Whoot Whoot!

Supplies: Owl, branch, hat and 'whoot whoot' from CHF;
'fabulous' from The Cat's Pajamas;
Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark; black EP;
papers from My Mind's Eye;
buttons from Basic Grey;
banner from Martha Stewart

I swear that this is texturally fabulous in person. The "whoot whoot" is heat embossed with black EP. You know that has to be special, because holy sheesh does that stuff stick to everything no matter what anti-static magic I conjure up. Owl-dude was stamped and cut out twice, coloured, and his snarky little eyes & eyelids are cut out & popped up on foam tape.

So, as mentioned previously, I'm what people might consider an avid reader. Normally I read a lot of what I call "throw-away" books - cozy mysteries, thrillers, that sort of thing. I read primarily (oh heck, entirely) for entertainment. There are two books that I've read in the last few weeks that have completely sucked me in, and made me want to recommend them. If you happen to be looking for something to read, these two are really something.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett Synopsis taken from the weblink:
Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

The Widows of Paradise Bay, by Jill Sooley Synopsis taken from weblink:

Prissy Montgomery goes to great lengths to avoid having sex with her husband, Howie. So when he confesses to having an affair, and requests a divorce, she shouldn’t be all that surprised.

With her fourteen-year-old son in tow she leaves the comfort of her Toronto home and heads back to Paradise Bay, her childhood home in Newfoundland. But Prissy’s mother, in an effort to spare her daughter humiliation, takes out an obituary to announce Howie’s untimely demise. Prissy is horrified by the deception, especially when her childhood friend becomes widowed for real.

When their son has an altercation with the law, Howie, the “dead” husband, heads home to help, and his arrival leaves the town of Paradise Bay reeling, with more questions than answers.

Okay, the 'widows' synopsis really doesn't do this book justice. I started reading it when I went to bed last night, and ended up staying awake until I finished. I don't necessarily think that it's 'only' for married women, but as a woman who has been married for nearly 15 years, I found myself recognizing a lot of the issues facing the book's characters. 

Just out of curiosity, would anyone be interested in me sharing my reading list? I keep track for myself, but I do love to share. 

xoxo,
Jessi