Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.
what April looks like in my backyard (April 8)
I left a chilly Louisville on April 9 for FFW and returned on the 13th to a city in bloom. Spring has sprung and I couldn’t be happier about it.
April has been crazy (at least by my standards): I’ve been to Michigan and Chicago and Cincinnati and home, learning all about reading and writing and education.
Now I’m back home (it’s Derby week!) and we’re getting ready to actually, factually move. And I’m in over my head. Wish me luck?
what April looks like in my backyard (April 24)
What I’m reading
Between traveling (airplane reads!) and prepping the summer reading guide, I’ve been reading even more than usual.
Remember the books I can’t wait to read in 2014? I got to read three of them in April. Girl at the End of the World exceeded my (high) expectations and I finished it in two days. I told you about Delancey yesterday. The Nesting Place is unlike any decorating book I’ve ever read. I devoured it in two days and now it will live on my coffee table forevermore.
I took my first stab at Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame) with Snobs, and sprung for a food blogging ebook even though I’m not a food blogger. (Worth it.)
Currently on my nightstand: The Amazing Adventures of a Nobody, Scaling Up Excellence, The Remedy, The Art of Fielding, Something Other than God (another book I couldn’t wait to read in 2014).
Worth watching
Usually I tell you what I’m watching right here but with everything going on in April I’ve been watching … nothing. Except Emma Approved. And only because those episodes are 5 minutes long.
But apparently Pemberley Digital knows I’m moving because even Emma Approved is on hiatus effective last Friday. Hurray back—I want to know what happens next!
Pinning
20 words to use instead of awesome.
I want to steal this color palette. Or this one.
The only thing you can buy that makes you richer.
Adding this to my queue.
Follow me on Pinterest here.
Best of the web
29 funny charts that detail painfully accurate “facts” about daily life. (I couldn’t stop thinking about this when we were at IKEA on Saturday!)
15 revealing signs you genuinely love what you do. So good, and reminds me of this.
“It’s almost like we’re not built to read novels anymore.”
Everything with writing and relationships is risky. Let’s take the right risks.”
Rules of Civility: the book that wrecked my blog.
A millennial’s version of the American Dream.
Eleanor & Park is coming to the big screen (and why it matters).
Date syrup sounds gross, but I’d make this homemade nutella anyway.
On the blog
The secret to faking a clean house.
So much to listen to.
So many easy/good/tasty ideas.
Shauna Niequist tells you what to read next.
Going viral on Pinterest.
27 ebooks you can borrow for free.
Friends that claw their way in.
When you can’t get the words out (at least not quickly).
What were you into in April?
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37 comments
Thanks for linking to my post Anne!
Hope you have a great derby this weekend, and by that, I mean, “I hope your booze is tasty.” 😉
Truth? I’m in it for the pie. Or this amazing cheese dip people always serve at Derby parties. 🙂
Love the springy feeling, hang in there with the move and don’t worry I watched all the TV you didn’t this month. So, the universe is at peace. Or something…
Oh, the Derby. I’ve always wanted to go :).
Ring me up when you do. 🙂
LOVE Emma Approved! I first heard about it from your posts, and it has been a wonderful part of my week ever since! Girl at the End of the World and The Nesting Place have been on my wish list for a while – I should spring for them asap!
Hoping you have a fabulous May!
They’re both well worth it.
Snobs has been on my list forever! Never made the Julian Fellows connection until you pointed it out. Thanks!
That list of 20 alternative words was awesome.
You mean fabulous. (Smashing? Fantastic?) 🙂
Yeah, those alternatives are awesome too.
Maybe it’s because I’m from Boston, but I don’t see why you’d need any alternatives to awesome, unless you want to say wicked awesome 🙂
Ha!
We’ll be in Seattle next month and I just added Delancey to my wish list of places to see because we’ll have to eat somewhere, right?
YES! (Jealous!)
I am half way through “Snobs” and put it down, not wanting to finish it. Will you be doing a full review or at least a Twitterature review? I would be very interested to hear your thoughts!
I’ll make sure to put it in twitterature. It took me a good long while to get oriented and care about the characters. I am glad I stuck it through. Would be interested to hear your thoughts, midstream and/or when (if?) you finish.
It is good to hear you are glad you stuck through reading it and perhaps I will pick it back up on your recommendation. I also had trouble getting oriented (good word for that feeling) and keeping characters and their situations/personalities straight. I couldn’t even figure out if it was a man or woman narrating (but maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention). And adultery is one of my “triggers” and I felt like it might be headed that way.
Hmm. Your feeling is right so think about that before you continue! I don’t want to say too much about the resolution, etc. so I’ll stop there.
And it’s not just you: I couldn’t figure out if it was a man or a woman narrating either! It took me a good long while to work it out.
Yeah, it has been a few weeks and I’m not thinking I’ll be going back to this one…
I can’t wait to visit you in your new home! Wait. That’s not very helpful, is it? Hope everything falls in to place as you get ready. I’m curious to hear what you make of The Art of Fielding. I was intrigued by Nester’s book but after hearing it will live on your coffee table, I’m definitely going to have to get myself a copy.
Have you read The Art of Fielding? Curious to hear your thoughts because I haven’t started it yet. And YES to The Nester–especially if you’re moving!
I’m totally in love with Emma Approved too. The outfits and drama make me smile. 🙂
Thanks for linking to me, Anne! I’m very flattered.
Love this post! It is elegantly chaotic ~ like a sampler platter of the internet! And I love how it made me look back at my April with new eyes. 😉
“elegantly chaotic”: I love it!
Another Pemberley Digital fan on the link up! Yay. The chemistry between Emma and Alex is just getting better! I can’t wait to see it post-hiatus! If you want another series to watch during the hiatus, try Autobiography of Jane Eyre on youtube. It’s very similar to Emma Approved and Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but a little more hands-on.
Never heard of the Jane Eyre one–thanks for the recommendation!
Oh, the kids must’ve loved the eggs and baby birds. What a beautiful blue those eggs were. Best wishes for your move! We are hunting, too. You’ll have to tell us all about what you would and wouldn’t do, etc. If any of those moving pins were helpful…
This month, I am dabbling on the blog (so much to learn), checking Twitter more than FB because I gave the latter up for Lent, and revisiting that Kenny Loggins family album. I am also loving Kindle books on the iPhone with having a new baby, nursing, etc. It’s so great to just swipe!
Loved perusing all that you’ve done this past month. The pictures of the eggs and baby birds are wonderful!
The Sally Happiness is pin has got to be one of my favorites.
Good luck with the move! I loved Girl at the End of the World and an going to have to put The Nesting Place on my to-read list now.
One of the highlights of the month for me was pure awesome turn at trivia in Grand Rapids. 😉
YES to trivia night! Obviously. 🙂
I did another trivia competition last night. It was all Star Wars trivia. My team came in ninth.
It’s hard to live up to Three Sheets to the Wind. #sheetslikepaper
Wow! So many great links. I loved the funny charts and I loved your faking a clean house post!