Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Room Makeovers!!!!! WE ARE DONE! (except for one picture for over Minnie's bed)

WE did it!! By WE I mean BEN who painted, laid laminate planks, and assembled the bed and vanity ALL BY HIMSELF. (Coop put together an IKEA book shelf).

Ok! First up, Dorothy's room.

Here is the before:

And here's the after!!!!

I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

All the new stuff in Dorothy's room meant that Minnie got a glow up, losing her toddler bed and Newton crib mattress (LOL FINALLY) and gaining some cool stuff

Old Minnie room:

(Can you even with tiny Annabel??)

NEW MINNIE ROOM!!

I love both of them so much, and so do the girls

Next up: we make our storage room into a 6th bedroom/den, and the boys all shuffle-- stay tuned!!

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

March: What I Read

Solid Meh

Mercy by Jodi Picoult: I mean, even a bad Jodi Picoult book is better than most books. **Audio

Elphie: A Wicked Childhood by Gregory Maguire: I just... didn't like this or feel like it added anything to the story. And! I have seen Wicked on stage 4 times and read the OG book the year it came out. I AM A FAN. **2025

The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden: You guys know this is a weakness of mine, these terrible, terrible books. **Audio

Back After This by Linda Holmes: I really like this author, but this was not the book for me. **2025

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney: I really could not get into this one. I might listen to it and like it better? **2025

Better than Meh but Worse Than Good

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger: I liked but did not love this thriller. **2025

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy: I liked this one sort of. **2025

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood: THIS WAS WAAAAAAAY TOO LONG. **2025 **Audio

Some Backlist Gems

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout: Oh this book!! I recommend. **Audio

The Senator's Wife by Liv Constantine: This was so entertaining because the bag guys were wretched people. **Audio

The Means by Amy Fusselman: HILARIOUS AND WONDERFUL. The author also writes for McSweeney's, and you can totally tell.

In the BOTY Race**

The Good Mother Myth by Nancy Reddy: Part Madison memoir (that's the part I loved), part quasi scholarly writing on motherhood-- this is great. **2025

The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore: SO entertaining. I love this author and her wildly original books. **2025

Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld: I am not usually super into short stories, but I can make an exception for Sittenfeld. "A for Alone" and "The Richest Babysitter in the World" were my favorites, but I liked them all. **2025

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks: This is just beautiful. **2025

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan: LOVED THIS ONE!! **2025 **Audio