Weekly Wrap-Up

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. —William Shakespeare, Richard II

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

England. We're missing her more than ever as we live vicariously through 27, Palace Court's newest resident's Snapchat stories. Pardon us as we indulge ourselves in all things Brit—starting with this darling read: How to Speak Brit. We're sold on the cover alone. And the word flummoxing. Among other charming things, it promises to answer such pressing questions as who is Bob and how did he become your uncle?

Our walls are calling for one of these. While we're at it, one of these too...in Piccadilly Pink, please. These vintage London Underground posters may be our favorites though. This one would be darling in a child's room as would this Take them to the Zoo edition from 1924.

This would look smashing on our sofa. And wouldn't this just finish off the room nicely?

Downton Abbey. Of course. What's not to love about beautiful people in a beautiful place speaking in beautiful British accents? Lest you think it would be just as charming set in America, this will change your mind.

British bookshops. We ask, as did Henry Ward Beecher, “Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” Never more so than in a British one, Mr. Beecher.

Boden. Be still our Johnnie-lovin hearts.

George. Oh my heavens, George.

COMING NEXT WEEK

What happens when the KonMari method collides with our book collections.

Everything we promised last week but didn't deliver...

IN CASE YOU SOMEHOW MISSED THIS

Don't be scared off by the length - it's worth all of its fifteen minutes and more. As good friend put it: this should be required watching for happy people.

The Dreams Will Come to You

It's not about the cards you're dealt, but how you play the hand.

Yes.  You heard Rachel right.  I’m chasing a puppy instead of my dreams.  I guess I should be reading Good Dog. Stay.—but I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m gonna have to work up to that.  Baby step to four o’clock. Baby step onto the elevator.  Baby step to dog lovin.  

The week did overtake me, maybe even tackled me.  The puppy, the kids’ welfare, college-essay deadlines, grading, laundry, the puppy, whole food decisions, raise money for charityvision, the puppy: it all adds up.  But my last few posts have left me wanting…to write about The Last Lecture, and well, to eat some jujyfruits.  So here’s a Throwback Thursday on Friday.  Is anyone surprised by this?

If you loved Tuesdays with Morrie, you’ll love The Last Lecture. (If you haven’t read Tuesdays with Morrie, do whatever it takes to put that book at the top of the stack next to your bed, you won’t be sorry.) Randy Paush, professor of smart subjects at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to speak as part of an ongoing series of speeches where top academics deliver wisdom they would impart if they knew it was their last chance.  Ironically, Paush was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer one month before he was to give his “final” lecture entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”

The Last Lecture beautifully fleshes out Paush’s advice on achieving childhood dreams, advice he wanted to leave for his three children.  Maybe it’s the sort of advice that comes when you know you have months to live, not years.  It’s wrapped in perspective.  He gives important reminders: “One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose.” Or simply put, “When we're connected to others, we become better people.”  Of course the advice to live with child-like wonder resonates with me.  So, if you’re overwhelmed, or spent, or maybe you’re just shy of exhausted…some life reminders may be just the medicine you need?

Posted by Tracy

Our Stack Of Books

Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book. —Jane Smiley.

Oh, Jane. Me too. While this week hasn't gone at all as planned around here, just looking at these books makes me feel a bit cheerier. While Tracy and I pull ourselves together, here's a look at what we're currently reading and will be reviewing soon.

WHAT I'M READING

"As soon as I saw this book I knew you had to have it," my sister-in-law said as she gave me What We See When We Read. That just happens to be one of my favorite sentences ever. Thanks Lil!

Tracy sent me this beautiful book, not having any idea how timely it would be. But then she's always had a knack for that sort of thing. Thanks, Tray. Only forty-five pages in,  and I'm already thinking When Breath Becomes Air may be one of my favorite reads of the year.

MY LATEST LISTEN

The Lake House is pure escapism. Something I've been needing a little more of lately.

WHAT TRACY'S READING

I've had my eye on The Life We Bury for a while now. Looking forward to Tracy's verdict. She's currently chasing a brand new puppy around the house though so we may be in for a bit of wait. Ringo is rulin the roost!

Posted by Rachel

Be The Hero Of Your Kids' Book Club

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book. —Marcel Proust

One of my favorite pastimes is thinking about all the things I should have done with my kids when they were young but didn't. Okay, maybe not. There are times though that I can't help myself and this is one of them. Why oh why did a book lovin mom like me not think to do a book club with my kids? Think of the fun I would have had! Oh yeah, and my kids would have loved it too.

For those of you lucky enough to still have young readers in the house, here are some tips to make your kid lit book club a hit:

• Kids only. Grownups are boring and tend to take over. Of course you need to help in the planning and be present, but let the kids run the show. This in no way implies parents shouldn't read the books with their kids and talk about them at home (we highly recommend it), they just don't get to come to book club.
• Pick good books. This one is of course non-negotiable. We're here to help. Any of the picks below or on our bookshelf are sure to be crowd pleasers.
• Keep it small. Shoot for 4-7 kids. More than that equals chaos.
• Keep it simple and short. We're talking 1 1/2 hours max. Plan a couple activities around the book. Discussions won't come naturally, so come up with ways to spur them. Pinterest is full of great ideas, we've pinned some on our board here. Keep it fun!
• Snacks. Just like grownup book clubs, everyone is really in it for the food.
• Bonus: choose a book that has a movie coming out soon and plan to all go see it together.

BOOKS FOR 2ND AND 3RD GRADERS

Flora & Ulysses (see our review here)

The BFG (Movie being released on July 1st)

The Little Prince (See our review here. Movie being released on March 18th)

The Year of Billy Miller

(Full disclosure: we have not read this book but are of the firm opinion you can never go wrong with anything written by Kevin Henkes.)

BOOKS FOR 4TH TO 6TH GRADERS

The Boys in the Boat for Young Readers (we talk about it here)

Counting By 7s

The One and Only Ivan (see our review here)

Home of the Brave (see our review here)

Brown Girl Dreaming (see our review here)

The Goose Girl (or any Shannon Hale book, for that matter)

Out of My Mind

(We have not read this one either, but it comes highly recommended by one of our favorite young readers: Abbie. In fact, all the books featured in this post would be perfect as well.)

On the off chance your kiddos or their friends have somehow not read Wonder, we feel compelled to include it. See our raving review here.

Posted by Rachel

You Dodged A Bullet, My Dear

The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.

Wouldn't it be lovely if I could report that I've found my book on this book club Monday? Lovely, indeed. Apparently I, unlike Tracy, need to call in a search party. Or just order up a new one. That sounds less painful. Happily(?), I've read enough of the book to get started and can report that, at long last, I'm knee deep in decluttering. My thoughts so far:

1. This is going to take awhile. Which is mildly depressing. Kondo warned me of this, but ever the optimist, I was sure I'd defy all odds and knock it out in a weekend. No one's ever accused me of being a realist. Looks like I'm in this for the long haul.
2. I have a lot of clothes that I never wear. Some of which make me question if I know myself at all. Who bought this hideous blouse? Oh yeah, I did. This is why when my husband pronounced me hard to shop for, I couldn't argue. I can barely shop for myself. Looking at my kids' piles, I can safely say it runs in the family.
3. Being the decision-challenged girl that I am, I needed something a little more definitive than Kondo's "does it spark joy" test when approaching my clothing. So I'm asking these two questions I found in January's Real Simple: A) Does it serve you? As in do you feel good wearing it and do you get compliments? Or are you tugging at yourself uncomfortably? B) How would you feel if you were wearing it and ran into your ex? This one's my favorite. I'd add your ex's mom. I may or may not have run into an ex-boyfriend's mom once in my ugliest sweats, no makeup, and hair in need of a good wash. Granted, my twins were babies, had been sick for days, and cabin fever clouded my judgement, prompting me to venture into public places looking as bedraggled as I felt. Pretty sure she didn't even make it out to her car before calling her son to assure him that while I may have broken his heart, he'd come out the winner. "Dodged a bullet" no doubt escaped her lips.
4. Here's a thought: perhaps I should apply these same tests before buying clothes. I suppose this is the point of Kondo's method.

Okay, I've stalled long enough; time to get back to work. Before I do, here's a little something in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. James Taylor posted this video saying it is one of the best covers of his song Shed a Little Light he's ever heard. Enjoy!

Posted by Rachel

Weekly Wrap-Up

In the chaos of everyday life, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters, and I can use my habits to make sure that my life reflects my values. —Gretchen Rubin

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Gretchen Rubin. Well, we love her every week. But as tomorrow is National Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day (yeah, it's really a thing), we're feeling a little extra adoration for Gretchen as she swoops in to save us from ourselves once again. Better Than Before has been in our stack of books for a while now and mid-January seems likes the perfect time to move it to the top. 

Book Swaps. We may or may not be book hoarders. Marie Kondo would say there's no may about it. We can see that we're in for a bit of quibble with her as we approach the book category in our decluttering nightmare...er, mission...but throwing a party like this (or this) might make parting with some books a little less painful. Maybe.

Cozy cabins. We're dreaming of hiding away in one of these with our stack of books. And lots of hot cocoa and food of course. Yes, lots of food.

The stars aligning. As they did last week when we found ourselves in the same state as each other, along with another dear friend, and able to spend an afternoon laughing, talking, shopping, and laughing some more. And eating glorious food at Eva's Bakery. May the stars align more often.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Reports of real progress in our decluttering. Really.

A review of When Breath Becomes Air.

Our new gift guide where you'll find the perfect book for just about any occasion.

Confessions Of A Semi-Adult

I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them. —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Has it been 28 years since we were in London?  Wow.  For a minute there, I felt old.  I’ll be the first to readily admit that I’m a semi-adult.  That means I do adult things: I go to work, I pay my bills, I vote, I rein in my teenage daughter when she crosses boundaries and I even make her come home at a relatively respectable hour each night.  Gasp!  

But there’s a limit to my adulthood.  For example, what legitimate adult sends video footage to their bestie of their bedraggled, post-Christmas (more like post-apocalypse) bedroom?  The best part is Rachel sent her own shots back!  A sure sign that our friendship was shaped by the stars. When I read that Rachel couldn’t find her book club selection, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, naturally I laughed out loud.  Then I thought Attagirl.  Way to keep it real Rae! (Never mind it made me feel normal because my copy is buried in an ever-expanding, messy stack(s) of books.  It won’t require a search party to find it, but still…)

All that to say…it makes me squirm a bit that I’m reviewing The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom.  (A.) It feels a little trite this time of year, doesn’t it? And (B.) this is what responsible adults do: they wave off sugar, potentially with a scoff, because of course it’s bad for you.  Okay, that may have been an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

While I’ve exercised regularly for decades, and I have fairly healthy habits other than the Coke one, I decided it was time to sharpen the saw. I’m 13 days in, with 17 left to go, and I feel good.  The authors of The Whole30, Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, made promises to that end: “The physical benefits of the Whole30 are profound.  A full 96 percent of participants lose weight and improve their body composition without counting or restricting calories.  Also commonly reported: consistently high energy levels, better sleep, improved focus and mental clarity, a return to healthy digestive function, improved athletic performance, and a sunnier disposition.”

While I’m not ready to give the Hartwigs credit for my sunny disposition, I do feel good on this food “plan.” (It’s not a diet mind you, which accounts for so many testimonials of long-lasting success found throughout the book.) Another favorite thing about this 400-some odd pager is that it provides loads of tasty recipes to help you stay whole. If you’re looking to “reset” this bright-eyed January, I’d give the Whole30 a try.  

For the record, my inner child wants all of you to know that the next time I’m in a movie theater with my milk dud-eating Rae, I will be consuming jujyfruits with the same fervor as Elaine Benes.

Posted by Tracy

27, Palace Court's Newest Resident

Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. —Samuel Johnson

27, Palace Court has a new resident! Isn't she lovely? Twenty-eight years ago this week, Tracy and I were standing on this very doorstep (how do we not have a picture?) beginning our stay at the BYU London Centre. Now my darling niece Mariah is following in our literal footsteps. I get teary-eyed just looking at her face: brimming with excitement, not even fully comprehending how glorious this experience is going to be. And oh will it ever be glorious.

I must say number 27 has never looked better. Those flowers and topiaries! Those steps and front door! And that lovely 27 etched in glass above the door. Swoon! Makes me more lonesome than ever for that lovely abode. I'm thinking Tray and I need to visit while she's there. Maybe we should create a GoFundMe account? Sounds like a worthy cause to me. I'm sure we can all agree the world would be a better place if Tracy and I made it back to London this year.

In the meantime, I'll re-experience it all vicariously through Mariah. Her Snapchat story is my new favorite read. As I sent her off, these words from Helene Hanff's 84, Charing Cross Road came to mind:

A newspaper man I know, who was stationed in London during the war, says tourists go to England with preconceived notions, so they always find exactly what they go looking for. I told him I'd go looking for the England of English literature, and he said: "Then it's there."

May you find the England you've gone looking for, Mariah, and best of all, may you find your Tracy.

Some pictures I've stolen from her Snapchat. The top left corner is a full shot of 27, Palace Court.

Posted by Rachel