The Fixer-Upper

I just finished reading this book and it was a very cute story. I like books with happy endings. Without giving too much away, the story is about a single girl who loses her job and moves to a small town in Georgia. She’s moves there so that she can fix up an old family home and get it ready to sell.

One of the story lines throughout the book are the house projects she is completing. I have to say its motivated me to get some projects done around my house! I haven’t read any of this author’s other books, but I will be sure to check them out.

A Sequel to The Preppy Handbook???!!!!

I just ordered this on amazon. I am so excited! I love the original Preppy Handbook and I am anxious to hear what the same author has to say about these crazy times we live in.

Mama Loves a Cocktail Party!

I love both going to cocktail parties and hosting them. You know what a cocktail party means . . . a new cocktail dress! In September, the man I live with (yes, that’s my husband) and I are having a cocktail party. We are having some of his work associates over.

Over the past few years I have learned that behind every great party is a great plan. Great planning has to start early. We decided to have hors d'oeuvres and obviously cocktails. I haven’t decided what kinds yet. Does anyone have any ideas? I also don’t know if I should go with a theme . . . thoughts on that?

As long as we’re on the subject of party planning, I bought this book recently. I love it! I often find that when I get a new party-planning book they recite basic etiquette, such as, you should always greet your guests at the door. Um, thanks for the tip, I never would have thought of that! This book has a lot of clever ideas and easy solutions. One idea they have is for a table protector under a tablecloth. They write about how normal table protectors are often bulky and uneven, I couldn’t agree more. They suggest using a thin fleece blanket. I plan on doing this – I just haven’t found the right blanket yet.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Loved the book, can't wait for the movie! Here is a link to the official trailer. It comes out on Feb. 13, 2009 . . . maybe my sweetie will take me for Valentine's Day. Honey - feel free to respond :) (Since I am your favorite shopaholic).

What I have been up to . . . .

I am flying through book four . . . and I can't put it down!!! Have any of you read the series? Or seen the movie? I will hold my thoughts on the movie . . . don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I will say this, Edward Cullen is pretty dreamy ;)

Love the One Your With - Emily Giffin

Okay girls, I’m not gonna lie to ya. I wasn’t that impressed with Emily Giffin’s latest novel. I loved Something Borrowed & Something Blue. I also liked Baby Proof, but it wasn’t nearly as good as Something Borrowed & Something Blue.

This novel was worse than Baby Proof. I was so bored when I was reading it. I would try to read a chapter a night, but sometimes, I couldn’t even get through that. Well I finally finished it last week. I have to admit, the last two chapters were good. However, I was disappointed with the book. Call me old-fashioned, but why can’t she just write about someone actually loving the one they are with? Why is it, in her books, that the main characters always have to venture out of their relationships to decide whether or not they really do - love the one they are with?

I think it makes for an interesting plot once in a while, but for every novel? No thanks. Anyways, I would not recommend this book. Maybe her next book will be better. Feel free to share your opinions!

Certain Girls

I just finished listening to this book on a cd. It was really good. I have loved Jennifer Weiner's other books but its been awhile since I read one. This one started off slow but towards the second half I was hooked.

The book is the sequel to Good in Bed. Cannie is now a mother to a thirteen year old girl, Joy. The book alternates between Cannie and Joy as narrators. The audio book was cool because it had an adult narrator for Cannie and a young girl narrator for Joy.

I thought the characters were well developed and the plot was good too. I think Jennifer Weiner has a great talent for exploring various emotions. I love the way she talks about things that everyone thinks, but doesn't always say. I would definitely recommend this book, especially for a quick beach read.

Audrey

My parents gave me Audrey Style when I was in college. I really love this book. Even though I have had it for quite awhile now, I still look through it fairly regularly. The author is an excellent writer and the book has a lot of good style tips in it. I can't remember if Audrey Style was written before Jackie Style or not. They are both great books though. My personal favorite part of each book is the section where she goes over "whats in their closet." She highlights some of their signature styles and the pieces that made their style famous.

Today, while I was looking on Amazon, I saw that she has written a new book about Audrey, What Would Audrey Do. Yes, I have already ordered it. I am really excited for it to get here. One of the reasons I love this author, Pamela Keogh, is because she discusses Audrey as a person, not just a fashion icon. Of course Audrey Hepburn was beautiful, a talented actress, and a fashion icon. However, she was also a very caring person with a beautiful soul. She dedicated so much of her life to helping others. I am looking forward to this read. I will keep you posted.

Weekend Re-cap & Book Review

I went to visit my parents and Fiance this weekend. They live in the same town. My future in-laws were also visiting for Fiance's birthday. It was really fun. We did a little shopping on saturday during the day. Saturday night we went to an upscale sportsbar for dinner (I know that sounds like an oxymoron). The food was really good.

Sunday, my parents had a little brunch for our families and to celebrate Fiance's actual birthday. It was nice and again, the food was amazing. My mom made this wonderful dish with asparagus wrapped in ham and then a cheese sauce over it. We also had some of the other standard brunch fare: quiche, fruit, coffee cake . . . mimosas :)

I also finished this book last night. It took me a really long time to read it. I didn't like it so much, but I feel guilty if I don't finish a book that I have started, so I made myself read it. I bought it because it had all good reviews on amazon. However, the book ended up being kind of depressing and then it was happy for the last chapter. I like to be entertained and amused while reading, so I guess it just wasn't my kind of book.

Good books

I just finished two books by Emily Griffin. The first was Something Borrowed and the second was Something Blue. Something Blue is the sequel to Something Borrowed. I would definitely recommend reading them in their proper order.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical after reading what the books were about, but I gave them a chance and I'm so glad that I did.

Something Borrowed begins with the story of two best friends who are total opposites. They are the kind of friends who are just friends because of how long they have known each other, but they don't have much in common anymore. One of the friends is engaged to be married. The story is told through the other friend, who is the maid of honor. I don't want to tell you too much because it will spoil the book.

I read Something Blue next. Something Blue is told through the engaged friend. It was very interesting to read them back to back. The differences in their perspectives on life were intriguing.

I think Emily Griffin is a very talented writer. Her stories were funny and light-hearted. They also discussed emotions that I think most women feel or at least think about. I like that because I feel like I can relate to the characters in the book. I like books where the characters feel like friends.