Meet the American Girl 2013 Girl of the Year – Saige Copeland

January 1, 2013 by 1 Comment

 

Saige Doll and Book-Hi Res

Saige Copeland is the 2013 Girl of the Year. I was lucky enough to be able to get to know Saige through her first book Saige by Jessie Haas.

Saige Book-Hi Res

Saige Paints the Sky-Hi ResSaige will also be featured in the book Saige Paints the Sky. As well as the activity line of books, Express Yourself: Use Art to Explore the Emotions Inside You! will help you follow Saige’s passion for painting and expressing herself creatively. Saige Book helps your child explore the topic of preserving the arts in education.

 

Starting today, January 1, 2013, the Saige collection(including all 3 books) will be available through the American Girl Catalog, and the American Girl website, as well as all of their retail locations.

Saige is a spirited and imaginative young girl who loves painting and horseback riding at her grandma’s ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico – the hot-air balloon capital of the world. Saige’s collection is available for one year; the character comes [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, kids, review, toys Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

1,000 Places to See Before You Die Review and Giveaway @1000Places

September 25, 2012 by 27 Comments

Today we are looking at a must read for any traveler. A book which helped bring traveling back to the lime light. That book of course is: 1,000 Place to See Before You Die. This great book shows you the 1,000 most incredible sights that MUST be seen. It is so much fun to flip through and see the gorgeous photos and fun facts. Each ‘place’ detailed in all it’s glory, with pictures and descriptions. The best thing about this book is places aren’t just listed, but experiences explained- which adventures they advise should be experienced when visiting. As a traveler, I have to say I have seen a few place in this book. But as I am sure most travelers will agree with- not nearly enough places. 🙂

This book also makes a great “coffee table book”. I do not mean a book left on the table to make it look [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, giveaway, travel Tagged With: , ,

Whats for Supper? A New Southern Living CookBook

September 5, 2012 by 3 Comments

Making dinner can be both one of the most rewarding and at the same time the most tedious parts of the day. Reason being, a good meal on a Tuesday brings smiles to everyone’s face. But an ok one is simply ok, nothing special, just another meal. And we all get stuck in ruts from time to time, right?

For those of us who deal with this not so unique situation, there is a solution in the form of a new book by Southern Living- Whats for Supper: 30-Minute Meals Everyone Will Love. This book is written by Vanessa McNeil Rocchio, and is based upon the popular column in Southern Living magazine. It is packed with over 250 recipes which are all quick, easy, and home made. The recipes are broken up into various categories: from know [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, cooking, food Tagged With: , , , , ,

Beerlicious- A Fun New Cook Book

September 4, 2012 by 7 Comments

There are very few things that go as well together as grilling, summer, and beer. There is a great new cook book by the grill master Ted Reader called Beerlicious Volume 1. This fun book teachers readers not only how to grill like one of the best, but how to grill with beer as one of the ingredients. Yay, this was a hit with daddy! Sometimes as a marinade, sauce, or even an ingredient in a grilled cake.

Double chocolate stout German chocolate cake is one of the most interesting dessert recipes. I have to be honest in my house we love the grill and nothing beats a nice barbecue on a warm summer night. But we have never had cake on the grill and this book opens up [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, cooking, food Tagged With: , , , , ,

For My Children- An Adorable Mother’s Day Review

April 30, 2012 by 8 Comments

Mothers Day is upon us all. Mothers Days are full of fun and honoring of Mom- we hope, anyway! I just got the pleasure of checking out this adorable book- great for new moms just starting their journey, or to give your mom or grandma to preserve her thoughts and memories of motherhood. Take a look at For My Children A Mother’s Journal of Memories, Wishes and Wisdom.

This book is a sort of memory journal where the mom of choice can relive some good memories and share her thoughts on motherhood. It’s nice to share these with your little ones, or anyone who can now read, LOL. [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, review

Taste What You’re Missing- A Delicious Book Review

April 23, 2012 by 12 Comments

Have you ever been told to try something because it is so good you will be amazed? However, when you actually try it, its nothing special. Either someone is having some fun with you at your expense, or there actually is something you are missing. You say tomato….

To find out if your friends are all goobers or you just have a junk palette (mwah-haha), you don’t need an expensive class or to spend time with a stuck up snob trying to ‘educate’ your taste buds. Right? How much fun would that be? Not so much.

Check out this book- It’s author, Barb Stuckey, has been a professional food developer for fifteen years. Her goal in writing this book was to make a “Tasting for Dummies” kind of book that teaches the reader to taste all the flavors and nuances of their food. She starts with the five basic tastes- sweet, sour, bitter, salt and umami- to the profiles of spices, grassy, pungent, warm smoky floral, etc. The book is very interesting, particularly in its recipes and experiments, which teach your brain how to taste differences and hone in on what those differences are.


With salt, water and accent flavor enhancer, you can [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, food, review

I See Me Books Review

April 21, 2012 by 8 Comments

Little Man always loves the time we spend reading books together. That love of being read to is a gate way to loving to read books on his own. As someone that values education I want him to love to read. I See Me is a site with wonderful books that encourage that love for being read to and reading. I received their book entitled My Very Own Pirate Tale Storybook. He loves that it is a story of a captain search for his perfect first mate in order to open a treasure chest that will not open until the Captain and the first mate are united.

Each page introduces a new sea creature with a letter that spells out the name of the perfect first mate for the captain. Not only are letters used as clues but the animals through rhyme tell why the person will be [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, kids

Dot to Dot Earth Day Books- Tales from Around the World- Review and Giveaway

April 3, 2012 by 25 Comments

Lets celebrate Earth day with some books! These books are not only fun tales that are beautifully illustrated, but also have a grander purpose. These are the new Earth Day books by Dot to Dot Children’s Books.

These books are written by women and children of actual endangered places like Afghanistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Republic of Congo, and Nicaragua. I’ll give you a quick run down of each book. Sam Learns Some Lessons is about an elephant dealing with water shortages and is from Tanzania. The Snow Leopard Dream from Afghanistan is about a young girl befriending a snow leopard. Shuba and the Cyclone is about a river dolphin and a heroic crocodile. Yara’s Amazing Nose is about a tapir and its nose and comes to us from Bolivia. The adventures of a young tiger saving its mother comes to us from Somalia in the book When Honey the Tiger Flew. Ndeze and Ndakasi’ s New Home is about two orphaned gorillas. Carey’s First Day follows a new born sea turtle trying to make it to the ocean. Kajo and Akari’s New Friend has two curious chimp brothers following a butterfly around the forest.


All of these books are unique and different offering a unique look at endangered animals in their natural habitat. We especially liked the Ndeze and Ndakasi tales. The main reason I think the kids liked these books are because my thick [Read more…]

Filed Under: book review, giveaway, review