Friday, January 29, 2010

Hidden flame, Sewing green, Thrifty, Crafting a business, French-inspired home




Hidden flame by T. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke is the second in a series. It is a nice, enjoyable book, set in the years shortly after Jesus' death and resurrection.




Sewing green : 25 projects made with repurposed & organic materials : plus tips & resources for earth-friendly stitching by Betz White. I LOVED this book! Some really cute projects and lots of neat ideas using old fabric and scraps plus tips on finding great stuff in thrift stores. Also includes information on a number of very eco-friendly small businesses and organizations. I have five bookmarks stuck in this book to mark projects that I'd like to make.



Thrifty : living the frugal life with style by Marjorie Harris was informative and interesting, but I liked Live your life for half the price better.




Crafting a business : make money doing what you love by Kathie Fitzgerald is a useful book for anyone who wants tips for starting a craft business. Lots of nice pictures and profiles of other craft businesses.



French-inspired home by Kaari Meng is a lovely book. I was hoping more for decorating ideas, whereas this is a collection of small French-inspired projects. I've only got one bookmark in this book.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Cooking, catching babies, decorating & crafting



Chocolate & zucchini : daily adventures in a Parisian kitchen by Clotilde Dusoulier. This is a nice book with interesting little stories — much in the style of A Homemade Life. I made several of the recipes and they turned out well. Check out her blog.



Baby catcher : chronicles of a modern midwife by Peggy Vincent. Wow, what a book! I will not forget this one in a hurry. Peggy tells the story of her career delivering babies, from the beginning as an obstetrical nurse, through her years as an independent, licensed midwife, the lawsuit which ended her private practice, and back to the hospital setting. She tells fascinating stories of births in all imaginable situations. This book is not for the squeamish, as she goes into a lot of detail.



Shoestring chic : extraordinary style for less by Gail Abbott was not one of my favourite decorating books. I found the ideas a little dated and almost all the rooms had white walls.



Crafting vintage style : charming projects for home and garden by Christina Strutt is a nice book, but I didn't make any of the projects.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

2 novels



Distant echoes by Colleen Coble was a great read. It is set in Hawaii and had mystery, romance and a lesson in forgiveness.



I just finished The perfect life : a novel by Robin Lee Hatcher. Katherine has been married for almost 25 years, leads a Bible study group in her home, has two grown and married daughters, both pregnant for their first babies, and her husband runs a charity that provides homes for needy families. Her "perfect life" comes crashing down when a former employee of her husband's accuses him of having an affair with her and of misusing the charity's funds. An audit shows that nothing wrong has happened with the charity's money, but there is no way to prove anything either way about the affair; it's just his word against hers. In the end, Katherine learns to fully trust God rather than her own ability to keep all the balls rolling. I liked this book.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Bringing up boys

I just finished Bringing up boys by James C. Dobson and found it really good. It is somewhat similar to Children at risk, in that it says that our culture is causing many of the problems our sons are facing.

"... Letting your children have unsupervised access to the Internet is like a greasy man showing up at your front door. He grins and says, "I know you are terrrily busy and tired. How about letting me entertain your son or daughter for a while?" You let him in and he walks straight to the bedroom and closes the door. Who knows what goes on beyond your hearing? That is what you are doing when you place either a personal computer or a television set in your child's room. It is an invitation to disaster." And later he says, "[Parents] don't seem to grasp the idea that God has put them in charge for a very good reason, and it is He who will hold them accountable."

I found this book to be well worth reading and wholeheartedly recommend it.

Sidetracked, Apothecary's daughter, For women only, Get it ripe



Sidetracked home executives by Pam Young and her sister is funny, interesting and helpful. They suggest a method of housekeeping for those of us who are easily distracted. I haven't tried their method, but it looks like it would work.



The apothecary's daughter by Julie Klassen (finally, a novel!) is a well-written book— kind of a Jane Austen-type story but more about the working class. I was really enjoying it, but ran out of time and had to return it to the library before I had a chance to finish. (I have it on request again.)



For women only by Shaunti C. Feldhahn is VERY enlightening. I really want to ask my husband how much of this is true of him. Shaunti interviewed hundreds of men to find out what they really think and this book is the result.




Get it ripe : a fresh take on vegan cooking & living by Jae Steele has some great, healthy recipes. I'm not vegan or even vegetarian, but I do try to cook healthy food and this book has been a great help. You can also read Jae's blog, domestic affair, or find her on Facebook.

Flat belly diet, Children, 1001 ways, Half the price, Artisan bread



Flat belly diet! : a flat belly is about food & attitude, period (not a single crunch required) by Liz Vaccariello is a great book. I lost 5 lbs. in one month with this diet and learned a lot about food. It's well-written and easy to follow.



Children at risk by Dr. James Dobson was fascinating and informative. I would have liked more information on how to minimize the risks children are facing, however.



1001 ways to get in shape by Susannah Marriott was just a very big list of ideas to be more active and eat better, as well as tips for improving mental and emotional health. A nice book, but not terrible helpful for me and not something I would read again.




Live your life for half the price by Mary Hunt is excellent! Each chapter gives detailed instructions on how to significantly lower your expenses in different areas of your life, such as groceries, travel and bank fees to name a few. This is worth reading again or even keeping as a reference.


Artisan bread in five minutes a day by Jeff Hertzberg is a really nice book. I didn't make any of the recipes because I don't have a baking stone and a pizza peel which are needed to make these delicious-looking and easy-sounding breads. I am now interested in getting them, though!