"Seduce Me at Sunrise" - Lisa Kleypas - 2008



British vs. American covers...both good, I think.  On the British cover (purple dress) the costume is period appropriate, but it looks very proper -  readers might be surprised by the contents!  The American cover (red dress) is luscious and easily recognized as a series, they do remind me a lot of the recent Mary Balogh covers, which are published by Random House, not St. Martin's - and were released in 2009 - after the Kleypas's first novel in the Hathaway Family Series was released.  Trends in covers, I guess. 

The second book in the Hathaway family series. 

709 Benefit Show!!! Come Out for a great time and help keep the doors open!

"Divorced, Desperate and Delicious" - Christie Craig - 2007

Hey, it kept me awake and entertained for most of the turnpike, which makes it good enough in my book.  The story essentially a cabin romance (which I'm a sucker for...) the first in a trilogy that I won't seek out, but would buy if I came across the other two "divorced" books cheap.   BUT, that cover is a fold-back and hide if I ever saw one!  Why don't publishers get that women don't actually want giant boobs glaring out at them from romance novels??

St. Stephen's Auction 4-10-2010


I'm very happy with the little $3 automatic 35 mm I got at the goodwill, however - I can't wait to get a digital camera!!! I got these two rolls developed locally, by less than knowledgeable people at the drug store, whose photo lab is barely functional but very close to my house.  An issue I have had on more than one occasion - my images are on the disk upside down, and I only get discs, no prints - so I write a note, "please make sure the images are right side up"!!!  Ahh!  It's very frustrating for it to happen yet AGAIN.  Two rolls from the St. Stephen's rectory and convent auction last Saturday, and of course, one was upside down!  My real concern is the computer won't save them the correct way except within iphoto, I don't get it.  So annoying.

Resolutions, Sew

                      Making up for March slacking, that's for sure!
                      Two bags this week, one from an awesome
                       but unflattering (on me) Buffy shirt.

This Weekend

"The Next Best Thing" - Kristin Higgins - 2010


Thank goodness.  I’d just about given up on Ms. Higgins.  I pretty much hated that one with the sisters' ex as the hero, and did not finish “Catch of the Day.”   Why keep reading an author who has been consistently average and sometimes annoying, you ask? Well, I started out with some real high hopes as the first novel I read by her, “Just One of the Guys” sits on my Keeper Shelf.  I guess the publishers are riding her ass; afraid the time for cute pet covers is quickly passing us by or something, because she’s really been pumping the books out, and it’s not exactly a good thing in my opinion.

However, “The Next Best Thing” made one or two actual tears come out of my eyes.  That’s right, genuine salt water, and not many books, even some of my favorites have done that.  One thing you can say for Kristin Higgins, she knows how to really bring it all home in a Nora Ephron, “Harry running through the streets of New York/Annie running through the streets of New York” kind of way.  In this case, the big pay off saved a rather uneven book.  As in the other Higgins novel I truly liked, the heartfelt declarations occurred at an inopportune time amongst friends and family members who clap and cheer, embodying what  the reader should be feeling.

Another point in her favor, the plot is a twist on a not one, but two faves of mine – the "Wrong Brother" AND "Friends First".  The heroine Lucy Lang is best friends with the hero, Ethan Mirabelli – who also happens to be her dead husbands’ younger (less attractive, less favored) brother.  Ethan is a great hero, dealing with the memory of his brother, "St. Jimmy" everywhere he looks and not constantly flipping shit or losing self-confidence.  Even with a mostly likable heroine, and the fantastic hero, this book was slow going for me for quite a while, in fact I wanted hit Lucy sometimes, and the book is from her POV.  Some of her behavior grated on my last nerve, but after finishing the novel I can honestly say it was done for a reason and the payoff was worth it.  Without the ending There were quite a few plot points I was sure were headed down the easy and cliché path, but it never made it there, thank goodness.  Kudos, a better book because of it. 

One thing that would have elevated this book to DIK status would be including Ethan’s POV.  This boy is nice, a real beta hero, and he puts up with a lot of shit, but at the same time, really holds his own.  He really loves Lucy, but is no pushover.  I would have liked to see more of his perspective, as he’s the one who knows what he wants while Lucy wavers, and wavers, and wavers a little bit more.  It could have balanced out the novel for the reader, taking you out of Lucy’s sometimes annoying and whiny brain and glimpsing what Ethan is feeling and thinking.   While I’m not a reader that hates first person perspective in every situation, I feel it’s only worth doing in a romance if you aren’t supposed to know who the hero is due to a love triangle or unrequited love, for example.  It’s just nice to know what both leads are feeling, and makes the love story more believable. 

I enjoyed “The Next Best Thing” very much, in fact I purchased my own copy for 25 cents (score!) before I finished the copy from the library – hoping and betting it would find a spot next to “Just One of the Guys.”  I’ve been having trouble with romances lately.  Starting one, losing interest, starting another…"The Next Best Thing”  was just what I was looking for: a funny contemporary with relatable and down to earth characters.  

Looking Great, Em

Opening at 709

Google Image Search: Coyotes

                This one found a way into an airport shuttle!

Resolutions, Sew

Finished this one up early this month - had to make up for missing it in March - I blame that nasty flu bug entirely, by the way.  Anyway, I made Baby Jack a "Magical Mystery Tour" hoodie - it turned out great but I was sleep deprived and forgot to get a picture.  It was my first experience with fusible webbing, and other than ironing the excess onto my ironing board - it was great.  Truly makes applique fast and easy, no pins! 

Happy Easter (Candy)!


That's right - TROLLS!  Not too sure if my mother got those molds the first time Troll dolls were popular...



(aka the 70's) or the second time around (aka the 90's)...




pretty hilarious either way!

More Shots from the Auction...

Resolutions March 2010


Well, fell slightly short this month, but actually I felt really busy and productive so I'm not complaining.  The only thing I couldn't squeeze in was to SEW SOMETHING, however April's is already taken care of, so it evens out I guess...