Good Reads

I've been collecting my favorite articles, blog posts and books to recommend to you today.  I am excited to share the best things I've read and hope to introduce you to a few new people.  

April from A. Liz Adventures posted about a S'more cookie and they looked tasty!  I love s'mores and these different than any other cookie I've made.  S'more Cookies

6 Things Moms Should do for Themselves as Often as Possible by Jennifer S. White got me thinking about my personal must do list for self care items.  Showers, walking, blogging, cooking, keeping in touch with friends... to name a few.

We love eating burgers at my house so I'm anxious to try A Little Bit of Emily's Thai Burgers

Andrea of Momfessionals always posts the most inspiring family book club ideas.  She works full time as a teacher so her book club days usually happen in the summer.  I'd love to plan out some book club ideas to do with my kids as they get older.  Her latest family book club day was themed around Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Is your house overflowing with kid art??  I really loved the way that Meghan documents her son's art work and saves it.  It's such a doable project that allows kids to look back through their art work regularly.  Organizing the Artwork

We love any mexican meal so I can't wait to give Jenn's Mexican Pizza a try ASAP

Annie always has the best DIY project posts.  I saved her How to Paint Cabinets Like a Pro: The Secret that Makes All the Difference to reference for future DIYs

I usually look for hair and make-up tips from Kate of The Small Things Blog, but her recent Vanilla Bean Homemade Ice Cream Recipe sounded so good.  I always buy vanilla bean ice cream so I'm eager to try to make my own.

I have pinned so many recipes for breakfast burritos over the years.  They sound so good and Sarah from Meet the Shaneyfelts shared her version of Breakfast Burritos recently.  I love that she uses turkey sausage and makes it sound so doable.

This post on The Dreaded Boob Light from Elements of Style made me laugh.  We definitely have a few of these boob lights in our house so I'm looking for other lighting options to replace them with in the future.

PRESENT OVER PERFECT

by Shauna Niequist

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist has gotten a lot of hype lately and I was excited to read it after hearing all the positive things about it.  The book definitely lives up to its expectations.  I found myself taking notes throughout, writing ideas in the margins, asking myself honest questions about my priorities and identifying with many areas the book addresses.  Niequist writes from the perspective of a busy wife, mom and writer trying to focus on what is really important in her life.

  She points out that there are a lot of people that put expectations on you and that it's your job to decide what you say yes to and what things you make a priority in your life.  We decide what we spend our time on and we have important choices to make.  The message is impactful, gives you tons to think about and reevaluate in your own life.  I loved the idea that less is better than more in all areas of your life, her emphasis giving yourself time to truly rest and connecting with real people to build relationships that last.  I would have love to have done it in a book club format so I could have discussed chapters with friends.  It's very thought provoking book and is my favorite one she's written.

*I was sent this book from BookLookBloggers in exchange for an honest review of it.

A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
"Picture your relationships like concentric circles: the inner circle is your spouse, your children, your very best friends.  Then the next circle out is your extended family and good friends.  Then people you know, but not well, colleagues, and so on, to the outer edge.  Aim to disappoint the people at the center as rarely as possible.  And then learn to be more and more comfortable with disappointing the people who lie at the edges of the circle - people you're not as close to, people who do not and should not require your unflagging dedication."
Page 55

"Present over perfect living is real over image, connecting over comparing, meaning over mania, depth over artifice." Page 130

"So much of adulthood is peeling off the layers of expectations and pressure, and protecting those precious things that lie beneath.  We live in a culture that shouts, that prescribes rather narrowly what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a success and what it means to live a valuable life.  
But those definitions require us to life on a treadmill, both literally and figuratively, always hustling to fit in, to be thin enough and young enough and sparkly enough, for our homes to be large and spotless, our children well-mannered and clean-faced, our dreams orderly and profitable.  But that's not real life.  That's not where the fullness of joy and meaning are found."
Page 191

Have you read or written anything great lately?

I'd love to read it so leave me a link in the comments :)