Leapin' Year

An extra day every four years feels like a sweet little bonus. I used my 24 hours on February 29 as an opportunity to revamp our living space. It always amazes me what 10+ hours and a can of white paint can do to a room. To keep things simple, we used the same color as in our bedrooms two summers ago and the amount worked out perfectly - I didn't even have to make an extra trip to the paint store :)

Perhaps even more significant than freshend up walls, after seven years of marriage, we purchased our first couch! Ten inches longer than our former loveseat, we can now fully stretch out comfortably. Ebony would likely be content on any couch, but I think we all agree - this was a good choice! White walls with a toddler on the otherhand...time will tell. 

Bright & airy,

- SJW

February Featue: @katesbookparade | Book Reviewer

I wanted to squeeze in one final February Feature for the year, topping things off with a fun Instagram handle called @katesbookparade. A gal I know threw together a little side project for her personal enjoyment, sharing and rating the books she's read. This outlet of hers has since exploded, gaining 3,000 followers from the bookstagram world in just a few months. And I can't blame them!

Instagram

Her opening post reads....

Hi, friend! You've stumbled into a space full of love letters (and sometimes hate mail) to the books that I, Kate - a tall, snarky, noisy ex-librarian - am currently reading. While this space is mostly used to flex a few creative muscles and catalog thoughts on books devoured (because, honestly, Goodreads never did it for me), if you decide to tag along with me I hereby promise you will be met only with honesty, color, and lots and lots of silliness. If you love words and scribbles and having very strong opinions of things you know very little about, we are made for each other! Come join the parade. 

Her book reviews provide the perfect tease. They contain enough detail and context to let you know if this is a good pick for you, while being sly and offhanded enough as to not give too much away. She crafts her humor, passion, and literary observations into a witty reflection that will leave you pleased to have read her thoughts, if not the book itself. The fun visual approach with her beautiful penmanship rounds out the experience, leaving you with favorite verses, number of stars, and usually a bullet list for quick reference. She tipped the scales for me to read Save the Plums, and The Starless Sea is a new addition on my holds list.

Marching bands, floats, and balloons,

- SJW