Book Review - "Past Perfect" by Danielle Steel (#8 - 2018)

Past Perfect by Danielle Steel

The story follows the Gregory family and their move from NYC to San Francisco for Blake Gregory’s new job with a social networking start up. Sybil his wife is a well known design expert and they have two teenagers as well as a 6 year old.  On a whim Blake buys the empty bank-owned Butterfield mansion in town for peanuts.  Sybil is shocked but instantly sees potential in the house and can’t wait to move in and make it theirs. But after their first night there and an earthquake they soon discover they might not be the only family living there.  This is a fun read and I really enjoyed it. I cruised through it in a day. Great beach read! 

Book Review - "The Heir" and "The Crown" by Kiera Cass (#5 and #6 - 2018)

The Heir by Kiera Cass (book 4)

The Crown by Kiera Cass (book 5)

These are follow up books to the original "The Selection" series (that I LOVED - see reviews here, here, here and here).  America and Maxon are King and Queen now and have children of their own and their first born daughter Eadlyn is now going to embark on a "Selection" process of her own.  The country is in a bit of turmoil and they think staging a selection will help things out.  Okay, I'm just going to say it Eadlyn is so freaking annoying.  Which makes the books somewhat annoying.  Nothing new or interesting here.  I love this series and Kiera Cass but, my advice?  Read the first three books and stop there.  

Book Review - "The Magnolia Story" by Chip and Joanna Gaines (#3 - 2018)

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines

Super quick and easy read, written mostly from Joanna’s perspective with Chip’s take scattered throughout, it’s the story of how they got where they are now. Their struggles and successes as well as lessons learned along the way. Sometimes it felt a little oversimplified but overall I would totally recommend it. In fact my almost 10 year old daughter is reading it right now! 

Book Review - "Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon" by Greg Laurie (#2 - 2018)

Steve McQueen:  The Salvation of an American Icon by Greg Laurie

My Mom sent this to me as a surprise present, I actually didn't know about this book or the accompanying documentary.  I was pleasantly surprised, I loved this book so much.  Greg is a huge McQueen fan and decided to take a cross country trip tracking down people who knew Steve growing up and throughout his life.  He found out their lives were very similar in many ways (tough upbringing with alcoholic mothers).  Following his rise to superstardom and his underlying search for something "more" and finally finding peace by finding Christ before he was diagnosed with cancer.  It's a great book and I highly recommend it.

Book Review - "Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely" by Lysa TerKeurst (#1 - 2018)

Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst

A Faith-based book dealing with rejection and feeling less than.  Lysa dives deep into her past to share personal stories about these issues.  Expanding on them using humor and Biblical examples to help us understand how these rejections can poison our relationships and how we can start to heal.  I really enjoyed this book and it really did help me.  I would totally recommend it!

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Book Review - "A Wrinkle in Time: the Graphic Novel" (#7- 2017)

Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time: the Graphic Novel - adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson

A Wrinkle in Time was my favorite book growing up so when I saw this at the library I checked it out.  Since it's for the kiddos it was a super fast read and I loved the illustrations.  It certainly doesn't replace reading the original book (or seeing the really awful movie - sorry, not sorry it was no good).  However it is a well done, simplified version of the book, one that I would recommend reading after reading the actual novel.  However, please do read the original book, it's magical and just so, so good.

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Review - Project Repat T-Shirt Quilt

If you are anything like me then you probably have quite a few t-shirts that you don't really wear anymore but are sentimental.  Shirts that commemorate occasions, sports teams, school events, places you've been, etc.  Now about 20 years ago I had a queen-sized t-shirt quilt made by a local quilting shop - t-shirts were mostly early 90's Chicago Bulls shirts.  It was a bit pricey, a bit basic and kind of delicate (the back and binding around the edges was just a white cotton jersey) but it did the trick.  Now that I have a daughter I've been keeping not only my sentimental tees but her tees as well.  And after we moved last Summer I wanted to have two quilts made, one for me and one for her.  I'd been hearing about Project Repat on social media and decided to check them out.  And I'm glad I did, it was a super easy process and very reasonably priced.  I ended up having enough shirts for 2 lap quilts (twin, full, queen and king sizes are also available and they tell you how many panels are on each).  Here is my quilt:

16 panels, I ended up having 3 shirts where I used the front and back graphics.  Make sure you watch Project Repat's video about how to handle shirts where you want to use both sides.  Very helpful!

The back of the quilts will be a really snuggly grey fleece (there are seven colors to choose from)!

It's Teddy approved!

In fact I was so impressed with the quilts I am now a Project Repat Ambassador! If you click here then you can sign up and receive discounts on your very own t-shirt quilt, and I earn a little bit towards another t-shirt quilt.  Win-win.  It's wonderful to have something useful out of something that would otherwise just sit in a drawer or closet.