Summer Reading

Looking for some fun summer beach reading? I love bookstores but am always overwhelmed with all of the choices when I pop in to pick up a fun vacation book so was thrilled when I learned about Target Bookmarked which has great recommendations in a bunch of different categories. It's awesome for book clubers too!

Calling All Moms

I oftentimes think I'm a self-help addict....I literally cannot get enough of it. Are there any books out there for that???? Anyhow, my recent favorite is a book called MotherStyles and it's an awesome book that is based on the Meyers Brigg test and helps you understand what your parenting style is and why you do the things you do. For example, I'm an EFSJ - "The Happy Together Mother" and as I've mentioned before I live with a list in my hand. The book encouraged gals like me to actually write down fun time with my kids on my list to make sure that I make time for it...sounds easy enough but somedays I actually need the reminder that that time is WAY more important than having clean clothes or milk in the fridge. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

Pink Loves Brown

Talk about a cute company name! When I saw these too adorable book plates from www.pinklovesbrown.com I knew this was a site I would love and really as always when there is cute stationery involved how can you really go wrong? These are perfect for book lovers of all ages...maybe a fun thing to give the Mother who has it all come Mothers Day? I know one who would love them!

Calling all Parents

My sweet friend SM introduced me to Lila Guide
and I'm hooked. It's an online (they have book versions too) resource for parents and parents to be with over 100,000 reviews from real moms on the best baby shops, activities and products! Talk about a great way to get the scoop on things to do at home or when traveling.

Real Simple Travel Magazine

It's no secret that I love magazines and I find Real Simple particularly great for all of it's wonderful tips and ideas. It looks like they have a new Travel magazine out on newstands and with this coupon you can get $1 off your purchase. Might have to check it out...would love your thoughts if you've already seen it!

My new favorite catalog

So it's no big surprise that I love getting mail. In order to ensure that I get something fun ALMOST everyday I subscribe to a ton of magazines and order catalogs galore. My new favorite is from an adorable papergoods company called Swoozies that of course has great stationery but also has darling totes and party items from fun ice buckets to cute paper plates and napkins. It looks like they even have retail stores in Georgia, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Arizona. Let's hope a Cali location isn't too far off!

Free Fun

Free Fun Guides show you how to enjoy California coastal cities like Orange County, LA and San Francisco without breaking the bank. They include a great list of museums, concerts, films and festivals that are all free so you can save your money for fun restaurants and shopping! There is also a New York guide for my East Coast friends!

Fun Reading

As a good Junior League member I had to check out the latest fiction book, The Devil in the Junior League, about the Junior League of Dallas. Having been a member of the Plano, Texas league I found the book particularly entertaining and thought it would be the perfect thing to toss in your beach bags for upcoming spring break vacations!

Book Buying

As you can probably tell I love to read - fiction, self help, magazines, the WSJ - I am a reader. I am also an organizer and love Spring cleaning so decided recently that I probably didn't need to keep ALL of my fun girly beach reads. I discovered the site www.webuyyourbooks.com and was thrilled when I learned they bought used books. What a great way to purge books we won't read again AND help fund future book (or shoe) purchases. I now have plenty of open spaces on the bookshelf so let me know if you have any recommendations!

My new favorite Mag

I got my first copy of Martha Stewarts new magazine, Blueprint this week and am in heaven! You can check it out online at: www.blueprintmag.com

Love Languages

I just finished an awesome book that embarassingly enough my mother in law gave Darling Husband and I for our 4th wedding anniversary (we are going on 7 years now). Anyhow, it's a fabulously easy read and has some really valuable information about how to love the people in your lives - most notable husbands, boyfriends and kids but I think it's really applicable to friends, etc.. too. It's called the Five Love Languages and it helps you determine how you like to be loved and how your significant others prefer to be loved. It probably comes as no suprise that I prefer "Words of Affirmation" and "Quality Time" so should you be in the mood to "love" me I hope that's helpful! You can see more at their website: www.fivelovelanguages.com

Now Discover Your Strengths

I was introduced to the book Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham during my days with The Coca-Cola Company and it is still an all time favorite. It helps you determine what you are best at and encourages you to do more of those things and worry less about the things you aren't quite as good at but partner with people who are strong in these areas. The only bad thing about the book is that you can't share it or check it out from the library because you need a unique code on the inside cover in order to take the online assessment.

The (latest) things I love!

I have two things that I can't say enough good about:

1. The iRobot Roomba Vacuum. With two kids and a dog we track enough dust, dirt, crumbs, etc. around the house to make a girl crazy. We were introduced to this by our friends the Stones and it is heavenly. You turn it on at night when you go to bed and it vacuums the house for you and then goes back to it's little base to charge for the next use! Genius! Because really, who wants to spend time vacuuming when a little robot can do it for you.



2. A book called Babyproofing Your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill and Julia Stone. I am just starting it now and am loving knowing that there are ways to be a parent and a wife/friend all at the same time! I know this may not apply to you all but thought it might be a fun gift to give friends who are new parents, etc...