These two books are the latest additions to our growing library.  One is about a dog and a chick and one is about pig brothers.  Both are super cute.  I bought both of them and then realized they are by the same author, Jennifer Sattler. Kid tested and approved.

Chick ‘n’ Pug
Pig Kahuna

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We’ve always been huge Mo Willems fans around here with our first love being the Pigeon series.  And the Knuffle Bunny has become the newest favorite series around here for bedtime stories. This series follows Trixie and her stuffed bunny and has the same type of humor that Mo Willems is famous for.

By the way, these would be a great gift for a little one.  I love when we get books as gifts!!

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I get the Serena & Lily catalog in the mail and as I was flipping through it I saw these book ends and just about died from the cuteness.  I’m particularly fond of ALL OF THEM!  Ha! No, actually I really love the dinosaur.  Are you a book end fan?

Menagerie Bookends, Serena & Lily

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The Holidays this year could not have been better…ok, I could have done without the chilling cold and the torrential downpours, but other than that, it was a great low-key, and relaxing time!

I also must have been VERY good this year because Santa was VERY nice to me. Check out some of the loot:

1. Michele 18mm Patent Leather Watch Strap
2. Nikon D3100 Digital Camera
3. “What to Cook and How to Cook it”
4. McKenna Travel Folio
5. Waechtersbach 6-Piece Bowl Set

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Are you stumped on gift buying for anyone?  I’ve gathered up some items that I think might work or at least point you in the right direction.

1. Voile Spaghetti Measure, Moma Store
2. Jubilee Hoops, Sundance
3. Ugg Scuff, Zappos
4. Multicolor Ceramic Mixing Bowl Set, Williams-Sonoma
5. Bose Noise Canceling Headphones, Amazon
6. The Pajamas Warming Pouch, Hammacher Schlemmer
7. The In Your Own Voice Storyteller, Hammacher Schlemmer
8. Xyron Create A Sticker Machine, Amazon
9. Pearls in the Stream Bracelet, Sundance
10. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse DVD, Amazon
11. Mad Men Season 1 DVD, Amazon
12. Toy Story 3 DVD, Amazon

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If you are like me, you struggle every year with what to get your parents for Christmas.  Generally I can get by with finding something for my mom, but for my dad–that’s a tough one.  As I went on the hunt I found some pretty cool things….granted, some of these are out of my price range but they may not be out of yours so I thought I’d pass them along!

1. Frontgate, Amplified Phone with Answering System-check out the HUGE numbers and the PHOTO speed dials!
2. Old Navy, Cable Knit Cocoon Cardigan
3. American Apparel, Circle Scarf
4. Sur La Table, Moistly Grilled Cast Iron Grill Humidifier
5. Amazon, Vacuum Seal Marinizer System
6. Williams-Sonoma, Monogrammed Forged Steak Brand
7. Crate and Barrel, Pixie Candleholder
8. Sundance, Mason Jar Snowglobe
9. Crate and Barrel, Fiesta At Rick’s Cookbook by Rick Bayless
10. Sur La Table, Jura Cup Warmer-OMG this is so cool!
11. The Home Depot, Wireless Rain Gauge
12. The Home Depot, Ames Water Genie

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I’ll be the first to admit, I own a lot of cookbooks and I RARELY use any of them to cook! However, that doesn’t mean I don’t love getting them and dreaming of all the items I COULD be making.

My latest Bon Appetit magazine had a list of the top cookbooks of the year and here are a few that I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection!

1. Time for Dinner: Strategies, Inspiration, and Recipes for Family Meals Every Night of the Week
2. Forgotten Skills of Cooking
3. Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for all things Sweet and Wonderful
4. The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual

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Ghost Stories for the kiddos…My little guy was born in October so we’ve been gifted many Halloween themed books and this year he has become obsessed with PUNKINS! Mama! Punkins!  I think I’ve read #2 approximately 1.2 billion times this week already.  But hey, I like Duck & Goose, so I can hack it.  I’m curious, do any of you have #5 or #6? Any good?  Do you have Halloween favorites you read to your kids?

1. Happy Halloween Biscuit
2. Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin
3. Plumply Dumply Pumpkin
4. It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
5. I’m Not Scared
6. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

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Sarah recently talked about movies that she can just watch over and over and over again. I have a list of books that I could read over and over and over again.  Now these may not all be literary genius according to many, but the way a book gets on this list for me is if I get to the end of the book and I DON’T WANT IT TO END.  It’s like I go through some sort of withdrawal from the story after.  Court says we are chasing a high that the book gives us.  So these are my books that I could read over and over again.  I guess I’m a sucker for a love story (with the exception of A Million Little Pieces).

What are the books you could read over and over again?

1. The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger*
2. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans*
3. A Million Little Pieces, James Frey
4. The Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer*

*The majority of these have been made into movies and ALWAYS, ALWAYS the books are a thousand times better.

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Coffee table books are are great to have laying around your living room or den because they can be really cool conversation starters, and they also make awesome gifts!

These are a few that I think would be great on my coffee table:

1. ‘The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places’
2. ‘Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present’
3. ‘Strive for Honor: Texas Tech’s Past, Present and Future’
4. In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits
5. ‘Houston. It’s Worth It’
6. ‘The City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York’

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