My Library

I've spent at least a part of these snowy, ice-encased days browsing through coffee table books about home decor. I guess I just enjoy looking at beautiful, cozy, well-curated spaces. As I flip through the pages, I tend to look around and think about how fortunate and blessed we are to have such a nice home and beautiful things. I sort of compare my own curated spaces to those in the look-books and think of ideas for swapping locations of decor or swapping out something that is set out for something that is closed away in a closet or cabinet temporarily. This week I perused James Farmer's books:

Arriving Home

Celebrating Home

A Place to Call Home

I did a little dreaming about what I would like to do with our outside spaces. We have a gate that came from our family farm and some wagon wheels that have been in Mike's family for years that I would like to use to create a more formal entrance or a southern statement at the entrance to our farm or yard. 

I also did a bit of comparing and felt a sense of satisfaction in my choices for upholstery for the pieces we recently had redone.

I still smile every time I walk through the den or go in there to plop down on the couch and prop my feet up on that ottoman. I've always loved a sofa with a bench cushion and camel back and the ottoman that I found years ago that we use as a coffee table and I just love the updates! I was looking for inspiration for updating the smalls that sit on the ottoman or mantel or tables. I was noticing what was in the look books and thinking of what I might shop around the house for to create a similar look.

I was also considering adding a couple more of Farmer's books to my current hardback library...

I have joined some sort of mailing list within Amazon and get regular notifications for discounted Kindle editions. I also got a couple of monthly selections with my Prime membership. So, I've added to my Kindle book stack or library.

• A Pirate Looks at Fifty  A Jimmy Buffet Memoir
• Snowed In! by Catherine Walsh's holiday story that is a funny holiday romance with fake dating.
• The Last Secret of Lily Adams  Sara Blaydes novel in which the death of a legendary actress reveals a wealth of Hollywood secrets.
• Savannah Breeze  Mary Kay Andrews's follow up story involving Eloise (Weezie) and her friend, Bebe Loudermilk
• The Jailhouse Lawyer James Patterson's novel about a young lawyer takes on the judge who is destroying her hometown—and ends up in jail herself.

I'm on the waiting list for a couple of eBooks to be loaned from my local library. So, I was glad to get the books mentioned above for a discount price to keep reading good stuff till those are available through my Libby app.

I always thought I'd be a hard copy reader sort of gal. However, it is so convenient to just open the Kindle app or Libby app on my phone and read - no matter where I am, I have access to a good read! Plus, when I'm lying in bed at night, the phone falling on my head or chest hurts a lot less than a big old book. So, I have adapted and lots of my pleasure reading is done on my phone.

I'm also still sorting and sifting through cookbooks and adding back to the shelves in the kitchen or donating. The most recent has been Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes. I don't remember if I picked this up at a school book fair, got it at the Scholastic Warehouse sale, or if it was a gift from my sister. At any rate, it seems like a keeper. There are good looking casserole dishes, some main dish recipes, a couple of cake recipes, and a Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge Pudding Cake recipe that have already earned sticky notes and ingredients added to the next grocery order for me to try!

I know I've got a broad assortment of books in my library and that I will probably never read everything I've got under this roof. However, one never wants to be without a good book! Right?

What have you been reading or what have you added to your book stack or library lately? Do I need to add something to mine?