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365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas
365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas
Author: David E. Monn
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 15
Review Date: 11/5/2009


I was one of those people that never really enjoyed Christmas. And now I like Christmas so much more. There is helpful listing of companies/catalogs. Goes through each month on what is usually on sale during those times of the year. Tons of great ideas for gifts,
whether it be purchasing items, or creating baskets and homemade edibles. One of my favorites that went over well with family was the New Years Eve Special which is a small party in a basket. I found this book to be very helpful with organizing and thinking in advance and planning the holiday.


The Beader's Bible: Over 300 Great Charts For Beadweavers
The Beader's Bible: Over 300 Great Charts For Beadweavers
Author: Claire Crouchley
Book Type: Spiral-bound
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 3
Review Date: 9/19/2015


All the charts are in color, most have 2 pictures, the chart itself and a photo of the project finished. There are a wide variety of styles and projects. Ideas for everyone! There are many choices of peyote stitch or loom stitch. A must have for beaders!!


Book Of Jewelry
Book Of Jewelry
Author: Jo Moody
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 7/8/2015


This is one of my favorite jewelry crafting books. At the beginning of each chapter is a beautiful two page picture of the projects that can be made from that chapter. At the end of each chapter is another two page layout of variations of the projects. She calls this second photograph "Inspirations". Look at the chapters:
1. Beads & buttons
2. Fabric & embroidery
3. Paper
4. Clay & plastic
5. Treasures for free
I find myself returning to this book again, again, for pure, colorful, inspirations! There is tremendous style variation that stretches from Victorian (lace brooch) to very bold, modern looks, which she calls "Contemporary Chic"


The Cake Mix Doctor
The Cake Mix Doctor
Author: Anne Byrn
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 69
Review Date: 6/10/2010


I borrowed the book from the library & had to have it after trying one recipe!
Ive given 3 books as gifts with happy results. These recipes move a mundane
box mix into over-the-top desserts and home made tasting treats.
My husband is well traveled and pronounced Kathys Cinnamon
Breakfast Cake pg 257, as the best coffee cake hes ever eaten. Anywhere.
Ive shared this recipe with several people who have tried it and agreed.
The authors down to earth way of writing makes the book an enjoyable read. She provides lists of the most portable cakes & desserts, how to exchange one pan size for another, and other helpful tips and tricks. I would recommend this book for the newly-wed, Moms busy with kids, and anyone needing to take a dessert to a gathering.
This is the list I gave my recipients, and it makes a really cute bookmark if you are so
inclined.
Chocolate Pistachio Cake pg 40
Chocolate Marble Gooey Butter Cake pg 244
***Kathys Cinnamon Breakfast Cake pg 257 Best coffee cake ever!!
(glaze is better with a bit of butter)
Chocolate Mocha Chewies pg 337
Ninas Strawberry Crisp pg 364
Chocolate Punch Bowl Cake pg 368
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake pg 50


The Forgotten Locket (Hourglass Door, Bk 3)
The Forgotten Locket (Hourglass Door, Bk 3)
Author: Lisa Mangum
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.9/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 6/18/2016


My favorite part of the book is when Abby is listening for the "music of time". She chooses the tones she needs to create the words she needs to protect Dante. Light floods her, and a drop of light is lifted from the river. She is able to transfer the light from her hands, directly into Dante. This beautiful imagery may sound familiar to light workers & others who practice reiki or other healing techniques.


Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Author: Meryle Secrest
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 10/17/2010


Meryle Secrest does a fantastic job of drawing you into the story of this gentlemans life. She provides a wonderful family background and traces those influences through his life so it gives you a deeper understanding. I thought she did a fantastic job of portraying his greatness, his intelligence, humor and talents in addition to those traits and faults that make us human. This is a chance to read a unique story of aging and creativity against a backdrop of changing architectural style.


The Goddess Guide
The Goddess Guide
Author: Gisele Scanlon
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 11/21/2016


The Goddess Guide by Gisele Scanlon.
This little volume is a pleasure to hold. On picking it up I fell in love. Its textural, black velvet flocking against the bright pink cover is a visual thrill. Published in Great Britain, its thick glossy pages go beyond your expectations.
This luxurious book, is filled with tips, tricks and inspiration. (It's a cross between an aspirin and a bubble bath between hard covers!)
Truly I wish I had a book like this in my 20's! Here are her chapter headings:
Style, Beauty, Travel, Home, Garden, Food, Having Fun, Joie de Vivre, Pillow Talk and G spots.
I immediately found myself jotting notes about things I wanted to check into further.
A snippet of my list:
Pg 16 Internet shoe shops
Pg 23 Top Totes
Pg 71 Vintage Online
Other reading: Cheap Chic, Audrey Hepburn and Elegant Spirit, 1001 Bag Portraits by Miss Lecroc


The Golden Spiral (Hourglass Door, Bk 2)
The Golden Spiral (Hourglass Door, Bk 2)
Author: Lisa Mangum
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 6
Review Date: 6/18/2016


This author weaves one hell of a fine tale. If you've read the prior first book, you know it leaves off after the members of Zero Hour pass through the door. Without blowing up the entire book, the first 17 chapters Dante is in the middle darkness. We follow Abby on her incredible journey as her character develops into the fully empowered Lady of Light. Zo realizes this is not Tinkerbell he is messing with.
We have a heroine worthy of our attention. Although her journey may spiral, I've not been able to second guess this author and perhaps that is what delights me most of all. A fascinating read, the author makes it real somehow. If this ever comes to film, what a beautiful ride it will be.


The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living
Review Date: 5/6/2021


It's important to consider the period of time that writing takes place, in order to correctly comprehend the authors thoughts. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed, caused this couple to reevaluate their life in NYC. They hoped for a more fulfilling life, enjoyed at a slower pace, by living off the land in a small town in Vermont. Scott Nearing often refers to this as an experiment. We the readers, get to view their experiment as well as the results.
Whether or not the reader shares Scott's eco-political point of view, or his ideas about the exploitation of animals, I feel this is a great book to read. I can't help but admire their self-discipline and the clarity with which they pursued this life.
They leave behind a well written path to the self-sufficient life. It's an admirable accomplishment to have the Nearings' life work be so well documented.


The Hourglass Door (Hourglass Door, Bk 1)
The Hourglass Door (Hourglass Door, Bk 1)
Author: Lisa Mangum
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 14
Review Date: 6/18/2016


"Time is a river. The river bends and loops and meanders, but it always flows one way--away from the past toward the future. And all of us are carried through our lives on the current of that river. We live and love and age---immersed in the all encompassing waters of the river of time."

This book has everything you could want, a rock band, adventure, tattoos, mystery and romance all mixed into one "classic" story. Did I mention time travel? For those of you interested in energy work and light, there are references to those subjects also.

I found this to be a beautiful and intelligent novel, told by a masterful weaver of words.






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Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Author: Jon Krakauer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 409
Review Date: 2/6/2016


Author created a beautiful set up for the story by talking about his raw emotional reactions after the disaster. He discusses in depth, how the function of the human brain can be impaired at such a high altitude. And how he interviewed all the other climbers to research and have other perspectives. When events do not match up, he points it out.
I most appreciate his ability to reflect on his own responsibility for his actions and physical limitations, as well as how his presence as a journalist may have added "pressure" to this climb.
Overall, I liked the humbleness of his approach and felt that many questions presented made the story supremely fair.


The Magnolia Story
The Magnolia Story
Author: Chip Gaines, Joanna Gaines
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 50
Review Date: 2/8/2017


These are the things that dreams are made of, where quiet inspiration lives and takes a hold of your imagination. This is a story of a hard working couple with can-do spirit. This is the American dream made into reality, one renovation at a time. What speaks to me most, is the quiet, reflective nature of Jo and her listening to that small, quiet voice inside. Although they are not outwardly religious, you have this beautiful sense of the unfolding of life, that has a spiritual center. It is the mysterious weave of a living story, that can only be told in retrospect, of understanding of how all the pieces were meant to come together.


On Beauty
On Beauty
Author: Zadie Smith
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 189
Review Date: 11/21/2016


"On Beauty" by Zadie Smith
Amazing story. As soon as I finished I wanted to read it all over again.
Complex. Emotionally rich. Each character is memorable. Multi-cultural.
I would rate it as a top 10 novel, and the best I read this year.


The Postmistress
The Postmistress
Author: Sarah Blake
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 230
Review Date: 6/7/2015


Stunning novel, highly recommend this. Incredible story of a female, American journalist in London during WW II. Beautifully written.


Sanctuaries: The Complete United States--A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats
Review Date: 11/12/2008


This book is a little like a book on bed & breakfasts, except what is reviewed are places where you can have a spiritual retreat. There are listings for every state in the US. It usually includes a little history of each retreat, who is currently running it, the programs available, what the building is like and where you will be staying. As well there is a description of the grounds and physical area.

Its beautifully written and is a joy to read. It is especially useful for the spiritual seeker, looking for an appropriate place for a retreat.


Simply Beautiful Beaded Jewelry: 50 Quick and Easy Projects
Simply Beautiful Beaded Jewelry: 50 Quick and Easy Projects
Author: Heidi Boyd
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 9
Review Date: 7/8/2015


I vote Heidi Boyd best beading author!
Here are the reasons:<
1. There are big pictures of most projects
2. You achieve instant gratification due to easy projects
that look like a million bucks. Really.
3. There is a wide variety of useful functional items to make such as several hair accessories and a badge holder. (who doesn't know an office lady that would love a snazzy badge holder?)
4. Stand Out Project: Vintage Pearls necklace, mine was a definite success.


Simply Beautiful Beading: 53 Quick and Easy Projects
Simply Beautiful Beading: 53 Quick and Easy Projects
Author: Heidi Boyd
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 11
Review Date: 7/8/2015


Heidi Boyd, hands down, is one of the best beading authors. Let me point out why.

1. There are large pictures of each project. (no need to squint or wonder about colors)

2 You achieve instant gratification creating great looking beaded items for yourself or as gifts.

3. In addition to necklaces, bracelets and earrings there are highly functional projects such as a key chain, eyeglass chain, bookmark, hair accessories and home accents.

4. How does she know exactly what my bead stash looks like? (Some of these items are the perfect things for busting your bead stash)



Thrift Score: The Stuff, the Method, the Madness
Thrift Score: The Stuff, the Method, the Madness
Author: Al Hoff
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 14
Review Date: 12/18/2010
Helpful Score: 1


This is a fun, quirky book about thrift store shopping. She covers all the good reasons to thrift shop from saving money and more style accessiblity to recycling/being green. She goes from zero to sixty in under 300 pages.
There are chapters that cover trends in fashion, household items and decor. How collectibles are born. A brief history of thrift stores. Most fun are her "spot profiles" she does on specific people. Two examples are the artist that sneaks his art into the Salvation Army and a gentleman that buys for a restaurant chain!
A yardsale veteran myself, I learned a lot. It's the perfect read during the "off season"!


The Ultimate Ornament Book
The Ultimate Ornament Book
Author: Anne Van Wagner Childs (Editor)
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 11
Review Date: 11/5/2009
Helpful Score: 1


This is one of my favorite ornament books. Mostly country style there is a chapter of elegant accents and a bit of victorian in also. There are approximately 70 projects but sometimes there are 3 or more ornaments within a project. For instance, "penny rug charm" has ornaments, a tree topper and tree scarf instructions with 8 patterns for ornaments. Under "Barnyard Angels" there are patterns for a sheep, a cow and a pig made from felt with wings. There are patterns for nearly everything and only a few appear to need enlarging (at least I havent attempted those ones). There are some very original items I've never seen anywhere else such as the "starry snowflakes". Very simple yet incredibly striking.


Venetian Dreaming
Venetian Dreaming
Author: Paula Weideger
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 12/27/2015


The first half of the story is wonderful. And overall, the writing is sophisticated.

The family that is renting the apartment to the author, ask if she would stay in another apartment, so they may let some big wigs in the film industry stay in her place for a short time. It is during the Venice film festival. The author refuses.

The family is angered by her refusal. So the balance of the story is told after the authors' bubble has burst, and its fairly obvious that her attitude has become one of sour grapes.

I found the ending to be abrupt and very unlike the style at the beginning of the book. So the way it ends is disheartening.

I learned a great deal about Venice. Personally, if I were in the author's shoes I would have given up the apartment for that short time.


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