Biblio-blunder: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Biblio-blunder is a sporadic (thankfully) feature in which we share our bookish gaffes with the world. Click on the label biblio-blunder to read more.


Last week Adele wrote about her fan letter to her favorite author. It reminded me when I wrote to an author. But it wasn't a fan letter. It was a desperate plea for help. HELP, I say!

There was a time when I could take a book, read it, and nary a mishap. Then I began to get old and feeble- minded. I got the dropsies in the bubble bathies. And the coffee spillages on the page the killer was revealed.


"As God as my witness...As God as my witness, I will never borrow a friend's precious book. Only from the library because I can always just pay the fine. No harm, no foul."

This entire speech was said with such conviction, such feeling, that all those listening shed a tear. Yes. One single tear. And a rose was involved somehow. Maybe I bit a potato. And I may have been alone. I don't remember. The point is, I could not trust myself with books.


I broke this cardinal rule one fateful day. I broke it and lived to tell the tale.

One of my friends knew I was going on a long car trip. She knew I wanted to read The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. She knew I was clumsy and had children, but that temptress offered the book anyway! I tell you, I couldn't say no. What a fool I was! What a fool.

My old nemesis

What happened, you ask? Oh. I'll tell you what happened. Chocolate milk, the deadliest of all milks happened.

 Chocolate milk spilled out of the bottle in the cupholder into my bag o' stuff-to-do-on-a-twelve-hour-car-trip. And worse yet, I DID NOT KNOW, until it glued the middle pages together. A brown gloppy stinky mess. No chance to clean it up.

But the worst, ABSOLUTE WORST, was that this was a hard-bound, PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED, FIRST EDITION beautiful book ruined by yours truly. Oh. Yes. I felt so bad. It ruined my trip.


As soon as I got back to the US, I searched high and low for a replacement. I avoided my friend. I searched for a first edition that was autographed for about a week. Finally, I hunted down the address for Rebecca Wells. Then I wrote a particularly pathetic letter, explaining what happened and begging her for an autographed copy. Every possible mean of contacting were included. I didn't hear from her.

I finally gave up. After nearly two months I tracked down an autographed, first edition. I bought it and placed it in the bag with the ruined book. I wrote another pathetic letter apologizing and explaining what happened. I gave it to her husband and, like a coward, left the scene.


My friend called me later that week and told me it was fine. That she hated that I was so stressed about it, I should've told her, no need for another one, etc. She's even offered to let me borrow more books. I always say NO!

But that, folks, is not the end. About two months after this, I get a phone call. Guess who it was? Ms. Wells' assistant! Yes! She called me! They got my letter and wanted to help me. She was so very very nice. I thanked her profusely and told her I had purchased one already. She kind of laughed, apologized for taking so long to get back to me, that they understood what happened and if there was anything else that they could help with to let them know.


So, that, my folks, is my "writing an author" story. Pathetic? Yes. Will I ever borrow someone's book? Unless I can run to Barnes and Noble to replace it, then NO! I learned my lesson. Again.

Please feel free to share your bookish horror stories so I don't feel quite so bad.

What Makes a Princess a Princess?

I happened to stumble on the most adorable story. I was at our local library and my little girl was running around (quietly!) yanking any book that was predominantly pink and/or had a princess on the cover. Most of them were the "perfect" blonde princess books. I replaced those. One was different though: Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman.

Isn't that the sweetest cover? So, why is this such a great story?  Let me 'splain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up:

There will be two princesses chosen to be in the parade this year. Grace hopes to be one of them - with a pink and floaty dress. But when she asks what a princess does exactly, it actually sounds boring. That is, until her teacher shows her books of real life princess and story princesses from other lands - princesses that wouldn't be wearing pink and floaty dresses

As she learns more, she decides what kind of princess she would really like to be and it doesn't involve pink either! "Will you still like it?" her mother asks. "There's more than one way of being pretty," answers Grace.

Another reason I appreciated this book is that her mother and grandmother remind her that she may not be chosen. THANK YOU! My kids are geniuses, could be models, and are hi-la-ri-ous (as are yours, I am sure). And they don't always get chosen. Positive reinforcement is important, but teaching your kids some of the realities of life is important too. I think this book did a nice job of that. It was light, but got some great messages across.

The illustrations are very colorful, very detailed watercolors. Lovely pictures. There is a brief lesson at the back of the book about princesses - real and legend. The reader is encouraged to learn more. Verrry interesting. I plan on looking up some of these stories.

This book says it is appropriate for K-2 (5-8), but I think you could stretch it a bit further in either direction, especially if you are looking for a positive story about accepting who we are. Have you read this? If you haven't,check it out at your local library. If you have, let me know what you think about it, or if you have a favorite "positive message" book!

Linking to:

Kid Konnection hosted by Booking Mama.
Book Talk Tuesday hosted by The Lemme Library.

Pseudo Celebrity

Ahem. Hello. It's me. I know. I haven't been around lately. I won't go into a looooong boring story about where I have been, BUT I will apologize. I apologize.
I am soooooooo SORRY!

Is that a tear I see? It's ok. I am here. Shh. I am here.

Let's move on, shall we? Stop looking back? Look to the future? A future filled with blog posts about books and book cases and book nooks. Yes. That is what we will do. Look to the future bookish posts. That's why you are my favorite reader. You are always so positive.





Awhile back, my kids' school hosted Celebrity Readers. The idea was to get exemplary people from the community and have them read to a few classes. They would explain why they loved reading, how it made them successful, and whatever else they thought may inspire young people and their spongy little brains. Our future, if you will.

So. Being the world famous blogger that I am, I volunteered. Actually, it was more like, "If you need readers to fill in, I'd be happy to come in. Just FYI: I'm NOT a celebrity. And I am not particularly exemplary. I will, however, sign autographs."

I did, of course, mention that I love to read and, in fact, participate in a witty, fresh, and unique book blog. The organizer was im.pressed. Actually, she did like it. I sent her a link and I was IN, baby!

I got to read for both of my kids' classes. It was fairly easy to find a book for my first grader. But how do you choose a picture book for fifth graders? I asked the school librarian. No help. The books she had chosen, to me, were boring (Yes, I said it. Books a librarian chose were boring. I know that's sacrilege). So, I went online in search of books for fifth graders. It was still difficult, since I had to read reviews and reviews and make trips to our library to find something funny but not too babyish, not too adult, AND that could be read within 15 minutes.

"Wait a minute," you are saying. "Too adult? How could that be?" Excellent question. I am glad you asked. Well, many picture books that I found are, for example, studied in college classes. They use to them analyze attitudes and cultures and child psychology, et cetera, et cetera. And so it seems the author wrote them more for adults than children. Anywho.

Here are the books I chose for my kids.



Scapegoat by Dean Hale, illustrated by Michael Slack.

For my first grader, I chose Scapegoat.

This is the cutest story. It is about a goat named Oat and how she gets blamed for everything bad that happens.

As you can see in the title, the -oat is used throughout. Very helpful for teaching those vowel combinations.
The illustrations were bright and funny. The words had a nice rhythm.

Bottom line: the kids loved the story and asked me to read it twice! Even the teacher was laughing.






The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups
by David Wisniewski 

For my fifth grader, I found The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups.

Ok. This story was hilarious. It finally reveals the real reasons behind all of our rules. Why do we tell kids to eat their vegetables and drink their milk and not to pick their noses?



Life as we know it could end otherwise.



Check out this book for all the details. But I warn you, there are those that would like to keep this a secret, so be very careful!

Bottom line: at first the kids were fidgety. But a few paragraphs in and I had their full attention. They were giggling and "ewwwing", and crept closer to see the pictures. The teacher even stopped her work a few times to listen and laugh.

I am really proud of schools these days. They are really stressing reading, and getting the community involved in these projects is a great idea. I just wish more parents and neighbors would take half an hour occasionally and get involved.

What about you? Do you have a recommendations for next year? Have you participated in a project like this? If there is nothing like this in your local schools, maybe you could take the initiative. Everyone loves being read to, and it's a lot of fun for the reader as well!

Bargain Book Bonanza (24): Bloggie Bonanza!

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

A book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.

Leslie is hosting this week!

What is this? Blogs? Is that really fair? I mean, isn't this supposed to be about (air quotes) books?

Excellent question, kind sir and/or madam. Yes, this is fair. Books are involved, and it is my humble opinion that this would be a bonanza.

As none of you probably know, I am planning to home school my kids after fifth grade. If any of you have ever looked into homeschooling you know how expensive it is! Actually, if you are an educator, tutor or parent, you know that supplemental materials, educational games, and extra supplies are expensive!

So, I went researching. I got a book from the library about home schooling for free or very little money. I was contemplating buying it, but decided to check out the reviews of this one and similar titles. One of the reviews mentioned www.freelyeducate.com that provides free resources for a variety of subjects. There is a sister site www.frugallyeducate.com that lists great deals that come along.

Some examples of the neat-o finds are free classics that can be downloaded to your PC (and e-readers, of course), free worksheets, free or reduced magazine subscriptions (no catches), discount school supplies, and really cool downloadable educational crafts. 

What I like the most is the free or low cost curriculum! There are some fantastic free sources to legitimately teach K-12 - math, science, language arts, foreign languages, history, and more! These are age-appropriate lessons that can be used by a tutor, teacher, or home schooler.

One of my favorite finds from these sites is www.livemocha.com. It is free language website for just about any language - even ESL! Very similar to Rosetta Stone, a user can even record a few sentences and have a native speaker critique his pronunciation. So cool!


Anyway, I am super excited to find a place that has scoured the internet for real and safe sources and has compiled it into an easy to follow blog.

Do you have any great websites or blogs you are excited about? Dish please!

If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains!

Bargain Book Bonanza (23): Classics, sort-of

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

A book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.


Leslie is hosting this week!

Good morning, all. I had intended to write this last night, but we ended up watching a movie - a SAD movie - and I was too tired after that to get this out. (Just FYI, Mars Needs Moms is very sad. No spoilers, but if you have sensitive kids, maybe pass on this one. One of ours ended up in the middle of our bed last night! If you have a bunch of ingrates, maybe this is a good one. Just saying.)

Anyway, at this pernt in time, when I go book shopping I look for children's books. I am interested in early readers for my two younger ones and fiction books that will get my older one interested in trying new subjects.

This week I found two little goodies - The Cat in the Hat and The Hardy Boys. Both are recent editions. 

99 cents each at Goodwill

I read all The Hardy Boys books when I was a kid and loved them (I never could get into Nancy Drew) so I thought this might be fun for my 10 year old. He hasn't opened it yet, but I may just read it with him.

And The Cat in the Hat has a lot of "sight words" that children need to know as well as rhyming. Plus it's fun! 

So, while not quite as much of a bargain as Lesa can find, me likey!

My second "find" is not really a bargain exactly, but it is a follow up of a previous bargain, and I am equally excited about it. I bought Corre, Perro. Corre, which is the full-sized version of Go, Dog. Go from another website. I won't say the name, but it starts with an "O" and rhymes with Cloverstock.

 

I absolutely adore these books. First the English book, the original, shows location and direction, opposites and contrasts. The vocabulary is fantastic for a kindergartner and first grader.  And the Spanish is exactly the same, but - get this - IN SPANISH! So again, learning all of the above, but IN SPANISH: 

My 6 year old reads the sentence, then we look at the picture and I ask, "Ok, what does perro mean? (DOG) Right! And what does grande mean? (looks at picture~BIG) Exactly and so what does perro grande mean? (BIG DOG!) YAY! You got it! See how easy Spanish is?"

I get such a big grin when he figures it out! LOVE. IT. 

Anyway, I paid about $7 for Corre, Perro. Corre. Not a bargain in the absolute sense of the word, but it is a great aid, so I think it's a good deal for what it is giving us!

So, what about you? What bargain books have you gotten? Maybe they are not at rock bottom prices, but they are a bargain for what they offer!

If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains!

Bargain Book Bonanza (19): Value Pack!

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

A book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

 

BBB is the place to showcase all the great books (new, used, vintage, electronic, audio) that you have scored on sale.

Each Monday through Thursday, all book lovers are invited to carouse, make merry and revel with bargain book abandon!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.


Leslie is hosting this week!

I am sure Lesa thought I wasn't going to post today! But I would never (or at least not much) disappoint Lesa. Disappoint my parents? High school counselor? My friends and neighbors? Suuuuure...but not Lesa!

So, what goodies did I get? Well, I can't quite compete with a certain person, who shall remain nameless. I've tried, but I can't compete. But I think I done good.

So. First off, I am a second hand store junkie. I love to go into places like Goodwill and see what they have. Here in Houston we have another chain called Value Village. Doesn't that just sound earthy? Or tacky. Whichever. People have definite ideas about these things.

Well, I could go on about the bargains I have found there over the years. But the truth is that since this recession hit, it has become quite the rage to hit second hand stores. So, consequently the prices have been raised on everything from bicycles to jeans ($17 for a rusty kids bike with flat tires? Uh, no thanks. $8 or more for Old Navy jeans with holey hems? Yeah, I'm passing that up.).

What is funny...haha...you book lovers are gonna love this...what's funny is that the price of books here has gone down. Yes. It's true. Great for me, but what does that say about our current state of affairs?

"Leslie, please stay on task and tell us your BBB. I am really getting tired of your little ramblings and tirades."

Ok, ok, suh-aaarrrreee! A little testy, aren't we? Maybe you should take a page from my book (heh heh, get it? Book? Page? We're a book blog? Do I need to spell it out for you? Ok. Ok. You got it. FINE!) and try a leeeetle bit of wine. Oh yes. I am drinking some vino. And, look at me...re. laxed. ville. (Barefoot wines. Delish, btw)

"AHEM. PLEASE GET ON WITH IT."

Oooookaaay.

So I was browsing at my Value Vill-AJ and found a few neato books.

1. A 2009 version of Ripley's Believe It or Not (for Lucas) $.50

2. Go, Dog, Go (for Nico now, Nina later) $.50

3. Dos Pies Suben, Dos Pies Bajan (Nico and Nina) $.25

4. Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot (Lucas for fluff, but really to get Nico interested in reading) $.25

The grand total? $1.50, BUT I had a coupon (oh yes, I did) for 50% off. So, it was $.75! For FOUR books! 

I, of course did not have 75 cents.

So I had to buy a pin to be able to use my debit card. It was originally $8.00, but I only paid $4.00. Which you are NOT interested in. Although the pin is pretty. Maybe it is "vintage"? Who knows. I wore it the other day and no one complimented me on it. Just goes to show they have no taste. And while I am talking about it.....(muttering to herself)....

If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains!
  
Please leave the link to your BBB post. Say howdy, mingle and have fun!


...and then she tells me that I have big hips. I mean I was pregnant for cryin' out loud! Like I needed to hear that!

Oh. Sorry. I forgot where I was. Yes. Books are good.

And so, once again:
  
If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains!
  

Storytime Challenge:Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, Que Ves Ahi? by Bill Martin

It's been awhile since I have contributed to the storybook challenge. I haven't stopped reading to my little ones, just haven't posted about it.

I actually have a little challenge of my own happening right now. I am trying to teach my middle son Spanish.The background on the whys will be in one of my next posts.

One of my biggest goals in this is to get my son reading the language. Reading is, in my opinion, the key to learning any language. More on that in the next post!

So, in search of books. Well, my mom asked if she could buy presents for my kids. Yes, but they have to be books. Buy Spanish books for Nico, please. (See? I said please.) After a little grumbling about trains and tea sets, she agreed, and set off for Barnes and Noble. 

Well, I don't know if you have perused B&N for Spanish books for children, but there just isn't a lot at these stores. She bought several, but they were either too difficult or too boring for my son. He's a beginning reader in English and more than, say, twenty Spanish words on a page is overwhelming. 

So, I returned quite a few and got a gift card. Then I got online. Now, there are a TON of books in Spanish for beginners!

I selected, among others, a few books by Bill Martin. He wrote Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? I purchased the Spanish version: Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahí?

I must admit, I never looked at these books in English. My boys were interested in trains, specifically Thomas, so I never looked for other things to read to them. I am so glad I got these!

After I received the books, I flipped through them to see if these would help me, or I should just pass them on as pretty books to my 2 year old. 

They are perfect! The illustrations are very pretty (or as mi suegro me dijo, "Que lindo!", and then began yelling about the weather or something. Los Argentinos. They yell. A lot. Anywhere. We go to a restaurant with my in-laws. "This bread is good. My mother made bread like this." ~ "Your mother never made bread like this." ~ "Hey! I think I know what my mother made!" ~ "How do you know what she made??!! You were never home!!! Always off having fun!!" ~ "FINE, MY LOVE!! FINE!! <mumbling> I don't know what I am talking about?! This woman doesn't know anything!" Then they both look at me and roll their eyes at the other one...) Uhhh...where was I? Oh, yeah. Books. Yes. Pictures. Yes. The pictures are very pretty, but the good thing is they don't distract!

This is exactly what I need! These books help in several ways: building vocabulary, learning colors, verb conjugation (you see, I see, they see, we see), and the repetition allows Nico to get comfortable with sounds and the rhythm of reading. 

At first, I read these to him, only asking him to read one word on each page. Then I had him read the "Animal, animal" que ves ahi? parts alone. Last night he read the entire book ALONE! It took for. ever. But he did it. I was sooooo proud of him!

But did Nico enjoy reading it? Let's ask him.

Nico, do you like this book? Oh, yeah! Yeah!

What is your favorite part? The bear. It's so...so...so meat-eatery.

Do you want to read it again? Yeah.

What language are you reading? Spanish.

Are you happy that you can read in Spanish? Yes. Because... Because I want to talk in Spanish.

Yep, I think we are making progress! Whew!

How about you? Are you reading any good books? Do your in-laws yell in restaurants?

Bargain Book Bonanza (16): Deceptively Cheap

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

A book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

BBB is the place to showcase all the great books (new, used, vintage, electronic, audio) that you have scored on sale.

Each Monday through Thursday, all book lovers are invited to carouse, make merry and revel with bargain book abandon!


Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.

Leslie is hosting this week!

This is an older BBB. Oldie, but a goody!

Delynne posted almost a year ago about this cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. I already had the other book, Sneaky Chef when she wrote her review. But I decided to look for this one to try. This, of course, is not another rehash of all that, uh, mash. This is my BBB!

So. I looked up this book on several websites. I found bargain books that were used, price was good, but the shipping put it up there. Or else it was dirty. I don't know about you, but I cannot stand dirty cookbooks. Blech.

I checked my Half Price Books stores. I looked at Walmart and Barnes and Noble. I just didn't want to spend a lot of  money for a possibly redundant book. I kind of gave up.

Then after reading one of Lesa's BBBs, I started checking my Big Lots for books. That would be a store, y'all, not a comment on the ample proportions I may or may not have.

Well, as chance would have it, lo and behold, I found what I had been looking for! Deceptively Delicious! And how much? Was it $7.99 for a used, food stained (I hope) copy? Was it $15 or more for a brand spanking new copy?

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food

No, my friends. It was NOT. It was a mere, $3.00!!! I know! I couldn't believe it either! A brand, spanking (I smacked it around a bit, so yeah) NEW book - no stains, smells, problems, pages missing, etc., etc. (King and I. Wasn't that a great movie? The original one, I mean. So great. Etc., etc.)

I was so excited, I checked to make sure it wasn't marked wrong. It wasn't! I double checked with the cashier, and when I was told that it was, in fact, $3.00, I got all chatty with her (who by the by, could not care less. She just kept chewing her cud, uh, I mean, gum, looking at me like I had three eyes! Young people these days, am I right? Why, back in my day...well maybe you aren't interested in all of THAT.) Anywho, pret-ty exciting. Pret-ty darn exciting.

So do you have any favorite Bargain Cookbooks? Have you tried this cookbook? 

If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains! The linky will be open through Friday this week.

 

Bargain Book Bonanza (15) Summer Readin'

 Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!

A book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

BBB is the place to showcase all the great books (new, used, vintage, electronic, audio) that you have scored on sale.

Each Monday through Thursday, all book lovers are invited to carouse, make merry and revel with bargain book abandon!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.

Leslie is hosting this week!

Hey, all y'all. Me again. The one with the passel of....kids (thank you, Scarlett). I totally cheated on this one, but I am still proud, because it took a bit of doing!

So it's summer summer summertime, and Houston ISD and the Houston Public Library, among others, sponsor summer reading programs. Well, I have attempted it the last few years, but we never logged our books in...blah blah blah.

So. How does this relate to a Bargain Book Bo-nanza (you have to say it that way: BO-nanza)? (Hey, calm down! I am getting there! Sheesh, you are soooo pushy!)

Yes, anyway. One of the prizes is (drum roll, PLEASE) FREE BOOKS!!!

That's right, folks! My kids got FREE BOOKS!


We finished the first "prize" level and each one got a book. They are also going to receive a free book next week for completing level two (PLUS  tickets to an Astros game and the circus!)! AND - yes - AND my two boys in school will receive a THIRD book during their next school year! I seem to be yelling a lot. Let me calm down.

And now, you ask with bated breath, what books did they receive?

Lucas, 10, got Slam:

It's not something he would normally choose, but I hope he gives it a chance. It is about a boy and basketball, and lessons he learns through  challenging circumstances. It is for 12 years and up, so a bit old for him, but it got good reviews on Amazon. Maybe we will read it together.

 

Nico, 6, got Pippi Goes On Board:

This also is something he wouldn't choose as it has no pictures. But I promised we could read it together, a chapter at a time. He got very excited! It looks like a fun book, so I am a bit eager as well!

 

And, Miss Muffet, 2, got an I Spy Little Book:

 

This is a very simple board book. It shows the word and the picture of the "hidden" object, with a little rhyme. Fun way to teach little ones written words and the object!

Pretty cool, huh? I will be posting more about these reading programs later, but just wanted to share the bo-nanza!

Yes, I cheated a bit, as I didn't actually find them, but I did push my kids to read read read. They think they are finished, since they got the prize. They're so crazy. It's only just begun. MWAHAHAHA!

That was an evil laugh, just FYI.

Have you read something that you normally wouldn't choose? Were you pleasantly surprised or bitterly, and I mean, bitterly, disappointed?

If you have a bargain book, please share. We love to brag on bargains! The linky will be open through Friday this week.

 

Mrs. Baja's Gift Shop: Pride & Prejudice Inspired Gifts

Wedding season begins soon. And what does that mean? Eternal love? Beautiful memories? A happy couple? 

Noooo.


It means it is bridal shower time...and THAT, my friends, means GIFTS!  The more thoughtful, the better.

And if your friend just so happens to be an ardent admirer of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, then perhaps we shall come up with something quite agreeable.


Whether the bride-to-be fancies herself the beautiful and demure Jane, or playful Lizzie, with her sharp tongue and fine eyes, you can easily put together a gift that will quite suit her fancy! (If she thinks she is one of the other sisters...hmm. Then skip this and get her a make over.)


A trademark of Jane and Lizzie's relationship are their letters. What P & P devotee wouldn't love some lovely stationery?



So cheerful, don't you think?



And when writing about their chance encounters with Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy, dearest Jane and Lizzy likely drank a cup of tea. And so should the bride as she writes her thank you notes.




Chamomile, to calm the nerves....lavender is always good too.









Perhaps a few biscuits with her tea, if she is famished.



And what blushing bride doesn't need a P&P inspired nightgown? I am quite sure the Bennett sisters would find this acceptable.



Doesn't that look soooo comfy?

 The sun can be such an enemy to genteel ladies. They might freckle! That will never do! A sunblock that protects the skin, regardless of their shade, is a must! Especially when touring castles and mansions!




Take care of that gorgeous face!



Now, the honeymoon will be over soon enough. And what will fill her days (after work, cleaning the house, and paying bills)? Your dearest friend will need a book, of course! Because after all, there is no enjoyment like reading!


And not just any book! Only the complete works of Jane Austen will do!




The fairer sex may need help holding this book!


Jane and Lizzie carried their dried flowers in baskets. But what a lovely way to present your gift, don't you think?




A lovely gift in itself.

 
Upon my word, I do think these ideas must be acceptable to you, especially when tempered with a thorough reading of Pride and Prejudice, which these suggestions will inevitably interest.


With that I leave you, dear ones. Please enjoy the gift-giving and those warm summer weddings.  And don't forget your gloves!

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