Book Review - a new flavor

Hi all!

I'm coming at you today with a very different sort of book review. Normally, I'm a fiction hound. I mean, if there's a story to disappear into, why would I stay in reality? OK, maybe that's a little extreme, but you understand.

Today I'm writing to tell you about an amazing book about to hit the shelves. Memory Making Mom by Jessica Smartt. (Yes, that's how she spells it, not a typo). Before you tune out because you don't have little kids, hear me out. This stuff matters even if you don't have kids. It matters for adult kids. It matters for grand kids. Yes, this author writes as a mother of young children, but she talks about making memories because memories hold the power to bind us together as families, friends, and neighbors. 

The prose is easy to read and the author is super vulnerable, describing her failures right along with her victories. And she's funny too. (You have to read about the Christmas tree, PVC pipe, and fishline. She does not make the reader feel like her life should be pinterest-y, but she does give us small things we can do to make a large impact on the people we love.

I hope you'll check this book out and scoot over to Amazon for preorder (here). Yes, it's not quite available (Mar 5! Less than 2 weeks!), but the pre-order is genius. It actually arrives at your door the day of release or sometimes a day early. :-)

This book is the PERFECT gift for any young mother you know . . . especially with Mother's Day coming up quicker than you think! It's an amazing gift for a grandmother of young kids. It's also a great book for anyone wanting to make memories with the ones they love, chock full of ideas, and backed up with the reasons why going the extra mile is worthwhile. For more info and pre-order bonuses, check out the website here.

So there you go. It's not fiction. But this book addresses the story you are living. What's your favorite family memory from the last year? Mine? Grilling pizzas on the back porch in the cold, with a fire going to keep us warm, with all my kids home, laughing our heads off together. 

Jennifer Fromke writes from North Carolina, where she pines for colder temperatures all year long. Northerners by upbringing, she and her husband of 26 years have raised three Southern-ish children despite their best efforts. Jennifer reviews books at www.Shetalksbooks.com and she offers a free story download on her website: https://www.jenniferfromke.com/contact/.

Pinterest and the World of Ideas

Hello everyone!

Today I thought we'd explore one of my all time favorite places to find craft, DIY, recipes, and just ideas or inspiration. It also happens to be one of my all time favorite social medias. PINTEREST!

The amazing thing about Pinterest is the amount of content on there, and the amazingly easy way to organize your findings. I use Pinterest to find recipes, I use it to plan stories, I use it to plan Christmas, I use it to plan graduations and parties...it has endless uses and can be an AMAZING tool. That is, if you can discipline yourself enough not to spend all day on it. LOL.

In my opinion, the key to having a great experience on Pinterest is to properly organize your boards. Personally, I have dozens of boards, but it helps me to be able to go back and find the pins that I save. I have found some of my best projects from ideas on Facebook. Here's my top ways to use the website.

1) Recipes
You can create a single board for recipes, or you can create multiples with distinct types of recipes. For example, one for desserts, one for diets, one for Thanksgiving ideas, etc.

2) Historical tidbits
I LOVE history, and there's something that is just so fun about browsing through historical pictures. I have a whole board for Titanic pictures and articles. SO much fun.

3) Craft Ideas
When I decided to make a batch of warm winter skirts, I immediately went to Pinterest to look up some ideas. I took what I found and adapted them to my supplies and tastes.

4) Party Planning
When I have a graduation or something to plan, Pinterest is my greatest asset. I create a board for that theme and then go to searching for ideas that go well with it. Like a couple of years ago when I did my brother's graduation in a camo theme, I was able to find cake and decorating ideas as well as food ideas on there. Couldn't have pulled it off without Pinterest.

5) Story planning
As an author, I use Pinterest to corral ideas, historical tidbits, character look-alikes, etc when I'm writing a story. It's also fun for fans since they can go there and see the places, people and articles that inspired the tale.

If you're on Pinterest, tell me what your favorite use of it is.

If you're not, tell me what you use to find and organize your ideas. 

Are you on Pinterest? If so, I'd love to connect! Here's a link to my profile.
https://www.pinterest.com/AmberDSchamel/