Monday, March 25, 2013

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate





I loved Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate! Mallory is single and works on Capitol Hill when she falls in love and her world changes in so many ways.  She meets Daniel while at work and they fall in love.  Daniel has a young son from a previous relationship that he has custody of.  When Daniel is offered a job in Moses Lake, TX he asks Mallory to marry him and move to Texas with him and his son.  Mallory's life changes immediately in that she is now a mother to Daniel's son and they are living in a new and strange place.  All the obstacles and adventures that Mallory goes through make her second guess her decisions to get married and move to Moses Lake. You learn many life lessons through the things Mallory goes through. I had a very hard time putting down the book because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  Many times when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was wrong. Lisa Wingate does a wonderful job with describing the area that I could vividly picture where the story was taking place.  Come to find out Moses Lake is a real place you can go visit.  Even though this is book three in the series you do not need to read the other books to understand this one.  I have read book 2 in this series and know that this is true.  After reading book 2 and now 3 in the series and loving both, I want to find book 1 to read. Go read this book so you can find out "What Comes Next" as mentioned at the beginning of the book.

I received this book from Bethany Publishing House free for an honest review.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Tutu Easter Wreath

I was looking for a cute new Easter wreath to make for my front door, and saw a post with all kinds of tutu wreaths and fell in love with them.  After dropping the kids off at preschool I went to Michael's and bought supplies to make my own. Here is what mine looks like. I think I am going to go get some more eggs this week to add to it.






How to Make A Tutu Wreath

Supplies: 1 foam wreath
               spools of tulle in the colors you want (I used 2 spools of pink and purple)
               scissors
               tape measure
              decorative eggs to attach to wreath ( or whatever you want to attach to the wreath)

Steps: Cut tulle in 16 inch lengths. (or 32 inches and just divide in half)




          I put two strips or each color together so the color was more vibrant and tied them around the wreath.
As I tied them together I pushed them together so that you couldn't see the white foam wreath. I did a pink/purple pattern but you can do whatever pattern you want.




 Then I bought decorated eggs that were attached to sticks. I stuck the sticks through the foam and twisted the stick around in the back so that they would not fall out. This last step with the eggs I forgot to photograph so I will get a picture and come back and add it to this post this week.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

One Year Anniversary!







A year ago this past February I decided I wanted to learn how to crochet.  Well after I started I was hooked! Friends and family loved what I was making and started asking me to make them things.  This led me to open up my store Unique Creations by Tracy a year ago this April!  I have been so blessed by all the family, friends, and others that have bought some of the items that I have crocheted.  I love seeing the things I made being used by others.  Since 1 year is a great milestone I have decided I want to do something special.  During the month of April I am planning on having a giveaway here on my blog and will be having a sale during the month to celebrate.  Keep your eyes posted for the fun!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen





The Tutor's Daughter is a historical fiction book with romance and suspense.  Emma Smallwood is the daughter of a widowed father that runs a boarding school.  The boarding school fails after time and they are unsure of what to do.  Emma writes a baronet that sent two of his sons to their school.  They are called to come to the baronet's manor to teach his two younger boys.  Once they get settled in mysterious things start happening to Emma.  The baronet's two oldest sons that Emma remembers from their time at the boarding school are there and dealing with their own problems and secrets.  As things escalate Emma has to figure out which brother is to blame and who she can trust.

I felt the beginning of the story was a bit slow, but the farther I got into the story the harder it was to put down.  Every time I thought I figured out who was behind what was happening to Emma, something would happen that made me change my mind.  For the most part I loved how the book ended but would love if the story continued on so I could get to know some of the characters even better.  Julie, did a great job with the setting of the story in that I could really picture where the story was taking place in history.  I have only read a couple of Julie Klassen's books but after reading this one I know I want to read more of her books. 

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers for an honest review!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

International Dress Up Day

My daughter's preschool had International Dress Up Day on March 1st.  The whole month of February, they have been learning about other countries. Friday they got to decide what country they wanted to represent and dress up to represent that country.  We are very Irish so it was a very easy decision on which country to do.  Here is a picture of my daughter dressed and ready to go to preschool.


We went out and bought a St. Patrick's Day shirt and then I made her the hat to wear.  It was a lot of fun to see all the kids dressed up at drop off!