First a vampire boyfriend, now Mr. Darcy!

So, all I have to say is that Austenland was an awesome book! At only 196 pages, it was a super easy read, and I read it all yesterday (well last night until 1am!) It surely wasn't as amazing as Twilight, but I loved the story line, and just wanted to know if Jane Erstwhile ended up with her Mr. Darcy (called Mr. Nobley in the book) or the dreamy gardner. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone ready for a quick read before Tuesday! Let the countdown begin!

nothing really

I don't have anything really to contribute, other than I heard about a great book I am going to buy tomorrow. It's a recommendation from Stephenie Meyer (who wrote Twlight). It's called Austenland by Shannon Hale. I love the idea and snippit from amazon.com. Here ya go:

"Suppose you're a huge fan of Jane Austen, and in particular Pride and Prejudice and in particular Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation, and nothing in real life quite measures up. And suppose your great-aunt's legacy to you is a three-week vacation at an Austen-themed resort. This is the situation in which Jane Hayes, New York graphic artist, finds herself. Pembrook Park is a kind of Austen Fantasy Island where the female guests are required to dress, speak, eat, and in every way conduct themselves like heroines in Austen's novels, with actors filling out the roles of eligible suitors. Jane, called Miss Erstwhile for the duration of her stay, tries to get used to corsets and other Regency amusements while sorting out whether the attentions of a Darcyesque Mr. Nobley, not to mention a good-looking gardener, are sincere or part of the show. A clever confection for fans of contemporary Austen knockoffs."

Mary Ellen Quinn Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

oops

Oh, sorry, I just realized that my post didn't have anything to do with "great books, fantastic food, wonderful movies, and good music." Sharn, I guess you can regulate!! :)

Hey Ladies!!

My apologies for not contributing sooner!

Hi girls! Ok, I only have a moment to tell you about the most joyous thing in my beauty regimen lately. FAKE TOENAILS. No, I'm not talking about acrylics you'd get a the salon, but just your run of the mill drug store glue and press on nails. Let me explain how I came to such an enlightening conclusion!

While in Canada I found that my toenails became really brittle. It was so weird. Anyway, Stampede night while we were shoving to get on the train, I accidentally kicked the bottom of Erin's flip flop. My toenail literally ripped right down the middle on my big toe, but then just a chunk of the nail broke off in like a square shape. So I had this big gouge in the middle of my toenail. Hurt like a mother too.

A few days later I'm at the mother's lounge (the small one by the chapel and water fountain) at the Silver Springs building changing Dylan's diaper during church. You know me and confined spaces (hello freshman year and the telephone chord!!)...I trip over my own shoe and with the heel of one shoe totally jam MY OTHER big toe and do the same thing, except this time, the nail rips below the quick. Hurt like a mother trucker!

So I had two mangled daddy toenails and what else could I do? Cyndi set up a spa night for us girls to do pedicures. My toes were killing me. She'd picked up some fake toe nails and no one else was brave enough to give it a whirl. Did I have a choice? There was no way I was just going to wait for them to grow. So, thus I discovered the joy of fake, press on toenails. They are awesome and if they fall off or crack, you just slap another one back on! I had a couple fall of the first week but since then, nothing.

So there - hopefully I'm the first to discover this joy - otherwise I will quite feel like a dummy.

LOVE YOU GIRLS!!

ps...and by the way, it was Laurie Glenn that gave my mom the good tip about the fakies.

I would agree...

Okay, if you haven't jumped on the Twilight bandwagon...DO IT NOW! I just bought 2 more copies for my 2 sisters...and I am forcing them to read it. I think they'll thank me later!

Here's one who I have in mind for Edward...but with the Topaz eyes...James Marsden.

I'll have to keep searching the IMDB for more...

So onto other things...my new curling iron. It's really so fun and it makes your hair wavy rather than curly. I curl my hair at night, and then sleep on it, and it goes totally wavy. Sally's, $40!

Here's my other note...have you all visited kraftfoods.com? You can sign up for their free cooking magazine and free calendar. They have great ideas for easy foods and fun ideas. Along with Family Fun. They have a great website and their magazine is awesome (sorry you never got yours julie...they've never called me back as to why you got shafted.) It's totally worth the money for the subscription.

Vampire? Are you kidding? NOPE, I'm not!

Okay, so as per Shannon's request I am making the first post! To go along with the name of our blog, I must say that as far as this book is concerned Shannon got it right - We DO know the Good Stuff!

To any of you unbelievers let me share my PE (personal experience) with Twilight. To preface I need to tell you that I belong to a book club and have for a few years. Almost all of the books we have read have been awesome. Especially the books my friend Tamara chooses. IE Snowflower and the Secret Fan, GREAT BOOK. So when Tamara introduced Twilight to us a few months ago, I was completely sceptical! Her description was "Its a youth novel about a vampire with a Romeo and Juliet twist." "What? No WAY! I have no interest in reading a book about a Vampire. I think I'll sit this one out!" Of course I didn't say that outloud but certainly was thinking it! So, I went home and decided that maybe I would give it a chance since Tamara always chooses great books! To summarize, I couldn't put it down! I read it in 2 days and then went out and bought New Moon that night! I read it in 2 days as well! There is so much more to the book than a Vampire, may I just say! There is mystery, intensity, passion and adventure! All in the best ways! The author is LDS and has a way of creating a sexual tension like none other I've ever read! The greatest thing though is that she has kept it totally clean! So to any of you doubters out there, go ahead, try it. You will not be sorry!

Now to just finish off my rant about this fabulous book, I must say that Edward (the Vampire) is my new boyfriend ( he is Shannons too). He's a great boyfriend to have because he isn't real. However, if he were real, Adam might be in trouble :-). The way he is described in the book and the way he always seems calm, cool and collected is so attractive. If they ever make a movie out of this book (which they are planning to right now) I hope they do a good job casting for him! Who they cast for Edward will seriously make or break the movie! After everyone has read the book, lets talk about who we think should play the roles! I have a few ideas myself. What are yours? (include pictures)