Pages of Penrose Review: The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger

I am so excited about this book review!  This is a somewhat long book, but mainly because it is written entirely as correspondence between the characters.  I had the perfect opportunity for long hours by myself to finish up this book over the weekend...

What you don't see in this photo of the Detroit airport is that it was -4 degrees outside! There were about 15 birds flying around inside the concourse because it was too cold for them outside!  I cozied up near a window view of snow falling...

Flights, layovers, a Gingerbread Tea Latte, and a great book...I also may have repeated this exact moment on the way home, those darn lattes are just so good ;)

I was surprised to learn that this was Susan Rieger's debut novel.  I found the characters of The Divorce Papers witty, intelligent, and the plot of the story curiously exciting.  As I mentioned before, the book is written entirely as correspondence, made up of inter-office memos, letters to the other law firm, invitations, personal notes, and emails.  I really liked this aspect of the book, and thought that it added to the interest of the book.  Unlike a typical novel, I felt myself keep turning the pages because I could not wait to see what happened next, not just turning pages trying to end at the start of a new chapter.

Although I have an entirely different career and family than Sophie Diehl, a bright, young lawyer who typically works on criminal cases, I found moments of her life easy to relate to.  Trying to make a name for herself as a young professional, the playful exchanges with her best friend, complicated relationships with her parents, clients, love interests.  These are all things that many 20-somethings either deal with, or have a friend dealing with, on a regular basis.

Rieger did a wonderful job developing the characters, playing off of stereotypes, entertaining us with the plight of the high-end divorce client that this plot surrounds.  As long as you like the unique correspondence format, I highly recommend this book to other readers!
    




*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. All opinions are my own.



Have you read The Divorce Papers? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!


Read more about my book reviews here, and friend me on Goodreads to see what's next!

Plates of Penrose: Red Velvet Cookies

If you or someone you know loves red velvet as much as my husband does, you will want to make these cookies! 

I took inspiration from this recipe that I found on Pinterest, but changed it a little because I do not like rolling cookies in sugar.  These. were. so. good.


Follow me for more ideas on Pinterest here!

Pages of Penrose Review: The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison

I did not know what to expect from The Perfect Letter, but I have been a fan of Chris Harrison/The Bachelor franchise for years so I wanted to see how he was at being an author.  My first impression was that the plot was another mimic of the movie Sweet Home Alabama, but the further I read the more I realized that Harrison is a very talented writer. There was so much storyline and depth packed so much into this novel.  The twists and details of the story really build on each other, and I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a love story.



 

Philanthropy & Penrose: Cyber Monday Deals!

I'm pretty much bursting with excitement for our Angel Tree child. This little boy scored so many gifts on Cyber Monday!  Check out all of the loot that we were able to get for him off his wish list, thanks to Cyber Monday deals from Crazy8 and Amazon...

What we know about him....He's from our hometown, and he's a 7 year old little boy that loves action figures, especially Superman!

Now, I like to pride myself on my bargain-shopping skills, but I am so impressed with all that we could find for him.  I used the code CYBERWK20 on Amazon to get an additional 20% off the jacket, sneakers, socks & undies, and got at least 50% off the action figures and books there as well.  We also have Amazon Prime so all items ship for free!  The rest of the clothing items are from Crazy8, which was having a great cyber sale and emailed me coupon code for an additional 20% off my purchase with free shipping.

Total, we purchased everything above for under $160.00.  The shoes and jacket alone would have cost almost that much!  I am so excited to start receiving the packages in the mail so that I can get them all wrapped up :)




 

Show & Tell Tuesday: Service

Linking up today for Show & Tell Tuesday with Momfessionals!

I love reading the Show & Tell Tuesdays posts from some of the blogs I follow, and today's topic is something I am really passionate about so I thought I would join in!

If you have ever followed my Philanthropy & Penrose tab then you know about my passion for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte.  My love for this charity was planted while in college when I joined the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and has since continued to blossom into a passion of mine.  I have been a committee member for two annual fundraising events at the house, Storybook Ball and Girls' Night Out.  

RMH Charlotte Storybook Ball 2015

RMH Charlotte Girls' Night Out 2015

This coming year, I am so excited to be co-chairing Girls' Night Out 2016!!  This event is like no other.  It will make you smile, laugh, cry, dance, and leave with such a full heart.  If you are a woman in the Charlotte area, I highly recommend attending this Spring event!


Other philanthropic causes that we support each year are some through our church.

We always pick at least two names off of our church Angel Tree.  We have a lot of teachers in low-income areas who submit the information and I love that the little angels we help are from our local community.  

We also love stuffing at least two Operation Christmas Child boxes each year!  This year we are gifting to a 5-9 year old girl and 2-4 year old boy.  

P.A.T.H. is a local food bank ministry that helps families in our county.  We donate to them periodically throughout the year, as well as through our Annual Fall Festival where entry is canned goods instead of money.  The past two years, we have raised close to 1000 cans and $600 from the event.  Pretty good for our little country church AND getting rained out both years!



Two other things that have been on my heart are Christmas giving traditions.  The first, is that I have always wanted to skip the 'normal' Christmas day stuff and volunteer at a big soup kitchen.  I think once we have older kids, this is something I want to do at least once and who knows--maybe it will become our yearly tradition then.

The other is--now that Ryleigh is old enough to start learning and experiencing Christmas (last year she was still too young to understand), I feel like it's important to have the foundation of the Reason for the Season.  Yes, we are definitely having all the Santa fun and next year we will probably get a visit from a pesky little Elf on a shelf, but I want to tie it all back to Jesus.  I've heard ideas from friends that since the Wise Men brought 3 gifts, they give their children 3 gifts from Santa.  I really like that idea. Also, I'm thinking of doing three special charitable gifts each year--something like Heifer Project.  Each year sponsor three different animals or gifts.  As our kids get older they can help choose what we do, which will make it special for them and also open their eyes to life outside of our little world.

Last year -- Christmas 2014

I can't wait to read everyone else's ideas in the link-up :)

Pinning for Penrose: Eat-in Kitchen

In our house we have an eat-in kitchen area in front of our big kitchen window.  I go back and forth with what I want to put there.  We have bar space at the island for people to eat, and when we re-do our kitchen counters within the next year (granite and backsplash) we will be adding 2-3 more bar seats on the wall between the kitchen & living room, where we currently just have wood moulding.  I am not crazy about the idea of just getting a table and chairs and calling it a day in there.  I would rather have some comfy seating, more of an informal area, where friends or family could sit and chat while we prepare a big meal.  So, I've been looking at some Keeping Room inspiration on Pinterest....

reading nook // built-in bench // club chairs // lounge area

Don't these just make you want to grab a cup of coffee or holiday beverage and some snacks to relax a little while?  I'm loving this so much more than a plain ol' table & chairs.

This is not one of the most important items on my list of ideas, but eventually I plan to create something like this.  I will have to keep my eyes open for good deals and see what I come across!

 

Plates of Penrose | Inspiration!

Yall, I am so excited. So many people ask me where I find recipes for delicious dinners, appetizers, desserts....the answer anymore is almost always Mix & Match Mama.  It's a foodie blog written by a mom who just so happens to be Sean Lowe [former Bachelor]'s sister.  I love her recipes for so many reasons --they have always been delicious, they are for "normal" people (i.e. there is no fancy chef lingo), and they are practical!  She's a mom so she understands the need for balance. She has great ideas for meal planning, crock pot cooking, and delicious yet easy desserts.  I have never had one of her recipes fail me!  I incorporate them into our daily dinners, covered dishes to bring to events or people who have had babies, holiday meals....everything!  Even my picky-eater husband loves her recipes.

So, I may have squealed with excitement when she recently announced this:

I know that these will be just the first cookbooks of many from her and I plan to add every single one to my collection.  I have a drawer full of printed out recipes from her blog and now I can have them all bound and pretty!

It looks like they will retail at $16 each once they are available February 1, 2016.  Preorders are available now!