Okay, I actually have a few books for you this month. Part of it is because some hold requests I had at the library came due, and I had two weeks to read the books. One of them (The Magnolia Story) had a waiting list of something like 90+ people when I got on it, and it took several months to work my way up the line, so I didn't want to miss it.

Anyway. If you're looking for a good read for the beach, pool, or park, try one of these.

xoxo,
E

My inaugural PowerSheets month is coming to a close, so today I'm giving you a brief look into my thoughts on my first attempt, as well as a sneak peek into my June goals.

Our dear friends Travis and Erin got us hooked on Mother Earth Produce. It's a delivery service in the Upstate of South Carolina and Western North Carolina (Asheville area), similar to a CSA, except, in our opinion, much more flexible. There are three different bin sizes, you can customize your weekly bin, you can skip bins if you're going to be out of town, and you can get bins year-round.

Drumroll, please!

The book is going to Megan Payne...aka, my sister-in-law! I'm kind of glad she won, because this will give her something to do while she's busy growing my sweet niece or nephew. :)

Congrats, Meg! Since I already know your address, I've sent it to Gallery Books, and they'll be shipping you your own copy of The Simplicity of Cider. For those who didn't win, I still highly encourage you to buy and read the book!

Thanks to all who entered!

xoxo,
E

I've never actually been to Wisconsin, having grown up in the southeast, but after reading The Simplicity of Cider, by Amy E. Reichert, now I kind of want to go.

I'm low-key obsessed with the cookbook SugarDetoxMe, by Summer Rayne Oakes. All the recipes are nutritionist-approved, and they're divided into "meal maps." Oakes gives you a list of produce to buy at the beginning of the week, and each map has between 14-21 servings using all the ingredients. No waste. No fuss.

Like I said, I'm obsessed.

Um, you might notice there wasn't a books on tap last month. There was an author on tap, and it was a godsend I had that opportunity, because, well, I didn't really finish an entire book the month of April.

Yes, I still have a pulse. I am not in the Greenville County morgue. I've just been busy...doing some creative writing. And when I write the way I have been lately, I can't make myself focus on a novel. I can't let myself be distracted by another writer's voice. As B succinctly put it, "You're in output mode, not intake."

Leave it to the engineer to get straight to the point. 

It's been exactly six months since I raided the candy jar at my office. Six months since I've had pizza or sushi. Six months of taking sole twice a day, recording what I eat and when I eat it, and having to remember to eat every few hours. Six months of having people look at me, concerned, when I pull out my pill case of supplements, like at Thanksgiving when my cousin-in-law looked at me and asked, "Are you dying?"
 
But you want to know the crazy thing? It hasn't been that bad.