Review: The Skinnytaste Cookbook

 

I was absolutely thrilled when I saw that the blog Skinnytaste was coming out with a cookbook! I was even more thrilled was I was able to review the cookbook, which means I got it free. I am SOO happy with this cookbook. It is absolutely beautiful, the recipes are amazing, and it is definitely a cookbook I would recommend to anyone! I first found her blog when I was trying to find healthy alternatives to some of our favorite dishes and her recipes definitely do the trip and fill in a void we were missing since eating healthy can be hard these days. Her cookbook isn't one for those on diets but for those who are truly looking for a lifestyle change, those who already eat healthy regularly and those who just want yummy recipes!! The cookbook is beautiful and well put together def a must have for any kitchen!

I did receive this book free from the publisher and am under no obligation to write a positive review just my own honest opinion.

Review: Monstrously Funny Cartoons

This is a super cute book! I am not much of a drawer but the style and technique that is taught can definitely be picked up by those of us who are artistically challenged. I have always wanted to be one who could draw but that just was not in the cards for me so I truly enjoy these books that give step by step directions on how to create certain images. This book is separated into 8 different Monstrously Funny characters and shows you specifically what identifies each of these characters so you can draw a monster that you can actually identify! I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something like this or even if you're not because its fun and creative.

I did receive this book from the publisher for my honest opinion.

Review: Forever Mom

Forever Mom: What to Expect When You're Adopting

I was really excited when I saw this book was available. If you know me I love hearing all stories about adoption and with this book it was different. I loved reading it and it is definitely a book that those who have been through the process, who are thinking about going the process, or are just plain curious about the process. I will say it would more than likely be more interesting to a Christian family because of her views and beliefs. 

I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review. 

Review: DIY Type

DIY Type: 50+ Typographic Stencils for Decorating, Crafting, and Gifting

This was definitely such a cute idea. This book gives you stencils for the full alphabet in two different sizes. The book does give you a few ideas on how to use and I do wish it had a few more ideas as I don't always have the best ones!! LOL But those who are super crafty will have no problem coming up with ways to use these.

Review: Draw-A-Saurus

Draw-A-Saurus is seriously a super cute book for anyone who has a child and/or anyone who loves dinosaurs and who would like to be able to draw them! I was excited for the chance to review this book and was super excited when it came in the mail. The book is full of different types of dinosaurs with step by step directions to help you draw them. It really makes it easy for someone like me who is drawing impaired to actually make something that is somewhat identifiable! My husband was even excited when he saw the book for the first time and is definitely going to try to draw something now. Our son loves to look through the book but at four is still a little too young to understand all the steps but in the coming years it will be a great book to have on our bookshelf! We are please with it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who has children who like to draw and who especially like dinosaurs!

I received this book free from the publisher and do not need to provide a positive review only my own actual thoughts.

Review: God Gave Us Angels

God Gave Us Angels
By Lisa Tawn Bergren

We just received this book in the mail and of course we had to read it as soon as it arrived. I will say that I am not a huge fan of this book after reading it for the first time. I do not like that they misspelled words to try to make it cutesy. When you are teaching your child how to read you do not needed added things to confuse them. The story its self was ok. I was not overly impressed with the explanation. Honestly we weren't really that overly impressed with anything that has to do with this book. We probably won't read it again as it won't become a favorite and it is definitely something we wouldn't really recommend to anyone either. We are super picky about the things we read and spend or time with so this very well may be something that someone else will love but for us it is not and we will pass the book along to another family and hopefully they'll enjoy it more than us.

I did receive this book free from the publisher for my honest review and am under no obligation to give a good review.

Non Toy Gifts

I don't know about ya'll but in our house we are acquiring way too many toys and with the holidays coming up I'm kind of cringing at the thought of adding even more to our home. Since we bought our new home our son's toys have expanded from his room into their very own room. Our third bedroom has been taken over as a toy/playroom.

This is just one view of his room. He also has those pull out drawer bins (two of them) and a lego table that we made him. His toy room is getting a bit ridiculous. I know its our fault and the fact that everyone loves him and spoils him around his birthday and holidays but we've been thinking it just can't go on like this forever. We also know we can't be the only parents who think this way and that others out there prob need ideas that are not toy related. We have also been thinking that post people don't need things and have been looking at getting our adult family members gifts that are just useless knick knacks but other things as well. Here is our list and ideas so far :)

Kids:

• Art Supplies
• Play Doh
• Craft kits
• Bath Supplies
• Subscriptions- magazines, monthly crafts, etc. (kiwi crate, Citrus Lane, Bluum Box just to name a few of the subscription boxes out there)
• Gardening Tools/supplies
• Recipes & Ingredients
• BOOKS! (one of our personal faves! LOL)
• Clothes (these are always helpful)
• Shoes
• Fishing Gear
• Games/Puzzles (great family time activities!)
• Memberships- Zoo, museums, aquariums, etc. (this is actually on our wishlist! lol)
• Events- movie tickets, sports events, Disney on ice, etc. (also on our wishlist)
• Activities (gift cards to these places rock)- mini golf, bowling, skating, etc. 
• Restaurant Gift cards- to their favorite restaurant, for ice cream, a cupcake place, etc.
• Lessons- horse riding lessons, karate lessons, dance lessons, gymnastics, etc.
• Items needed for lessons- like Nathan needs gear for his karate class still
• Experiences- tickets for train rides, horse rides, hot air balloon ride,  helicopter ride, swimming with the manatees, etc. 

These are just some of the ideas we have for the kiddos so far. What are some of ya'lls ideas?!?!

Here is what we have in mind for adults:

• BOOKS! (you're never too old for books!)
• Magazine subscriptions
• Fishing Gear
• Memberships
• Event tickets
• Activity Gift Cards
• Restaurant Gift Cards
• Experiences- Nascar Driving experience (my sister and I just used this as a gift), sky diving, hot air balloon ride, etc. 
• Services- massage, mani/pedi, spa day, etc. 
• Delivery services- flowers, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries (we love to send these!), dinner supplies (I think we're going to send out steaks to a family this year woohoo meat LOL)

Again these are just some of the ideas we have in mind :) We would love to hear your ideas!

We are also the family who likes the four gift Christmas list instead of going all out and spoiling our child with unneeded things. :)  Anyone else out there in internet land who thinks the same way?

Review: The Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible

The Duck Commander Faith & Family Bible 

By Phil & Al Robertson 

I will be honest when I saw that I was able to review this Bible I jumped on the chance too because I knew my hubby would be thrilled to see this come in the mail! (He is often not thrilled by some of the books I receive to review so I thought I'd get one he'd enjoy this time as well.) Well when my husband walked in the door today this was sitting on our couch and he really did get quite excited when he saw it. He automatically grabbed it and flipped through the pages and read a few things and was thrilled with the set up of this Bible. Him and our son read a Bible story nightly from another book review I did (I'm sure its on here somewhere) and he actually quite enjoyed the set up of our son's Bible and was thrilled to see this had a similar set up as well. 

I have had a chance to sit down with this Bible and I am pretty impressed by it as well. It is a heavy book and is a hardback which makes it even nicer. It is definitely a "mans" Bible in the design and in contents. As with all things Duck Commander and Duck Dynasty and really anything to do with Phil Robertson it has to do with hunting and this Bible is no different. It has sections called "Set Your Sights" which talks about everyday events and then also "On The Hunt" which gives more Bible verses to go along with the topic on hand.

In the front it also has the option to do a weekly read with either Phil or Al depending on the path you choose to go down and it gives you the pages to follow and the topic that will be discussed during that time. And the front also has a section called Lifechangers that is done by both Al and Phil and is actually quite interesting to read. 

This really is a beautiful Bible and will definitely win over the male audience, especially Hunters, and those who follow The Duck Commander and Duck Dynasty. I would recommend this to other people to pick up and try and I know my family will definitely get a lot of use out of it. My husband has already claimed this as his own and says he cannot wait to start digging in and learning more! 

I received this book free and am under no obligation to write a positive review only my own honest opinions.

Review: Knowing God by Name

Review: Knowing God by Name

This was definitely an interesting devotional to read and definitely was different than I was expecting. I am not sure what I was expecting to be honest since the title of the book is Knowing God by Name. In this devotional you literally learn 40 different names for God and then there is a devotional to go along with it. It is an 8 week journey that could easily be done with a small group and also provides 8 different  interactive lessons for individuals or groups. The lessons are written by three separate authors but seem to flow together flawlessly. There are 5 days where each day focuses on a different known name of God, and the 6th day is a day to reflect, pray, and meditate on the material the reader has covered.

This is definitely a great book for any believer whether you are new to your faith or have a solid foundation already. It makes you think and can easily be read as a traditional book as well, which I have a tendency to do with even devotionals. I would recommend this book to others one of the few devotionals I would. 

I did receive this book free from the publisher and I was not required to publish a positive review just my own honest opinions :)

Review: Who Do You Think You Are?: Finding Your True Identity in Christ

Who Do You Think You Are?: Finding Your True Identity in Christ

 I really do enjoy most Christian type books but this is one that I honestly could not get into. I know that Driscoll is the type of person that you normally either love or hate but I honestly have no feelings towards him. This is definitely a book that makes you think about your stance in religion. If you love Driscoll you should definitely pick the book up but if you are out to dislike everything he writes I would recommend to just walk on by and ignore the book altogether.

Thankfully I received this book free to review from the publisher and as you can see I neither love nor hated it but am thankful I didn't pay for it!

Already Planning!

As most of you know I am kind of obsessed with birthday parties for my little man and yes I have already started planning for his 4th birthday party in March! I seriously cannot believe his birthday is actually so close but I'm super excited to have the best birthday party yet!

This year our theme is construction and its a huge mix of things! We'll have "mighty machines" as Nathan calls them to play with in the sandbox (a steam roller, excavator, and dump truck), we'll be building birdhouses with the older kids, we'll be mixing "cement" which is actually make your own sidewalk chalk, and I've bought two workbenches so far!

I have the party favors for the older kids done/picked out already:

I am thinking fun sand toys for the littler people prob 2 and under category.

I have gotten some ideas off pinterest but I do prefer using google overall lol or just staring at something and hoping an idea pops into my head! But these are a few of the ideas I have in mind of his party not entirely sure yet still working out the details :)

I just adored this idea of having multiple work benches and I'm too cheap to buy them brand new so I've been keeping my eye on craigslist and the local for sale pages and have two so far for a reasonable price :)

I am thinking a birthday cake similar to this would be fun :) I already bought the "mighty machines" from the dollar store!








I'm still working on food. I think we're going to do brown sack lunches with sandwiches, chips, and a juice box like they're taking lunch to "work" since we plan on having a pretend workday. We shall see how it all plays out in March though :) I can't wait to set everything up and share the results!