For the Love of Books!

Do you like to read?  It is one of my most FAVORITE things to do when I have down time.  Now I don't have much down-time (LOL) but I do read every night before bed no matter what. The house is quiet, everyone is in bed and no one is needing me....so you can usually find me reading late into the wee hours. I have been known to read a book until 4 am..shhhh..but if its truly a page turner I HAVE to finish it.  Books have never ever put me to sleep..instead they keep me awake LOL! I try to read 3-5 books a week...I'm a pretty fast reader and I have a lot of books begging to be read on my Kindle.  And I usually have 2 books going on at once...yes I know that's odd but its what I do.

I like to read all types of books-- memoirs, mysteries, fantasy, drama, action, etc....but it MUST have a good compelling story. If its not written well or doesn't have a meaty story than I lose interest real quick.  Romances are fine as long as they have a good story along with the romance...I don't like the light and fluffy stuff much any more these days.  And yes I read Harlequin romances when I was a teen and they are OK but not something I read these days...been there and read all that. And don't get me started on those 50 Shades of Grey books LOL. I understand the "appeal" but they weren't for me and yes I tried to read the first one but couldn't get through it.  I've heard the other two in the series are better but that's ok...I don't feel I'm missing a darn thing by NOT reading them! And that's the beauty of books I do think. There is a book and a genre that suits everyone and you get to choose what you wish and read when you can.  And I never judge someone for the books they read...its such a personal endeavor and everyone has favorite genres depending on their place and time in life.  One year you may need the excitement of Clancey's Jack Ryan & John Grisham's spy books and the next year need a Christian romance like those of Colleen Coble or a fun memoir of Julia Child.  Its ALL GOOD...never be embarrassed by what you read..that's silly and if someone says something otherwise than perhaps they are having a very "stoooopid" moment in their own lives. ;)

To me books are like the best on-going movies in your head...you read the story, you picture what they look and sound like and you pretty much get to be the imaginary set designer. You get to visit all these places you might not be able to in real life, envison what the past may have been like to live in, and wonder what the world may be like in the future.  I think that's why so many times the movies based on books are not as good...because we've already set up the characters, the sounds, the sets and more in our heads ever so diligently and beautifully right?  And with a book there is so much more description of characters and sets, more back story, so much more emotion going on than can ever be displayed on a big screen.  Although some book-based movies take on their own flavor and work their own magic like The Help, Fried Green Tomatoes, Charlotte's Web, and Narnia to name a few.

I am a Kindle addict although I will admit when they hit the market a few years ago I was skeptical. But my husband got me my first Kindle for Christmas that year and I was hooked within hours. Yes there is nothing like the FEEL of a book or the smell of an old book...but there is also nothing like being able to download a book in 5 secs and easily carry 200 books in your purse ;) Ask my mom..she was a slow convert but she's hooked now hahaha!  I've graduated from that first Kindle to a Kindle Fire and Alexa has one as well...we both are the readers in our family. My son and husband do not read for pleasure and I always thell them they are so missing out. I also share books with my mom and sister as well, they are linked to my account so I can easily do that.  So if you share books with your family you may want to link accounts and there is more info on Amazon Help about that.

Work the System---Free/Discounted Books

There are a ton of great sites where you can get FREE or discounted books online and I've listed some of my favorites below.  I also recommend you sign up for the Amazon Kindle newsletters for daily discounted books as well.  I have gotten many books for free or under $2 so don't think you have to pay full price all the time.  I've also found new authors through free books offered on Amazon like Sarah Addison Allen. I'm reading her new book right now but her very first book was free on Amazon the first year I had my Kindle and she's now one of my favorite authors. So don't think just because its "FREE" that it isn't good or not worth reading...go ahead and try it out..its not like you are paying for it and you may be happily surprised.

SAMPLE a book...if you aren't sure of the author, the way they write or how the story will flow then click on "SEND SAMPLE NOW" and Amazon will send a sample of the book to your Kindle. Usually 1-2 chapters so you can check it out before you purchase.

Lending Library: If you are an Amazon Prime member you can also "borrow/rent" books through Amazon's Lending Library.  There is no deadline date for reading it however you can only loan one out at a time. See more info on that HERE.

A lot of Classic novels are offered for free on Amazon and other websites as well. So if you want to read Pride & Prejudice or Call of the Wild you can find them for free or under $3.

Most libraries do loaning of books to those with E-Readers...just check with your local library to see how to sign up and what they have to offer.

FUN TIP:  in the Amazon or Barnes & Noble search box type in 0.00 and a list of all free books will come up at once

Some authors do pre-book stories or short stories and offer them for free on Amazon. Lots of times these are lead-in stories for their next book and usually very good.  Or they may just be some short stories the author wanted to share.  I'm reading Sarah Addison Allen's new book "Lost Lake" which came out a few days ago. But in December she offered a FREE story "Waking Kate" (still free) that was a lead-in to the book I'm reading now. So it gives a bit more back story and prepares you for the book to come.

I do pre-order books from my favorite authors on Amazon..there is something super exciting about getting the book at midnight before its even hit the shelves..its gives me a bit of a thrill.  Because I am THAT book geek kinda gal!  So if you know your favorite author has a book coming out, check to see if you can pre-order it.  Do NOT ask me how much I spend on books and magazines...its not pretty...however it is something I enjoy and something I've always budgeted for.

Bookbub

discounted books daily

Hundred Zeros

lists all the free Kindle books offered up daily

One Hundred Free Books

free and discounted books daily

Amazon Matchbook

If you've bought ANY hardcover books thru Amazon from 1995 till now, they 

offer the E-Reader version heavily discounted if you want to get it for your Kindle.

Many Books

Free copies of classic books and many others

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GOODREADS & AUTHORS

I list a lot of the books I've read, want to read or am currently reading on Goodreads...if you aren't a member it is free to join and you can follow friends and others to see what they are reading. Its great for new book and author recommendations as well.  I have also gotten free books from new authors on that site as long as I review it when I'm done.

If you really love, love, love the author or book you've read go and LIKE them on Facebook so you can keep up with them and any new releases or snippets of new books. They also list any book signings or places they may be to meet them..that's always fun.  One of my fave authors who isn't hugely known is Kathryn Wall and her books are all set in Hilton Head, SC (one of our fave vacation places that we visit each year)..she writes mysteries with a woman heroine named Bay Tanner and they are really good, but read them in order..I believe there are 12 so far! She goes to a local restaurant (Jump & Phils) some evenings and signs books and chats with readers...she's a hoot and I so enjoyed meeting her. We were lucky that we were the only ones there that particular night so she joined us for dinner and a nice chat...very memorable!

Most authors are on Twitter as well...if you tweet that is..and I've conversed with many of my fave authors on there.  They like to hear from their readers I assure you and its fun to pick their brains a bit as well!  :)

Suzanne's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Love Goddess' Cooking School

by Melissa Senate

tagged: currently-reading

The Invention of Wings

by Sue Monk Kidd

tagged: currently-reading

Lost Lake

by Sarah Addison Allen

tagged: currently-reading

The Splendour Falls

by Susanna Kearsley

tagged: currently-reading

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So what's on your Kindle these days?  Reading something so good that you have to share?
TELL ME!!! I love to hear new recommendations!

Organize It!

Its the New Year...that means a lot of folks (including me) are looking to CLEAN OUT THE CLUTTER and get their houses & spaces organized.  I don't know about you but clutter not only clutters my house but it clutters my brain...makes me feel a bit crazy.  I have been known to have huge mini meltdowns when there is too much clutter..whether its on my kitchen table, my closet, my craftroom, wherever.  And then I ATTACK...I will dump everything and go full steam ahead to clean and organize it until it makes me happy again. 

And once you get an organization system in place you have to keep at it and keep adjusting.

Because your needs change over time and you find out what works and doesn't work.

So I linked some of my reorganized projects I did last year below AS WELL as some ideas I've loved and use myself from the web.

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I cleaned and decluttered a lot of areas last year so most of the big spaces have been done.

My craft room is always a continuing work in progress because new stuff is always coming in.

You can see pictures of my craft room HERE.

So this year I hope to get my basement in order (after the burst pipe flooding) and Riley's bedroom re-do. Finish my basement stairs and painting of those walls.  And to finish up my laundry room finally!

Those are the BIG projects for this year and I will be sharing those and the smaller ones along the way too!

I redid my linen closet  & it still looks GOOD amazingly because I found a system that worked well for me....see it HERE!

I also attacked my pantry which is always a place that I'm working on....it still looks pretty good thankfully...see it HERE.

And I did random drawers in my house including the Homework Drawer and my side table drawers in my bedroom.

I redid the vanity in my bathroom and it looks the same...next on my mission is my hubby's vanity!

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More Great Organizational Ideas on the Web:

I love great INEXPENSIVE ways to organize my home...most of these ideas are easy on the wallet but make a huge impact on that war against clutter!

Car Garage

This is a great idea for so MANY things! For cars and other small toys, small displayed items and

in a craft room. Would be great for all those bottles of glitters, flocks and paints!

And made from shoe racks...how cool is that.

Pot Lid Storage {via Pinterest}

Great idea for storing those pot lids if you are short on space or just need a new way to store them.

The insides of cabinet doors hold a lot of useful-out-of-the-way space....these are hung small white 3M hooks.  Inexpensive & useful!

Baseball Hat Organizing

My son has a lot of hats...I mean A LOT!  And I've tried many ways to store them and none have worked well...aka he doesn't utilize the system well which means its the wrong system. So when I saw this on Pinterest I knew I had to try it because you just easily slide the hat on even if its not a snapback hat..I think I will need 3 hangers and a bunch of shower hooks LOL.

Scarf Holder

Alexa & I swear by these type of scarf hangers...we both have a lot of scarves and this keeps them organized easily and you can see what you have (mine are organized by color).  These are only $9.99 ...great price for a little organizational help.

Drawer Dividers

I find that I use a lot of those drawer dividers in my home. They can be pricey to purchase if you need a lot. So I buy them in batches and use what I have on hand till I can get more. So I love Jen's idea of using old cereal boxes to create your own, for whatever size you want and make them pretty. Great thrifty recycle :)

CD/DVD Organization

I LOVE LOVE this idea by Cassie...I hope to have a batch of time this year to do this (ahaha sureee)! We have so many DVD movies and they take up way too much space, they are always a mess and never in any kind of order.  This would make it much easier on everyone in my house.

Spice Clips 

via Pinterest

Great idea to use those spice clips (like these here) on the inside cabinet doors.

They can be used for so many OTHER things than just spices!

Over-the-Door Shoe Hangers

I love these..inexpensive, easy to use and good for soooo many things!  Take advantage of

that area behind your doors!  Use them for cleaning products, toys, fabric, tools, pantry supplies and of course shoes :)  I use two of them in my craft room for all my paper punches...see pic above. I prefer ones that have clear pockets like these here, but that's up to you of course!

Using Magnets & Metal Sheeting

via Pinterest

Use metal sheets (pre-cut or have cut) and adhere to inside of cupboards with a strong construction adhesive. You can find all kinds of hooks and jars that are magnetic to hold your goodies these days.

Great use of space! These sheets here are 12x12 & inexpensive.

Pinterest is a GREAT source for ideas on organizing your home, car and office.  And of course many bloggers come up with more and more great ideas every day.  I just shared a few of my favorites and some I employ myself in my my home. And I'm ALWAYS look for new ideas that will work for me.

That's what you have to do is find systems/products/ideas that WORK BEST for you. Because it can be beautifully organized but if its hard to keep up or not organized right, you will find yourselves back at Square One...and that's just no fun!

Any BIG ORGANIZATIONAL PROJECTS in your future??

Adding Radiant Orchid To Your Life!

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Hi all!  How have you been dealing with this polar vortex that has affected most of the country? I think we are still frozen from it all...brrrrr...nasty weather.  We had a frozen pipe break in our laundry room that flooded the laundry, part of the kitchen and the guest bedroom below.  Its been a helluva week I can tell you that. We had major cleanup and now are looking forward to drywalling, painting and new carpet because of this mess.  And I pulled muscles in my arm and chest when I flung the huge mattress and box springs across the room to save it from the downpour out of the ceiling. It was a $2000 purchase and there was no way I was letting it get ruined...and in the mess I hurt myself oy vey.  So needless to say we have lots of work to do.  And to all those out there dealing with these issues due to the weather I feel for you too.

I will have a new project posted for Valentines this week that I think you will like and a tutorial too :) So stay tuned for that!

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So this year's color is Radiant Orchid...a great jewel tone color that looks good on everyone!

Do you have plans to add some of this color to your wardrobe, makeup or home decor?

I don't have any place for this color in my home but definitely outside in my gardens this spring, it will be blooming with flowers of this color.

These were my hydrangeas this summer..so beautiful and who knew they were so on trend LOL!

Lace Is On & Splash of Grenadine nail polishes by Essie are very close to Radiant Orchid.

These colors look lovely on most skintones too...bonus!

These beautiful earrings would be lovely if you only want a small pop of color. I love handmade jewelry on Etsy because its unique and no one else has it, not to mention all the options.

Beautiful necklace from Kate Spade...would be gorgeous with a pretty white dress or blouse.

I love this faux wrap shirt from Nordstroms..its longer in the back (ya know to cover my bum) and the material is light and airy.

This dress is gorgeous by Halston Heritage...love the assymetrical lines and length of the skirt.

For not a big investment this Guess Westbrook purse fits the bill...beautiful and a good size.

And for a larger purchase you could go with Marc Jacob's "Too Hot To Handle" bag.

I love these shoes by Rachel Roy at Zappos..they have a darker pink on the back side and then a shot of radiant orchid snakeskin on the front. LOVE! Although out of my price range for flats but I will look for something similar on my shoe-outings.

This is a GORGEOUS handpainted one-of-a-kind scarf on Etsy.

Or go with the new Radiant Orchid phone case from Zazzle!

If you are a papercrafter like myself you will surely see some Radiant Orchid colored papers soon.

These digi-papers are beautiful!

If you are looking to add a pop of Radiant Orchid to your decor choose something that can be used as an accent. Unless you want to dive in and use the color on large pieces, adding smaller accent pieces will do the trick as well.  This beautiful throw by Donna Karan Home would look lovely thrown on a chair or bed.

This  pillow from Etsy is GORGEOUS and just so lovely..makes me wish for spring!!

It sure looks pretty but this much of it in my decor would NOT go over well in my house. My "guys" would not be diggin' it, but if you can get away with it, it sure is lovely. I'm known to get bored easily so if I chose larger and more expensive decor items in this color I'm afraid I'd be stuck in a rut for awhile.

{via}

If I bring the color into my decor it will most likely be in the form of some

beautiful flower arrangements like these :)

So are you adding any beautiful Radiant Orchid colored items to your life this year?

Winter Belly Pleasers!

Happy 2014 everyone! 

 Hope your new year has started off well, you've made your resolutions and goals and are looking forward to a fresh, happy & healthy new year!  I know a lot of you are suffering from this Polar Vortex weather system...sounds like a word in a Thor movie if you ask me...and its COLD here in Virginia.  Supposed to feel like 20 below tomorrow and I'm not digging it, it can go back to the South Pole for all I care...I'm ready for spring already.  

However I am thankful to be in my warm house cleaning up Christmas decorations and cooking some good foods this week.  Once I get my Christmas stuff all packed away and the house cleaned good I will have some new projects and posts for you...my goal is by Friday to have all that done.  It takes awhile to pack up all these trees and then clean and I'm not rushing it this year...in the past I've rushed and usually put my back out..not this year. I've learned my lesson :)

So stay tuned for some fun Valentine projects, some new recipes and some more DIY projects. I hope to be in full working mode next week!  But I gathered some recipes for some home-cooked COMFORT FOOD goodness...I included some of my faves, some of my own and some I haven't tried yet.  So if you need some ideas for your winter menus I highly recommend some of these belly-pleasers.

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COMFORT BELLY PLEASERS

Fancy Mac 'n' Cheese ~ Pioneer Woman

I'm not a big fan of mac-n-cheese...gasp...I guess the kind in a box just turned me

off over the years. But I do highly recommend this one, its the only one I will eat & so easy to cook up!

Chicken & Dumplings ~ Pioneer Woman

I'm a BIG fan of Ree aka Pioneer Woman...she's real, down to earth and one of the first blogs I ever started reading years ago.  And her recipes always rock...period. And her Chicken & Dumpling recipes is the BEST I've ever tried hands down...you will thank me and her when you make this LOL..trust me!

Guinness Beef Stew ~ Brown Eyed Baker

I love beef stew in the cold weather months...its hearty and just tastes soooo good when the cold is chilling your bones.  There are lots of recipes out there but this is the basic one I follow...but I add a bit of garlic, cayenne pepper and either pearl onions or large chunks of onions to mine. I also top mine with some homemade mashed potatoes. Next time I make mine up I will share the full recipe but you gotta have some Guinness for it..I hate beer..but I like cookin' with it :)

Shepherds Pie ~The Candid Appetite

This is my hubby's fave dish in the winter! And given my Irish roots its no surprise I make it so much...so grab more of that Guinness cuz' you will need it. I add a bit more tomato paste and skip the peas because we don't like them...but we do add the cheese on top too. Its so yummy!

Tomato Bisque ~ Southern Living

I love, love tomato soup...make it tomato bisque and even better served up with a grilled cheese panini and mmmm..mmmm good stuffs.  This recipe I tore out of my Southern Living Magazine in November and haven't made yet but the reviews were good and it sounds so flavorful.  Think it will be on my menu this week!

Hamburger Soup ~ Pioneer Woman
I haven't tried this one yet...its a new recipe that Ree just posted but it sure does look good and easy to get simmerin' on the stovetop.  Definitely on my menu this week!

My BBQ Mini Meatloaves ~ Suzanne

This is my recipe...it is the ONLY meatloaf I and my teens will eat..its really that good. Stuffed with cheese makes it even better I tell ya!  Lots of flavor and even better the next day on a sandwich..mmmmmm!

Potato & Leek Soup ~ Robert Irvine

This is one of my fave soups in the cold months...the hubby and I love soups and we eat them all year.

I follow this recipe pretty much to a T---except that I set some potato chunks aside before blending and then add them. I just like the bit of chunkiness they add to it and I top it off with a bit of swiss cheese or parmesan under the broiler too but you can skip that or use cheddar.  Everything is better with some cheese right?

Chicken Pot Pie ~ From the Kitchen of Mama Harris

I have my own recipe for pot pie but I found this one that was pretty close to mine. I skip the peas and use mushrooms, onions, carrots and asparagus in mine.  Its another one of my husband's fave recipes to eat although the teens are big fans LOL.

Cheesy Tex-Mex Pasta Bake

This is a newer recipe I found and adapted a bit...but we love Mexican based foods and this one is easy to make ahead on a busy day.

Ham & Bean Soup ~ Chow.com

This is a soup I make on occasion for the hubs and myself...the teens don't like it and that's ok because I HATED it when I was younger too LOL.  But its easy to get going on the cooktop and simmer all day and serve up with some biscuits...makes you all warm and toasty. This recipe is similar to what I use again except I add leeks instead of celery.

My Comfort Food Recipes:

Other dishes I make a lot in the winter are below. I have my own special recipes for them but just haven't had time to type up the recipes because I don't know the measurements really...I'm a dash of this & a dash of that kind of cook...tastes good but hard to tell someone how much of each.  So they will be coming real soon...I have pictures taken but have to figure out the measurements for you all.

Chili...my chili is award winning good, no lie...its the bomb diggety and I will 

have a recipe up soon I promise.

Spaghetti Patties...a recipe I came up with as a newlywed on a budget 18 years ago. Its still

a hit in our house & super inexpensive and easy to make.

Chicken Corn Chowder...easy to make even if you only have 30 mins.

recipe soon to come

Proscuitto, Carmelized Onion, Tomato and Cheese Paninis...so good you will slap yourself after making them! hahaha

Mexican Lasagna...good stuff and easy to make as well!

BON APPETIT!!