Hopeless by Colleen Hoover {book review monday}

 {sorry i've been MIA for a couple mondays. i've been under-the-weather...}

so here we go.... 

Hopeless

by Colleen Hoover

i thoroughly loved this book despite it being more mature than Colleen's other books, Slammed and Point of Retreat, both of which i liked, but did not 'love.'

there was just something about the synopsis that captured my attention and thought i should give it a try, even if i did have to actually "read" the book (rather than listen like i did with Slammed and POR).

this is a touching story with great comic relief--that truly caught me off guard. i found myself laughing out loud all over the place. even as the story depends and their relationship is tested, the humor is still there. i liked getting to know the characters in a more personal way unlike some books where you're begging for any scrap to tell you who the characters are, or are not. Colleen is not such a writer. she gives it all, tells you everything and spills out even more. sometimes the wait kills me and i want to shake my fist in the air and scream "why?" but i know it's for my own good. patience is a virtue, after all, and Hopeless was no exception. normally i'm looking for the steamy scenes to hurry up and happen already, but Ms. Hoover makes us wait, giving us the first kiss at 35%. sheesh. the crazy thing is that i didn't even care. you're so consumed with the two of them doing everything the right way and not screwing up any "firsts", that you're right there with Holder and his views on that first.... kiss.

there's so much more to this story than just a romance, there's a complicated and tragic story too. i felt as if i was right there with them, dealing with each emotional hill to climb. it was a great ride for a stand-alone book.

if you're a lover of Slammed and Point of Retreat, then you'll fall in love with Hopeless. i did.

you can check out Colleen's website HERE.

Monday's book review: On Dublin Street

because i've been doing a ton of reading lately (shocker), i decided to start a Monday's Book Review of whatever i'm reading. if i like the reviewing of books, i'll add other days too, but for now, let's just stick with monday's shall we? good. thanks.

now, to warn you, my current favorite genre is adult erotica romance, and while that might not be your cup-o-tea, it's mine and this is my blog. so there. if the book doesn't have an HEA (happily ever after) i really won't read it. it's just that simple, people. good ending yes. bad ending no. easy.

plus, i've had a dry spell with my posts and maybe writing about what i'm reading will help get me back into the swing of blogging.

so i'm going to start with On Dublin Street, recommended to me via Maryse. if you don't read her blog, she's a great resource for all things romance and paranormal. i'm beginning with this book simply because i just finished it and it's still fresh in my mind.

this particular book i listened to, but i also have it in e-reader format. 

 
On Dublin Street


by Samantha Young

now in my early forties, i find myself in a teenage wonderland of adult erotica, but after a recent running jag on that genre i thought i'd try On Dublin Street. it had great reviews from my favorite book blog, Maryse, but a lot of her reviews can be upbeat and not always my taste.

this book was so good, right from the start. i listened to it back-to-back because i just couldn't let the characters "go" -- and put them back on the shelf, so-to-speak.

jocelyn meets braden whilst sharing a cab. there's instant attraction but end up exiting the cab without exchanging any personal information. jocelyn rents a flat with ellie, who ends up being braden's sister--what a great twist to it too, because while i kinda figured it out, it was fun to watch it unfold in the story.

jocelyn has issues that she rarely, if ever, speaks of, and braden is interested in getting with jocelyn however he can. they set up a "friends with benefits" agreement to last three months. it's during those three months where we are put through the ringer of emotional turmoil with jocelyn, but oh, how i loved the ride.

braden is tender yet incredibly fun and quick-witted. i think he's my new christian grey. sigh. the chemistry between them is completely infectious, the banter fantastic. i found myself giggling all over the place and let's not forget the steamy scenes. oh my word, they were amazing. my heart was beating out of my chest.

the character development was excellent and i hear that there's a second book to come out may 7th, about one of the characters mentioned in this book. so of course, i'll be getting book two as well. also, the narration was superb and it made the book so enjoyable.

give it a try, even if you LOVED or HATED Fifty Shades, this is nothing like that (no paddling, weird sex or angry sex scenes in Dublin). it was refreshingly sweet but still had a great deal of drama.

i adored On Dublin Street and i think you will too.

updated 1.29.13: i found a "christmas edition" story from my goodreads search. here's the linky over on smexybooks' blog. i can't wait to read this. :) love joss and braden. click HERE to read the christmas short by samantha.



ps: these opinions are strictly my own, i was not paid to write my review. 

earrings sale wednesday, january 9th

originally, my sale was going to be today but a few of my necessary findings didn't arrive as planned so i'm pushing it to the 9th. definitely check back because there's some darling pairs perfect for a new outfit or just to make your day brighter.

it's been a long year!

hi friends,

where did september and october go, and for that matter what about november!? i know what you're thinking, where have i been this year? well, it's been a long one with jeff finishing school in may and then student teaching during the fall into winter. he has five days left. i can hardly believe it myself! time certainly does fly... and this time, i'm thrilled and overjoyed about the end of the year. :)

we also have big news for our family... after nine years on old hickory, we've bought a house less than a mile away and i simply love it. now it needs work, don't get me wrong, but we wanted to stay living downtown so the kids can enjoy freedom on the weekends. the girls get together with friends and walk downtown, grabbing breakfast or lunch, then heading to the corner pharmacy for a milk shake. they might stop at some local shops while there and then head home. it's such a great town, i will never move.

so. back to the house. it's old. like over 100 years old, but we have an entire acre and to find that in the middle of downtown versailles is crazy! we are so excited to have parties and friends over... we plan to do major remodeling next year or when jeff lands a new job. the house needs a new front porch so we'll be removing the current porch for something that looks like this...

we'd like a more craftsman-type house and this house has exactly what we're looking for... plus i love the color scheme. you like?

a friend posted this on facebook and i laughed because it's totally true. take note. (totally random thought, i know, but just amuse me. i haven't talked to you in a long time)

sofa in the new old house.... more pictures to come soon.

if you follow me on instagram, you know that i love to post my latest obsession... wedgie shoes....

i've been wearing these a lot lately--even if it's chilly outside.

 totally crushing on the red gingham.

you would NOT believe how comfy these are!

aren't these fabulous!? i managed to snag all three pairs for under thirty bucks. i know, right? i was sad to put them away for a season, but spring will be here before we know it. anyway, i post this sort of stuff to my instagram wall... yet another obsession slash addiction. :)

friends, the sale is just around the corner. i've been busy with custom orders but in the next week i'll be finishing all the items for my annual online holiday sale. it's going to be big this year, with lots of items and so many new items...i'm shooting for Thursday, December 13th. everything will ship by that Saturday, just in time for Christmas. i won't be offering anything else for this year so grab things at the sale.

have a great weekend and i'll see you really soon!\


ps: moon took a new photo of me... what do you think? i've gone super blonde and i'm really loving it. not too shabby for a 41 year old, right? :) truth be told: i have more gray than not--thus the color change. i'm just not ready to go all-over-gray and be a grandma with no grandkids yet. ha! :)

the stephens came for a visit!

back row, L to R: hazel, natalie, nathaniel, charlie
front row, L to R: mary, lacy, dixie, nicole, nadine

my dearest childhood friend came to visit and of course, brought her crew along with her. they are seriously the traveling kind, and i'm so glad too because it's always so nice to see them. do you remember their other visits? here or here perhaps? everyone is growing up and turning into fully-grown people!

carie is expecting baby number seven. can you believe it? i know. me neither. our house was busy while they were here and we were sad to see them go.... until next time, dear friends!

hello friends :)

the kids went back to school last week, can you believe it? crayzee, i know. no more lazy days for a while but i'm okay with that, i cherish my quiet work mornings. i'm already caught up on private orders and resizing projects. phew.

so i wanted to get back into posting some book reviews (i'm not a big-time reviewer, i just like to give you basic facts on books that i found inviting). recently i've come upon some wonderful books...

first up is Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. i was taken aback by how sweet it turned out, and although my daughters aren't ready just yet to read this book, i've added it to their read-when-they're-older list for sure.

sweet innocent abby meets bad-boy travis, and sparks fly. it's a fast-roller coaster of events and a few parts that had me rolling my eyes due to their youth, but weren't we all crazy-stupid when we were teenagers? yup. when i know it's a good, grab-your-heart book, i get to the end of the book and immediately start it over. i'm so goofy like that, i know, but apparently i'm not the only one out there who does that. :) this book is complete with angst (that i tend to be drawn to in my books) but it's a simple tale of finding true love and trying to hang on to it. i think you'll be surprised how much you like it. (it's also a soon-to-be-movie, bonus!)

here was my review on my audible account:

typically i read books with sequels or that happen to be trilogies. i usually get lucky and find a good series where i'm able to get the first two books right away, only having to wait for the third for a couple months. with Beautiful Disaster i was thrilled to find out that it had another book coming out from Travis' POV but annoyed that i'd have to wait until next SPRING to find out more about the lives of Abby and Travis. boo.

this book took me right in, telling me about the characters lives and leaving out little bits to keep me wondering what would happen as it went along. of course, there were a few parts where i was rolling my eyes in some of the scenes simply because these two young lovers were overreacting about silly nonsense. i married young and i look back on my life then and think, "would i react that same way today?" and the answer is a profound, "no. absolutely not." i wouldn't get carried away like these two did, but you have to remember that they're barely 19 and i remember acting like an idiot at 19 so don't judge them too harshly.

i wanted more as i got to the end of the book. i wanted to know about their lives. i envisioned them having adventures and finally settling down to have a family. i wanted them to find their Ever After. as i got to that last 10 minutes of the book, i found myself excited to start it over, immediately... which i did, twice. sometimes i listen to a book a couple times before i let the characters go. this was one of those books i really fell in love with Abby and Travis.... and i think you will too.

the narration was superb, and i found this book because i'd listened to Divergent, same narrator. fabulous.
 
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have a great week everyone! :)

summer's nearly over?

hi friends :)

we've had a lazy summer, and it's been nice. i always say that summers go by too quickly, and this one is no exception. the kids start back to school on august 8th. i know, right? crayzee.

yesterday we celebrated nadine's 9th birthday. it doesn't seem like nine years has passed since we held her in our arms at the hospital. i miss those baby days but love each stage as they near adulthood too.

last night we grabbed some Menchi's fro-yo with the girls. i snapped a fun pic.

 happy birthday deanie! :)

lately i've been experimenting with my hair. last christmas i bought a curling wand but it's really tricky to use, and after a few tries i finally managed to get a nice look.

do you try new things with your hair? i'm kinda boring. i need to branch out and try new things.

in other news... 

 the last of the july sale has been marked down, grab them up while you can. crazy prices! check them out with the link below.

LAMPWORK JEWELRY

remember, if you're not on my mailing list, you might want to sign up. i send out secret codes for extra mark-downs. :)

have a great week!

summer instagram photos...

hello friends!

i think i've told you i started doing project life. believe me, i'm not sticking to the rules of taking pictures every-single-day, but i'm happy to get a bunch during the month and posting them here.

 so here goes...

 

 after two years and countless hours of studying, my fella graduated from Asbury University with an Education degree. he begins student teaching this fall, but all his classes {and all-niters of studying} are over! praise the lord! did i mention he had a 4.0 GPA? i know. i'm so proud. sooo proud. <3

nadine with her face painting from the library's party for the summer reading program. let the summer festivities begin!

Grandma turns 70! time flies! we had a surprise party for her, i'm pretty sure she was surprised.

 jeff and bennett at grandma's party.

my girls (nadine pretending to be sad lol). it was a fun party!

 my goofy BF. this is my Moon hiding from the Sun. ha.
we've had fun at the pool so far this summer despite the wicked, wicked heat.

vintage-color via instagram. our towns pool. love.

 enjoyed the 'block party' downtown with my fella. it was a great way to spend a friday evening.

this is the best i could do. he never smiles in photos. what's wrong with men and cameras? 

we had lunch at melissa's  one day while the kids were gone and jeff snapped this. :)

while the kids were in ohio with our folks, we took advantage of some much-needed magazine reading time at JoBeth's bookstore.

every friday morning a bunch of us girlies get together and have breakfast. during the school year we meet at 7:45a but with these lazy summer days, we're meeting at 9a. sooo nice. our first friday of the summer was at a friends and i caught her dog eating our leftover goodies. lol

my friend, susan, lives on a horse farm in our county. it's no ordinary horse farm either. this place is AMAZING!!! look at this entryway leading into her home? i know, right?

nicole and maddie (moon's daughter) went off to 4H camp. they're the last two on the right side. they had a blast and can't wait to go again next year!

natalie went off to Burnamwood, our church camp. she had a ball. she's in the first row, on the left. it was a long camp, dropped her off on Monday morning and she came home on Saturday afternoon. i think she slept for three days afterward. lol

 i love flowers in my bedroom. these are my current bunch from trader joes. you can't beat it! ten bucks for a huge bunch of gorgeous pink gerber daisies! love love love.

 i am in love with labels. always have been. these are so divine. did i mention i love trader joes?

one early morning after a shower (thus the wet hair).... we decided to pop into starbucks. it's always so calming there. i don't know the name of my coffee. i asked the girl to just make something with caramel that was extra good. and she did! yummo.

flowers from the same bunch. i love our back ledge for these three sweet IKEA vases i snagged for $1 each. they're so lovely.

my mother-in-law took this of the kids in her corn fields, tagging it, "children of the corn." ha!

natalie wasn't there, she was at camp when this was taken.

in my 20's i began getting the stray gray-white hair. really, i knew i would "white" early because my grandmother had very white, white hair (as does my mother). i'm not ready to embrace it at forty, but i have gone ultra super blonde to help keep them "hidden."  everyone asks me why i decided to go SO blonde, and that's the reason. i'm not a true blonde but what's a girl to do with so much white hair? lol

thankfully my husband thinks it's totally hot so i'm happy to keep it going for as long as i can. :)

by the way, you see my itouch stuck in my dress? i'm currently listening to Bared to You by Sylvia Day. ohmercy. what a good book. :) 

* * *

you all have a great week! i'll be having a huge sale on friday. don't miss it! :)

hello friends :)

it has been a while since i posted, but it's summer and you know how busy summer months can be.

the last month of school was a complete blur. after our DC trip we just found each week passing by faster and faster. i don't care for getting up at the crack of dawn, so summer is always a welcome friend. however, the kids are so bored by the time school begins, that they're ready to get into the swing of homework and darker nights.

this time last year we were dealing with jeff's heart attack(s) and getting him in better shape. a year later he's in great shape, working out every single day and by his example i too have become the exercise queen. so despite the shock of his poor health, i am happy to say that he's so much better! :) thank you for all your prayers during that difficult time. it was much appreciated.

below are a few pics from the last couple months... enjoy.

 nathaniel as Daddy Warbucks with Annie in the school play. April 2012.

 

the girls had a "friend" stay the night. thankfully it left. lol June 2012.

 

i came out to the backyard to find my fella and there he was in his hammock. June 2012.

 

for jeff's graduation, his mom and i gave him an iPad3. he was so excited! he snapped this pic of me a few days later. not bad. :) May 2012.

 spending some time at the local starbucks with my fella. June 2012.

 my bf took this photo of nicole & her teacher at her 5th grade graduation. time flies. my babies are all growing up. May 2012.

i have more to share but this is enough for tonight. i hope you're all doing well. hugs to you!