January Book Review

Happy Tuesday!! 

I'm a day late on blogging this week because of an adventurous Sunday/Monday.  Sunday afternoon my iPhone started freaking out.  Apps kept crashing and I could barely get the screen to light up by pressing the home buttons.  Within an hour I had a white screen with an apple logo and that was the status quo until late yesterday afternoon.  I was up all night Sunday working with Apple support trying to get it fixed and trying all the tricks I know to no avail.  Yesterday morning, I had to go ahead and go into work and several hours later I was cleared for a replacement phone that would take several days in the mail.  This is frustrating for anyone.  This was extra frustrating for me because I have to run our businesses off my cell and that's how I manage all my blog and social media content too!  

A conversation with my husband and Apple again led to an appointment scheduled at the closest Apple store (2 hours away), a vacation hour taken and a Monday night road trip!  Thanks to my amazing husband and a great group of Apple techs we arrived back home around 10 last night with a new functioning phone!  Our relaxing night at home turned into an adventure but I'm glad we were able to handle it together!  I hate it that we're so dependent on technology but it is what it is!  I'm excited to be connected with the world again and here with you all today :)

On to my January book review, I read 2 books this month!  My goal is to read at least 2 books each month so I'm glad I met my goal.  I am a member of our public library which I love because I have access to lots of books and I love being able to reserve all the new ones coming out!  Be sure to check out your local public library if you haven't yet.

Are we friends on Goodreads?  Add me as a friend and see what I'm reading here!

Buy it here.

There are very few books that I would classify as life-changing but this one deserves it.  Different books have different effects on people and this one had a huge one on me.   So many themes in this book spoke to my heart and the decisions we're having to make in our business and lives in general!  Their commitment to trust God and their faith in each step they took to get where they are today was something I needed to experience through their words.  I laughed, I cried, I related.  I highly recommend this book!  I loved it so much that I'm going to buy it to add to my personal collection so that I can read it anytime I want.

Buy it here.

I wanted to love this book.  I really did.  So many of you have loved this book but I just struggled with it from a faith perspective.  In case you are way behind like me and haven't read it yet, I'm not going to ruin it.  I don't think I'm going to give the sequel a read like I originally planned and move on to a new one!

I'm currently reading the Power of a Praying Wife!  Any recommendations of books I should be reading?  I'm in a positive/uplifting/relatable book mood so if you have any suggestions, please share!

5 Useful Tips From The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up + New Years Resolutions Giveaway

 

 

A few months back, I read Marie Kondo's book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up!  Being an organizational freak, it was perfect for me :)  I love to spend hours organizing drawers & cleaning out closets so I'm always looking for new and useful tips!

Although a few ideas in the book just aren't for me (I'm not talking to my possessions or using shoeboxes for organization), I found a lot of great ideas that I've been putting in to use in our home!

These are the 5 most useful ideas I found:

1. Clean Out Your Closets

If a piece of clothing doesn't excite you to wear it or doesn't make you happy, it goes.  This means if it has tags, used to be an old favorite, sentimental memory etc.  I have completed two closet clean outs and plan to do a third when I switch closets out in the spring.  I was able to get rid of so much and still have so many more clothes than I thought!  I love seeing my closet full of just the clothes that fit & that I love!
 

2. Roll

Roll your socks and underwear.  I have discovered that by doing this I have so much more space!
 

3. Continuously Purge

As soon as you realize you don't need or use something, toss it, donate it, get it out of the house. I'm done with the "maybe one day I'll use this..."  It's used or out of the house it goes!

 

4. Put Everything Away Everyday

I am making a bigger point to put things in their specific place each day (keys in their designated basket, mail opened and put in it's place, living areas picked up etc). Obviously there are days this doesn't happen but when I do this, it makes our home feel so much more organized and put together. This in turn makes me feel more relaxed and put together!

5. Organize Similar Items Simultaneously

When you're organizing/purging a specific category of items like clothes, beauty supplies, etc., pull everything in this category out in one area to go through all at once.  This way you can see everything you have and you have an empty space you can organize what you're keeping in as you go.  I found when doing this that I only kept what fit in the designated space and haven't missed anything that was purged yet!

This quote is a perfect way to think about the items you're purchasing to bring into your home!  Don't just buy or bring home useless stuff that doesn't have a specific place to go.  You'll end up with more closets to clean out and never be free of clutter!

The winner of the Valentine's Giveaway is:

Katelyn Brewer
 

I have emailed you and you have 48 hours to claim your prize before another winner is selected. Thanks to all those who have entered! 

I have lots of good giveaways planned for the blog this year. Starting with another one today! I have teamed up with Meg to bring you all a New Years Resolutions Essentials giveaway.  If you are looking for some cute accessories to get you in the resolution keeping mode, then this giveaway is for you :)  The winner will win the awesome items in the picture below!  Go visit these amazing ladies blogs and find some new blogs to follow as well as enter to win this great prize!

Borrowed Heaven ||| To Travel & Beyond ||| Christina Lea Loves ||| Martinis & Bikinis

Green Fashionista ||| Vero Says

A Southern Twenty-Five ||| Eat, Drink, & Be Mary ||| Radiating Sunshine ||| Jess Loves This Life

Lowcountry Mama ||| Carly Blogs ||| The Peacock Roost ||| Make.Up.HER

a Rafflecopter giveaway
  Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!  See you back here tomorrow for What's Up Wednesday!

Book Review

Balancing It All - Candace Cameron Bure

I simply adore Candace Cameron Bure!  She's such an amazing role model for young Christian women!  I feel like if there's something all of us struggle with, it's finding balance in our everyday lives for everything and everyone we care about.  She does a great job of showing how she has found this balance in her life.  I wouldn't say there is groundbreaking information in this book, but it gave me a fresh perspective on balancing my priorities and I loved learning more about their family life!

Silver Girl - Elin Hilderbrand

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.  I could not put this book down!   This book is about a woman whose husband gets arrested for embezzling millions (think fictional  Bernie Madoff) and must dig into her memories to try to help uncover what really happened and clear her name.  Friendship, romance, relationships and life in general are huge themes in this book and I can't say enough good things about it.  Go read it!

Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude: Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone

We started a book club at work and this was our book for the month of September!  It was really dry in parts but had great advice on the importance of having a positive attitude and ways to make that happen in your everyday life.  I definitely found some good tips in this book!  It had great ideas for how to be more positive in each area of your life.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Konto

Just call me the organization girl :)  I love to organize!  Drawers, schedules, budgets, you name it!  The title of this book drew me in and I knew I had to check it out at the library!  There are parts of the book that are a little odd to me (talking to your clothes & possessions...not happening in The Peacock Roost) but she really did have some great tips!  I was already cleaning out all the closets and storage in our house and this book gave me the boost to toss anything we don't use or doesn't bring joy and never look back!  If you need to get your mind in clean out mode, this book should do it for you! 

I'm currently reading The American Heiress & Dancing Through Life and will share my reviews of those in my next book review!  If anyone has read something great lately let me know so I can add it to my to read list!

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Book Review

Today I wanted to share some of the books I've read lately & my thoughts on them with you!  If you have any good book recommendations, please leave them in the comments!  I'm always looking for a good book to read :)

1. Last One Home - Debbie Macomber

If you're a Debbie Macomber fan or like books about family & the ties that bind us together, you would love this book!  It's not my favorite book I've ever read but it was an enjoyable read.  Definitely something that women of all ages can read and relate to.

2. The Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey

I work in the financial industry and get questions about Dave Ramsey a lot!  I had actually never read his book (I knew the basics about him but that's about all) and decided to do a little work research & see if I could find some new financial tips!  I enjoyed this book.  If you need help budgeting then I think this would be a good book for you to read.  I used his budgeting tool to redo ours just to see how it all worked and I honestly loved his 2 page free budget!  Find it here.  I definitely enjoyed learning more so that I can answer more questions and even learned a tip or two that we are already putting to use in our house!

3. The Royal We

LOVE!   Out of all the books in my book review, this is my favorite!  If you are into William & Kate, the royal family, etc then do yourself a favor and read this book!  It was a lot better than I expected and I couldn't put it down. 

4. Girls in White Dresses - Jennifer Close

Honestly, I was not a fan of this book.  It jumps around constantly and several of the characters were too whiny for me.  It was definitely a fast read but to be completely honest, I just finished the second half so I would know how it ended and once I read the end I wished that I had stopped reading at the halfway point.  It wasn't a horrible book or anything, others may love it, it just wasn't my kind of book :)

Any books I need to add to my to read list?

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Thanks for reading!!