Some eye candy for your weekend.

Jessica Claire, a photographer down in Orange County and who I’ve been following for a couple of years, just got married. She has a thing for locks, so her save-the-dates had a key motif, and her invitations? Well, I’ll just let you see those for yourself. You can find her full blog post here, and all images are courtesy of her.

And the invitations…

I loved loved loved my invitations, but these are making me wish I could go back and redo mine.

These next ones are from Zenadia Designs:

This really takes the cake. “The story of Nikki & Nick.”

I first saw these on lit*chick’s tumblr account:

After seeing all this bookish stuff, I wish I was newly engaged (to the same guy) and a librarian.

A few months ago, Chartroose from Bloody Hell, it’s a Book Barrage! came out of hibernation long enough to triple dog dare a few of her blogging buddies to a horrible dare.

How she knew it would be torturous for me to watch Sex & the City, I have no idea. But that’s what she dared me to do: watch the first season of Sex & the City.

It.

Was.

Torturous.

Fortunately, I had a friend who was all, I’ll do that with you! I jumped at that chance since she has a new baby, so I could sandwich terrible episodes of Sex & the City between hanging with my friend and holding le bebe.

Seriously, who enjoys Sex & the City? Is it the crassness that’s so great?

Is it the anorexic-ly thin Carrie Bradshaw?

Is it how truly unattractive Sarah Jessica Parker is?

Is it the fact that Carrie is a complete whackjob, and she and all her friends go through guys like it’s impossible to get sexually transmitted diseases?

Is it the fact that Carrie practically chain smokes?

Is it the fact that they all come off as pathetic and sad (except for Charlotte — I do like her) as they hump their way through New York City men?

Is it the fact that Carrie doesn’t know how to use a bra, so we are always having to see her nipples?

What is so great about this show? Please explain this to me, because I obviously don’t get it.

Don’t forget that Nicole from Linus’s Blanket is interviewing me tonight on Blog Talk Radio. You DO need to register with Blog Talk Radio in order to be in on the shenanigans, but it will be worth it, I promise. Here’s the deets, all nice and big and bold:

WHAT: Nicole from Linus’s Blanket is interviewing me

WHERE: On Blog Talk Radio. Don’t forget to register!

WHEN: TONIGHT, October 27, 2009 at 6pm PST/9pm EST

WHY: Because we have so much fun together. And because Nicole is awesome. And because she has scoured my blog for some dirt to bring up, and frankly, I’m a little scared at what she may have found. Believe me, there’s a reason my Archives are called “Cringe Worthy”.

Also? We’ll be discussing The Story of a Marriage  by Andrew Sean Greer. So even if I bore you, you should tune in for our spoilery discussion.

Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney is a novella following 15-year-old Heath and his father, Junior, after they find out that Junior’s father, Senior, passed away and has left his son an inheritance. Heath and his father haven’t gotten along since his mother left, and things are even worse right now since Heath was caught cheating on a test (he wasn’t really cheating but his dad doesn’t believe him).

This inheritance comes with a few strings attached. First, Junior and Heath must move in to the bed & breakfast Senior has started. Second, Junior must help with the chores. Third, Junior actually has to be nice to the people living there. This might be easy for most, but Junior’s been pissy ever since his wife left, and he’s especially angry at his father for things that happened many years ago.

There’s quite the cast of characters living at this B&B:

• Winstead, an old Jamaican man who takes Heath under his wing;
• Mustang Sally, a big guy with tattoos all over his body, who has a love of cars and children;
• Mrs. Farrel, an elderly lady who is slowly giving away her husband’s fortune to people he cheated; and
• Carter, the middle aged guy who watches lots of TV and has a couple of secrets of his own.

Thanksgiving at the Inn is a very sweet book told in third person from Heath’s point of view. The reader feels Heath’s frustration as he tries to connect with his dad but is met with sarcasm and irritability. Heath finds friends and mentors in the people living at the B&B, and a chance encounter at some railroad tracks leads him to befriending a young autistic girl.

Lots of issues are covered in this book, such as alcoholism, autism, dyslexia, parent-child relationships, family, friends, and secrets, but most issues are covered superficially. I felt like I was reading what will soon be a made-for-TV Lifetime movie. You know the kind: there’s a heartstring-pulling plot, the requisite flawed characters, the naively hopeful person about the flawed characters, and then the LOOK! It’s all better! ending. And of course I cry at those movies, it’s not like I won’t watch them, it’s just that I prefer books that go into more depth on issues this book tried to tackle.

With that said, I’ve got a few people in mind who I’ll be passing this book along to, who I know will love it!

Rating: 75 out of 100

Other reviews that liked this book more than me:

Cafe of Dreams (gave it 5/5)

Cindy’s Love of Books

Galleysmith

Melody’s Reading Corner

Life in the Thumb

A Reader’s Journal

Book source: I got this book from the fantastic folks at Bancroft Press.

And one more thing? If you click on one of the Thanksgiving at the Inn links and buy something from Amazon, I’ll make a commission! Mwahahahaha!! Maybe with the pennies I make I’ll be able to call someone who cares.

You can thank the FTC for this disclosure!

Hey everyone! I hope you’re all having fun reading. I’m busy working on the back end of the read-a-thon, making sure everything runs smoothly, so while I’m not reading right now, I WILL be reading later!

Welcome to this hour’s mini-challenge! I thought it would be fun to see where in the world all of the readers are! Even better? Pinpointing ourselves on a map!

I’ve set up a Google Map so we can do this. This map is NOT public, which means it won’t be brought up in a search engine. The only way you can find the map is by having the link. However, this blog IS public and searchable, so it’s possible that someone could stumble across this. However (again), you won’t be entering your actual street address; you’ll just pinpoint your city. I know some people are concerned with privacy and won’t want to pinpoint their location. That’s okay! You could also pick a very close city if you don’t want to get too specific or if you live in a small town.

To enter this mini-challenge, you’ll need to do two things:

1. Go to this link and enter in your location (use either your blog name or your first name or whatever name people know you by online).

a. You’ll need to be signed in to your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account, you can sign up here. You won’t need a gmail account to sign up. You can use any email for “Your current email address.”

b. If you click the link and it doesn’t have other pins in it, check the bottom of left-hand sidebar.

c. Zoom, click and drag as needed to get a closeup on your city.

d. Then, click Edit, at the top on the left.

e. Grab and place your pin, and label it appropriately, with your name and URL, for instance.

f. Click OK, then click Done on the left side (after it has saved).

2. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you pinpointed your location. It is from the comments that I will choose a winner.

The winner will receive a $25 gift card to the bookstore of their choice. This mini-challenge will end after 2 hours, at 9:59am PST.