the giraffe life

As far as reading goes, this year felt pretty normal for me.  But looking at my top 5 for the year, I realized:  this is the first time my favorite books have all been nonfiction.  I must be getting old ;) All of these books have a common thread of change, though, and I think the story-telling elements and anecdotes of personal experiences are what set them apart from what I traditionally think of as "nonfiction."  I'm nosy - and the stories in these nonfiction books are just as compelling as my favorite fiction books. So, let's get right to it!  My top 5 in no particular order: Plastic-Free   by Beth Terry.  I started going off the deep end with my "environmentally friendly" ways back in 2007 when I found No Impact Man , and started reading Beth's blog around that same time.  While I didn't necessarily read this book for the suggestions, I ended up gleaning a few tips anyway and enjoyed hearing more about Beth's personal strug

I love seeing the gifts others give (especially when I can steal be inspired by their ideas for upcoming birthdays!). Just a sampling of the kid gifts I gave this year: A wooden crocodile !  So adorable! (5,000 bonus points if you know what book this picture was taken on) Kids related to me can count on getting books because I'm obsessed with them! You already know about my first  children's book purchase  for Christmas. Here's the next one: a  fabric book (it looks so good because it was made by my mom) about Pooh.  I think these are perfect for babies - soft and ready for chewing. Mo Willems is one of my favorite authors, so I couldn't leave him out!  His books always make me laugh and this one was no exception. A hopscotch rug .  I love that this lets you play indoors! A wobble deck .  These were so tough for me as a kid, but it kept me occupied for hours! (and I hear parents like that ;) ) What do you think?  What did you buy for the kids on you

linking up with  http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy today - the company, the food, the cheer - and fall asleep tonight feeling content. image found  here

I love Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup.  Love, love love!  In the past, I would gladly eat two bowls of it, about 5 breadsticks, and take my whole meal home!  But I've had to skip it since becoming vegetarian and that sucks.  So I found a copycat recipe online , and tweaked it to make it vegetarian.  (I am so grateful for copycat sites!) Surprisingly enough (not), the original recipe calls for chicken ... I added boiled potatoes to take their place.  You could probably cook the potatoes right in the soup - just make sure to add them early enough that they finish cooking before everything else goes soft.  That might be too much potato in one soup for some people (is that even possible?).  :)  You could bump up the amounts of the gnocchi or other veggies in the recipe, or add corn, bell peppers, or soy "chicken" if the extra potatoes don't float your boat. Any other ideas for taking the place of the chicken? Start by chopping your veggies: I didn

photo from here Another book review on a book I have no business reading (perhaps not as inappropriate for my age as this , though). Luckily I get to decide what I read! I'm not yet a parent, and so I may not be the best person to review a book comparing parenting styles, but I really enjoyed this book.  I've always been curious about other cultures and ideas, so this book was right up my alley.  I felt the author was respectful with her observations, although there were several cultural "norms" (both French and American) that she personally disagreed with.  It also made me consider what tricks I'd like to have in my arsenal when I become a mom.  I particularly liked "The Pause" - when a baby is crying, the American norm is to try to comfort or quiet the baby as quickly as possible, while the French norm is to watch the baby for a few minutes before responding to try to figure out what's wrong (and possibly have the baby self-comfort and not

crust recipe found via Mom On Timeout linking up with  http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com

photo from here I love children's books (no shame - although I will use Christmas as an excuse for purchasing this one).  I enjoy the story lines, the creativity, the illustrations, the freedom to use words previously not found in the English language . . I could go on and on. But let's get to the point:  I adored this book!  It tells the tale of a little fish who steals a bowler hat and how he is eventually found out.  Simple story, but the illustrations really steal the show and made me smirk or giggle more than once.  I hold children's books that appeal to adults (who are often held hostage reading the same books for weeks) in higher esteem, and this book is definitely one of those! I think it would be best suited for the preschool set through about second grade . . or adults who still cherish kids' books. ;)

I have a love-hate relationship with writing. So why am I even considering starting a blog?   That's a good question.   I'm afraid I'll run out of interesting things to say. I'm afraid of putting my writing out there for the world to read (and critique). The actual writing process is always a bear for me. Whenever I have a paper due for school, I always procrastinate writing it until the last possible day. Then when I finally sit down and just write the stupid thing, I kinda enjoy myself. Sharing my story. Finding the right word. The sense of accomplishment when I'm finished. That feeling makes me think that I  could  write a blog (although blogs are never really "finished," so I'm not sure how to take that).   But the bigger draw is that I love  reading  blogs. I love the inspiration, the sense of community, the conversation that follows a post. (Of course there's one small caveat: the blogs I enjoy are written by other people, so al