My Favorite Cover

Just this week I discovered a really cool meme at Jen's blog: So Many Books...So Little Time. She chooses her favorite cover for the week and includes a synopsis for the book. Isn't that great? I think it's a great way to share books with others! I'm going to start posting mine on Friday's, so be sure to come back next week. Enjoy!


This week I've chosen: How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler.
(doesn't that cake look scrumptious!)

Deena Livingston leaves behind a broken romance and her chef job in Atlanta to spend time at her grandfather's cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. But her grandfather has an odd request: he wants Deena to teach cooking classes to the ragtag group of middle-schoolers who attend the local afterschool program, The Center. Reluctantly, Deena agrees, but how is she supposed to convince these kids that cooking at home is better than eating at McDonalds? And after all she went through in Atlanta, why is she attracted to Zack, the social worker at The Center? Can a Dr. Seuss-quoting plumber, a curly-haired basketball player, and a group of middle-schoolers change Deena's outlook on life?

Melissa's Bookshelf ~ 300 Followers!!

Please be sure to check out this giveaway Melissa is offering on her blog: Melissa's Bookshelf ~ it's spectacular! Congratulations, Melissa, on reaching 300 followers by your blog's 6-month anniversary! That's awesome!

Here's what Melissa's giving away:

I decided to offer two giveaways this time around. One lucky winner will get to choose a book of their choice from The Book Depository, valued at $10 or less.


The Grand Prize winner will receive a $25 e-gift certificate for either Amazon.com or BN.com--it's your choice!



You know what all this means... this contest is open to everyone, not just the US and Canada! :-) That's right, anyone can enter to win!

Is this a sweet giveaway, or what??? Good luck to everyone who enters! :o)

Meet Deezel

Isn't he just too cute??? We got him last Tuesday, from the local pound. He was brought in with his 5 brothers and 2 sisters on August 1st. He was the last one left! Of course I couldn't just leave him there! The people who brought them in said that the mother is a Boxer, but they're not sure who/what the father is. I'm hoping he continues to look like a Boxer ~ that's what my hubby and I wanted. He was 9 weeks old when he came to the pound, so he's going on 12 weeks old. He has a vet appt. this Friday for his 2nd round of vaccines. He's probably not going to like me very much that day! Poor baby!

Here's a few more pix of him playing with his toys:

Mailbox Monday ~ #2

Sorry my post is a day late! Yesterday was crazy! I was gone most of the day, so that's why I'm late. I'll try to do better next week, I promise! LOL

If you're new to Mailbox Monday, it's a meme I discovered last week on Marcia's blog, The Printed Page. Here's what Maria has to say: Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. It's really cool! I love reading everyone's comments/blog posts to see what book they've received.

Here's my list for Aug. 10-15:

From BookMooch:

Sweet Waters by Julie Carobini


From SwapTree:

Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler
I'm In No Mood For Love by Rachel Gibson
The Marriage Agreement by Carolyn Davidson

From PBS:

The Mistaken Widow by Cheryl St. John
A Stranger's Game by Joan Johnston
The Perfect Tree (Christmas Anthology) by Roz Fox,
Ann DeFee, and Tanya Michaels
Blind-Date Marriage by Fiona Harper

Won on other blogs:

Montana Rose by Mary Connealy
(on MaryLu Tyndall's blog ~ Cross and Cutlass)

Love Finds You in Valentine, Nebraska by Irene Brand
Made for Each Other by Irene Brand
(on the Favorite PASTimes blog)

Please leave a comment telling me what books you had in your mailbox last week, OR you can leave the link to your blog post that shows your list. Thank you for dropping by! :o)

Four meme ~ #1

I just came across this fun meme on Camy Tang's blog: Camy's Loft ~ it looks like a lot of fun!

Four, Four, Four, Four...

A) Four places that I go to over and over: post office, grocery store, Goodwill, local Used Book Store

B) Four people who email me regularly: Renee, Don, Maripat, Margie

C) Four favorite smells: Cotton Blossom wallflower (Bath & Body), LaCoste (hubby's cologne), brownies baking, a freshly-cleaned house

D) Four places I'd rather be right now: Perryopolis, PA (meeting Renee in person!), shopping for MORE books, on a beach somewhere, ???

E) Four people I think will respond: Renee, ???

F) Four TV shows that I watch: Royal Pains, Drop Dead Diva, The Singing Bee, Pawn Stars

Well, that was fun!! Now it's your turn...you can either post your meme in the comments, or leave a link to your blog.

Thanks for dropping by! Enjoy your day! :)

Altered Plans giveaway ---->

Be sure to check out this giveaway for Rebecca Tally's book, Altered Plans, on Shauna's blog Book Giveaways. I haven't read any of Rebecca's books, but this sounds like a great one to try!



The perfect day. The perfect marriage. The perfect groom. What could go wrong?

Caitlyn has been preparing for her perfect wedding all her life. But when her fiancé abandons her at the altar, Caitlyn vows she ll never love again.

Going to BYU doesn't make that easy, however, and avoiding all social contact can only last so long. When her bishop calls her to be the mom of her family home evening group, Caitlyn is suddenly thrust into surprising circumstances that leave her flustered the attention of two unwanted suitors.

Travis, the FHE dad, has plans to woo Caitlyn by using his cowboy charms while Chase has his own ideas for dating her. Will Travis or Chase change her mind about love? Or will it be deja vu?

This giveaway ends on August 18th, so hurry on over for your chance to win!

Cindy's AWESOME contest...

Cindy over at Cute Little Cindy has an AWESOME contest going on until August 24th! You should really head on over there and check it out. Here are some of the books she's giving away:

1. Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick ARC
2. Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen ARC
3. Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters ARC
4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater ARC
5. Troy High by Shana Norris ARC
6. Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott ARC
7. Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn ARC
8. Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker
9. Death by Series by Linda Gerber (3 books total)
10. a 5 dollar giftcard from Walmart (you can buy yourself half of a book with it, lol)
11. 3 Sarah Dessen books ( Just Listen, This Lullaby, Someone Like You)
12. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
13. Fire By Kristin Cashmore ARC
14. Last but not least, I have some extra amazon cards, so I will also include a preorder for CATCHING FIRE BY SUZANNE COLLINS. It will be shipped to on or around Sept 1st (whenever they ship it)
AND a book of your choice (under $15.00 please and it can be a preorder as long as it comes out in September-so many good books get released)

Don't drag you feet on entering...you only have 9 more days!! :o)

LOTS and LOTS of books!!!!

I decided to get up early this morning (6:00 a.m.!) to hit a few Yard Sales. I wanted to see if I could find some deals on books. Hmmmmm...look at the photos below and let me know how successful you think I was in my book search...

Here's all 3 boxes + some


50+ Love Inspired


Lots of miscellaneous authors


Christmas anthologies...I'm a sucker for these! LOL


20+ Children's books


20+ Christian Fiction...woo-hoo!

20+ Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal
& Romantic Suspense

My favorites are the Christian Fiction romance books. I'm not fond of the Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal & Romantic Suspense. Of course, I don't read the Children's books either! I mostly look for books to trade/sell online. If you're a member of any of the swap sites listed on my blog...be sure to keep an eye on my Inventory/Bookshelf (username: sugarandgrits)...I'll be adding most of these books in the next few weeks.

How many books do you think I bought? How much do you think I spent on them? Take a guess...leave me a comment...and I'll post the answers soon. Nothing like a little suspense to keep it interesting! LOL

REMINDER ~ Don't forget to make your list of books received this week so you'll be ready for your Mailbox Monday post. :)