 and Day 2, I was working through nausea. The motion sickness kind. The weird thing is that I normally don't get motion sick. I ride the spinning teacups at Disney like a pro and laugh all the way through the big bad roller coasters in my favorite theme parks. So why now? Probably because my body wasn't used to getting on a plane every day. And I wasn't eating enough of the right foods to combat the nausea. I drank a lot of water and ate carbs like crazy. In the meantime, I plastered a smile on my face and tried not to cover my mouth whenever I saw food (like the buttermilk fried chicken my fellow authors ate for dinner that night, while I suffered through (delicious) mac and cheese). 

The nausea meant that I didn't spent much time going to panels during my free time. I went with Temple and Katie to a marketing panel, which was pretty fun, but then retreated to my room until dinner after that. Gah. Here are the beautiful water displays the hotel had, as well as the three books I chose in the magical Pegasus room (A School for Brides by Patrice Kindl, Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan, and Static by L.A. Witt):

More tidbits about the Dallas experience (from left to right, top to bottom):

1. Sandy, Katie, Temple, and I in a super fancy van from the Dallas airport to our hotel. We all look way better than we're feeling after waking up really early that morning, and still going.

2. The lunch I ate in an attempt to quiet my rolling stomach: diet coke, a cup of fruit, and a turkey burger with fig jam. There were no apples or saltines to be found, but this meal was tasty. 

3. My little signing table at our Swoon Reads 10 Word Love Story event at RT. Look at that poster of my book cover! 

4. Gifts from fellow Swoon Author Jenn P. Nguyen - the cover concepts for her upcoming book, The Way to Game the Walk of Shame, were being voted on during the event, and she came by to say hello and join in on the fun. AND SWEETS. Thank you, Jenn! 

The 10 Word Love Story event was packed with activities and people. Both authors and Swoon staff wore matching Swoon Reads t-shirts underneath the light of a giant chandelier. There was a YA triviaa game, voting on 10 Word Love Stories and Jenn's cover concepts, and the signing of our books. I met so many great readers here. One girl came to my table wearing a Riddler dress and Batman scarf; when I found out that she was also watching Gotham, I got so excited that I ended up smudging my hand with my Sharpie as I waved it around, professing my love for the TV series. Two delightful girls (one of them wearing a flower crown) said they'd read my chapbook, Pocket Forest, which was way beyond cool. We talked about how much we love mori girls and even my rolling stomach was forgotten, haha. 

One of the hard parts about touring is photos during events. I can't take my own photo... so I must rely on other people taking photos, haha! It's so fun to see them popping up!

Thank you @SwoonReads for an amazing party! @iamsandyhall @kvanark @ByTempleWest @kkaralius great to meet you! #RT15 pic.twitter.com/blVrly9Bkt

— Mary H (@knoxdiver) May 18, 2015

DAY 3: SAN FRANCISCO

I have never been to California before, but I seem to have made some great friends from there over the years. But like Florida, California is HUGE, so that meant that meeting my L.A. buddies and readers will have to wait for some other time - became our next destination was San Francisco. 

Our hotel had an interesting lobby with white marble, abstract lights, and bubbling green water displays. I could also see the hotel pool from my window! 

I had spent the 4 hour plane ride reading and finishing Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (I LOVED IT AHHH), so I was pretty distracted and the ride went quickly. Feeling better but not completely well, I ate spaghetti and meatballs before the event. The family joke about this is that my family's part Italian, so spaghetti and meatballs is an every day occurrence for us - so it should not be ordered at a restaurant under any circumstances. 

Obviously, I sent my dad the photo of my dinner with an evil grin. It was exactly what my stomach needed. No more nausea. I felt glorious. 

Books Inc. was an adorable bookstore with a drool-worthy display of young adult books. When I was asked about my favorite authors during the event, I mentioned Mervyn Peake - he's not YA, but he's an author who's a huge influence on me and my writing (Peake geek, that's me). I expected no one to know his name, but our media escort Kevin vigorously nodded his head. YAY.

After the Q&A, I ended up talking to a woman who, like me, used to live in NY and moved to Florida for a while - we both shared the same eye-rolling attitude towards the hot Florida weather, though she's certainly escaped it by moving to San Francisco. I also geeked out with one of the Book Inc. employees who's a big Laini Taylor fan too - I strongly urged her to seek out "Gentlemen Send Phantoms" because EPIC short story. 

How cute are our authors?! #SummerOfSwoon pic.twitter.com/eWDoDER5ZI

— Swoon Reads (@SwoonReads) May 15, 2015

Books Inc. gave us an amazing gift at the end of the night: one YA book of our choosing. 

I'm sure you know how hard this decision was. 

I ended up picking Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I mean, I knew I'd love the book, but I was holding out for a paperback version since my shelf space at home is so limited. And then the special edition hardback came out. Who needs space, right? Temple pointed out that the Fangirl's colors matched my shoes, purse, shirt... yeah, we matched on so many levels. Is that fate?

Unwilling to ship Fangirl home, I desperately made room for it in my carry on and looked forward to starting it later on the tour. 

DAY 4: SEATTLE

Seattle. Now this was the stop I was dying to see. I've watched enough travel shows to believe that Seattle is magical. Also, I'm a huge Owl City fan, and one of the first of his songs I fell in love with was "Hello Seattle." Yeah, I'm linking it: 

So of course, when we got there, I listened to "Hello Seattle" probably a hundred times while I unpacked in my hotel room. 

Technically speaking, our event was at the University Bookstore in Bellevue. We had some rare free time before the event, so Katie and I went exploring at the Bellevue Arts Museum. So many great exhibits - from robots to water gardens to Madeleine Albright's impressive pin collection. Katie and I also got to leave a Swoon Reads message in sand! 

The event was crowded - and we got to answer some great questions from our moderator, YA author Carly Anne West.

Full house tonight at @ubookstorereads in Bellevue! #SummerOfSwoon pic.twitter.com/5mNGeKaEvL

— Swoon Reads (@SwoonReads) May 16, 2015

In addition to meeting some great book bloggers, the universe demanded that I read Fangirl ASAP. A girl came up to me after the Q&A, insisting that I'm just like Cath. I did not know who Cath was at the time, but now that I HAVE read Fangirl, I have to say that I AM. The anxiety. The fanfic writing. OH MAN. Now where's my Levi?

Had a great time yesterday at the #Summerofswoon event =D It was especially cool finally meeting @RachelllRaeee! pic.twitter.com/6opgLyFitO

— Emily (@FallingforYA) May 17, 2015

DAY 5 & 6: CHICAGO

Saturday was basically a travel day for us. The time change from Seattle to Chicago ate up all of our time (it was a wibbly-wobbly experience), so even though we took off in the morning, we arrived in Chicago by dinnertime. We stayed at the hotel airport, dragging our suitcases through O'Hare's endless tunnels onto carpeted hotel territory was strange - and welcome relief from a long flight.

I could see the parking lot from my window - and the planes taking off beyond it. The view was comforting in a way, if only because for two nights, I knew I wouldn't have to wait for pickup downstairs with the other travelers and their suitcases. 

Also had a dinner the first night of curried pasta with lentils and spinach. And a lentil burger the next day for lunch. The food was amazing. 

For dinner the second night, we ate at the Gaslight Club, a strange restaurant.... yes. Just take a look:

The event at the Book Stall was so much fun - I love that the event took place just a few steps down from the bookstore, in an old, pink dance studio. 

By Chicago, Nicole had returned to New York and we were joined by publicity assistant, Brittany Pearlman, who brought a lot of pep and energy to our tired, swoony selves, haha. 

The @SwoonReads ladies share their own "Swoon process" to @PageTurnersBlog at the Swoon event @thebookstall pic.twitter.com/CMU9ghf3G0

— Brittany Pearlman (@bpearlman89) May 17, 2015

I also got to see family for the first time on the tour! My cousin John. I think I got my impeccable taste of glasses frames from him. 

DAY 7: SARATOGA SPRINGS

I was born and raised on Long Island before moving to Florida in junior high, so I missed seeing a lot of New York. Saratoga Springs was completely new to me. And it was adorable. Our hotel rooms there were huge and beautiful - and caused Sandy to exclaim, very loudly, when she first opened her door in our hallway.

A sleep machine? Woah. I tried using it, but I couldn't sleep with the noise it made, haha. Irony.

Like Seattle, we had a chunk of free time in which Katie and I went exploring. I took the most photos here. So many things to see (and I wanted that rabbit umbrella sooooo bad):

The Northshire Bookstore was like a wonderland of toys and books. I mean, everywhere I looked, there was a display that hooked me. Including a miniature train display. I love those, as you probably already know from my photos of Epcot's little German village. 

We had another great Q&A and signing. Afterwards, my fellow Swoon Sisters and I took some semi-serious photos with the stuffed animals around the bookstore. And then this photo happened: 

@SwoonReads authors @iamsandyhall @ByTempleWest @kkaralius @kvanark Making "furry" friends at @NorthshireBooks #swoon pic.twitter.com/C31cZ1rIhX

— Brittany Pearlman (@bpearlman89) May 18, 2015

The fact that Publishers Weekly used this epic photo when mentioning our Summer of Swoon tour is just plain awesome.

 

DAY 8: NEW BRUNSWICK

The last day of the tour!!! Seriously, if you've made it this far in my blog post, you deserve an award. I know it's a long post... but imagine actually living this tour. It was long. And fun. And surreal. And so many things. Great things. 

Just when I was really missing Misty, two therapy dogs showed up on our way to the gate for our New Jersey flight. Couldn't have been better timing! They were adorable:

I hate to say it, but the hotel room was not anything to write home about - it was fine, but my photos picked up the lumpy mattress. By the time you reached this part of my blog post, I don't think you want to see a lumpy mattress. 

The turnout at Barnes & Noble was the biggest we'd had - and it was such an exciting end to the Summer of Swoon tour. We got to see Holly West and Lauren Scobell again. And Karole Cozzo!!!! And I got to see family and friends. For the first time on tour, we got asked questions that I could finally answer by saying, "Disney World." Hurrah! 

To finish out the night, Holly and Karole joined us in posing Bridesmaids style in front of the cooking section. 

The Summer oF SWOON TOUR ENDS

The next morning, I woke early and went to the Newark airport for my flight home. 

Home.

It was hard to say goodbye to my fellow Swoon Authors: Sandy Hall and her amazing wit that had me laughing way too much; Katie Van Ark and her secret love of house renovation, which made watching HGTV together 100% more fun; and Temple West, with her wicked cool hair and banter - there's no one else I'd have rather shared a book birthday with :) 

I'm happy to be back home, and I have a few local events coming up that I'm looking forward to. See you out there! 

Blogwarming Party!

When I first started blogging on Blogger in 2010, I never thought I'd leave it. I was in my second semester of graduate school, still young and innocent and green (probably from teaching anxiety), and I remember deciding that blogging would be one big step towards becoming that writer I wanted to be.  

2015. With my debut novel on the way, it was time to move on. So please say hello to my new internet home on Squarespace. 

Squarespace is SO different from any other platform I've used before. I love it, but it's weird, so don't be surprised if you see some changes over the next... few months? Yeah. 

Have fun exploring the site! I now have the very lovely option of having drop down navigation. This is kind of luxury for me. Excuse me while I metaphorically rub it against my cheek like cashmere. 

Both my work life and writing life have been pretty busy - so much so, that April came and went without me getting to try the new blog. The biggest excitement is Love Fortunes and Other Disasters' release - May 12th is so close. I can almost taste it. I don't know how I'm going to survive the wait (though there's a lovely blog tour happening this week, and a Twitter chat on Wednesday at 9pm, and the Gotham season finale tomorrow night AHHHHH).

My editor has the first draft of my second Swoon Reads book. As I wait for my edit letter, I'm working on the next potential project (and by working, I mean gingerly typing out the opening paragraphs and brainstorming so hard it looks like I'm trying to make my utensils float in midair). 

But listen. I need to share with you some things. Some awesome things. Some first things. Hang on to your hats. 

Twitter is just the greatest thing ever

Yeah, it needed its own subheading. Twitter is one of my favorite social media sites, and it just gets more and more fun every day. Dreams come true on Twitter. Who knew such things were possible with only 140 characters to work with?

For instance, this made my week:

What do you think? I can see a resemblance.

And here's a fairy tale: 

Once upon a 2013, when I was working hard in grad school and extremely active on Figment.com, I wrote a short story for a time traveling writing contest with THE Tamara Ireland Stone as the judge. 

The fact that I was just talking about David Tennant up above, THE DOCTOR, is not lost on me.

"Afternoon at Noodledom Palace" was born - you can still read it on Figment - and I submitted it to the contest. 

And Tamara chose my story for first place. Not only that, but she wrote about why she loved it. I don't have the words to describe how awesome that was. And how hard I fell for Anna and Bennett when I got my hands on Time Between Us.

This week, in a flurry of Love Fortunes activity, I had shared a photo of me seeing a sign at B&N for my local event happening on June 6th - I was so shocked to see signs up so early (and for the first few seconds, truly believed that I was sleepwalking or something. No way that sign was real, right, Kim? GAH. IT WAS REAL). 

Then Tamara commented on it, and we tweeted (or rather, I was fangirling), and then she wrote this:

AHHH. There is no GIF to describe the feels. Ohmygosh. 

Magical magicky week on Twitter. 

Summer of Swoon Tour around the corner

Next week I'm going to be on plane. I might even be coming to YOUR city. 

I might be meeting you. 

WOAH. 

My suitcase is ready. Next weekend is reserved for mostly packing and repacking, burning the itinerary into my skull, and making last-minute errand runs. 

I also need to figure these things out, as illustrated by Buster Keaton. 

1. Be prepared for meeting readers, which includes being a wonderful speaker. I taught for three years, so I'm hoping that even though I'm rusty now, it's like riding a bike:

2. Keep calm and temper the feels. The excitement of seeing the Swoon Staff again. Of meeting my fellow Swoon Authors for the first time (save Karole). Getting to meet readers from all over the U.S. Be still, my heart:

3. And manage to avoid looking at not-so-positive early reviews:

Will I be seeing you on tour? If so, which stop?

Disney's Flower & Garden Festival 2015: Let the Fun Begin

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN.

After missing Disney's Food & Wine Festival for the first time in forever (it still haunts me), I swore that nothing on this planet would stop me from attending Epcot's other annual festival: Disney's International Flower & Garden Festival.

This is not my favorite festival of the two. March is usually sweltering, and it certainly is again this year. Right on time. Also, my mom is notorious for jumping and screaming at the mere wing-beat of a bee or wasp - they are very, very attracted to her (she's like a Bella Swan for devilish insects). So all the beautiful flowers can be a (funny) obstacle course at times.

But in recent years, Disney has added a few irresistible new features, including food booths. Ooooooh yes.

I was so prepared this year to kick foodie butt with my passport and gift card loaded with money for eats (the gift cards are WAY easier to use that juggling cash, and way prettier too).

The new design for the festival too? Cute. I love the icons growing from the vines.

With only one day to spare this spring for the festival, I studied the menus ahead of time and planned what I was going to try from the booths. Some old favorites and new ones. What I hadn't expected was to be wowed by the gardens set up around Epcot. They are, as usual, very beautiful, but I lingered in some of the gardens and took too many pictures.

Both of my favorite gardens were in England. The first was the Shakespeare Garden. Be still, my English major heart! The Shakespeare bust in the back was charming, and I loved reading the quotes Disney had chosen to plant among the flora.

The other garden is the classic English Tea Garden, where you can wander in a maze of flowers and Twinnings tea, looking for your favorite among the bunch.

During the Flower & Garden Festival, you can get stamps from not only the food booths, but also the gardens around Epcot. So of course I got my stamp in this lovely garden as well:

I always have to stop at my favorite little German village, especially when there is a festival afoot. Quite the celebration, it looks like:

Eats:

Then, there was the food. From left to right:

Teriyaki Curry Bun, from Hanami, the Japan Booth. 

(Totally delicious, but then, I have a weak spot for curry.)

"Piggylicious" Bacon Cupcake with Maple Frosting and Pretzel Crunch, from The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews, the America Booth

(This could have easily been a disaster. I wasn't brave enough to try it last year, but... wow. I was wrong. The flavor combinations strangely worked well together. I really enjoyed it.)

Pulled Pig Slider with Cole Slaw, from The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews, the America Booth

(Nothing fancy but... you can't go wrong with pulled pork.)

Oolong Peach Bubble Tea and Beijing Style Candied Strawberries, from Lotus House, the China Booth

(Okay, two different items here. I've had bubble tea before, and I love it, and it was THE perfect drink to have when walking in the 88-degree heat back to the car. So... thank you. 

I have two old favorites that made triumphant returns to the festival this year, and the candied strawberries are one of them. I LOVE THEM. I think the sesame seeds in the sugar is what makes this dessert so wonderful. And without fail, people always ask us where we got it. Usually with drool glistening on their chins, haha.)

Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade, Pineapple Promenade

(My other favorite oldie. Violet flavoring in anything is delicious.) 

Macaron Guimauve a la Fraise (large strawberry macaron), Fleur De Lys, France Booth

(I love it when Disney makes macarons, and this new one was fantastic. Marshmallow with strawberry jam packed into the middle? WRAPPED IN FRENCH NEWSPAPER. Perfection.)

The strawberries and bubble tea were the last items I ordered before going home. I missed a few of the foods that did not make it back this year (Oooh, how I loved thee, Hamani Sushi, with your violet sauce), but even if I had wanted to try a few more, my stomach was like, "Noooo, it's too hot outside, Kim. I can't." 

So I called it a day. 

Have you had any early springtime adventures or are you still stuck in the snow? No matter the weather, it's ALWAYS a good time to try new food and have fun.