Archive for April 2011

Book Review: The Lightkeeper's Ball By Colleen Coble

lightkeepersThe Lightkeeper's Ball is apparently the third book in the Mercy Falls series, something I definitely didn't know until about a chapter in. I obviously hadn't read the first book, but I found this one easy to get into without knowing the back story featured in the previous books, The Lightkeeper's Daughter and The Lightkeeper's Bride. The story is very strongly written, keeping my attention to continue reading. The book is about Eleanor Stewart who leaves her home in New York to get married and then dies from supposedly drowning. Eleanor's sister Olivia knew something wasn't quite right because of the fact that her sister was afraid of water. Olivia assumes she was murdered and investigates, leading through an interesting and mysterious storyline.

This book was definitely an interesting and quick read which I would recommend to those who enjoy historically themed novels.



A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: God Gave Us You By Lisa Tawn Bergren

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First of all, let me just say that I am so excited to have the opportunity to review a childrens book! My one year old son loves his nightly bedtime stories, so we've got plenty of books to choose from, and this was a wonderful addition to his collection. Last night, I read him God Gave Us You, and although he's only one and doesn't fully comprehend the meaning of this book, he enjoyed the pictures and pointed at the bears with a huge smile on his face. I believe this book will be a terrific tool in the future, when the question of "Where did I come from" pops up, I'll know exactly how to answer it, by using this very book. It is a great way to answer it truthfully (no storks involved), without any specific and awkward details he won't be quite ready for. I look forward to helping my son form and build a relationship with God, and this will be one of the many contributions to it. It is currently available for purchase through Amazon.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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Chocolate & White Chocolate Chip Cookies from SCRATCH!

I've been on a baking kick lately, ever since I discovered Bakerella. I want to try out pretty much everything, and even try and create my own recipes! I love love love baking and these cookies were absolutely delicious. My little brother isn't a fan of white chocolate, but he really liked these cookies.

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Stack of Review Books

I believe I mentioned this in a previous post, but I signed up for a few "Book Blogging" programs. Where I receive free books in exchange for a book review posted on my blog. Since initial sign up, I've gotten quite a stack of books piling up to review:

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Thrifting More Books!

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I am SO excited that I came across a hardcover The Last Song for only .99 cents! I loved the film adaptation. I'm also happy that I found the books by Jennifer Weiner for only .25 cents each! And to think I almost spent 8 bucks each on them if I ordered 'em from Amazon.

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First Attempt At Cakeballs

I recently discovered the latest baking trend - cakeballs/cakebites/cakepops. I searched everywhere, and I stumbled upon the website that apparently got them out there, Bakerella. I decided to try out her recipe and see what all the fuss was about. And these turned out pretty good. Dipping the little balls in chocolate was easy, getting them to be perfectly covered, however, was not. My family really liked them. I only had one - On top of my new healthy diet, I have this habit of baking things and not really eating them. I definitely think I'll be trying these again and maybe trying out the Cakepops.

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Giuseppe's Gigantic Burger Experience & PHO "Everyday Life"

On Sunday, we went to visit my Dad and then we had lunch at Giuseppe's. We had the biggest burger I've ever seen in my life. It was DELICIOUS.

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See?! HUGE! We got two to share amongst the four of us. But I could only eat 1/4 of the burger I shared with my older brother.

Anyway.. the pictures speak for themselves.

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"Read More" for more pictures!

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Thrifting Books

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We stopped by a thrift store recently to check out what kind of books they had. They actually had a pretty great selection of books and they were priced AMAZINGLY. Hardcover books from $1.00-$2.00? Plus paperbacks were 25 cents - $1.00?! Awesome stuff. I picked these amazing like-new quality books. And not more than $6.00 was spent. I cannot wait to read them.

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On another note, I found these at Target! I had no idea they had Vanilla flavored Pandas! They also had strawberry but I'm not really a fan of artificial strawberry flavorings.

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Book Review: The Canary List By Sigmund Brouwer

canarylistThe Canary List is a fasted-paced story about the lives of two completely different individuals whose lives become entangled. Jamie Piper, a twelve-year old and student of Crockette Grey, shows up at his house in the middle of a special night, causing a whirlwind of events. I found this book to be well-written, incredibly interesting, and quite the page-turner. From the beginning, it's obvious that there is something different and special about Jamie, who ends up having the supernatural ability to sense evil. The ending of every chapter left me anxious to find out more about what was going to happen to Jamie and her special ability. That being said, I liked the fact that the title of the book wasn't explained until the end of the book, which after reading the story in it's entirety, really made sense. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys books about the supernatural and conspiracies.

This is a review of an advanced copy, as the release date of the book is June 21st, 2011. However, it is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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