The Love Letters {Book Review}

Life has been really busy lately and I haven't read that many books this year. So I could review Beverly Lewis's new book for my blog, I made sure I took the time to read it.

source

** I was given a copy of The Love Letters by Bethany House in exchange for my honest review of the book. 

The Love Letters is a story was about Marlena, a young Amish woman who goes to live with her grandmother for the summer. Soon after she arrives, she gets the news that she must care for her wayward sister's baby after a serious car accident. On the adjacent farm lives Small Jay, a young handicapped boy, who finds a confused stranger out on the road. He befriends the Englisher to the chagrin of his Old Order Amish father. 

I love how Beverly Lewis intertwines more than one story in each book. She expertly connects the storylines to create a lovely story that engages the reader. It was an easy book to read. Sometimes the story seemed to be predictable but at other times, there were twists that kept things interesting. While this book wasn't my favorite of hers, it was well worth taking the time to read. 

What's Been Going On...

I'm officially a CNA!

I graduated in April then I took my Geriatric Nursing Assistant exam and passed that as well.

We visited my far-away nieces and nephews.

And their mommy and daddy, too. I love these little folks!

I've been working.

Work at Chick-fil-A is going great! I'm also starting a new part time job this week doing home health care which I'm excited about! 

I got new glasses.

I started wearing glasses in January. A week or two ago I found a coupon in my email for 30% at Firmoo.com. (I reviewed a pair of fashion glasses from their company several years ago.) I found a nice pair of prescription glasses and got them inexpensively. They are a different color from my other pair and it will be nice to switch back and forth between the two. 

I've been reading. 

My haven't done as much reading this year as I would have liked to but I've been so busy. Right now I'm reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. 

I'll be sharing another book review or two on my blog in the next few weeks. One is a book from Bethany House Publishers, the other is a Sisters Book Challenge book I read in January and forgot to review. Oops! 

So, what has been going on in your life?

A Quick Update and A Book Review

When I wrote my last post on March 3, I didn't think it would be April 18 before posting anything else. Life has been very, very busy!! I started college in March. I'm working to get my CNA. The course is 6 1/2 weeks total which means a lot of work to do in a short time! Studying took up quite a lot of my time. When I wasn't in school or studying, I was either working at Chick-fil-A or spending time with family and friends. 

School will be over next week! I've also had fewer hours at work so hopefully I'll be posting a little bit more often again. 

:: :: :: :: ::

In all the busyness, I did have time to do a little bit of reading. Bethany House Publishers sent me a copy of Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan's newest book Where Trust Lies in exchange for an honest review on my blog.

source

This book is the continuation to the story told in their previous book, Where Courage Calls. Beth Thatcher returns to her home in Toronto after teaching for a year in Coal Valley. After living out west with not a lot of luxuries, Beth has a hard time adjusting to city life again. Soon after her arrival, her mother and sisters announce plans for a family holiday on a steamship. Beth would rather stay at home but feels like she should spend time with her family since she hasn't been able to spend time with them for the past year.

Because this book starts where the first one ended, it felt like I was already involved in the story when I started. It was really easy to read and the story was engaging. As with all books by the Okes, everything was clean and there were no uncomfortable scenes in the book. It probably wasn't my favorite of her books. I think I liked the first book in this series better. It could be because the setting of Coal Valley was more intriguing than a cruise ship?  Either way it was still well written and worth taking the time to read. 

:: :: :: :: ::

Hopefully, the time between posts will be shorter this time!

Sisters Book Challenge: The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Book 1

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

source

Several years ago, I read a couple of books by Elizabeth George Speare: Calico Captive and The Bronze Bow. Both were excellent books and I really enjoyed reading them. I was interested in reading more from the author but I was a little leery of the title of The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I thought it might delve into witchcraft and I didn't want to read about that. When Kristin put that book on the challenge list this year, I decided to give it a try. The book turned out to be wonderful! Even though the title suggests otherwise, this book has nothing to do with witchcraft. 

The story is about a girl who arrives in colonial Connecticut to live with family. Kit struggles to fit in to the rugged lifestyle after moving from Barbados. The people of the town are suspicious of Kit because of her past and the different customs she's brought with her. The only place she feels at ease is in the meadows where she befriends a Quaker woman named Hannah. Hannah is an outcast herself and is known by the town as the Witch of Blackbird Pond because her faith differs from the rest of the townspeople who are Puritans.

Elizabeth George Speare is an excellent author and really engages the reader in the story. Her books are well worth taking the time to read!

My Finished Project

A week or so ago I hinted at a project I was working on. The goal was to have more storage for books.

My sister was getting rid of a hutch she no longer wanted and I took it. I decided not to use the top of the hutch for now and just use the bottom part. It was a little worn in spots but the wood finish didn't go with my other pieces of furniture so I went ahead and painted it. 

Before:

I wanted this piece to look like my desk so I used the same process I used on that. I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

After:

The cabinet part of the hutch has shelves inside. I'm storing my biographies, cookbooks, poetry books and coffee table books in there. The drawers have nature guides, my stamp collection, my chargers and electronic cords, and a few odds and ends. It really holds a lot and I'm so happy to have more storage space. 

Craft-A-Day

Remember this?

How about these?

Or this one?

All of these patterns and more I found in the book Craft-A-Day by Sarah Goldschadt.

source

The idea is to make one simple craft each day for 365 days. Each week has a different theme. Themes include animals like dogs, cats, bears, foxes, fish, ladybugs, and rabbits, as well as items such as hearts, hexies, snowmen, mustaches, umbrellas, rain clouds, etc. Crafts include stuffed objects, finger puppets, cupcake toppers, cards, tags, ornaments, phone cases, and more.

I don't use this book to create a craft each day, but I do use it to get inspiration when making crafts. It's a good jumping off point. With all the patterns available in the book, I can start with the basic shapes and work to create my own project.

Take the bird keychain I made. (Picture above.) The book didn't have directions on how to make a keychain but it did have directions and the pattern to make a felt ornament. All I did was add a loop of felt to attach a keyring to while I was stitching.

I've made a lot of gifts from this book.

My friend Kate loves foxes so for her birthday I made her a whole collection of foxy items. A stuffed fox, a fox ornament, a fox necklace, a fox card, and a fox gift tag all came the "fox week" section of the book. 

Children love these woodland stuffed animals. A trio makes a perfect birthday or Christmas gift. 

Finger puppets are also a great gift for kids. 

A little house magnet looks so cute on the refrigerator. 

This is a great book for crafters to own and get inspiration from.

Photo Friday: Books, Books, Books!

My bookshelves needed straightening up so I piled all the books in the floor to sort through. It should have been done a long time ago since my books were really overflowing my shelves. I discovered books I forgot I had (which is always fun) and now I know that all the books on my shelf are ones I really do want. 

Side note: even after weeding some books out and straightening up everything, I still had too many books. One thing led to another and now I'm working on a project which will involve more storage space for books and other things. I'll share pictures of it when I'm finished...

<div align="center">
<a href="http://katislittlecorner.blogspot.com/" title="Kati's Little Corner of the World" target="_blank"><img src="http://i824.photobucket.com/albums/zz164/katis_little_corner/PFblogbutton200_zpsc3a64234.jpg" alt="Kati's Little Corner of the World" style="border:none;" /></a></div>