Category: ‘B’ for Books

Up North, and the New NOOK

This post is brought to you by CJ Affiliate’s VIP Content Service. Thank you Barnes & Noble for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Barnes & Noble, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

The newest Barnes & Noble NOOK 7″ Tablet just launched, and it’s their most affordable NOOK yet at $49.99. We received one a little early to test out, so we took it up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin with us over Thanksgiving.

We all gathered for Thanksgiving dinner and did plenty of sledding and playing in the snow while we were up there, but we also relaxed and read a lot. I got started with our NOOK by adding a few books for each of us from the NOOK store. The tablet is Android-powered with full access to the Google Play Store, so I added some of the kids’ favorite apps too. Eleanor’s current obsession is horses and she has been making an e-book about them. She even figured out how to add audio and narrated each page! I have two favorite excerpts: “horses are beautiful and nice and strong and helpful and they like you too,” and “woohoo woohoo go horses!!”

We packed light and each kid could bring two toys and one book. We were gone for four days though, so it was pretty handy to have the NOOK with more books for everyone when we wanted to read something else. Brandon and I had our titles on it too, saving a lot of room in our bags. The tablet has all kinds of features (front and rear-facing cameras, a 7″ LCD screen, expandable storage from 8 GB up to an additional 128 GB, and more), but it’s still nice and lightweight — super easy to pack or just slip in my purse.

The feature I appreciate most is that you can create up to 6 individual profiles. I can hand the NOOK to one of my kids and not worry that they’re accidentally going to get into my email or delete something that I need. Plus it’s easier for each of us to find what we’re looking for; nobody has to scroll through a bunch of books or apps that are on there for someone else.

(Are you loving my Northwoods props? Mr. Raccoon is such a help when I need to stand something up.)

The new NOOK would be a great gift for readers, and I love it as a tablet for the kids. It’s available now at Barnes & Noble.

December 5, 2016
Design Books to Pick Up Now
Oh, fall. The time of year that all the best design books come out and I want them all! These are tops on my list right now.
- Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Style
  Mark D. Sikes, photographed by Amy Neunsinger
  His take on traditional decorating is fresh and unpretentious and I cannot wait to dig into this one.
- John Derian Picture Book
  John Derian
  The original, unaltered images that he pulls from. Yeesssss.
- In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs
  Grace Bonney
  A creative and inspiring group of women have been included in this book and I’m eager to hear what they have to say.
- The Finer Things: Timeless Furniture, Textiles, and Details
  Chritiane Lemieux
  A primer on recognizing quality and investing in things that will endure.
- Ladies Drawing Night: Make Art, Get Inspired, Join the Party
  Julia Rothman, Leah Goren, and Rachael Cole, photographed by Kate Edwards
  Because this sounds like the best kind of night!
- Living with Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print at Home
  Rebecca Atwood
  I’m a big fan of Atwood’s prints, and her eye for pattern in interiors is fantastic.
- Domino: Your Guide to a Stylish Home
  Editors of Domino
  Their first book all those years ago was so good. Time for a companion piece!
- The Perfect Bath
  Barbara Sallick
  As the co-founder of Waterworks, she should know. Teach me your ways…
- Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces
  Michelle Slatalla
  For all my next-year-big-garden-dreams.
September 21, 2016
On My Nightstand

This is not a clever new title for a post about which books are metaphorically on my bedside table. No, it is literally the stack of books and other things that I have been making my way through lately. Like a “what’s in your bag?” post, but heavier! Unstyled for authenticity (though I did take the picture this morning, as opposed to last night when I actually wrote this).

Let’s dive in, shall we? Very brief summaries ahead.

The Humorous Memoirs

Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling
Her first book was a collection of things that had happened to her, but this is more of a peek into why she thinks the way she does. A brilliant, funny, and inspiring read.

Furiously Happy, Jenny Lawson
We’re all a little weird and wonderful, Jenny perhaps more so than most (and that’s why we all love her).

The Magazines

One Kings Lane: Style Your Season
Impulse buy at the checkout. “One Kings Lane made a magazine? Is this a regular thing? Buying that.” A pricey impulse buy ($14 for a magazine), but I was curious. It is the new Domino model (create a magazine to drive sales to the shop) in reverse. With a holiday twist!

House Beautiful
I subscribe, and this is the magazine I most look forward to every month.

Martha Stewart Living
Another subscription, another I always look forward to. Martha, my love.

The Decorating Books

Pink, Lisa Cregan for House Beautiful
Well of course I bought this. (The author, Lisa Cregan, wrote a piece on me ages ago for Chicago Tribune Magazine! To this day, I think it’s the only bit of press I’ve received that my dad is aware of.)

Styled, Emily Henderson
There is decorating info to be gleaned from the book and the photos are beautiful, but the core of the book truly is about how to style (especially for photos) vs. how to decorate or design a space.
I suppose it should be noted that I did not use Emily’s tips to style the photo for this post. If I had, you would have noticed smaller, neater stacks, a color story, and perhaps a throw placed just so. Also real flowers. And a plant. And some ceramic bells on the wall.

Habitat, Lauren Liess
Whereas Styled is about the finishing touches, this is about the substance and planning that goes into a successful room. The field guide approach is smart, and this has been the best read of the decorating bunch.

Beekman 1802 Style, Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Photos are pulled from the Country Living archives, making this a sort of highly edited Pinterest board (albeit from a single source) come to life. That said, the photos and point of view are fantastic and I love their take on historical homes and new country style.

Modern Mix, Eddie Ross
Inventive layouts and photo spreads (pulled straight from the Martha Stewart Living handbook it would seem), with useful and inventive ideas for rescuing and repurposing finds you may have otherwise overlooked.

Absolutely Beautiful Things, Anna Spiro
A riot of color and fun, and of course, absolutely beautiful things.

The Board Books

Daddy Loves Me, DK
This would be creepy if it were there for me.

Pajama Time, Sandra Boynton
Some are pink and some are green. Some are the ugliest you’ve ever seen.

The Extras

Fake flowers that are so fake it makes me smile (those peonies are the size of my baby’s head!) and a brass lamp. An alarm clock, an iPhone, a toy iPhone, a dimmer switch, and Nintendo 3DS with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. Glass water bottle with a small motivational quote below the heart (“it’d be really nice if you had your shit together a little more.”), Rosebud Salve, two pairs of glasses, and my daughter’s hair tie. Missing: the usual assortment of Star Wars guys that somehow make their way over here.

November 5, 2015
Design Mom’s Book and Book Tour (Hey, Chicago!)

Gabrielle Blair, of Design Mom, is coming to Chicago tomorrow, for the next stop on her book tour. I’ll be helping her host a DIY session at the Lincoln Park Pottery Barn, making the You Are Special Today plates from the book. You can sign up for one of the craft spots, or just come down to meet Gabrielle and pick up a copy of her book to be signed from 6-8 o’clock!

The book is amazing. Here’s a little peek inside at some of my favorite parts.

I’m so glad Gabrielle’s coming to town and I hope to see a bunch of you at the event tomorrow night. If you haven’t met her before, you’re in for a treat!

May 4, 2015
Adopt an Idea from ‘The New Bohemians’

The New Bohemians by Justina Blakeney, of The Jungalow, just went on sale today and I’m helping kick off her blogger book tour! The book features photos by Dabito of twenty homes divided into sub-styles like The Modern, Romantic, or Maximal Bohemian, with DIY projects at the end of each section. The images are gorgeous and fun to flip through, but you can also dive deeper to get an idea of who lives in each home and see how they embody bohemian style in various ways.

I like to revisit my favorite interior design books over and over, because I get something different out of them each time. I could be looking for layouts, color combinations, or certain pieces of furniture, and with a specific search in mind, I often pick up on things I may have not have noticed the first (or fifth!) time around. That’s why I love the “Adopt an Idea” section at the end of each home tour in The New Bohemians; Justina highlights a few interesting ideas that you may have missed otherwise. Here are a few of my favorites…

Paint it Black

Erica’s dressers are all glossy and black. If you have an old dresser that needs a little love, paint in black. Add brass hardware for shine and let it patina.

Adopt an Idea from the home of Erica Tanov & Steven Emerson, p. 217 (pictured above)

Window Win

It can be tough to know how to decorate around a low window, so when in doubt, add plants! Plant an indoor garden on a low bench: The plants will get the light they need, but you’ll still benefit from the light, too.

Adopt an Idea from the home of Anne Parker & Alea Joy, p.77

Shape Up

Paint a shape, for instance a blue rectangle, on the wall and hang a shelf painted to match. The result is an instant art installation where you can store and display your favorite objects.

Adopt an Idea from the home of Justina Blakeney & Jason Rosencrantz, p. 289

Create a Wall

If you’re short on wall space, float your bed in the center of the room and use the headboard as an additional wall. Then use space behind the bed to maximize storage.

Adopt an Idea from the home of Marika Wagle, p. 49 (pictured below)

There are three or four design tips for each featured home in the book, and of course plenty of other information shared throughout, so the above examples are just a fraction of what’s inside. The New Bohemians is available now, and you can check Justina’s book tour to see who else will be featuring more from the book each day.

April 14, 2015
What We’re Reading Right Now
This post is sponsored by Oyster.

Our family likes books, you might say. I started working in an independent bookstore in 1998, and met Brandon when he was hired a year later (and we both stayed on until 2004 — the same year we were married). The kids have tons of books in their rooms, and we installed floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to hold (most of) our collection in the front parlor of our Victorian after having made a library of our second floor landing in our first house. Yeah, we kinda like reading.

Brandon switched over to digital books a few years before I did, and now we both read like a mix of traditional and e-books. I use an iPad or sometimes my iPhone, and Brandon reads a Kindle. We were recently introduced to Oyster, which has been described as “Netflix for books,” and it’s pretty awesome. It works on both of our operating systems (and Android, too), and there are several display settings to choose from, letting you customize the look. You get unlimited access to over half a million books for $9.95 a month, and they have everything from classics to new releases (with new titles being added all the time). The best part is that the app makes it easy to find new books through their collections by genre, and it even learns what you like and makes recommendations based on your tastes and activity.

Oyster is offering a 30-day free trial right now and you can browse their popular titles to find some good new books, but I thought it would be fun to put together a reading list with picks from both Brandon and me. Summer’s winding down, but I’m still sort of in that light and fun frame of mind when choosing what to read right now, so my list reflects that. I’m guessing by Brandon’s list that he’s in the ‘end of the world apocalypse’ frame of mind, but you know, to each their own.

Summer Reads

If you’re still looking for something quick and easy to pick up, these are some good options.
Guilty Pleasures

I re-read a couple of these recently, and oh man. They are ridiculous, in the best way.
My To-Read List

We all have that list of books that we’ve been meaning to get to, right? These are a few of mine.
Brandon’s Picks

Brandon assures me that A Confederacy of Dunces comes together in the end, but I only made it halfway before I gave up on it in favor of something else. (I’m sure I’m wrong and in the minority here, seeing as it’s a Pullitzer Prize winner and all.)
Oyster is offering a free 30-day trial for my readers, so you can try it out for yourself. I have a bunch of other titles that I’m eager to read (I narrowed it down to just three here!), but I’d love a few suggestions too. I’ll add them to my reading list!
August 7, 2014