Saturday, March 3, 2012

What I Read: February

This was a pretty busy month book-wise!  It started off with just a bunch of okay books, but The Scorpio Races and Fire were finally two books that got me excited to keep reading!  Hopefully I will have many more good books next month.  :)

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1)The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a fun, light read -- would've been a perfect summer read! I liked the coming of age story, though I think there's definitely some more growth that needs to happen with the characters. Hopefully we'll get to see that in the next book. I liked the characters, but didn't love them, except for maybe Jeremiah. And I don't love who she ended up with but I am looking forward to reading more in the series.


Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)Across the Universe by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a pretty good book. There were things I really liked, but things that I didn't like. It hooked me at the very beginning, but then got a little slow before it picked up again. In some ways it reminded me of Inside Out , by Maria Snyder and The Maze Runner , by James Dasner -- two excellent books -- but this one fell just a little short of those books. It was a very interesting concept but I just never really felt attached to the main characters. And I will admit some of the "Season" stuff was a little weird and uncomfortable.  I still enjoyed it enough that I can't wait to read the rest in the series.


I Know This Much is True I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I admit I didn't make it very far into this book. But far enough for me to know that I would not enjoy it. I really didn't like the way the author jumped back and forth between the past and present -- it was very confusing. I also felt like there was too much information that wasn't pertinent to the story, that things were too drawn out; the author just seemed to ramble at times. There was also a lot of sexual content and language that was thrown in randomly and it's just not something I felt like continuing.


The Glass CastleThe Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Based on reviews and recommendations I expected to be blown away by this book. Instead I was a little disappointed. While some of the anecdotes the author shared about her life were interesting, to say the least, the overall tone of the book was a little .... bland. I was sad for the kids -- their parents were definitely a little crazy -- but I wanted to feel some emotion, any kind of emotion, from the author. I didn't want to know what happened, I wanted to feel it. There was a sort of disconnect I felt that I missed.


Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2)Demonglass  by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this sequel. I just love Sohpie and all her sarcastic thoughts and comments! The beginning was a little slow but then it really picked up and there was so much happening. The one thing I didn't like about this book was the love triangle. Honestly, I barely remember Cal from the first book and having him as a potential love interest just seemed a bit forced and not really necessary to the story. Also a huge cliffhanger at the end, but well worth it. Can't wait til the next one comes out.


It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2)It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I flew through this book. It was such a quick read - I actually finished it in a day! I felt sad a lot in this book and I hope there is more happiness in the next. I liked the few chapters from Jeremiah's point of view and wish there were more. He is definitely my favorite character!



The Scorpio RacesThe Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a unique and beautiful story. When I first started I thought it was just okay, nothing special. But maybe about 100 pages in I fell in love -- with the story, the island, the characters. It suddenly felt so real to me. Puck & Sean were two perfect characters. I loved how different they were and I loved how different their voices were. It was easy to distinguish who was speaking; I can't say the same for several other books I've read recently. It was such a beautifully told story and it left me longing for more -- more Puck & Sean, more Corr, more Thisby, just more everything. I loved this book!



Fire (The Seven Kingdoms, #2)Fire by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having love Graceling, I was very excited for this sequel. The story was completely different from Graceling, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed this just as much as the first! The only thing really tying this to Graceling was the back story of Leck, which I really enjoyed learning about. There wasn't a lot of suspense or action, but I loved the slow way the story and especially the characters developed. This whole idea of "monsters" was so unique and so intriguing. Fire was the perfect main character and I really came to love all the people in her life and felt every joy and pain she felt for each of them. I can't wait to read the next in the series, though these characters will be missed!


Friday, March 2, 2012

Frugal Friday: St. Patrick's Banner & Wreath

I don't really have any St. Patrick's Day decor so I decided to make some. These two projects were super quick & easy.



I really loved this book page banner I found through Pinterest and decided to make a similar one.  I didn't have any books I wanted to cut up so I picked one up at the dollar store, along with some glitter foam shamrocks.  I also used some string & green cardstock I had on hand.




First you'll want to cut the cardstock & book pages into banners.  I cut the cardstock 4x6" and the book pages slightly smaller, then just cut a notch at the bottom.  You'll want the book page to be slightly shorter on top so that the green can fold over the string.  Then just staple or glue the banners on and glue on the shamrocks.  Super simple, right?!




For the wreath I used a twig wreath & green garland from the dollar store.  I just wrapped the garland around the wreath and glued some leftover shamrocks on it.  I made a pennant from scrap paper and jute.  Again, super easy!



Thursday, March 1, 2012

Things We Love Thursdays- Nail Polish

Pure Ice Jamaica Me Crazy


I found this nail polish through a friend and fell in love with it! I have a hard time using other brands now since I have used the Pure Ice. I have a ton of their colors and I think its fun that they each have fun names like "Gossip" or "Tease". The Jamaica Me Crazy is my favorite color and is the one you will see on my toes the most especially in the summer!


What nail polish and colors do you like?


-chelz




* We were not paid for this post.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

WIWW- Chelz




Cardigan- Target
White top- TJ Maxx
Jeans- Nordstrom Rack
Toms- Nordstrom
Scarf- borrowed from Buff's closet













This is such a comfy outfit and I love it. I always love an outfit I can wear my Toms with! Can you blame me though?!?! They are so comfy.





-chelz











Linked to:      pleated poppy Momma Go Round


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

St. Patricks Day Pancakes ... 3 Ways!

Here are a few fun (and easy!) ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day morning.

One:

First up are rainbow pancakes. Just make some pancake batter (we use Krusteaz) and pour it evenly into 6 small bowls.  Add some food coloring to each and cook 'em up.  Don't they look so pretty on the griddle?!





 Then just stack 'em up, pour on some syrup (we used blueberry) and add some whipped cream "clouds."  My daughter LOVED these!  Although she did ask why I didn't make indigo.  :)








Two:


These were inspired by some Valentine's pancakes I found on Pinterest.  Just mix up some batter and make half green and leave half white.  After they are cooked, cut a shamrock out of the center of each pancake using cookie cutter.  Place a green shamrock in the center of each white pancake and a white shamrock in the center of each green pancake.






Three:




These are just plain pancake batter pancakes with a glaze dripped over the top of them and some green sprinkles. The kids always love these!










Linked to:

Making Keeping It Simple

Monday, February 27, 2012

Clipix

Have you heard about  this new site called Clipix? Check it out.  It is a really fun way to keep your life organized! You can create a board for anything from recipes to shoes to books and anything else that you like.

When you are online and see something that you like you can just "clip" it and it will go directly onto your clipboards. It is super easy to use and pretty addicting. 

Things that I love about it... they have a privacy setting. This makes it easy to pin things that you do not want others to see. This will come in handy when I pin gift ideas, so that friends and family can not get a sneak peak at their gifts that I will be working on or buying! Another thing I liked about this site is there are Syncboards. Basically this means you can clip with your friends in real time. Pretty cool, so come and clip with us!

 

Here is our first clipboard:

clipix

                                                                  

 

My favorite part is that they have an app for your phone, so you can clip at anytime and anywhere. You can use this while waiting for an appointment or waiting for kids to get off the bus. 

 

Check out this video to learn more:

 

What would you clip?

 

Leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

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Healthier Egg McMuffins







This is a super easy and filling breakfast sandwich.  All you need are an egg, a whole wheat English muffin, and a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese.


Just cook your egg in a small frying pan and add salt & pepper to taste.  Try to keep it in a round-ish shape, but it's not super important.  Then toast your English muffin, spread on the cheese, and add the egg.  Serve with some fruit and you are good to go!

*You could also add 2 slices of microwaveable bacon (for an extra 80calories).  Yum!!!


Calories: 235
Protein: 14.5g


-marie








Linked to:

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Sunday Best 2/26/12

Thanks to everyone who linked up with us last week!
Here was my favorite...

Katie from My Darling Days

I love tweed in the winter too! This is such a cute skirt and I just love the whole outfit!









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2. Add the g*rated button to your post.
3. Make sure you check out other links to get ideas.  And no one would mind if you left a comment on their blog. :)
4. Follow g*rated.


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