Good Reads

Unrelated picture that had to be shared with you as a favorite today: 

Norman the squirrel is a favorite at our house.  He's happy to be making his bloggy debut - isn't he the cutest, chubbiest things you've ever seen??  We are NUTS about Norman :)  He comes up to visit us on the patio every day.  My cats and toddler adore him and I'm pretty sure he has mastered the art of posing for a picture.

It's time for my monthly good reads round up.  

I have read lots of fun things this month so I hope you enjoy my favorites. 

I'd LOVE to give these Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Marshmallows from Style Elixir a try this year.  They look delicious, are so pretty and sound really doable.

Lauren Elizabeth's skin always looks fabulous so I bought some Urban Decay De Slick Oil Control Makeup Setting Spray to set my finished make up each day.  I'm hoping it'll live up to its hype to help my make up last all day and look as great as hers does.

I really enjoyed this perspective from Cupcakes and Cashmere on Social Media vs. Real Life and how they are different.  I feel like social media is the highlight reel of people's lives and I am always aware of that.  Her thoughts on the subject were great.

Have you ever heard of The Kindness Elves from The Imagination Tree?  I just read a great blog post about this alternative to Elf on the Shelf and LOVED it!  I'm not an Elf on the Shelf hater, but this Kindness Elf project really spoke to me and would be such a fun thing to incorporate into your holiday traditions.  I've already purchased our elves and will have to post about the kind/service things we are doing in December.

I always learn so much from Kate at The Small Things Blog.  Her hair tutorials are so well done and I love seeing her techniques.  Her Polished and Volumized Ponytail is the perfect look for scarf wearing season.

Pasta salad is always a delicious side in my book, but this Tortellini Pasta Salad from Christina Lea Loves could stand alone as a meal.  It sounds amazing and would really be great for tailgating or football gatherings.  I think my family would enjoy it, too.

Joey from Hodges Podges wrote a really great post about Real Talk: Marriage, Babies and Family that helped bring awareness to the idea of having kids, couples struggling with infertility and how insensitive people can be.

I've never been a huge pumpkin pie fan, but I might have to rethink my stance on the matter after seeing this recipe for Mom's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie from Crazy for Crust.

This article on Over Parenting by Emma Brown from The Washington Post was fascinating and eye opening.  I loved reading the perspective of the ex-Stanford dean on this helicopter issue today.

I got a copy of Good Night, Little Love in the mail this week.  I was drawn to the cover of a mother bunny tucking her baby bunny into bed.  The illustrations are so sweet and so is the story.  The illustrations are great throughout, it has rhyming text and repetitive lines of the book so your kids will quickly catch on to read the book with you.  There is so much to talk about on every page.  It's the perfect story to read with your little ones before tucking them into bed at night.  My daughter loves it and I'd highly recommend it for any bedtime routine.

*I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review of it.

Have you read or written anything great this month?

Share a link with me in the comments.