Hope in a Jar

I bought and started reading because I remember:

• Love's Baby Soft
• Watermelon Lip Smackers
• Sun-In
• Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific

Twenty years ago, Allie Denty was the pretty one and her best friend Olivia Pelham was the smart one. Throughout high school, they were inseparable…until a vicious rumor about Olivia— a rumor too close to the truth—ended their friendship.

 

Now, on the eve of their twentieth high school reunion, Allie, a temp worker, finds herself suddenly single, a little chubby, and feeling old. Olivia, a cool and successful magazine beauty editor in New York, realizes she’s lonely, and is finally ready to face her demons.

  

Sometimes hope lives in the future; sometimes it comes from the past; and sometimes, when every stupid thing goes wrong, it comes from a prettily packaged jar filled with scented cream and promises.

  

Beth Harbison has done it again. A hilarious and touching novel about friendship, Love’s Baby Soft perfume, Watermelon Lip Smackers, bad run-ins with Sun-In, and the healing power of “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific.” Hope in a Jar: we all need it.

Enjoying the book so far, the first book I've read by Beth Harbison

 

Declutter Your Bookshelves

Declutter Your Bookshelves


If you have 5 minutes: Straighten books, and dust the very edges of the shelves and any items on display that look dusty.

If you have 10 minutes: Do a quick sort. Recycle magazines that are out of date. Pull books that you know at a glance need to be donated. Dust the shelf edges and around empty space, and move display items to dust around and under them.

If you have 15 minutes: Pull everything from the shelves. In addition to recycling magazines and pulling books to be donated, reorganize books in alphabetical order, by subject, by color, etc. Dust the full shelves before placing books back in their rightful spots.

I love this livingroom courtesy of BHG.com with all the vintage globes on the top shelves. I absolutely love vintage globes, but not enough space for them -- maybe a good thing.

I Heart Books

by Kathy Fornal

Marianne LoMonaco

by Timi Kosa

Mandy Brandt

Lupen Grainne

The Shack

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

The Shack is the most absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years. My wife and I laughed, cried and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God. Michael W. Smith, Recording Artist --Michael W Smith, Recording Artist - personal endorsement

Reading The Shack during a very difficult transition in my life, this story has blown the door wide open to my soul. Wynonna Judd, Recording Artist --Wynonna Judd, Recording Artist - personal endorsement

This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' did for his. It's that good! Eugene Peterson, author --Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.

The House of a Thousand Lanterns Earrings

From Victoria Holt's "The House of a Thousand Lanterns," one of my favorite authors.

Jane Lindsay never dreamed she would be wealthy. Nor that she would fall in love with a man she could not trust. Against the background of 19th-century England and Hong Kong, the story of a young Englishwoman in a strange new world unfolds . . .

Earrings to salute this fabulous author and novel. -Emily's mom

Emily's Book Club

"Sew Darn Cute: 30 Sweet and Simple Project to Sew & Embellish" - paperback $21.95.

"Sew Darn Cute is more like Sew Darn Clever! Jenn Ryan has whipped up a collection of projects that pop with personality! Easy-to-follow directions matched with her happy tone make for a must-have book. The juicy photos prove she put a lot of thought into every pattern, seam, and stitch. From a cupcake tote to a sassy sewing machine cover, these ideas will send any fabric hound straight to rickrack heaven!" --Kathy Cano-Murillo, founder of CraftyChica.com "The brilliant fabric combinations Jenny Ryan creates are the icing on the cake of her projects. I just want to make and wear the whole book!" --Jenny Hart, founder of Sublime Stitching

Sought after for her one-of-a-kind handmade gifts, Jenny Ryan has created a collection of adorable projects in Sew Darn Cute that anyone can complete in a jiffy. Simple sewing techniques and quick yet stylish projects combine in this appealing book that teaches readers basic sewing skills while they create adorable yet useful items to keep for themselves or give as thoughtful presents. Use surface embellishment techniques including applique and embroidery to transform plain tees or old linens into pretty and unique signature items like a pillowcase purse or a skinny summer scarf; create lovable critters or a set of crafty coasters from scrap fabric and felted sweaters; or clean up the clutter in your craft room with easy-to-sew organizers for your crochet hooks, knitting needles, pins, and more. A focus on using vintage and thrifted, repurposed fabrics shows readers how they can whip up unique sewing projects that are also easy on the planet (and on your pocketbook). Colorful photographs reveal the projects and fabric selections up-close; step-by-step instructions, plus Jenny's tricks and tips, make it easy for home sewers to re-create these sew darn cute items for themselves.