Good Books: 8-9 year old girls

My daughter, Cailyn, has always enjoyed reading but over the summer she really found a passion for it and devoured book after book after book.  So I thought I'd share a few of her favorites. Books are ALWAYS a great present for Christmas.  :)

The great thing about this list is that they are all part of a series so there are many, many books to read!

1. The Princess Tales , by Gail Carson Levine

2. Bailey School Kids, by Debbie Dadey

3. Ruby Lu , by Lenore Look

4. Ivy and Bean , by Annie Barrows

5. Dork Diaries , by Rachel Renee Russell

6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid , by Jeff Kinney

7. Janitors , by Tyler Whitesides

8. Dear Dumb Diary , by Jim Benton

Bonus Series (Read Alouds)

I've also been reading the Fablehaven series with her and we are on book 4.  I absolutely *adore* this series!  I'm not sure it would be one she could read on her own, but it is a fabulous read-aloud book and I am more than happy to read it with her. :)

When we're done with this series we will probably read Percy Jackson together, followed by Gregor the Overlander.  I love having a child that loves reading as much as I do!!!

-marie

Things We Love Thursdays: Rold Gold Peppermint Snowflakes

My friend introduced me to these delectable little treats. I picked them up from Costco, but I'm not sure where else you can get them. They are snowflake shaped pretzels dipped in peppermint white chocolate. They are soooo yummy! They satisfy my craving for a salty/sweet treat.

Do you have a favorite treat you can only get during the holidays?

-marie

Christmas Bucket List

It's no secret that I love doing fun things to celebrate the holidays.  I've seen a ton of cute advent calendar ideas on Pinterest, but THIS one stuck out to me.  I like the idea of doing activities during the month of December but without being tied down to doing one every single day and without being tied down to what specifically we'd do each day.  A bucket list gives us the flexibility I need but also provides us with lots of opportunities for FUN!

The kids and I came up with a list of things we want to do this Christmas season.  Most of them require little effort on my part and are low-budget.  I'm hoping this will be a fun family tradition.  I printed and laminated the list so we can cross things off as we go and can reuse it again next year.

You can download my version HERE or if you're computer savvy you can get a blank version and add in your own list. 

What are some of your favorite things to do as a family during the Christmas season?

-marie

What I Read: November

I only managed to read 4 books last month but I LOVED all of them so it's okay. :)

These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a good book!!! It was easy to read and easy to get sucked into and I couldn't put it down. It was heart breaking and thought provoking and made me want to reevaluate my life. It made me more grateful for the things I take for granted every day and made me think about what is truly important in my life. I fell in love with Sarah and loved watching her through the trials and joys in her life. I adored Jack and couldn't help but smile whenever she talked about him. Beautiful, beautiful story!!!



Finale (Hush, Hush #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a great ending to the series. I loved that there was plenty of romance, action, and twists. My only complaint was that the ending seemed a bit rushed and the epilogue was a bit cheesy. Other than that I really enjoyed the book and the series over all. Can't wait to see what Becca Fitzpatrick writes next!




Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven #3) by Brandon Mull
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great book in the series.  I am thoroughly enjoying reading these with my daughter.  Brandon Mull is such a fantastic writer and I love that he's not afraid to use "big" words.  My daughter and I have had many discussions on vocab words from this book.  ;)




Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3) by Kiersten White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the perfect end to the series. There was so much that happened and it was such a fun ride. Evie is one of my favorite characters ever. She is so fun and witty and I love her voice and all the emotions she feels. And the supporting characters are just as great, too. Such a fun series and I am truly sad to see it end. Time for a re-read. :)

-marie

WIWW: Fun Pencil Skirt

I've been loving pencil skirts lately. They are so diverse and knit ones like this can be dressed up or worn casual. Love it!

skirt: Target
shirt & belt: Kohls
necklace: Rue 21
shoes: thrifted

-marie

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled Up Pretty & Transatlantic Blonde

Christmas Mugs

This was such a fun project to do! I found these cute mugs at the dollar store and had originally planned to do this project with vinyl, but when I was asked to try out these Martha Stewart products I knew they would be perfect for my mugs. Every year, on my husband's side of the family, we do a siblings gift exchange and these mugs are what I chose to make for their gift this year! When I got the box in the mail this is what I found:

Im not sure who was more excited about what was in the box, my kids or me. I told my kids that they could decorate their own Christmas mugs and they wanted to get started right away. They were disappointed that when I told them they had to wait til December to make theirs. Ok, so there are endless possibilities to the things that you could make with what was in the box, but I decided to keep it simple and stick to my original plan.

Step 1: Clean off the surface that you will be painting on. I used alcohol as the products recommended.

Step 2: Place the letter stencils in place where you want them.

Step 3: Run a line of paint across the top of the letters and use a glass paint squeegee to drag the paint down.

Step 4: Choose an embellishment and place it on. I used a paint dauber to apply the paint for these.

I found these stencils very easy to work with and the paint was very forgiving. When I found smudges and bleeding, I took a toothpick and was able to clean it up easily. I had used a more fancy font on a different mug and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, so I left it until the next day. I decided I didn't like it so I took a spatula and was able to scrape it off easily and start over. 

Step 5: Let the paint dry over night and then bake it in the oven for 30 min on 350. This will keep the paint from chipping off.

I made 7 mugs and I love how they have turned out! I love this little reindeer that I used on Brandon's mug. I plan to make more for my kid's teacher gifts and for friends.

These are fun gifts to give out and you can put anything inside such as candy, hot chocolate, and maybe a little gift card.... so many options!

These were such fun and easy products to use. I was very impressed with their quality. My favorite product was the adhesive stencils, it was easy to use on the mugs to help them stay in place. 

I can not wait to make more crafts with the Martha Stewart products that I received! Marie is gonna fly out and spend a weekend with me to see what we can come up with together! 

What would you make with these products?

-chelz

If you want to find out more about Martha Stewart Crafts and Plaid be sure to follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

I received product and payment via The Blueprint Social (www.theblueprintsocial.com) for this post, however, opinions are 100% my own.

Linked to: Fingerprints on the fridge