BlogHer Book Club: The First Husband

The First Husband by Laura Dave should be the first book you read this summer. Throw it in your beach bag or enjoy it on the plane, you will not be disappointed!

Dave carefully tells a tale of a woman who thinks she has it all until one day she hears those awful words, “we may need a break” (Dave, 7) Those simple five words grabbed me and I found myself immersed in a love story like no other I have read. The twists and turns are not only unpredictable but also very realistic. I felt like I was in Annie’s shoes many times while reading and found myself upset, elated , depressed, happy, etc.

This is not your typical boy meets girl story were they don’t like each other, then they do and end up together at the end. This story is more like something that would happen to your best friend and the way Dave writes it’s as if your friend was telling you about it over a latte at the local coffee shop. At one point I found myself asking “why” out loud while I read. Annie doesn’t necessarily take the easy route but perhaps that’s what makes the tale so interesting to read.

This book is one that will resonate with people in and out of relationships. It might hit closer to home for those in a relationship because the beginning of the book is a common nightmare. However, for those not in a relationship it will be interesting to see how someone falls out of love and the ability they have to learn to love again. Dave weaves this learning to love again in a way that is suspiciously easy when in reality Annie struggles and fights like no other.

I hope you’ll pick up a copy soon to enjoy this summer!

 
Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book.

This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Teacher Appreciation Week

 My kids have wonderful teachers this year! As Teacher Appreciation Week starts tomorrow we spent some time this weekend making gifts for them.

We love giving flowers to make their desks pretty so I had each kid write "Thank you" and sign their names on a mason jar. I had them write it with a Sharpie so that the writing won't wipe off but they can scrub it off at a later date to use the jar for something else. We wrapped the edges with some ribbon and called it a day.

Lastly I made the teachers a washer necklace. These are all over Pinterest and I have been dying to make some. I found really nice quality washers at ACE Hardware and the leather cord and beads are from the craft store. My husband had to help me with the actual stamping and we found that if you wrap the washer in masking tape it prevents them from moving around and thus prevents 'shaky' letters.

I hope the teachers love their presents and more importantly I hope they know how much we appreciate them! 

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BlogHer Book Club: You Have No Idea

As a fan of memoirs I was thrilled to be picked to review "You Have No Idea", the untold story of Vanessa Williams' life. I'll start by saying that I knew very little about her before starting this book which may or may not have influenced my reaction to it. I found it to be a beautiful story about a mother and a daughter. Because of the way it’s written with both Vanessa and her mom Helen telling the story at times it feels like we are eavesdropping into their conversations. Vanessa was thrown into a lifestyle of fame without much preparation and throughout the book we see how her mother was able to help her with the transition while teaching her very important life lessons.

Perhaps the most striking part of the book for me was the retelling of her winning the Miss America pageant. Not the actual crowning, but what happened later. Vanessa writes "The first black Miss America. I'd made history!" (pg. 31) Unfortunately this win was not received well by everyone and she faced racism from both sides of the fence. Later the crown was taken away from her because of an unfortunate leak of inappropriate pictures that had been taken years before. But before that happened her reign was shadowed by threatening calls and mail from those who felt she didn’t deserve this title.

This would be a great book to give to any mother or daughter because more than a memoir it seems like a great story of the relationship between Vanessa and her mom.

Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book. This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Airplane Goody Bags for Kids

Our dear friends are moving to Colorado in a couple of weeks :( Our entire family is heartbroken about it. I keep reading this quote I saw on Pinterest "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" but it's not really helping. They left this afternoon to find a house and school so we decided to make some goody bags to keep the kids happy on the plane. I found these re-usable vinyl bags at Walmart and thought they'd be perfect for the job.

I let each kid pick the items for their friend and they had so much fun. As you can see they picked coloring stuff, notepads, notebooks, a matchbox car, pen, a lollipop and a granola bar. Hopefully this kept them busy for at least the first flight!

I try to teach my kids a lot of things... one of the main ones is to be a good friend. I talk a lot about this with my daughter especially because she is older and more apt to understand. We talk about what a good friend is and how being there for someone when they need you is crucial for a good friendship. As both of my kids put together these bags we talked about how much they would miss their friends and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I bawled the whole time.

P.S. My friend just texted me a pic of her boys enjoying their goodie bags on the plane- score!

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BlogHer Book Club: The Book of Jonas

Long time readers know that I love the BlogHer Book Club and truly enjoy reviewing books. However, I had a really hard time reading The Book of Jonas by Stephen Dau. Regardless, I still think everyone should read it. As citizens of the world we think we know about wars, but this brilliant tale brings to light many of the truths that we would rather NOT know about wars. As a mother of young children my heart broke as I got to know and love Jonas. And it further crumbled as I met Rose, a mother trying to preserve her son's memory.


Dau does an incredible job in describing the feelings of a young boy who has lost everything due to war and been shipped to another country. As if 15 isn't already a hard age, this young is thrown into a new culture and family with little support but that provided by a court-ordered counselor. It is this aid who helps put him in touch with the mother of the soldier who saved his life. And their meeting brings about a beautiful union of two lives that under any other circumstance would have never intermingled.


I found myself putting down this book and embracing my children. I was more thankful as a mom during the time that I read this book. I hurt for Rose's loss and it made me realize that no matter how much we hear about wars on television and in the papers we really don't know the full story. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism because our hearts would truly break if we knew everything that is really happening over there.

Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book.

This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Nest Cupcakes

These mini cupcakes were the perfect end to our Easter picnic last weekend. They are simple vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. The three "eggs" add a whimsical touch of color and sweetness that everyone will love.

The kids are off school tomorrow and we're planning on spending the entire day at the pool. Have a great weekend!

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Oreo Cupcakes

One of my favorite things to make is cupcakes... as can been seen by the many I've made and posted about on this blog:

Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting
Soccer Cupcakes
Corney Cupcakes
Chocolate-Mousse Filled Cupcakes
Popcorn Cupcakes
Sunflower Cupcakes
Play Pool! Cupcakes



However, I've been working with pastry tips found in local stores. I finally decided to go pro and ordered an amazing set of tips from Bake it Pretty. It's not just called the Best-Ever Cupcake Icing Kit, it actually is! I'm not getting paid to tell you this but I absolutely love it! I couldn't wait to try it and just had to bake up some cupcakes as soon as it arrived in the mail. I decided to try out my hand at Oreo flavored ones and they were out of this world! I used this recipe and highly recommend it! Enjoy!

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