Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn Dingman

Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn Dingman is the fictional debut from the author. This is a story about a woman who goes on a journey to discover secrets of the past and how to confront one’s future.

Book Description

“A heartfelt fiction debut that will appeal to fans of Emily Giffin’s Southern charm and Jennifer Weiner’s compelling, emotionally resonant novels about the frustrations of blood ties, Cancel the Wedding follows one woman’s journey to discover the secrets of her mother’s hidden past—and confront her own uncertain future.

On the surface, Olivia has it all: a high-powered career, a loving family, and a handsome fiancé. She even seems to be coming to terms with her mother Jane’s premature death from cancer. But when Jane’s final wish is revealed, Olivia and her elder sister Georgia are mystified. Their mother rarely spoke of her rural Southern hometown, and never went back to visit—so why does she want them to return to Huntley, Georgia, to scatter her ashes?

Jane’s request offers Olivia a temporary escape from the reality she’s long been denying: she hates her “dream” job, and she’s not really sure she wants to marry her groom-to-be. With her 14-year-old niece, Logan, riding shotgun, she heads South on a summer road trip looking for answers about her mother.

As Olivia gets to know the town’s inhabitants, she begins to peel back the secrets of her mother’s early life—truths that force her to finally question her own future. But when Olivia is confronted with a tragedy and finds an opportunity to right a terrible wrong, will it give her the courage to accept her mother’s past—and say yes to her own desire to start over?” – Cancel the Wedding

My Thoughts

Cancel the Wedding is an easy to read novel that has likeable characters that I wanted to know the outcome of. The main character, Olivia, seems to have it all together, but anyone who seems the perfect on the outside rarely is ever holding it all together that well inside, right? Much like the story, more is under the surface than meets the eye, and this book takes you on a journey with her uncovering more about her family and herself than she ever would have thought.

Overall, I really liked the flow of the book, and the story was fun without being too cliché. If you are looking for a good book to read over the weekend or pack on a trip, this is definitely a good option! I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Cancel the Wedding, Harper, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee

The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee is a fun business book for those who think more in a “right-brain” way. If you are creative and just unsure how to do the actual planning and business aspects of all of your grand ideas, this is definitely a book you need to read!

Book Description

“Turn Passionate Ideas into Profitable Enterprises

Do you dream of making a living doing what you love but find the process of creating a viable business plan like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole? Jennifer Lee knows what it’s like to make the entrepreneurial leap — and how to do it successfully. The key is using, rather than stifling, imagination and intuition. Lee’s illustrated, colorful worksheets and step-by-step instructions are playful yet practical, transforming drudgery into joy. They’ll enable you to define your vision and nail down plans for funding, marketing, networking, and long-term strategy.

Discover how to:

• Develop a financial plan with fun and flair
• Select your circle of support to get the work done
• Clarify your business values and goals
• Paint a picture of your business landscape
• Understand your competition and what makes you stand out from the crowd
• Identify your perfect customers and create a marketing plan to reach them
• Map out concrete action steps to bring your Right-Brain Business Plan to life” – The Right-Brain Business Plan

My Thoughts

The Right-Brain Business Plan is a dare I say it, FUN way to go about starting or working your business? It is truly written for a right-brain person who is creative and has a lot of great ideas, but sometimes get lost in the actual process of day to day business operations.

The author writes in a way that seems more like you are learning from her in person rather than reading a book, which is helpful and makes you want to keep reading a book about business, right? She also offers a lot of very helpful ideas and examples of things you can do to improve your business, no matter what business it is that you are in.

I highly recommend this book and also the author’s “Building Your Business the Right-Brain Way” for anyone who is starting a business, who already has a business, or anyone who is a right-brain person that wants to make some money from a hobby they enjoy doing.

* Thank you to the publisher of The Right-Brain Business Plan, New World Library, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Season of the Dragonflies by Sarah Creech

Season of the Dragonflies is the debut novel by Sarah Creech that takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has magical elements and is a story of sisters, family, and how even those with special gifts don’t always foresee things happening in their own lives.

Book Description

“As beguiling as the novels of Alice Hoffman, Adriana Trigiani, Aimee Bender, and Sarah Addison Allen,Season of the Dragonflies is a story of flowers, sisters, practical magic, old secrets, and new love, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

For generations, the Lenore women have manufactured a perfume unlike any other, and guarded the unique and mysterious ingredients. Their perfumery, hidden in the quiet rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, creates one special elixir that secretly sells for millions of dollars to the world’s most powerful—movie stars, politicians, artists, and CEOs. The Lenore’s signature perfume is actually the key to their success.

Willow, the coolly elegant Lenore family matriarch, is the brains behind the company. Her gorgeous, golden-haired daughter Mya is its heart. Like her foremothers, she can “read” scents and envision their power. Willow’s younger daughter, dark-haired, soulful Lucia, claims no magical touch, nor does she want any part of the family business. She left the mountains years ago to make her own way. But trouble is brewing. Willow is experiencing strange spells of forgetfulness. Mya is plotting a coup. A client is threatening blackmail. And most ominously, the unique flowers used in their perfume are dying.

Whoever can save the company will inherit it. Though Mya is the obvious choice, Lucia has begun showing signs of her own special abilities. And her return to the mountains—heralded by a swarm of blue dragonflies—may be the answer they all need.” – Season of the Dragonflies

My Thoughts

Season of the Dragonflies is a good read. It offers a rather interesting storyline and the characters are fitting for the story. However, I didn’t exactly like any of them, which makes it hard as a reader to care much about the outcome of the story. The Lenore women all seemed a bit boring to me, and only Lucia really stood out to me at all, and it wasn’t that much.

I didn’t hate the book by any means. I just didn’t love it, and I really wanted to because it seemed like such a cool idea for a book! Maybe I came in with too high of expectations, because after I read it, my Mom read it, and absolutely loved it. So, don’t just go off of my review on it.

Overall, this is a good debut novel. It offers the reader a fun escape as a good travel or vacation book. It offers a magical realism that I enjoyed, but it was not quite on par with other similar books I have read. I think that as the author grows as a writer, her works will reach that level, so she is definitely one I’d like to read more from in the future.

* Thank you to the publisher of Season of the Dragonflies, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Paint & Praise

I was actually able to do something fun and creative last night! I went to my first Paint and Praise class that a local church offers, and I really enjoyed it! I also quite liked the church and ladies who went, so I may just start going back to church again. I’ve been wanting to find one that I liked, and this may be it! 

Publix Flavor Excursion Sales Event

My family and I love homemade Mexican inspired meals. Not only are most of the ingredients gluten-free (which is a mandatory deal for one of us), they are also delicious and don’t break the bank when it comes to meal planning.

I love, love, love chicken quesadillas. I just have to be sure to get the corn flour ones (they are a little bit smaller, but I cannot eat the larger “flour” ones made from wheat). I also enjoy homemade tacos with chicken, ground beef, or ground turkey. Leftover meat is also saved and thrown on some nachos for the next day, and all of it is…. gluten free! I love it!

Need some inspiration? Check this out….

Publix Flavor Excursion Sales Event

In-Store Savings

Coupons available in-store, look for the Flavor Excursion display with products at your local Publix. Display will be available in most stores between 9/11 and 9/24. Savings available with coupons:

·         Make Spicy Roasted Soft Vegetable Tacos and save! Save $2 off Produce (minimum $2 purchase) when you buy Any Four (4) participating products*. Participating products: Old El Paso™ Seasoning Mixes, Enchilada Sauce, Refried Beans, Taco Shells, Ro*Tel® (10oz or larger), Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes (14.5oz or larger), KRAFT Natural Shredded Cheese (6-8oz

·         You can also save on an Italian inspired recipe, Sautéed Italian Chicken and Beans! Save $2 off Publix® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts when you buy Any Four (4) participating products. Participating products: Progresso™ Bread Crumbs, 100% Natural Broths, Beans,KRAFT Salad Dressing (16oz), Natural Shredded Cheese (6-8oz), Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes (14.5oz or larger).

Coupons available in-store, look for the Flavor Excursion recipe and coupon standee display at your local Publix. Display will be available in most stores between 9/11 and 9/24. Savings available with coupons:

·         Save $1.00 off Any Five (5) Ro*Tel® Tomatoes (10oz)

·         Save $2.00 off Any Two (2) KRAFT Natural Chunk Cheese 7-8 oz

·         Save $1.00 off Any Five (5) Hunt’s® Tomatoes 14.5oz

·         Save $1.00 off Any One (1) Bisquick™ 40oz

·         Save $1.00 off Any One (1) Old El Paso™ Frozen Entrée

·         Save $2.00 off Any Two (2) KRAFT Natural Shredded Cheese 6-8oz

Looking for a new twist on dessert? Try another Flavor Excursion recipe, Crème Brulèe Cheesecake Bars. Find the recipe and a $1.50 off any two Betty Crocker pouch Cookie Mixes coupon on the Betty Crocker display in-store.

Plus… find these items on sale this week. No coupon necessary, available at Publix:

·         Green Giant Frozen Bag Steamers 11-12oz on BOGO

·         Pillsbury Crescents and Pizza 3 for $6

Printable Coupons

Want more savings to make your favorite Flavor Excursion recipes? Visithttp://readyplansave.com/flavor-excursion/additional-savings to print your coupons. Available while supplies last.

·         Save $1 when you buy FOUR Progresso™ products

·         Save $1 when you buy THREE Old El Paso™ products

·         Save 75¢ when you buy ONE BOX Old El Paso® Bold Nacho Cheese Flavored Stand 'N Stuff® Taco Shells OR Dinner Kit

·         Save $0.50 when you buy ONE 20 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick® OR Bisquick Heart Smart® Baking Mix

·         Save $0.60 when you buy THREE any variety Green Giant® Seasoned Steamers™ or Valley Fresh Steamers® Frozen Vegetables.

·         Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls

·         Save $0.40 when you buy THREE CANS any size/variety Pillsbury® Refrigerated Grands!® or Grands! Jr.® Biscuits

·         Save $1 when you buy any flavor or variety of Old el Paso™ Froze Entrees

Digital Coupons

Visit, https://publix.couponselectionpage.com/offers/all, to find and instantly select digital coupons. Including the following from ConAgra. Available while supplies last.

·         Save $0.40 off any TWO (2) ROTEL® products

·         Save $1 on any FOUR (4) Chef Boyardee® canned pasta or microwave cup

·         Save $1 on any ONE (1) Orville Redenbacher’s® Gourmet® Popping Corn (6-pk or larger)

·         Save $0.50 on any ONE (1) Super Snack Pack® 6 pack

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op.

Become an Earth Angel by Sonja Grace

Become an Earth Angel by Sonja Grace is a beautifully shared book of knowledge the author has given for those who wish to read it. In this book, she shares with us her experiences as working as a healer and gives tips for those who want to also do the same.

Book Description

“In Earth Angel: A Guide to Finding Your Wings, Sonja Grace brings an entirely new perspective to the angel genre. She has been traveling and working in the angelic realm for over 30 years is dedicated to Divine love and is an Earth Angel. Our planet has moved into the fifth dimension and we are about to witness a new order of earth angels. Hundreds of thousands of people are beginning to feel a calling to their spiritual light. Yet, some feel misunderstood, different and in many cases extremely sensitive and intuitive about people and events. Sonja Grace was destined to write Earth Angel: A Guide to Finding Your Wings to assist those emerging souls who are searching for answers and hoping to discover their path of service and their spiritual connection to the divine.

Through her own extraordinary case studies, Sonja Grace reveals what it is like to do the work of an earth angel and how she has used her gifts to locate missing people, conduct long distance healing and council a myriad of international clients. Readers are taken on a journey into the angelic realms.” – Become an Earth Angel

My Thoughts

Become an Earth Angel is a fabulous little book. If anyone wants to help others with healing or serving them, this should be read. It doesn’t discriminate on religion or spiritual beliefs, and just truly wants to bring about the most uplifting message of all to help others. Some of the information included in it, may not be for you – but the overall message is what matters the most. If you are open to receiving it, then this book can truly help you to navigate to your greater purpose of being an Earth Angel. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about angels, spirituality, different dimensions, and healing.

* Thank you to the publisher of Become an Earth Angel, Findhorn Press, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.