I recently read This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper on my Kindle. 

I really enjoyed this book because of how real and just RAW it is. Judd's father dies and his dying wish is that his family (Judd, his three siblings and their mother) spend a week together sitting shiva. They are all in various stages of life - Judd's wife has left him for his boss, Brother Paul thinks he needs to save Dad's business and the world, Sister Wendy barely recognizes herself after a marriage and three kids, Brother Phillip is an all around screw up, and Mom is a well known child rearing expert that did a number on all four of her kids.

As they spend the week together, secrets come out, secrets get hidden and all of them learn about themselves and the others. The book is quite funny, they all have dry senses of humor and zing each other quite a bit. It totally reminded me of my family. We get through all crises with humor, most of it inappropriate. A few years ago, my mom found a mass in her breast. It would "move" when she tried to touch it. So we called it her titmouse. See, inappropriate. But funny. After my car accident, I had quite a heavy limp. My sister told my mom she was going to take me out for a drag. Inappropriate. But funny.

The book is told from Judd's perspective. A perspective which just saw his wife banging his boss in his own bed. The way Judd describes how his marriage has become somewhat routine was so relateable and real. Something I'm sure we have all been through.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but I seem to have a history of that. If a book doesn't end exactly how I want it to, I am a little disappointed. I like a wrapped up bow at the end. But, as we know, that doesn't always happen in books or in life!

I *hate* going to see anyone empty handed. Even if I just bring something small, I like to bring SOMEthing. We went to see our good friends on a very happy occasion - their son was born! Unfortunately, we did not get to see him because he was a few weeks early and was still in the nursery. But literally right after we left he was able to come to Mom's room, since he was breathing on his own with no problems. They have been home a few weeks now and everything is going great!

Here is what I took for him:

Here is the inside:

I love this border that I did with Bitty Baby Basics (if I do say so myself):

But I haven't had too much going on lately! I'm still cranking out the cards and enjoying it. I have tons of pictures to share of my latest creations, but my camera is upstairs!! One of my tasks for this weekend is to get the pics onto my computer and get some posts on here. I am REALLY looking forward to the long weekend.

I haven't been shopping much lately (trying to save up for the PTI releases) but I did get some cute stamps from The Greeting Farm at a local scrapbook store this past weekend. My coloring is definitely getting a workout!

I've also been trying to get to bed early this week, since I've been so tired in the mornings. I can feel myself falling asleep while driving to work in the morning, which is NOT good. Since traffic is so light in the summers, I will stop in the park near work and nap for 20 minutes when I'm early enough. But then I am tired all day. So I've been trying to get to sleep by 10. Another reason I am looking forward to the weekend!

I just finished two cards tonight, and I am heading up to bed soon. zzzzzz!!

PS - I am also adding the Pink Cat Studio blinkie to my blog, can't wait to see their fall release!

I recently read this book on my Kindle:

I'll give it three stars out of five. It kept me interested and the story moved quickly.

The Castaways are four married couples who live on Nantucket. They are all best friends and their lives are intimately related. One couple dies on a boating trip. The book is about the other six peoples' ways of coping with that horrible loss. Let me say, some of them do not deal very well. The book follows all six people over the course of a few months, how they handle the loss and then the now strange relationship of the remaining Castaways.

The book is told from every person's perspective, it jumps back and forth. I found myself making little notes in my Kindle notes to keep straight who was married to whom and whose kids were whose.There were definitely secrets amongst the group, which kept things interesting.  I felt the characters were likeable and realistic.

I love this one so much I'm thinking of an entire set based on it. The colors are PTI Enchanted Evening, Spring Rain and Hibiscus Burst. Yum.

And the inside:
  

Supplies:
Cardstock: PTI Stampers Select, Enchanted Evening, Spring Rain
Stamps: PTI Damask Designs and SU! sentiment
Flower: Making Memories
Pearls: Kaiser Scrapbook
Inks: Ranger Broken China, Memento Summer Sky, Staz On Midnight Blue
Ribbon: PTI Hibiscus Burst

I think this is the first time I have tried this challenge, though I have been following their blog for a while...

Here is the sketch:
 

And here is my take:

I really like this card, even though it contains a minimal amount of stamping. It just came together very quickly and easily! The square is cut and embossed with a square Nestabilitie and on pop dots.

Supplies:
Cardstock: PTI Kraft and Dark Chocolate
Patterned Paper: Bobunny dots
Flowers by Accent Creative Design
Button: PTI Dark Chocolate
Stamps: sentiment is from Vintage Picnic and the leaves are from Friends Forever, both by PTI
Ribbon is white grosgrain from my stash