tip: free magazine subscriptions for your iPad

how? 

via the zinio app with your (free) phoenix public library card.
read more here.

thanks to the free perk, we just loaded up our iPad with all kinds of magazine subscriptions like
US Weekly, Dwell,  Rolling Stone GQ, Consumer Reports, Car & Driver, National GeographicTraveler....

go for it.

books by numbers.

i love to read.

both my parents are avid readers and i'm so glad they instilled that quality in me.

it's a wonderful thing to get lost in a book.

to be able to entertain yourself for hours no matter where you are in the world.

 

i'm always leaning on other people for book recommendations,   

so here's a breakdown of my summer 2012 reads...

#1. Princess "Life Behind the Veil" by Jean Sasson: Recommended to me by Jenny. A fascinating look into the life of a real Saudi Arabian princess. I found myself telling Danny about everything I was learning - he loved it, too. Note: This is the first book in a trilogy and there's a good chance I'll be reading the others. B+

 

#2. The Fifty Shades Series by EL James: There's nothing more I can add to this that hasn't already been said (and you officially live under a rock if you haven't heard of this series). You're not going to feel any smarter after you read these three books, but they were great vacation books. Unlike a lot of people, I preferred the second and third book over the first because there was actually a bit of a story line. Although, by the end your eyes to do glaze over the sexytime parts and if she said "inner goddess" one more time... C+

 

#3. Where We Belong by Emily Giffin: As I mentioned here, I'm a fan of Emily Giffin books. I've read them all and was excited to see a new one hit the shelves, but it was just okay for me. Took me a while to get into it and it was uber predictable. B-

 

#4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: Recommended to me by Tiffany L. She warned me that it would take a few chapters to get into it, and it did, but after that - wow. This is the best book I've read in a long time. The writing is smart, quick and witty. The story line is fresh and there's a nice big twist that keeps you wanting more. This was another book that Danny "followed along" with because I kept telling him about the twists and turns. I highly recommend. A

bikes + books.

with the temps in the 90's (read: tolerable), we've done a ton of bike riding around the new 'hood this weekend.

immediately after finishing my latest read ("where we belong" by emily griffin) on saturday morning, i texted my girlfriend tiffany for a book recommendation she replied with: "gone girl" by gillian flynn.

then ting suggested we use this as an excuse to go check out downtown's phoenix public library.

i'm a bit of a book hoarder and therefore i'm not one to borrow books, but why not? now that we don't have built-in bookshelves, i have two cardboard moving boxes filled with books and nowhere to put them. and since i'm still resisting danny's pleas for me to get a Kindle, maybe library books are the way to go.

so we hopped on our bikes and were off to the library. i was so impressed. it's super modern and gorgeous - and was bustling with people. first thing's first - library cards. at the member center danny hands over his license and the woman curtly tells him that he has a $10.87 balance from a "gardening feng shui" book he checked out at another branch in 2005. what?! extra hilarious considering he was living in a modern third-floor condo in 2005. dork. we paid our dues and were off to explore the library.

i headed back to fiction but couldn't find anything so danny found a volunteer to look up my book... "yup, we have it. we have 100 copies of it. they're all checked out and there's a waiting list 403 people long - would you like me to add your name to the list?" woah! i've heard some buzz about this book, but apparently i'm way late to the game - and will be the proud owner of "gone girl" because i'm not waiting years to read it. maybe this library thing isn't going to workout.

after the library we kept exploring. first stop a local boutique (Bunky) and then to local cafe (Hob Nobs) for cold beers. at both places they were giving away free tickets to a local festival/concert for that night at crescent ballroom. so i didn't end up with a book, but we did end up with free concert tickets. i'll take it. successful little bike ride.

in our front yard. fixed gear tuned up and ready to cruise. 

much swankier than any library i grew up with.

just what the doctor ordered.

it's been a busy week. tonight called for the couch + my boys + one of my favorite dinners... cheese, crackers, meats, mixed nuts, hummus, dried & fresh fruit. to top it off i'll probably curl up with 50 Shades Freed. yup, i'm on the final book in the infamous 50 Shades series and not ashamed to admit it. charlie tango, ladies.

triple feature weekend.

we were quite the movie goers this weekend. 

i love being able to reserve our seats online (more about that here).

we saw 21 Jump Street on friday night

The Hunger Games on sunday afternoon

and rented The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for sunday night couch and pizza. 

did you read and/or see The Hunger Games? what'd you think? 

i've read books #1 and #2 and really liked the movie. ting did too.

{quail. always our parking level}

weekend mornings.

huntie and i are usually the first ones up on saturday & sunday, so we sneak out to the living room to make coffee, watch my recorded trash tv or read until ting gets up and joins us. lately, i've been spending my quiet time reading since i'm hooked on The Hunger Games series. i'm just about to start the third and final book in the series. so good.

danny snapped this of me and my little man a couple weeks ago. he was fast asleep on his mama. 

our little garden gnome.

i love seeing more and more of my friends jumping into the blog world.

the newest addition is miss lisa, the gnome-mad. 

the "about me" section on her blog explains it all perfectly...

i'm loving the concept of a hip blog about all things botanical and am majorly impressed with her gorgeous photos, layout and logo (her husband reed is a budding architect with mad design skills)!

be sure to add gnome-mad to your daily reading.

trend watch.

While flipping through a recent issue of Us Weekly I cringed a little when I saw the latest trend included French Bulldogs. Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I love that people adore Frenchies. I will be the first to tell you that they're the most awesome companion and encourage you to consider this breed. I'm obsessed with the fact that two of our friends have recently adopted Frogs (here and here) into their family and that even more of our friends are considering them.

But a trend? No animal should be a trend - especially a very high maintenance breed like the French Bulldog. I guess this is my protective mother instinct kicking in! Last month alone, one French Bulldog Rescue took in 28 dogs from people who surrendered them after realizing they weren't ready for the commitment and costs associated with the breed.

Frenchies rule - but do your due diligence. They aren't a pair of glittery stonewashed jeans or a belt with star cut outs that you can donate in a year when you're over the fad (and yes, I proudly owned and wore both of those items). Don't judge.

if you are interested in adopoting a frenchie, have you considered a rescue?

learn more about the breed via the French Bulldog Rescue Network here.

weekend read.

Have you read Tina Fey's Bossypants yet? If you love Tina Fey or anything she has a hand in, Saturday Night Live or NBC's 30 Rock, I suggest you grab a copy for an easy weekend read. She's a hillarious feminist and I couldn't get enough. It's laugh out loud funny - just ask Danny. He'd just sit and stare at me with a look like, "Is that really necessary?" so I'd read him clips and then we'd both be belly laughing.  

If you're still not convinced, here's what the New York Times had to say about it.

I'm diving into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo this weekend. Read it?

recommended read.

I know I'm a little late, but if you haven't read The Help yet, I highly recommend it. It's about black domestic servants working in white Southern households in the early 1960s. Be sure to read it before the movie comes out this summer.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book...
"Ain't that the point? For women to realize we just two people. Not much separates us, not nearly as much as I thought."

"There is so much you don't know about a person. I wonder if I could've made her days a little bit easier, if I'd tried. If I'd treated her a little nicer."

"All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries."

"I realized I actually had a choice in what I could believe."

"Got to be the worst place in the world, inside a oven. You in here, you either cleaning or you getting cooked."

girly reads & movies.

{image from emily giffin}

I love to read. So do a lot of my girlfriends, which is nice. We're usually swapping books and suggesting reads.

A series that I think most of us have read is Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed. Well, it's kind of a series. They're fun, easy, girly books all about engagements, weddings, babies, married life and friendship. I'm excited to see that there's a new book out, Heart of the Matter. Anyone read it yet?

Last weekend, I was in a pouty mood and really wanted to see Something Borrowed - the movie. I was running errands and texted Danny to see if he'd be up for it. A good sport (and awesome husband) he met me at the theater.

Because we didn't arrive together, I was telling him how weird and embarrassing it was to be solo ordering a large popcorn with butter, tons of jalepenos and a huge cherry coke (seen here). (Yes, the guy was totally judging me). Danny's immediate response...

"Um, are you serious? What about me rolling up alone... "One ticket for Something Borrowed, please." 

He wins.



hooray, another bloggin' friend.

I'm so excited to see more and more friends taking the blog plunge. The latest friend is Carlye! Like me (and so many of us), Carlye has friends and family spread throughout the country - and world - and realizes a blog is a great way to keep everyone close. 

Welcome to the blogosphere, Car! I hope you enjoy writing it as much as we'll all enjoy reading and staying up-to-date with your wonderful Dallas life as a Mann (her married name).

Head on over to Carlye's blog "Life as a Mann" at http://www.carlyemann.blogspot.com/.

{carlye and jeremy at our wedding. september 2009 in rancho santa fe, california}



new magazine on the rack.

Do you love fashion, interior design, travel & entertaining? Then you must subscribe to what's guaranteed to be a fabulous new magazine, High Gloss. I love all of the above and am always looking to be inspired.

A group of creative women, including my friend Ashley, recently announced the January launch of High Gloss and I can't wait to be obsessed. Subscribe for the free e-newsletter (they're already sending and offering giveaways) and check them out on Facebook. And if you're looking for interior design ideas check out Ashley's blog Orchard 11.