I was thrilled to be chosen to review Kim Edwards’s new book, The Lake of Dreams, for BlogHer Book Club.

Well, I think we can safely say that I won’t have any problem reading 101 books for 101 in 1001… this makes 50! And I have to say, I’m very grateful that The Lake of Dreams is my “midway-through-the-challenge” book. It has been a long time since a book has gotten a 5 star rating from me. This is the first since July! (Isn’t Goodreads handy?)

Lucy’s search into her family history and her reflections on how the past affects her in the present were fascinating. I loved the contrast and similarities between Lucy’s present-day story and her long-forgotten ancestor’s.

I think many recent graduates and young professionals could identify with the way Lucy felt coming home after a long time away to find that everything had changed. Throughout the story, Lucy struggles to let go of the past and appreciate the way time and life have changed her family, friends and hometown. She fights her brother as they debate the difference between running away from a painful past and staying put, working through a tragedy and taking life as it comes to them.

And, bonus! The story takes place in a fictional town in the Finger Lakes region. As a fairly new resident of Ithaca, I enjoyed spotting the references to the lakes, towns and landmarks of the area.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5. See more of my book reviews here.

{Disclosure: This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.}

Thank you to LiveOn for this sponsored opportunity to blog about storing and sharing my most important memories with those closest to me. Although story ideas were provided, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

When Clever Girls Collective asked for bloggers interested in reviewing a new memory preservation site, I signed up right away. I’ve always loved scrapbooking, but have found myself getting more and more behind in recent years. Maybe, I thought, I’ll keep up with my scrapbooking if I do it all online?

To read the rest of this post, click here!

Three Things This Afternoon:

Number One. This morning, I did something I haven’t done since I left Wisconsin: I went to a Pilates class.

Things I realized:

1. I really, really miss my old studio, PilateSpa in Madison.

2. I think I need to give this new studio another chance or two before I decide whether or not I like it and still want to keep going. This morning’s class was very different from what I’m used to.

3. Holy muscles. Clearly, my Pilates skills (and muscle tone) are a little rusty. I hurt. In a good way.

Number Two.

I think it is hilarious how Max looks like a completely different dog after a haircut.

As a poofball back in March:

Shortly after a haircut last month:

Number Three. And lest you think I forgot, the winner of my blogiversary giveaway has been announced! Click over to see if it is you!

Note: Free download below!

When it comes to cooking, writing and blogging, I go through constant ups and downs.

Some days, I go on a cooking spree and have enough recipes lined up for a week and a half.

And then I hit a few days where I don’t particularly want to cook, or want to make something from another blog or that I’ve already posted. Sometimes we all need a little comfort food!

Some days, the words come easily, and my fingers fly across my keyboard (or my pen flies across the paper, depending on the day).

And other days, I’m stuck and can’t find a story to go with my latest recipe.

Naturally, those are the days when I most need to write. The days where I need something to publish that very afternoon or the next morning.

All these vacillations don’t sit well with my organized engineering mindset. So this month, I’m trying something new: an editorial calendar.

Here’s the plan:

1. I obviously don’t know what recipe I’m going to publish on September 15 or September 27. I plan ahead, but not that much. Plus, you never know when inspiration will hit for a new flavor combination! So I’m going to write in the category of recipes I’d like to feature on each day in pencil (entree, cookie, soup, chai-flavored, etc). When I come up with an actual recipe, I’ll erase the category and write in the real title. At the very least, this should help keep my recipe index balanced!

2. I’ll also be working some home projects into the calendar. If they aren’t already done, this will give me a deadline and keep me from posting all my DIY projects at once.

3. General dates of Little Things posts will also be written into the calendar. I love these posts and want to make sure I keep them coming consistently.

PS: I will always publish your submissions to the Little Things series within a few days of receiving them, no matter what the calendar says!

Hopefully, this plan will keep my blogging on track. When inspiration to write strikes, I’ll know what needs to be written. And on days when I’m stuck, I’ll have a recipe or two on deck for publishing!

Want to join me in this little blogging experiment? Will using an editorial calendar really make my blogging stronger?

If you do want to join me (or just want a cute calendar to print), here’s what I’ll be printing, filling out, and hanging above my desk!

Click here to download the September 2011 editorial calendar!

After a year of long hair, I chopped half of it off today.  And added some bangs.

If you see me around, I’ll be the one grinning at the bounce and swing of her new, lighter hair-do.

We have a winner for the Mighty Leaf Tea giveaway!

Congratulations to…. (click over to the giveaway post to see if it is you!)

Thank you, Heather, for tagging me to play Seven Links with everyone!

THE GOAL

To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

THE RULES

1) Blogger is nominated to take part

2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog – 1 link for each category.

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part.

4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers

5) And so it goes on!

6) We’ll be sharing the best posts from participating bloggers on our blog and everyday on Facebook and Twitter at #My7Links

Most Beautiful:

All of the posts about our wedding.  Mostly because I am totally in love with our wedding photos!

Most Popular:

Everyone seems to love my Coffee-Shop Pumpkin Syrup recipe.  Can’t wait to make some Pumpkin Chai Lattes again in the fall!

Most Controversial:

I suppose this would be the post that garnered me my first negative comment, even if it was ridiculous and isfunny to look back on.

Most Helpful:

I think all of my Brain Food 101 posts are helpful, but I am particularly fond of the ones on keeping your hot chocolate hot and the best way to store muffins.

Surprise Success:

The amount of support I received after my Little Things: Doctors Who Listen post was overwhelming.  Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and love whenever I write about my struggles to find out what is making me ill.

Not Enough Attention:

My science of canning post is one that I always think should have gotten more comments, especially considering how many canning recipes I post!  It answers all your questions on how to be sure you’re doing it safely.

Most Proud:

My clementine pound cake is going to be published in the Food52 cookbook next fall.  I’m still pretty proud and excited about that!

And as for my tags…

1. Ashley

2. Brandi

3. Kayla

4. Kelly

5. Heather

Happy weekend, and don’t forget to bid for The Great Fundraising Act on Monday!

This weekend, I…

Unpacked some more boxes. Went bowling.

Started my tomato and basil seedlings. Currently germinating in the downstairs bathroom (it gets to be very warm in there if you keep the door closed, and the top of the fridge turns out to not be warm enough) are: 18 pepper plants, 33 tomato plants and 4 basil plants. We’ll be swimming in sungold tomato preserves, salsa, tomato sauce and pesto come summer

Got the basil, oregano, sage, chives and rosemary plants started. Since everything but the basil is a perennial, I decided to plant them in pots instead of directly in the ground so that I can bring them inside during the winter and extend their season. Plus, it will be easier to put them back outside next spring!

Planted arugula, lettuce and peas in the flower box on the deck.

Started digging up part of the front yard for garden space and pulled out a HUGE bush. If that doesn’t count as an upper body workout, I don’t know what does!

Raked up all the dead leaves from the front yard and bagged them for pick-up.

Cleaned and polished these old closets, which will soon be turned into our pantry.

Phew, it was an exhausting (yet satisfying and fun) weekend!

What did you do this weekend?

Let’s pretend that most of our rooms don’t currently look something like this:

And instead focus on the little areas that have been cleaned, organized and transformed. Like the shelves in the kitchen. Bulk bins on the bottom, display pieces (more to come) on the top.

More bulk bins were meant to go on the top shelf, but alas, I’m too short to reach them…

Appliances have been tucked into the recessed shelves next to the sink. They are easy to access but out of sight:

Built-in cabinets in the dining room have been filled with dishes and baking supplies:

Huh. Interesting that most of what has been unpacked is food-related… I really want to get back to cooking, clearly!

PS: Max hasn’t gotten used to the fact that our windows are no longer a mere 4 inches off the ground. However, he can still see out the upstairs windows, which makes him happy!

This is the gift I made this holiday season that I wanted to keep for myself. But that wouldn’t be fair for the originally intended recipient, now would it?

So I may be making a second one someday. Until then, I will share with you.

Because you can’t go wrong with this gift to your favorite blogger or cook. It is useful and practical while still being personal and hand-crafted.

How-To Make a Personalized Recipe Book

(Ingredients)

To start, collect your favorite recipes. I chose to primarily use recipes from my own blog and some of my other favorite food blogs, with a few select cookbook recipes thrown in. You’ll want to either stick to a theme or collect a good variety of recipes so that you don’t get to the end only to realize that you have all appetizer and dessert recipes and no entrees.

I wrote out some of the recipes by hand, and printed the rest. The printed recipes were backed by patterned paper, since the printer paper is so thin.

Next, get some coordinated paper. Ideally, you should have some solid pieces (on which to write recipes directly) and some patterned pieces (for backing your printed recipes, quotes and divider pages). Double-sided paper is best. Almost all of the paper I used was from Basic Grey’s Nook & Pantry collection. The food and kitchen themed package seemed appropriate, no?

Finally, you’ll need a photo album with plastic protective sleeves. I used a 3-ring photo album that holds two 4″x6″ pictures per page.

Oh, and one more optional addition: favorite quotes and personal messages for the recipient. Since I was giving this book to Heather, I chose some of my favorite comments on my blog and titled each one “Then Heather Said…”

<<

(Instructions)

To make the recipe cards, cut paper to fit your protective sleeves. If you don’t have enough recipe to fill all the sleeves, put the extra page protectors in the back so that the recipient can add their own recipes over time!

Add some fun and personality with your quotes and messages, along with sketches and special instructions as you see fit. Some examples:

<<

To make the divider pages, cut out a rectangle that is about 1″ wider and 1″ taller than one of the protective sleeves. Leave a tab on the outer edge upon which to write the recipe category.

<

If you don’t like the look of the outside of your photo album, cover with decorative paper.

<

Assemble and gift. Be prepared for excitement when the gift is opened!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

All photos courtesy of Heather

Update!  I’ve created printable recipe cards to save you some time in your cookbook creation.  Click here to find them!