2 from the Library

All of the  books I have from publishers right now aren't being published until January or February, so I've had time to visit my local library and read some things that I've heard about from other book bloggers. Unfortunately, they've all been on my To Be Read list for so long I forgot where I discovered them.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen is the first in a series of 4 young adult historical romances. I really couldn't figure out why it was young adult instead of just adult, but I greatly enjoyed it. It's the story of New York high society at the turn of the 20th century. Some of the characters are a little flat, playing the role for which they are needed, while others are more dimensional. I expect as I read each book they will be fleshed out as well. Ms. Godbersen has given her readers romance, intrigue, societal and parental pressures, and back-biting mean girls, kind of like Gossip Girl in big silk skirts. Speaking of skirts, the cover art on these books is gorgeous. Each features a beautiful, full ballgown in different colors. The Luxeis a fast, light read, with a little historical information from 100 years ago. I've already put the next book on hold.
Comfort Foodis by Kate Jacobs, the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, In the style of much contemporary women's fiction, it is about a group of people, some related, some friends or co-workers, who each have their own set of issues and problems, some involving other characters. They are brought together by a live cooking show, where Gus has been a star chef for twelve years. In the course of the book the group airs 5 shows and go on a bonding/teamwork retreat, fall in and out of love, cancel a wedding, hold a wedding, and confront past demons. Many of the outcomes are surprising, in what could have been a very predictable novel.

Pink Tree Ornaments

It's a 2-FER post this week. I am participating in Beverly's Pink Saturday, where we have been invited to share a favorite holiday tradition along with our pinks, and Denise @ Bella Dreams is hosting Share the Joy, a holiday decorating and craft idea party.
Every family has traditions, some of which continue on into the next generation. Some are awesome, like my mom's coffee cake that I shared with you the other day, and others may be a pain in the neck, or in some cases slightly traumatizing. :-) For my family that tradition is how to decorate a Christmas tree. At 40 years old my sister still won't decorate her family tree. She'll do the lights, and go cut down the tree, and sit and visit with the family while they decorate, but she doesn't do the ornaments herself. My dad, who is in love with traditions, has certain guidelines, dare I call them "rules", for decorating the tree, although they were never written out until I did a Christmas scrapbook a few years ago. In writing they seem a little intimidating, or rigid, but I never thought they were.I think they make sense, and the first one my dad knows from firsthand experience. The first year he and his sister celebrated Christmas after their parents were gone, They put most of the ornaments on the side of the tree where they could see them, and it fell over, destroying a lot of great German glass ornaments that could have been mine someday! In the bowl above I have 3 vintage ornaments, but they are only from the 1960s.

• Evenly distribute ornaments around the tree. If one side has too many, it could fall over.
• Every ornament should hang/dangle. They should not be leaning or sitting on branches or other ornaments.
• Avoid having too many of the same color right next to each other.
• Large ornaments get hung on lower branches.
• Items that fly, such as angels and birds, get hung up high.
• Hanging shiny ornaments on inside branches makes the tree even more sparkly.
• Garland or ribbon should be put on the tree before ornaments, but tinsel should be put on after ornaments.

I follow these guidelines when I do my tree, and I actually look at other folks' trees to see if ornaments are too close together or not dangling. Kathleen watches me like a hawk around her tree because she always thinks I'm going to move the ornaments around. Which I would, if she wasn't watching. But now that her kids are older they know the "rules" and pretty much follow them, so last year there was nothing to try and move. Here is my tree from last year. I don't have this year's up yet.
I hope you enjoyed learning about my family's demented tree decorating and how it can create a scar that reaches into adulthood. I'm sure there are other funny, sweet, and maybe some weird, traditions being shared at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday. And at Bella Dreams there will be lots of decorating ideas, craft tutorials, and recipes while folks Share the Joy!

Christmas Cards Finished!

I met my goal for this week, I finished making my Christmas cards. I'll address them tomorrow while I watch the marathons of sappy Christmas movies on Lifetime and Hallmark all day. They have the best shmaltzy movies this time of year, don't they? Just for fun, I linked to their schedules so you could see that it's all Christmas all day today on those channels.These Santas I cut from used cards with my Cutter Bee Scissors. It takes a while, but I do it while I watch TV and work on them all year long. Then I just glued striped paper on the diagonal onto cream card stock.Originally, I had planned to make all my cards with my Silhouette cutting machine this year. But it became a hassle because of paper getting stuck in it and then I'd lose what would have been 2 or 4 cards.So these are the only survivors. Next year I will be an expert with the Cricut ExpressionI won from My Craft Corner and can do this style with that machine.I know I showed you this card for Blue Monday, but I have a follow-up about it. Sheila, The Quintessential Magpie suggested making 1 card and photocopying it, so I didn't kill myself cutting and glueing all the little mosaic tiles. If I don't make the cut-out cards next year, I'm definitely taking her advice on that!
This post is linked to many crafty parties today where there are all sorts of finished projects for your joyful inspiration!

Finished for Friday @ Lit & Laundry
Get 'R Done Friday @ Expressly Corgi,
Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Holiday Linky @ The Inspired Room