This is slightly crazy. Actually, it is definitely over the top, but I had to write about this new book, Edible Selby, by Todd Selby. Let me explain. There is a super cool and amazing blog called TheSelby.com, where the photographer Todd Selby goes into people’s homes all over the world and takes photos of their homes, their collections, their accidental collections, and their stuff. And of the people themselves. He gives them a handwritten questionnaire he asks them to fill in by hand where they have to write things and draw things. The whole thing is ridiculously, outrageously ARTISTIC.  And it’s pretty fab. I adore looking into people’s homes and I am fascinated by their collections.

Once you’re hooked on the blog, you’ll want the book, which takes it a step further and visits restaurants and homes of chefs, cooks, food artisans. Again, Selby has a unique perspectives, which this time are often about food, but just as often is about the location, the building, the people, and the landscape. He does his questionnaire thing too, so there are all these recipes in the actual handwriting of the people featured in the book.

I won’t lie to you.  I found this book nearly impossible to read. Not only is the questionnaire handwritten (sometimes in chicken scratch), but Selby writes captions and notes all over the pages and photos. It is dizzying sometimes, but it’s ultimately great fun if you are just deciphering a couple of pages at a time.

This book was sent to me by the publisher for review with no requirements or expectations.

This is slightly crazy. Actually, it is definitely over the top, but I had to write about this new book, Edible Selby, by Todd Selby. Let me explain. There is a super cool and amazing blog called TheSelby.com, where the photographer Todd Selby goes into people’s homes all over the world and takes photos of … Read more →

I want to be Donna Hull when I grow up. Donna writes the amazing travel blog MyItchyTravelFeet, which I have been following for several years. Donna’s target audience is active baby boomers, but I’m not a boomer and I find her posts to be dead-on about what I want to know. Not only do I want to be Donna, but I want to be married to her husband Alan. Donna writes the posts and Alan takes the most amazing photos. My husband and I try to take decent photos on our trips, but somehow we never take enough, some are blurry, the colors are funny, or we just somehow didn’t capture everything we remembered. Alan has no problem with any of that.

Now that you understand my couple crush, let me tell you about Donna’s ebook, My Itchy Travel Feet: Breathtaking Travel Adventure Ideas. Although I have followed Donna’s blog for a long time and she is a friend, I bought her ebook because I simply had to have it . The book takes lots of information from her blog and puts it all together in ebook format, and for a very reasonable $3.95, you get tons and tons of details on trips you will want to take and get to gorge yourself on Alan’s photos.

The book is divided into several sections and every single one of them spell a big, fat expensive trip I’ve added to my bucket list. Donna takes us on trips through northern Italy, coastal California, Hawaii, Asia, and New Zealand. There are also sections about cruising, nature adventures (lots of info on National Parks here) and a traveler’s toolkit and resources. There are great tips from Alan about how to take good photos (I will be studying these). Donna writes not only about what you should see, but she talks about the people she talked to and what they told her. Her adventures are for active people (a five-mile hike is not for someone who likes to sit on a tour bus) and she brings a wealth of experience to her recommendations for things such as small luxury cruise lines and how to locate a vacation rental online. As I was reading the ebook, I had to beat my jealousy down with a stick over all the destinations Donna has been to.

I wish this was available as a print book because this is the kind of book I could happily sit down with and flip through to while away an afternoon. Alas it is not, so you’ll have to click around. Use this book in one of two ways: for very detailed and carefully thought-out information about a location you will be visiting, or as an idea book to find a place for your next great adventure. Either way you will be impressed with the depth of Donna’s knowledge.

I want to be Donna Hull when I grow up. Donna writes the amazing travel blog MyItchyTravelFeet, which I have been following for several years. Donna’s target audience is active baby boomers, but I’m not a boomer and I find her posts to be dead-on about what I want to know. Not only do I … Read more →

I spent summers in Maine as a kid and have been back several times as an adult (my daughter’s middle name is Camden, a town in Maine, so we’re pretty attached to Maine around here). I love everything about Maine and when I learned about the Maine Classics cookbook by Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier (owners of Arrows in Ogunquit), I had to get a copy. You can read my review at A Traveler’s Library, where I’ve been reviewing one destination cookbook each month.

I spent summers in Maine as a kid and have been back several times as an adult (my daughter’s middle name is Camden, a town in Maine, so we’re pretty attached to Maine around here). I love everything about Maine and when I learned about the Maine Classics cookbook by Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier (owners of … Read more →

I picked up the first book in this series by Beth McMullen last year (Original Sin) and had been waiting for the second book, Spy Mom: The Adventures of Sally Sin (you can now buy them together as a two-book set as well). It was out in time to take on vacation, which was just perfect. These books are a fun combo of mom lit and spy lit. Sally Sin is a Bay Area semi-sarcastic stay-at-home mom with a toddler (who becomes a preschooler in the second book) and a husband. She also has a past as spy. Which she has never quite mentioned to her husband. She left her past behind her to have a normal life, but things from her past keep sneaking into her present, requiring her to find people or things so that the world can be saved. The book is liberally sprinkled with flashbacks to her spy days when the real action happened, and these sections are fast and fun. The past is always intertwined in her present somehow, so the flashbacks help you understand the story.

Sally never takes her herself very seriously and is very open about her flaws as a spy (there’s one character who constantly kidnapped her, over and over, when she was in the field, and there’s some sexual tension there as well). She’s also slightly flippant about the agency she worked for her and former boss. What she’s not flippant about is how much she loves her son, even if one day he hates cheese sticks and the next day treats her like a lunatic for thinking he hates cheese sticks.

What I love about these books is that Sally really is a regular mom, with stained mom jeans, sippy cups, healthy snacks, a dirty house, Legos, and worries about her child’s safety – and a sense of humor about her entire situation. The books take those very realistic mom worries and mix them with international intrigue. Sally, like many moms, has to try to balance her home life and her professional life, but her situations are just slightly more dangerous than those most moms face. Her thoughts and her routine feel so supremely real that you almost think you could lead a double life as well as she does.

On top of the intrigue, the books are also slowly exploring Sally’s childhood. Her parents were killed or left her when she was very young and she is only beginning to remember who they were, what happened, and how it might be connected to her life as a spy and to international issues. I’m looking forward to seeing this thread unravel even more in future books.

If you’ve read and liked any of the Ayelet Waldman’s Mommy Track Mysteries, this book will feel like a perfect fit to you. McMullen has a created a really wonderful blend of international intrigue and mommy tribulations that is funny and compelling at the same time. I’m now going to be impatiently waiting for the third book in the series!

I picked up the first book in this series by Beth McMullen last year (Original Sin) and had been waiting for the second book, Spy Mom: The Adventures of Sally Sin (you can now buy them together as a two-book set as well). It was out in time to take on vacation, which was just … Read more →

I haven’t stayed up late to finish a book in a long time, but this one really hooked me. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn starts out as the story of a Manhattanite couple who lose their jobs and relocate to the husband’s home town in Missouri to care for his ailing, aging parents. He gets a call the day of their 5th anniversary that there’s something wrong at home, and comes home to find his wife missing and signs of a struggle. The rest of this thrilling read takes you through diary entries from the missing wife and the day-by-day events after she disappears. Nothing is what it seems. This book is chilling, thrilling, and psychologically complex. It’s not your typical whodunit and you absolutely must keep reading through the first few chapters to get to where things start to become dramatically more interesting. This one kept me guessing, right down to the last page. I would love to discuss what happens with you, but you’ll thank me for not ruining any of it. Suffice it to say, the author will take you on a fascinating journey that may be hard to believe, but is still going to keep you turning pages.

You’ll identify with different characters at different times and your loyalties will swing in the wind. The book is delicious and bone-chilling, exactly what you need for a hot week at the beach. It was so good that when I finished it, I was a little bereft feeling.

I haven’t stayed up late to finish a book in a long time, but this one really hooked me. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn starts out as the story of a Manhattanite couple who lose their jobs and relocate to the husband’s home town in Missouri to care for his ailing, aging parents. He gets … Read more →

I always read Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, even though honestly, I’m never too excited about the plots. I have a thing for the Low Country, where all of her books take place. This is also why I read Anne Rivers Siddons’ books. And I read Elin Hildebrand’s books because they take place on Nantucket and Randy Wayne White’s books about Southwest Florida. If I could just find a good author that writes about Hawaii, Seattle’s islands, or  Maine, I would be all set (suggestions welcome).

Porch Lights is about an army nurse whose firefighter husband is killed on the job, leaving her and her 10 year son in Brooklyn. They pack up and head to her mom’s house on Sullivan’s Island, North Carolina for the summer to heal and put their lives back together. There is, of course, a burgeoning romance. And then there is the matter of her separated parents who may not be done with each other. And a neighbor with a tragedy.

None of that matters much to me because I mostly read the book to read about the ocean, the sand, the dunes, the sea grass, the Low Country humidity, the southern way of life, and of course, glass after glass of sweet tea served with crabs, peaches, tomatoes, and flounder. This one has the added bonus of a pimiento cheese ball being made in the book (super exciting!).  I fall into the book and suddenly I’m staying in a cottage on the beach with the sea air blowing the white eyelet curtains on my window. I’m sitting on a porch watching the waves or I’m walking the beach, finding driftwood. Frank’s books are like a mini-vacation for me. I usually end up skimming when I get to the predictable happy endings but I can’t put them down. And I anxiously await the next one.

What I’m reading next: Wife22 by Melanie Gideon.

I always read Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, even though honestly, I’m never too excited about the plots. I have a thing for the Low Country, where all of her books take place. This is also why I read Anne Rivers Siddons’ books. And I read Elin Hildebrand’s books because they take place on Nantucket and … Read more →

Gull Pond in Wellfleet, Photo by Alexandra Grabbe

I was given a review copy of this beautiful ebook, Wellfleet: An Insider’s Guide to Cape Cod’s Trendiest Town by the author, Alexandra Grabbe and I wanted to share it with my readers.

I’ve driven through Wellfleet and must admit I didn’t understand the treasures to be found there. Now that I have Grabbe’s guide, I will definitely go back and this time I will stop. Grabbe is an innkeeper in this beautiful Cape Cod town and her personal experience creates the perfect guidebook. I loved the thoughtfully written history of the town and a resident’s view of the festivals and events, as well as the month-by-month guide of what to expect. Where the book really shines though is in the detailed descriptions of the beaches, ponds, restaurants and shops. There are all sorts of fun places to go, including a flea market, yoga classes, seal watching, paragliding and mushroom-picking – things I don’t remember reading about in the guides I used when I visted the Cape. Wellfleet looks and sounds like such a fun place to visit that I really am planning to return.

Here are the insider’s secrets that will make your stay the best it can be. I really appreciated the lists of things to do at the beach, with or without kids. The restaurant reviews are extremely personal and share details of the meals Grabbe enjoyed at each location. The photographs are stunning and after years of relying on Frommer’s and Fodor’s guides, I am shocked by what a difference they make. Instead of having that moment where you drive up to a restaurant and realize it might not be the place for you, you can see photos ahead of time which, coupled with the detailed descriptions of the destinations, really help you make an educated decision about where you want to spend your time and your money.

If you are planning a trip to the Cape, this is exactly the guide you want.

You can visit the Facebook page for the ebook here: https://www.facebook.com/WellfleetGuide

I was given a review copy of this beautiful ebook, Wellfleet: An Insider’s Guide to Cape Cod’s Trendiest Town by the author, Alexandra Grabbe and I wanted to share it with my readers. I’ve driven through Wellfleet and must admit I didn’t understand the treasures to be found there. Now that I have Grabbe’s guide, … Read more →

Ok, I’m coming out. I sometimes watch the TLC show Sister Wives. And I just read (ok, skimmed) their book. Not familiar? Here’s the deal. The reality show follows the life of one fundamentalist Mormon (NOT part of a Warren Jefs cult, but definitely much more mainstream in lifestyle) and his 4 wives and their too-many-to-count kids. I tuned in to find out what their lives were like and to watch the drama unfold as they left Utah because they were worried about prosecution, married the 4th wife, had a baby, and had to move into separate homes since they couldn’t find one big enough. I also got a kick out of it when the wives all joined a gym together to lose weight (see the one on the right side of the photo – her waist has been 100% photoshopped in which I find ridiculous: let her be a plus-size woman for goodness sake!). I also couldn’t stop watching because I was trying to figure out what was so fantastic about this guy that 4 women would all want to share him (I don’t have an answer to that yet. He seems ok, but I don’t know what’s so amazing). It was also interesting to see how they all lived in one big house that had separate apartments for each wife when they were in Utah. Now things have settled down a bit  and the show is a bit boring and I don’t watch as often.

But I was interested to read the book. Each wife takes a turn telling her own story: how she became polygamist, how she got married, and what it’s like to live this way. It was slightly fascinating, if repetitive. What married woman has not thought how fantastic it would be to have a wife?  Someone else to help with child care, cooking, transportation, etc. A built-in best friend. They share their finances and have family business meetings. They support each other and function as one big family. If I just had one person here with me during the day who could let the freaking dog out sometimes I think my life would be so much better! These benefits makes it sound like a good deal. And the sister wives do talk about how they never have to miss a day of work for a sick kid and often pick up groceries for each other and act as additional parents. There’s always someone able to go to the school concert or baseball game for their kids. And their kids have built-in playmates. I love all of that. They also say they like having some space and time to themselves when the husband is with the other wives.

But, they also talk about deep personality conflicts among their marriages and lots of misunderstandings, jealousies, and hurt feelings. Basically it sounds like being in high school again on some level. I was surprised to learn that all of the wives, other than the first one, came into the marriage with little or no dating/courtship and had hardly any history with the husband before signing up with him for eternity (they believe their marriages are celestial, lasting in heaven). I don’t know how they expected it to work without getting to know each other beforehand, but their religion discourages an already married man from spending too much time courting a new wife. That seems like a screwy system to me.

They don’t talk or think about each other’s intimate relationships with their shared husband (seriously? There have to be SOME things they are just DYING to compare notes on) and are uncomfortable and jealous when he shows affection to any of the other wives. I definitely couldn’t handle sharing my husband or having him rotate through my house only every 4 days! It doesn’t sound like a great way to live at all.

The book satisfied my nosiness though – I wanted more details and this definitely offered them! If you’re interested, get it from the library if you can. It was a quick read for me, but it really did tell me a lot about their beliefs and the truth about living in a polygamist marriage. I know a lot of people are appalled by this lifestyle, but I’m pretty much a “to each his own” kind of person, so if it works for them, go for it.

Ok, I’m coming out. I sometimes watch the TLC show Sister Wives. And I just read (ok, skimmed) their book. Not familiar? Here’s the deal. The reality show follows the life of one fundamentalist Mormon (NOT part of a Warren Jefs cult, but definitely much more mainstream in lifestyle) and his 4 wives and their … Read more →

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent engrossed in this huge volume: Martha’s Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations. The first 300 or so pages are just photos, with brief explanations, of Martha’s parties (you’ll find recipes in the last 100 pages). You’ll see inside her various homes, and the grounds of those homes. The MSLO cast of characters is present at many parties, but so are some of Martha’s friends and families. There are parties for everything you can imagine: tea, July 4th, breakfast on the porch, dinner in the clerestory, celebrating a master gardener, Christmas, Easter, spring dinner, and even a picnic at sea. Martha likes to party apparently!

I enjoyed this because it was just so completely over the top. This isn’t a book you pick up and think, “Ok, I’ll do that for the party I’m having next weekend.” Certainly it’s inspirational, and you’ll find loads of great ideas for decorations and food (not to mention the china, silver, and crystal that all looks so lovely), but few people are going to be able to replicate most of this. That being said, it is just a fun book to read through, particularly if you want to catch a glimpse inside Martha’s life or if you just love good photos of food and decor. There are many ideas here that can be toned down to work for the average person. I loved the Peony Garden Party and would love to incorporate some of those ideas to a gathering at my home.

The recipes are mostly very high yield (30+ people) although there are some that are smaller. The recipes are delicious sounding, but honestly there aren’t too many I felt compelled to try. I probably won’t be making Mini Crab Papapadams, Terrine of Duck Breast and Leg Confit, or Orange Easter Cake with Tiny Meringue Nests any time soon. That doesn’t matter though because this is a book about fantasies – the parties you would give if you had a catering staff on hand and Kevin Sharkey on retainer.

I truly enjoyed this book (which I borrowed from the library), but won’t be plunking down $75 to own it. It’s definitely fun to poke around in and ooh and aah at the gorgeous photos, the decadent food, and Martha’s incredible lifestyle.

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent engrossed in this huge volume: Martha’s Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations. The first 300 or so pages are just photos, with brief explanations, of Martha’s parties (you’ll find recipes in the last 100 pages). You’ll see inside her various homes, and the grounds of those homes. The MSLO … Read more →

Of course I had to read Whateverland, by Alexis Stewart (Martha’s daughter) and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt (who costarred with her on the Whatever radio and TV shows). This is being billed as some kind of self-help guide – their rules for living or some such nonsense. Let’s be honest here. The only reason to read this is to snoop inside their lives, specifically Alexis’s world with her mother. Each chapter is made up of vignettes from each of them (Alexis seems to have the most though) and ends with a bullet pointed list that offers tips for living – just skip those. The lists are pointless. The vignettes are what is interesting.

Both women are not normal. At all. Jennifer is at least likeable despite her phobias and anxiety. Raised in a sheltered, wealthy life as a child of a music industry mogul (she celebrated Xmas with Barbra Streisand and had the Beastie Boys perform at her sweet 16 party) she’s very open about her issues and how they developed. I loved her honesty and thoughtfulness about her life. She recently lost a lot of weight and is very open about her life before and after the weight loss. She comes across as a person you would enjoy chatting with and definitely has that girlfriend vibe.

Alexis, on the other hand, is unlikeable, cold, entitled, and just awful in so many ways and it comes out loudly and clearly in this book. She spends a lot of time blaming her parents for making her the way she is but there isn’t a lot of reflection on her own persona in any thoughtful way. She’s very rigid. She’s also just really weird – she hates having breasts, she is very open that she likes to sleep with a lot of men, she loves to bake but will not eat a single thing she makes, she hates hugging or touching people, and she makes it clear she just does not like people at all. She’s honest about the fact that she has seemingly no drive or interest in a career and that Martha owns her giant apartment.

If you are interested in what Martha was like as a mother, you’ll want to read this. You’ve probably heard the media frenzy when this book came out about how Alexis had “a glue gun to her head,” had to wrap her own Xmas gifts, and how Martha always went to the bathroom with the door open. There’s lots more in here though, as well as plenty of photos of Alexis as a child. There are plenty of contradictions – Martha was a cold, uninterested, neglectful, unloving mother (Alexis had to shorten her own school uniforms – there is a photo of her with a horrible looking hem – her parents never played games with her, they bought her nothing, she had to do lots of hard manual labor), yet there are stories about Alexis waking up to a giant Easter basket of her favorite candy and how Martha held little “chef” classes for Alexis and friends.  She also makes it clear that despite the horrible things she says about Martha, that they are very close. She does not speak at all about her new daughter, Jude (Jennifer talks about her children and being a mom frequently), which I find quite strange.

One of the weirdest things about the book is the final chapter in which the women say they are no longer co-workers (Jennifer does the Whatever radio show alone now) and no longer friends. No explanation is given. I saw them appear on the Today show together to discuss the book and it was clear to me that Alexis decided she was done with Jennifer (she said something about how it’s like a divorce where you wake up one day and decide you no longer like this person). That comes as no surprise after the way she talks about how she enjoys seeking revenge on people and how she kicks people to the curb in her life frequently with no regrets.

If you’re hoping for a self-help book, look elsewhere. If you are just nosy and want to get the inside scoop on Martha, pick this up for a quick read.

Of course I had to read Whateverland, by Alexis Stewart (Martha’s daughter) and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt (who costarred with her on the Whatever radio and TV shows). This is being billed as some kind of self-help guide – their rules for living or some such nonsense. Let’s be honest here. The only reason to read … Read more →