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10 on Tuesday: the "books I've read recently" edition

I've been doing a lot of reading recently -- the only plus to the amount of traveling and such that's been going on. In an attempt to catch up, here's a quick look at 10 of my most recent reads. Enjoy!

1. A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb (3 stars)

Whitcomb writes beautifully, and while there's a lot of romance to this novel, I was ultimately more annoyed by her characters than anything. I think what would've strengthened this one for me was a deeper foray into the character's backgrounds, because who they WERE means everything to who they ARE, but I just didn't see enough of that.

2. The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing by Kevin Young (3 stars)

An interesting collection -- the arrangement follows the stages of grieving, which is clever. The index also provides access to the poems by topic, and the selections are quite varied. I don't know that I would recommend this for casual reading, as it gets a little dark -- after all, these are all poems about death, in one way or another. But if you are someone who is moved by poetry, as I am, then this would've been a nice collection to have, to dip in and out of, after my father died.

3. The Van Alan Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz (3.5 stars)

I've been pretty critical of the first three books in this series, but book #4 has been quite an improvement, both in terms of de la Cruz's writing style (at least she's not bashing us over the head with designer clothing names!) and the general plot. The characters are a little deeper, and the storylines are more interesting; there's definitely more action driving this installment, as well. 

4. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (2 stars)

Maybe I just don't like "stunt journalism"? There are so many books of this nature that seem immensely popular but that I just can't stand. I mean, this one was okay, but Rubin really annoyed me, and what bothers me most about that is that I recognized myself in her -- and I didn't want to do that at all, because I don't think she was a very likeable person at all. But many of her flaws are flaws I see in myself, and so I spent much of the book cringing at her reactions, knowing that they would be my own reactions as well.

5. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (3.5 stars)

I was glad to get back to the main characters of Wicked Lovely, after the little side-trip in Ink Exchange. Surprisingly, Ash has become my least favorite character, mostly because of her actions in this book. While she was strong and decisive in the first novel, she's turned whiny and indecisive here. Seth takes an interesting turn, and some of the secondary characters really grabbed my attention.

6. 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison (2.5 stars)

I thought this one started out with a lot of promise, but I quickly grew disappointed. It ended up relying on a number of cliches, and there were a few plot points that were never resolved -- they were brought up a time or two to conveniently move things forward, but then that was it. Nothing more was ever said about them. The characters were okay, but not strong enough to carry this book.

7. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle (4 stars)

I love  how all three of these short stories shared the same cast of characters and the same town. Green's contribution was stellar, and he proves that he can write female characters just as good as his male characters. The other two authors were new to me -- I know who they are, but I've never read anything by them. After this brief introduction, I'm definitely going to be checking out more from Maureen Johnson; I'm still a little iffy on Myracle -- I think her story was the weakest of the bunch. All in all, three great YA short stories: engaging characters, an interesting plot, and all-around quick reads.

8. Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr (4 stars)

I really wasn't sure I was going to like this book, based on the description and the first couple of chapters, but then I ended up getting really pulled in to this one. That's quite interesting, because it seems as though most readers felt the opposite -- which is how my own opinions have seemed to work for this entire series. I think Ani's character -- and the possibilities she brings to this world -- provided enough interest to the plot and character motivations to really pull me in, and for me, that was just what this series needed. Definitely the best book in the series since it began, in my eyes. 

9. The Garden of Eve by K. L. Going (3 stars)

I expected more out of this one, since it was a Printz honor book. There's a lot to like here -- an interesting plot, a main character that really makes you feel, and strong writing. But everything seemed to hover just a bit on this side of what I expected; I just wanted MORE out of the book. Nothing ever got pushed deep enough or far enough to really move me.

10. The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food by Ben Hewitt (4 stars)

I've been curious about the local food movement since reading Kingsolver, and this book provides a really interesting look at the local food movement from all angles, which is surprising. The character profiles are interesting, and the book as a whole really seems to examine the situation from all sides, offering up questions, answers, and more questions. Rather than purporting to have all the answers, Hewitt examines the topic through the lens of one community, focusing on it as just one instance where local food is working -- but not without difficulties. An honest and engaging book.

The Open Book: Challenge 4, The Twilight Series

**My apologies for the delay in getting Challenge 4 up and running; life has been less than cooperative lately.

This week's challenge is brought to you by Jennifer.

My challenge this week is based on none other than the Twilight Series. The book that started the phenomenon is now Open Book challenge #4, which I find perfectly fitting since there are 4 books in the series ;)

"Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite."

This weeks challenges (you can choose to do them solo, in combination, or not at all)
1. Scrap a layout inspired by the image above.
2. Scrap about one of the books or the series and your opinion of it, good or bad.
3. With the new Eclipse movie coming out, I decided I should re-read the book again...Is there a book or series that you find yourself reading over and over again? Create a layout about it.
4. Scrap about an obsession in your life, be it a book or something else.
5. Scrap about your first love.

Here's what our team came up with for this week's challenge.

from Barb:
credits:Checked paper and star element from French Kiss kit, Photo frames from Made in France and Organic Photo frames, Journaling line stamps from Journaling Space Brushes, Bottom Border stamp - Borderlines 2 --all from Sande Kreiger; Small butterfly - Flutterbies by Christina Renee Designs; Paper Overlay - Lynn Marie Favroeau; Large Butterfly - Create Wings kit by Lauren Reid


from Laura:


To participate, just create any paper-crafted item -- a layout (digital, hybrid, or traditional), a card, an altered item, or home decor item using the challenge above. Post a link to your project in the credits, and make sure to share any thoughts about the novel as well. We'll have a new challenge up on July 12, 2010. Thanks for playing along!

what's going on: now

This space has been quite empty, but not for lack of trying. Several times a day I stop and think, "I need to write a blog post about that," but before I can get to it, we're on to the next thing. So here's a quick summary of what's going on with us right now.

Chris: Things have been busy at work. They've hired a couple of new student workers, so training them has taken up a good bit of time -- plus, because they're new, it's created a bit of a backlog in getting work orders filled as quickly as needed. There's talk of him going in this weekend to get caught up a bit more.

Audrey: Things have been really busy, even though technically I don't work during June and July. In the past two weeks, I've made one trip to Louisville (there and back in one day = 8 hours of driving), attended a two-day curriculum development meeting in Louisville, made the 12-hour round trip to EKU in Richmond with 8 high school kids and their luggage in a 15-passenger van. I have another one-day trip to Louisville again this week, plus another trip back to EKU at the start of July. I've also done a lot of reading, some thrifting, not enough scrapping, plenty of homework for my two classes, and lots of design plans (though with too little execution at this point -- need to remedy that TOMORROW.)

Cassidy: Soccer, soccer, and more soccer. JV and Varsity conditioning has started, and she's doing a Futskilz camp this week too. There's a tryout session for a competitive travel team coming up. Of course, there's been plenty of phone time with the boyfriend, plus a good bit of reading and some World Cup watching too.

Cami: This one's been into a bit of everything lately. She's been working her way through a math workbook to keep her skills sharp, plus doing 30 minutes of reading a day. Each day involves a Disney movie, plus some arts and crafts or games -- whatever she digs up, really. She's looking forward to the fair this week, and a trip to Gigi's next week with Cass for VBS.

new release: Madeleine

I'm sorry about the sporadic posting over these past couple of weeks. While I thought that the months of June and July were going to provide some nice time off with my family, it seems as though some additional work obligations, mostly involving a good bit of travel, have worked their way into my weeks. In order to work in some of the other things that I've personally committed to, something has to give -- and the blog has been that something. Hopefully I can find a chunk of time to get some posts scheduled, so that you have new reading material more often. :)

As for today, I've got a new kit (papers & elements) debuting at DHD, priced at 30% for the first 24 hours. I used this wallet (and there's a gorgeous matching bag, too) as my inspiration, not only in terms of color and pattern but also in texture and name:

June: Can't Miss Photos

In all my talk about "can't miss photo ops," it looks like I totally missed May. I'll go ahead and include them -- hopefully you were able to capture some of these shots. In addition, here are some photos you want to make sure you grab during the month of June:

• barbeques
• Grandma's hands
• prom happenings
• photos with Mom
• flowers in the garden
• Mother's Day presents
• Cinco de Mayo celebrations
• students moving out of the college dorm
• cemetaries decorated for Memorial Day
• people drinking mint juleps or wearing hats for Derby Day
• baseball games
• photos with Dad
• animals at the zoo
• outdoor activities (badminton, picnics, evening walks, outdoor movies)
• Father's Day events
• feet wearing flipflops
• strawberries on the vine
• graduates dressed in caps and gowns
• children on the last day of school
• brides getting ready for the big day

Just  a quick note: These types of photos would make an excellent "monthly summary" type of layout.

The items on this list came from an article in the October 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes; I'm posting it here in case you missed it. I'd love for you to leave additional suggestions in the comments.

The Open Book: Challenge 3, Plain Truth

This week's challenge is brought to you by Stefanie and features the novel, Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult.

Hi Scrappers!
I'm not a 'Book Club' type reader, those are the ones with the cool, trendy and artistic covers.  I read mysteries written by old, white-haired guys & gals, with pretty bland covers.  Not too inspiring!  But my daughter DOES read the cool, trendy books, so I asked to borrow her book as inspiration for the
new challenge.

Here's the cover:
 

This challenge will have nothing to do with subject matter, plot line, or esoteric meaning behind the written word.  I'd like you to just use this cover as inspiration for your page design.

The subject of your layout should be WHERE you love to go to read. Is it your favorite comfy chair or window seat? Bed? The beach? A blanket out in your garden?  Snap a few photos of your happy place. Strive to capture the mood of your favorite reading spot or spots. Share your thoughts about your reading place in your journaling.

Your photo or photos (feel free to use more than one photo) should be black and white, sepia, or any other neutral monotone that you like.

Use the bottom 1/2 to 2/3  for your images. Bleed one of your photos off at least one side of the layout. If you like, you can blend your photo or photos into the background, but it's not required. The top section can be white or neutral.  Please use the top section for your title and journaling.

Feel free to use one additional color as a color pop, but keep the majority of the layout neutral in color. This book cover has a gold title. If that inspires you, use gold for your title or journaling.

Here's what our team came up with this week.

from Stefanie:

credits: all items created by Stefanie


from Jennifer:

credits: Template:Tiffany Tillman for 25 days of templates at ReneePearson.com, everything else: Lemonade Stand by Paislee Press and Taylormade designs

from Amy:

credits: Everyday Happenings by Spinky Dink Scraps and Misty O'Brien Designs


from Audrey:

credits: template and kraft paper from Photocentric collab by Emily Powers Designs and Crystal Livesay at Oscraps; everything else from The Real Us kit by One Little Bird Designs at Oscraps


from Barb:

credits: Scalloped cardstock by Jen Martakis; Title alpha: Doodles in the Dark alpha by Scarletheels Media; All other elements from the Urban Spring Collab kit at Scrap Artist; Font is DJB Poppyseed

To participate, just create any paper-crafted item -- a layout (digital, hybrid, or traditional), a card, an altered item, or home decor item using the challenge above. Post a link to your project in the credits, and make sure to share any thoughts about the novel as well. We'll have a new challenge up on June 21, 2010. Thanks for playing along!

Photo 365: Week 22

May 28:

The open road stretched ahead of us, with tinges of pink and blue in the sky. In the car, it was quiet. We were all just enjoying the ride.


May 29:

She took it in stages: first with the big float, then the smaller one, then none at all. The pool wasn't big enough to really let her swim, but at least she's getting more comfortable with the whole process.



May 30:

A game of Go Fish while watching Toy Story on the old VCR upstairs. I love that she's still willing to play with her younger sister like this -- I'm afraid those days are numbered, so I enjoy them while they happen.



May 31:

The wreck had backed up traffic for miles, before they started diverting people at an exit ramp miles back. Most people had turned their cars off and even pulled out lawn chairs. They'd been there a while; the wreck was a bad one.


June 1:

A few flea market finds meant a little bit of rearranging around the house; this followed on the heels of same major furniture moving from the week before. It was just time for a change.


June 2:

Their games are always so involved: this time, they'd opened a nail parlor, and Cami was a new customer. She chose the pink and the blue, of course, for fingers and toes.


June 3:

An old basket of Halloween costumes and dress-up clothes kept them entertained for most of the evening; they pulled it down from the top shelf of the closet. I laughed, because it's something they haven't shown an interest in in months and months.

my dream house

For quite some time now, I've been turning over the idea of possibly building a home instead of buying one when the time comes (and there are lots of things connected to "that time," but we won't go into those things). It all comes down to creating the kind of home that works for the way we function as a family -- the TV doesn't have a central location in our home but our computers do, we prefer to all be in the same space at the same time, and we don't want something big or fancy.

I've been sketching out imaginary house plans for a while, and I keep coming back to a house that I found in Real Simple several years ago as the basis for the house I want. Essentially, the house is a large rectangle, with most of the living spaces open to each other.

I found an online site that let me create a floor plan -- keep in mind that this is not to scale. I simply wanted an easier way to picture this house I have build in my mind.

The large green area is the garage -- that's really just a holding spot. In terms of furniture and appliances and such, most of those items in the plan are just there to hold space. I haven't fully determined what type of arrangement I'd really like to have, although I have some inpsiration photos tucked away. Here are a few of them:

I want a desk like this built in -- that's in the top right corner of the plan. I'd like the wall above (where the large calendar is hanging ) to be built-in shelves, however.

This is my little game nook that I want -- do you see on the floor plan to the left of the front entrance (closet area) where there's a round circle on the plan? Yep, that's where this little spot goes.

In the living room, by the two armchairs, that's where I'll have my floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, of course. Something along the lines of this:

 or maybe this:
But full of books, of course.

I'm completely in love with this bathroom -- it's what I'd like to have in the space between the girls' rooms. It would also serve as the general bathroom for guests, etc.

 

For the girls' rooms, I like a built-in desk area like this at the end of each room, only modified to include a large wardrobe as well:

The kitchen is still the area that's most up-in-the-air. I know that I want open shelves above the counters. The panty will be a wall of shelves in the hallway that leads to the mud room. I'm still busy gathering inspiration for those areas.

I guess the next step is contacting an architect and seeing just how much a house like this would cost.

new releases: Rockabilly and Wooded Whimsy

Today's new releases are 30% off -- Rockabilly is an older item, re-released (with updated papers). I've also reworked the Kids Play quotes. In addition, I'm releasing my felt forest animals again, along with a new wood-grain paper pack. Enjoy.

10 on Tuesday: the thrifting edition

We did a bit of traveling over the Memorial Day weekend, and my summer off has officially started. To celebrate, I did a little thrifting while we were in Memphis (and while I was off one day last week here). Chris's mom and I, along with the girls, hit up a few antique stores, as well as the Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Williams Sonoma outlets in Memphis and Collierville. Here are my finds, plus an extra 10-on-Tuesday list of things I wish I could've purchased. Enjoy.

1. At Pottery Barn, I picked up this soap dispenser, plus a small lidded container (that reads etc.) and a toothbrush holder (with "brush" on the front). I love the stamped look of these.

2. One more small refrigerator dish to add to my collection, in the Butterprint pattern I love.

3. I love this cookbook -- it's designed with kids in mind, so the recipes are explained so clearly. Plus, the focus is on local fresh food, which is something we're always looking for. There are a number of recipes we plan to try this summer.

4. Chris's mom actually gave me this canister, since she wasn't using it anymore. I'm pretty sure it came from Target (it's storing popcorn and snacks).

5. I have been wanting a set of canisters FOR.EV.ER. These four are glass, with perfectly intact seals. The best part? The whole set only cost me $25.

6.This mixing bowl works perfectly as a fruit bowl on my kitchen table.

7. I love pitchers, and at $6, I couldn't turn this one down. Although I've got my utensils in it right now, it's a perfect shape for flowers too.

8. How cool are these little wooden houses, animals, trees, and fences? This is a 75 piece wooden set; the box said it was from Germany. Cami loves playing with little things like this, and I just thought this was too neat to turn down. (If these look familiar and you know where they come from, could you leave a quick note, please? Thanks!)

9. I'm thinking this might be the beginning of another small collection. ;)

10. Okay, so I haven't made this purchase yet, but I'll be doing so this week: they'll be getting a nice sanding and then a couple of coats of paint and new knobs before beginning life as nightstands in our bedroom. At $10 each, they're a steal!

And here are a few things that I wish I could've brought home with me:

11. There was no price on this chair, but I'd like something similar to put in Cassidy's room at her desk. Of course, it would need a coat of white paint and a new cover on the cushion so that it matched. This one's in such great shape that I'd hate to paint over it -- so I'll just be on the lookout for something similar.

12. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have to tackle this as my next project. I'm thinking I could make this quilt really easily, especially if I cheated and used a twin-sized white duvet and plain white cover, then created the stitches with embroidery thread. It would look adorable in Cami's room...

13. ....and if I had MY way, it would be going on this bed. (However, she wants a loft bed like big sis has...)

14. I don't blame her for wanting this...it's a Barbie house as tall as she is. At $85 though, it would have to be a Christmas present or something like that...still, very cool indeed.

15. I've seen these nesting bowls labeled as both Pyrex and Fire King, though I'm pretty sure they are Fire King since they seem to match most of the coffee cups I've seen. Anyway, all the sets I found this weekend were priced around $75, which is too steep for me.

16. I would love to get this pair of mid-century chairs -- but I have nowhere to put them right now. Still, the price was fantastic on them. $20 each.

17. This was an old Chinese Checkers tin lid, which I think would look really cool hanging on the wall below our game shelf. (More on that coming later...I've got plans for a huge house/decorating post soon).
 

18. And finally....a glimpse at a few things that I used to own. I love how walking through antique stores can be a trip down memory lane too.

19. My Caboodle was the same color as this one:


20. This same print hung on the wall in my bedroom when I was little: