My Current "Must Reads"

Looking for a good book? I have found each of these books to be highly engaging and very thought provoking. Word of warning, if you begin reading them, you may not be able to put them down!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini:

If you missed this book, The Kite Runner, also by Khaled Hosseini, is very good, as well:

This book was awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer & Annie Barrows:

*Sorry this cover is blurry~I tried 2 different images & couldn't get a clear pic)*

I am getting ready to read two new books. I love the author Malcolm Gladwell & found his books Blink & The Tipping Point to be very intriguing. I am looking forward to reading his new book, What the Dog Saw. Also, I have read several of Jodi Picoult's books & will soon be reading House Rules. I will let you know what I think of these two reads. Happy reading. If you have read any of these, let me know what you thought of the books. What reads are in your beach bag?

The Beach~Italian Style PART 3

Silly me. I went away on a trip but did not bring my laptop. That's why you haven't had a post from me lately. This is the last post on our Italy trip. Don't worry though more posts coming very soon! 

Vernazza, Italy

On our last day in Italy we decided to take a day tour of the "Cinque Terre" which is 5 villages along the coast. It is a beautiful coastal area which lies Southeast of Rapallo & Portofino. The best way to tour coastal Italy is by boat. Hubby went to the nearest marina, chatted with the local folks & chartered a boat with a captain. It was an incredible trip & so very picturesque.

Love this photo of the kids & hubby on the streets of Vernazza, Italy:

The beautiful town of Portovenere, Italy.

This is a very sweet church, the Church of St. Pietro, sitting on a hilltop in Portovenere, Italy. Love the blue boat!

On our way back from the Cinque Terre, we dropped by Portofino:

This is a yacht with a "flying device" aboard. We were taking a swim in the ocean & looked up to see this! Wowza! What do you think of this setup? Just outside Portofino & Santa Margherita:

Santa Margherita, Italy

It was an incredible day. Thanks for reminiscing with me! My next tour will be of the French Riviera~stay tuned!

The Beach~Italian Style, PART 2

The Castle in RapalloAs mentioned in my previous post , our room in Rapallo, Italy had a view of a castle. We had a large deck overlooking the town of Rapallo, the hotel's "beach", & in the distance the towns of Portofino & Santa Margherita.  It was spectacular!

The castle was built in 1521.

This is the view from our deck:

Below Mr. F was the hotel's "beach" with the yellow umbrellas. You had to access "the beach" by going through a bar & a narrow hallway; it was interesting. As you can see, there are no barriers to the ocean. Not very kid safe!

The kids really enjoyed watching the people & the action of the boardwalk, not far from our room.

There was an art exhibit inside the castle the day that we toured it! Kids inside the castle:

The hotel had a great restaurant & a view of the castle!  Behind Miss Boo, you can see the small beach. That's where the kids played ball with the other children! 

*spoiler alert: future post with a day trip to the Cinque Terre*

Mixed Marriage in Big Ten Style

We have a mixed marriage. My alma mater is Michigan State University (the Spartans) & hubby earned his doctorate at The Ohio State University (the Buckeyes). Both compete this weekend in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen Basketball Championships. We are both excited! It just may come down to these two teams playing this weekend~we hope! Let's go Big Ten! We love college hoops, especially when our teams have made it to the "Sweet Sixteen". Hope you have a great weekend, unless of course you are a Tennessee or Northern Iowa fan!