Summer Bucket List: Progress?

Summer is not even close to being over but it is the end of July and I want to make sure I get everything in on my summer bucket list for my epic summer. It's been a great summer so far, but I definitely haven't done as much as I had expected considering I ended up being a lot more busy with meetings, trips and life.

Well, here's what I have done so far this summer.

** Host parties in the backyard. **

Silly me thought I would have time to have people over once a week! Was I crazy! Must have been on all those painkillers I was hyped up on. Needless to say I have managed two parties - basically one per month. I'm not thinking any more parties this summer but maybe just having a few people over here and there to enjoy the summer evenings in the backyard.

** Spend time with family and friends. **

Amanda was here in June and we had such a wonderful time even if we didn't get to play tennis. My friend Courtney got married, so it was awesome seeing her family and of course two Lakeside trips to see friends and new babies!

** Go on vacation.**

Williamsburg was fabulous and so was the boat show weekend at Lakeside. The June week not so much. Talk about a hurricane on the lake. Needless to say my vacations are done for the summer and I'm a little sad.

And lots of other adventures:

In August, I still want to try some new restaurants, make ice cream and go to the drive-in. Oh yeah, and definitely work on my failing golf game!

Happy August! Let's get together if we haven't already and enjoy the beautiful weather finally!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things: Office Supplies

So, a great follow-up to my post about my planner is my favorite office supplies. My coworkers always get me office supplies for gifts. This time of  year, I want to just head to the back-to-school section at Target and buy everything! I'm like Meg Ryan's character on You've Got Mail when she talks about sending a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. If you find yourself needing to spruce up your desk or home office space, then maybe these are some items you should stock up on.

Post-Its

Who doesn't use Post-Its? My Post-It supply at home is a little out of hand right now. I might have gone overboard in college or grad school buying Post-Its and now I have a box. I use them for everything from bookmarks to notes on gifts, so not just office supplies.

[Photo courtesy of Flickr.]

Colored Sharpies - Ultra Fine Point
These are my absolute favorite! I just happened to catch a deal last year at Staples and scored the entire set. Then my coworker gave me a set for Christmas, so now I have some at home and work. I color code my to-list at work because my job is grant funded and I need to know how much time I'm spending on each aspect of my position. That worked so well I started doing it at home as well.

[Photo courtesy of Flickr.]

Colored Sharpies - Fine Point
I have a full set of the traditional Sharpie markers too. I love them but I don't use the bigger ones too often. The ink bleeds and I write so big that it just doesn't work out. I use them a lot at work for mailings and items to be delivered to the libraries.

[Photo courtesy of Flickr.]

Highlighters
Highlighters are great for items that didn't get completed on the to-do list. My favorite highlighter is one I got free at a conference. It has five different points/colors. It's almost running out. It's like a highlighter you would have used in middle school.

[Photo courtesy of Flickr.]

My desk at work is full of pencils and notebooks and fun paper clips but they don't get used nearly as much as the above items. If you need one new thing to spruce up your work life, get Sharpies! Best investment ever!

Go shopping and get organized now!

An Organized Life: My New Planner

Yes, I'm a total nerd when it comes to my planner. I don't actually remember a time being without one starting in high school. For the beginning of the year, I was making my own, so that it provided everything I needed. The binding wasn't great though. I've had my heart set on an Erin Condren or Plum Paper planner forever but just couldn't bring myself to pay those costs. So, when we were in Williamsburg Dennis bought me a Lilly Pulitzer planner for one of my birthday presents. It's amazing!

It's Lilly Pulitzer. Did I mention that? I'm just a little excited still. There were so many to choose from. I went back three times before I actually made a decision. I got the biggest one since I have so much to plan and I write so big. It has sailboats on the cover, so of course it was love at first sight. There are calendars and daily sheets for 18 months. Plus pages to plan trips, list important dates and contacts and lots of note pages. Plus it has Lilly artwork the entire way through and there is a great folder and stickers at the beginning. It's so beautiful. I love to just look at it. Ha ha!

Here's a little peak inside my planner and how it is organized. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a little obsessed with my planners but it works.

Calendar Spread:

I color code my events. On the calendar it's pretty simple, navy for Dennis, lime green for me and pink for date night. My calendar is pretty straightforward. I don't really do anything crazy on the calendar.

Daily Spread:

Then I have my daily pages, which are also color coded.These have more than just the three on the calendar because there are colors for organization, financial, cleaning, etc. 

Daily and Weekly To-Do Lists:

I also have lists in the columns for items I'd like to do every day. These have codes because I write too big to fit it all in. These include drinking water, writing a blog post, exercising, stretching, etc. 

Then the weekly to-dos are on the opposite page and are items that I typically do once a week, including making a grocery list, checking the budget, updating the calendar, etc.

Post-It Notes:

Finally, I use post-its to mark my blog post ideas and daily cleaning tasks. That way I can move the blog post idea if I end up not using it. The cleaning tasks then get moved to the next Monday after I complete them. Eventually I will do this with my exercise routine as well but for now I have a chart that I keep in the folder.

That's my crazy life organized!

Merry Christmas in July!

We all know how Christmas obsessed I am, so it is no surprise that when I saw that Christmas in July was on a Saturday that I needed to have a party. I came to the conclusion a bit late though and being out of town three times in the last few weeks meant that it was a hastily thrown together party. Christmas in July is often overlooked and I have such fabulous memories of celebrating as a kid at Lakeside when they had a live nativity the one summer and then later when I worked there going to Put-In-Bay for the evening. I wanted to have more Christmas in July memories, so party was scheduled and guests were invited!

Of course when it came to food and drink, my first thought was that we have to have Jingle Juice. I love Jingle Juice. In addition, some of the other festive food included a veggie tree and peppermint s'mores. Had more people come, I would have made more, including mistletoe jello shots and cut out cookies. There was also pepperoni rolls, buffalo chicken dip and Rita's. Oh and shredded chicken sandwiches that I kind of bombed! Christmas in July is tricky because you want to have themed food but if you think about it do you really want to be in a hot kitchen with crock pots and the oven going or spending hours making sugar cookies? Yeah, I didn't want to be doing that because I wanted to spend as much time that afternoon as possible at the swimming pool.

Decorating was much easier than I had expected considering that some of my Christmas decorations were readily available in the office turned storage space. I grabbed a small tree for the deck and the Charlie Brown tree for the kitchen. Of course there is always the famous Elf poster and than a canvas painting that my sister made for more decor . We already have Christmas lights on the deck, so that worked perfect and I had some holiday plates and napkins from a gift to use. I didn't want too much, so I think it worked out well.

I put on the invitation that there would be a White Elephant exchange but I didn't do that great of job reminding people, so it was a small one. We also had a snowball fight (water balloons) at midnight, which was awesome since it was still like 80 degrees and consisted more of us throwing balloons at the garage. I had also planned on showing Elf in the backyard but people were in and out and seemed content just hanging out and talking.

All in all it was a nice relaxing evening! Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Books A-Z (Part 2)

And here my friends is the rest of my favorite books list! I warned you that there were multiples! Hope you found one to take on your next vacation or trip to the pool!

N

Nantucket Blue and Nantucket Red - Leila Howland (Teen, Beach Read)

Check out my blog posts about these titles here.

O

Orphan Train - Christina Baker Kline (Historical Fiction, Book Club)

Out of my Mind (Teen, Book Club)

P

The Pregnancy Project - Gaby Rodriguez (Teen, Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Other: Palisades Park - Alan Brennert (Historical Fiction); Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld (Fiction)

Q

I got nothing. Sorry.

R

Rules of the Road - Joan Bauer (Teen)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Other: Red Kayak (Teen, Book Club); Reflections: Life After the White House (Memoir); The Ride of Our Lives: Roadside Lessons of An American Family (Memoir); Rose: The Life and Times of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (Biography)

S

The Starboard Sea - Amber Dermont (Fiction)
Check out my blog post here.

A Star for Mrs. Blake - April Smith (Historical Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my blog post here.

The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han (Teen, Beach Read)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Others: Same Sweet Girls (Fiction); Second Chance Summer (Teen, Beach Read); The Secret Hum of a Daisy (Tween); Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House (History); The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Teen, Beach Read); Skipping Christmas (Fiction, Holiday); Spoken from the Heart (Memoir); Storm Runners (Tween); Summer at Tiffany (Memoir); Summer People (Fiction, Beach Read); Summer Sisters (Fiction, Beach Read); Sweet Caroline: Last Child of Camelot (Biography)

T

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood - Jame Richards (Teen, Historical Fiction)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Others: To Kill A Mockingbird (Fiction, Classic); The Tragedy Paper (Teen); Tuesdays of Morrie (Memoir)

U

No favorites here either. Sorry!

V

I couldn't think of any that I have even read with a V title.

W

We Shook the Family Tree - Hildegarde Dolson (Memoir)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Wild - Cheryl Strayed (Memoir)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Wonder - R.J. Palacio (Tween, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Others: What Jackie Taught Us (Biography), What Would Jackie Do (Biography, Self-Help), Where'd You Go Bernadette (Fiction, Book Club)

X

Obviously I don't read enough of these odd letters...

Y

The Young Man and the Sea - Rodman Philbrick (Tween)

Z

It looks like I have some letters to make up for then!

That was some work to go through my book lists but hopefully you found something to read!

Happy Reading!

Rereading an Old Friend Again

Sometimes and especially in the summer after reading through so many new books, I love to come back to an old favorite. There are not many books that I can reread - I try but they aren't as fabulous the second time around. However, in some cases, they just get better and its like hanging out with your best friend. That's how I feel when I read Summer Sisters or Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons or The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.

Last week I finished The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood for the umpteenth time. I've lost track of how many times I've read it. I do still remember the first time. I found it at the Lakeside United Methodist Church Library in high school. I'm pretty sure I devoured it in one afternoon on the dock. I loved it so much! Then I quickly found the prequel, Little Altars Everywhere, at the Lakeside Women's Club Library. Although not as good, I loved every minute of it!

The Ya Yas are my favorite and I long for a similar group of friends. I suppose my summer sisters come closest but not even. Perhaps that's why I like it so much. Yes, there are dark parts of the story and some might say that it is more about a mother and daughter but I see it as a wonderful book of friendship. One in which friends become family and so much more. At the end of the book, I'm always sad that it's over because I hate saying goodbye to an old friend.

So, if you have not read The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood I highly recommend that you do. You will definitely not regret it! I'd let you borrow mine but I'm a little attached to it and would fear that I might not see it again. Head to the library or bookstore and pick up a copy! It's a perfect summer read and you might just find that you feel how I do while reading that  you just met new friends that by the end of the book will be your best friends.

Enjoy and Happy Reading!

My Favorite Books: A-Z (Part 1)

Vacation season is upon us, so have you picked out some books to read while you are traveling? Need some selections for book club? Why not try one of these? 

I'm always getting asked for book suggestions, so here are my favorite books from A-Z (Part 1). There is a good variety here and I tried to mark the genre of each book.

There are summary paragraphs and links to my reviews for some of them. Some were so much harder than I thought to pick just one, so there are more than one for most! And of course I'm probably forgetting some!

A

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery (Children's, Classic)

Anne of Green Gables is the classic story of a young orphan girl who is adopted by a brother and sister who never married on the beautiful island of Prince Edward Island. Anne has a wild imagination and is always creating tales and assigning clever names to the island’s landmarks. She becomes bosom buddies with Diana Berry. Her other classmate Gilbert teases her about her hair, which is as red as carrots. The delightful story chronicles Anne’s life on PEI and the adventures she and her friends embark on. The movies are also fabulous!

Astronaut Wives Club - Lily Koppel (Nonfiction, Book Club)

Check out my GoodReads review here. The TV show is great as well.

Others: Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons (Beach Read, Fiction, Book Club), Apollo 13 (Nonfiction), All the Summer Girls (Beach Read, Fiction)

B

Bloom:Finding Beauty in the Unexpected--A Memoir - Kelle Hampton (Memoir, Book Club)

Check out my blog post about this title here.

Others: Burn for Burn (Beach Read, Teen), Bridget Jones' Diary (Fiction)

C

The Castaways - Elin Hildebrand (Beach Read, Fiction)
The Castaways starts with the death of Greg and Tess, a couple trying to recover from some marital problems. After leaving their twins with friends, the couple sets out on a sail for Martha's Vineyard, drowning on the trip. The rest of the book details the summer following their deaths and how the three other couples that Greg and Tess are friends with deal with the loss. The books is full of surprises that anything else written would give away the plot twists! This is an enjoyable beach read that reminds readers to treasure friendships and the time spent together because life is short. Fans of The Castaways should also read Summerland and Summer People by the same author.

Commencement - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Others: Cheaper by the Dozen (Memoir)

D

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells (Fiction, Book Club)

E

Engagements - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

F

Forget-Me-Not Summer - Leila Howland (Middle Grade, Beach Read)
Check out my blog post here.

Others: First Lady from Plains (Biography), From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John F. Kennedy (Memoir)

G

Girls from Ames - Jeffery Zaslow (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.

Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.

Others: Grayson (Memoir), Great Gatsby (Fiction, Classic, Book Club)

H

Hurricane Sisters - Dorothea Benton Frank (Fiction, Beach Reads, Book Club)
Maisy is the family matriarch in The Hurricane Sisters. The story begins with an hilarious scene where Maisy’s daughter, Liz and son-in-law, Clayton are bailing her out of jail for walking a llama down the street. Maisy is full of spunk and passionately in love with her chauffeur who is much younger and was hired by Liz and Clayton to drive her around. The story unfolds through the voices of each of the main characters but is the story of the women, the hurricane sisters, that shines through. Liz is struggling with the homosexuality of her grown son, the infidelity of her husband and the immaturity of her young daughter, Ashley. Ashley, an aspiring artist, and her roommate, Mary Beth, are living rent free in Clayton and Liz’s beach house trying to struggle with achieving their dreams or coming to terms with reality. The theme of domestic violence is woven through the story as Liz works for a domestic violence organization and Mary Beth is a survivor after witnessing her father abuse her mother growing up but when tragedy strikes within the family, they pull together and support each other with love and encouragement. The Hurricane Sisters is a beautiful story of family and the low country of South Carolina. In the end, no matter how crazy family is, the characters realize that they do need each other more than ever.

Others: An Hour Before Daylight (Memoir)

I

In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner (Fiction, Beach Read, Book Club)

Others: The Island (Fiction, Beach Read), I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan (Memoir), In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir (Memoir)

J

Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot - Randy Taraborelli (Biography)

Others: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life (Biography), Just Kids (Memoir, Book Club)

K

Kate: The Future Queen - Katie Nicholl (Biogaphy)
Check out my GoodReads review here.

Others: The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years (Biography), The Kennedy Women: The Saga of An American Family (Biography)

L

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead - Sheryl Sandberg (Memoir, Business)
Check out my blog post here.

Others: The Last Summer of You & Me (Fiction, Beach Reads), The Last Lecture (Memoir), Leeway Cottage (Fiction, Book Club), Letters from Skye (Fiction), Life as We Knew It (Teen, Book Club), Light Between Oceans (Fiction, Book Club), Little Earthquakes (Fiction), Love Lucy (Biography)

M

Maine - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Beach Reads, Book Club)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards (Fiction, Book Club)

Others: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog (Memoir), Moon Shell Beach (Fiction, Beach Reads), Mrs. Kimble (Fiction), My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and their Wives (History), My Father, My President: A Personal Account of George H. W. Bush (Biography)

Happy Reading!