Necklaces for Moms

I was contacted by Get Me a Necklace to write up a sponsored post for them. I have never done a sponsored post without actually receiving the product, but GMaN was more interested in bringing awareness to their website and jewelry and less about a review. So please note this is not a review but more my thoughts on their website so you can check it out.

I did receive $20 for this post and that is exciting, right? I get contacted by so many people to write up things and never get offered payment (so I politely decline) but this one was different!

Two things really stuck out to me on GMaN. One, they have picture charms. I really want one of our family pictures made to wear on a charm bracelet. Two, they have infinity necklaces, and I really want one of those as well. I would put my grandmother and grandfathers names on it. I'm named after my grandmother.

I love that they are very country inclusive. There is an option to change the currency at the top of their website, so you can order from Canada or China or wherever you live.

They also have cheap engraved bracelets, family necklaces, and bracelets in sterling silver. I know my highschool self would have really wanted some of the couples jewelry.That was all the rage back in the day. Now I'm married and we live together so I don't pine over Brian the way I did when we were dating. I mean, I still love him. Our love has grown so much...

Anyway, check out the jewelry if you are interested. I'm sure I'll never do another sponsored post again so don't hate me. I was just excited!! Finally, someone takes blogging seriously!

The Governess of Penwythe Hall (review)

I chose The Governess of Penwythe Hall from BookLook Bloggers to review. It was...meh.

Cordelia Greythorne is the main charter of TGoPH--she's a gentle widow turned governess after some mystery with her husband's family. She's strong-minded and yet weak as you see her interact with her kid's tutor, the kids themselves, and Jac, the owner of Penwythe. 

So why didn't I like this book? It was stereotypical. There was limited interaction with the kids (and they are a major plot point! more about them, please). Also, the governess is the main character, so I wish we had seen more of their "governess-child" relationship develop. 

For the love interest. Jac was just too good to be true. He falls madly in love with Cordelia, cares nothing about her past, and seeks to help her out in any way possible. So much savior, so little reality. 

The drama in this book was also overdone, in my opinion. From kidnapping to characters who suddenly repent from their evil ways right at the last (and most opportunistic) moment, to an entire family of narcissistic smuggles--it was a little much to swallow. I found Cordelia monotonous, mundane and unvaried. She was flat. Her students were flat. Her love interest was flatter than the wallpaper of their sitting room. The villains were annoying instead of scary. I felt bored reading the entire thing.

I would recommend this book to people who love idealistic love stories where not much happens but everyone ends up happy.

Tiny Truths Bible Review

I jumped at the chance to receive this book for free from BookLook bloggers in return for my honest review. Isn't it cute? And of course biblical! Over the last few months Reuben and I have enjoyed reading through it. I would say it is perfect for the 2-6 age range, with lots of detailed pictures and good prose. The stories are short, and they do gloss over a lot of the "murder, death, blood and gore" that is in the bible. For example, in the story of Daniel and the Lions Den, they just say that the advisers that plotted to kill Daniel got "in trouble" after Daniel was rescued from the den. And in the story of Joseph with the coat of many colors, they don't go into how he was accused falsely of rape--only saying that he was in jail for a crime he did not commit. I guess that is one way of putting it. We adults know the stuff behind the words. We all know King Darius' advisers were thrown into the pit and devoured--a little bit harsher than "trouble"! But perhaps not something you want to tell a two year old, yet? Yet it does seem a bit "too watered down" at least from my perspective. I know that there are some unpleasant things in the bible, and I know it must be age appropriate--but I think Reuben can handle most of it already. I think it is important to God's redemptive story not to remove so much of the hard things, but rather give your child the full truth (when they are ready) and talk them through it.

What things did I like? I like the cute pictures, and the diverse people groups shown. I liked how each section was short and to the point, and the binding opens easily. I hate it when I can't lay a book flat, guys. Its a struggle as sometimes I am nursing a baby and reading a book at the same time. This book is able to be laid flat without the pages closing!

I have another children's bible: the Jesus Storybook Bible. I couldn't help but compare Tiny Truthss to my Jesus Storybook Bible. I like the Jesus Storybook Bible better, but it might just be because I owned that one since Reuben was born and we have been reading it for three years now. I can't exactly pinpoint why. It feels like the JSB is more "biblical", but I would have to read them together and I don't have time for that. I know the JSB doesn't gloss over as much of the blood and gore as Tiny Truths does.

However, we are thrilled to get it and I will be keeping it in our home library just for further reading with Reuben. He loved it! If anything, it opens the door to conversations and I find myself picking up my bible and reading the original version.

Mama Natural Pregnancy vs Nourishing Traditions Book

If you have followed my blog for any length of time or watched my vlogs, you know I am fairly crunchy minded. I don't mind the label, I know it's a way of life I gravitate towards and love. Thus it would come to no surprise that I sought out natural pregnancy books. I've read two so far and wanted to compare and contrast them a bit.

The first one I read when I was pregnant with Reuben (and reread this time around too) is the Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Childcare. This second time around I also bought Mama Natural's pregnancy book, The Mama Natural Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth.  And after reading them I noticed some substantial differences I thought I would address in a video review! They are very different. I ended up liking speacts of both; but my favorite has to be Nourishing Traditions. I tell you why in the video.

What about you? Have you read these, and what did you think?

Boob Design Nurisng/Maternity Clothes Review

I bought nursing clothes! These are from Boob Design, an eco friendly and sustainable nursing wear (and maternity wear) company. Most of the clothes are organic cotton, with some wool and lyocell thrown in. I love them, the ethics and the clothes! I was so excited to find a fair trade company that caters to nursing and maternity clothes.

I didn't buy any nursing clothes with Reuben, and that's okay. First of all I didn't know if I was going to be able to nurse--how could I comprehend I'd end up nursing for TWO YEARS?! This time I want to make nursing easier on myself (since I'll be chasing a toddler too). That's why I decided to buy some easy-to-nurse in outfits. Also, Reuben was born in July. I kinda just set around my house with no clothes on, trying to learn how to latch him. Rebekah is due in January. I hate the cold. Nursing sweaters are a must!

Enjoy the review video. I go over the customs charges (these clothes are from the EU) and sizing issues I found when ordering. All in all it was a pleasant experience and I hope to order more from them if we can afford it!

I bought all Ethical "Fairtrade" Shoes

My shoes fall apart every season. Every fall for many years I've been buying cheap shoes and regretting it! I have wide feet, so my toes always get pinched and the cheap plastic "leather" always looks horrible by the next year, making me have to shop all over again. Actually for awhile I've been buying the same pair of black shoes on Amazon just because I hate shoe shopping and I at least knew they would last me one season.

This year I'm turning 31. And I'm tired of my shoes not fitting and falling apart. So, I decided to do something different: buy all ethical fair-trade shoes and see how they last, see if the quality is higher than my fast fashion splurges. I donated all but two pairs of my shoes (they were all falling apart/pinching my toes anyway) and decided to buy 3-4 pairs of shoes to replace them, giving me six pairs of shoes total instead of the nine pairs I had previously. I realize I could live easily with four pairs of shoes but I went a bit overboard... I don't really need three pairs of boots, but oh well.

I also gave myself a budget of $500-700 that I saved all by myself from my YouTube money and Christmas/birthday money! And I researched each brand and came away with shoes that not only are extremely high quality, but that I LOVE. And they go with everything! 

In the video below I show some of my old shoes, the two pairs of shoes I kept, and the four pairs of ethical fair trade shoes I bought. Hope you enjoy!

What I Read March 2017

Once again, I did a lot of reading in March, and I read some good and some really bad books. But most importantly I was entertained while nursing a toddler! That's what really matters.

In the Meh Book Category:

I read Mimus my Lilli Thal. I am not sure where this book went wrong. For one, it's strangely dark but the main character seems oblivious to the darkness. His inability to be very much upset over his predicament annoyed me. Also, the book was all about miming. And crazy kings. It just does not seem feasible to me that whole nations would go along with crazy tyrannical bloody kings!

The Doldrums is a middle grade book I read. It's interesting, but one thing that annoys me about many middle grade books is that evil characters are just mindlessly evil and oppressive to the shining main character. We need to overcome that trope. I also found the three kid's misadventures highly skeptical, and odd.

Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas was a real let down. It meandered here and there and was so so so long and drawn out. I really was hooked from the first two chapters but by the middle I was just confused and bored, to be honest. The ending was cliche and not exciting in the least bit. None of the questions and mystery's were really answered.  I was disappointed.

In the YAY Category:

You know when you read a book and it's a good book because the writing is amazing? That would be Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. This book was just good because the writing picked me up like a lazy river and gently carried me away.

Another book I really enjoyed was How To Train Your Dragon. Now, I have seen the movie and I expected them to be at least a little alike. But HTTYD the book and HTTYD the movie are SO DIFFERENT. First of all, in the book they don't ride dragons. Most dragons are small like dogs! And Toothless is not a nice dragon. He's a whiny, tiny curmudgeon who basically makes Hiccup's life more difficult, not less. But the book is so cute, and witty, and well done! Also, Hiccup has a friend in the book named Fishlegs who is my favorite character of all times! Hiccup does something really nice for him in the second (or was it third) chapter that stole my heart. So, thoughts: read the book, don't watch the movie. Or don't think of the movie even as related to the book.

My favorite book that I read this month was The Unbound by Victoria Schwab. This is a sequel to another book I read called The Archive by the same author that was also amazing. Most of the people who reviewed her second installment on goodreads didn't like it. I don't know why. I LOVED it. It's very dark, a lot darker read than I usually partake of, and it's...gritty and hard in a psychological way... but it was a good book. Only thing I didn't like was the love triangle that seemed kinda forced and like the author just added it because she thought it should be there in her young adult book, or something. But I still gave it five stars because woah. I loved it. I plan to pick up more books by Schwab...just because this one was that good. Also, the cover art. Swoon.

I also really liked The Poe Estate. This is the third book in the Grimm Legacy, and if you remember I was not a fan of the second one--but the third one was amazing. I highly recommend it. It has non-cheesy and semi-creepy ghosts and a lot of literature tie-ins to Poe and other authors that I enjoyed. I also was pleased that this book didn't follow the "person comes to work at the Library and stumbles upon an adventure" arc that the first two did. Change is nice.

Honorable Mentions:

I also read How to be a Pirate and How to Speak Dragonese, books two and three in the the HTTYD series. I'm listening to them on tape, and they are read by David Tennet and yes, it is amazing to hear the tenth doctor read me a story, that is all I'll say about that. Also he does Toothless' voice perfectly. Per-FECT-ly. I highly recommend the audio books for these!

I also liked Gateway by Sharon Shinn. I really love her writing, but her love stories are getting a little dull. She creates these amazing worlds and then fills her novel with...instalove? No thanks, so it's just an honorable mention.

------
What did you read this month? To see these and other books I read, check out my goodreads here. Also, I am always open to book suggestions!

What I Read Febuary 2017

I'm still reading up a storm this year. I thought I'd only read 60 books (because in 2016 I only read a measly 50 and most of them in the last two months) but I'm over halfway through my goal and it's only March (when I'm writing this).

I read a lot in February. Not only was I recovering from the flu, I also started reading while nursing instead of mindless surfing Facebook. Yay, feeding my brain!

In the Meh Book Category: 

I know a lot of people liked The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, but I did not. (this review contains spoilers because I am angry) This book was just all over weird. And the ending! Horrible. First of all, we get too much information about her genealogy. I don't care a whit about those people. It's not enough prose to build affinity to the characters but it's too much background before "the real story" about Ava starts. And I was so angry with the ending. Basically the story ends with her getting sexually assaulted. That is it. That's the end of the book. She gets raped and her mom suddenly cares about her. Whhhhhhhhhhat?

Another book I really didn't like was Mirrorscape by Mike Wilks. This book is just straight up weird. It's like he was literally on drugs when he wrote it.

In the Yay Category:


I picked up the book Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan just because the title sounded funny. But Nolan is a phenomenal writer. It's like I fell into a teenager's brain! I loved this story. It was heartbreaking and amazing and I was rooting for  Eleanor and her little one the entire time. Ugh, this book was amazing. And I am not a fan of teenage pregnancy stories, not even a little.

The next book that legitimately blew me out of the water was The Archived by Victoria Schwab. WOW. I loved the whole idea of the narrows, the archive, and the things they said about death. Basically when you die, a copy of your memories is kept in an archive. But sometimes the copies get out, and people have to deal with them. Just read it. It won't disappoint.

I also read Reckoning by Kerry Wilkinson. It's a new dystopian novel and you know I can't resist. It was really really good! But the second one was only a honorable mention, due to all the tropes. I had high hopes after devouring the first...

Honorable Mentions:

I read a lot of books that were neither horrible or great. They were good reads, but nothing to write home about. That's where I put these books: in the honorable mentions. First of all I read Angelica by Sharon Shin. She's one of my favorite authors, and I did really enjoy this book. But the very fluffy love story kind of turned me off. Also, I didn't realize this was the forth book in a series I haven't read. For some reason my library only carries this one in the series, and I can't get the others...

I also read Mastiff by Tamora Pierce. This almost went in the YAY category, but after further thoughts I put it here. It was a really good book, and a really good third book in the Beka Cooper story line. But I feel a bit betrayed by the ending. The supporting characters you meet in the first book are not even in this one--and I wanted to know what happened to them! But I did love Farmer. Oh, Farmer.

I also read Nest (by Ehrlich) , and the Secret Diary of Lydia Bennet (by Natasha Farrant). Nest was good, but a bit too sexual for me--its supposed to be a middle grade book. I think it would do well as a young adult book, but the themes just threw me for a loop since it's marketed to 11 year olds. The SDoLB was a good read. It's a spinoff that tells Lydia's side of the story. I loveee Jane Austin spin-offs. I don't know why but it's just so interesting. There definitely were some twists to the whole Lydia-runs-away with Wickham plot line. I liked it.

---So that is the main books I read in February, and what I thought about them. I read more, but didn't think them worth mentioning. You can see them on my Goodreads if you are interested!

You Don't Need this Book if You Have Everything you Need

Everything You Need You Have was really really not what I thought it would be. I thought it was a book on minimalism. Yeah.You have everything you need so you don't need more junk? 

But it's a self-improvement book. Ooops. I should have read the blurb more carefully.

Also, I'm a Christian, and my faith is a big part of who I am. Unfortunately, this book started slowly to descend into spiritualism (despite not being a religious book), and I found it harder and harder to connect. Between a lot of empty talk with no practical use whatsoever and a lot of stuff about ancient Chinese pseudoscience...I was not interested or entertained. The therapeutic anecdotes felt random and did nothing to add to the writer's credibility, and at times it felt like the writer himself either misunderstood the situations he describes, or deliberately altered them to suit his views.

Bonus quote: "Health doesn't have to be 'healthy'." What?

I also found Kite's ideas to be a little far-fetched, and not particularly practical. He included a great deal of case studies to enhance his ideas, but I didn't find they added to anything - rather than see the positive effect he himself and his teachings had on his patients, instead it seemed to me like they seemed to discover things for themselves rather than because of what he was telling them.

I also found the inclusion of the five elements a little confusing as I couldn't really relate them to what he was trying to paint as their influence. I just found the whole book a to full of mysticism for my liking.

The topics covered here could help someone if this is the first time they're looking into meditation and "enlightenment" (for lack of a better term), and if they are not religious in a organized way, but it could also totally deter them because the information here is kind of a haphazard mess at times. I'm not even sure what the end goal of this book was... it mostly sounded like Kite was paraphrasing other big thinkers and schools of thought, which made it a bit brief & shallow. And if you've read other similar books, there's nothing new here and many parts were questionable... like Kite didn't fully get the concept.

I was given this book for a free review. I didn't like it. 1/5 stars.

What I read January 2017

I love to read Kristin's and Michelle's book posts, but I never seem to write my own. So I am going to try and start? I've been reading up a storm. A storm. First I no longer use my iPad, so I read books while nursing now, and second, I've just been really into reading lately. Who knows?

These reviews/musings by me are spoiler free.

So, without further ado here is what I read in January, and what I thought about it.

In the Meh Book Category:

I started out by reading The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. It's one of her older books, and to be honest it was meh. The story lost me a bit and I kinda skipped a huge chunk in the middle to find out what happened in the end. It was such an odd book! The main character, a tall, rather large girl, gets kidnapped by this neighboring tribe because the leader there thinks she is important. And lo and behold she has special powers and fits right in with everyone... it was just a little cliche and uninspiring for me, but I did enjoy it. I won't be reading the sequels.

Another really, really boring book I read was Afterparty by Ann Stampler. This is a droll sort of book about a spoiled rich kid who is...a spoiled rich kid. That's the whole story. Skip it.

I also read The Shamer's Signet by Lene Kaaberol. This is a really lame adventure story about a girl who can read people's shame by looking into their eyes. Good premise. Horrible execution. It has about every fantasy trope you can think of, and also no depth. And angry teenage boys. Avoid.

In the YAY Category:

My favorite book of January would a toss up from Goldenhand by Garth Nix, or The Forgotton Sisters by Shannon Hale. Both were really good. Anything by Garth Nix is a must read for me (of his adult books, that is) and I LOVED his Sabriel series--this is a continuation of that story. And it was amazing. But too short. Why is it always too short? But I loved it and drank it up all in one sitting.

The Forgotten Sisters is the third, and last book in the Princess Academy Series by Hale. The book was great, and I loved it more than the first two--especially with the HUGE twist that I did not see coming at the end at all. It was very well done and blew the pants off me. Ugh, I loved this book so much!

Another book that teeters between yay and whhhhhhhatttttt would be Firstlife by Gena Showalter. I mean, it was a good book. I love the idea behind it. However, it was a bit too dark for my taste and had a crummy love triangle in it--and I am so over love triangles. So it wasn't a clear win/win for me, but I am interested enough to pick up the second one when it comes out. I also really enjoyed The Grimm Legacy--it would have been a YAY but for the fact that the second book in the series, that I also read this month (The Well's Bequest) was a phenomenal letdown and honestly boring.

Honorable mentions:

I read a lot of books that I liked, but didn't love, but didn't hate. Howl's moving Castle, while fun, wasn't my favorite. Howl is whiny and mysterious but annoying, and Sophie is a DIY kind of girl who also has a hot temper. Calsifer was honestly my favorite character. I also read Palace of Stone (the Princess Academy 2) and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, an Enola Holmes mystery. All these books were good, they just weren't great. You get the idea.

What are you reading lately? Any suggestions?  You can follow me on Goodreads here!

Nourishing Meals Review

I'm always on the look out for good gluten free, soy and dairy free meals, and I loved that this book included all three of our families major allergies in every meal!

I've tried a few of the breakfast dishes. Breakfast is getting hard around here with a toddler that wants more than fruit on his plate now! The coconut raspberry muffins (P138) were extremely delicious! I want to try the date and walnut cinnamon swirl muffins on the next page soon.

I also made the classic pumpkin pie (p410) twice! It's delicious and I can't tell it's dairy free at all!

I do wish the book had more pictures in it. I'm prone to skipping through cookbooks and looking at the pictures and deciding what I want to eat that way. This one does not have pictures with the recipes and thus it takes a bit of elbow grease to find what I want.

But I do find, that when I make that effort, I am left with a very satisfactory and filling meal that is enjoyed by the whole family. And I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who is dealing with allergy issues!

Plated Book Review

I chose Plated because the cover looked nice. I know, I know, but I'm a stickler for nice covers. That's probably why they make covers: for us visually inclined people.

But I digress.

I'm paleo, and this isn't a paleo cooking book. But there are several recipes in it that can be easily modified to paleo and even a few that didn't require modifications!

I loved the section on kitchen basics. As a budding cook who still burns things and has no idea what I'm doing, it's so interesting to see what professionals call "basic" kitchen needs. I, for example, use a fork to mash my potatoes. It works. I expected to see a list of unattainable, expensive kitchen items, but I instead saw a simple list of things I already owned! It make me feel like a real cook.

The list of common cooking terms with explanations was also super helpful. I love how they told me exactly what they mean when they use the word "brown"or "braise" or other such large-vocabulary culinary words.

I did try two recipes. I liked them, but I don't think I will make them again.

So, final thoughts. Did I like it? Well, the prep and style just isn't' for me. I'm a one pot kinda girl with kids; I don't eat lamb. I don't have a lot of time to devote to cooking because I'm trying to keep my son alive and happy and make time to brush my hair on occasion.

But. But--its a good book for a fancy Friday night dinner, if someone watches my kid. And that's really it. I liked it, I will keep it--for a fancy dinner when I have some time to kill in the kitchen.

Remembering and Honoring my Miscarriages

Remembering the pregnancies that I lost is very important to me. Each of the children I have carried in my womb are important to me, no matter the amount time they spent there. I wanted a memento to remember them all by and my friend Jessica, who sells Origami Owl has helped me do just that!

I will be hosting Jessica this week in an online Origami Owl Facebook party. Check it out if you are interested in origami owl products like the locket above that my husband bought me to memorialize my miscarriages and also the birth of Reuben. In full disclosure, as a host, I receive a discount from Origami Owl and "hostess gifts" that are based on orders from my party. But I truly love their products and what they mean to my life. 

Hope Unfolding Book Review

I received this book right after giving birth to my first baby. I was kind of skeptical, and running on little sleep and I was extremely unhappy with my body. Also, I'd never heard of Scisssortail Silk or Ms. Thompson. After the first chapter I looked up her blog and followed her on twitter. Not only did this book meet me where I was and spoke to me in what I would call the hardest time of my life, it did so from a biblical perspective, with humor. I cried about every other chapter.

I am so glad she's written this. I want to buy it for all my mom friends. I want to get to know Becky in real life and go out to coffee with her. I love how real she is in her book, how she talks about her miscarriage (I had three, so I really really relate) and the trauma and, eventual contentment in God she found.

In short, I would recommend this book to every mom, or mom to be.

Does the World Need More Love Letters?

I received this awesome stationary kit from blogging for books. I love stationary, but since baby I haven't had a lot of time to write letters, and I thought perhaps this would jump start some correspondence.

The stationary is cute but not overbearing, and I was surprised to find it came with awesome stickers to close up the envelopes. I have loved the few letters I have been able to send since having a baby! The paper is quite thin, but usable. I was expecting it to be a little thicker.

The prompts are all on one page, and I didn't really look at them as I had my own ideas for writing.

In short, this is just stationary. Buy if you need some to write some letters!

Style Virtuelle

I love getting surprises in the mail. I used to get that makeup subscription box whose name I can't remember (for like 3 months) because I wanted to try new makeup--I canceled it because I really don't experiment much and I was stockpiling makeup in colors that only a zombie would wear. Then I heard about clothing subscription boxes! I signed up for stitch fix first. Stitch Fix is a really high end subscription box, in my opinion, but I do love it. I will continue to subscribe to it, but, I can only afford to keep it coming every 3 months, being that each box holds about $200 or $300 worth of clothing.

And then a Youtuber I follow (she's so adorable) posted about a different clothing subscription box called Style Virtuelle--and S.V. was currently having a 30% off new business promotion going on. I don't know if it is fair to compare it to Stitch Fix, but since I got SF before SV, I can't help it. For one, SF only charges you $20 upfront, and after you receive your box you look it over and can decide what pieces you want and pay for them (my last box had 5 items for $250 in it, I kept two and paid $90 for two new maternity items and sent the other three items that I didn't like back).

SV is different. The way her website is set up is you pay a total up front. I believe I paid $110 for the level one box (she also has a higher end level two box ) and I received four items. I requested from her pieces for postpartum since I'm giving birth in a few weeks (ahhhh!) and wanted some new things to wear and I didn't feel like waddling myself to the store and trying to pick out things in my bloated state right now.  (I just want to stay home and eat chocolate covered almonds and stare at my newborn diaper stash...)

I received four items, a pretty dress (that is perfect for nursing), a orange shirt (I sent this back, so I don't have a picture of it because I forgot, like a noob) and a flowery top and a jersey skirt. When Rachel (the owner) receives the shirt I sent back, she will refund me the portion of my payment allotted for it--I don't pay for what doesn't work for me. My favorite thing was the dress. I didn't try it on, but I put it in my hospital bag to wear as my going home outfit. The skirt I love as well! It actually works well right now, and I plan on wearing it on Sunday. I love the shirt too, but since I'm still gestating a Rueben, I can't try it on. It looks like it will fit after he decides to stop rubbing his head on my bladder and come out to greet the world. I'm good at eyeballing clothing fit, usually.

Signing up for fun boxes of surprise clothing is fun. I can totally afford this box monthly (instead of every 3 months) and with a newborn (I'm sure I'll be house-stuck for awhile) it will give me something to look forward to! If you are interested in signing up, check it out here. Rachel (the stylist and owner) is really cute and sweet, she replies promptly to e-mails and she also has two adorable kids of her own. I plan on doing a review of the box monthly as well as a try-on video on my YouTube Channel (no video right now. I'm still planetary and it wouldn't really work well).

What do you think? I love clothes. I also don't feel like leaving the house, so, yay. Mail!

Paleo Chef Book Review

So when blogging for books offered The Paleo Chef for review I squealed! My husband and I try to be Paleo. Both our bodies work really well with the diet, and new recipes sounded great!

I flipped through the book and chose two recipes to make: the raw cauliflower tabbula on page 50, and his meatballs that are on page 147. 

I loved his raw cauliflower tabbouleh. I had to make two adjustments to the recipe: first of all, it calls for ground sumac, and I don't know what that is. Is that poison sumac, like the kind that breaks you out?! I even asked at the store, no one knew what it was! So I left it out. Also, I didn't have any fresh parsley or mint, so I just used dry herbs. It still came out fresh and amazing! I love the spicy taste of the cumin and all the vegetables. Noms!

And everyone (well, unless you are vegetarian or vegan, I suppose) loves meatballs. They were very very good as well. I can totally see myself incorporating his paleo recipes into everyday cooking--and I definitely see myself using this book for holiday paleo cooking as well. All the recipes are very well explained, there are pictures of everything and I didn't feel like it was over my head, although I would call most of his meals gourmet, and not every day food.

Thank you blogging for books for offering books for free for blog reviews! Love it! If you are interested, you can check out The Paleo Chef on amazon.

Knitting Block by Block Review

So, I got this book from Blogging for Books almost three months ago. Oops. Well, I do have a good excuse bun in the oven but yeah. It's about time I got around to reviewing this.

When I saw Knitting Block by Block, I was excited! Another knitting book! And I loved Knockout Knits, the first book I received for review.

This book is hardback, and the pictures inside are in gloriously vivid (I mean vivid) color. However, the book seems to be a collection of blocks. As in, squares. The squares are really pretty and amazing, but they kinda serve no function. There is a tiny section in the back that very loosely explains how to use these squares to make something, but there isn't any patterns.

I was disappointed. I don't like squares, and I'm not going to knit them and then try to assemble them into something. This book just isn't for me. That does not mean it isn't a good book. If you like knitting squares and you like patterns that leave a lot for you to figure out on your own, you will like this book. All the squares are written and charted, and a lot of them do look really fun. But, I don't make blankets and I don't hang pretty squares on my wall. Just not my type of knitting!

Beggar Magic Book Review

H. L. Burke sent me a copy of Beggar Magic to review! As I loved her Dragon's Curse series (by the way the first book is free on amazon right now!) I knew I had to read her next creation. To be honest, I'll probably read everything she writes. I'm hooked.

Beggar Magic is a standalone novel about two girls and, well, beggar magic. My favorite character is Zebedy, a teenage Highborn who can hear all sorts of voices in the Strains. I imagine she looks somewhat like this, although probably not as pregnant as me. Or as almost-30.

You know, I never realized how intricate a steam-puck outfit really is. I'm not really into that genre so it took a bit of rummaging through my mostly hippie and kawaii wardrobe to find something I thought fit. And I crochet myself a little steampunk hat! As I took these cosplay photos, I thought about what it would be like to be always surrounded by music as the magic in the book is auditory. All the time. Just some type of music, or voices jabbering on. I think I honestly would go a bit mad.

Pick up a copy of Beggar Magic if steampunk fantasy novels of the young adult persuasion are your cup of tea. You won't be disappointed! It's a good read.

Bread Revolution Review

I was happy to receive my next book to review from Blogging for Books! 

So this book has so much information in it I don't even know what to do with myself. There are recipes for making bread from scratch from grain to loaf, down to the detail level of how to cultivate and manipulate ingredients. It's simply amazing...sort of. For example, I can tell Peter Reinheart has devoted a serious portion of his life to playing with bread and baking.

As a extreme novice in the realm of cooking it was honestly just mostly overwhelming. I would only recommend this book to people who are looking to be master bread makers, or homesteaders. It's a bit much for me.

There are just so many recipes I don't know where to start! There are 6 gluten free ones that look really really yummy.

There is every type of bread imaginable in this book with precise, detailed instructions on how to make each loaf into bread perfection, in full colored full page pictures.

As I'm not a connoisseur of bread, this book was a way to in depth and over my head for easy use. It's probably something I might pull out in my late 30s, when I need another hobby, but it isn't something I see myself using regularly or even at all. I don't make things from scratch, and honestly the thought of making bread and it taking 8 hours sounds a bit much to me.

That does not mean this book isn't amazing, because it is. Just know there is a high learning curve.

Not my favorite book I've received for review so far, but that is certainly okay.