Posts Tagged ‘books’

It’s a dreary day outside . . . cold, and gray, and rainy . . . so I thought I’d share some cozy recipes and links I’ve come across recently, to help cheery-up this dismal day.

• These hand knitted apple green fingerless gloved will keep hands warm and your fingers free. Bysweetmom {$24}
• Stir up a bulk batch of homemade hot chocolate mix and you’ll be ready to warm up from the inside out.
• Gray winter days are the perfect time to curl up inside with a favorite book, such as these editions of Little Women, Sense & Sensibility, and other classics. {$14}
• Creature Comforts has a tutorial on painting with tea, as well as a free printable card for you to practice on. Once you’re finished, you can write a note to a friend and send her a bit of cheer.
• Dandelion prints from HeyHarriet to remind you of spring. Don’t they make you smile. {$18}
• If you need a project to get you up-and-about, this Scruffily Quilt tutorial from Moda Bake Shop should do the trick. And when it’s finished, you’ll have a lovely quilt for snuggling!
• Mmmm. Just the spicy smell of this cranberry marmalade soap from Refresh Soap Company is enough to make you want to put everything down and take a warm shower. {$5}
• If you need a new warm-you-up recipe, try out this Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Bread bowls are not required, but they make it feel like a special occasion.
• The best way to turn a dreary day into a cheery day – remember to rejoice because God made today! {image copyright Reverence Media}

{Day 4 of Universal Letter Writing Week 2011}

Sometimes when you’re stuck for inspiration, or just want an enjoyable read, it’s fun to read other peoples’ letters, both real and fictional.

I love this excerpt from a letter Ronald Reagan wrote to Nancy on May 24, 1963:

Just think: I’ve discovered I can be fond of Ann Blyth because she and her Dr. seem to have something of what we have. Of course it can’t really be as wonderful for them because she isn’t you but still it helps to know there are others who might just possibly know a little about what it’s like to love someone so much that it seems as if I have my hand stretched across the mountains and desert until it’s holding your hand there in our room in front of the fireplace.

Excerpted from I Love You, Ronnie: The Letter of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan. (I copied it precisely, so don’t come after to me to put the “e” at the end of “Ann.”)

And, of course, I can’t post a reference to Anne-with-an-E without sharing one of her letters to Gilbert. This little postscript makes me chuckle whenever I read it:

P.S.2. I have put in a new pen. And I love you because you aren’t pompous like Dr. Carter . . . and I love you because you haven’t got sticky-out ears like Johnny. And . . . the very best reason of all . . . I love you for just being Gilbert!

Excerpted from Anne of Windy Poplars which, by the way, is filled to the brim with all sorts of lovely notes and letters, such as this opening paragraph from Anne to Gilbert:

Dearest:

It used to be that the person I hated most in the world was the person who spoiled my pen-nib. But I can’t hate Rebecca Dew in spite of her habit of using my pen to copy recipes when I’m in school. She’s been doing it again and as a result you won’t get a long or a loving letter this time.

Do you ever read letters in which you play neither the part of the writer or the the recipient? Letters from Stonewall Jackson, Mark Twain, and Ronald Reagan are all good places to start. For fiction, books such as Anne of Windy Poplars and C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters are full of letters. If you want a fun one to read with your kids, try The Jolly Postman.

{This post is part of a series for Universal Letter Writing Week 2011. Click here to go to the original post and to find out how to enter the giveaway for a $10 Amazon gift card.}

{Image source unknown}

• When I was in TJMaxx earlier this week, I saw this edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on clearance for $7.00. I love the picture book format and the gorgeous illustrations. I purchased this copy for myself and have been thoroughly enjoying it. After I get the storage containers I need, I’ll be saving up my Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards to get another copy for my nieces.
• This kitchen makeover from diyideas.com is absolutely beautiful!
• September 25th is  Museum Day. Check the listings here to find out if there’s a museum near you offering free admission. Note that the free ticket is only good for two people per household.
• Better Homes and Gardens is holding a “Share the Plaid” photo contest. Submit a photo of yourself with your copy of the BHG Cookbook, along with your favorite memory of using it, then get your friends and family members to vote for you, and you could win two copies of the new plaid cookbook – one to keep and one to share!
• This recipe for Giant Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies looks delicious. It’s from Big Girls, Small Kitchens, and shared via Design*Sponge.

The photo of the week:

{Photo copyright Nick Amis. Discovered via Decor Amor.}

I’ve been using PaperBackSwap for a couple of years now and have really enjoyed it. The premise is simple – you send a book you no longer want to a member who does want it and you get a point deposited into your account. Then you use that point to request a book you want from someone else. It’s not quite as cheap as buying books at the thrift store, but there a whole lot more books on PBS than at the local Goodwill – and you can even set up a wish list so that you’re notified when a book you want is entered into the system!

This week I started using PaperBackSwap’s sister site, SwapADVD. It’s equally as simple to use as PBS, and the points are transferable between my accounts at both sites! I can send out a DVD I no longer want, and then use that point to get a new book. (My husband still can’t figure out why I need more books.)

I haven’t really used SwapaCD yet, though I do have an account there. For each CD you request, you pay a point from your account (also transferablebetween PBS or SwapADVD), and $0.49. It’s still a good deal, but I haven’t gotten around to trying it out.

Each site offers members 1 credit for the initial 10 items they post. They also offer 1 point for each valid referral (10 items posted on PBS and SwapADVD, 10 items plus money for trades at SwapaCD).

I have gotten rid of a quite a few “extra” books through PBS over the last couple of years, and I’ve acquired some nice ones in exchange. This is definitely one swap program I like a lot.

{Please note that the links listed above are referral links. If for some reason you would rather visit those sites without the referral, type the names of the companies into your address bar, followed by .com.}

The Sunday List is back! Here’s what I’ve discovered in the first week since we’ve had internet access again:

• Whoopie Pies. An entire book devoted to them. And a yummy post at Bakerella (accompanied with pictures, of course) detailing her first batch. Mmmm.
• While we’re talking food, I’ll go ahead and mention Canelle et Vanille, a stunning food blog I stumbled across this week. Former Ritz-Carlton chef Aran Goyoaga is now a stay-at-home mom, but still nurtures her love for cooking. Her recipes look tasty and her photography will make you drool. I think I want to be a food stylist/photographer now, thank you.
• Every Friday, Julia of Hooked on Houses posts about houses from movies and tv. My favorites are Meg Ryan’s dwellings as Annie in “Sleepless in Seattle” and Kathleen Kelly in “You’ve Got Mail,” as well as Barton Cottage in “Sense and Sensibility.” The bad real estate photos are also great entertainment!
• I didn’t just find this dress this week, but I absolutely love it. I bought it at JCPenney just in time to wear to my bridal shower – and then to our rehearsal dinner. (Okay, and I’m wearing it now.)

The photo of the week is from our wedding. Thank you, Caroline!

{Photo copyright Caroline Ghetes Photography.}