# 22 - Make a new recipe a month - July

In honor of the 4th of July I decided to make some flag cupcakes I saw on Real Simple.  I have never made cupcakes or frosting from scratch before but this was too cute to pass up and the recipe wasn't too intimidating.  I prefer baking to cooking anyway so I really enjoyed making these.  Lauren helped place the fruit on top and arrange it into a flag.  These will definitely be an annual dessert.

I used blueberries, raspberries and coconut flakes for the toppings.

# 1 - Read 30 books - The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes (Book 14)

Read this book. I loved it. There were twists and turns and the love letters written to the main character will melt your heart.  It takes place in both the 60s and then again in the early 2000s. It was very easy to follow and very hard to put down. So. Good.

I know that if I start typing about the plot, I'll give something away. I don't want to do that so read the published review here and then put it in your shopping cart.

# 1 - Read 30 books - Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan (Book 13)

This book wasn't quite what I expected. I thought it would be a fairly light read about friendship and graduating from college and the lives we create afterward. While that's the general plot, it was way heavier than that. It tackled serious subjects like rape and sex trafficking. It kept me guessing and I couldn't put it down. There were some graphic descriptions but that helped paint a very real picture. It wasn't all sweet and easy, which I appreciated because life isn't either. I can't say I related to a lot of the story but the issues it covered are ones that women face everyday. It was a powerful book.

Read more about it here.

# 22 - Make a new recipe - June

I made these mushroom pizzas on a night when I was on my own. I wanted to try it out on myself before serving it to my family.  I found the recipe here but omitted the sliced tomatoes on top.  I wish I would have added them though because it turned out to be very mushroom-y, maybe the tomatoes would have toned that down.  The recipe is super simple and I liked that there weren't a lot of ingredients.  I had everything on hand except for the mushrooms so I made a quick stop at the store to grab those.  I made them for hubby when he got back and he loved them.  Like I said, the mushroom taste was a little strong for me but I wouldn't mind making them again, with some adjustments.



# 1 - Read 30 books - Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg (book 12)

This was a beautiful book.  It's the story of friendship and unconditional love.  A woman develops cancer and the story is told from the perspective of her best friend who takes care of her.  It's about sacrifice and putting another person's well-being above your own.

This was my 3rd Elizabeth Berg book and she's becoming a favorite.  The 3 stories I've read have all been very different from each other and each character is uniquely developed.  I appreciate that they aren't all alike in plot but have the same level of close attention to details.

Read about it more or buy it here.

# 1 Read 30 books - Girls Night In by various authors (Book 11)

I picked this book off of the library shelves because it had stories by some of my favorite authors (Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Weiner...).  It's a collection of short stories by women authors and the book was put together so that the proceeds would benefit the organization War Child.

I guess maybe I'm not a short story kind of person.  I love it when characters and plots are developed and twisty and turny.  I didn't get that from these stories.  Many were entertaining...some were disappointing...and overall I thought the book was just okay.  Some of the writers did spin offs of their popular characters.  But I wasn't familiar with their full stories so those stories kind of had me confused.  As a whole, I didn't think the collection was that impressive.  There were a few stories that were humorous but I had to wade through more so-so ones than get to enjoy really good ones.

Read about it here.