Disclaimer: Please ignore my hair, lack of make up or pedicure and focus on the dress and shoes. :D

You wouldn't know it by my almost daily uniform of jeans, but I'm really girly. I love, love, love dresses and skirts. They always seem to 'come back' in style as the must wear look for spring or summer. What I'm seeing in my magazines under spring trends are dresses and wedges, which is a look that totally works for me since I'm short.

I love the fun pattern and great colors in this dress. They're both definitely me. If I had any skills with a sewing machine, I'd make the dress more fitted at the waist so it fell in an A line. I debated pairing it with black wedges, but that didn't feel very spring like.

The dress is from Target but I'm not sure I'll keep it because of the fit. At only $15, it's a great deal and I can see wearing it instead of capris. What do you think, is it too 'maternity' for me?

Holly's Inbox, Scandal in the City : Book Review

I checked out both books in the Holly's Inbox series at the same time. I finished the first book last week and the second, Scandal in the City, over the weekend.

The second book is just as cute as the first. The characters are the same but some of the relationships are explained a bit more. 

I didn't love the ending. It was a little too pie in the sky, but that's chick lit for you. This book is slightly shorter than the first book at 544 pages. I've heard rumors of a third but couldn't find confirmation anywhere. It makes sense, given where this one left off.

What have you finished recently? Anything I should know about?

I Wish I Was Brave Enough!

I love the way this looks, but I just can't commit!

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

The three books on top are mine from when I was little. They've been passed down from me, to my brother and then to Tyler. I'm saving them for my brother when he has kids of his own. My mom can still recite the first few pages of Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb because I made her read it so many times. 

Thank you, Dr. Suess for being so timeless. Thank you for helping me introduce my son to colors, counting and rhyme. Your books are a great way to get kids interested in reading and learning to love words. The lessons in The Lorax and Horton Hears a Who are just as relevant today as when you wrote them. Happy Birthday!

Well Played Kid!

Tyler and Phil rough house with each other at least once a day. Tonight, they were play fighting when I walked into the room. Tyler turned to look at me and Phil popped him one.

DS: "Hey, that's not fair!"

DH: "You weren't looking, how is that not fair?"

DS: "Mom distracted me!"

DH: "So, now it's mom fault?"

DS: "Yeah, because she distracted me with her beauty!"

All together now: awwwwwww.

IHop, Chik fil A, Coffee Bean | Frugal Friday March Freebies

photo © 2010 Ginny | more info (via: Wylio)

Make a note on your calendars. There are some great freebies happening in the first few days of March. 

March 1: IHOP is hosting its fourth National Pancake Day  from 7am-10pm. While the pancakes are free, the event is raising money for Children's Miracle Network. 

March 1: If you have a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf near you, stop into their spring open house from 4pm-7pm for free samples of either the Spring Peach Tea Latte, Spring Peach Iced Latte or Peach FruTea.

March 4: I love Chik fil A. They've hosted special military days in the past. Plus I appreciate that they are closed on Sundays. On Free FryDay, ask to try the new Heinz ketchup packet and get a free order of waffle fries. 

So much yumminess! And so much jiggly-ness if I take advantage of all of them! Do you know of any other freebies coming up? Leave them in the comments and I'll update the post.

*Always check with a location before you go.

Bloodroot and Holly's Inbox: Book Reviews

Last week I finished two books I really enjoyed, Bloodroot by Amy Greene and Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham. Bloodroot only took me three days to finish. I heard about it the books section of one of my magazines. I loved it! I don't know why I'm fascinated with stories whose characters have 'the touch' or some other mystical power. Same with books set in the south (location was part of the reason I loved The Help, too). This book has childhood friendships, familial loyalty and a little bit of tragedy. It's set in Appalachia and spans almost 50 years. I was sucked in within the first few pages. 

Holly's Inbox is set in Britain. Every book that came out after Bridget Jone's has had some type of comparison. This is one is called Bridget Jones meets technology. The story is told entirely through emails between Holly, her friends, her family and co-workers. It's not a small book at 672 pages but since it's not all text, it reads really fast. It's cute and funny just as chick lit should be. I have the sequel but am only about 20 pages in. Interesting side note, Holly Denham is the character's name. The author is actually a man. 

Both these books would be good beach reads.