Friday, May 24, 2013

Hopeless - 52 books in 52 weeks

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
Tessa has read 21 books toward her goal of 52 books.
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Thanks for tuning in to another edition of my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. I'm tracking my progress on Goodreads, an awesome website that you should definitely check out, and maybe start your own reading challenge!



This was my first foray into the "New Adult" genre, and I'm honestly really disappointed. Sometimes I'd love to read something that's light and enjoyable without being geared toward a high-school aged audience - and that's what I thought I'd be getting with this book. While I do give the author credit for creating a better narrative than your typical Twilight-y novel, I don't think this transcended the teen genre (except perhaps because of the tough subject matter).

I'm just SO over the male romantic leads in this type of book. Age-related issues aside (the female protagonist is 17 and her love interest is 19) he's violent and stalker-y and while he turns out to mostly be a decent guy, I'm just not down with that. About halfway through the book takes a very dramatic turn and suddenly delves into some shockingly dark issues that were a little too carelessly handled for me. I'm not opposed nor unaccustomed to reading about gritty subject matter, but the author just seemed to pile on trauma after trauma in a manner that just didn't fit the fluffy, romantic nature of the first 50% of the novel. I wasn't a fan.


2/5 Stars








Monday, May 20, 2013

Great Times at Annie's Wedding!


Giant Scrabble! I know, right?! Awesome. 

My great friend Annie got married last weekend and had her reception at one of the most brilliant places - The Mississippi Children's Museum. While I'm sure that the twenty or so kids in attendance really did have fun playing with all the awesome exhibits, there's no possible way they had as much fun as I did. 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

$75 Target Giveaway and Upcoming Recipe Swap

I’m participating in a Good Old Fashioned Recipe Blog Swap! Julie {White Lights on Wednesday}Kelley {Miss Information} and Rachel {i love my disorganized life} have paired up 30 incredible bloggers to trade blogs for the day.



The Freshman Cook and I will be sharing a fabulous recipe on each other’s blogs {but we can’t tell you what they are, because they’re a secret!}. Be sure to visit both of us on May 27th, we wouldn’t want you to miss out on any deliciousness!

In other exciting news, I'm helping sponsor a $50 Target giveaway for Kelley at The Grant Life for her blog-a-versary! Enter below to win.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 17, 2013

The Alchemist - 52 books in 52 weeks

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
Tessa has read 21 books toward her goal of 52 books.
hide

Thanks for tuning in to another edition of my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. I'm tracking my progress on Goodreads, an awesome website that you should definitely check out, and maybe start your own reading challenge!



I think this might have been a case where I was over-sold on this book. I'd just heard SO many great things, about how it was life-changing and stunningly written and the most profound thing to happen in the 21st century etc.

Maybe it was the fact that the novel was translated from its original language, but the writing style felt more contrived and heavy-handed than inspired, to me. I kept waiting for the book to delve deeper than the surface-level fable that prevailed. I wish that I hadn't been expecting so much, because I ended up feeling kind of preached-at and

So, while my life wasn't exactly changed, I did enjoy and appreciate this book for what it was: a well-told translation of a dramatic and epic fairy-tale story.


3/5 Stars








Thursday, May 16, 2013

Bloglovin' Collective Party 5/16

Hey readers! I'm thrilled to be co-hosting the Bloglovin' Collective this week! I'd love to see you link up so we can all gain some followers and meet new people. I'm so excited to get to know some new blogs and bloggers!



Welcome to the weekly Bloglovin' Collective party! 
There are many out there like it, but this is the Bloglovin' blog hop you do not want to miss.




Host:

and my co-hosts for the week:
Jacqueline @ Nora and Jac
Tessa @ Tessacotton
Sarah @ Dreaming About Baby
Jacquelyn @ Just Jacq
Chrissy @ Parlo and Logi

Interested in co-hosting? Send an email to peacoatsnplaid(at)gmail(dot)com to get on the waiting list.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Quick and easy dessert fix!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Private Selection. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

Confession: I have a total sweet tooth. 

My evening meal just isn't complete unless there's a treat at the end of it. I don't know about you, but creating a delicious and handmade dessert is often nowhere on my to-do list - especially after a long day. I put so much effort into eating healthy, homemade meals that it's difficult to find the time to make a yummy dessert.

Thankfully, Kroger has the solution! Private Collection is a premium brand carried exclusively by Kroger Family of Stores (including Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Fry's, Gerbes, Pay Less, QFC, JayC, King Soopers, Owen's, Ralphs, Smith's and Fred Mayer). Right now they're offering a $1.00 off coupon for their delicious Private Selection Upside Down cakes. 

Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon

These cakes are perfect for a packed and busy weekday when the last thing on your mind is how you're going to find time to make dessert. The upside down cakes come in three delicious flavors - so there's one that's just right for every taste! I follow Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest, and I encourage you to do the same! They have some delicious cooking and entertaining inspiration.

Private Selection

I'm always waiting until the last minute to make food for potluck, and I hate when I have to resort to buying an obviously store-bought dish and bringing it to church. These cakes are the perfect fix - I can just heat it, flip it, and serve it. Because Private Selection only uses the best ingredients, they taste just like homemade. I can be proud to contribute something delicious without having wake up extra early or worry about my recipe not turning out. There's a Kroger that's just up the street from my house, which makes this the absolute easiest way to get a fast and yummy dessert on my table. Here's where you can find the Kroger store nearest you - so you'll never have to worry about getting caught unprepared after dinner again. 

Here's an extra bonus for you: if you share the coupon Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook you'll receive a $2.00 off coupon to use yourself, which will double your savings! This is an awesome deal because these upside down cakes are already premium quiality without having to pay a premium price. 

Here are the coupon details:

Coupon ends 6/2/13. Official Rules. In order to load these coupons onto your card, you will need to sign into your Kroger account or set up a Kroger account and enter your card number. Limit one use per digital coupon. Digital offers are not eligible on Manager's Special, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item, and do not double. Not all items are available in all stores. A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.

 

 

Visit Sponsor's Site

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mothers Day 2013


Yesterday we joined together as a family and celebrated my beautiful mom, Cynthia. I'm so blessed to have been raised in a two-parent family with a mom who is truly an amazing example of the kind of person I someday hope to be.

My mom is seriously a super-mom! She works full time as the chair of the dance department at Belhaven University. She's an amazing wife to my dad, who is a pastor, and is basically a mom to our whole church. She raised and home-schooled us three (and we turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself). In case you can't tell, I'm immensely proud to be her daughter.


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Be Good - 52 books in 52 weeks

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
Tessa has read 21 books toward her goal of 52 books.
hide


Hey all! Welcome to yet another book review post, as part of my New Years resolution to read a book every week in 2013. I'm tracking my progress on Goodreads, an awesome website that you should definitely check out, and maybe start your own reading challenge!


Randy Cohen is a New York Times writer whose column "The Ethicist" ran for over 10 years. This book is a compilation of some of the ethical dilemmas presented to Cohen and his answers that were published in the Times.

The author attempts to approach everything from an objective point of view, which was interesting to read! Each section starts with a reader's question and is followed by the author's response. It was enjoyable to read the queries, form my own opinion, and then see what Cohen's take on the matter was. 

While I disagreed on several matters, I found Cohen to be very clever and witty in his responses, which made for an enjoyable read. It took a while for me to get through this one, it's just not the kind of book to keep my attention for a long section of time. It think it would made a really good back-of-the-toilet book, ha. 

3/5 Stars

Hello Spring! - Treasury Thursday

Each Thursday I feature a fun treasury I've found thats been curated by a creative Etsy member. Hope you enjoy browsing and remember how important it is to support small business!

'Hello Spring!' by byNeri



Boys Tie- Blue, White a...
$18

Vintage Double Boiler, ...
$22

Spring Crystal Balls ( ...
$63

Polka Dot Earrings in W...
$11.9

Kindle Case / Kindle Co...
$22

Knitted tunic dress nat...
$42

Apple Jacket-White with...
$16

Boys Bow Tie- Blue, Whi...
$15

White Lime Green Fabric...
$10

Small Enamel Earrings, ...
$21

Monkey Key Fob Wristlet...
$7.5

Vintage Pink and Lime G...
$39

6 Piece Acrylic White a...
$2.75

OOAK - One of a kind - ...
$12

Mally Leather Cherry Bo...
$9.95

White and Lime Green Wi...
$24