Reading Pledge Update & Day #2 of CHA Madness

I'm more than happy to report my continued progress on my Reading Pledge.  I'm finally on Book #8 and am reading this little gem.  I'm not gonna lie - I bought this book mostly because of the title.  I'm on page 80 and there's been absolutely no mention of cake which might be the whole point of the title - who knows.  I love the author's writing style.  She's hysterical.  I also am completely enamored by the random musings her life - it feels like life art in another form.  Usually I'm a fiction girl through and through - but Anne Lamott has been blowing my world for the last five or more years with her personal essays on life and faith.  Anne is the only reason I picked up a book of essays.  I'm not disappointed with that choice in the least.

Before I move on to CHA Goodness - I want to say a few words about The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.  I loved this book.  I wanted to give five quick reasons I loved this book - in list form of course.

1.  The title - The Sugar Queen.  My good friend recognized the overwhelming theme of food in my book choices for this reading pledge.

2.  The chapter titles are the names of all kinds of sweet treats.

3.  The main character has a closet full of lovely contraband - sweets and magazines.  This is definitely my kind of girl.

4.  Another character is a book lover and they appear to her in all kinds of situations.  At one point she says she hasn't bought a book since she was 12 and I knew at that moment - I will love this book always.

5.  It's fun.  It's sweet.  It's magical...and I blew through it in one day.  Gotta love that.

I highly recommend checking this book out if you like magical realism, solid characters, and fun.  Now...on to the CHA Goodness.

Cosmo Cricket

Clementine: Source

Just a few notes - I absolutely love the color story for the Clementine line.  I'm loving the greens and pinks.  Here are my two favorite paper picks for this line.

Crate Paper

Farmhouse Collection

Love this line so much.  Had a hard time picking favorites so there's quite a few.  One big thing I've learned with Crate Paper is to see the items in the store before I make any purchases - the texture of the paper is amazing and the colors are great.

  

Random Collection: Source

Loving this line.  Loving the colors.  Not much to say except I love it - with a blue and pink bird was there ever any question?  Here are a few faves...

Echo Park Paper

Happy Days: Source

I love the happy colors and vintage feel.  It's just too fun.  I think in some ways it's a departure from where my pages have been moving but color is a good friend of mine.  I need it in brighter values.  Here are a few faves...

So that's it for today - a little bit of reading and a lot of product goodness.  I hope this Tuesday finds you well.  I'm still fighting this infection - glad I'm house bound during a heat wave.  It's one of the best times to be under the weather in my humble opinion.  Take care.  Until then...