Death by Chocolate

Being a YA Librarian can definitely have its perks, and this summer I have had no shortage of incredible moments and programs. RPL had a tasty summer following the Reading is So Delicious theme. Even though, our program was over on August 4th, I just couldn't resist doing one more delectable event.

Welcome to the Death by Chocolate Party!

I wanted to have multiple kinds and ended up deciding on a white, a milk, two darks and then two flavored chocolates. I bought one large bar of each. To prepare them for the party I cut them each in half and then used those squares. One square was left whole and the rest were cut into tasting sized pieces.

Each attendee was able to use the square to smell the chocolate before they tasted a separate piece. We started the tasting with the 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (Valor Chocolates), then moved down to the 51% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (Perugina). Now it was time for the milk chocolate and after looking around the store I learned that most milk chocolates are 31% Cocoa. For variety, I chose the Godiva bar. Then it was the White Chocolate (also Perugina), which contains vanilla flavor and cocoa butter.

Then it was time for the two flavored chocolates. There were so many different flavors in the store to chose from, but everyone loved the two that I did pick. Because it was creamier, and more like the milk chocolate, the next one sampled was the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cabernet Matinee. Everyone tasted the fruit, but only one boy guessed correctly that it was blackberry. As in the name, it also contains the flavor of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The last one (and my personal favorite) was a 50% Dark Chocolate with Pear and Almonds (Heidi Grand'Or).

It was a great program, and everyone was able to taste the differences between the bars and note the texture as the level of cocoa decreased. We all learned something today. Of the 10 attendees, I took an informal poll and the Cabernet Matinee was the favorite with a three way second place tie for the 70% dark, milk and white chocolate.

I am so thankful for having a store like For the Love of Chocolate close by! I could have spent hours in there picking out different kinds of chocolate to taste. It was hard enough to decide on the 6 bars that I did. Maybe next time I will be brave enough to get the Chili flavored one.

The Ancient Art of Henna

Colleen the Henna Lady

Today we had Colleen Heller, the Henna Lady, come and do a program at North Avenue for the teens, her third of four programs for RPL. She gave a brief, but informative presentation on the history and uses of Henna. I have been looking forward to this program for months, and was especially interested to see the different styles and cultural uses.

After her presentation, she did a small henna for each of the 25 young adult attendees (and even one for me:) Since she mixes her own paste, it smells absolutely wonderful! Some opted for traditional designs, or to let her creatively free hand a design. Some asked for animals or even their initials. Some even asked glitter.

Colleen was professional amazing and you can follow her on Twitter or like her on Facebook! I would recommend her for group events and library programs.

My Henna

One of the things about Henna, is that if properly taken care of it will last for a few weeks.

The first picture is of my Henna immediately after it was done. It is dark and thick because the Henna paste is still on it. I allowed it to dry, and tried not to remove the dry paste for about 6 hours.

When the paste first flaked off, it left a pale yellow design on my skin. Colleen told us that the design would continue to grow darker till day 2.

The second picture was the following morning. The color was darkening, but was almost like a faded orange.

The third picture was taken on day 2. It looks lighter in the photograph, but the beautiful pattern on my wrist is a rich, chocolaty brown.

I love it! I have received so many compliments on it, and I have been thrilled!

An Afternoon with Nikki Giovanni



This afternoon we welcomed Nikki Giovanni to Richmond Public Library as part of our Teen Summer Reading Program. Natasha and I got to do the welcoming remarks and it was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. What an incredible experience.

Nikki was funny, honest and held nothing back. You could tell that the 200+ members of the audience really connected with her as they laughed with her. Even though there were mostly teens present, there were several adults of all ages, and even after putting out more chairs it was still standing room only at the end. She read four poems for us, the first two being I Am a Native Tennessean and Nikki-Rosa.

She spoke to the teen audience about the importance of education and of going to college. 'You can't afford to be stupid, and that no one can afford to go, but you have to make it happen. You have to make your dreams happen.' You are "not in school to make grades. You are there to change the world. That is your goal."

Like all authors, she also gave a little advice to those who were aspiring writers. "How many of you have seen an object on the street and come up with a story about how it got there?" You have to have something to say. "It is up to you to find the narrative of your own life."

As someone who just turned 30, I was especially pleased that she told the teens that even though you are told that these years are the best of your life, they aren't. That your 40s and 50s are. 42 is especially wonderful. Marian Anderson was 42 when she sang on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial. Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. So, at least I can look forward to a magical year and a great decade!

My favorite piece of advice that she gave was this "if they don't like you, they don't get to hurt your feelings." If they are saying that, then the probably already didn't like you anyways. "You can't let people who don't love you, hurt you, or describe what you do."

Ending the program with her fourth reading of Ego Trippin, you would have thought we were at a rock concert. The crowd erupted like their favorite number one hit was being performed, and even recited some of the lines with her!

Helping to make an event like this happen, and getting to be a part of it is one of the many reasons why I love being a librarian. Thank you Nikki for such a wonderful and inspirational afternoon!

Natasha, me, Nikki and Sarah

Tasty Programming, Sushi Style

My real sushi lunch!

 Today, June 18th is International Sushi Day!

So today at the library we made sushi out of candy:) We had a lot of fun and it was very tasty.

Check out these directions to make your own! 

I had 10 tweens in attendance, and it was very easy and hands on.