What I read in 2013

Courtney's bookshelf: read in 2013

I love keeping up with the books I read each year via GoodReads. I started the year strong but fell short in November and December due to our 'Breaking Bad' addiction. Still, 18 ain't half bad!

My favorites are always hard to choose since I love a variety of genres. I loved the two by Jojo Moyes, The Girl You Left Behind and Me Before You. I loved Sarah's Key also and became a Jodi Picoult fan with The Storyteller. I really enjoyed Sarah Jio's books as well. And The Language of Flowers and The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. See, I can't choose!

I'm on to Allegiant now (I loved Divergent and Insurgent, excited to finish these)!

Currently reading..

Fave magazines this week...

I enjoyed the article about Carrie but I don't know that I believe she does her own hair and makeup.  I love her purple eyeshadow though and I'm totally copying it.  My favorite article in Runner's World was "Beyond the Mantra" by Michelle Hamilton. It's about training your brain for endurance, not just your body. Good read!

I also recently finished The House at Tyneford and I really enjoyed it. It rated highly on both Amazon and Good Reads (plus my sister-in-law recommended it); I had to read it!

It started a little slow but I was hooked at page 50 and had to keep reading.  Interesting story and definitely Downton Abbey-esque.  I wish it had a different ending but I also like when authors don't take the easy way out.  Here's Amazon's synopsis.

I downloaded Six Years by Harlan Coben and couldn't get into it, didn't like his writing. It got great reviews though.

Instead I moved on to this, Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  Love it! I believe it was Heidi who recommended Kristin Hannah to me, I can tell I'm going to be a fan.

Any other good recommendations?

The boys' favorite books

The boys love books and I thought I would share some of my their favorites.  There are so so many great books for children but these are a few we love to read together.

Baby Brains Superstar: I admit it. This is one of my favorites (a gift from cousins, they always know what's cool) and I begged the boys to like it. And thankfully they do (because I love reading it!). It's about a mommy who puts headphones on her tummy when baby is in the womb and he's born loving music and wanting to be a superstar. A really fun story!

How Rocket Learned to Read: A gift from a dear friend I've known since we were babies ourselves. This book is a precious story about a dog learning to read and has beautiful illustrations. I was tempted to order an extra one and frame some of the pages. They are that precious.

Hugless Douglas: My four year old asks for this to be read over and over.  Douglas is a big bear looking for a hug. And he's just so cute.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons: Cute books with adorable rhymes and lots of fun. You'll walk around humming the song once you've read it.

Bob reading books: a favorite for my 5 year old. He's so proud of himself when he finishes a page. I wish I had introduced these sooner.

The Story of Ferdinand: An old classic. I had read this story many years ago and forgotten about it.  A friend once told me that my 5 year old reminded her of Ferdinand (tenderhearted and could not hurt a fly).  It has since become a favorite.

Corduroy: Another old classic. Who doesn't love a sweet little teddy bear?

Llama Llama Red Pajama:  We love all these books. They are encouraging and funny and rhyme, our favorite combo.

Fall Mixed Up:  This is a silly one with mixed up seasons and words that the boys love. They love correcting the mistakes!

The Very Busy Spider: A classic. My oldest reads this over and over.

We Are in a Book:  This book is filled with silliness and super fun to read out loud.

The Something Wonderful: This was a Christmas book a teacher gave little C. The story is told in a darling way and we read it year round.

I know there are so many other great stories--please share your faves!

Book Review: The Bungalow

I recently finished Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to read some of her other books.  One of those is The Bungalow. I loved this one as well!

Here is the Amazon synopsis:

"In the summer of 1942, newly engaged Anne Calloway sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. Under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world-until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war. 

A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne's determination to discover the truth about the twin losses--of life, and of love--that have haunted her for seventy years."

While some authors leave the ending to the reader's imagination and some wrap everything up neatly in a bow, Sarah Jio sort of does both for me.  I love her writing style and am currently reading her book The Violets of March.  I would recommend adding it to your list as well, it's great so far!

*On a side note, I signed up for my second half marathon last night and I'm really excited (it's in March)! It has been 6 months since I ran my first.  I think my knees have recovered, I've been training like a mother (ha!) and I feel ready! More to come...

Happy Tuesday friends!

How the week looked

This was a busy busy week y'all! But a great one too:) Here are snippets Insta-style.

I've been snacking on this...hot & sweet mustard from Trader Joe's (with pretzel crisps). I'm so addicted I buy it in bulk.  Also delicious on a ham sandwich and for the record, not spicy at all. Just delicious!

I also ate WAY too many of these -- rice krispie treats with peanut butter, chocolate chips, M & M's, and flax seed for a slight health benefit.  So good!!!

Some OOTD's...

Seven jeans / JCrew sweater / Loft shirt / Stella & Dot necklace

Seven skinnies (yes I wear them every day) / Loft sweater /  JCrew popover shirt (a new fave)

Hudson jeans / Loft belt / Loft cardi / JCrew shirt / Stella & Dot necklace

Family snowman from last Saturday, so precious how excited the kids get over snow.  Frosty didn't last long but we sure had fun making him!

I finished a book and discovered a new author I love, Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio. I highly recommend it (discovered from EatLiveRun's review, she is such a good book reviewer and I've been a longtime fan of her blog). I was captivated from the first page and couldn't stop reading -- my favorite kind of book.  Add it to your list!  This book really deserves its own post but I had to go ahead and share.

Living room...making major progress!! Here are fabrics that my girlfriend pulled together for me.  Soooo pretty, I'm in love with them!

I'm going to change the wall color (currently neutral) to something similar to the room below (richer for some contrast).  I can tell it's going to be my favorite room.  My girlfriends have such amazing style, I'm enlisting them for the kitchen and dining room too;) I could just squeal, so excited to beautify these rooms!!  I can picture myself sitting in my favorite chair with a cup of tea and a good book (for a whole 5 seconds until I hear someone scream MOM!) Wouldn't have it any other way;)

So happy it's Friday people, this girl needs a weekend!! Hello and welcome to new followers (and old:)! Hope y'all have a great weekend:)

Book reviews and a recipe

I've finished a couple of books lately that I wanted to mention while they are fresh in my mind.  First, The Lost Hours by Karen White.

I loved this book.  It touches on a number of poignant themes: lifelong friendships, first love, loss, grief, forgiveness, regret, and family secrets to name a few.  I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it.

From the publisher (because I am the worst paraphraser ever):

When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.

Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist—or does it? And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace—and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River. The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s— each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong.

This was a wonderful book as well: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf.

The subject matter for this one was difficult for me.  It's about 2 little girls who go missing (clearly a mother's worst nightmare), the search for them, and what is revealed along the way about their family members and daily lives.  It's not all pretty and it won't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.  But, it is an intriguing story that I had to finish.  Also, the story is told from 6 different points of view, making it an interesting read.

It really is a great book, don't let me scare you away! I would still recommend reading it if you're done with silly romantic happy stuff.:)

Now.

I made chicken corn chowder for dinner last night and it was so easy and tasty.

via Pinterest

Also, my bff Jules just gave me the link to PUNCHFORK and it's a fun website for recipes.  Happy Tuesday!